April 1, 1998


Dear Parents and Students:

	I am very excited about teaching next year's senior A P. English class 
because you just might turn out to be an excellent group. The information 
below describes your summer reading and essay assignments.
	While I am busy this summer planning next year's work, I hope you 
will enjoy reading the works and doing the assignments indicated. The 
summer reading program is an important feature of the A. P. English program 
(and the English program as a whole),  and it serves many functions:  

		1) to keep you active as readers, broadening your horizons,    

		2) to forestall summer brain atrophy,   

		3) to help you understand some of the "main sources of moral 
		and political ideals" upon which our country's laws are 	
		founded,  

		4) to enable us to begin the year with cogent, meaningful, and 
		analytical discussions and  

		5) to enable you to have intellectual stimulation and fun. This 
		important requirement will ease your transition into the A.P. 
		Literature Program.

        For each of the works that you read, you will write an essay of 1000 
words (+ or -) from the suggested topics. In addition, you will turn in two  
independent essays: 

		1) a college admissions essay for at least one school you're 	
		considering (send for the application now) and a  

		2) a movie review of any good film you view this summer (it 
		may take a few tries to find a good one, in your opinion).  

You should date your essay and you should try to write it when you finish 
the work. When you return in September, you will turn in your THREE  
essays and take an examination on the 2 works that you read. Passing the 
examination will be a prerequisite for continued participation in the class. If 
you feel that the reading and composition are too much for you, please hurry 
to the guidance office right now (avoid the fall rush). Several years ago, a 
student entitled her summer reading essays, "Summer Reading, Summer Not." 
I laughed. You won't if you don't.
        If you have any questions, you can always call me at 431 7536 or e mail 
me at elfie1@ix.netcom.com  . Don't let things go until the last minute. 
{Actually, studies have shown that 50% of the AP Summer Reading is 
completed after August 17, but that 93% of the students who pass the class 
have completed at least one assignment by the end of June}.
        Everyone needs to read Franz Kafka's  Metamorphosis  and do a 
creative response to it  (NOT a poem).  The quality of your response will be 
my first impression of you.   I expect intelligent thought, insight, breadth, 
depth, and creativity.  You may work in groups (no more than 4).  Some 
successful responses from the past have included (but you are NOT limited 
to these): a  children's book, newzazine, dictionary or pictionary, a series of 
comic strips, a multi-media presentation, a modern version acted out, a 
comparison of the book with Kafka's  The Castle  or the reading of a 
biography of the author and an analysis of the work based on biographical / 
historical information.  
       In addition to Metamorphosis   (which you may check out from me - 
room T -16 or from your present English teacher)  - you need to read ONE of 
the four works below and do the written assignment ( a 1000 word essay)  on 
it.  (These are questions from past AP Literature tests.    The books will be 
available at Barnes and Noble and are at the library.  Some might even be at 
Costco.  Buying a book will enable you to annotate it - a useful skill.

			Cold Mountain  by Charles Frazier
			Angela's Ashes   by Frank McCourt
			Stones from the River    by Ursula Hegi 
			A Prayer for Owen Meany   by John Irving 

The assignment: For one of these works that you read, you will write an 
essay of 1000 words (about three typed, double-spaced pages). (see other 
page).  You will receive bonus points if you read more than one of the books 
and write an essay on it.
  									
								Sincerely,
  
								Elfie Israel, Ed.D.


Cold Mountain

A.	1995	Writers often highlight the values of a culture or a society by 
using characters who are alienated from that culture or society because of 
gender, race, class, or creed. Choose a  novel in which such a character plays a 
significant role, and show how that character's alienation reveals the 
surrounding society's assumptions and moral values

B.	1982	In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake. 
Choose a work of literary merit that confronts the reader or audience with a 
scene or scenes of violence. In a well-organized essay, explain how the scene 
or scenes contribute to the meaning of the complete work. Avoid plot 
summary.

