AP English Literature and Composition (AP Eng III) – Summer Reading 2016/17
Mrs. George ([email protected])
Carefully annotate the novels in response to the guided reading questions. Be prepared to write
extensively about both novels as soon as we return to school in the fall. The article on Romanticism will
help prepare you for an essay on Frankenstein. It also serves as a review of content from Honors Eng II
and an introduction to themes and authors in this course.
Required Reading:

“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” – Gabriel Garcia Marquez (found in required
anthology The Art of the Short Story -- Dana Gioia, editor)

A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving

Frankenstein – Mary Shelley (Norton Critical Edition with critical essays and Shelley’s 1818
text)

Ellen Moers’ critical essay “Female Gothic: The Monster’s Mother” in Norton Critical Edition

"Prometheus." Ancient Greece and Rome: An Encyclopedia for Students. Ed. Carroll Moulton.
Vol. 3. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998. 159-161. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web.
16 June 2014. Prometheus

"Romanticism." Literary Movements for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on
Literary Movements. Ed. Ira Mark Milne. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2009. 705-743. Gale
Virtual Reference Library. Web. 16 June 2014. "Romanticism." Literary Movements for Students
General Guiding Questions:
1. Who are the main characters and what are their identifying characteristics?
2. Identify and analyze important symbols.
3. What choices does the author make about point of view? Examine shifts in narrative perspective.
4. What is the significance of the title?
5. Examine the significance of the setting.
6. What does the novel reveal about human nature?
7. What is your personal response? (Consider your reactions to characters, themes, author’s craft, etc.)
Additional Questions for Frankenstein:
8. Examine aspects of Romanticism and how they are represented in Frankenstein.
9. How does Moers use information about Mary Shelley’s life to interpret the novel? Evaluate Moers’
interpretation. Look for evidence from the novel to refute/ support/ qualify/ extend her ideas.
10. According to critic Anne Mellor, the 1831 version presents a mechanistic view of human nature. “In
the 1818 version, Victor Frankenstein possessed free will…but in the 1831 edition, he is the pawn of
forces beyond his knowledge or control.” Evaluate Mellor’s interpretation. To what extent does Victor
Frankenstein demonstrate a fatalistic attitude?