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1katiebug41295
ok so i signed up for AP English 2 for next year and we have a summer assignment. we have to read a literary merit that people find significient and an important piece of work. please give me some suggestions on what to read and a SMALL summery of what the book is about. please and thank you!
4BlackSheepDances
Your scope needs to be narrowed down a bit to help us make suggestions. Any certain time period? Subject? Location? And define "significant": to an English teacher, a historian, a humanist, or ordinary person? And how much liberty do you have in your choice regarding content?
Personally, Ethan Frome is an amazing piece, but you may have already covered it.
Anna Karenina may take you all summer but it fills the criteria. Don Quixote? The Human Stain?
Personally, Ethan Frome is an amazing piece, but you may have already covered it.
Anna Karenina may take you all summer but it fills the criteria. Don Quixote? The Human Stain?
5katiebug41295
to narrow it down, basically just books that are inspiring like romeo and juliet or pride and prejudice.
6foggidawn
I'd recommend Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand -- a French play set in the 1600s (though written in the 1890s). It's basically about love, and about honor/dignity. Cyrano, an ugly man with a long nose, writes letters to the woman he loves on behalf of Christian, a handsome man. The woman was initially attracted to Christian because of his handsome face, but falls more and more in love with him because of the letters that she thinks he is writing. Then Cyrano and Christian, both members of the same regiment, are called away to war. . . .
It's my favorite "classic" and I'd say it's definitely worth reading, if you haven't read it already.
It's my favorite "classic" and I'd say it's definitely worth reading, if you haven't read it already.
7SugarCreekRanch
If you choose Cyrano de Bergerac, be sure to watch the movie Roxanne afterward! It's a Steve Martin comedy patterned on Cyrano.
I'll suggest To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The narrator is a six year old girl in a small town during Depression years. She and her brother are fascinated by a mysterious reclusive neighbor, and invent schemes to draw him out. Her father is a lawyer defending a black man against a rape accusation. The book is about racial injustice, strength of character, courage of convictions, and situational ethics.
I'll suggest To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The narrator is a six year old girl in a small town during Depression years. She and her brother are fascinated by a mysterious reclusive neighbor, and invent schemes to draw him out. Her father is a lawyer defending a black man against a rape accusation. The book is about racial injustice, strength of character, courage of convictions, and situational ethics.
8katelisim
If you haven't already read these they are pretty common for lit assignments: The Odyssey, Beowulf, Hamlet, Crime and Punishment, Catcher in the Rye, and Canterbury Tales.
9DeusExLibrus
1984 is an excellent choice IMHO. Its one of, if not the most famous dystopian novel, and its for a very good reason. The books central character is a government worker producing propaganda who gets fed up with his life and ends up sparking a revolution against the totalitarian government in which he lives. The book plays with a lot of ideas including Big Brother and Linguistics in the form of a modified english called Newspeak, whose vocabulary shrinks every year.
10Booksloth
Can you just clarify a bit more please? You have mentioned Romeo and Juliet so am I right to assume that by 'book' you are allowed to choose either fiction or drama - how about poetry and non-fiction as well?
11thorold
If you have a relatively free choice, it's often a good idea to pick a book that ties in with one of your particular interests, or maybe with another subject you're studying. To kill a mockingbird would be good if you're thinking about going into criminal law, or are interested in the American South, but you might find it rather dull if your interests lie in a completely different direction.
Whatever you do, don't just pick a book because some stranger recommends it here, pick it because you want to read it and discuss it in your class! That way you will probably have more interesting and relevant things to say when it comes to writing assignments about it. Forget about "inspiring" - look for something that you can make a connection with.
Whatever you do, don't just pick a book because some stranger recommends it here, pick it because you want to read it and discuss it in your class! That way you will probably have more interesting and relevant things to say when it comes to writing assignments about it. Forget about "inspiring" - look for something that you can make a connection with.
12george1295
For a teen, To Kill A Mockingbird would be excellent. If you want to reach a little bit without raising everyone's eyebrows, there is The Awakening by Kate Chopin. (Don't get this one confused with the newer work by the same name.) Chopin's work was done in the early part of the last century. The novel takes a serious look at the place of women in society at that time and is considered one of the first women's lib novels available. In it's day it was shocking. Today it is quite tame. The ending will make you pause and consider/think. Chopin evolves her work into many open ended questions.
13TLCrawford
All right, I am going to have a go at this. Try Sinclair Lewis. He won a Pulitzer and a Nobel Prize for literature even though he turned down the Pulitzer. His books are currently out of favor but they are nearing the century mark so I think there will be a resurgence of interest in them.
Ann Vickers 1933, because a man wrote it it can’t be an early book about woman’s liberation but it is.
