English 3 Summer Reading Packet Items to Complete: Watch overview video: https://youtu.be/jimyqe8xclg Read What is the American Dream (below) Read The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams and The Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry Complete the Ecclesiastes worksheet (Section 3) Write a paper explaining the American Dreams of the main characters (see rubric). Due Monday, August 27, as a test grade. Study Essential Literary Terms - These will be tested on early in the 1st quarter. Section 1: What is the American Dream (loc.gov) James Truslow Adams, in his book The Epic of America, which was written in 1931, stated that the American dream is "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position." (p.214-215) The authors of the United States Declaration of Independence held certain truths to be self-evident: that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." Might this sentiment be considered the foundation of the American Dream? Were homesteaders who left the big cities of the east to find happiness and their piece of land in the unknown wilderness pursuing these inalienable Rights? Were the immigrants who came to the United States looking for their bit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, their Dream? And what did the desire of the veteran of World War II - to settle down, to have a home, a car and a family - tell us about this evolving Dream? Is the American Dream attainable by all Americans? Some say, that the American Dream has become the pursuit of material prosperity - that people work more hours to get bigger cars, fancier homes, the fruits of prosperity for their families - but have less time to enjoy their prosperity. Others say that the American Dream is beyond the grasp of the working poor who must work two jobs to insure their family s survival. Yet others look toward a new American Dream with less focus on financial gain and more emphasis on living a simple, fulfilling life. Thomas Wolfe said, " to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining, golden opportunity.the right to live, to work, to be himself, and to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine to make him." Section 2: Read the Works These selections are plays and are meant to be watched as well as read. Feel free to watch them while you follow along in the books. You will need to have a copy of the books though because you ll use them to write your paper.
Section 3: Ecclesiastes The author of Ecclesiastes is probably Solomon, the son of king David. Whoever is the writer, he has experienced life from every advantage. He s evidently rich, and discusses the different types of lifestyles with which he has experimented. As he discusses these experiences, he uses rhetorical questions to make points about what he has learned. What is the function of a rhetorical question? (See what I did there?) Writers employ rhetorical questions for rhetorical effects and we cannot easily quantify the impact rendered by a rhetorical question. The idea becomes all the more powerful, and our interest is aroused to continue to read and enjoy the technical and aesthetic beauty that a rhetorical question generates. Moreover, it is a requirement in persuasive speeches (literarydevices.net). To determine his perspectives, find the question asked in each verse and explain the effect that it has on the meaning of text. You can determine its effect by asking questions like what does that question make the reader think about? or does the author answer it himself?. You may use the Bible version of your choice. Rhetorical Question Example: Ecc. 1:3 What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? Meaning Example: He s making a point that work always has to be redone. There is nothing new under the sun. People work so hard only for it to be done again. Ecc. 2:2 Ecc 2:12 Ecc. 2:15 Ecc. 2:25
Ecc. 4:8 Ecc. 5:6 Ecc. 6:6 Ecc. 6:8 Ecc. 7:13 What is the author s conclusion about life found in Ecc. 12:13-14?
Section 4: The Paper Discuss the American Dreams of the main characters in each of the plays (Beneatha, Walter, Mama, Tom, Amanda, Laura). Use examples from the plays to prove your point. Be sure to explain what the American Dream is in the introduction and what the writer of Ecclesiastes would think of the American Dream in the conclusion. The paper should be in MLA format, complete with a works cited page. 5-paragraphs minimum. Introduction Thesis Main Body/Point Paragraphs Textual Evidence for Main Point #1 Textual Evidence for Main Point #2 Textual Evidence for Main Point #3 Transitions Grammar Syntax Conclusion 4 3 2 1 (a)has substantial amount of sentences, (b)introduces topic, (c)catches attention (a) Is clearly stated, (b) is located in the introduction, (c) states purpose (a)have substantial amount of sentences, (b)have topic sentence, (c)have logical support (d)are related to the thesis (a)supports the main point (b) is punctuated correctly (c) is cited correctly (a)supports the main point (b) is punctuated correctly (c) is cited correctly (a)supports the main point (b) is punctuated correctly (c) is cited correctly Logical transitions occur (a) between paragraphs (b) between sentences Has a few errors, but does not demonstrate a recurring error in grammar (a)sentence structure varies, (b) word choice varies (c) appropriate vocabulary (a) restates thesis, (b) leaves reader with something to think about, (c) ends strongly Has a recurring error: Lacks both qualifications Has 2 recurring errors: Lacks all of the qualifications Lacks all three of the qualifications. Lacks three of the Lacks all three of the qualifications. Lacks all three of the qualifications. Lacks all three of the qualifications. Has 3 recurring errors: Lacks all of the qualifications Lacks all of the qualifications MLA Format Paper is in MLA format mostly Some Little Total
