AP Literature and Composition – English IV: 2013-2014
Mrs. Doepke
Due: First day of class + MC & In-Class Essay Test
Summer Reading Texts:
Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton
How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
1984 by George Orwell
CHOOSE ONE Lord of the Flies by William Golding
SlaughterHouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Flowers for Algernon by Matt Heckler
ASSIGNMENT #1:
First, read How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Then, read Cry, The Beloved
Country, marking key passages from the novel that can be related to Foster’s text.
Then, construct your reading journals.
Reading Journals:
Using at least 3 different passages from Cry, The Beloved Country that you can “read
like a professor,” make the connection to Foster’s text. Include the passage with a page
number (NOTE: you can NOT use the passages that I gave you for the literary
analysis). Then, give your analysis of the passage using the techniques and ideas in
the chapters by Foster. When possible, quote Foster to show how you are applying his
ideas. Your analysis should be 4-6 sentences in length. Be careful to select a range of
passages that occur throughout the text and apply the various ways that Foster gives
you in the chapters from his book.
Your reading journals should be typed, but may be single-spaced to save paper.
Assessment:
Your journals will be evaluated on how well they have been edited, on your discussion
of the passages and on how effectively you apply the ideas from Foster. See attached
rubric for more specific criteria. You will take a multiple choice test on these texts the
first day of school.
ASSIGNMENT #2:
After reading Cry, The Beloved Country, use one of the passages listed to write a
literary analysis.
Literary Analysis:
Using ONE of the passages from the sheet, write a literary analysis. This should
include an introduction with a one-sentence thesis statement. It should then have at
least one body paragraph, and a maximum of three, followed by a conclusion.
Ultimately, you are describing how this passage relates to the following literary
elements: theme, tone, characterization, mood, etc. Depending on how you structure
your thesis statement, you will address either 1-3 of these elements. Make sure to
provide textual evidence in support of your position.
This essay must be typed and double-spaced with a proper heading.
Assessment:
Your literary analysis will be evaluated on how well you can construct a thesis
statement, support it with evidence and analyze that evidence in relationship to the
aforementioned thesis statement (as opposed to summarizing the text). See attached
rubric for more specific criteria.
ASSIGNMENT #3:
After reading Cry, The Beloved Country, choose a creativity assignment from the list.
Then, write a statement of intent defining your purpose in creating the product.
Creativity Assignment:
Select ONE creativity assignment. Please see attached list for a detailed description of
each assignment.
Any appropriate writing should be typed, but may be single-spaced. The goal here is to
be creative. The statement of intent must be typed and double-spaced with a proper
heading.
Assessment:
Your creativity assignment will be graded on your statement of intent, whether or not
your assignment meets that established intent, and your thoughtfulness to detail in the
construction of the product. See attached rubric for specific criteria.
ASSIGNMENT #4:
Read one of the following texts:
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
1984 by George Orwell
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
SlaughterHouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Flowers for Algernon by Matt Heckler
Fill in the “Major Works Data Sheet” (attached) in response to your selected text.
Major Works Data Sheet:
Fill in the chart to its entirety. Use can use outside sources, but do NOT copy and paste
from outside sources (i.e. SparkNotes, Shmoop, Wikipedia, etc.). I, too, have access to
all of these resources, and I assure you that I will know when you are using them
inappropriately. These data sheets will prove very resourceful when it comes time to
take the AP exam.
Assessment:
Your “Major Works Data Sheet” will be evaluated on (1) completion and (2) your
understanding of the reading. You will write an in-class essay on this book during the
first week of school.