Main Street 1920, the life of a middle class young woman in a mid-sized town in middle America. It is his most famous book.
Our Mr. Wrenn 1914, his first book published under his name. A young man leaves his office job for a chance for adventure. The common, everyday, dull life he is escaping is as exotic to our 21st century expectations as the adventure he goes on is to him.
Free Air 1919, an early look at America’s developing car culture.
It Cant Happen Here 1935, Lewis was married to Dorothy Thompson, a famous journalist who worked from Berlin and saw the dangers of Fascism first hand. This novel is the warning Lewis wrote to America. Some people think this novel was the script for the last decade.
Arrowsmith 1925, won the Pulitzer Prize and with, Babbitt, Dodsworth, Elmer Gantry, and Main Street are his most popular books.
Whatever you decide to read, have fun.
Ann Vickers 1933, because a man wrote it it can’t be an early book about woman’s liberation but it is.
Main Street 1920, the life of a middle class young woman in a mid-sized town in middle America. It is his most famous book.
Our Mr. Wrenn 1914, his first book published under his name. A young man leaves his office job for a chance for adventure. The common, everyday, dull life he is escaping is as exotic to our 21st century expectations as the adventure he goes on is to him.
Free Air 1919, an early look at America’s developing car culture.
It Cant Happen Here 1935, Lewis was married to Dorothy Thompson, a famous journalist who worked from Berlin and saw the dangers of Fascism first hand. This novel is the warning Lewis wrote to America. Some people think this novel was the script for the last decade.
Arrowsmith 1925, won the Pulitzer Prize and with, Babbitt, Dodsworth, Elmer Gantry, and Main Street are his most popular books.
Whatever you decide to read, have fun.
14d_perlo
I recommend:
The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison - growing up black in a white world.
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - The dust bowl famine.
The Autobiography of Malcom X by Alex Haley
The Stranger by Albert Camus
The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison - growing up black in a white world.
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - The dust bowl famine.
The Autobiography of Malcom X by Alex Haley
The Stranger by Albert Camus
15emaestra
From College Board, the makers of the SAT and the AP tests:
101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/plan/boost-your-skills/23628.html
101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/plan/boost-your-skills/23628.html
16RRHowell
Even if your assignment only calls for reading one work, I recommend that you consider reading a number of books that are appropriate for the AP, especially if you have not read many such books before. One of the things you will have to do to be ready for the test is to have both breadth and depth. You need to be very familiar with some works, and then have a bit of familiarity with a wide range of literature.
What people have said about trying to find works that you enjoy is very good advice.
One book that I would consider reading is Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore These are poems that the author originally wrote in Bengali and then translated himself into English. Tagore was the first Indian writer to receive the Nobel Prize for literature, and it was this book that brought him to the attention of the world outside of India, though he also wrote many other things. One book of short stories that he wrote is The Hungry Stones. His short stories are very good but they tend to be on the depressing side. I mention Tagore because I think that his work is excellent, and reasonably easy reading. Also, there is a growing awareness that it is important for people to read English literature that is not simply confined to England and America. Tagore (an Indian) fits that bill. Finally, a tip for the AP exam. One thing that is handy to gain in process of studying for the exam is a small stock of short quotations in your mind that you can use to illustrate various essays that you might have to write. They don't have to be very long quotations, but a sentence here or there along with knowing what it is from can be very helpful. Tagore is one author who might easily lend himself to your memorizing a line or two that were particularly significant to you as you read his works.
Another approach I would consider is to consider combining reading with watching movies. I DON'T advise just watching movies. But particularly with Jane Austen and Shakespeare, and some Dickens, there are marvelous movies out there that can help you to get excited about the books, which by themselves can sometimes feel rather dry. Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility are novels of manners. They are really rather marvelous books, basically romance stories, but extremely well written, and with a depth that your average series romance does not have. Romeo and Juliet is one Shakespeare play that has two extremely good movies which are versions of the play (that is to say, the dialog is all directly the Shakespeare play.) I would consider watching both the Zefirelli version of the play and the 1996 version directed by Baz Luhrman. Then read the play. Then for fun, watch Shakespeare in Love. Much Ado About Nothing is another Shakespeare play with an extremely good production in movie form. I'd watch the movie first and then read the play.
The opposite is true of some other works. To Kill a Mockingbird is a great book. Don't spoil it for yourself by watching the movie first--consider watching it later for a treat.
Another book to consider might be I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. This is a autobiography of an African American poet. It is an exceptional work.
Good luck. Have fun this summer. Have fun reading.
What people have said about trying to find works that you enjoy is very good advice.
