Dystopian Literature. English 11 Honors Summer Assignments Mrs. Wells and Mrs. Greenwood

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1 Dystopian Literature English 11 Honors Summer Assignments Mrs. Wells and Mrs. Greenwood

2 May 15, 2014 Dear Student, We re excited to start another year in English 11 Honors! We absolutely love literature and writing, as well as travelling, which is what makes our World Literature class one of our absolute favorites! In our own travels, we have learned that though cultures vary greatly throughout the world, there is a humanity that lies at the heart of each of us, and we feel that there is a great deal that we can learn from those who are not the same as us. It is our goal to help you to see this throughout the course of the coming year. Because of the amount of material available to us, it is necessary that we get a jump on the information that you ll be studying this next year. This summer assignment is also a way for you to get a feel for English 11 Honors and to decide if this course will fit with your schedule and what you believe you can accomplish this next year. In this packet you will find a set of assignments that will need to be completed over the summer. You will be reading and analyzing a couple novels and a short story, which are full of incredible metaphor and meaning. In addition, you will be asked to complete several writing assignments about the readings. These assignments will be due on the first day of class in the fall. Also, on the first day of class, you will take a test over the readings that will help test your reading completion and comprehension level. Yes, these assignments are necessary and mandatory. The high numbers of students we have in class make it necessary for us to work together, in and out of class, to push towards the skills you ll need to prepare yourself for the rest of the year. Students who do not finish the assignments and/or fail the test over the readings will be asked to take a regular English course. Our goal here is not to punish you, but to make sure that we can assist as many students as possible in succeeding in English 11 Honors in the coming school year! If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Greenwood (even if you are registered in the sections taught by Mrs. Wells). You can reach her through the school at tgreenwood@alpinedistrict.org. Because she cannot leave her alone for more than a week or so, you can rest assured that she ll be online throughout the summer, even if you receive an automatic response stating otherwise. If you need anything, please feel free to contact her via . In addition, if you should lose this packet, it has been uploaded online to Mrs. Greenwood s website, under the HONORS SUMER tab: This website is also linked to the school s website, under Mrs. Greenwood s name in the English Department section. Have a great summer! Mrs. Wells and Mrs. Greenwood

3 DYSTOPIAN ASSIGNMENTS ASSIGNMENT ONE: WHAT IS DYSTOPIAN LITERATURE? The word dystopia literally beans bad place. When it is used in terms of a literary genre what we end up with is a very bleak, imaginary world that is usually futuristic. Many of the predominant themes in dystopian literature include: total enslavement to technology, the idea of a conscienceless totalitarian government, and a world of equality. Oftentimes it is a social commentary it depicts the flaws and failures of imaginary societies that are representative of our future. For your first assignment, look at the concept of dystopian literature a little more closely. What are some of the characteristics and purposes of this kind of literature? Write a short, onepage, double spaced essay that defines dystopian literature, what constitutes dystopian literature, what characteristics are typical of dystopian literature, and what the purpose of dystopian literature is. In order not to plagiarize or copy this information, we suggest that you find two sources and then go between the two to write your biography in your own words. Be sure to include a bibliography page that properly cites your sources in MLA format. (For information on MLA citation, go to ) Due: August 19/20, 2014 (The first day of class) ASSIGNMENT TWO: REPENT HARLEQUIN! SAID THE TICKTOCK MAN BY HARLAN ELLISON Go to: or Google Harlan Ellison-Repent Harlequin in order to find a copy of Ellison s short story. Read the story. Type out good responses to the following questions (3-4 sentences each): 1. Why do you think the author begins with a quotation from Henry David Thoreau s Civil Disobedience essay? How does it relate to the rest of the story? 2. Why do you think the author uses a deliberate run-on sentence to describe the scene of Harlequin dropping those jellybeans? What effect does this run-on sentence structure have on the tone of that scene and how does it reflect the Harlequin s personality? 3. Why doesn t Ticktockman just turn off (kill) Everett? What is the effect of Everett Marm saying he had been wrong before and that it is good to conform and be punctual? 4. It was often said of Benito Mussolini, the former police officer who created Fascism and became the Fascist dictator of Italy, that he made Italy s trains run on time. In fact, this is not actually true; Italy s trains were still occasionally late, even under the rule of Mussolini (although the Italian train system was improved from its state after World War I, but most of that was done before the Fascists came to power). So instead of being an example of the efficiency of Fascism, this claim has now come to be associated with the exaggerated claims, dishonesty, and hypocrisy of totalitarian regimes. How is this reflected in the final lines of this short story? Due: August 19/20, 2014 (The first day of class) ASSIGNMENT THREE: DYSTOPIAN NOVEL OF CHOICE Recently, the dystopian novel has become quite a popular genre with young adult readers. Find a novel that fits within this genre that has been written in the past 25 years, one that you have not before read. Read it and then be prepared to discuss/present the book to the class in the first couple of days of class. Some possibilities are listed below, but feel free to choose anything that can be classified as dystopian. Be sure that you can explain why your chosen novel is considered to be dystopian and how it relates to the other texts you re reading this summer: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Series) Divergent by Veronica Roth (Series) The Giver by Lois Lowry (Series) Matched by Allie Condie (Series) Due: August 19/20, 2014 (The first day of class) Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (Series) The Maze Runner by James Dashner (Series) Gone by Michael Grant (Series) Delirium by Lauren Olivier (Series)

