AP English Literature: Hall

AP English Literature and Composition 12Summer Assignment 2014

Welcome to AP English Literature and Composition. Mark Twain once said, “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.” If you have received this packet you have selected AP Literature for next year; therefore I’d like to congratulate you on the decision to challenge yourself with one of the most popular AP courses. As a student in an AP class much is expected from you including, but not limited to, integrity, dedication and diligence. You will be required to think outside the “norm” and set high expectations for yourself. You will explore a variety of genres and literary periods and be expected to write clearly about the literature you encounter. You will be asked to read critically, think clearly, and write concisely. Once you complete this class you will have cultivated a rich understanding of literary works and acquired a set of analytical skills that you will use throughout your life.

Introduction

AP Literature and Composition is a class that focuses on the proper and in-depth analysis of literature. The summer reading assignment is designed to help you build the skills necessary for insightful analysis. In addition, completion of these three assignments will demonstrate your dedication to the course since AP Lit. and Comp. requires a great deal of work.

Required Text: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I expect you to purchase and read Pride and Prejudice. You must have your own personal copy of the novel, because you will be writing in the book and annotating selected passages. Library copies are not acceptable.

ASSIGNMENT PART I – Glossary of Literary terms:

Literary terms are labels for the precise language tools writers use to create meaning. Your understanding and use of these writing tools is crucial to your success. While deconstructing a piece of writing, identifying the tool or technique an author uses is also crucial. Knowing how and why they used the tool is even more crucial.

These are the terms we will use to interpret what we read. Most of them are from past AP tests. Know what they mean and how to recognize them – you’ll be tested the first week of school. The terms should be defined in alphabetical order. You must interpret the definition for yourself. You must internalize it. You will also use these terms when you analyze the summer reading. When you search, use the literary/writing definitions. You will use these terms this year when you analyze the readings and for many of the AP assignments, and the exam.

AP English Literature: Hall

Using the terms listed in this packet; create a glossary in a journal (not a binder). You will need a journal for this class, so consider purchasing one now to keep your summer work organized. ** Please leave a space after each term so that we can add information or examples throughout the year.

ASSIGNMENT PART II

Purchase and read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

As you are reading, annotate the novel by highlighting and writing directly in the book. This is an important step many people forget when reading literature for a college-level course. If notes are not taken while the book is read, you will often forget many of the brilliant insights you had while reading!

How do I annotate a passage?

You may use highlighters if you want, but I myself find it easier to use just a pen or pencil, allowing me to make margin notes, add brackets/stars/question marks, etc., as I need them.

Annotation: Best Practices

o Pre read the text; develop an understanding of the text’s meaning. o At the end of each paragraph, briefly summarize in the margin. o Make a list of vocabulary words: author’s special jargon, new or unknown words, interesting words. o Look for patterns and repetitions: recurring elements within the text include images, phrases, and situations. Ask why the author may have used these repetitions. o Circle words the author uses for their connotative meanings o Circle words you need to define in the margin o Underline sentences that stand out, develop an argument, or make a point o Number related points o Make connections with other things you’ve read o Bracket important sections of text o Connect important ideas, words, phrases

In the margins: o Summarize and number each paragraph o Define the unfamiliar terms o Note any questions that come to mind o Note possible connotative meanings of circled words o Note any significant patterns o Identify any outstanding language usage or devices you discover o Identify points or arguments

On the following page you will find a copy of annotated passage.

AP English Literature: Hall

AP English Literature: Hall

ASSIGNMENT PART III

Pride & Prejudice Short Response Questions

Directions: Answer each of the following questions in a short response with a pen on loose-leaf paper. Please note that your responses should be paragraphs not pages! This assignment will allow you to practice your literary analysis. As you compose each written response, number and re-phrase the question as part of your answer. In other words, the teacher should be clear which question you are answering without referring back to it.

1. 'I should hardly like to live with her ladies and gentlemen, in their elegant but confined houses.' (Charlotte Brontë). How is confinement explored in Pride and Prejudice?

