Grade 11 Summer Reading Program:
2017 Philosophy and Requirements
Woodward Academy English Department
Woodward Academy’s English Department believes that the Summer Reading Assignment is a valuable pursuit for
the student for several reasons. Colleges expect students to have read widely in the classics of literature, and all high
school teachers believe that students need to exercise their independent reading skills over the summer months. In
addition, familiarity with specific pieces of literature allows the student to start the school year with a literary
foundation on which to reflect and compose. Basing their choices on college English department lists of books
which well-prepared students should have read and on the curriculum which the student will study during the year,
teachers at every grade level select books that should prove interesting and valuable. For these reasons, rising
freshmen read mythology and works with a tragic theme or heroic archetype. Rising sophomores read old or new
classics of American Literature. Rising juniors read works by British authors. Seniors select from world authors.
This year, students will also select a book and meet in small groups for a discussion on the first Monday of school,
August 21st. Led by a teacher or staff member in collaboration with a student volunteer from the senior class, the
groups will be composed of students in grades 10 through 12. Students will select their book for the discussion
group beginning in April of 2017. Information will be on their English teacher’s Haiku page. Students may be asked
or allowed to write on this book during the first eight weeks of school. New-to- Woodward students (enrolled fall
2017) are not required to read a book of choice, only the required books.
Teachers approved student placement in April of 2017 for the appropriate level of English study (CP, EP,
HP, or AP), and students should read the books assigned to that level. New students will find out their levels
when they meet in June with a member of the Upper School staff. During the first eight weeks of school, each
English teacher will assign papers based on the works, give an objective test over the required books, and make
other assignments as necessary. At least three evaluations of the works will occur, including objective, subjective,
and creative assessments
Students enrolled in the Upper School by August 1, 2017, must complete all the assigned books by the start of
school, August 17, 2017. New students enrolled in the Upper School after August 1, 2017, should begin the
required books at their level immediately upon acceptance and then consult with their English teachers on the first
day of class. All evaluations of summer reading will be completed by October 13, 2017.
The English Department requires new and returning students to complete the assignment over the summer in order
not to double the homework load in English during the first grading period. Following are a list of key questions to
ask yourself as you read a novel, work of nonfiction, or play. You can aid your long-term retention of these works
by taking notes which answer each of the following questions. Include a page reference as often as possible. This
effort will help as you review for your tests and projects in the fall.
1. Identify the narrative hook, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. If the novel is structured more
loosely, what does each episode add to the story, and how does each build on the preceding ones?
2. What types of conflict are present?
3. Who are the main characters?
4. Are these characters round or flat, static, or dynamic?
5. Why do you sympathize or not sympathize with each character?
6. What is the effect of the point of view that the author uses: first person, limited third person, or omniscient?
Does the point of view ever change?
7. What tone does the author express through the work’s events and characters?
8. What objects, persons, places, or events are given symbolic meaning? What do they symbolize? Does the
meaning of any symbol change?
9. If the work uses irony, what is its effect and why is it used?
10. Identify the novel’s major theme or themes.
11. How do the plot, setting, point of view, symbols, and irony express the novel’s theme or themes?
Junior Summer Reading 2017-18
SUMMER READING: ELEVENTH GRADE 2017-18
Since students will be discussing and writing with the summer reading texts, it is beneficial if
students purchase the edition noted by ISBN numbers. The campus store carries the required books
only; students will purchase them from the store during the last weeks of May. For optional books,
any unabridged edition is acceptable. AFTER MAY 20, 2017, students may access brief
descriptions of all books as well as study questions on the required books at The Woodward
Academy website.
REQUIRED OF AP. LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 11 (AP):
(1) A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens (ISBN: 13: 9780141439600)
(2) The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer (Read these tales: “The Miller’s Tale,” “The Wife of Bath’s
Tale,” and “The Pardoner’s Tale”; other parts will be a part of semester one curriculum; (ISBN:
13: 9780140424386)
(3) One selection from the Book Discussion list. (New-to-Woodward eleventh graders in the fall of
2017 are excused from the Book of Choice program)
REQUIRED OF ENGLISH HONORS 11 (HP):
(1) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Pearl Poet (This work is found in the year-long
anthology, The Norton Anthology of British Literature, The Major Authors –13: 9780393928297-and may be purchased from MBS over the summer).
