WilliamTennentHigh SchoolAP Literature and Composition 1

Summer Assignment

May 29, 2012

Dear AP Literature and Composition Students:

Congratulations for electing to take a challenging but valuable course. AP Literature and Composition builds on your writing skills while also engaging you in close reading of each literary work. You will examine poetry, drama, and novels differently this year. Therefore, the first major part of your summer assignment is just to read and read some more.

In this packet, you will find the materials necessary for the AP Literature and Composition Summer Assignment:

Requiredtexts :How to Read Literature Like a Professorby Thomas Foster

Heart of Darknessby Joseph Conrad

Have a great summer and happy reading! We look forward to seeing you again in September, after we’ve all had a long rest.

Take care,

Your AP Literature and Composition Teachers

Mrs. Eriksson (room C107)

Mrs. King-Berkovitz (room A117)

The SummerAssignment

  1. Read How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster.(Read this book first!) Take careful notes to submit for a grade.

You are to read this book and keep an informal notebook of the ideas, quotes or examples that appeal to you or make you think. You must take careful notes on each chapter. These notes, which can be typed double-spaced or handwritten, will be collected and checked at the beginning of the school year. (Your notebook can be a marble notebook or typed pages which are printed and stapled together.)Please have this ready on Day 1 of school, if you want credit.Also on Day 1 expect a challenging quiz on this work.

  1. Read Heart of Darknessby Joseph Conrad. Take careful notes to submit for a grade. Connect it to Foster’s book. Answer the following questions.

We direct you to read the Foster book first so that you can this novelwith a new understanding, like a professor. You should take notes on each section as you read this complex book. Then take separate notes, connecting it to what you learned from Foster’s book. Specifically, be sure to designate which Foster chapters seem to apply to Heart of Darkness and explain how Foster’s comments helped you better understand this difficult work of literature. Again, this can be written in the same notebook as your Foster notes or be typed double-spaced and then printed and stapled. Additionally, be sure to answer the following questions.

Your answers to the following questions should be written in complete well-crafted sentences, using specific references to the text and direct quotations where needed. These questions are intended to enrich your reading experience. Be prepared to discuss them in class.

Part I

  1. How would you describe Marlow? His companions on the Nellie?
  2. Of the Europeans we meet in Part I, are any portrayed favorably? In what way? What are the faults of those who are not?
  3. What view of the “savages” do we get from Part I?
  4. Can we take Marlow to be an impartial, objective narrator? A truthful one? Explain.
  5. How would you describe Kurtz based on what Marlow says in Part I?
  6. Light and dark images abound. List as many as you can find throughout this section. How might this be related to the title?
  7. How would you describe Conrad’s style of writing? Do you find it effective?

Part Two

  1. You can find several references to the title in this section. Note the pages, copy the passages, and explain them.
  2. How do you interpret Marlow’s remarks about “the women”?
  3. Explain Marlow’s self-discovered connection to primitive men.
  4. Discuss what Marlow might mean when he says it’s important to have “a deliberate belief.”
  5. Explain the importance of restraint in this chapter.
  6. How much credibility do you attach to the remarks of the Russian harlequin? Why?
  7. How does the picture we get of Kurtz change with the addition of Part II?

Part Three

  1. What does Kurtz mean when he utters his final words, “The horror!” Back up your opinion with details from the text.
  2. How does the picture we get of Kurtz change with the addition of Part III?
  3. If you had to select three words that have special meaning in this work, what would they be? What significance do you attach to these words?
  4. What does Heart of Darkness suggest about society? Do you agree?
  5. Has Marlow changed at all by telling his story? How would you describe him at the end of the novel?
  6. Look at the very last passage. What feeling are you left with? What final thought do you think Conrad intends to leave with his reader?

Your teacher will collect and check your written notes, connections to Foster’s book, and answers to the above questionsfor Heart of Darknesswhen you return to school on Day 2. Again, please expect a challenging quiz on this work.

WilliamTennentHigh SchoolAP Literature and Composition 1

Summer Assignment

Acquiring the Books

Owning your personal copy of each book is the best option so that you can write in the book. Plus, if you need to have this book for an extended period of time, you will not have to pay late fines or fees. Copies can be ordered from Their prices are discounted and significantly cheaper than other places. However, if owning the book is not an option for you, then please take time to find the book at one of our local libraries, including BucksCountyCommunity College. Be sure you have excellent notes in your journal if you have to return this library book before school starts.