NAME:
Mrs. Lee Ann Cavener
SCHOOL:
CLASS:
Pre-AP 10 / American Experience
CONTACT:
lcavener@casciahall.org
American Experience
Summer Read--The Great Gatsby Envelope Assignment
Many of the following thematic and literary elements are central to F. Scott
Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. While reading the novel, collect related
quotations on index cards or pieces of paper and keep them in labeled
envelopes. Collecting these passages will help provide more depth to your
reading, guide our discussion of the novel, and help you remember a novel you
may have ready several weeks before the start of school. Feel free to add
any additional notes that might help you remember the context of the
quotations. Ultimately, the passages you uncover with this strategy will
form the backbone of class discussion and essay in the first few weeks of
school. Be sure to use correct parenthetical citation and provide quotations
throughout the entire scope of the novel. Forty cards is a target number.
1. Nick—Look for passages that illuminate the narrator’s perspective. Find
passages that show him to be a reliable narrator and develop his character.
2. Gatsby—What is Fitzgerald saying about human hopes and dreams and
illusion and reality with the Gatsby character? Find passages that reveal
his romantic vision and character.
3. American Dream—Fitzgerald explores the repercussions of wealth in the
novel. Look for quotes that demonstrate ideas about social-economic status
and the American dream. Look for passages that address the morality and
character of the upper class (Daisy, Tom and Jordan) and lower class (George,
Myrtle) of the time period.
4. Corruption and violence—Note passages that reflect the level of violence
and corruption during the 1920s—from Jordan’s sportsmanship to Gatsby’s
business affairs and associates. Look for motifs such as ashes, fire and
dust.
Pre-AP English 10
Summer Read Envelope Assignment:The Book Thief
Many of the following thematic and literary elements are central to Markus
Zusak’s The Book Thief. While reading the novel, collect related quotations
on index cards or pieces of paper and keep them in labeled envelopes.
Collecting these passages will help provide more depth to your reading, guide
our discussion of the novel, and help you remember a novel you may have read
several weeks before the start of school. Feel free to add any additional
commentary that might help you remember the context of the quotations.
Ultimately, the passages you uncover with this strategy will form the
backbone of class discussion and essay in the first few weeks of school. Be
sure to use correct parenthetical citation and provide notes from the entire
scope of the novel. You should create about 40 cards total.
Envelopes:
1. Character—Collect quotations about the character and their influence
on Leisel in the novel.
•Hans
•Rudy
•Max
•Ilsa
2. Bravery—There are numerous acts of bravery in the novel. Collect
quotations about these acts, both big and small.
3. Stealing—Many items are stolen over the course of this novel: books,
food, innocence, and even lives. Collect quotations about acts of
thievery.
4. Words—Words language, books, and reading are very important in the
novel. Collect quotations about the power—positive and negative—
of words.
5. Death—One of the unique elements of The Book Thief is that it is
narrated by a personified Death. What kind of “person” is Death?
Collect quotations about the nature and purpose of Death.
6. Symbol—Collect quotations about the symbolic importance of the
following elements.
• The accordion
• Max’s stories
• Colors
• Jesse Owens
• Food