CSP American Literature
Summer Assignment 2016-2017
Questions? Email: [email protected]
Part One: Reading and Writing (graded by rubric, included in the first quarter grade, and
referred to throughout the year).
Report Due Date: First full Monday in September. Report must be typed and printed according
to MLA format. Save an electronic copy for later submission to Turnitin.
Instructions:
Choose two (2) of the following questions for each of the novels below and answer in essay* form. Use
specific examples from the text to reinforce your opinions and facts. Page numbers must be placed by
any quote, or textual evidence you use. Be careful of spelling, grammar, and mechanics. Must be typed
in MLA format as pictured below.
Book 1: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
1. Although written over 150 years ago, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter contains
concepts and insights relevant to contemporary readers. The themes of alienation and
breaking society’s rules are ones to which many teenagers can readily relate. Describe these
themes in the following characters: Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger
Chillingworth. Also, explain how seeing these themes through each of these characters can
affect a high school reader's experience of The Scarlet Letter.
2. Children play a variety of roles in this novel. Pearl is both a blessing and a curse to Hester,
and she seems at times to serve as Hester’s conscience. The town children, on the other
hand, are cruel and brutally honest about their opinion of Hester and Pearl. Why are children
presented as more perceptive and more honest than adults? How do children, then and now,
differ from adults in their potential for expressing these perceptions?
3. In “Hester Prynne: Sinner, Victim, Object, Winner,” Andrea Seabrook states, “Hester
Prynne can be seen as Hawthorne's literary contemplation of what happens when women
break cultural bounds and gain personal power. . . In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne may
seem a victim and an object, but she also shows great personal strength. She survives.”
Consider whether you believe that Hester is a “sinner,” a “victim,” an “object,” but
ultimately a “winner.” If you agree, what victory does she gain in her struggle against her
society’s gender norms? If you don’t agree, why not?
Book 2: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
1. Their Eyes Were Watching God has been criticized for what some viewed as a negative and
stereotypical portrayal of African Americans. Examine Hurston’s choice to use vernacular
English. Use several examples to demonstrate Hurston's use of dialect. Is there is any
validity to criticisms of the novel’s use of language?
2. Feminism is a range of movements and ideologies that share a common goal: to define,
establish, and achieve equal political, economic, cultural, personal, and social rights for
women. This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and
employment. A feminist advocates or supports the rights and equality of women. Is Their
Eyes Were Watching God a feminist novel? Is Janie a strong female character? Use
examples from text.
3. Compare and contrast Janie's three marriages. What initially pulls her to each of the three
men? How do they differ from one another? What does she learn from each experience?
Additional Instructions and Guidelines:
1. MLA Formatting: Adhere to all formatting specifications for Marist papers. 12 pt font, Times
New Roman, double spaced, MLA header, title of assignment centered, last name and page
number on every page. A sample MLA Format is pictured below:
2. Remember: An essay is a series of paragraphs which work together to develop a topic. The first
paragraph, called the thesis paragraph, states the paper's purpose. Please refer clearly to the
essay topic that you are choosing. At least three body paragraphs then follow, with each
paragraph beginning with a topic sentence and ending with a conclusion sentence and being
about 8-9 sentences in length.. Finally, the essay ends with a brief conclusion paragraph. Essay
should be at least 5 paragraphs including the intro and the conclusion.
3. Show that you have read the entire novel by choosing passages from different parts of the book.
Be very clear and specific when referring to the novel in your essay.
4.
The assignment must be typed and printed, ready to be handed in to your English teacher on the
first full day of school.
5. A digital copy must be saved to submit through Turnitin at a later date. Be very careful that the
thinking and the writing are original to you and you alone.
Part 2: Historical Literary Periods
Look up the following Periods in American Literature. The years it began and ended. A significant event in that
time period, and a sample of Literature from that time period.
Native American
Colonial (Puritan)
Age of Reason
Romanticism
Transcendentalism
Realism
Naturalism
Modernism
Post Modernism
Part 3: Literary Terms To Know
Look up the following list of Literary Terms. These terms are important to know, and will be used and referred to
throughout the entire course of the year.
Exposition
Rising action
Climax
Falling action
Resolution/denouement
Alliteration
Allusion
Antagonist
Aside
Assonance
Characterization
Conflict
Dialogue
Diction
Figurative Language
Flashback
Foreshadowing
Genre
Hyperbole
Imagery
Dramatic Irony
Situational Irony
Metaphor
Motif
Onomatopoeia
Oxymoron
Personification
Plot
Point of view
Protagonist
Rhyme
Rhyme Scheme
Setting
Simile
Soliloquy
Speaker
Stanza
Stereotype
Suspense Symbol/symbolism
Theme