(2) The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer (Read these tales: “The Miller’s Tale,” “The Reeve’s Tale,” “The
Pardoner’s Tale,” “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” and “The Clerk’s Tale,” and (ISBN:
13: 9780140424386)
(3) One selection from the Book Discussion list. (New-to-Woodward eleventh graders in the fall of
2017 are excused from the Book of Choice program)
REQUIRED OF ALL ENRICHED COLLEGE PREPARATORY (EP) STUDENTS:
(1) Pygmalion. Shaw (ISBN: 13-9781503290907)
(2) A Handmaid’s Tale,Margaret Atwood (ISBN: 13- 9780385490818)
(3) One selection from the Book Discussion list. (New-to-Woodward eleventh graders in the fall of
2017 are excused from the Book of Choice program)
REQUIRED OF ALL COLLEGE PREP (CP) STUDENTS:
(1) Animal Farm, George Orwell (ISBN: 13- 9788129116123)
(2) One selection from the Book Discussion list. (New-to-Woodward eleventh graders in the fall of
2017 are excused from the Book of Choice program)
Brief Notes on Summer Reading Texts - Grade 11
Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale. (13: 9780385490818)--- In the world of the near future, who
will control women's bodies? Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave
the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are
now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must attempt
to become pregnant each month with the Commander’s child because in an age of declining
births, Offred and the other Handmaids are only valued if they can conceive. Offred can
remember the days before, when she lived with her husband Luke; when she played with and
protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But
all of that is gone now.... (Required for EP students)
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Chaucer, Canterbury Tales (13:9780140424386)—Writing in the Middle Ages, Chaucer creates
characters who tell stories as part of a conversation. Learn about a knight, a religious
charlatan, and a middle-class widow as you read their stories. (Required for HP and AP
students)
Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (13: 9780141439600) – This novel, set in England and France
during the French Revolution, is a mystery novel of terror and rebellion but also of love and
redemption. (Required for AP students)
Orwell: Animal Farm (13: 9788129116123) -- “All animals are equal, but some animals are more
equal than others.” A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming
idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality.
Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned—a razor edged fairy
tale for grown-ups that records the evolution from revolution against tyranny to a
totalitarianism just as terrible. When Animal Farm was first published, Stalinist Russia was
seen as its target. Today, it is devastatingly clear that wherever and whenever freedom is
attacked, under whatever banner, the cutting clarity and savage comedy of George Orwell’s
masterpiece have a meaning and message still ferociously fresh. (Required for CP students)
Pearl Poet, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (This work is found in the year-long anthology,
The Norton Anthology of British Literature, The Major Authors –13: 9780393928297-- and may
be purchased from MBS over the summer. King Arthur’s finest knight accepts an unusual
challenge, from a most unusual guest, to uphold the honor of the Round Table and finds
himself tested in ways he never expected. (Required for HP students)
Shaw, Pygmalion (13-9781503290907) Pygmalion, one of George Bernard Shaw’s most famous
plays, is set in England during the early twentieth century. During the opening act, Professor
Henry Higgins, a linguistic expert, Colonel Pickering, an author, and Eliza Doolittle, a lowly flower
girl, meet during a rain storm. Higgins bets Pickering that he can pass Eliza off as a polished, high
society lady after teaching her proper language and proper manners. The play mocks the outdated
British class system; many elements of society fall prey to Shaw’s humor including gender, social
class, marriage, etiquette and relationships. It is also important to note both ancient and
current ties to the play. In ancient Greek mythology, an artist named Pygmalion fell in love
with one of his statues, made an offering to Aphrodite, and his statue came to life. Today
we can watch movies and current productions of the play. The Pygmalion effect, also
known as the Rosenthal effect, is a common belief that there is a positive correlation with
higher expectations and higher performance. (Required for EP students)
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Study Questions - English 3 and AP Language 11 Summer Reading
While no student is required to complete these questions, the English Department provides them
for those students who like to reinforce independent reading with notes to study prior to taking
the fall assessments.
