May 28, 2010
Dear Incoming Sophomores,
We are pleased that you have chosen to take English II Accelerated, and we are looking
forward to a rewarding, challenging, and exciting school year with you. To get us off to a
great start, we have selected a classic and a modern novel for summer reading. Both of
these novels are required reading and can be purchased at various book stores and found
at the public library.

Shattering Glass by Gail Giles: Choose one of the attached questions and answer
the question in 3.5 essay format (5 paragraph essay). You are also to complete
the attached character log of the main characters from the novel: Simon, Rob,
Young, Coop, and Bob. Your essays and character logs will be due on the first
day of school, regardless of which semester you are taking English.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding: Complete the accompanying response log.
You are to explain the context and significance of each of the attached quotes.
Please respond appropriately with a minimum 1/2 page (double-spaced, 12 font)
for each log entry. You are also to complete the attached character log. Your
reading and character logs will be due on the first day of school regardless of
which semester you are taking English.
In addition to the above requirements, expect to discuss and write about these two works
in relation to each other and other pieces of literature.
If you have any questions, you can email one of the sophomore English teachers at the
following addresses:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Shattering Glass Essay Topics
(Choose one)
1. “Ronna told me this was all about fathers,” says her dad. Take another look at the brief
vignettes that show each boy interacting with his father. Coop reveals that “Young and I both
made Rob into a substitute father. We couldn’t deal with the ones we’d been given. And Rob
made us feel like successful sons.” What is the central fear “all about fathers” that haunts each of
the members of Rob’s posse? How does this fear motivate their actions?
2. It has been said that for evil to win out, all that has to happen is for the good people to do
nothing. By following Rob unquestioningly, the boys allow his need for power and control to
take them to a terrible end. But there are a number of places in the story where they could have
resisted if they had listened to their consciences, small decisions that add up. Where are some of
those turning points, those moments when some of the characters could have said no? Why
didn’t they resist?
3. Young hates Simon from the beginning, for reasons he doesn’t quite understand. When Simon
gives him just the right gift--an expensive blank journal--he reacts with resentment instead of
pleasure. Why does he feel this way? “Glass was my fun house mirror,” he says. What is there
about Young that makes him see Simon as a distorted image of himself? At the beginning, he
also says, “We each hated him for a different reason.” What are those reasons?
4. Young, Coop, and Bob each have a different basic weakness—an empty place or something
missing—and a related secret that they must preserve at all costs. What are these weaknesses and
secrets, and how does the need to keep them hidden make each one vulnerable? How do they
guide their actions?
5. Rather than being grateful when Rob shows that he intends to bring him out of geekdom,
Simon immediately suspects his motives. “What’s in this for you?” he asks suspiciously. Blair
Crews says, “Simon, though he let Rob show him how to dress and behave, but he never lost
himself in Rob.” Why is he not taken in by Rob, as the others are? In what ways does he defy
Rob? Why is he able to be the only one to defy Rob?
Shattering Glass Characters
Describe each character’s appearance and personality. Are they controlled by emotion or
reasoning? Are they a leader or a follower? What is their ultimate motivation?
Continue to add to the description of each character as we move further through the
novel. Note any changes that occur in each character. Type out your responses
for each of the following characters: Young, Rob, Simon, Bobster, and
Coop
 Appearance & Personality:
 Emotion / Reasoning? Leader/Follower?
 Motivation:
 Changes that occur:
LORD OF THE FLIES / IMPORTANT QUOTES
Each of the following quotes is really important in understanding the novel.
Explain the context and the significance of each statement. Follow the directions
provided in your letter.
1. “ . . . the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the
unbearable blood.” (chapter 1)
2. “This is our island. It’s a good island. Until the grownups come to fetch us we’ll
have fun” (chapter 2)
3. “He tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him
up.” (chapter 3)
4. “Roger’s arm was conditioned by a civilization that knew nothing of him and was in
ruins.” (chapter 4)
5. “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.” (chapter 4)
6. “We’re all drifting and things are going rotten. At home there was always a
grownup.” (chapter 5)
7. “… there rose before his inward sight the picture of a human at once both heroic and
sick.” (chapter 6)
8. “I just think you’ll get back all right.” (chapter 7)
9. “You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no
go? Why things are what they are?” (chapter 8)
10. “The beast was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying
out against the abominable noise something about a body on the hill.” (chapter 9
11. “He was a chief now in truth: and he made stabbing motions with his spear.”
(chapter 10)
12. “The hangman’s horror clung around him.” (chapter 11)
13. “We saw your smoke. What have you been doing? Having a war or something?”
(chapter 12)
Lord of the Flies
Characters
Describe each character’s appearance and personality. Are they a leader or a follower?
Are they controlled by emotion or reasoning? What is their ultimate motivation? We
will talk about allegory and symbolism as we progress through the novel. What might
these characters represent? Continue to add to the description of each character as you
move further through the novel. Note any changes that occur in each character. Type
out your responses for each of the following characters: Ralph, Jack,
Simon, Piggy, Roger, and Samneric
 Appearance & Personality:
 Emotion / Reasoning? Leader/Follower?
 Motivation:
 Symbolic Representation:
 Changes that occur: