American Literature

2016 Summer Reading Assignment

Davidson Fine Arts

Instructor: April Mills

Welcome to American Literature! As a student in this course, you will engage in careful reading and analysis of major literary works from the beginning of our country to the present. The first couple of weeks will be devoted to the study and discussion of your summer reading assignment. You should complete the chart (located on the back) as you read, and the essay will be completed at the start of school. Do not procrastinate and wait until the week before school starts; you will not have enough time to finish. In order to start the year off positive and productive, you must complete the assignments to the best of your ability. Your work should always reflect careful reading and insight.

Please note that summer reading assignment is due on the first day of school and counts as a quiz grade.

Required Texts:

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd is considered a future great American classic. This piece of historical fiction is a coming-of-age story about two girls growing up during the early 1800s in America.

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs (originally published under the pseudonym Linda Brent) is her autobiography/slave narrative as a young girl’s accounts of her experiences as a slave. It provides an interesting comparison for the main character (a fictional slave girl) in Kidd’s novel.

Instructions:

1.Mark the book (annotate) as you read so that you will be able to use the notes as you fill out the matrix (on the other side of the paper) for each novel.

2.You must fill out a matrix just like the one below for the main character in EACH novel. Be sure to write the pages numbers where you found the examples in the book on the matrix so that you can find your examples later if you need more information. Be sure to include some direct quotes. Remember, these examples are some of the textual evidence that you will use to support your thesis for the essay. Keep that purpose in mind when you’re choosing examples.

3. You will type one matrix for each novel and fill it out. Be sure to include your teacher’s name on your paper as well. This must be printed and turned in on the first day of school. You may hand write it if you can’t print it.

4.Novel title and character’s name:

Example 1 / Example 2 / Example 3 / Example 4 / Example 5 / Summary
Character’s Actions
Character’s Appearance
Character’s Speech/Comments
What others say about the main character
How other characters react to the main character
Setting: How does the setting affect the character’s conflict with society?
Examples of conflict: the individual versus Society

5.This matrix will be what you use to write an in-class essay that completely answers the essential question written below. You will need several examples from the novels to serve as support for your analysis.

EQ: How do the main characters (Hetty “Handful” Grimke & Harriet Jacobs) in both novels illustrate the theme of the individual versus society?

Task 2: (Argument/Analysis) After reading The Invention of Wings and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, write an essay that addresses the question and support your position with evidence from the text(s). (You will write this the first week of school)