English 9 Honors
2015-2016 Summer Assignments from Ms. Heimer & Ms. Moore @ WVHS
1. The summer reading is a portion of Robert Fitzgerald’s translation of Homer’s Odyssey. It will be easier to
understand if you can write notes directly in the book as you read (summarizing, paraphrasing, explaining it to
yourself as you go), so your best preparation is to purchase your own inexpensive copy (no heirloom hardcovers).
Used copies are available online. Gulliver’s Books also has this text and offers a 10% discount on summer
reading titles. If you choose not to purchase a copy, please borrow a copy – be sure it’s the Fitzgerald translation
– from a local library and use a notebook to track your observations and questions as you read.
2. Consider: Monsters are our externalized projections of internal fears and conflicts. We put outside of ourselves
the things we cannot allow or admit inside of ourselves. If we can put it out, away from us, we can face it, fight
it, kill it. That said, Homer’s Odyssey divides roughly into thirds: in the first, Odysseus deals with gods; in the
second, Odysseus deals with monsters; in the third, Odysseus deals with man. The monsters are his bridge or
transition as he tries to understand his proper relationship to the gods, and his proper relationship to other people.
So, if we see his encounters with monsters on his ten-year journey home from war as projections of his internal
fears and conflicts, his battles show us something about how he answers his own questions and resolves his own
fears. His monsters represent pieces of where Odysseus has been, where he is going, and who he should be.
3. Read. You are reading only the monster middle of The Odyssey: Books IX – XV (9 – 15):
New Coasts and Poseidon’s Son
Sea Perils and Defeat
Hospitality in the Forest
The Grace of the Witch
One More Strange Island
How They Came to Ithaka
A Gathering of Shades
4. As you read:
Note Odysseus’ apparent strengths and weaknesses, or his wise choices and mistakes.
Note actions and attitudes that are punished, and rewarded, both for monsters and for men.
Note what each monster might represent about Odysseus psychologically, emotionally, or morally.
Note what lessons Odysseus is gathering on the journey to apply to his life at home.
5. Write. You have three responses to complete. These are NOT ESSAYS. These are freewrites. They are
informal and unstructured. You are free to write what you think without worrying about organization.
Then you are free to think, and think again, and think some more, and add more writing. The point of
these responses is to get you past your first fast and easy idea. I want you to stretch. I want you to think
second, third, fourth and fifth thoughts. I want you to keep asking new questions and trying to answer
them. I want you to pursue ideas, not sit passively and give up when they don’t crawl right into your lap.
Chase them with all your focus and brainpower. EACH response must be ONE FULL TYPED PAGE,
SINGLE-SPACED, for a total of three complete pages. The requirement is that the entire page be ON
TOPIC and that there is no extraneous “I don’t know what to write” nonsense. At the end of your page,
reread what you have written and synthesize your very best ideas into one sentence. This sentence
should be the last sentence at the very bottom of the page. Each response must be: typed in 12 point
Times New Roman font, single-spaced with 1” margins, complete from top to bottom all the way to the
last line on the page. Seriously, ALL the way to the LAST line.
Response Prompts
Response 1: Choose one monster Odysseus encounters. What part of Odysseus does that monster represent? Look at
each detail about the monster. How does each fact reflect part of Odysseus? What does his encounter with that
monster reveal about Odysseus’ fears about himself, the gods, and other people?
Response 2: Choose one of America’s current monster obsessions (zombies, vampires, werewolves, aliens). How do
we portray that monster, and what does our obsession with that monster reveal about our culture’s fears? What are we
afraid of in ourselves, gods (divinity, the supernatural, faith), and other people?
Response 3: Choose the one monster from either The Odyssey or American popular culture that best represents YOU.
Which of your own fears does the monster reveal? What does that monster reflect your own fears about yourself, the
divine or supernatural, and other people?
West Valley High School
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District
1
English 9 Honors
2015-2016
FAQs
Q: Why do we have summer assignments?
A: Summer assignments are an earnest money deposit; they show you’re willing to make an investment up
front, and that you’re serious about participating in this transaction. They prove that you plan on holding up
your end of the bargain by putting your money (effort) where your mouth (intention) is.
Q: Doesn’t the first assignment of the semester prove that?
A: The first assignment proves that in a regular class. Honors classes move much faster and require much
more independent work. Summer assignments are a better trial run so you can experience the kind of habits
and preparation the honors program expects.
Q: How will the summer assignments help me?
A: Critical thinking is a muscle; it will atrophy if you don’t use it. These summer assignments will keep you
thinking, keep you reading, keep you writing, keep you sharp. They will give you a chance to ponder and
prepare so you have something interesting to say when you enter the class. They’ll also give you a sample of
the kind of reading, thinking, and writing we’ll be doing all year. If you hate this, or cannot make the time to
complete the work, the class is probably not a good fit for you, and you should request a course change
before your West Valley counselor leaves for summer.
Q: How will the summer assignments be assessed?
A: Each completed typed response is worth 30 points, for a total of 90 points. You’ll earn full credit for each
thorough, thoughtful, complete response that doesn’t wander off topic, doesn’t repeat the same thing over
and over, and doesn’t skimp on length and quality. Use the assignments as inspiration to think new things
and be interested in your ideas, and you’ll start the class with 90/90.
Q: When are the assignments due?
A: Printed copies of the typed assignments are due when you walk in the door to the first day of class. You
are making your first impression with them; be wise about the image you present. Don’t allow us to think,
even for a minute, that you are misplaced in honors. Don’t ask if you can go to the library to print during
class. Don’t ask if you can email the assignments after school. Don’t ask if you can call home to have a
parent deliver assignments to the office. Bring your own work, and enjoy the confidence that comes with
being prepared.
Q: May I make up the assignments if I do not turn them in during the first class?
A: No. You’ll earn 0/90, and that will impact your grade for the first few weeks until you accumulate
enough points to balance out the deficit. There won’t be extra credit or alternatives to replace those points.
That’s the price of committing to honors-level expectations. The reward is a challenging and invigorating
education equal in quality to what private prep schools offer, but for free. The high expectations for personal
responsibility are worth it for what you get.
Q: Is it normal to be nervous about the class?
A: Yes. Just remember that hard and good are not opposites. We can do this.
Q: Is it also normal to be really excited about the class?
A: Yes. We can’t wait to meet you. This is going to ROCK.
West Valley High School
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District
2
Carrie Heimer & Selena Moore
English 9 Honors
2015-2016