One book that I would consider reading is Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore These are poems that the author originally wrote in Bengali and then translated himself into English. Tagore was the first Indian writer to receive the Nobel Prize for literature, and it was this book that brought him to the attention of the world outside of India, though he also wrote many other things. One book of short stories that he wrote is The Hungry Stones. His short stories are very good but they tend to be on the depressing side. I mention Tagore because I think that his work is excellent, and reasonably easy reading. Also, there is a growing awareness that it is important for people to read English literature that is not simply confined to England and America. Tagore (an Indian) fits that bill. Finally, a tip for the AP exam. One thing that is handy to gain in process of studying for the exam is a small stock of short quotations in your mind that you can use to illustrate various essays that you might have to write. They don't have to be very long quotations, but a sentence here or there along with knowing what it is from can be very helpful. Tagore is one author who might easily lend himself to your memorizing a line or two that were particularly significant to you as you read his works.
Another approach I would consider is to consider combining reading with watching movies. I DON'T advise just watching movies. But particularly with Jane Austen and Shakespeare, and some Dickens, there are marvelous movies out there that can help you to get excited about the books, which by themselves can sometimes feel rather dry. Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility are novels of manners. They are really rather marvelous books, basically romance stories, but extremely well written, and with a depth that your average series romance does not have. Romeo and Juliet is one Shakespeare play that has two extremely good movies which are versions of the play (that is to say, the dialog is all directly the Shakespeare play.) I would consider watching both the Zefirelli version of the play and the 1996 version directed by Baz Luhrman. Then read the play. Then for fun, watch Shakespeare in Love. Much Ado About Nothing is another Shakespeare play with an extremely good production in movie form. I'd watch the movie first and then read the play.
The opposite is true of some other works. To Kill a Mockingbird is a great book. Don't spoil it for yourself by watching the movie first--consider watching it later for a treat.
Another book to consider might be I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. This is a autobiography of an African American poet. It is an exceptional work.
Good luck. Have fun this summer. Have fun reading.
17AnnaClaire
I'm a big fan of Jane Austen. Her books Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility are probably the most popular. Persuasion is my favorite (and is fairly short), but it would probably be less interesting for a high schooler than P&P or S&S.
18CurrerBell
katiebug, what's the general syllabus for your "AP English 2" course in September? I'm a little concerned when I see someone suggesting works like Cyrano de Bergerac. Anna Karenina, Don Quixote, or The Odyssey, because I have a suspicion that your upcoming course syllabus is going to focus on either British Lit or American Lit, but in any case not on World Lit. I'm also a little concerned with your having to make a decision on the quality of a particular translation, and some of the translations you'll run into may not be the most up-to-date available. I'd rather see you stick with English-language works.
That said, there's also the question of whether you should read something in British literature or something in American literature. That might depend on what your syllabus is going to be, whether it's going to be an Am-Lit or a Brit-Lit advanced placement course.
You might also want to consider something that's available in a Norton Critical Edition, which will include a good deal of supplementary material that you'll find useful for understanding the work. Additionally, NCEs will be well edited, with good footnoting of possibly obscure references in the text.
I have a particular prejudice in favor of the Brontës (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, who wrote under the pen-names Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, so now you can see where my LT name comes from). You can find both Charlotte's Jane Eyre and Emily's Wuthering Heights (though unfortunately no others) available in NCE.
If you do decide to read either of these Brontë works, I'd definitely recommend using the Norton Critical Editions. Charlotte includes some segments of French dialogue in Jane Eyre and Emily uses some Yorkshire dialect in Wuthering Heights and you'll find good footnoting particularly important here. There are other editions that will also have satisfactory footnoting, but with Norton you're sure of getting the best.
That said, there's also the question of whether you should read something in British literature or something in American literature. That might depend on what your syllabus is going to be, whether it's going to be an Am-Lit or a Brit-Lit advanced placement course.
You might also want to consider something that's available in a Norton Critical Edition, which will include a good deal of supplementary material that you'll find useful for understanding the work. Additionally, NCEs will be well edited, with good footnoting of possibly obscure references in the text.
I have a particular prejudice in favor of the Brontës (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, who wrote under the pen-names Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, so now you can see where my LT name comes from). You can find both Charlotte's Jane Eyre and Emily's Wuthering Heights (though unfortunately no others) available in NCE.
If you do decide to read either of these Brontë works, I'd definitely recommend using the Norton Critical Editions. Charlotte includes some segments of French dialogue in Jane Eyre and Emily uses some Yorkshire dialect in Wuthering Heights and you'll find good footnoting particularly important here. There are other editions that will also have satisfactory footnoting, but with Norton you're sure of getting the best.
