English 12 Honors British Literature Summer Assignments 2018

Transcription

1 English 12 Honors British Literature Summer Assignments 2018 British Literature is designed to further develop students comprehensive understanding and appreciation of various genres of British Literature. Students will read and analyze classic texts from the Anglo-Saxon Period through the Modern Era. Students will be introduced to British authors in an effort to discover some of the most time-tested works of art in the English language. Within each unit of study, attention is given to all genres of literature: nonfiction, short story, drama, novel, and poetry. Students will have the opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary studies by examining history, culture, and art alongside the literature they read. Students will continue to build their vocabulary, reading, writing, and research skills to prepare them for postsecondary education. Google Classroom & Summer Readings Google Classroom As soon as possible, please use your school to sign up for the Google Classroom page for our class the code is: wjslb87 If you are a transfer student you will not be able to do so and will need to me at bcox@charterarts.org for information and to pick a time to collect your textbook from the school Summer Reading: William Shakespeare Twelfth Night, Or, What You Will Link for purchase Link for online reading No Fear Shakespeare may feel like cheating, but it is an excellent resource, if used properly. To reap the most benefit from the text, you must attempt to read the original text, and refer to the modern translation only when necessary. Otherwise, you will never learn how to read Shakespearean language on your own. Reading two or three Shakespearean plays by this method will result in you not needing assistance to understand the words of the Bard.

2 Assignment #1 -- Twelfth Night Annotation While reading the play take notes using the following literary lenses: Marxism - Reading Twelfth Night through a Marxist perspective, you will answer questions such as the following: In Olivia s house, who wields the greatest power? Where does he or she get this power and what could this signify about the social and economic structure of the time period. Which characters in the play would represent the bourgeoisie? Who would represent the proletariat? Why would Shakespeare write the characters that have the power in the way that he does, and those that do not have power in the way that he does; what does this suggest about his feelings about the socioeconomic system that exists within the play? Feminism - Reading Twelfth Night through a Feminist perspective, you will answer questions such as the following: What is the status of the women in this play? How much authority, agency, and autonomy do they have? How does this compare to women in Shakespeare s time period? What is the significance of this similarity or difference? How do the men of the play view the women? Do you think that Shakespeare views women in this way? Why or why not? How do the women of the play view themselves/other women? What is the significance of this perspective? Gender/Queer Theory - Reading Twelfth Night through a Gender/Queer theory perspective, you will answer questions such as the following: How can Twelfth Night be read as either a text that is meant to undermine heteronormativity or support it? How does Twelfth Night interact with the topics of oppression, privilege, marginalization, and self-acceptance? Viola s crossdressing and what her disguise represents symbolically. Moral Criticism - Reading Twelfth Night through a Moral Criticism perspective, you will answer questions such as the following: What are the life lessons that one can learn from Twelfth Night? What does Shakespeare want his readers/audience to learn about love, friendship, loyalty, self-aggrandizement, etc? How do you know? What aspects of character development can help you to prove that Shakespeare values the words of one character above another? How do the conflicting beliefs, ideals, and actions of the various characters in the play work together to produce a clear set of morals for the audience to follow, learn, or cathartically experience?

3 Assignment #2 -- After Reading Twelfth Night When you finish the play, you should pick two of the lenses from the list above and create a thematic statement about each of them. Remember that a theme is not something broad and trite, such as love conquers all. A theme is specific, it is a message that you feel is expressed by a text, whether or not the author intended it. Society s perception that love conquers all is a dangerous rationalization that people often use to justify irrational and self-serving motives Now THAT is a theme Then write a thesis statement that explains what specific elements of Twelfth Night that you would analyze in order to prove that your theme exists in the play (as if you were writing a paper about it). When you arrive to school, you will be given a two-part test on the play. The first part will be an objective test consisting of multiple choice and short answer questions focused on the plot of the text. The second part will be an essay on a prompt related to the analysis of character and theme in Twelfth Night. This will be an open note exam, thus, it is in your best interest to take the assignment seriously (notes will be graded based on completion). Be sure to complete the play and your notes by the first day of school. Late assignments will not be accepted.