Margaret Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale (EP)
1) Discuss the imagery Atwood uses to present the gymnasium setting (3) – what does this
description reveal about certain American cultural traditions? What uses of language or ideas in
this section help Atwood draw readers into the story?
2) Who are the “Angels” that Offred describes, and what do they tell you about her situation
(4)? What is the significance of Offred’s reference to “fantasy” in the midst of restrictions – why
is the notion of fantasy important here?
3) Consider Offred’s comment about how “[t]hinking can hurt your chances” – what is the link
between this statement and being one of the “ladies of reduced circumstances” (8)?
4) Offred sees herself as “A Sister, dipped in blood” (9). What is the significance of this?
5) The house is described as “Late Victorian,” “a family house” (9). How does Atwood use this
description to foreshadow Offred’s position within the story as part of a family? Consider this in
connection with Offred’s description of her appearance when she sees herself in the mirror, and
think about the meanings of the house for its various inhabitants – the Commander, the
Commander’s Wife, Rita, Cora, and Nick.
6) By Chapter 3, Offred has been in the household for five weeks and notes “Things haven’t
settled down…everyone is unsure about our exact status” (13). Compare her encounters with
Rita, Cora, and the Commander’s Wife, and describe Offred’s relationship with the
Commander’s Wife (13-16).
7) Who are the Guardians (20-21) and what “power” does Offred have in relation to them?
8) Consider Aunt Lydia’s remark “In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being
given freedom from. Don’t underrate it” (24). What is your sense of the differences between
“freedom to” and “freedom from”? Do you think that people in contemporary American culture
have too many freedoms? Would you rather have less freedom and more protection?
9) Later, Lydia also notes, “We were a society dying…of too much choice” (25). Is it possible to
have “too much choice,” and do Americans today have too many choices? Would you prefer to
have more choices, or fewer?
10) Why does Atwood include the Handmaids’ encounter with the Japanese tourists (27-9)?
11) Offred cites the need to carefully control her thoughts and feelings: “What I feel is that I
must not feel…I need to be very clear in my own mind…” (33). Why is this so important to her
survival in the Republic of Gilead?
12) Why is writing “forbidden” and what is the significance of “you” (39-40)?
13) In Chapter 8, Offred, while talking in the kitchen with Rita, notes “Sometimes these flashes
of normality come at me from the side…For some, in some ways, things haven’t changed that
much” (48). What might this suggest, both about the present situation and the time before
Gilead?
14) How does Offred’s relationship with Luke comment on her values or her character in the
time before Gilead? (50-51)
15) Consider Offred’s various recollections of her past life and her observation that “We lived,
as usual, by ignoring” (56). What is the significance of this in relation to how she describes the
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changes that lead to her current situation in Gilead, and what do you think “the blank edges of
the print” or the “gaps between the stories” that gave her “more freedom” represent? (57)
16) What does Offred discover during her visit to the doctor? What is the “choice” that
“terrifies” her? (60-1)
17) A number of times Offred refers to her body as something disagreeable, almost a kind of
trap that “determines [her] so completely” (63), or “a swamp, a fenland…treacherous ground”
(73). This is in distinct contrast to a time before Gilead when she experienced her body as
“single, solid, one with me,” and “an instrument of pleasure, or a means of transportation, or an
implement for the accomplishment of my will” (73). How is bodily integrity, the sense of
possessing one’s own body, important to the expression of women’s creativity?
18) What is the significance of the Commander’s “bedtime story” to the household? (87) Why
the juxtaposition of the story of Moira’s attempted escape with her description of the Ceremony?