Why do you like Miss Austen so very much? I am puzzled on that point ... I had not seen Pride and Prejudice till I read that sentence of yours, and then I got the book. And what did I find? An accurate daguerreotyped portrait of a commonplace face; a carefully fenced, highly cultivated garden, with neat borders and delicate flowers; but no glance of a bright, vivid physiognomy, no open country, no fresh air, no blue hill, no bonny beck. I should hardly like to live with her ladies and gentlemen, in their elegant but confined houses. Source: Letter from Charlotte Bronte to G.H. Lewes written in 1848

Charlotte Brontë did not appreciate Pride and Prejudice. She felt that Jane Austen didn't write about her characters' hearts. Do you think Brontë's criticism is accurate? Is Austen's treatment of her characters' feelings superficial? Do they feel and/or express deep emotion?

2. 'In Pride and Prejudice the plot is secondary, both in importance and interest, to character and dialogue.' Discuss.

3. 'The work is rather too light, and bright, and sparkling; it wants shade, it wants to be stretched out here and there with a long chapter of sense... ' Discuss Austen's own assessment of Pride and Prejudice.

4. Consider the kinds of marriages that appear throughout Pride and Prejudice, including the marriage of Elizabeth and Darcy. What kinds of relationships between a man and a woman did Jane Austen idealize?

5. Throughout Pride and Prejudice, Austen makes many statements about personal relationships. What are these statements? Are they still valid today? Why or why not?

AP English Literature: Hall

6. The members of British society in Pride and Prejudice are very class conscious. Debate whether class consciousness is a part of our society. If not, do you think that affects our enjoyment and understanding of Austen's novel? Why or why not?

7. Identify the main characters in the novel and discuss what you feel is Austen's attitude toward each of them. Are the verbal portraits she paints flattering or otherwise?

8. Debate whether Elizabeth Bennet would still be considered a remarkable woman in the modern-day United States.

9. An earlier version of Pride and Prejudice was entitled "First Impressions." What role do first impressions play in the story? In which cases do first impressions turn out to be inaccurate, in which cases correct?

10. After Jane becomes engaged to Bingley, she says she wishes Elizabeth could be as happy as she is. Elizabeth replies, "If you were to give me forty such men, I never could be so happy as you. Till I have your disposition, your goodness, I never can have your happiness." Do you think Elizabeth's statement is true? Is it better to be good, to think the best of people, and be happy? Or is it better to see the world accurately, and feel less happiness?

11. Mr. Bennet's honesty and wry humor make him one of the most appealing characters in the book. Yet, as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that he has failed as a father. In what ways does Mr. Bennet let his children down? How does his action, or inaction, affect the behavior of his daughters? His wife? The course of the story?

12. Charlotte doesn't marry Mr. Collins for love. Why does she marry him? Are her reasons valid? Are they fair to Mr. Collins? Do you think marrying for similar reasons is appropriate today?

13. Both Elizabeth and Darcy undergo transformations over the course of the book. How does each change and how is the transformation brought about? Could Elizabeth's transformation have happened without Darcy's? Or vice versa?

14. Mrs. Bennet, Mr. Collins, and Lady Catherine de Bourgh are famously comic characters. What makes them so funny? How does Elizabeth's perception of them affect your trust in Elizabeth's views of other people in the book, particularly of Wickham and Darcy?

15. For most of the book, pride prevents Darcy from having what he most desires. Why is he so proud? How is his pride displayed? Is Elizabeth proud? Which characters are not proud? Are they better off?

AP English Literature: Hall

16. Although its setting and characters are certainly “dated,” Pride and Prejudice has remained a popular novel for almost 200 years. Why do you think this is the case?

