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AP LITERATURE OVERVIEW PAGE
==LHS APE PAGE FOR LIT:
http://www.freewebs.com/lhsape/html/Thp.html
==@@ SUPER SITE FOR ALL POETRY EXPLICATION!!
http://www.nku.edu/~rkdrury/poetryexplication.html
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
@@ BOOKS @@:
The first book we cover is Heart of Darkness. The next two are
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and As I Lay Dying. The ones
after that vary from year to year, but we almost always do
Metamorphosis, Hamlet and Wuthering Heights. You also
need to read an optional book--a modern one of your own choice, AP
caliber, of course. (Sign ups will be at the end of this page!) Although I
offer five (scroll to the END of this page), you always can take another one
if you clear it with me. Above is a copy of the main website for AP
English with the addition of Invisible Man added to the AP LITERATURE COURSE
OPTIONAL WORKS.
This year (2008-2009) we probably will do comparison research papers. Find a
contemporary book and pair it up with some work studied in the past in
class. For example, you could pair up something by Margaret Atwood with
Brave New World, discussing the elements of dystopia, the narration, and
anything else. You would look for aspects that are the same as well as those
that are different.
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OVERVIEW OF AP LITERATURE NOVELS AND PLAYS (created by students from past
classes):
1) Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad - This short novel uses the envelope
method with the same unnamed narrator at the beginning and the end. The
largest part is Marlowe's flashback of his symbolic voyage down the Congo
River in Africa during the era of Imperialism. After the first chapter,
watch as Marlow learns more and more about the insidious Kurtz at the Inner
Station. DEVICES to create theme are everywhere. We cover this one inch by
inch. SIGN UP FOR THE CRITICAL CATEGORIES on the download site. Sign ups
will be at the bottom of this page.
2) As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner - Written in the typical Faulkner
style, this novel focuses on a weird family making a ludicrous trek to bury
the dead mother's coffin. Many different characters, all unique in their
syntax and diction, narrate the chapters. Most of the characters have
ulterior motives for their trek. Darl is clairvoyant, so don't let that
confuse you too much. Vardaman, the child, is probably somewhat
intellectually challenged.
3) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey - Another microcosm, this
one takes place in a mental institution. "Chief" Bromden, the Indian,
narrates through his muddled view of technology - a view shrouded with "fogs"
and "combines." The savior figure of R.P. McMurphy, a savior figure
archetype, tries to bring life to the patients and to battle the towering
presence of Big Nurse Ratched.
4*) Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka -- Short story that depicts an individual
shunned, an outcast from the world, whose fictitious sense of self-
importance has been shattered...this, in turn, leads to his improbable
Metamorphosis. Kafka's father treated him as Mr. Samsa treated Gregor--as
invisible vermin. As most writers, Kafka is venting his pain.
5*) Antigone by Sophocles - Typical Greek tragedy, it provokes an important,
timeless question over the conflict of the rights of the State and the
rights of the individual. Besides touching upon both politics and religion,
it addresses the parent/child relationship. (If you do this one, it will be
as a review or to pair with Medea)
6*) Medea by Euripides - A Greek tragedy about the view of a beautiful witch
women vs. the laws governing the rest of civilized and male-dominated
society. In this play the chorus provides an unbelievable revenge motif
depicting a woman scorned.
7*) J.B. by Archibald Macleish - Based on the book of Job in the Bible, this
modern play displays the timelessness of man's suffering. Pay close
attention to the open eyes of the Satan Mask and the closed eyes of the God
Mask...which of the two relate to man's anguish more? How does the play
compare to the original Biblical version?
8*) Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare - Finally, you get to study a
Shakespeare comedy! Well, a tragi-comedy. Note the two different settings,
parallel relationships between the three couples and the three "trials."
Consider how the various mythological and Biblical references reveal the
prejudices of Shakespeare's time. Can anyone feel any sympathy for Shylock?
Do you know the meaning of "usury"?
9) Hamlet by William Shakespeare - Look for weed, poison, rot, and disease
imagery. Notice the role of the play within a play. Realize the difference
between Hamlet's lust for revenge and the nobler motive of public justice.