(90-5)
19) How does Offred feel about her past life with Luke? What does she believe and hope for in
the present? (106)
20) In Chapter 19, we see that one of the trends in pre-Gileadean culture was declining fertility,
which, to a certain extent, has happened because of women’s access to education (113). What do
you think of the contrasts between Gileadean attitudes toward labor and child-bearing and those
of the previous culture? (113-4)
21) There are several divisions, or rankings, of women in Gilead – Marthas, Handmaids,
Commanders’ Wives, Econowives, and Unwomen – each associated with its own style of dress
or color. What are the different roles played by each type, and how do these rankings comment
on the value of women in Gileadean culture?
Chapters 20-25
22) During the birthing scene, Offred remembers her own mother, who was a feminist activist in
the time before, participating in “Take Back the Night” and pro-choice rallies (119-120). She
once tells Offred, “You’re just a backlash. Flash in the pan. History will absolve me” (121). Are
politically disengaged young women like Offred at least partially responsible for their own
oppression in Gilead?
23) After Janine has given birth, Offred again recalls her mother’s enthusiasm for “women’s
culture” (127). What are the possible meanings of women’s culture, both here in the
contemporary United States, or in transnational formats, and how might these compare/contrast
to the “women’s culture” described in Gilead?
24) Despite her absence, why is Moira still so important to Offred? (130-33)
25) What is the significance of Offred’s meditation on the concept of forgiveness? (134-5)
26) After Offred’s Scrabble game with the Commander, she concludes, “That’s what I was there
for, then, The same old thing. It was too banal to be true” (158). First, what does this mean?
Second, despite representing “the same old thing,” how have her circumstances changed after
playing with the Commander?
Chapters 26-29
27) How do Offred’s Scrabble sessions with the Commander change the dynamic of their
relationship? How does Offred now feel about Serena Joy? (160-62)
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28) Aunt Lydia tells the Handmaids, “For the generations that come after…it will be so much
better…But we can’t be greedy pigs and demand too much before it’s ready, now can we?”
(163). What is the significance of this commentary?
29) How does Offred’s situation change during her conversation with Ofglen at Soul Scrolls?
What sort of development in her character do we see? (168-9). What does Atwood’s
characterization of Offred’s life as a friend and worker in the time before tell you about her?
30) How does the government takeover happen? Any echoes with contemporary history, either
from the 1980s when Atwood wrote the novel or from more recent political events? (174). Why
does Offred say that she and her friends felt as though they “deserved” to lose?
31) Offred notes, after losing her job and savings, “I felt love going forward without me” (182).
How does this loss change her relationship with Luke? What are the meanings of “Nolite te
bastardes carborundorum”? (186-7)
Chapters 30-35
31) Why does Atwood include the story about the cat? (280-81) The fractured paternoster?
32) Comment on “The danger is grayout” (200). What does this mean?
33) What is the new agreement between Offred and Serena Joy? (204-6)
34) During a Scrabble session, the Commander attempts to justify Gilead, saying “The main
problem was with the men. There was nothing for them anymore…there was nothing for them to
do with women” (210). What does he mean by this? Does this resonate with your understanding
of men in contemporary American culture – “inability to feel,” “turning off” on sex and
marriage?
35) What does the “Janine episode” tell you about the “women’s culture”? (214-17)
36) Consider the Commander’s rationale for Gilead, “We’ve given them more than we’ve taken
away” (219). To what extent is his argument persuasive?
37) Aunt Lydia says, “Love is not the point,” siding with the Commander that falling in love
“isn’t worth it” (220). Do you agree? Are false notions of romantic love, or the overvaluation of
“love,” at least in part responsible for the creation of Gilead?
38) What do you think of Offred’s meditation on love and “working out,” the “revisionist”
notion of relationships? (226-7)
Chapters 36-40
39) What does Jezebel’s tell you about Gileadean culture? Which women from the time
before wind up “permanently” at Jezebel’s, and what do their costumes recall? (234-9)
40) What does Offred learn from Moira’s story? How has Moira changed as a result of her
experiences? (244-9)
41) Why does Offred think about her mother during her visit to Jezebel’s? (252-3)
42) Comment on the significance of Offred’s remarks after their tryst: “I would like to be
without shame. I would like to be shameless. I would like to be ignorant. Then I would not know
how ignorant I was” (263).
