Benjamin Banneker Academic High School

AP English Literature & Composition/Honors English IV

Summer Reading Assignment

2019-2020 School Year

Ms. Williams iyashia.williams@k12.dc.gov

Ms. Morris marcia.morris@k12.dc.gov

Welcome to your senior year of English Literature. Your teachers are excited to lead you on this

reading adventure as you complete college level assignments while working toward the

conclusion of your high school career. The skills you will learn in this class including close

reading and literary analysis are skills that will serve you well over the course of your lifetime.

The demands of the AP English Literature and Composition course as well as the Honors

English IV course are such that we must use the summer months to jumpstart our study of

literature. The goal is to help you become better readers, writers, and thinkers. We would like for

you to venture outside of your comfort zone and find a novel or play that excites you and commit

to reading it well.

We will also be reading lots of poetry. To get us started, use the selected poems and annotate

(mark text extensively) as well as complete the attached SOAPSTone for each poem in order to

practice and increase skills in the use of language and the development of writing styles. In your

annotations, consider such literary devices as tone, imagery, diction, metaphor, and selection of

detail.

You will read the following 3 books:

1. Kindred by Octavia Butler;

2. How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster; and

3. An independent novel of your choosing from the list provided.

- During and after your reading of Kindred, you will record the important aspects of the novel

using the attached Majors Works Data Sheet.

- After you have read, How to Read Literature Like a Professor, you will choose one chapter to

prepare for an in-class Book Talk on your “independent novel” at the start of the school year.

Book Talks helps you to recognize how expert readers use patterns to help create meaning.

- In preparation for your Book Talk, each person will formulate an open-ended question that

connects to their chosen chapter from How to Read Literature Like a Professor (HTRLLAP). He

or she will then articulate a response to the question on the floor by discussing the independent

novel.

- Students will engage in a roundtable discussion that focuses on 1 question at a time. Each person

should begin the discussion by:

A. Posing the question,

B. Identifying the text and author,

C. Identifying the passage or incident from text that responds to the question,

D. Discussing the text in relation the chapter from HTRLLAP, providing insight and

analysis,

E. And Ending with something profound–something that connects the meaning of the text.

- Choose a text of literary merit from the list provided, read it and record the important

aspects of the novel using the attached Majors Works Data Sheet.

Kindred

1A) Prose Analysis - Complete the attached Major Works Data Sheet for Kindred (use the

accompanying rubric for guidance). Due: 8/26/19 - No late work will be accepted. This will be

your first graded assignment; start the year off strong.

IB) In-class Essay: Upon your return, during the first week of school, you will be given a

written assessment on Kindred. I will announce from which of the following prompts you will

write on the day of the assessment.

a. Some works of literature use the element of time in a distinct way. The chronological

sequence of events may be altered, or time may be suspended or accelerated. Choose a novel, an

epic, or a play of recognized literary merit and show how the author’s manipulation of time

contributes to the effectiveness of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

b. In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake. Choose a work of literary

merit that confronts the reader or audience with a scene or scenes of violence. In a well-

organized essay, explain how the scene or scenes contribute to the meaning of the complete

work. Avoid plot summary.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor & Independent Novel

1C) Independent novel Prose Analysis - Complete the attached Major Works Data Sheet (use

the accompanying rubric for guidance). Due: Monday September 9, 2019 - No late work will be

accepted.

1D) Book-Talk – Book Talks will be scheduled upon your return, during the first week of

school.

Adichie, Chimamanda: Americanah

Alexie, Sherman: Reservation Blues

Allende, Isabel: Daughter of Fortune

Alvarez, Julia: In the Time of the Butterflies

Atwood, Margaret: The Handmaid’s Tale

Austen, Jane: Emma

Bronte, Charlotte: Jane Eyre

Bronte, Emily: Wuthering Heights

Camus, Albert: The Stranger

Conrad, Joseph: Heart of Darkness

Danticat, Edwidge: The Farming of the Bones

Lehane, Dennis: Mystic River

McCarthy, Cormac: The Road

McEwan, Ian: Atonement

McMillan, Terry: Mama

Melville, Herman: Billy Budd

Morrison, Toni: Sula

Naylor. Gloria: The Women of

Brewster Place

Paton, Alan: Cry the Beloved Country

Phillips, Delores C: The Darkest Child

Rand, Ayn: Anthem

Diaz, Junot: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar

Woo

Dickens, Charles: David Copperfield

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor: Crime and Punishment

Dumas, Alexandre: The Count of Monte Cristo

Edwards, Kim: The Memory Keeper’s

Daughter

Ellison, Ralph: Invisible Man (English IV

only)

