AP ENGLISH LITERATURE SUMMER ASSIGNMENT

Welcome to AP Literature and Composition. Completion of the summer assignment given below is required for participation in the course during the 2010 - 2011 school year. The novels are widely available and may be checked out from your local library or purchased on your own. Students will be required to read two of the following novels and prepare two short analysis papers. There are four novels; you must choose two (any two) of the following four novels. In addition, students should be ready to discuss, write about and/or take an objective exam during the first week of school on the two books you have read.

THE HANDMAID'S TALE

CATCH-22

BRAVE NEW WORLD

1984

WRITTEN ANALYSIS ASSIGNMENT: After reading each novel, complete a short analysis paper. Please note that an analysis must be completed for the two novels you have read. These papers should reflect your own, original thought. The analysis papers are due on the first day of school.

ANALYSIS INSTRUCTION: Choose a two to five page excerpt from the novel that illustrates a key literary element that is essential to an understanding of the text as a whole. This literary element might be the speaker or author's voice, an instance of character development, the novel's symbolism, dialogue, diction, imager or some other literary focus that plays a significant role in developing the novel's theme or message. Photocopy or type the excerpt you have chosen and include it with your analysis.

Write a two-page, typed, double-spaced essay identifying and analyzing the literary element you have chosen, and how it supports the novel's theme. Use short quotations or examples from the excerpt to support your argument.

Essay Topics for The Things They Carried

Essay topics for THE THINGS THEY CARRIED:

1. "The Man I Killed" is the only story that focuses primarily on a Vietnamese character. Why does this shift in focus occur in this particular story? Why are Vietnamese characters largely absent from the rest of the text?

2. Although the work is supposedly about the Vietnam conflict, the final story focuses not on the war but on an episode from O'Brien's childhood. Discuss how this story relates to the stories of the war. What is O'Brien's purpose in ending his collection of stories this way?

3. What do the terms "story-truth" and "happening-truth" mean in the context of the book? How do they differ?

4. Although THE THINGS THEY CARRIED contains a story called "The Man I Killed", it is unclear whether O'Brien actually killed anyone in Viet Nam. What purpose does this ambiguity serve?

5. How does shame fit into O'Brien's portrayal of the war experience?

6. Discuss the structure of the work. Do the stories progress in a linear manner? How does the work's fragmented style contribute to the themes that run through the stories?

7. Compare and contrast Tim O'Brien's and Dang Thuy Tram's attitude towards the war. Dang Thuy Tram was the North Vietnamese doctor who died, along with her patients, in a remote medical camp in a firefight with the Americans. Her journal, which chronicled Dang Thuy Tram's daily struggles of trying to heal the sick and wounded while under constant bombardments, with constant traveling, and inadequate medical supplies, was recovered after the firefight, and after many years of great effort by many people both in the U.S. and Vietnam, was translated and published under the title of Last Night I Dreamed of Peace.