43) Why does Atwood begin Chapter 41 with Offred’s elaborate apology to her readers/listeners
– what does she want you to think about here? (267-8)
44) What is the nature of Offred’s relationship with Nick? Constructive or self-destructive? A
repetition of her past mistakes, a glimpse into a different future, or just “treading water” and
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making life bearable? (268-70). How does this change her relationship with Ofglen and the
resistance? (270-1)
45) Of the Salvaging, Offred says, “I don’t want to be telling this story” (273). What happens
during the Salvaging, and why is this story so difficult for her to tell? (273-81)
46) What is “Particicution,” and what is its function in Gileadean culture? (278-81)
47) What happens to Ofglen, and what do you think of Offred’s response? (286)
48) Comment on Offred’s remark after Serena Joy discovers her relationship with the
Commander: “I should have paid attention” (293).
49) What happens to Offred when she gets into the van? (295, 311) What do you make of this
ending to her story?
50) Thumbs up? Thumbs down? Explain.
George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion (English EP)
Think about the following points as you read the play in its entirety:
1. Higgins treating Eliza as an object, not as a person with an identity, a sense of dignity, and a
destiny of her own.
2. Eliza asserting her dignity as a human being and rebelling against attacks on her dignity and
against Higgins’ attempts to treat her like an object.
Act One
1. What purpose does the rain shower serve?
2. The note taker is assumed to be of what profession? What actually is his profession?
3. What does the note taker say about a "woman who utters such depressing and disgusting
sounds"?
4. The note taker brags about what he could do for the flower girl within three months. What
does he claim?
5. Who takes the cab Freddy brings? Why?
6. What do Higgins and Pickering have in common?
Act Two
1. When Higgins recognizes the flower girl, what is his reaction?
2. What does Eliza Doolittle want?
3. Even after he agrees to teach her, what is Higgins' attitude towards Eliza?
4. Describe Mrs. Pearce's role.
5. Eliza determines to leave rather than to be further insulted. How does Higgins persuade her to
stay?
6. What is the point of the bath scene?
7. Mrs. Pearce makes some suggestions to Higgins. What are they?
8. Why did Alfred Doolittle come to see Professor Higgins?
9. Doolittle says, "I'm undeserving, and I mean to go on being undeserving." Why does he not
want to better himself?
10. Why does Doolittle want only five pounds instead of the ten he is offered?
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Act Three
1. Who are Mrs. and Miss Eynsford Hill?
2. Henry says, "We want two or three people. You'll do as well as anybody else." What does the
fact that he says that tell us?
3. What does Liza do wrong at Mrs. Higgins' home?
4. What does Clara think of Eliza?
5. Who is Nepommuck?
6. Is Eliza successful at the ambassador's reception?
Act Four
1. Why did Eliza throw Higgins' slippers at him?
2. What is Higgins' advice to Liza when he realizes she is upset (although he cannot understand
why she is upset)?
3. Why does Liza wish Higgins had left her where he had found her?
4. Why does Liza tell Freddy, "Don't you call me Miss Doolittle . . . Liza is good enough for
me."
5. What was Freddy doing below Eliza's window?
Act Five
1. Why is Henry Higgins concerned about Liza?
2. Why is Alfred Doolittle upset?
3. Higgins says, "She behaved in the most outrageous way. I never gave her the slightest
provocation." Is he lying or not?
4. What becomes of Eliza?
Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities (AP)
1. Identify the following characters or places or things and explain their relationships to one another
and to the significance of the novel: Jarvis Lorry; Lucie Manette; Dr. Manette; Madame Defarge;
Monsieur Defarge; Charles Darnay; Mr. Stryver; Sydney Carton; Jerry Cruncher; Miss Pross;
Marquis St. Evremonde; Tellson’s Bank; Monsieur Gabelle; Jacquerie; La Force; La Guillotine; John
Basard; Gaspard; Ladybird; the seamstress.
2. What is the historical background of the novel?
3. Why has Dr. Manette been in prison?
4. Who protects Dr. Manette when he returns from prison?
5. What are some of the important incidents that happen to Charles Darnay during the course of the
novel?
6. Identify and analyze the many ironies in the characterization of Sydney Carton.
7. What actions of Gaspard further the complications for Charles Darnay?
8. Why is Madame Defarge so unrelenting in her determination to exterminate every member of the
Evremonde family?
9. What does Monsieur Defarge find in Dr. Manette’s cell?
10. What happens to both Dr. Manette and Charles Darnay as a result of what Defarge finds in Dr.
Manette’s cell?
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The Pearl Poet’s Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Honors)
PART 1 (lines 1-490)
1. What season of the year is it as the actual story begins? Why is that significant? What night is it
when the main events of Part 1 take place (line 60)?
2. How old (more or less) are Arthur and his knights when the story takes place? How do you know?
3. Why won’t Arthur eat his dinner yet?
4. What is the most unusual thing about the man who rides into the hall? In what interesting way
does the author bring us that information? What is the man carrying in his hands (lines 206-208)?
How does the man behave when he enters? Whom does he ask for? What initial response does he
get?
5. What does the Green Knight propose? (Note the language he uses in lines 273 and 283.)
6. How many knights initially offer to undertake the Green Knight’s challenge? What arguments
does Gawain finally use in asking to be given the challenge?
7. What happens when Gawain cuts off the Green Knight’s head (lines 425 ff)?
8. What is Arthur’s response once the Green Knight has left?
PART 2 (lines 491-1104)
1. When does Gawain leave Arthur’s court?
2. What appears on the outside of his shield? What appears on the inside? What does the pentangle
stand for? What, especially, do the fifth five mean? (In the original, the five are fraunchyse,
felawschyp, clannes, cortaysye, and pité.) The author stresses that all of the fives are linked (lines
656-661). What happens in such a structure if any one of the elements gives way?
3. How is Gawain received in the castle? How does the lord of the castle respond? How would you
describe the lord of the castle?
PART 3 (lines 1126-1997)
1. What animal does the lord hunt the first, second and third days and what gifts does he receive from
Gawain?
2. Does Gawain keep his bargain?
1.
PART 4 (lines 1998-2530)
1. What does the guide say about the Green Knight? What does he tell Gawain to do? What is
Gawain’s response?
2. Is the Green Chapel what Gawain expected it to be? What is it?
3. What tone does the Green Knight maintain throughout Gawain’s encounter with him?
4. What happens the first time the Green Knight raises the ax? What does he tell Gawain in line
2270? Have we heard that before?
5. What happens the second time the Green Knight raises the ax? What is Gawain’s response?
6. What happens the third time the Green Knight raises the ax? What is Gawain’s response?
7. What surprises do we and Gawain get in the Green Knight’s explanation of the three tries (lines
2345-2357)? What additional surprise appears in lines 2358-2361?
8. How does the Green Knight judge Gawain’s performance during his tests? How does Gawain
judge his own performance? Whom does Gawain blame (lines 2411-2428)?
9. Who is the Green Knight? Who is the old woman at the castle? Why is she so much more
important to the poem than she appeared to be? What did she want to do to Arthur’s knights? What
did she want to do to Arthur’s queen?
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11. What is Gawain’s attitude when he returns to court? What is the court’s attitude? What happens
to the girdle? What does the court do about it?
12. Whose response should we see as the more appropriate, Gawain’s or that of both the Green
Knight and the court?
Chaucer, Canterbury Tales (HP and AP)
(From "The Miller's Tale"):
• Who lives as a renter with John the Carpenter and his wife?
• What knowledge and skills does this person have?
• What does Nicholas say will happen next Monday, according to his astrological
predictions?
• Who does Absolon seek out in the middle of the night to help him in his revenge?
• What cunning plan backfires for Nicholas?
• When John cuts the ropes and his tub falls, what happens to John (i.e., what injury does
he suffer?)
(From "The Reeve’s Tale") (HP only)
• Why does the Reeve tell a story about a miller?
• What is Simpkin particularly proud of? What is ironic about his “well-descended” wife
and daughter?
• Why do Alan and John take grain to be ground by the Miller?
• Why does Simpkin dislike Alan and John?
• How does Simpkin first distract and then ultimately cheat Alan and John?
• How do Alan and John learn they have been cheated?
• What is Alan’s plan for revenge against the Miller? Note (maybe sketch) the set-up of the
beds and crib in the Miller’s house that will play a part in the night’s events.
• When John realizes what Alan and the Miller’s daughter are doing, what does he plan?
How does he lure the Miller’s wife into bed with him?
• How do Alan and John get back the grain that the Miller stole? (From "The Wife of
Bath’s Tale")
• When is this tale set? (During the mythic reign of what king?)
• According to the Wife of Bath, why can't people see elves anymore? What has driven
them out of their natural habitat?
• What does the Wife of Bath mean when she states, "There is no other incubus than he
[the friar]"?
• What happens to the maid riding alone through the corn?
• What strange sight does the knight see while riding through the forest on his return
journey?
• What do the twenty-four women do or what happens to them as the knight approaches?
• What does the Old Hag say she wants in return for providing the answer to the knight's
riddle? (Hint: She doesn't tell the knight she wants to marry him.)
• What is the Queen and the court's reaction to the knight's answer?
• What two options does the hag present to the knight?
• Which of these two options does the knight pick (trick question!)? (From the Pardoner's
Prologue):
• What does the Pardoner say is always the "theme" (main point) of his sermons? Why is
that suitable or appropriate to his purposes?
• What are some the Pardoner's money-making tricks? (From "The Pardoner's Tale" itself):
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Junior Summer Reading 2017-18
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
What agreement or pact do the three rioters make with each other?
What does the old man seek as he travels endlessly from place to place?
Where does the old man tell the rioters he last saw Death?
Explain how the rioters end up dying.
How does this creepy sermon serve the Pardoner's own greedy purposes if his audience
"buys" his argument about greed being evil? (From “The Clerk’s Tale”) (HP only)
What kind of man is Walter? What is his attitude toward marriage?
What kind of woman is Griselda? Keep a list of examples of her patience.
What are the different tests that Walter imposes on Griselda? Why does he test her in
these ways?
In your opinion, who is the less likeable--Walter for testing his wife or Griselda for
submitting to all of the tests? Does either character have any admirable traits in your
opinion?
In his Epilogue, the Clerk assigns various morals / lessons to his tale--what are these
lessons for men and women alike?
George Orwell’s Animal Farm (CP)
Chapter 1
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
What is the original name of the farm?
Who is the owner of the farm?
What type of animal (specifically) is Old Major?
Which human habits does Old Major forbid?
What is the title and purpose of the song?
How are the beginning and the end of the chapter similar?
Chapter 2
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
What happens to Major? What is the effect of his speech?
Who is Snowball? Describe in detail
Who is Napoleon? Describe in detail
Who is Squealer? Describe in detail
Who is Mollie? What is her main concern regarding the rebellion?
On what day does the rebellion start? How does it begin?
Why does Boxer discard his straw hat?
8. Who is Moses? What does he talk about?
9. Look at the commandments and consider why these activities are banned. What are the ways each
of these activities could be considered a vice (a bad thing)?
I.
No animal is ever to live in a house.
II.
No animal is ever to sleep in a bed.
III.
No animal is ever to wear clothes.
IV.
No animal is ever to drink alcohol.
V.
VI.
No animal is ever to smoke tobacco.
No animal is ever to touch money.
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Junior Summer Reading 2017-18
VII.
