AP LITERATURE & COMPOSITION SUMMER READING 2014 MRS. BROUSSEAU The College Board and other groups associated with the AP Exam often recommend texts to read in order to prepare for the AP Literature & Composition exam. Included in these lists are works of drama and classic as well as modern selections of fiction and poetry. Because we will be looking at and analyzing a wide range of poetry during the year, one work of drama, one classic work of fiction, one modern work of fiction, and one reading strategy text have been chosen for you to work with during the summer to prepare yourself for the exam in May. The selections and assignments are as follows: DRAMA SELECTION The Glass Menagerie – Tennessee Williams There will be an in-class test on the first Friday of school (August 29, 2014). To prepare for this text, you may fill and bring one 3x5 notecard of information to jog your memory about the text if you choose to do so. CLASSIC SELECTION A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens There will be an in-class essay, taken directly from a previous year’s AP open essay prompt on the second day of school (August 28, 2014). No notes may be used to write this essay in class nor will the question be posted prior to the class meeting, as it is designed to resemble an actual AP exam essay situation. MODERN SELECTION Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini While reading, please respond to the packet of discussion questions by chapter. Directions for these responses can be found in the packet itself. All discussion questions will be due on the first day of school (August 27, 2014). READING STRATEGY SELECTION How to Read Literature Like a Professor – Thomas C. Foster While reading, please complete 10 of the 24 given activities for the chapters found within the text. Directions for these activities can be found in the packet itself. All activities will be due on the first day of school (August 27, 2014).

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NOTES FROM MRS. BROUSSEAU  It is imperative that you complete your summer reading work. This will give you a head start on the year and will help you to achieve a competitive score and therefore make you an excellent candidate for many colleges across the nation.  All of the 4 assignments listed above will count towards your first quarter grade of your senior year.  You can always email me at [email protected] if you need assistance or if you would like to turn in an assignment before the first day of school.  We currently have a couple of copies of Kite Runner and A Tale of Two Cities that can be loaned out during the summer. They are first-come, first-served. Please make sure to bring these back so that we can continue to loan them out over the years.  If you purchase your books and would like to donate them to the Southbridge Middle High School English Department for future generations of AP students, you can earn 5 bonus points per assignment for each book donated to the department.  The other options for finding these books is to purchase them, borrow them from a student from last year (if applicable), or loan them out from the library. If you have a problem obtaining any of these books, please let me know so I can assist you.  Late assignments are not allowed in a senior AP course, which is meant to mirror a college course, so please keep that in mind when working.  And remember:

“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” –Stephen Covey Enjoy your summer and exercise your brains!

AP LITERATURE & COMPOSITION SUMMER READING 2014 Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini

This novel is probably the longest of the four assignments for summer reading. Because of this, please make sure that you plan accordingly and that you manage your time well in order to finish before the start of the next school year. Below are nineteen (19) discussion questions. After reading, please select ten (10) of the discussion questions to answer in a well-organized and thoughtful response. Your responses need not be extremely lengthy, but they should be complete and succinct. When choosing your discussion questions, please make sure on your responses that you indicate to which questions you are responding.

DISCUSSION QUESTION LIST (choose 10) 1. The novel begins with Amir’s memory of peering down an alley, looking for Hassan who is kite running for him. As Amir peers into the alley, he witnesses a tragedy. The novel ends with Amir kite running for Hassan’s son, Sohrab, as he begins a new life with Amir in America. Why do you think the author chooses to frame the novel with these scenes? Refer to the following passage: “Afghans like to say: Life goes on, unmindful of beginning, end… crisis or catharsis, moving forward like a slow, dusty caravan of kochis [nomads].” How is this significant to the framing of the novel? 2. The strong underlying force of this novel is the relationship between Amir and Hassan. Discuss their friendship. Why is Amir afraid to be Hassan’s true friend? Why does Amir constantly test Hassan’s loyalty? Why does he resent Hassan? After the kite running tournament, why does Amir no longer want to be Hassan’s friend? 3. Early in Amir and Hassan’s friendship, they often visit a pomegranate tree where they spend hours reading and playing. “One summer day, I used tone of Ali’s kitchen knives to carve our names on it: ‘Amir and Hassan, the sultans of Kabul.’ Those words made it formal: the tree was ours.” In a letter to Amir later in the story, Hassan mentions that “the tree hasn’t borne fruit in years.” Discuss the significance of the tree. 4. We begin to understand early in the novel that Amir is constantly vying for Baba’s attention and often feels like an outsider in his father’s life, as seem in the following passage: “He’d close the door, leave me to wonder why it was always grown-ups time with him. I’d sit by the door, knees drawn to my chest. Sometimes I sat there for an hour, sometimes two, listening to their laughter, their chatter.” Discuss the significance of this passage. 5. After Amir wins the kite running tournament, his relationship with Baba undergoes significant change. However, while they form a bond of friendship, Amir is still unhappy. What causes this unhappiness and how has Baba contributed to Amir’s state of mind? Eventually, the relationship between the two returns to the way it was before the tournament, and Amir laments “we actually deceived ourselves into thinking that a toy made of tissue paper, glue, and bamboo could somehow close the chasm between us.” Discuss the significance of this passage. 6. As Amir remembers an Afghan celebration in which a sheep must be sacrificed, he talks about seeing the sheep’s eyes moments before its death. “I don’t know why I watched this yearly ritual in our

