Mulhern
Advanced Placement English Language and Composition
Summer Assignments—Reading/Writing
Part One--Reading
Reading Choice: Read any two books from the list below.
My Antonia, Willa Cather (Internet*)
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad (Internet)
Two Years Before the Mast, Richard Henry Dana (Internet)
Deliverance, James Dickey
The Bear, William Faulkner (Internet)
The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway
Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, Alfred Lansing
The Call of the Wild, Jack London (Internet)
The Road, Jack London (Internet)
The Sea Wolf, Jack London (Internet)
All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy
Typee, Herman Melville (Internet)
My First Summer in the Sierra, John Muir (Internet)
Travels in Alaska, John Muir (Internet)
The Oregon Trail, Francis Parkman (Internet)
Through the Brazilian Wilderness, Theodore Roosevelt (Internet)
*For the books where Internet is indicated, you can search Google for the entire
text. Type the full title of the book and the word “text.”
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Part Two--Writing Prompt: Man’s Relationship with the Natural World.
Consider carefully the way the main characters and/or narrators in these selections
respond to their life experiences and environments. Brainstorm an
interesting/creative thesis statement: What types of obstacles do they encounter?
How do they respond to different challenges? How are the attitudes/outlooks of the
individuals similar or different? How has the setting/environment (animal world and
Nature) influenced the lives/fates of these individuals? How do they cope? What life
lessons do they learn from Nature? Are the lessons among them similar or different?
In what ways? How are these individuals inspired by Nature? Which individuals do
you find most interesting, and why?
Essay Assignment: All of us experience different life circumstances. Compare/contrast
(in two of the books) the ways that the main characters/narrators relate to, function
within, survive, and/or succeed in their environments. You must quote sections of the
text (small quotes—no longer than two sentences) to support your thesis. You should
establish a clear theme/thesis in your opening paragraph. (Be creative—use the
questions/ideas I have suggested to springboard your idea.) Underline your thesis
statement in the opening paragraph.
Your essay should be at least 5 typewritten pages in length (double space, 12-point Times
Roman font, one-inch margins, no extra space between paragraphs). You must use the MLA
format for papers. Do a Google search on your computer with "MLA format," "analysis essay,"
and "writing about literature" to find information that will assist you
as you write your essay. Papers are due the first day of class. No exceptions.
Warning: Avoid mere plot summary in your essay. Address the prompt. Your paper
should be a scholarly analysis of these works based on a particular theme.
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Part Three--AP English Language and Composition Readings during
the School Year
Get a head start on some of the reading for this class.
The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Essays by Zora Neale Hurston
Essays by Maya Angelou
Essays by Alice Walker
Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essays by Henry David Thoreau
Writings of Martin Luther King
Speeches of Barack Obama