AP English Literature and Composition Summer Assignments: 2024-2025
Parrish Community High School
Mrs. Stephanie Springer
5-222
springers@manateeschools.net
Welcome! I am excited to take this journey with you as we navigate through the rigorous
coursework of AP Literature and Composition. This course is a college-level course, and those
students enrolled in the course must treat it as such.
The AP Literature and Composition course focus is on reading, analyzing, and writing about
imaginative literature (fiction, poetry, drama) from various periods. Students will engage in
close reading and critical analysis of literature to deepen their understanding of the ways
writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure. As students read, they will
consider the work’s structure, style, and themes, as well as its use of figurative language,
imagery, and symbolism. Students are expected to be active readers as they analyze and
interpret textual detail, establish connections among their observations, and draw logical
inferences leading toward an interpretive conclusion. We will also consider and explore the
social and historical values reflected in the literature we read. Our purpose is to experience,
interpret, and evaluate literature through active reading/close reading, which includes
annotation, discussions, reader-response journals, response and reaction papers, essays, and
more. Don’t worry…we will also have some FUN (you just have to trust me on that
)
Please understand that this is a college-level course and the material read, analyzed, discussed,
and written about may have a more mature content than that of a core ELA class.
Summer Reading:
1. How to Read Literature Like a Professor: (Revised Edition) Thomas C. Foster
YOU MUST READ THIS FIRST
2. Please pick one of the following:
The authors and works represented here have all appeared on the College Board’s AP English Literature
Exam. AP English is considered a college-level course and, as such, may include readings with mature
language and themes.
A Man Called Ove Fredrik Backman
Catch 22 Joseph Heller
A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini
Beloved Toni Morrison
Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte
One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad
The Crucible Arthur Miller
The Nickel Boys Colcon Whitehead
Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston
Mrs. Dalloway Virginia Woolf
1984 George Orwell
The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
Cry, the Beloved Country Alan Paton
Ethan Frome Edith Wharton
Go Tell It on the Mountain James Baldwin
Light in August William Faulkner
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man James Joyce
When reading How to Read Literature Like a Professor, think about the shift from rhetorical analysis
to literary analysis…as well as those literary terms, techniques, and works from previous classes.
Annotate for the main ideas of each chapter and any important examples that will help you
remember the major concepts from this didactic work of introduction to literary studies.
As you read your chosen novel, annotate for:
• Setting: The physical sensuous world of the work; the time in which the action of the
work takes place; the social environment of the characters – manners, customs, and
moral values that govern their society; the mood or atmosphere – the emotional effect of
setting.
• Characterization: Direct or Indirect: The author tells what the characters are like, or
when the author shows, rather than tells, what a character is like through details such as
dress, looks, a character’s thoughts, deed, speech, what characters say about one
another.
• Plot and Structure: Deals with the organization of the story. What conflicts does the
novel dramatize? Are certain situations repeated? The protagonist is obvious; who or
what is the antagonist? What is the narrative pace?
• Symbols: An object, place, name, character, or even that, by virtue of the associations we
make as readers, represents something more or something other than itself. Are there
any symbols or motifs recurring throughout the novel?
• Point of View: The perspective from which the story is told; the narrator’s position in
relation to the story.
• Theme: What does the work say about a subject; in what direct and indirect ways does
the work communicate that idea (theme)?
Make Connections:
After you have read and annotated both texts, answer the following questions. Focused on the
noted chapters from How to Read Literature Like a Professor and use details from your chosen
novel as your textual examples to answer each question. Your responses should present a
complete discussion of the message Foster expresses in his text and the message your author
expresses in his/her novel. You must cite examples from BOTH texts in your response.
Type all responses using MLA format – including the correct heading (your name, class name,
etc) and citations for quotes. If you are unsure how to follow MLA guidelines visit the following
website for help:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
Please keep in mind that this is an AP class; therefore, I expect well-developed responses. If you
pace yourself over the summer, this assignment will not be overly laborious.
Chapter 1: Every Trip is a Quest
In the novel, what is the quest? Choose a character and explain how s/he gains self-
knowledge.
Chapter 9: It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow
Choose a scene where weather or the environment is more than what it seems and
explain its significance.
Chapter 11: …More Than It’s Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence
Choose a scene from your novel that depicts the act of violence, paying special attention
to the details. Why does the author choose this particular form of violence? Explain what
it could mean in the larger meaning of the novel – thematically, symbolically, or
contextually.
Chapter 19: Geography Matters
Pay special attention to the geography in the novel and explain its importance to the
story, the characters, and the message the author is sending to his/her readers.
Chapter 21: Marked for Greatness
Who is the hero in the novel? How do you know s/he is the hero? Is there a visible,
physical difference between the hero and other characters? Why would this be
important?
Chapter 24: Don’t Read with Your Eyes
Choose a quote from your novel that reflects the overall meaning of the work. Explain
why you have chosen this quotation and how it applies in some way to Foster’s words
in Chapter 24 of his book.
Please note that plagiarism of ANY kind will not be tolerated and will result in a ZERO for the
assignment and possible removal from the class.
You will be required to submit all work through Turnitin.com at the beginning of the school year,
as well as submit a hard copy to me.
DUE DATE: You will need to bring a hard copy of your assignment the first day of class
(8/12) and submit a copy to Turnitin.com. You must also bring BOTH copies of the books
to class.
Assignments turned in after the due date will receive a deduction of 5% per day.
No assignments will be accepted after August 16
,th.
I will be checking my email periodically each week; so, if you have any questions or concerns,
please do not hesitate to contact me.
