Explanation of English III Honors Summer Reading For: English III Honors students at Gilbert High School

Book Titles to Choose From (must be from this list): The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston Our Town by Thornton Wilder A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane When the Legends Die by Hal Borland The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway Hiroshima by John Hersey

Due Dates: Fall Semester: August 25, 2014 Spring Semester: January 14, 2015 If you have any questions, contact Donald Spears at dspears@lexington1.net

What is a Theme? You should have heard the term “theme” many times by now. For a quick refresher: theme = a point the author is trying to convey/get across in his her work Basically, it’s the lesson the author is trying to teach you in his/her work A novel will have many distinct themes. Each individual chapter tends to have its own theme. For this assignment, you are going to have to identify and explain at least TWO themes of the novel you chose.

How do specific events demonstrate the theme? In order to figure out the theme, you have to look closely at what the characters are doing. You then have to figure out why the characters are acting the way they are. What do their actions say about them? What can you learn from the characters? Be sure to focus on themes that are continuously demonstrated throughout the novel. Avoid picking small, subtle themes that are specific to one small event in the novel.

An example of how character actions demonstrate theme: For example, in The Hunger Games, at the end of the games, Katniss is told there can be only winner. She then decides to eat the poison berries rather than kill Peeta. They are stopped before they can eat them because the government does not want them to die, leaving no winner. Katniss decided to break their rules in order for her and Peeta to win the games and survive. They cheated, yes, but the rule makers had been cheating also. Theme = sometimes cheating in a flawed system is the only way to win OR do whatever it takes to survive.

More events tied to this theme: There are other events from the novel where the characters demonstrate that cheating is okay within a flawed/broken system: Katniss and Peeta pretend to be in love in order to gain popularity (they play the Romeo & Juliet card) Peeta pretends to join the group of vicious killers in order to live longer The many times Katniss outsmarts her opponents

Explaining how each event demonstrates the theme: For each event you identify that ties into a theme, you must explain how the event demonstrates the theme. Your explanations only need to be 1-2 sentences long. You simply have to explain the connection in order to make it clear.

Example of Explanations: Romeo & Juliet demonstrates the theme of the destructive power of obsession. Romeo & Juliet kill themselves because they cannot stand the thought of living without the other. This demonstrates the theme because their obsessive love for one another caused each one to die (along with others). If Romeo wouldn’t have been so quick to kill himself over Juliet’s “death,” the two could have been together. Tybalt was obsessed with the feud. If he had just let it go when Romeo crashed the party, he wouldn’t have confronted him and gotten killed.

And That’s It! Be sure to identify TWO themes of the novel you chose to read from the list. Identify at least FIVE specific events from the novel that demonstrate the theme. For EACH event you choose, explain how the event demonstrates the theme. Within the first two weeks of class, you will be expected to participate in a Socratic Seminar explaining how the two themes you chose interact with one another. This Socratic Seminar will count for a Minor Assessment grade. You will participate in a practice one before being graded on one based on the summer reading.