12^th Grade

AP Literature Summer Reading Assignment

Each student must acquire and read How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster. The text will be an integral part of the curriculum during the student’s senior year in the AP Literature course. Books purchased at Books-A-Million (just south of JTB near Publix) will receive a twenty percent discount by mentioning Mr. Karnath’s name and his card number 0017466442. Being able to “unlock” the “hidden meaning” in fictional works for poetry and prose is an essential skill that allows students to perform the tasks required on the AP exam.

After reading the text and learning “how to read literature like a professor,” each student must complete a literary analysis of James Joyce’s short story, “A Painful Case.” The story can be found online at the following address:

http://www.readprint.com/work-885/James-Joyce

The instructions for the analysis of “A Painful Case” have been modified from the chapter in How to Read Literature Like a Professor entitled “A Test Case.” Students will have to use the interpretive strategies they have learned from the text and analyze Joyce’s short story by answering two questions:

1. What does the story signify?

2. How does it signify?

The “ground rules” for the analysis are as follows:

• Read carefully
• Employ no outside sources about the story
• Type the analysis using double-spacing, standard 1” margins, and 12-point Times New Roman font
• Do your own work. Do not consult other AP students. You will never learn “how to read literature like a professor” unless you try to do it yourself!
• On the first day of class, you must bring the Foster text, a copy of “A Painful Case,” and your typed analysis.
• Your analytical response should resemble the one done by “Diane” in the chapter entitled “A Test Case.” Perhaps your response will not be as sophisticated as Diane’s, but your interpretation should show evidence that you have recognized potential symbols and other literary devices and that you have attempted to explain how the author manages to communicate a deeper meaning through his use of the conventions of literature.