Summer Required
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
An apartment on Chicago’s South side after World War II; focuses on frailties and failings of one family facing racial discrimination.
Our Town by Thornton Wilder
Early 1900’s small New England town; Wilder’s theme focuses on the “attempt to find a value above all price for the smallest events in our daily life.”
Assignment 1:
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
Our Town by Thornton Wilder
As you read the two plays, pay close attention to the use of characterization in each work. Select one character from each play. Write a five paragraph essay comparing and contrasting these two major characters. You may compare/contrast any aspect of those characters that you feel are important. Use the writing process: prewriting, rough draft with revision, and final draft. All steps of the writing process will be turned in with the final draft. Please type the final draft.
THIS ASSIGNMENT IS DUE THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. NO EXCEPTIONS!
DUE: AUGUST 8, 2008
BOOK #3: Your choice from the list below.
As you read, take notes about the characters, their motivations, the symbolism, the plot episodes, the settings, the seasons of the year, the knights’ responsibilities, temptation, the themes of the story, the allusions to other works of literature, etc. Review the notes you have made before you come to .
Assessment: In-class response writing that you will on Tuesday, August 12, 2008. You will need to bring your book to class.
SUMMER READING (SELECT ONE):
Emma by Jane Austen
English village life around 1800; emphasizes importance of self-knowledge, honest communication, and kindness; role of social classes and courtship among the upper middle class
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Classic Victorian novel combining elements of a love story, a rags-to-riches Cinderella fairy tale, a Gothic horror, a quest for identity, an indictment of religious hypocrisy, and a plea for women’s rights
Christy by Catherine Marshall
This book is a young woman’s discovery of the joys and trials of the frontier.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
A fairy story of a hobbit’s heroic journey toward greater awareness; good versus evil; explores the heart, soul, and imagination
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
The science fiction account of a boy who battles hostile aliens from a faraway planet (some mild language)
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
A group of train travelers stranded in a Balkan snowdrift; considered one of Christie’s most popular detective stories, draws upon several historical events: the Lindbergh kidnapping, the stranding of the Simplon-Orient Express in 1929
It’s Not about the Bike by Lance Armstrong
This is the real-life story of Lance Armstrong, the Tour de France champion. His account of his struggle and triumph over cancer is inspiring.
Another Season by Gene Stallings
The touching story of a football coach’s love and devotion to his son who was born with Down syndrome
Finding their Stride by Sally Pont
A high school cross-country team strives to excel. This book proves that sportsmanship and discipline can change a young person’s life.
Flyboys by James Bradley
Flyboys is the try story of several pilots shot down and captured by the Japanese in the Pacific during World War II. Both the United States and Japanese governments conspired to keep the story of what happened a secret. One downed pilot later became President. This is a story of challenge, daring, and death.
Listening with My Heart by Heather Whitestone
Heather Whitestone’s name has become synonymous with incredible determination and unprecedented achievement. Profoundly deaf since eighteen months old, Heather tells her own story and the stories of others who have inspired her, proving that with hard work, perseverance, and faith, each of us can move mountains. Struggling through her difficulties, she was sustained by every success-not matter how small- and ultimately became Miss America 1995.
REQUIRED READING FOR THE COURSE
How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster ( 10TH, 11TH, 12TH)
Because some of the information is advanced and because the book will be used all three years, students will be assigned portions of this text to read in preparation for the Advanced Placement classes in the eleventh and twelfth grades. This text focuses on literary basics: major themes, and motifs (seasons, quests, food, politics, geography, weather, etc.); literary models (Shakespeare’s plays, Greek mythology, fairy tales, the Bible); and narrative devices (form, irony, plot, and symbol).
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
This 1859 novel of action, romance, terror, and triangles is set in the framework of the French Revolution; themes of renunciation, redemption, and resurrection; satire emphasizes weaknesses of oppressive establishment.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
A “ghost story” written in Switzerland in 1816; a creator’s contest becomes a contest and main character lives only to destroy his creation; mirrors human hunger to know, to excel, to break barriers; emphasizes themes of guilt, loss, intuitive and emotional life, and influence of wild nature on human beings.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
American satire set in twenty-fourth century, written as a response to Cold War atmosphere after World War II and McCarthyism; argument against censorship emphasizes evils of suppressing ideas.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Historical tragedy; Macbeth’s struggle of conscience is played against background of civil strife and concern for social order in Scotland; stresses effects of untempered human ambition.
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (in textbook)
Tragedy of undisputed leader and master of the entire Roman world in 45 B.C.; political play about a general who would be kind but meets an untimely death because of his own pride and ambition.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Told from a child’s point of view in a small Alabama town in the 1930’s; emphasizes themes of racial prejudice, social ostracism, the maturation process, and provincial pride in ancestry, tradition, conformity, and class structure.
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
Set in a world torn apart, where man enslaves his fellow man and freedom remains elusive, The Power of One is a moving story of one young man’s search for the love that binds friends, the passion that binds lovers, and the realization that it takes only one to change the world. Set in South Africa during World War II.