Honors English 2 Outside of Class Reading Journals

Honors English 2 Independent Reading Assignments

Three due per semester

Source:  Reading List from Mr. Scheuer – try to read at least one book from each list. Books not on the list must be approved by the instructor.  All authors must be American.  Some suggestions may be found at the bottom of this post.

Due dates(always last school day of the month)/Genre:

September - Non-fiction

October - Five short stories

November - One Play

February - 5 Poems

March - Novel

April - Graphic Novel 

Form:   A.  Bibliographical entry as specified by the MLA Style Guide.

B.  Body: Write this as a journal entry, but use complete sentences, - no notes please. This is essentially an informal conversation between you and me/the author (Yes, you may use first person).  This does not mean it is untidy in thought or execution.

Content:  Here is the hard part. I expect to see THINKING going on. This means that you should comment on more than the plot. In fact, plot summary should not occupy more than a very brief paragraph. What, then, will you do?

You need to consider the following:

1. Theme: What is it? How is it developed? How well is it developed? Is it clear? Is it worthwhile?

2. Motifs (mini-themes):  What are they?  Do they add anything to the major theme?  How are they carried through?  Are they carried through?

3. Purpose:  Does the author intend to entertain?  To instruct?  To philosophize?  To make a social commentary?  How well does the author achieve this purpose?

4. Setting:  What is it?  Is it necessary to the author's purpose or theme?  How is it presented?   Is it overdone?  Underdone?

5.  Characterization: How well are the characters presented?  Are they believable? Unbelievable?  If the latter, is it a flaw or is it done on purpose?

6. Style: This is a rather slippery term. Basically it is the way the author uses language.  It includes diction, syntax, use of literary devices (metaphors, etc.).  Is the writing flowery? Is it simple? Does the author state his/her points boldly or does he/she present them obliquely? Are there things which appear to be characteristic of his/her writing?

You may not be able to complete one or two of these as you progress through a story, but you can comment on what seems to be developing.  While I realize that you may have difficulty seeing some of these items at the beginning of the year, I do expect to see your observations become increasingly sophisticated as the year progresses.

Reading Options:

Fiction

Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand

Go Tell it on the Mountain, James Baldwin

Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston

Something Wicked This Way Comes or Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury

The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane

The House of Seven Gables or The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne

Catch 22, Joseph Heller

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Ernest Gaines

The Sun Also Rises or A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway

Siddhartha, Herman Hesse

The Jungle, Upton Sinclair

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Non-Fiction Memoir

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

Black Boy, Richard Wright

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

This Boy's Life, Tobias Wolff

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard

My Bondage and My Freedom, Fredrick Douglass

The Story of my Life, Helen Keller

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou

Non-Fiction Culture

Devil in the White City, Erik Larson

Dust Tracks on a Road, Zora Neale Hurston

On the Firing Line, William F. Buckley

The Things We Carried, Tim O'Brien

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer