English 10 Honors
World Literature
Summer Reading 2013
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“The ancient commission of the writer has not changed.
He is charged with exposing our many grievous faults and failures, with dredging up to the light
our dark and dangerous dreams for the purpose of improvement” (John Steinbeck).
COMPLETE ALL ASSIGNMENTS BY THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS IN SEPTEMBER.
Your Assignment
Part 1: Steinbeck on the “duties and the responsibilities of the makers of literature”
Read the remarks that author John Steinbeck made about writers’ duties and responsibilities in his banquet
speech when he received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962
(available online at:
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1962/steinbeck-speech_en.html).
Take notes on
what he says the writer should do when creating his works. When you read the stories on your reading list,
think about how each measures up to Steinbeck’s assessment of writers and writing. In particular, consider if
and how these works fulfill Steinbeck’s assertions about the purpose of the writer, as indicated in the following
excerpt from his speech:
“[T]he understanding and the resolution of fear are a large part of the writer's reason for being.
This is not new. The ancient commission of the writer has not changed. He is charged with exposing our
many grievous faults and failures, with dredging up to the light our dark and dangerous dreams for the
purpose of improvement.
Furthermore, the writer is delegated to declare and to celebrate man's proven capacity for greatness of
heart and spirit - for gallantry in defeat - for courage, compassion and love. In the endless war against
weakness and despair, these are the bright rally-flags of hope and of emulation.
I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man, has no dedication nor
any membership in literature.”
Take notes on your observations, and be very specific. You will be writing an essay upon your return to class.
Part 2: Literature Selections
Read each of the following works. A link is provided for some stories – those that are available online. You do
not need to purchase those stories. For each of the stories below, you will be annotating and taking notes so that
you will be prepared to take both an essay test and a multiple-choice test when you return to school in
September. Detailed instructions are included below.
1.)
Select short stories:
a. “Silver Blaze” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Found in Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes)
*This story can be found online at Project Gutenberg at:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/834/834-h/834-h.htm
*Note that this link is for many Sherlock Holmes stories published within Memoirs of Sherlock
Holmes. You need read only the first story, “Silver Blaze.”
b. “The Canterville Ghost” by Oscar Wilde
This story can be found online at Project Gutenberg at:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14522/14522-h/14522-h.htm
c.
“The Overcoat” by Nikolai Gogol
This story can be found online by following the following link:
http://www.classicreader.com/book/2026/1/
3). The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (by Robert Louis Stevenson)
4). A Separate Peace (by John Knowles)
This year, your assignment is to ACTIVELY READ and TAKE NOTES for each of these stories. NO
WRITTEN WORK will be collected when you return to school. Before you get too excited, however, understand
that this means that earning a good score for your summer reading assignment depends entirely on you and
how carefully you read the books, take notes, and annotate your copies. If you are working with an online
copy of a story that you cannot print, take thorough notes on a separate sheet of paper.
Here is how you will be graded:
TWO PART TEST. WHEN YOU RETURN to class, you will be tested on your summer reading material.
The test is a two day test.
1. Multiple-Choice and Short Answer Questions (day 1). (Be prepared to answer questions about
character; identify descriptions of, relationships between, and quotations made by key characters;
identify and elaborate on major conflicts, themes, symbols, foreshadowing, and any other elements of
literature found within the works.)
2.
Essay (day 2). (KNOW THE WORKS well enough to be able to coherently write a comparative or
critical lens style essay, using SPECIFIC information and details to back up your response. This
means ANNOTATE and TAKE THOROUGH NOTES as you read!)
Annotation Guidelines
During the summer, you will need to read these selections with care and ANNOTATE. Here’s how to do it:
Annotating involves underlining or highlighting important descriptions, phrases, or passages within the text
AND writing marginal notes to explain the significance of those underlined selections. NOTE: It is NOT
ENOUGH to simply underline random passages within your text. Anything that is underlined or
highlighted MUST have a written marginal note to explain it. (The point is for you to be able to remember
the insights that you had when you turn back to the page and see your note.) If you don’t have a hard copy
in which to write, take the SAME detailed notes that you would write while annotating.
1.
As you read, note and mark important aspects of the work that relate to the ELEMENTS OF
FICTION—i.e. setting, conflict, characterization, theme, and stylistic elements such as point of
view, symbol, figurative language, and repetition. Some ideas related to key elements to consider
when annotating:
a. Setting. How does the setting influence character, action, & the emergence of certain themes?
b. Conflict. You should be able to identify conflicts for each of the characters in the books. (These
characters include but are not limited to: Gene, Phineas, Utterson, Poole, Jekyll, Hyde, and any
other character that you think faces a major obstacle in the texts). Remember that conflict
involves a character vs. [Some Specific Antagonist] over [a Specific Problem]. If you can
identify a point during which the conflict is resolved, mark that in your text as well. NOTE: An
antagonist need not be another person. It may be society, a setting, or even one's self. Also keep in mind
that the “resolution” does not necessarily mean that the character gets what he wants in the end.
c. Characterization. You should take note of any major changes that occur within characters.
Think about relationships among characters and what their individual motivations are. Mark
any related passages.
d. Climax. (point of highest tension/turning point)
e. Themes. Identify any major themes and trace them through the stories. Also, note any time
dreams (a major theme) are mentioned.
f. Stylistic elements. (Including but not limited to: foils (one character who is “an opposite” of
another), foreshadowing, irony, metaphors, and symbols.
3. Effective annotations will also:
a. Make connections between the literature and your own prior knowledge, experiences, and
values.
b. Make connections between the literature and your own feelings.
c. Raise questions about the literature and attempt to explore and answer them.