Assignment: Understanding Allusions

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Baldric Barber
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1 10 ENGLISH CCP Flex Course #120 Summer Reading Assignment Due: Tuesday, September 2, 2014 All 10 th grade CCP Flex students will read the novel, Paper Towns, by John Green, over the summer. This book will be the first full unit of the 10 th Grade Curriculum. Students will be assessed with an open-ended response that will require specific details from the text during the first full week of school. This assessment is worth a unit test grade. Students should also complete the following summer reading assignment to be submitted the first full day of classes. You may find a copy of the novel here: Assignment: Understanding Allusions In John Green s Paper Towns, many allusions are included in the text to help the reader get a better understanding of the complex ideas (themes) represented in the novel. Some, but not all of the allusions from Paper Towns are: 1. Walt Whitman and Leaves of Grass 6. Emily Dickinson 2. J.D. Salinger s The Catcher in the Rye (Holden Caulfield) 7. T.S. Eliot 3. Woody Guthrie and Walt Whitman s Niece 8. Vinyl Records 4. Herman Melville s Moby Dick (Ahab) 9. Orlando, Florida 5. Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom & Sea World 10. Agloe, New York Choose 1 Allusion from the list and do the following: 1. Research the allusion on the internet and record all the information you find about it. Type all the info you ve found. 2. In a typed paragraph, explain how this allusion enhances our understanding of the novel. That is... a. What or who in the novel is the allusion connected to? How does your new understanding of the allusion enhance your understanding of the novel? 3. Print both Part 1 and Part 2 and bring them to school on Tuesday, Sept 2 nd.

2 Understanding Allusions: Because allusions make reference to something other than what is directly being discussed, you may miss an allusion or fail to understand it if you do not know the underlying biblical story, literary tale or other reference point. Fortunately, today it is easy to look these things up so when someone references something you do not understand, you can easily turn to the Internet to learn enough to grasp the allusion for yourself. (Which is what you are going to do!!!) An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to a place, person, literary event, historical event, myth, work of art, etc. This can be real or imaginary and may refer to anything, including paintings, opera, folklore, mythical figures, or religious manuscripts. The reference can be direct or may be inferred, and can broaden the reader s understanding. Allusion can help a writer: Engage the reader and will often help the reader remember the message or theme of the passage. To give an example or get a point across without going into a lengthy discourse. Examples of Allusions: I was surprised his nose was not growing like Pinocchio s. This refers to the story of Pinocchio, where his nose grew whenever he told a lie. He was a real Romeo with the ladies. Romeo was a character in Shakespeare s play, Romeo and Juliet, and was very romantic in expressing his love for Juliet. Examples of Biblical Allusions: (A biblical allusion is an allusion from the Bible) He was a Good Samaritan yesterday when he helped the lady start her car. This refers to the biblical story of the Good Samaritan. You are a Solomon when it comes to making decisions. This refers to King Solomon, who was very wise.

3 Optional Readings Below is a list of novels that are recommended for early high school students. These are NOT required readings for the course; however, if you are interested in reading additional novels this summer, these may interest you. Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (this is the first book in a series of three) 10 th Grade: A Novel by Joe Wiesberg My Losing Season: A Memoir by Pat Conroy Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson Extra Credit Assignment: After reading Paper Towns, construct your own book review/ blog review of the novel. Did you like it? Why or what not? What can readers expect? What are the best and worst parts of it? Type it out on a separate page and attach it to your assignment. Sample Book Review: Paper Towns by John Green This book baffles me, and I ll tell you why: As a writer, I have a dream. A goal that I set for myself, a goal that I want so badly to accomplish, with everything inside of me. That dream is to use my words to change my readers and to change myself. I, as a writer, want to be different. To write something different- something huge- something revolutionarysomething that will make you stop reading for just a moment because your head explodes. I want to give you a whole new perspective to the world and to people. John Green does just that. I ve been a John Green fan since before I ever read any of his books. I knew he was awesome ever since I started watching Crash Course with John and his brother, Hank. I knew that I would be in for a treat when I picked up this book. What I did not know was that I would be awake until 4:00 am so that I could finish it in one sitting. I seriously read the first paragraph of the prologue -stopped to say whoa - and knew that I would not be putting this book down until I had read every page. John Green has a writing style that is perfect for this type of young adult novel. His words are not overly formal or overly informal- they are exactly the words that his characters would use, and I like that. He weaves

4 characters that are believable, stunning, and piercingly real. He pulls you into the story and emotions, and you come out a different person. How does he do it? John Green makes you question everything you knew about life. He understands that nobody can truly understand people, and he provides a million new ways to look at the people you ve never known. Ladies and gentlemen, I am so happy to say that I have learned as I ve read Paper Towns. I have learned that I will never fully understand my best friends, just as they will never fully understand me. I have learned that sometimes fake things seem real and real things seem fake. I learned that the future is made up of a million right nows. I have learned that sometimes we will be fed up with the way people are- but we can t expect them to be who we want them to be. They are who they are, and we love them anyway because we have a million and one problems ourselves. The only way to understand what an amazing journey Paper Towns is would be to go on the journey yourself. And I seriously recommend that you read this book. You won t regret it. You will laugh out loud for a few minutes at a time. You ll probably learn something from it. If you re anything like me, you ll love it. Optional Assignment: Graphic Organizer While this assignment is completely optional, jotting notes about each chapter will help you remember what you ve already read. This chart may help you on the reading assessment in September. Chapters Summary of Events

5 Chapters Summary of Events Part 3 Agloe

The Catcher in the Rye By J.D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye By J.D. Salinger NAME Volta 11CCP PACKET 2 Common Core Standards for Reading Literature: Key Ideas and Details: 2. Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze