Honors English II
Summer Reading Assessments
Directions: Complete the chart below using information from Nectar in a Sieve and Things Fall Apart. Be sure to include specific information from the text as well as your own
analysis and insight. Students MUST complete the reading of both books and complete the Reading Portfolio for each.
Setting
Describe the time and place in which
the action occurs. How is it related to
the time period in which the work was
written? What is significant about the
setting? How is the setting connected
to thematic concerns?
Plot
Briefly summarize the plot, using
standard formats of basic plot
structure as they may apply:
exposition, initial incident, rising
action, turning point, climax, falling
action, denouement (resolution).
Discuss conflict and any other devices
that significantly impact plot.
Point of View
From what perspective is the story
told (novel)?/ How does point of view
affect your understanding of the
work? How does the choice of
narrator impact the theme(s) of the
work?
Characterization
Identify the characters in order of
importance (starting with protagonist
and antagonist) and describe them
and their role in the work. Discuss
any characters that have a significant
impact on the work. Be sure to
include physical and psychological
details in your descriptions.
Theme
Identify and discuss any important
messages and ideas the author
communicates in the work.
Remember that themes are important
ideas conveyed. In order for an idea
to be important (and, therefore,
thematic) it must be repeated.
Motifs
A motif is a recurring image
throughout a literary work that can
help develop major themes. Identify,
explain, and analyze three motifs
found in the text. Next, connect those
motifs to the themes of the novel.
Quotes
Select three to five quotes that
illustrate an important theme or idea
in the work. Discuss the element of
theme, plot, setting, or literary device
connected to each quote. Be sure to
use quotation marks and include a
page number. Note bibliographic
information for the text you are using
at the bottom of this section.
Response
Discuss your response to this work.
Did you enjoy it? Why/Why not?
What elements of the book did you
enjoy/not enjoy? What is your
appraisal of the work and its place
within the canon of world literature?
Would you recommend it to someone
else? What type of person would
enjoy this work most? Most
importantly, what connections are
there between this work and the
world that you live in?