English IV

Summer Reading

Read Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and complete the assignment below
Do something altruistic over the summer, and be able to prove it in an essay you will write at the beginning of the year (you will receive the rubric when school begins)

Summer Reading Journal Criteria

Death of a Salesman addresses several important concepts, including:

1. The American Dream is acquirable by all

2. Abandonment leaves humans in despair

3. Betrayal is damaging to one’s core

Directions:

You will keep a reading journal of the three concepts above. Journals can be typed or written, and are due on the first day of class.
Specific quotes about the concepts will go in the textual evidence column. Document page number, speaker, and any other information necessary to help you remember what is happening.
In the commentary column, you will record your thoughts and reactions or talk about how the quote you’ve marked addresses the concept. You should have at least 5 entries for each concept above (label with a 1, 2, or 3).

Examples of Journal Entries for A Streetcar Named Desire [if this was an assigned book]:

TEXTUAL EVIDENCE	COMMENTARY
1. “I know I fib a good deal. After all, a woman’s charm is fifty percent illusion, but when a thing is important I tell the truth, and this is the truth: I haven’t cheated my sister or you or anyone else as long as I have lived.” (sc. 2, p.41) Blanche to Stanley when he questions her about losing Belle Reve	The word “illusion” seems consistent with Blanche’s character. She is secretive about her age and concerned about how she looks, as if she is trying to be someone she is not.
2. Description of “shadows and lurid reflections” and prostitute struggling with drunkard until police officer breaks it up; a woman comes along and takes purse that prostitute dropped (sc. 10, p. 128)	Does Blanche see this scene played out or is it only for the eyes of the audience? This scene of struggle might serve as foreshadowing for what is about to happen between Blanche and Stanley. Is the purse symbolic of something Blanche will lose, like the high-class persona she tries to portray?

For each of the concepts please write a one page reflection (MLA). What are your thoughts on each of the concepts after reading play?

When we return, you will do several additional assignments related to the book. Please have the reading, journal, and reflections done (and with you!) on the first day of school.

Novels and Plays You Will Need

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Macbeth by William Shakespeare (this is in our textbook)

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

1984 by George Orwell

The Stranger by Albert Camus

This course combines the study of British literature with written composition. It provides the student with a broad overview from Beowulf through Canterbury Tales and into the 20th century. Different critical approaches to literature are taught. The literature focuses on British and world authors. Critical writing skills will be emphasized through essays that are persuasive, narrative, analytical, and descriptive and will emphasize a close reading of the literature. In addition, the students complete a research paper and résumé.

Course Objectives: The student, upon completion of this course, should be able to:
- read critically;
- understand a variety of critical approaches to literature;
- strengthen critical thinking skills through the close reading of literature;
- understand the writing process and use it in different types of writing;
- improve research skills using both print and electronic media, recognizing both primary and secondary sources.