11th Grade English Honors III FPC THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS TO TAKING THESE TESTS Mrs. Ruth Cheney The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald A Lesson Before Dying Ernest Gaines Summer Reading Novel Study Guides English III Honors About these study guides Each of the following study guides is intended as a tool to help you, the reader, attain a better grasp of the novel as you record your observations about plot, characters, tone, symbols, themes, and vocabulary applicable to each respective work. Using this study guide will not only enhance your potential to perform well on the summer reading test, but will allow you to practice your analytical eye over summer so that you do not fall into the myopia so common among students on summer break. Use these study guides at your own discretion. I will not be collecting these study guides, but regardless of whether or not you complete them, you will be responsible for taking the summer reading test upon your return to school. English III Honors students will take the summer reading tests shortly after the academic year begins Remember, although we hope and believe you will enjoy these novels, they should not be viewed as mere pleasure reading. You will take a detailed test on each novel that covers the specifics regarding plot, characters, symbols, themes, vocabulary and important quotes. These novels should be carefully read and thoroughly studied the way you have studied novels in past English classes.
About other study guides While the various commercial novel guides such as Cliff s Notes, Barron s, and Monkey Notes often provide helpful information to better understand certain complexities of a work, these materials are entirely supplemental, not to mention sometimes incorrect. They cannot and will not replace your actual reading of each novel. Do not fool yourself. Many a shortcut leads to a dead end. About your own study guides Keep a notebook or journal as you read not only to record your notes based on these study guides, but also to record your impressions of a work as if you were conversing with yourself. Can you relate to certain events, characters, conflicts, or ideas? Why or why not? Indeed, your very best study guide is your own brain. You are imbued with a marvelous capacity for storing knowledge, reflecting on it, and using it to positive ends. Read actively! Develop your brain in all respects from word power to higher critical thinking. There is only one way you can do this. Or as Saint Augustine told the masses, hungry for knowledge, Take up, and read. The Novels The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald Students tend to enjoy this novel, and it remains a perennial favorite and mainstay of all high school American literature curricula. If your novel has one, read the bio sketch on Fitzgerald. You will learn considerably more about him next year. Fitzgerald creates a world of complicated characters yearning for the American Dream only to find that the dream forever floats just out of reach thus leaving them disconnected and jaded. Consequently, your focus should be on the characters and the message the author imparts through them. Characters
List the key aspects of each of the following characters; Consider their physical and mental traits as well as their motivations and symbolic representations. Link them to Gatsby. Feel free to comment on your opinion of them. 1. Jay Gatsby While it is only natural to focus on Gatsby s motives and intentions, do not overlook his past, or what others, including Gatsby himself, say about the past. 2. Nick Carraway 3. Daisy Buchanan 4. Tom Buchanan 5. Myrtle Wilson 6. George Wilson 7. Jordan Baker 8. Meyer Wolfsheim 9. Henry Gatz 10. Ewing Klipspringer Setting, Plot and more Character Issues 1. Compare and contrast West Egg (Gatsby s residence) and East Egg (Daisy s residence). 2. What is the valley of ashes? Why is it a significant location? 3. What do you think is the significance of the billboard of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg? 4. Describe Tom Buchanan s apartment in New York City. How does this location and what occurs there compare and contrast to life in the Egg communities of Long Island?
5. List the various references to cars, driving and speed, and connect these to the actions of the characters. 6. Keep a running list of the flashbacks Fitzgerald uses to tell the reader of Gatsby s background. 7. Pair up the Lovers and note how their affairs differ: A. Gatsby and Daisy B. Tom and Myrtle C. Nick and Jordan 8. What occurs at the Plaza Hotel that shocks Gatsby into reality? 9. Relate the hit and run incident involving Myrtle Wilson to Gatsby s failure to end his romantic pursuit of Daisy. What are the final consequences here? 10. Describe Gatsby s funeral. 11. What do Tom and Daisy do following the three tragic deaths? 12. What does Nick then do? 13. How do Daisy s actions reveal her true character as opposed to Gatsby s image of her? 14. It has often been said that of all the characters, only Nick Carraway truly develops in the course of this novel. How does Nick develop? Do you admire his convictions and intentions at the end of the novel? Themes and Thoughts 1. What attitude does Fitzgerald convey to the reader about wealth and very wealthy people? 2. How are Gatsby s dream and life a reflection of the great American dream of success? 3. How do you feel about Gatsby s reply to Nick that a person can repeat the past? 4. What is your idea of success? What do you value most in life? A Lesson Before Dying Ernest Gaines Like most of Gaines works, A Lesson Before Dying concerns racial issues in the Deep South, especially in Louisiana. Here, however, Gaines focuses on the growth of Grant, the narrator, who, sent to teach a condemned man about honor and dignity, learns more about himself
and what it means to be a man. Variations of this theme are common in Gaines pieces, and since the plot of this narrative concerns the impending execution of a black man in 1948 Louisiana, the author s message will be readily evident. Just the same, as with the other books, learn something about Ernest Gaines either from a biographical sketch in your novel or from some other source. A caveat: If you find some of the terms Gaines uses offensive, remember that he chooses to document the reality of the characters and settings of this novel. Characters Take careful note of the characters and pay particular attention to the protagonist s varying attitudes on race, religion, politics, and society. 1. Grant Wiggins 2. Jefferson 3. Miss Emma 4. Tante Lou 5. Vivian 6. Henri Pichot 7. Rev. Ambrose 8. Paul Bonin 9. Guidry 10. Matthey Antoine 11. Farrell Jarreau Character issues, Plot, Setting, and Theme 1. Draw a Venn diagram comparing/contrasting Grant and Rev. Ambrose. Note how one serves to some extent as a foil for the other. How does each man approach the idea of faith? Who appears to be stronger? What might the author s message be here? 2. Note the roles that women play in the story, particularly regarding their interaction with and influence on Grant. Women tend to provide strong impetus for a man s actions for better or for worse. Consider Grant s relationships with Tante Lou, Miss Emma, and Vivian. What message might Gaines be making about black women both on a personal and societal level? 3. Keep a list of the references to the word hog. How does it apply to the characters, not only to Jefferson, but to others as well? Is this term solely derogatory, or does it contain redeeming value? 4. As with much of American literature, death, especially violent death, is a pervasive motif. Find the references to death beyond the murder for which Jefferson is blamed. Consider also the ways in which death for
Jefferson ironically serves good rather than evil. 5. What is the effect of the story s being presented through the mind and voice of Grant? Why does Gaines use a different point of view in chapters 29 and 30? 6. What does Gaines seem to believe regarding the justice system in America? Consider the symbolic meaning of the statue outside the courthouse. 7. Why does Gaines present the action on the morning of Jefferson s execution from multiple points of view: at least half a dozen characters? 8. What is the significance of the quarter and its history, the plantation, Bayonne, and the county? 9. In what ways is Gaines both critical and complementary of blacks and whites? 10. How does Gaines stress the importance of father son relationships in this novel? 11. Make a list, if you can, of Messiah or savior imagery that occurs in the course of the novel.