C.	1966	Frequently in novels, an important character violates the laws, 
the conventions, the rules of conduct of a society. In presenting such 
characters and actions, the author's purpose may be (1) to arouse our 
sympathy for the character who is violating the rules of society; (2) to divide 
our interest sharply between sympathy for the character and desire to 
support the principles of society; (3) to arouse our "satiric mirth" at the 
character who is violating the principles of society; and (4) to laugh with the 
character at the conventions that are being violated. Write a well-organized 
essay, illustrating in some detail two or more of these purposes.

Angela's Ashes

A. 	1977	A character's attempt to recapture or reject the past is 
important in many plays, novels and poems. Choose a literary work in which 
a character views the past with such feelings as reverence, bitterness or 
longing. Show with clear evidence from the work how the character's view of 
the past is used to develop a theme in the work.

B.	1990	Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a 
parent (or parental figure) and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you 
analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to 
the meaning of the work.

C.	1985	A critic has said that one important measure of a superior 
work of literature is its ability to produce in the reader a healthy confusion of 
pleasure and disquietude. Select a  work that produces this "healthy 
confusion." Write an essay in which you explain the sources of the "pleasure 
and disquietude" experienced by the readers of the work. Do not base your 
essay on a movie, television program, or other adaptation of a work.

Stones from the River

A.	1987	Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or 
political attitudes or in traditions. Choose such a novel or play and note 
briefly the particular attitudes or traditions that the author wishes to modify. 
Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence the reader's or 
audience's views. Avoid plot summary.

B.	1988	Choose a distinguished novel or play in which some of the 
most significant events are mental or psychological; for example, awakenings, 
discoveries, changes in consciousness. In a well-organized essay, describe 
how the author manages to give these internal events the sense of excitement, 
suspense, and climax usually associated with external action. Do not merely 
summarize the plot.

C.	1966	Frequently in novels, an important character violates the laws, 
the conventions, the rules of conduct of a society. In presenting such 
characters and actions, the author's purpose may be (1) to arouse our 
sympathy for the character who is violating the rules of society; (2) to divide 
our interest sharply between sympathy for the character and desire to 
support the principles of society; (3) to arouse our "satiric mirth" at the 
character who is violating the principles of society; and (4) to laugh with the 
character at the conventions that are being violated. Write a well-organized 
essay, illustrating in some detail two or more of these purposes.

D.	1966	In many novels and plays, minor characters contribute 
significantly to the total work. They often have particular functions, e.g., as 
instruments in the plot, foils to the main characters, commentators on the 
main action and theme, and the like. Write a well-organized essay showing 
how three minor characters function in the work in which they appear.

E.	1976	The conflict created when the will of an individual opposes the 
will of the majority is the recurring theme of many novels, plays and essays.  
From a work of recognized literary merit, select a fictional character who is in 
opposition to his or her society. In a critical essay, analyze the conflict and 
discuss the moral and ethical implications for both the individual and the 
society. Do not summarize the plot or action of the work you choose.

A Prayer for Owen Meany

A.	1978	Choose an implausible or strikingly unrealistic incident or 
character in a work of fiction or drama of recognized literary merit. Write an 
essay that explains how the incident or character is related to the more 
realistic or plausible elements in the rest of the work. Avoid plot summary.

B.	1977	In some novels or plays certain parallel or recurring events 
prove to be significant. In an essay, describe the major similarities and 
differences in a sequence of parallel or recurring events in a novel or play and 
discuss the significance of such events. Do not merely summarize the plot.

C.	1973	An effective literary work does not merely stop or cease; it 
concludes. In the view of some critics, a work that does not provide the 
pleasure of significant closure has terminated with an artistic fault. A 
satisfactory ending is not, however, always conclusive in every sense; 
significant closure may require the reader to abide with or adjust to ambiguity 
and uncertainty.   In an essay, discuss the ending of a novel or play of 
acknowledged literary merit. Explain precisely how and why the ending 
appropriately or inappropriately concludes the work. Do not merely 
summarize the plot.

D.	1984	Select a line or so of poetry, or a moment or scene in a novel,  
epic poem, or play that you find especially memorable. Write an essay in  
which you identify the line or the passage, explain its relationship to the 
work in which it is found, and analyze the reason for its effectiveness.