Book List for 2013-2014
AP Literature & Composition
• How to Read Literature Like a Professor by
Thomas C. Foster
ISBN: 978-0060009427
• Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
ISBN: 0743262174
• Beowulf: a New Verse Translation by Seamus
Heaney
ISBN: 978-0393320978
• Grendel by John Gardner
ISBN: 978-0679723110
• The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
ISBN: 978-1578987856
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
ISBN: 978-0060850524
• A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen
ISBN: 978-1482759112
• Macbeth by William Shakespeare
ISBN: 978-1613821220
• The Namesake by Jhumpa Lampiri
ISBN: 978-0618485222
Cry, the Beloved Country Literary Analysis
50 Points
Directions: Choose ONE of the following passages from the novel. In a well-­‐organized literary analysis, identify the speaker and setting; then, using examples from the passage, comment on how it relates to theme, tone, characterization, mood, etc. Remember that this is NOT a summary; it is an analysis. You need a well-­‐developed thesis statement, examples of evidence and explanations for your choices. Use CEA format, and make sure to write the FULL quote at the top of your analysis. This ESSAY should be no less than three paragraphs and no more than five. A. Some of us think when we have power, we shall revenge ourselves on the white man who has power, and because our desire is corrupt, we are corrupted, and the power has no heart in it. But most white men do not know the truth about power, and they are afraid lest we get it….But there is only one thing that has power completely, and that is love. Because when a man loves, he seeks no power, and therefore he has power. I see only one hope for our country, and that is when white men and black men, desiring neither power nor money, but desiring only the good of their country, come together to work for it. B. Have no doubt it is fear in the land. For what can men do when so many have grown lawless? Who can enjoy the lovely land, who can enjoy the seventy years, and the sun that pours down on the earth, when there is fear in the heart? Who can walk quietly in the shadow of the jacarandas, when their beauty is grown to danger? Who can lie peacefully abed, while the darkness holds some secret? What lovers can lie sweetly under the stars, when menace grows with the measure of their seclusion? C. Cry for the broken tribe, for the law and the custom that is gone. Aye, and cry aloud for the man who is dead, for the women and children bereaved. Cry, the beloved country, these things are not yet at an end. The sun pours down on the earth, on the lovely land that man cannot enjoy. He knows only the fear of his heart. D. Fear is a journey, a terrible journey, but sorrow is at least an arriving. E. He had come to tell his brother that power corrupts, that a man who fights for justice must himself be cleansed and purified, that love is greater than force. And none of these things had he done. God have mercy on me, Christ, have mercy on me. He turned to the door, but it was locked and bolted. Brother had shut out brother, from the same womb had they come. F. You cannot stop the world from going on. My friend, I am a Christian. It is not in my heart to hate a white man. It was a white man who brought my father out of darkness. But you will pardon me if I talk frankly to you. The tragedy is not that things are broken. The tragedy is that they are not mended again. The white man has broken the tribe. And it is my belief – and again I ask your pardon – that it cannot be mended again. But the house that is broken, and the man that falls apart when the house is broken, these are the tragic things. That is why children break the law, and old white people are robbed and beaten…..It suited the white man to break the tribe…But it has not suited him to build something in the place of what is broken. I have pondered this for many hours, and I must speak it, for it is the truth for me. They are not all so. There are some white men who give their lives to build up what is broken….But they are not enough…They are afraid, that is the truth. It is fear that rules this land. Creativity Assignment: Cry, the Beloved Country
50 points
For this assignment, an imaginative or creative product is described as something other
than a conventional critical essay or commentary. Each student is to apply principles or
techniques of literary criticism or appreciation in an informed, imaginative manner. Below is
a list of possible options. Written products should be typed and should be at least a page in
length and no more than two pages (double spaced).
ASSIGNMENT CHOICES:
1) Adapt a portion of the story into a folk tale, myth, or parable for a particular age
group.
2) An editorial arguing against censorship or exclusion of the novel from a school
syllabus.
3) The creation of a dramatic monologue that pits the self-perception of the character
against the view of other characters or the author. Set the stage by also describing
the character’s appearance and costume during this monologue.
4) An extra chapter to the novel that fits the plot and writing style of Paton’s work.
5) A pastiche (an imitation or recreation of an already published work) that
demonstrates your sensitivity to and understanding of a particular element of the
novel. Consider how he structures sentences, how he chooses words and images,
and literary techniques.
6) Create a CD cover using original, handmade artwork and choose at least five songs
that show understanding of an overall theme of individual chapters and/or moments
from the book. You should write an explanation of how each song shows a thematic
link to the novel. Avoid a song that has a fleeting reference to an issue – the entire
song, its style, etc. should fit the event you’re linking it to.
7) Choose a character from the novel and write FOUR, one-paragraph journal entries
using that character’s perspective and voice to retell four main events of the novel
(use first person).
8) Read Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Speech and discuss in
an essay how the speeches are appropriate to the novel and how they may be
relevant to America today.
9) Read Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech and write an essay
comparing his dreams for America to Kumalo’s dream of seeing his community,
Ndotsheni, rebuilt.
STATEMENT OF INTENT:
a)
b)
c)
d)
***accompanying your product you will need to type a brief explanation, in which you do the following***
Identify the work and the author upon which your product is based
Identify the literary elements of the work upon which you have focused (use Foster’s
close reading techniques here!)
Explain the nature of the task you have completed, include identification of the
intended audience (i.e. you may choose to do something for children or your
parents, etc.)
Describe your intent when you started and a reflection on how well the product
satisfied your original intent
All products are due on the first day of school.
NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED!
Sample: Statement of Intent
Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House details the transformation of a 19th century housewife
into an independent woman. Foreshadowing the intellectual and societal emergence of
females in the modern era, this play portrays the important transitions of female
characters. Nora Helmer, the carefree and naive wife of a bank officer, becomes a more
autonomous person after finally comprehending her role as a superficial, dispensable
"doll" to her husband. Bitter with her shallow identity, Nora abandons her family.