Eliot, George: Middlemarch

Esquivel, Laura: Like Water for Chocolate

Faulkner, William: As I Lay Dying

Gaines, Ernest J.: The Gathering of Old Men

Garcia-Marquez, Gabriel: Love in the Time of

Cholera

Haddon, Mark: The Curious Incident of the

Dog in the Night Time

Hardy, Thomas: Jude, the Obscure

Heller, Joseph: Catch-22

Hemingway, Ernest: The Sun Also Rises

Hosseini, Khaled: A Thousand Splendid Suns

Hugo, Victor: The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Ibsen, Henrik: A Doll’s House

Ishiguro, Kazuo: Never Let Me Go

James, Henry: The Portrait of a Lady

Jen, Gish: Typical American

Kingsolver, Barbara: The Poisonwood Bible

Knowles, John: A Separate Peace

Silko, Leslie Marmon: Ceremony

Smith, Zadie: On Beauty

Steinbeck, John: The Grapes of Wrath

Tan, Amy: The Joy Luck Club

Tolstoy, Leo: The Death of Ivan Ilyich

Walker, Alice: The Color Purple

Ward, Jesmyn: Salvage the Bones

Warren, Robert Penn: All the King’s Men

Wharton, Edith: The Age of Innocence

Whitehead, Colson: Underground Railroad

Wilde, Oscar: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Williams, Tennessee: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Wilson, August: The Piano Lesson

Woolf, Virginia: Mrs. Dalloway

Wright, Richard: Native Son

2) Poetry Annotation & Analysis

Read and Annotate each of the three poems included in this packet. Next, select 1 (one)

poem and use it to complete the SOAPStone Graphic Organizer.

Poetry Overview (Excerpt from Perrine’s Literature)

Reading poetry

Read slowly, carefully, and attentively  

Read the poem all the way through on the first read—let yourself experience the poem as

a whole  

Use the punctuation—pause where the poet wants you to pause—at commas—and stop at

periods rather than at the end of each line  

Read aloud

Good poems yield more if read twice and the best poems after ten, twenty or a hundred readings!

— so on your second read:  

Look up any words that you do not know—keep a dictionary handy.   

Look up any allusions that might be obvious.

Any sentence or line that is not in normal word order, place it in normal word order

Paraphrase the poem as a whole and sections that are difficult

At times, you may not have access or permission to use a dictionary or have the ability to

look up allusions. When this is the case, use context clues, or simply work around

that particular word. It is not necessary to understand every word in every line of poetry.

Poetic Devices in Annotating Poetry:

Figurative language: metaphor, simile, personification, apostrophe, hyperbole  

Imagery: words and/or phrases which have sensory appeal: sound, smell, taste, touch,

sight

Diction: euphonious, cacophonous, concrete, vivid direct words, abstract words,

denotation and connotation of words  

Sound devices: alliteration, onomatopoeia  

Symbols, motif and allusions: figure out the meaning  

Tone: ironic, sarcastic,

Notice shifts: what is the change and how is it developed--ask why  

Structure of the poem: lines, stanzas, punctuation and syntax—ask why

SOAPSTone Document Analysis

The SOAPSTone Document Analysis allows students to trace an examination of a document

using the components listed. Remember, all components of this approach MUST be supported

from the text and MUST be backed up by the words from the text.

S Who is the Speaker? Who do you believe to be the speaker of this piece? What assumptions

can you make about the speaker? (i.e. age, gender, race, religion, class, emotional state, etc.) Do

not confuse the speaker with the poet. You must be able to cite evidence from the text that

supports your answer.

O  What is the Occasion?  In other words, the time and place of the piece. What is the context of

the piece? When and/or where is the poem taking place? Is it a memory, a description, an

observation, a valedictory, an argument, etc.? What may have prompted the author to write this

piece? What event(s) may have led to its publication or development? How important might

any of this be to the text? You must be able to cite evidence from the text that supports your

answer.

A  Who is the Audience? The audience refers to the group of readers to whom the piece is

directed. The audience may be one person, a small group or a large group; it may be a certain

person or a certain people. What assumptions can you make about the audience? Is it a

particular race/group/gender? Does the speaker use language that is specific to any particular

audience? You must be able to cite evidence from the text that supports your answer.

P  What is the Purpose?  In other words, what is the reason behind the text? In what ways does

the speaker convey this message? How does the speaker attempt to spark a reaction in the

audience? How is the poem supposed to make the reader feel? You must be able to cite

evidence from the text that supports your answer.

S  What is the Subject? What is the subject of the document? The general topic, content, and

ideas contained in the text (theme)? What does the poet want readers to consider or

understand? You must be able to cite evidence from the text that supports your answer.