17. Editor Tony Tanner points out in the Notes to the Penguin Classics Edition that Austen did not mention topical events nor use precise descriptions of actual places in Pride and Prejudice, so that the larger historical events of the time did not detract attention from the private drama of her characters. "This perhaps contributes to the element of timelessness in the novel," he concludes, "even though it unmistakably reflects a certain kind of society at a certain historical moment." In what ways are the themes and concerns of Pride and Prejudice timeless? In what ways are they particular to the times in which Austen wrote the book?

Sample ResponsesTo #1--The observance of class boundaries confines the characters within realms of custom and behaviour deemed appropriate to their rank. Austen distinguishes between the gentry and trade: Consider the character of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Her arrogance and cultural ignorance show how ridiculous it is to give someone respect simply because of their rank. Miss Bingley is disdainful towards Jane Bennett when she finds out that part of her family lives in Cheapside; when first proposing to Elizabeth, Darcy cannot avoid mentioning Elizabeth's perceived inferiority. But the apparent inflexibility of class barriers is undercut by the fact that the Bingleys fortune derives from trade. And class distinctions are blurred towards the novel's end when the Gardiners and Darcy convene to marry Lydia and Wickham.

Look at the confinement imposed on women through gender roles. Elizabeth's statement - 'He is a gentleman; I am a gentleman's daughter; so far we are equal' - is an expression of how Austen uses the character of Lizzie to challenge the confinement imposed by both class and gender restrictions. Elizabeth is not prepared to indulge in the small talk expected of her sex, and her wit and vivacity show that intelligence is not merely confined to men. That this attracts the prejudiced Darcy challenges the wisdom of these edicts.

Also examine how psychological confinement is reflected topographically. Elizabeth's home and its surroundings are suffocating - she continually goes out for walks to escape. And she only sees Darcy's good nature when away from Longbourn, within the grounds of Pemberley. Is narrowness of mind a consequence of physical restriction? Think of limited social circles and how encountering different sets of people leads to an open mind. Also consider how Austen has been berated for 'only' depicting confined domestic worlds. Why would she choose to depict the 'larger' issues covertly? And how does her treatment of physical and psychological confinement fit into this?

To #2-- Whether you agree with this statement or not, consider how such a view might be qualified. Consider the small domestic society Austen depicts - does this restricted world-view result in a greater emphasis on character? However, is this valid statement in line when a plot development such as Lydia's elopement is vital to the novel's purpose?

Secondly, extend this to a discussion of whether it is possible to separate 'plot' from 'character and dialogue'. The relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth is the main plot of Pride and Prejudice - yet this depends on their characters and is conducted mainly through dialogue. Does question the very usefulness of the statement?

AP English Literature: Hall

Literary Terms to Define:

allegory catharsis metonymy/synecdochealliteration connotation oxymoronallusion denotation onomatopoeiaambiguity dialogue paradoxanachronism diction (no it’s not how parodyanalogy you speak) parallelism (or parallel santecedent enjambment/enjambed line structure)apostrophe eulogy parableassonance elegy pathosblank verse elegiac bathoscacophony euphemism personadigression figurative language rhetoriceuphony hubris rhetorical questioncaricature hyperbole syntaxcolloquial understatement inverted syntaxconceit (no, it’s not a big iambic pentameter simileego) imagery suspension of disbeliefconsonance irony themedissonance metaphor tone

Please be sure that all work you submit is your own. Academic dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated in this course, and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Teacher’s Note: If you have any questions, feel free to contact us throughout the summer: Tiffany.Hall@pgcps.org

Special Note: Essays and writing responses must be submitted via Edmodo for summer work. Please join the Edmodo site for this class. It is

Edmodo Code: Dh8qmb

You must sign up by Thursday, June 12, 2014 or you will be locked out of the Edmodo site. During the summer, I will be available for questions and assistance Monday-Thursday during June and July only. I will not be able to assist during August. If you have any questions, contact Ms. Hall.

I’m excited about the course and I hope you are too! Enjoy your summer and take care.

Ms. Hall

Tiffany.Hall@pgcps.org

AP English Literature: Hall