AP Literature Summer Reading Guide to How to Read Literature
ChapterBased on the 2003 Edition / Writing Prompts
Introduction: “How’d he Do That?” / How do memory, symbol, and pattern affect the reading of literature? How does the recognition of patterns make it easier to read complicated literature? Has there ever been a time when your appreciation of a literary work was enhanced by understanding symbol or pattern? Jot down a few notes in response to each question; we will discuss these in class in August.
Chapter 1: Every Trip is a Journey / Consider the five aspects of a quest and then apply them to something you have read (or viewed). Use the list on pages 3-5 to structure your response. (If possible, use your summer reading novel!)
Chapter 2: Nice to Eat with You- Acts of Communion / Choose a meal scene from a literary work (or film) and apply the ideas of this chapter. (If possible, use your summer reading novel!)
Chapter 5: Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before? / Define intertextuality. Discuss 2-3 examples that have helped you in reading in the past. Include one example from your summer reading.
Chapter 6: When in Doubt, It’s from Shakespeare / Discuss a work that you are familiar with that alludes to or reflects a work written by Shakespeare. Show how the author uses this connection thematically. Read pages 44-46 carefully. In these pages, Foster shows how Fugard reflects Shakespeare through both plot and theme. In your discussion, focus on theme.
Chapter 7: …Or the Bible / Read the short story “Araby,” by James Joyce. Discuss Biblical allusions that Foster does not mention. Look at the example of the “two great jars.” Be creative and imaginative in these connections.
Chapter 9: It’s Greek to Me / If you are reading Frankenstein, the subtitle is “The Modern Prometheus.” Explain the connection between Victor Frankenstein and Prometheus.
If you are reading a different novel, write a free verse poem derived or inspired by characters or situations from Greek mythology.
Chapter 10: It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow / Discuss the importance of the weather in a specific scene from your summer novel. Cite the specific page(s) that you reference and discuss what purpose the weather serves in that scene.
Chapter 18: If She Comes Up, It’s a Baptism / Think of a “baptism” scene from a literary work (try using your summer novel, if applicable). How was the character different after their “baptism” experience?
Chapter 19: Geography Matters / Discuss at least two different aspects of your summer reading novel that Foster would classify under “geography.” How do these aspects add to the novel?
Chapter 26: Us he Serious? And Other Ironies / Search for moments of irony in your summer reading novel; there is some to be found in each novel, but if you are struggling, you might use a poem instead. (Consider “Richard Cory,” by Edwin Arlington Robinson, for example.) Explain the “multivocal nature” of the irony in the work.