AP Literature & Composition Independent Reading Assignment Rationale: In order to broaden your repertoire of texts, you will be reading two books or plays of your choosing this year. Each assignment counts as 15% of your semester grade. You are to select a novel from the list provided and turn in a permission slip signed by your guardians. Do not procrastinate! A note on the quality of your work: One observation from AP exam readers is that students are not able to wrestle with complex texts. I don t think your ability is lacking, rather, I think it is the desire or the willingness to read hard texts and think deeply about them that is missing. It requires discipline to train yourself to read complex texts, but is worth it, not only for the AP tests, but also for college and beyond. Mrs. Honeycutt must approve all books in advance; no last minute (less than three weeks) book changes are permitted. What to read? You should choose something you will be interested in. Interested does not mean that the task will be fun in the usual sense. In fact, it may be, and should be challenging, but doing well and succeeding at something hard can be fun. Please choose from a separate list of authors and titles. Assignment You are required to read and respond to two novels this year. The AP Literature & Composition exam is based heavily on your personal knowledge of outside literature of merit; therefore, it is important to have a personal selection of classic literature that you are intimately familiar with and may rely on when taking the exam. It is for this reason that Mrs. Honeycutt must approve your novels in advance, to assure you are reading literature of college merit. Independent Reading due Dates* #1 December 2, 2016 @ 11:59 p.m. #2 - April 13, 2017 @ 11:59 p.m. * These are both evening due dates. If you miss the submission deadline online, your paper will NOT be accepted late. No excuses, no exceptions. Plan ahead. * You are getting this assignment five months to one year in advance; your lack of planning with this much advance notice means Mrs. Honeycutt will NOT be accepting late IRP s (extreme emergencies to be considered on a case by case basis). Plan ahead. Your Task: 1. Read a book 2. Complete 3 areas from the Novel Analysis Outline 3. Write 1 essay
Novel Analysis Outline As part of your IRP you must pick three (3) of the sections from below and complete them fully. I. First Reactions A. Immediately after finishing the novel, write your reactions. B. Try to relate the action or outcome of the story to your own life or reading experience. 1. Did you see yourself? 2. Did you learn a lesson? 3. Did you remember something from your past that you had forgotten? 4. Were you inspired? If so, how? 5. What did you learn that you didn t know before? II. Plot and Other Mechanics A. Setting 1. Time, place, situation. 2. Actual geographic location (you may include a map here.) 3. Time period, history or season (as appropriate) in which the action takes place. 4. General environment of the characters (for example, the religious, mental, moral, social and/or economic conditions.) B. Character List the major characters and include the following for each: 1. Conflicts (internal or external) that motivate and shape the character. 2. 2 or 3 words key personality traits that characterize each person (for example, ambitious, lonely, overprotected.) C. Point of View. Which is used? (For example, first person objective/subjective, third person omniscient/limited omniscient.) D. Plot. 1. Summary VERY SHORT (50 words or less) plot line. 2. Identify where the major climax is, what conflict it solved, and the reactions of the people in the book to this solution. 3. List any parallel or recurring events you see. 4. Ending purpose? E. Opening. Summarize first few pages (beginning scene.) Is there a memorable opening line? III. Commentary on Plot and Structure A. What is the significance of the title to the work? B. What effect is created by the opening pages? C. For each character identify the following. What values do they hold? What purpose do they have in the book? How does the society of the story influence each character? D. Was the conclusion a satisfactory ending to the work? Why/ why not? If not, then how would you have ended the work, and why? E. How do each of the settings make the work more interesting? F. Describe the society of the book (the fictional one created by the author.) IV. Theme and Other Abstract Ideas A. What are the major themes (short phrases for each) of the work B. How is each of these themes portrayed in the work? C. What are the moral and ethical problems explored in the story? D. Archetypal themes or motif and patterns? Describe. E. List 3 cause/effect relationships found in the story. F. How does the author use imagery, symbolism, allusions, etc. to develop his themes?