No animal is ever to engage in trade.
VIII.
No animal is ever to tyrannize his own kind.
IX.
X.
No animal must ever kill any other animal
All animals are equal.
Chapter 3
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Which animals become supervisors?
Who does the work?
What is Boxer’s maxim? (a maxim is a motto/ wise saying / precept)
Describe the flag the animals adopt and its symbolism.
Who always disagrees with the status quo?
To what are the seven commandments reduced for the sake of the stupidest animals?
Snowball and Napoleon agree about one thing. What is it?
Why do the pigs “need” milk and apples?
What further examples of the differences between pigs and the other animals occur during these
chapters?
10. What are Napoleon’s ideas about education?
11. How is Squealer able to convince other animals to accept whatever Napoleon decides?
Chapter 4
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
How do neighboring humans react to the situation at Animal Farm?
Describe the Battle of the Cowshed.
What was Snowball’s part in this battle?
Where is Napoleon during the battle? Is he mentioned?
Where is Mollie during the battle? Why is she there?
What is the significance of the gun’s placement at the foot of the flagpole?
Compare Snowball and Boxer’s attitudes toward war.
Chapter 5
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Why does Mollie run away from the farm?
What changes have been made in the weekly meetings over the last year?
Explain the windmill controversy from Snowball’s point of view.
Explain the windmill controversy from Napoleon’s point of view.
Between the two leaders, one emerged as a natural leader who was very popular with the animals.
The other was not for speeches. How did this other leader gain power?
How did he use this power to expel the more successful leader? What reasons did he give for
doing this?
What changes does Napoleon make after Snowball leaves?
Why don’t the other animals protest Napoleon’s decision?
How the animals now arrange themselves when they enter the barn to receive their orders as
compared to the description in Chapter 1?
What is the importance of the dogs accompanying Squealer when he comes to talk to the
animals?
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Junior Summer Reading 2017-18
Chapter 6 & 7
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
How much work are the animals now doing?
Why does Napoleon decide to engage in trade with neighboring farms?
How do the animals react to the trade agreement?
How is the windmill destroyed?
Why does Napoleon insist the windmill must be rebuilt immediately?
Why does Napoleon order that the hens’ eggs be sold?
How does Napoleon react when the hens rebel against his orders?
Why does Napoleon revive the threat of the farm being sabotaged by Snowball?
Explain why the animals falsely confessed to being traitors.
Why does Napoleon order the animals to stop singing “Beasts of England?”
Chapter 8 & 9
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
What purpose is served by the production figures Squealer reads to the animals?
How is Napoleon becoming more and more like a typical dictator?
What are the similarities and differences between “Comrade Napoleon” and “Beasts of England.”
Describe the sale of the stack of lumber. How does Napoleon outwit himself?
How does Napoleon explain all the bad things that happen on the farm?
What makes the battle against Frederick’s men different from the Battle of the Cowshed?
Why do the men blow up the windmill?
What happens during the battle? (injuries, destroyed property, etc.- be specific)
Where was Squealer during the battle?
Describe the whisky incident.
Late one night, Squealer was discovered outside the barn, right beside the Seven Commandments
sign. He had fallen off the ladder, and had dropped a can of white paint. None of the animals
understood what Squealer was doing there, except for Benjamin. What do you think Squealer was
planning to do?
Why are the animals so easily fooled, even though the proof is right before them?
Why does Napoleon allow Moses to return and to tell his stories about Sugarcandy Mountain?
What happens to Boxer?
How did the pigs explain what happened to Boxer?
Chapter 10
1. What changes have the years brought to the farm?
2. How do the animals now feel about their social order and their farm?
3. Name the things that the pigs start to do that violated the original 7 commandments and made
them more “human.”
4. What do the pigs teach the sheep to say?
5. All seven commandments are erased. What is the new commandment?
6. At the conference with the neighboring farmers, what new changes does Napoleon point out?
7. What does Pilkington congratulate Napoleon for?
8. What happens to the pigs’ appearance?
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