backyard; my nightmares persist long after the bloodstains on the grass have faded. But I always watch, I watch because of that look of acceptance in the animal’s eyes. Absurdly, I imagine the animal understands. I imagine the animal sees that its imminent demise is for a higher purpose.” Why do you think Amir recalls this memory when he witnesses Hassan’s tragedy in the alleyway? Amir recollects the memory again toward the end of the novel when he sees Sohrab in the home of the Taliban. Discuss the image in the context of the novel. 7. America acts as a place for Amir to bury his memories and a place for Baba to mourn his. In America, there are “homes that made Bab’s house in Wazir Akbar Khan look like a servant’s hut.” What is ironic about this statement? What is the function of irony in this novel? 8. What is the significance of the irony in the first story that Amir writes? After hearing Amir’s story, Hassan asks, “Why did the man kill his wife? In fact, why did he ever have to feel sad to shed tears? Couldn’t he have just smelled an onion?” How is this reaction to the story a metaphor for Amir’s life? How does this story epitomize the difference in character between Hassan and Amir? 9. Why is Baba disappointed by Amir’s decision to become a writer? During their argument about his career path, Amir thinks to himself: “I would stand my ground, I decided. I didn’t want to sacrifice for Baba anymore. The last time I had done that, I had damned myself.” What has Amir sacrificed for Baba? How has Amir “damned himself”? 10. Compare and contrast the relationships of Soraya and Amir to their fathers. How have their upbringings contributed to these relationships? 11. Discuss how the ever-changing politics of Afghanistan affect each of the characters in the novel. 12. On Amir’s trip back to Afghanistan, he stays at the home of his driver, Farid. Upon leaving, he remarks: “Earlier this morning, when I was certain no one was looking, I did something I had done twenty-six years earlier: I planted a fistful of crumpled money under the mattress.” Why is this moment so important in Amir’s journey? 13. Throughout the story, Baba worried because Amir never stands up for himself. When does this change? 14. Amir’s confrontation with Assef in Wazir Akbar Khan marks an important turning point in the novel. Why does the author have Amir, Assef, and Sohrab all come together in this way? What is the significance of the scar that Amir develops as a result of the confrontation? Why is it important in Amir’s journey? 15. While in the hospital in Peshawar, Amir has a dream in which he sees his father wrestling a bear: “They roll over a patch of grass, man and beast…they fall to the ground with a loud thud and Baba is sitting on the bear’s chest, his fingers digging in its snout. He looks up at me, and I see. He’s me. I am wrestling the bear.” Why is this dream so important at this point in the story? What does this dream finally help Amir realize? 16. Amir and Hassan have a favorite story. Does the story have the same meaning for both men? Why does Hassan name is son after one of the characters in the story?

17. Baba and Amir know that they are very different people. Often it disappoints both of them that Amir is not the son that Baba has hoped for. When Amir finds out that Baba has lied to him about Hassan, he realized that “as it turned out, Baba and I were more alike than I’d ever known.” How does this make Amir feel about his father? How is this both a negative and a positive realization? 18. When Amir and Baba move to the States their relationship changes, and Amir begins to view his father as a more complex man. Discuss the changes in their relationship. Do you see the changes in Baba as tragic or positive? 19. Discuss the difference between Baba and Ali and between Amir and Hassan. Are Baba’s and Amir’s betrayals and similarities in their relationships of their servants (if you consider Baba’s act a betrayal) similar or different? Do you think that such betrayals are inevitable in the master/servant relationship, or do you feel that they are due to flaws in Baba’s and Amir’s characters, or are they the outcome of circumstances and characters?

Adapted from: http://khaledhosseini.com/books/the-kite-runner-audio-edition/discussion-questions/

AP LITERATURE & COMPOSITION SUMMER READING 2014 How to Read Literature Like a Professor - Thomas C. Foster

If you begin and work on this assignment consistently throughout the summer, you will be able to complete it comfortably by August. Although I do want you to read every chapter, you do not have to complete every assignment: just choose 10 of the 24, and please choose some assignments from the beginning of the book, some from the middle, and some from the end. Also, do not write volumes – concise, yet thorough, responses will suffice. NOTE: You may substitute movies for literary works in this assignment, but remember your choice of literary works and films should cover a range of genres and styles. Multiple references to Divergent and Disney movies might not be fitting. How to Read Literature Like a Professor is going to be your new best friend. It will help you become the reader that you need to be for the AP Literature & Composition exam and for beyond (college, the workforce, being a knowledgeable citizen, etc.).