Another transition is in Mrs. Linde, a kind but grave widow with a confident character
that stems from varied life experience. Mrs. Linde is tormented by the purposeless of
her daily labor, and finally decides to forsake her independence "to work for" (53) a new
marriage and new family. Ironically, Nora and Mrs. Linde reverse roles as Nora
emerges into self-sufficiency and Mrs. Linde seeks gratification in marriage. Here, Ibsen
presents a fundamental paradox: women can attain self-fulfillment and individuality
through both independence and marriage. If a woman's material relationships do not
ultimately define her identity, then what does? My additional scene for A Doll's House
will address this issue.
In composing a scene for this play, I will depict a meeting between Nora and Mrs. Linde
outside of the Helmers' house. Set directly after Nora leaves her family, an encounter of
these characters will both relate Ibsen's use of irony and explore his basic inquiry into
feminism. The creative format will allow me to convey each woman's diction, tone,
characterization, and use of literary devices. Throughout most of the play, Nora has a
flippant personality that is conveyed by simple, exclamatory diction and an unrefined
register. Nora is also characterized as immature through her frequent use of hyperbole
and hackneyed expressions (idioms). Through these devices, Ibsen thrusts the reader
into the perspective of his own, 19th century society, a view that casted women as
frivolous and unoriginal. With Nora's last conversation with Torvald, however, she
adopts a grave tone and terse, formal diction. This is carried by short, profound phrases
(i.e. "I am going to see if I can make out who is right, the world or I") that startle the
reader (69). The Nora of my scene will continue this new register and deliberately place
it close to her old speech, challenging the audience's first, 19th century perspective.
Mrs. Linde's language is formal and well-developed throughout the play, with minimal
use of extraneous language or figurative reference. This conveys the confidence and
maturity of Mrs. Linde and will be continued in this additional scene I have created.
I intend to illustrate that, though Mrs. Linde's marriage and Nora's abandonment seem
divided, they simply represent different facets of personal identity. Mrs. Linde's marriage
stems from a fully confident identity. This is clear from her free choice to marry (she
makes the offer) and her obvious ability to command herself despite working for others.
Nora abandons her family because she has also served them, but as an unwitting doll
and dupe. Nora must achieve broader experience and independently encounter herself
before devoting herself to others. Ultimately, the author suggests that full identity,
Nora’s goal, comes with independent experience; purposeful identity, Mrs. Linde's
objective, requires complete and personal choice. Ibsen declares that women deserve
both, and I believe that my additional scene showcases this same theme.
AP Literature & Composition
Name______________
Creativity Project Rubric: Cry, the Beloved Country
Product type:__________________________________________________
Emerging (D)
a) Statement of intent is brief or does not fit the product well
b) Poor editing detracts from the readability or comprehension of the work
c) No signs of rehearsal or thoughtful preparation time
d) No clear connection to the text
e) Not a finished product
Developing (C)
a) Materials are inconsistent in quality
b) Some aspects of the product are not complete, are have careless editing, and/
or show clear signs of being rushed
c) Not well rehearsed, performance problems OR; two dimensional art is
elementary or shows lack of attention to detail
d) A reasonable connection to the text with some supporting detail
e) Product tends to summarize without giving an interpretation of the novel
Proficient (B)
a) Materials are well chosen: costumes, paper, color, music/lyrics, etc.
b) All aspects of the product are carefully edited and appropriately placed, no
obvious signs of construction, good technique, no performance mistakes
c) Strong connection to the text with convincing support/reasoning
d) Product is complete and evokes an intellectual or emotive effect on audience
Distinguished (A)
a) Statement of intent is insightful, organized and cohesive
b) Materials are of impressive quality
c) The product’s sound or appearance demonstrated flawless skill, editing, artistic
and/or technical precision
d) Original, insightful connection to the text with precise and persuasive references
e) Product is compelling; it evokes a strong intellectual or emotive effect
Grade: ______
AP English: Literature and Composition
Name:
Major Works Data Sheet
Title:
Biographical Information about the
Author:
Author:
Date of Publication:
Genre:
Historical Information about the Period of
Publication or Setting of the Novel:
Characteristics of the Genre:
Plot Summary:
Memorable Quotes (at least 2 – more is better)
Quotation
Significance
Significant Literary Devices (at least 2 – more is better)
Literary Device
Plot Paraphrase - Character Development - Quote
Characters
Name
Role in the Story
Significance
Adjectives
Setting
Significance of the Opening Scene
Symbols or Motifs (explain - at least two)
Significance of the Ending / Closing Scene
Possible Themes – Topics of Discussion (elaborate - minimum of 2 – more is better)