4 ASSIGNMENT FOUR: 1984 BY GEORGE ORWELL You will need to get a copy of 1984 by George Orwell. You can check this out from the library or purchase a copy for yourself. There will be a general comprehension test over the novel on the first day of class. Read the novel. Type out good responses to the following questions (3-4 sentences each): 1. The world within which Winston lives is replete with contradictions. For example, a major tenet of the Party s philosophy is that War is Peace. Similarly, the Ministry of Love serves as, what we would consider, a department of war. What role do these contradictions serve on a grand scale? Discuss other contradictions inherent in the Party s philosophy. What role does contradiction serve within the framework of Doublethink? How does Doublethink satisfy the needs of The Party? 2. In the afterword, the commentator describes 1984 as a warning. Indeed, throughout the text, Orwell plants both subtle and overt warnings to the reader. What do you think are some of the larger issues at hand here? 3. Early on in the novel, we learn of Winston s belief in the proles as a liberating force. What accounts for Winston s almost blind faith in the proles? What are some of the characteristics of the proles that, in Winston s eyes, make them the ultimate means for overthrowing Big Brother? 4. From her first appearance as the dark-haired girl, through to the end of the novel, Julia is a key figure in Trace the path of Julia in relation to Winston s life; in what ways does she influence him? Did you trust her, initially? Overall, do you feel she had a positive or negative impact upon him? 5. Following his capture in Mr. Charrington s spare room, Winston undergoes a process of philosophical cleansing and re-education against which he valiantly, but unsuccessfully fights. Discuss Winston s capitulation at the hands of O Brien. How is Winston brought to love Big Brother? In sacrificing Julia, how has Winston, in essence, signaled his own end? 6. In the final analysis, how accurate was Orwell in his vision of the future? In what ways does our contemporary society compare to his idea of society in 1984? Are there examples in which he was correct? What is most opposite? Do you see a potential for aspects of Orwell s vision to come true? 7. During his final encounter with O Brien, Winston argues that, if all else fails, the inherent nature of the individual the spirit of man is strong enough to undermine a society such as that created by The Party. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Is Winston s belief applicable to the world we live in today? Can you cite examples in our own recent history that support or dismiss Winston s belief in the resiliency and righteousness of the human spirit? Due: August 19/20, 2014 (The first day of class) ASSIGNMENT FIVE: ESSAY Below, you will find an essay prompt. After completing all of your dystopian reading, write on the topic provided. One of the most important skills we will be developing this year is your ability to respond to what you read through writing. Please write a well-structured five-paragraph essay that is driven by a strong thesis statement. Don t fret too much about this, but we do want to see how you write so we know where we need to begin. Due: August 19/20, 2014 (The first day of class) ESSAY PROMPT Dystopian literature vividly portrays a vision of a brutalized or manipulated humanity. By referring to characters, events, themes, symbols, etc. found in all of the reading you have done, discuss the way in which the authors present this horrible vision and offer a warning to their readers.

5 Important Note: Because this is a college prep course, you are required to do your assignments in a word document, in MLA format. This is the way your college English courses will require you to turn in homework. Below is a sample of what MLA format entails (it is a simple guideline for setting up your papers). SAMPLE: (Times New Roman, 12 point font, 1 inch margins) Name Teacher Name (Mrs. Wells or Mrs. Greenwood) Class Date Title You will now begin your assignment/paper. If you have any questions about how to use MLA format appropriately, you either talk to me, refer to various web sites such as Purdue University s Online Writing Lab (OWL), or the 7 th Edition MLA Handbook. In the fall we will begin the year by doing some projects centered on this concept of dystopian societies, and we will have a fun time doing some things together! Never fear. Once the work is put in to read and analyze, we will have some fun considering meanings in the text. This will also be a great time for us all to get to know one another! Good luck!