Section 5: Essential Literary Terms Knowing these terms is essential to a having a successful school year in English 3. You will see these many times and be expected to write about them and to speak knowledgeably about them. You will also be tested on these within the first quarter. 1. Alliteration-repetition of beginning consonant sounds in words that are close together 2. Allusion-a reference to something in another work of literature, the Bible, or history 3. Analogy-comparison of two things to show that they are alike in certain respects; for example, people often draw an analogy between creating a work of art and giving birth to a child. 4. Antagonist-character that opposes the protagonist, or main character, in a narrative 5. Archetype- a model or pattern (usually for characters or plots) 6. Ballad-a songlike poem that tells a story 7. Biography-account of a person's life written by another person 8. Blank verse-poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter; iambic means a metric foot (a stressed and an unstressed syllable); pentameter means five metric feet per line 9. Character - an individual in a story 10. Cliché-an expression that has become overused and no longer is effective 11. Climax - the point of greatest emotional intensity in a plot 12. Denouement - t he final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved 13. Epic- a long narrative poem that related the deeds of a larger-than-life hero 14. Essay - a short piece of nonfiction prose that examines a single subject from a limited point of view 15. Exposition - the part of a play or work of fiction in which the background to the main conflict is introduced 16. Falling action - the part of a literary plot that occurs after the climax has been reached and the conflict has been resolved 17. Foreshadowing - the use of clues to hint at what is going to happen later in the plot 18. Free verse - poetry that has no regular meter or rhyme scheme 19. Historical fiction-narrative with a historical setting and some historical characters, but the plot is fictionalized 20. Hyperbole-exaggeration for effect 21. Iambic pentameter - a common meter in poetry consisting of an unrhymed line with five feet or accents, each foot containing an unaccented syllable and an accented syllable 22. Imagery - language that appeals to the senses 23. Irony - contrast between what is expected and what happens a. verbal irony-saying the opposite of what is really meant b. situational irony-the opposite of what is expected is what happens c. dramatic irony-the reader knows something that the characters (or only one character) knows 24. Legend- story handed down for generations and popularly believed to have some historical basis 25. Lyric poetry- poetry that focuses on expressing emotions or thoughts, rather than telling a story 26. Metaphor - figure of speech comparing two seemingly unlike things without using like or as 27. Meter-a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry 28. Narrative- type of writing that tells a story 29. Onomatopoeia-use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning 30. Oxymoron - fìgure of speech that combines apparently contradictory ideas; for example, cruel kindness 31. Parable - a short, allegorical story that teaches a moral or religious lesson about life 32. Personification -giving human characteristics to a nonhuman thing or quality
33. Plot -series of related events that make up a story or drama 34. Point of vìew-the vantage point from which a writer tells a story; a. first person POV -the narrator ís a character in the story b. third person objective POV -the narrator is outside the story,telling the events seen and heard without any feelings or thoughts "being expressed c. third person limited POV -the narrator is outside the story and can express the thoughts and feelings of only one character d. third person omniscient POV -the narrator is outside the story and conveys the thoughts and feelings of all characters 35. Protagonist - the main character in fiction, drama, or narrative poetry 36. Rising action - a related series of incidents in a literary plot that build toward the point of greatest interest 37. Rhyme - similarity between syllable sounds at the end of two or more lines 38. Setting - the time and place of a story or play 39. Simile- figure of speech that makes a comparison between two seemingly unlike things by using a connective word such as like or as 40. Soliloquy - a long speech in which a character who is usually alone onstage expresses his or her private thoughts or feelings 41. Sonnet - a fourteen-line lyric poem, usually written in iambic pentameter that has a definite rhyme scheme 42. stanza - a group of consecutive lines in a poem that form a single stanza 43. Style - the manner in which writers or speakers say what they wish to say 44. Symbol - a person, place, thing, or event that stands both for itself and for something beyond itself 45. Theme - a central idea or insight in a work of literature 46. Tone - the attitude a writer takes toward a reader, subject, or a character; for example, sarcastic, foreboding, inspiring