Junior Summer Assignment: American Literature
As you study the history of America in social studies class, we’ll be looking at literature from a variety of American time periods and a plethora of points of view. As we read each perspective, we’ll be examining how each author tackles our essential question: What does it mean to be American? To begin preparation for this discussion, you’ll be reading two well-known pieces of literature to begin to get an idea of the details of the American experience.
Native Son, by Richard Wright. (unabridged) This novel follows the life of Bigger Thomas, a young African American in 1930s Chicago whose life of poverty and despair is turned upside down when he murders a young white woman in a moment of panic.
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. This is a story about an Indian American boy growing up in the northeast. He finds himself struggling between the traditions of his Bengali parents and the American culture in which he is being raised. Lahiri is known for her amazing details as she explores the everyday life of Indians both in America and in India.
Keep track of your reading. You can use the other side of this paper, or can recreate the chart as you read. You will need to do ONE chart for each novel. Every time you read, note the pages and write an opinionated reaction, a quote you found enjoyable, a connection you found (text to self, world or text), or a prediction. As you get into the book, take notes on emerging themes. Please avoid writing only summaries.
Please come to the first day of school with your books and your reading charts. Be prepared to actively discuss the text in class.
Summer Enrichment: Suggested Reading
Looking for more to read? The following books are recommended.
On the Road, by Jack Keroauc, was unconventional at its time and yet has been called one of the most important pieces of American literature, and certainly the most important to come out of the so-called “Beat Generation,” a group of writers and poets who challenged conventional ways of thinking and writing in the 1950s. This semi-autobiographical novel follows a group of friends as they take road trips across America.
Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, tells the true story of a young man who wanted to give up the trappings of the modern world and live by the philosophies of some of the writers we’ll read this year (such as Henry David Thoreau and Jack London). As a result, he leaves his family and friends behind as he travels to Alaska. This was also a movie – check it out!
Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neal Hurston, is a moving, fresh depiction of a woman's maturation and renewed happiness as she moves through three marriages. The novel vividly evokes the lives of African-Americans working the land in the rural South. A harbinger of the women's movement, Hurston inspired and influenced such contemporary writers as Alice Walker and Toni Morrison.
The short stories of Flannery O’Conner. O’Conner is known for her dark humor – she depicts characters as they are and reveals the silliness inherent in humans. Some of her better-known stories include: “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Everything That Rises Must Converge.”
