Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition ...

A D V A N C E D P L A C E M E N T E N G L I S H L I T E R A T U R E

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Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition, 2020-2021 Mr. Orlando—Joseph A. Gregori High School

Summer Assignment--Due Monday, August 10, 2020, without exception! First, e-mail me from an e-mail address you’ll check over the summer; please include your name. (Thanks if you’ve done this already!) Congratulations on becoming the ninth senior class at Gregori High—while I’m sure you’re looking forward to graduation, this year will set the tone, not just for future classes, but also for your college career. I expect you to work hard and to always do your absolute best—anything less is unacceptable! To prepare for next year, I'm asking you to complete two assignments:

I. Read and annotate Dracula by Bram Stoker, and answer some reading questions. II. E-mail me once a week, or so.

Summer Assignment—Part I Read and annotate Dracula. Please acquire the novel as I’m asking for either annotations or a double entry journal. (Yesterday’s Books is the best used book store in town, or you can get cheap texts used on Amazon. You may also go to https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/345 and download it onto Google—in this case, of course, you’ll need to complete a double entry journal or annotate in the comment boxes and share it with me. Beware: it’s harder to do a thorough job with double entry journals.) I am providing you with topics for you to trace as you read and annotate. Let me emphasize that these are meant to help you understand the novel—I strongly encourage you to begin early and read thoroughly. At the very least you will have a test and a timed essay on the novel. Active participation in discussion is also essential to any AP Literature course, so be prepared! Your success in this course is limited only by your own investment of time and energy; your grades will ultimately reflect the knowledge and skills you have learned throughout the semester rather than a simple willingness to go through the motions of coming to class and completing tasks. Your preparation as you read Dracula is step one. As you read, if you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]. I will check my e-mail sporadically, so don't be offended if I don't respond right away, but I will respond (barring technological glitches, of course).


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As you annotate, pay particular attention to the following topics, noting any reference, and then commenting on possible meanings: Topic #1: Monsters represent the Other, and that is part of what makes them so frightening. Not only is Dracula a blood-sucking vampire, he is also a foreigner, making Dracula an example of “invasion literature.” Follow the theme of foreignness throughout the novel, noting passages that emphasize this particular aspect of the monster. Topic #2: According to Franco Moretti, “Dracula is not impelled by the desire for power but by the curse of power, by an obligation he cannot escape.” We typically think of power as being political or physical, but there are many types of power: economical, emotional, social, intellectual, etc. Follow the character of Dracula throughout the novel, noting passages that demonstrate different types of power that he has. Topic #3: In his essay “The Occidental Tourist: Dracula and the Anxiety of Reverse Colonization,” Stephen D. Arata notes that Dracula’s “attacks involve more than an assault on the isolated self…Horror arises not because Dracula destroys bodies, but because he appropriates and transforms them.” Follow the victims of Dracula throughout the play, noting passages that demonstrate how he “appropriates and transforms” them. Topic #4: In a review that appeared in a popular London news magazine on July 31, 1897, a contemporary of Stoker’s notes that “the up-to-dateness of the book – the phonograph diaries, typewriters, and so on – hardly fits in with the mediaeval methods which ultimately secure the victory for Count Dracula’s foes.” Indeed, Bram Stoker seems fascinated by the latest technologies of his day. Follow technology through the novel – the types, its uses, its failures – and note passages that demonstrate the contrast between the “up-to-dateness” and the superstitions and ancient traditions surrounding the vampire. Topic #5: Not surprisingly, blood plays an important role in the story of Dracula. However, blood in literature often represents more than simply that “red stuff” that runs through our veins. Follow the symbolic nature of blood throughout the novel, noting passages where it is important, particularly those where it seems to represent more than the just the literal liquid.


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Topic #6: Modern advances in the Victorian era were weighing heavily on the influence of the church. However, Stoker seems to realize that if you are going to go up against pure evil, you need a force of pure good. Follow religious references and symbolism throughout the novel, noting passages where it appears. Then answer the following questions carefully and thoroughly using textual evidence when merited. Your annotations will help you with some of these, but not all. You might also have to do a little research or look up some terms to answer these. For example, you might go to https://www.history.com/topics/british-history/jack-the-ripper to answer question seven more thoroughly. Handwrite all answers.

1. What evidence in the novel points to the impact of science and technology in the late nineteenth century?

2. What role does faith and the supernatural play in the novel? 3. What is the relationship between science/technology and faith/the supernatural in the

novel? 4. How do Mina Harker and Lucy Westenra embody the ideas associated with the roles of

the traditional Victorian woman compared to a more modern woman? What messages are conveyed by the novel in regards to these two concepts of femininity?