4 Assignment #3: Preparing for The Common App with a Eulogy An effective pre-writing exercise for the Common Application Essay that we will be writing at the beginning of the year is, believe it or not, writing the eulogy that you would hope that a friend or a family member would deliver for you at your funeral if life went according to your plans and designs. You should write this eulogy to meet the following requirements: Write from the first person POV or a friend or a family member You should assume that your funeral is years in the future and that you have accomplished all of your goals and dreams and aspirations You should include anecdotal evidence, descriptive writing, and, typically, an allusion to, or reference of, a loved work of art, poem, or song. Consider what you hope people will remember you for You should consider your values, beliefs, and goals as you write this eulogy. Example value categories include: Family Relations, Marriage/Couples/Intimate Relations, Parenting, Friendships/Social Life, Career/Employment, Education/Personal Growth/Development, Recreation/Fun/Leisure, Spirituality, Citizenship/Environment/Community Life, Health/Physical Well-being If it would help you to brainstorm, consider making a chart based off of the following example: Value Area A specific value you hold within this category A personal story that demonstrates where that value came from 1. Family relations. My family members are always right (even when they are not). I take a policy of if it s not causing me a lot of harm then let it be. If they do something upsetting then I talk to them about it without confrontation. I used to get in arguments with my mom about a lot of things, big and small. It created a lot of tension between us whether she knew it or not. Eventually I realized that it was exhausting and I just started to let things shrug off my shoulders. Now I m much happier spending time with her. You should reference my sample eulogy for ideas. Also note the values and beliefs that I included. Disclaimer: A bunch of what I wrote is made up and is who I hope I will become over the course of the next sixty-seventy years. Also, my eulogy contains a Christian prayer. I am not officially a Christian, myself, and would never want anyone to think that my intent was to convert anyone! I just like the prayer!).

5 IN MEMORIAM Brigham Robert Madden-Cox We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of a father, a brother, a son, a friend, a teacher. Mr. Brigham Madden-Cox was the closest friend that I ever had. We met when we were fourteen-years-old, almost eighty years ago, now. I was new to our high school and he was one of the first people to talk to me--a scared, lonesome kid in a new place. For me that moment of welcoming acceptance encapsulated the essence of who he was as a person and as a friend. Brigham was a man that, for a long time, struggled with a very human problem: how to fit in. He told me at many times in our youth that it was a problem that arose when he was a child and continued on into early adulthood. Though he never told me this, I think that it was because this was such a struggle for him that he always tried to make others feel comfortable. I know his wife, his children, his grandchildren, his friends--and even passerby that he stopped to say hello to on the street--know exactly what I am talking about. He believed that it was his duty, really everyone's duty, to always consider the needs of others before he considered his own. Besides the continual sacrifices that he made for those close to him, Brigham worked hard to make everyone else feel like he or she had made it. He worked extensively as a volunteer to help people who struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction, in particular, as he always considered those people to be some of those that were almost certainly lost and in need of some kind of redemption. Whether working with them, with his students, or with his family, he always took a policy of least resistance, letting things be as they were unless harm was being done to him or to others. In terms of working to prevent hurt in others, Brigham was a staunch advocate for equity, which he lived and breathed in his personal life, inspired through his writing and teaching, and hoped for in his family. He never pushed, preferring instead to show others the right way to treat people, no matter how different they seemed to be. Brigham was, to employ a cliche, a people person. Above all else he wanted to bring joy to others, and did so by what seemed like constantly singing, laughing, or attempting to diffuse the discomfort that he had a knack for seeing in others. He also espoused honesty; he used it to help his children and his students grow, to recognize their faults, to mature past them and to become self-dependent. He tried to always let people make their own choices and was never forceful if he could help it. He believed in people, in their good, in their humanity. And lastly, Brigham loved. He loved as if it was a duty, though he would often say that he loved because he just couldn t stop himself from doing so, no matter who he came across or what they were like. He believed that everyone deserves love and that it was only by loving that one could change anything or anyone.

6 To me it seems appropriate to end with an idea that Brigham would often quote, both in action and in words. We discovered it together, some seventy or so years ago, and I watched it plant itself like a seed in his life, then blossom under his patient care. It goes like this: A gardener cannot grow a plant; he can only create the conditions by which growth can occur. A doctor cannot heal a parent; he can only create the conditions by which healing can occur. A teacher cannot transfer knowledge or learning; he can only create the conditions by which learning can occur. A man cannot create love; he can only create the conditions by which love, understanding, and hope can occur. Thank you for coming. If Brigham didn t inspire you in life, then all that I can hope is that you consider these words in the days, weeks, or years to come--whether in time of need or in time of peace--and to use them and your memories of him to soften the sometime harshness of life, and of death.