The main subjects of this play are revenge and indecisiveness. Hamlet has a
cause, but he has trouble acting on it.
10) Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - The true main characters in this
Gothic novel may, in all truth, be the two houses. Wuthering Heights
represents people of storm and passion while Thrushcross Grange represents
calm and social grace. The characters, for the most part, are undeveloped
and archetypes, representing the stormy and passionate as well as the weak
and calm. Note the supernatural references to Cathy's and Heathcliff's
spiritual union. Note the importance of times and the functions of the 2
main narrators. This book has answered most of the open-ended prompts on all
the past exams!!!
11) Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett - This work presents an existential
view of life as a road to nowhere, where nothing matters. A review of
psychoanalysis may be a good idea. Look for the symbolism of concrete
objects, especially the road and the tree. Could Godot be a god figure?
12) (REVIEW from Honors IIIC & AP Language) Their Eyes Were Watching God by
Zora Neale Hurston - Set in Florida, the short novel follows Janie's love
relationships. Watch for the flower and bee imagery, the indirect discourse
in the narrator point of view, and the incredible juxtapostion of various
kinds of diction.
13)Review also The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald and Grapes of Wrath by
Steinbeck, probably covered in 10th or 11th grade. These two are good
choices for the AP exam.
**NOTE: As we change to a 7-period day, we may study some extra
Shakespearean plays--Macbeth and possibly Twelfth Night. A review of Brave
New World also may be in order.
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*= The starred ones are studied mostly together in class - but some outside
preparation will be necessary. Read ahead this summer so you won't have
difficulty keeping up with the pace!!
**Do not put off reading these until the last minute! Procrastination reaps
S-T-R-E-S-S.
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**NOTE: Try to purchase your own books, so you can get in the habit of
underlining and taking notes. Try searching through used bookstores and
reduced price online site before purchasing new ones. There are only
sixteen short weeks to prepare for the AP test...so have most of these
novels and plays read before class begins. There are limitless resources at
your disposal when studying these works. If you have Internet access, look
online for web sites providing quality analysis. When conducting a thread
discussion or seminar, substantiate your analysis with quality resources - if
people want to hear what Cliff's Notes says, then they will read them
themselves. To reduce excess papers, try to copy/print handouts front and
back with normal 10-wt paper.
This course is focused entirely around reading college-level novels, short
stories, and poetry. The reading is done almost entirely outside of the
class. In class, you will write on what you have read. Structured like a
freshman English Course, we move at a fast pace, but you should not have a
problem if you work ahead of time as much as possible, avoid excessive
absences, and READ closely.
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ANOTHER TEACHER'S OVERVIEW OF HEART OF DARKNESS
This is an interesting commentary by an AP English teacher on the
listserv. If you have read the book well and reviewed the links I have sent
out, you will get the connections.
Heart of Darkness is not a history lesson nor a geographical tracing nor a
sociological treatise, but an allegorical novel tracing an allegorical
journey upriver into the "heart of (human) darkness," beginning at
the "Outer Station," moving in to the "Central Station" and finally to
the "Inner Station" at the "heart" and back out again. It is all
interpretive, devoid of any specific, precise location (even to place it on
the Congo in Africa is an allusive inference) and populated with allegorical
characters like the two women knitting black wool, the accountant, the
manager, the White Russian, Kurtz, the Intended.
It will be a great loss to literature if teachers permit Chinua Achebe's
essay and other criticisms like that to create a dominant interpretation of
Heart of Darkness as an outdated historical text or one to be discarded as
racially destructive.
Actually it is one of the most constructive pieces of literature: its theme
is "all that holds back darkness in the world is the light of belief and
love." That darkness does not refer to the darkness of Africa, its people or
any people, but to darkness as the absence of light.
As Conrad's story begins, literal darkness is approaching on the river
Thames and the frame narrator introduces the participant-narrator Marlow
who, sitting on a ship with four listeners in the gathering twilight, tells
the story of a journey he once made somewhere else: into the "heart of
darkness," an empty, hollow place shown on maps as blank, yellow, unexplored
space. He tells first of preparing for the journey 'out there,' then of
going there to the Outer Station where the hollowness of purposeless action
prevails, then upriver to the Central Station where the manager sustains
himself in emptiness by keeping up outward appearances, and finally to the
Inner Station, presided over by a man called Kurtz who, although sending out
great quantities of ivory, has lost all belief, and who at his death looks
inside himself, into his own hollow, empty darkness, and whispers, "The
horror! The horror!"