TONE: What is the attitude of the author towards the subject? Tone is created with diction,

details, imagery, and syntax. Is there a shift in tone? At what point? Why? What does this

accomplish?

SOAPSTone

Directions: Complete this graphic organizer for your selected poem. All responses

should be written in complete sentences.

Speaker

Occasion

Audience

Purpose

Subject

Tone

Major Works Data Sheet

Title:

Author:

Date of Publication:

Genre:

Biographical Information about the Author:

Historical Information:

Characteristics of the Genre:

Plot Summary:

Identify the Author’s Style:

Provide an example that demonstrates the style:

Memorable Quotes

Quotes:

Significance of each Quote:

Characters

Name Role in Story Significance Adjectives

Setting Significance of Opening Scene

Significance of Ending or Closing Scene

Symbols Meaning of Symbols

Possible Themes

Name: ___________________ Major Works Data Sheet Rubric

Title: ________________________________

Box Criteria Possible

Points

Actual

Points

Title (1), Author(1),

Pub. Date(1), Genre(2)

Lists all correctly; Genre label is standard and

appropriate

5

Historical Information

about Period of

Publication or Setting

Discusses world events which may be relevant to

the purpose or meaning of the work.

5

Author Biography

Succinct summary of the main conventionally

accepted facts, including dates and places.

5

Genre Characteristics Gives appropriate reason why text belongs to genre

in box 1, referencing conventional definition of the

genre. Alternatively, may list 3 or more important

features of the genre.

5

Plot Summary Has key events from the text, including significant

events referenced; includes significant plot points;

not just a list. Paragraph format—max. two

paragraphs

20

Author’s Style Mentions prominent literary techniques

5 total

10

Style Example Gives a specific quotation or describes a specific

passage which accurately represents the technique(s)

listed in “Author’s Style.”

5 total

10

Memorable Quotes 5 quotes of a sentence or more with page or

act/scene/line #s (5x2.5). Significance is related to

meaning or effect of the work as a whole (5x2.5).

Cite using MLA

25

Characters All major or important are listed; role is in terms of

social or human type or archetype; significance is

related to meaning or effect of the work as a whole.

Three adjectives to describe each.

40

Setting Accurate identification and description of all major

settings with their significance

20

Symbols Accurate identification and description of major

symbols with their significance

20

Significance of Opening Goes beyond summary to significance to the

meaning or effect of the work as a whole.

10

Significance of Ending Goes beyond summary to significance to the

meaning or effect of the work as a whole.

10

Themes Three or more themes are phrased as statements

rather than simply topics.

Must be expressed as a sentence or general

statement about the human condition.

15

TOTAL 200

Poetry Option A

Dulce et Decorum Est

Wilfred Owens (1920)

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,

Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,

Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,

And towards our distant rest began to trudge.

Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,

But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;

Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots

Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.

Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling

Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,

But someone still was yelling out and stumbling

And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.—

Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,

As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams before my helpless sight,

He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace

Behind the wagon that we flung him in,

And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,

His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;

If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood

Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,

Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud

Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—

My friend, you would not tell with such high zest

To children ardent for some desperate glory,

The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est

Pro patria mori.

Note: Latin phrase is from the Roman poet Horace: “It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s

country.”

Poetry Option B

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

By Dylan Thomas (1951)

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on that sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Poetry Option C

Out, Out

Robert Frost (1916)

1 The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard

2 And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood,

3 Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it.

4 And from there those that lifted eyes could count

5 Five mountain ranges one behind the other

6 Under the sunset far into Vermont.

7 And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled,

8 As it ran light, or had to bear a load.

9 And nothing happened: day was all but done.

10 Call it a day, I wish they might have said

11 To please the boy by giving him the half hour

12 That a boy counts so much when saved from work.

13 His sister stood beside him in her apron

14 To tell them ‘Supper.’ At the word, the saw,

15 As if to prove saws knew what supper meant,

16 Leaped out at the boy’s hand, or seemed to leap—

17 He must have given the hand. However it was,

18 Neither refused the meeting. But the hand!

19 The boy’s first outcry was a rueful laugh,

20 As he swung toward them holding up the hand

21 Half in appeal, but half as if to keep

22 The life from spilling. Then the boy saw all—

23 Since he was old enough to know, big boy

24 Doing a man’s work, though a child at heart—

25 He saw all spoiled. ‘Don’t let him cut my hand off—

26 The doctor, when he comes. Don’t let him, sister!’

27 So. But the hand was gone already.

28 The doctor put him in the dark of ether.

29 He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath.

30 And then—the watcher at his pulse took fright.

31 No one believed. They listened at his heart.

32 Little—less—nothing!—and that ended it.

33 No more to build on there. And they, since they

34 Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.

*This is an intentional single stanza poem, numbered here for your convenience.