5. What does the term fin de siècle indicate? How is Dracula a representative fin de siècle work?

6. Why was immigration of such concern in the late nineteenth century? How do these concerns work their way into Dracula?

7. How do the events in Whitechapel involving Jack the Ripper help to develop the novel and its eventual impact? How can real life events affect writer intent and audience response?

8. How is the character of Dracula a manifestation of the public’s general concerns at the time of its publication?


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Summer Assignment—Part II Go to Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/ or download the app (the icon is red with white letters spelling ‘POETRY’ in three rows). You have ten weeks of summer, starting with the week of May 31, and ending with the week of August 8.

1. Read one poem a week. You may read any poem, but it must be from this site. Read it aloud, so you can hear it. Be thoughtful.

2. E-mail me each week (so by Saturday at 11:59 PM) with the following in the body of the e-mail:

a. The title and author of the poem. b. What the poem is about (no more than one sentence). c. What the main message is (the theme; also no more than one sentence). d. The tone of the poem (this may have multiple answers, but do your best). e. Your opinion of the poem (again, no more than one sentence).

Please do all of this without looking up an analysis of the poem. I would much rather have you try this and simply do your best, than rely on others and simply relay their thoughts. The purpose is not to overwhelm, but to have you warm up to poetry by reading a little a week. Do not simply sit down and do them all in one sitting, and then dole them out periodically. This defeats the purpose. To relieve you of some pressure, then, you may have three weeks off—your choice. By August 10, then, I will have received seven e-mails from each of you. So when I open my e-mail, I should see something like this:


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How to Annotate Objectives: To learn techniques for annotating a text To practice close reading skills To find patterns and contrasts in a text To practice a new kind of notetaking To analyze literature

Annotating a text is like having a conversation with a book—it allows the active reader to ask questions, comment on meaning, and mark events and passages he or she wants to revisit. The annotation of a text can also take place during a lecture or a discussion that is focused on a certain textual passage. Taking notes on the lecturer’s remarks or about thoughts expressed during a class discussion has a marked advantage—the reader won’t misplace the notes, and the ideas will be readily available right beside the text they address. One way that AP students can look closely at a text is by finding patterns and contrasts in it. Examining the patterns in a work may even lead readers to the realization that their own lives are marked by patterns, and these patterns control their existence much in the same way that an author’s patterns control a text. Students, then, should learn how to mark and annotate a text to discern patterns, contrasts, and relationships. When readers first begin to annotate in order to organize their understanding of a text, they may wish to begin by following these simple guidelines.

Make brief notes at the top of the page or on a sticky note to mark important plot events.

Circle words that are unfamiliar or unusual. Try to figure out what the words mean through

the way they are used; supplement your guesses by discussing the words with a teacher or by consulting a dictionary.

When new characters are introduced, underline phrases that describe them.

Underline words, images, and details that seem to form a pattern throughout the text. For

example, if a large clock appears in the first chapter, and then you notice the author using the words “timely” or “ticking” in the text, and then an incident occurs in which a character breaks a watch or is late for an appointment, you may have uncovered a pattern of imagery which will lead the close reader to discover a thematic idea. Underline these related strands and observe the rest of the text closely to see if the author uses other linked words, images, or details.

Annotation Tips


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Underline passages you think might be symbolic.

Mark key ideas and note briefly your reflections about them. Underline passages in which figurative language appears.

When you get an idea while reading the text, note it in a brief form in the margin. You

may never think of this idea again unless you write it down.

If you have a question about something in the book, write it on the page when it first occurred to you.

While listening to a lecture or participating in a discussion about the book, write down

insights you hear or discover. Writing these notes directly in the text assures you that you will be able to reference the exact passage that triggered the ideas. Also, it is less likely that you will lose track of the notes.

Use brackets, checks, stars, bullets, or asterisks to mark very important items or things you

want to come back to later. Annotation can be a permanent record of the reader’s intellectual conversation with the text. It can help a serious reader to keep track of patterns, contrasts, plot events, and character development. It can assist a student in studying for a test or writing a paper that requires the use of quotes to support ideas. Some AP teachers ask students to submit their annotated books as reading checks. Students who learn to annotate become active readers and recursive thinkers who notice patterns, symbolic elements, and contrasts almost effortlessly as they absorb the text. When students become aware of these patterns, they often express amazement at finding patterns in everything that surrounds them. They will not be able to read any kind of text, literary or not, without noticing parallelism, for instance. They will even become aware of the patterns in television shows and films and in their music. Having become aware of these patterns and contrasts, students cannot help but notice that all forms of communication and entertainment contain them. For experienced students, many annotations should reflect analysis. That is, you should identify elements of literature, but also note their purpose. Why does an author use a metaphor in a particular place? Why have a character foil? Why use simple syntax versus complex?


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