May 2015

Re: Summer reading assignment and 2015-16 AP Lit book list

Dear AP Literature Student,

Welcome to Advanced Placement Literature. This year’s summer reading assignment is Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. The book was originally published in 1847, under the authorship of Currer Bell. Currer Bell isthe same person as Charlotte Brontë, which leads to the obvious preliminary question, which is, why did she not publish under her own name? Please consider this question, as it is pertinent to understanding the novel.This memorablebook can be found in virtually every book store and library, as well as online and in eBook format, but you will be given a school copy if needed. Annotating your own copy as you read it during the summer will be beneficial when we begin the class in late August. If reading a school copy of the novel, sticky notes can be used for note-taking. Your notes/ annotations will assist you in writing your first essay of the school year.

First and foremost, enjoy the novel. It is a classic, the reason for which will become quite apparent as you read. While reading, please be on the lookout for these recurring symbols, marking them as you read. What might they mean?

  • The “Red Room”
  • Fire
  • The Chestnut tree
  • Portraits
  • Bird imagery

Second, mark unfamiliar vocabulary and define. We will work with the vocabulary once school starts; consequently, you can establish yourself firmly in your studies by defining these words ahead of class.

Finally, arrive in class prepared to define the following terms, which are applicable to the novel. Ask yourself, how might these styles and terms apply?

  • Bildüngsroman
  • Gothic novel
  • Byronic hero

I will be looking forward to meeting you in August. If you would like to check out a copy of Jane Eyre, rather than purchasing your own copy, please see me in room D107, before the end of this school year.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Hermens

The 2015-16 AP Literature reading list follows. AP Literature is built around the need for us, as U.S. citizens, to develop anawareness of the world around us. We will be exploring differing ways of viewing the world, through reading works by the following authors:

  • Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
  • A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini
  • 1984, by George Orwell
  • Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
  • Richard III, Shakespeare
  • Hamlet, Shakespeare
  • The Awakening, Kate Chopin
  • Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe
  • The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien
  • Reading Lolita in Tehran, by Azar Nafisi
  • Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand