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English III Honors

For your assignment this summer, you are to read two books, one work of fiction and one nonfiction. For each book, do five of the assignments from the sheet titled “Twenty Ways of Looking at a Book.” The books are available from Andrea’s Bookstore, 308 Highway 19 South Plaza, Palatka, or from other area bookstores and libraries. Here are your books:

All students are to read:

Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck - In stark and moving detail, John Steinbeck depicts the lives of ordinary people striving to preserve their humanity in the face of social and economic desperation. When the Joads lose their tenant farm in Oklahoma, they join thousands of others, traveling the narrow concrete highways toward California and the dream of a piece of land to call their own. A portrait of the bitter conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man's fierce reaction to injustice, and of a woman's quiet, stoical strength, The Grapes of Wrath is a landmark of American literature, one that captures the horrors of the Great Depression as it probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America.



For your work of nonfiction, choose one of the following:

Ava’s Man by Rick Bragg - Bragg tells the story of his maternal grandfather, Charlie Bundrum, who with wife Ava nurtured seven children through the hard times of the Depression that never seemed to ease in rural Alabama and Georgia. "He was a tall, bone-thin man who worked with nails in his teeth and a roofing hatchet in a fist as hard as Augusta brick," writes Bragg, "who inspired backwoods legend and the kind of loyalty that still makes old men dip their heads respectfully when they say his name."



The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley - Malcolm X's searing memoir belongs on the small shelf of great autobiographies. The reasons are many: the blistering honesty with which he recounts his transformation from a bitter, self-destructive petty criminal into an articulate political activist, the continued relevance of his militant analysis of white racism, and his emphasis on self-respect and self-help for African Americans.



The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien - This collection of stories is an account of the narrator, a soldier, and his platoon during the Vietnam War. The stories, ranging from romantic to gory to amusing, give insight into the horror of the Vietnam conflict. O'Brien writes with emotion he kept bottled up after his own experiences in battle. Warning: Strong language.



This House of Sky by Ivan Doig - This is the story of a Montana man's reflections of growing up during a tumultuous, yet enlightening, time in history when life was slower, the landscape was environmentally protected, neighbors more supportive, and a boy's imagination could flourish. Doig’s life was formed among the sheepherders and other denizens of small-town saloons and valley ranches as he wandered beside his restless father.



The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston – a memoir of growing up Chinese American in Stockton, California. Kingston listens to dire lessons of her mother's mesmerizing "talk-story" tales of a China where girls are worthless, tradition is exalted and only a strong, wily woman can scratch her way upward. The author's America is a landscape of confounding white "ghosts"--the policeman ghost, the social worker ghost--with equally rigid, but very different rules.




20 Ways of Looking at a Book

Assignments that Lisanne has deemed acceptable
The Grapes of Wrath


1. Summarize the book in poem form with rhyme (minimum 20 lines).

2. Discuss in depth the relevance of the title.

3. Write a letter to the author.

4. Use two other sources to research and write a report on an issue from the book.

5. Write a one minute radio advertisement persuading the public why they should buy and read this book.

6. Research and write a report on the author.

7. Q & A - Pretend you’re interviewing a person from the book. Write your interview in question and answer format.

8. Compare and contrast the book with another you have read.

9. Discuss cause and effect relationships you found in the book.

10. Write an editorial based on a controversial issue in the book.

11. Design a time-line for events in the book.

12. Write a letter to one of the characters in the book.

13. As a literary agent, write a letter to the publishing company designed to persuade them to publish this book.

14. Create a glossary of unfamiliar words and phrases.

15. Choose your favorite passage from the book. Copy it down and discuss what you found appealing about it.

16. Top 10 List - list ten things you learned from this book.

17. You’re the reporter. Write a front page news story or a report live from the scene.

18. Write your own test - a combination of matching, multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and essay.

19. Journal as you go - As you’re reading the book, keep a two-sided reading journal. The left side should have quotes from the book and page numbers. The right side should have your questions, thoughts, observations, revelations, etc.

20. E-mail partner - Partner up with some who’s reading the same book. Divide the book into four parts. When you’ve read the first quarter, write a letter to your partner about your questions, thoughts, observations, revelations, etc. Your partner is to respond. Do the same for the next three parts of the book. When you finish, print out your letters and responses (each partner is go have four letters and four responses).

The quality, quantity, and originality of your work must be in keeping with that of upper-level, honors, advanced-placement, college-bound, serious students. Students are expected to demonstrate good character. Plagiarism will not go unnoticed.