ASSIGNMENT LIST (choose 10) Introduction: How’d He Do That? How do memory, symbol, and pattern affect the reading of literature? How does the recognition of patterns make it easier to read complicated literature? Discuss a time when your appreciation of a literary work was enhanced by understanding symbol or pattern. Chapter 1 -- Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not) List the five aspects of the QUEST and then apply them to something you have read (or viewed) in the form used on pages 3-5. Chapter 2 -- Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion Choose a meal from a literary work and apply the ideas of Chapter 2 to this literary depiction. Chapter 3: --Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires What are the essentials of the Vampire story? Apply this to a literary work you have read or viewed. Chapter 4 -- If It’s Square, It’s a Sonnet Select three sonnets and show which form they are. Discuss how their content reflects the form. (Submit copies of the sonnets, marked to show your analysis). Chapter 5 --Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before? Define intertextuality. Discuss three examples that have helped you in reading specific works. Chapter 6 -- When in Doubt, It’s from Shakespeare... Discuss a work that you are familiar with that alludes to or reflects Shakespeare. Show how the author uses this connection thematically. Read pages 44-46 carefully. In these pages, Foster shows how Fugard reflects Shakespeare through both plot and theme. In your discussion, focus on theme. Chapter 7 -- ...Or the Bible Read “Araby”. Discuss Biblical allusions that Foster does not mention. Look at the example of the “two great jars.” Be creative and imaginative in these connections. Chapter 8 -- Hanseldee and Greteldum

Think of a work of literature that reflects a fairy tale. Discuss the parallels. Does it create irony or deepen appreciation? Chapter 9 -- It’s Greek to Me Write a free verse poem derived or inspired by characters or situations from Greek mythology. Chapter 10 -- It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow Discuss the importance of weather in a specific literary work, not in terms of plot. Interlude -- Does He Mean That Chapter 11 --...More Than It’s Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence Present examples of the two kinds of violence found in literature. Show how the effects are different. Chapter 12 -- Is That a Symbol? Use the process described on page 106 and investigate the symbolism of the fence in “Araby.” (Mangan’s sister stands behind it.) Chapter 13 -- It’s All Political Assume that Foster is right and “it is all political.” Use his criteria to show that one of the major works assigned to you as a freshman is political. Chapter 14 -- Yes, She’s a Christ Figure, Too Apply the criteria on page 119 to a major character in a significant literary work. Try to choose a character that will have many matches. This is a particularly apt tool for analyzing film -- for example, Star Wars, Cool Hand Luke, Excalibur, Malcolm X, Braveheart, Spartacus, Gladiator and Ben-Hur. Chapter 15 -- Flights of Fancy Select a literary work in which flight signifies escape or freedom. Explain in detail. Chapter 16 -- It’s All About Sex... Chapter 17 -- ...Except the Sex OK ..the sex chapters. The key idea from this chapter is that “scenes in which sex is coded rather than explicit can work at multiple levels and sometimes be more intense that literal depictions” (141). In other words, sex is often suggested with much more art and effort than it is described, and, if the author is doing his job, it reflects and creates theme or character. Choose a novel or movie in which sex is suggested, but not described, and discuss how the relationship is suggested and how this implication affects the theme or develops characterization. Chapter 18 -- If She Comes Up, It’s Baptism Think of a “baptism scene” from a significant literary work. How was the character different after the experience? Discuss. Chapter 19 -- Geography Matters... Discuss at least four different aspects of a specific literary work that Foster would classify under “geography.” Chapter 20 -- ...So Does Season Find a poem that mentions a specific season. Then discuss how the poet uses the season in a meaningful, traditional, or unusual way. (Submit a copy of the poem with your analysis.)

Interlude -- One Story Write your own definition for archetype. Then identify an archetypal story and apply it to a literary work with which you are familiar. Chapter 21 -- Marked for Greatness Figure out Harry Potter’s scar. If you aren’t familiar with Harry Potter, select another character with a physical imperfection and analyze its implications for characterization. Chapter 22 -- He’s Blind for a Reason, You Know Chapter 23 -- It’s Never Just Heart Disease... Chapter 24 -- ...And Rarely Just Illness Recall two characters who died of a disease in a literary work. Consider how these deaths reflect the “principles governing the use of disease in literature” (215-217). Discuss the effectiveness of the death as related to plot, theme, or symbolism. Chapter 25 -- Don’t Read with Your Eyes After reading Chapter 25, choose a scene or episode from a novel, play or epic written before the twentieth century. Contrast how it could be viewed by a reader from the twenty-first century with how it might be viewed by a contemporary reader. Focus on specific assumptions that the author makes, assumptions that would not make it in this century. Chapter 26 -- Is He Serious? And Other Ironies Select an ironic literary work and explain the multivocal nature of the irony in the work. Chapter 27 -- A Test Case Read “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield, the short story starting on page 245. Complete the exercise on pages 265-266, following the directions exactly. Then compare your writing with the three examples. How did you do? What does the essay that follows comparing Laura with Persephone add to your appreciation of Mansfield’s story? Envoi Choose a motif not discussed in this book (as the horse reference on page 280) and note its appearance in three or four different works. What does this idea seem to signify? Adapted from Donna Anglin & Marti Nelson