V. Rhetorical Devices A. Write down 5 quotes from the book that exemplified use of rhetorical devices. B. Explain how each of your quotes illustrates a different rhetorical device from the list we have studied. C. Write your own example for each of the 5 rhetorical devices you chose. VI. Memorable Lines, Scenes A. Write down any memorable lines from the book that you liked or that illustrated important ideas in the work B. Write a commentary for each set of lines in A. Why is each memorable and how does it enhance the meaning of the work? C. Paraphrase each quotation in A. Memorize two sets. D. Find quotations that illustrate the author s skill in establishing mood/tone, imagery, symbolism, characterization. VII. Style A. Describe the author s overall style and pick several examples that illustrate it. B. How do the author s diction, grammar, sentence structure, organization, point of view, detail, syntax and irony enhance the meaning of the work and show his attitudes? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WRITING PROMPT Write a 2-3 page (max) reflection of your novel using one of the following prompts from a previous AP Literature & Composition exam. As always, your essay must be in MLA format. In a literary work, a minor character, often known as a foil, possesses traits that emphasize, by contrast or comparison, the distinctive characteristics and qualities of the main character. For example, the ideas or behavior of the minor character might be used to highlight the weaknesses or strengths of the main character. Choose a novel or play in which a minor character serves as a foil to a main character. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the relation between the minor character and the major character illuminates the meaning of the work. A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Select a novel or play and, focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. It has often been said that what we value can be determined only by what we sacrifice. Consider how this statement applies to a character from a novel or play. Select a character that has deliberately sacrificed, surrendered, or forfeited something in a way that highlights that character s values. Then write a wellorganized essay in which you analyze how the particular sacrifice illuminates the character s values and provides a deeper understanding of the meaning of the work as a whole. A bildungsroman, or coming-of-age novel, recounts the psychological or moral development of its protagonist from youth to maturity, when this character recognizes his or her place in the world. Select a
single pivotal moment in the psychological or moral development of the protagonist of a bildungsroman. Then write a well-organized essay that analyzes how that single moment shapes the meaning of the work as a whole. In many works of literature, past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present activities, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or play in which a character must contend with some aspect of the past, either personal or societal. Then write an essay in which you show how the character's relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. One of the strongest human drives seems to be a desire for power. Write an essay in which you discuss how a character in a novel or a drama struggles to free himself or herself from the power of others or seeks to gain power over others. Be sure to demonstrate in your essay how the author uses this power struggle to enhance the meaning of the work. Many works of literature not readily identified with the mystery or detective story genre nonetheless involve the investigation of a mystery. In these works, the solution to the mystery may be less important than the knowledge gained in the process of its investigation. Choose a novel or play in which one or more of the characters confront a mystery. Then write an essay in which you identify the mystery and explain how the investigation illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. Writers often highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters who are alienated from that culture or society because of gender, race, class, or creed. Choose a novel or a play in which such a character plays a significant role and show how that character's alienation reveals the surrounding society's assumptions or moral values. AP Independent Novel Permission Slip Dear Parent: Your student will be taking part in an independent novel study this semester. These novels are some of modern fiction s best selections and are drawn from Pulitzer Prize winners, National Book Award winners, and The Man Booker Prize. Although all these selections are AP worthy and can be used for the Free Response question on the AP Exam, some of the books have adult situations and strong sexual content. Please take some time to review your child s choice with them and sign below if you permit your child to read the book of their choice. If the book does not meet your approval, your child can bring in a selection of his/her choice and I can evaluate if it meets the AP criteria for a novel of literary merit. I certify that can read for the Independent Novel assignment. Signature of parent/guardian date Please return this signed form.
AP Independent Novel Permission Slip Dear Parent: Your student will be taking part in an independent novel study this semester. These novels are some of modern fiction s best selections and are drawn from Pulitzer Prize winners, National Book Award winners, and The Man Booker Prize. Although all these selections are AP worthy and can be used for the Free Response question on the AP Exam, some of the books have adult situations and strong sexual content. Please take some time to review your child s choice with them and sign below if you permit your child to read the book of their choice. If the book does not meet your approval, your child can bring in a selection of his/her choice and I can evaluate if it meets the AP criteria for a novel of literary merit. I certify that can read for the Independent Novel assignment. Signature of parent/guardian date Please return this signed form.