Advanced Placement Literature & Composition:
Summer Reading List & Assignments
Noah Tonk – tonkn@vail.k12.az.us
www.mrtonk.com
Overview
For the summer assignment, to be completed prior to the start of the first quarter, students must complete the following tasks:
q Initial and sign the course contract. Return to Mr. Tonk by May 21.
q Enroll in the class Turnitin.com page. Class ID: 2277608. Password: tonkap. Due by June 1.
q Complete in full the Mr. Tonk.com Scavenger Hunt. Due by June 1.
q Read How to Read Literature Like a Professor, by Thomas Foster
q Read Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
q Online commentary on Life of Pi – Due July 2 & July 9, Turnitin.com, by 8 AM.
q Life of Pi literary analysis – Due July 14, Turnitin.com, by 8:00 AM.
q Literary Terms Collection – Bring a hard copy to class on the first day (July 18).
Instructions for Written Assignments
1. Read How to Read Literature Like a Professor and Life of Pi.
The school does not supply these texts; rather, they must be purchased by the student or obtained from the public library. I recommend purchasing them, as they may be needed for an extended period of time and I encourage you to write notes throughout the pages of the text. Furthermore, you will need these works during the first two weeks IN CLASS, so it might be nice to have your own copy. On the first day of school, you should be prepared to demonstrate your knowledge of these texts. I expect that students will have read them carefully and have discovered stunning parallels and contrasts.
Once you have commandeered the titles, you will need to carefully read through your text, noting pithy quotations (look up pithy if you don’t know what it means!), important moments, and literary details. As you read, I would like you to annotate the text Adler-style (or thereabouts…see http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/adler.html for details). Look for things that you like or that puzzle you, disturb you or resonate with you; find sentences that ring in your ears and beg to be read out loud. Mark them. Ask questions in the margins; underline things that interest you. Read your novel with a highlighter in hand, and jot notes and questions in the margins. Use post-its if necessary but create a running response log where you share some of your emotional, critical responses to the book. Don’t forget to enjoy the book.
2. Life of Pi literary analysis
Write a detailed, typed literary analysis of Life of Pi. This analysis must include the following components, and I would be surprised if it did not fall in the 8-10 page range:
· A summary of the novel that is approximately 250 words long and does not give away the end of the novel. This summary must begin or end with a statement of theme. Please remember that thematic statements must be expressed in independent clauses: "The theme of Macbeth is that appearances are deceptive," NOT "The theme of Macbeth has to do with deception." See the difference? One is clear and the other is vague. What might the author be telling us about the nature of youth, choice, family, nation, war, violence, storytelling, truth, or other topics that are raised in the novel?
· How to Read Literature Like a Professor Journal. Keep a log of items you see in Life of Pi that correspond to concepts in at least ten of the chapters in HTRLLAP. We will be using this text a great deal next year, and I think you’ll find it quite useful. You don’t have to do anything else, but you will be expected to be able to explain the relevance of each quote to the concepts in the corresponding chapter when you return to school.
· Important quotations from the novel. I expect a minimum of 15 quotes that contain rich imagery, sound great when read aloud, or contain moments crucial to the plot or development of the theme. Each quotation should include a brief statement regarding why it was chosen.
· A thoughtful response to one of the three following prompts, using frequent and varied references to Life of Pi as support:
o One definition of madness is “mental delusion or eccentric behavior arising from it.” But Emily Dickinson wrote that “Much madness is divinest Sense – To a discerning eye –“. Novelists and playwrights have often seen madness with a “discerning Eye.” Select a novel or play in which a character’s apparent madness or irrational behavior plays an important role. Then write a short, well-organized essay in which you explain what this delusion or eccentric behavior consists of and how it might be judged reasonable. Explain the significance of the “madness” to the work as a whole.
o The British novelist Fay Weldon offers this observation about happy endings: “The writers, I do believe, who get the best and most lasting response from readers are the writers who offer a happy ending through moral development. By a happy ending, I do not mean mere fortunate events~~a marriage or a last-minute rescue from death~~but some kind of spiritual assessment or moral reconciliation, even with the self, even at death." In a short, well-written essay, identify the “spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation” evident in the ending and explain its significance in the work as a whole.
o In questioning the value of literary realism, Flannery O’Connor has written, “I am interested in making a good case for distortion because I’m coming to believe that is the only way to make people see.” Write a short essay in which you make a good case for distortion in the novel.
3. Online Life of Pi commentary
Post one thoughtful comment regarding your insights into the plot, character relationships, tone, theme, or other elements of Life of Pi on the Turnitin.com discussion board for AP English Literature. Your comment must focus on how the idea you have identified in the text contributes to the understanding of the reader. In addition, you are required to thoughtfully respond to and critique comments by two other students. Your original comments must be online by July 2; your responses must be online by July 9 .
4. Literary Terms Collection
You must write the literary definition of each of the terms on the list below. Items with an asterisk* must also include an example from literature or film of the technique or device, and a brief explanation of how that technique or device is used.
Example: Imagery*
Definition: the representation of any sense experience. Imagery does not consist merely of "mental pictures," but may make an appeal to any of the senses.
*Passage from The Natural: "He saw the ball spin off Roy’s fingertips and it reminded him of a white pigeon he had kept as a boy, that he would send into flight by flipping it into the air. The ball flew at him and he was conscious of its bird-form and flapping wings until it suddenly disappeared from view. He heard a noise like the bang of a firecracker at his feet and Sam had the ball in this mitt."
*Explanation: The author appeals to the reader’s visual and aural senses in this passage. The reader sees the ball, spinning, moving fast, and flipping into the air like a bird (bird imagery). From the last sentence, the reader hears the loud noise the ball makes as it hits Sam’s glove.
Anagnorisis
Allegory
Alliteration
Allusion*
Ambiguity
Antagonist
Antecedent
Antihero
Apostrophe*
Archetype
Assonance
Attitude
Ballad
Beast fable
Bildungsroman
Blank verse
Cacophony
Catharsis
Clause
Connotation*
Consonance
Convention
Denotation
Deus ex machina*
Diction
Didactic
Digression
Discordance
Ellipsis
End-stopped
Epigram
Euphemism*
Euphony
Figurative language
Free verse
Grotesque
Heroic couplet
Hyperbole*
Imagery*
Imperative
Internal rhyme
Irony*
Jargon
Literal
Lyrical
Metaphor*
Narrative
Omniscient
Onomatopoeia*
Oxymoron*
Parable
Paradox*
Parallel structure
Parody
Periodic sentence
Personification*
Point of view
Reliability
Protagonist
Rhyme
Rhyme royal
Satire
Setting
Simile
Soliloquy
Sonnet
Stanza
Stereotype
Structure
Style
Syllogism
Symbol*
Syntax
Theme
Tone*
Online Resources
As the summer progresses, I will post various items related to AP Lit on www.MrTonk.com. I encourage you to check the site on a weekly basis, at a minimum. The complete reading list for the year will be posted on this site by early June at the latest. Use it to get a head start, if you’re that kind of person. You can use the links on MrTonk.com to contact me if you need assistance, as well. You are required to enroll in the AP Lit account on Turnitin.com by June 1. If you already have an account with Turnitin, please add class ID 2277608, with the password “tonkap”. I strongly encourage you to use the online discussion board on AP Lit’s Turnitin page to share your thoughts and questions with other students in the class during the summer – beyond what is required. Some of the most profound insights people have are facilitated through discussion with others – use this online resource to your benefit. I will be monitoring and responding to these discussions as well.
Good luck!