Summer Reading Assignment

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1 Summer Reading Assignment American Literature Name: Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston Before returning to school in August, all English III students will need to read Their Eyes Were Watching God and complete this assignment. This organizer is intended to guide your reading and focus your thoughts in preparation for the discussions, summer reading quiz and writing assignments you will engage in when you return in August. Used copies are available online from Amazon, and locally at bookstores. (You could also hunt for one at Goodwill or a thrift store may the odds be ever in your favor if you choose to go that route.) By carefully completing this assignment over the summer, you will be prepared to discuss the story. We will begin a textual analysis, so please bring your copy of Their Eyes Were Watching God with you the first day of school, August 6, Purchase a college ruled composition notebook to complete all written activities. Please see pages in this document to see how to set up your composition book (NO SPIRALBOUND NOTEBOOKS will be accepted as a reading journal.) Essential Questions to Think About: Jot down your thoughts about these questions in your composition book under the label Essential Questions. What is acceptable behavior in a healthy relationship? How do our families affect our behavior and our relationships? What does society expect of men and women in their relationships? How do these expectations impact society? How do the choices we make affect our lives and our relationships? PreReading: The following entries will help you understand relationships in the text you are about to read. Please answer them in grammatically complete sentences in your composition book under the label PreReading. Please make sure that you label each individual entry. Entry 1: Come up with a list of people who you believe have power. Think about ways those people can use their power positively and/or negatively. Now, make two lists: one of people whom you think have used their power for good, and one for those who have abused their power. Make brief notes describing the examples of power. Some people may appear in both categories because, while specific behavior can be good or bad, people rarely fit into just one category. Some examples of powerful figures include: the school principal, the president, 1

2 police officers, parents, teachers, and students. Discuss the types of power these people have and ways they can use this power, both positively and negatively. Entry 2: Look at the Power and Control Wheel [PCW] by clicking: Power and Control Wheel. Reassess your power and control lists from the PreReading Section. Does the PCW change any of your markings? Write a brief explanation what you learned. What had you not considered before about power and control? Entry 3: Collect imagery of males, females and relationships in society today (magazines, television commercials, television programs) and paste them in your composition book. Vocabulary: To help your understanding of Their Eyes Were Watching God, please complete the following worksheets as they correspond to each assigned chapter. All of these answers need to go into one section of your composition book labeled Vocabulary. 2

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11 During Reading Questions Please complete the following questions in grammatically complete sentences in your composition notebook under the label During Read Questions. These questions are discussion questions, which means you need to give thoughtful answers. Go in depth and explain! Chapter 1: Power and Control and Societal Views on Gender What views of men (paragraph 1 and 8) and women (paragraphs 2 and 3) are presented? What do these paragraphs tell the reader about the author s feelings (tone) toward each character or group? Why are the Sitters so negative? What predictions can you make about this text based on the different views of characters: Janie versus the Sitters? Chapter 2: Power and Control, Identity and Societal Views on Race and Gender Create a family tree for Janie. Examine how power, control, abuse, and violence affected Janie s life and the lives of her ancestors. Issues of race and gender should surface. Be sure to make connections to the PCW, providing examples of behavior and explaining the connections to the PCW. Create a dual-entry journal for the relationship between Janie and Nanny. The left side will be evidence from the text; the right side will be interpretation of text/connections to the media images you selected and the PCW. How do Nanny s assessment and choices rely on the societal beliefs that surround her regarding the roles of men and women and their ethnicity? Consider her history and experiences. How does Nanny use power to control? [Look to the PCW and make connections.] Look at the Respect Wheel: RW. Which of these are missing in the relationship between Nanny and Janie? Chapter Reflection: Write a reflection predicting the consequences of nanny s beliefs and choices and how they will affect Janie s life throughout the rest of the text. Chapters 3 9 Power and Control and Societal Views on Love Relationships How do Logan s views of women and white people shape the way he treats Janie? How do these views affect Janie and Logan s marriage? How does Joe s view of men s and women s roles affect his behavior toward Janie? Does Joe see anything wrong with his constant finding of fault with Janie? Are Joe s controlling actions a display of real love? Does Janie believe Joe s actions are a display of love? Why or why not? How do the Sitters reinforce societal norms about power and control? Why do you think they do this? 11

12 Chapter Reflection: Write a reflection comparing Logan s and Joe s treatment of Janie. Consider how the men s treatment of Janie connects to today s media images of women. Chapters 9 20 Power and Control and Societal Views on Gender How does Virgible Woods (a.k.a. Tea Cake) differ from society in his views of men and women? [Attempt to connect Tea Cake and Janie s relationship to the RW.] How does he fall prey to societal views both of gender and of ethnicity? Chapter Reflection: Write a reflection on Tea Cake s treatment of Janie. Do you see connections between his behavior and today s media images of women? Textual Analysis The following section is to help you think critically about the text. Answer the questions in your composition book under the label Textual Analysis. SECTION 1 History Details: Please provide some background information regarding Florida in the early 1900s. Primary Setting: Specific Location(s): Record Any Other Sources of Information: 12

13 In your own words, summarize biographical information about the author and record the source of your information below: How might the author s background (biographical information) have influenced her decision to write the novel and/or influenced the writer s message? Record Sources of Information: SECTION 2 Theme: Theme is an author s implied message to the reader about a specific topic. A theme will not be stated directly; instead, a reader must infer the theme through literary elements in the novel. A theme is not the same as a topic, which can usually be expressed in a word or two such as love, childhood, or death. The theme is an opinion the writer wishes to express about that topic. It can be expressed in at least one complete sentence that contains both the topic and the opinion about that topic. For example, the topic of a novel might be love, but the theme might be stated as Love is more powerful than family loyalty. In order to identify a theme in a novel, the reader has to think about all the elements of the work and use them to make an inference - or educated guess - based on details from the novel, concerning what the author is suggesting through the text about the topic. Commitment Compassion Courage/cowardice Cruelty/violence Disillusionment Dreams Theme Topics Friendship Guilt Heart vs. Reason Hope Integrity Loneliness Loyalty Prejudice Respect Responsibility 13

14 Identifying a Theme: Select a significant topic that is addressed in the novel. (See previous page for ideas) Provide 3 quotations that address your topic and explain what each quotation suggests about your topic. Topic: 1. Quotations that address topic 1. Commentary to explain what your quote reveals about the topic Page Number: Quotations that address topic 1. Commentary to explain what your quote reveals about the topic 2. Page Number: 14

15 Page Number: Thesis Statement: In a complete sentence, explain what the author is saying about the theme topic you selected for his section. Remember that the thesis must contain both the topic and the author s opinion about that topic. Example: In his novel Night, Wiesel suggests that faith is challenged during extended periods of inhumanity. In the above example of a thesis statement, the subject is underlined and the opinion is bolded for the purpose of illustration. 15

16 SECTION 3 Challenges. Identify two characters that face emotional or physical challenges. Describe the challenge and how the character is affected by it. Challenge Explanation (How the character is affected) Challenge Explanation (How the character is affected) 16

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The Scarlet Letter ESSAY TIPS! HOW TO AVOID A SCARLET C ON YOUR ESSAY!

The Scarlet Letter ESSAY TIPS! HOW TO AVOID A SCARLET C------ ON YOUR ESSAY! Theme vs. Fact Thesis must have a provable idea, and not simply state a fact. Some examples include: Hawthorne illustrates