The climactic scene, when Marlow comes out to return Kurtz's letters
to his Intended, pulls together all the dark images and all the light and
settles a meaning finally and clearly. Marlow must save that last spot of
light --- he names it the light of Belief and Love --- settled literally on
the forehead of the Intended and allegorically in the mind . . . by telling
her a lie: "His last words were . . . your name." Otherwise, he says, "It
would have been too dark, too dark altogether." Marlow saved the light of
Belief and Love. But to do it, he lied.
Heart of Darkness is an allegory: two stories are told at once, one on
the surface and 'underneath' it a hidden story: the real, important one
which carries the meaning. Using the most fundamental archetypes of
light/dark (day/night), journey, and river, Conrad creates a surface story,
certainly showing literal conditions of colonialism in Africa, to carry the
allegory. But many readers will look at the surface narrowly and miss the
allegory underneath, so if the novel is taught on the surface level, it
needs another reading for the allegory and the final irony--that only by the
darkness of a lie could Marlow save the light.
Conrad's allusive, allegorical novel is a profound answer to the
question, 'What is evil? Is it a Something, or is it a Nothing? Is it in
things that people do, or is it in the Nothing underneath?' I think
Conrad's answer is 'Nothing. Evil is a hollowness, an emptiness, an
absence, not a presence. The absence of belief and love. Believe nothing.
Love nothing. Only act. Do. That is evil. That is darkness.' Underneath
all the evil done in the world, underneath all the 'somethings' of evil,
is its source: Nothingness. Emptiness. Hollowness. No belief, no love,
nothing but action without purpose. That is the allegorical lesson in Kurtz
and the Inner Station at the heart of darkness. Poet T.S. Eliot saw its
triumph in "The Hollow Men," using for his epigraph a line from Conrad's
novel, "Mistah Kurtz, he dead."
This is the darkness which comes from the absence of light, from the
disappearance of belief, purpose, and love. I do not know another work of
literature that conveys that message or does it so memorably or so well as
does Heart of Darkness.
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RESEARCH ESSAY NOVELS OR PLAYS:
The following are books I have suggested in the past. However, this year I'm
widening the pool.
OPTIONAL WORKS FOR THE MLA COMPARISON RESEARCH ESSAY PROJECT: All but
**Things Fall Apart contain PG-13 content. If you want something
rated G, go with TFA. (Since AP is a college course, you will encounter
adult material in most of the novels and plays. Please discuss all college-
level reading selections with your parents to avoid misunderstandings.)
--Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (PG)
--A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (PG)
--The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (PG +)
--**Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Sanitized G)
--Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (PG)
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COMPARISON RESEARCH PAPER ON NOVELS OR PLAYS:
***SELECT an OPTIONAL BOOK (above or below) FOR PERSONAL IN-DEPTH FOCUS (or
select something similar--of AP caliber). I prefer something
modern, but I'll be flexible. Next, pair up with another book you have
studied in class, so your research project will be a comparison paper. In
this way, you'll review something from the past while connecting to something
contemporary--a WIN-WIN situation. For example, you might compare Brave New
World and one of Margaret Atwood's novels as examples of dystopias or you
could compare A Thousand Acres (modern) to King Lear (Shakespeare). While
the time periods differ, the plots are almost identical. You would figure
out which themes and devices are similar and which are different. I'll
eventually give you more examples of combinations that people have used in
the past, but I would like for you to come up with some of your own.
*** NOTE: Your research paper, with permission, can consist of 2 old
works or 2 new works, as long as you have enough points for comparison.
Approve everything with me first. We need to discuss everything
in detail before you start researching.
**RECENTLY WRITTEN BOOKS ALSO WORK WELL, but make certain they are complex
enough for college level. Some suggested new books might include We Were
the Mulvaneys, Water for Elephants, Kite Runner, or The Life of
Pi.
READING LEVEL--Some of these have been used in the past for the
analytical paper. Even though it is a college course, AP Lit is still
offered in high school. Therefore, discuss your reading choices with your
parents before selecting a book to review. Some have **ADULT content. Your
final COMPARISON PAPER will be approximately 10-12 pages of text.
Other GREAT BOOKS for your analysis:
Alvarez, Julia In the Time of Butterflies
Anaya, Rudolpho Bless Me Ultima
Atwood, Margaret The Handmaid’s Tale,
Oryx and Crake,
Cat’s Eye
Burgess, Anthony A Clockwork Orange
Burns, Olive Ann Cold Sassy Tree
Chopin, Kate The Awakening
Chevalier, Tracy Girl with the Pearl Earring
Chbosky, Stephen Perks of Being a Wallflower
Crutcher, Chris Ironman
Diamant, Anita The Red Tent
Doctorow, E. L. Ragtime
Ellison, Ralph The Invisible Man
Enger, Leif Peace Like a River
Erdrich, Louise Love Medicine
Esquivel, Laura Like Water for Chocolate
Eugenides, Jeffrey Middlesex: A Novel
Foer, Jonathan Safron Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Frazier, Charles Cold Mountain: A Novel
Gaines, Ernest A Lesson Before Dying
A Gathering of Old Men
Golden, Arthur Memoirs of a Geisha
Guest, Judith Ordinary People
Guterson, Daniel Snow Falling on Cedars
Hegi, Ursula Stones from the River
Heller, Joseph Catch 22
Hosseini, Khaled The Kite Runner,
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Hunter, Stephen Point of Impact
Irving, John A Prayer for Owen Meany
Ciderhouse Rules
A Widow for One Year
Kidd, Sue Monk The Secret Life of Bees,
The Mermaid Chair
King, Stephen The Stand
Kingsolver, Barbara The Bean Trees
Pigs in Heaven
Animal Dreams
Poisonwood Bible
Kingston, Maxine Hong Woman Warrior
Kogawa, Joy Obasan
Lewis, Sinclair Arrowsmith
Martel, Yann The Life of Pi
Morrison, Toni Beloved
The Bluest Eye
Niffenegger, Audrey The TimeTraveler's Wife
Oates, Joyce Carol We Were the Mulvaneys
O’Brien, Tim The Things They Carried,
Going After Cacciato
O’Connor, Flannery Wise Blood
Ondaatje, Michael The English Patient
Picoult, Jodi The Pact
My Sister's Keeper
Plain Truth
Plath, Sylvia The Bell Jar
Potok, Chaim The Chosen
The Promise
My Name is Asher Lev
Proloux, Annie The Shipping News
Rand, Ayn The Fountainhead
Anthem
Rushdie, Salman The Moor’s Last Sigh
Smiley Jane A Thousand Acres
Stegner, Robert Angle of Repose
Steinbeck, John East of Eden,
Absalom, Absalom!
Tan, Amy The Joy Luck Club,
The Kitchen God’s Wife
Tyler, Anne The Accidental Tourist
Breathing Lessons
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant
Vonnegut, Kurt Slaughterhouse Five,
Player Piano
Walker, Alice The Color Purple
Wallace, David Foster Infinite Jest
Warren, Robert Penn All the King's Men
Wright, Richard Native Son
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@@ GO TO THE LITERATURE DOWNLOAD ICON TO GET MORE SAMPLES & DIRECTIONS as
we approach the beginning of this unit! @@
SEE MISCELLANEOUS ICON TO GET MORE DETAILS!!
MISCELLANEOUS ICON (the ape)
**NOTE: EACH TURN-IN POINT for a preliminary paper or draft is a 100-
POINT GRADE. THE FINAL PAPER IS WORTH 400 POINTS. All papers must be
typed with one-inch margins. They must be 12 font, Times New Roman, and
double-spaced. Do NOT try to create large margins, as this ploy is
obvious.
Each page must have a last name and number in the upper right-hand corner--
ie, Smith 6. You do not number the cover page. Start with page 1 on the
THESIS/OUTLINE page and end the numbering on the WORKS CITED PAGE.
**STUDY THE "THESIS WITH HOLES" HANDOUT FOR PATTERNS AS YOU CONTINUE TO
REVISE YOUR THESIS. YOU WANT TO SHOW THE DEVICES IN THE WORK THAT PROVE A
LARGE POINT--A THEME, A CHARACTER, A TONE. THE THESIS STATEMENTS MAY BE
TWEAKED FREQUENTLY UNTIL THE FIRST DRAFT IS DUE.
**TURN-IN DATES:
(HAVE A SEPARATE FOLDER TO HOLD ALL YOUR TERM PAPER MATERIALS: drafts,
copies of critical sources, information sheets, copy of materials I have
given or e-mailed as attachments, etc.)
**NOTE: You will not get full credit at turn-in points if the paper is 1)
not organized neatly in a folder; 2)does not have documentation of the
quotations from your primary source; 3)does not show evidence from the
critics, with highlighted copies of all your sources; 4)does not have a
Works Cited page that matches up to your documentation.
DUE ____ --PRELIMINARY PAPER #1: A casual TYPED (12 font,
Times New Roman, double-spaced) paper describing your thesis and how you
plan to set up your paper. If you have researched critics, either in a
library or on a web site (EDU. or ORG only), please give me an overview of
what you found. You must give credit where it is due to avoid plagiarism.
In this paper, discuss the devices that you are covering and give me some
examples. Show me several quoted passages and how you plan to embed them in
sentences to make your points. This is a trouble-shooting paper to help you
avoid making serious errors on your drafts.
DUE _____: --PRELIMINARY PAPER #2, in the folder--
First 3 TYPED paragraphs of your paper, the introduction, including thesis,
and 2 paragraphs that begin your support. You must show quotations from
your novel/play (PRIMARY SOURCE) and at least 1 or 2 critical commentaries,
put in your own words and DOCUMENTED. (SECONDARY SOURCE) Do not ever quote
from the critics. Only quote from your primary source. I will give you
feedback to let you know the strengths and weaknesses so far. Please
include your tentative thesis/outline page and tentative Works Cited page.
Put COPIES OF CRITICAL SOURCES in this folder with anything used highlighted
clearly. (Before this date, you will bring your portfolios to class for
several days to work during the period so I can see what you're doing)
DUE ______--PRELIMINARY PAPER #3, in folder--complete paper
with thesis/outline page, embedded quotes, documentation, and Works Cited
page. This paper will be peer-evaluated in class. Number pages correctly.
The thesis/outline page is the first page, shown with your last name and the
number 1. The Works Cited page is your last paper. Put your name and page
number on EACH PAGE of the paper in the upper right-hand corner. Make
certain that you have made copies of all critical information and
highlighted it clearly.
FIRST ROUGH DRAFT--DUE in folder _______. This paper should
look like the final product, complete in a folder with a cover page (name,
date, period, and title of your work). You should have all the critical
material ready and set to go, highlighted clearly. We will peer evaluate
these papers in class. I would expect that many of these drafts will be the
final product after the last fine-tuning session. After this round, you may
send parts of the paper to me online for help if you are having trouble. Do
NOT send the whole paper. I will designate areas of concern at each turn-in
point. If you have a decent thesis, however, and have read the book well,
you should not be having difficulties pulling out quotations to support your
main idea.
2nd ROUGH DRAFT--DUE ________ in folder. For most of you, this will be
the "final" product if it looks set to go. If you still have problems, you
may resubmit as often as needed until the WINDOW CLOSES a few days later. If
you turn in a FINAL product by this date, I will give it "extra grade
consideration," meaning I will grade it more leniently.
TURN IN THE FINAL PAPER BY _________. THE LAST TURN-DATE FOR ANY
REASON will be _________. I will expect more from papers turned in this
late date. I will not accept a portfolio after ________ for any reason.
The window will close.
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@@@ SIGN-UP LIST--WORKS FOR COMPARISON RESEARCH PAPER @@@
--Tiffany M--The Lovely Bones and Their Eyes Were Watching
God (or As I Lay Dying)
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