Summer Reading Assignment 2018 Honors British Literature

For our summer reading, we turn to C. S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold. This novel, his personal favorite, is, curiously enough, often overlooked. Except, of course, by us. Since we will be studying the novel during the first few weeks of the semester, be sure to bring a copy to class the first day of school. Annotation is expected. Please read and heed the expertly written advice from Mandy Turnbull. Her detailed guide includes the modes and manners of this most vital part of reading. If annotating – writing – in the book is not an option, use post-it notes. On the first day of class, I will take a close look at your thoughtful annotations. The second expectation involves writing. The writing will be your responses to how the interplay of character and narrative perspective renders story; in essence, how a story is actually stories. The writing will involve both interpretation and imagination, critical analysis and creativity. Before explaining the assignment, let’s consider how the novel depicts the interplay of character and narrative perspective and story. Till We Have Faces (fret not, no spoilers here) is written in first-person: the novel is Orual telling/writing her story. She becomes aware – in the closing chapter of Part I – of how her perspective only delivers part of her story. In Part II, she experiences multiple perspectives; Orual learns, in the proverbially hard way, that her perspective only contains part of her story. Actually, Lewis, ever the master, lets the reader know, in a way both explicit and subtle, that narrative perspective is essential in the novel via the title: A Myth Retold. As the author explains in the NOTE (which should be read before reading the novel) in the last few pages of his text, his novel retells the “story of Cupid and Psyche” (311) found in Lucius Apuleius Platonicus’ Metamorphoses. Lewis shares how, “almost at [his] first reading of the story” (313) when he was a boy, he made an “alteration” to Apuleius’ telling of the myth which, decades later, became the novel we are about to read. When he first read the ancient myth, he already began to add his perspective to the story. After reading the novel, tell Orual’s story through the perspectives of these characters:

• Redival • Bardia

• The Fox • Psyche

You will tell Orual’s story from the point of view of each of these characters. For each of these characters – as with us in our lives – perceives the intentions and Orual’s actions and the effects of her actions differently than she does in her telling of the story. When you read the novel you will readily discern what I mean. An example of what you will do occurs at the end of Part I when the Queen (Orual) encounters “the old man with quiet eyes” (241) and hears his telling of her story. In Part II when the Queen goes to visit Ansit, she encounters another retelling of her own story (259-265). Be sure you avoid repeating Ansit’s perspective when you consider Bardia’s perspective. Each of your retellings needs to be at least 350 words. If you have any questions, please, don’t hesitate to ask: scarroll@mndhs.org. I hope your summer is all you want it to be. See you on the first day of school.

HOW AND WHY TO ANNOTATE A TEXT Mandy Turnbull WHY TO ANNOTATE In his work How to Mark a Book, Mortimer J. Adler asserts that while you should learn to read between the lines to understand a work, you must also learn to write between the lines in order to read effectively and truly understand and interact with a book. Annotating a book benefits the reader in a number of ways:

1. It keeps you awake and alert. Have you ever been reading for some time when you suddenly realize you have no idea what the last few paragraphs (or pages or chapters) had to say? We all have. Reading with a pencil or highlighter in your hand and marking your book as you go keeps you more engaged in what you are reading.

2. It causes you to read actively. When you are reading a book of light fiction for pleasure, you may not need to interact with that work at a deeper level (or the book might not lend itself to such a reading). However, great works of literature are complex and multi-layered, addressing larger questions of human experience and existence. To read, appreciate, and understand a great work, you must actively engage with what the author is doing. You cannot do this passively. You must actively engage in the author’s purpose, looking for how he or she is accomplishing it.

3. It facilitates a conversation between you and the text. The act of writing or marking your responses in a text brings

you into an active exchange with the ideas presented in the work. You can question, respond, disagree, and comment on what is being said and how it is revealed. While there is a certain level of humility that is encouraged when approaching a great work, that does not mean the reader should be a passive receptacle for the author’s ideas. Just as you interact with a teacher, actively conversing with a book allows you to more fully interact with the ideas presented in it.

HOW TO ANNOTATE Your annotation of a text will work hand-in-hand with your dialectical journal. Marking a book (or using Post-Its in school-owned books), story, or poem as you read will make for more active and close reading and will provide you with notes to refer back to when you fill out your journal or write about the text. Since you will be annotating works all year, you should come up with a system that works for you. Effective annotating is both economical and consistent. When marking or annotating a text, use any combination of the following methods:

• Make brief comments in the margins or any blank space available (between the lines, inside the front cover, random blank pages, etc.)

• Ask questions in the margins when something strikes you as curious • Circle or put boxes, triangles, or clouds around important words or phrases • Use abbreviation symbols to note your response to certain passages (brackets, stars, exclamation points, question

marks, etc.) • Connect words/phrases/ideas with lines or arrows • Put other page number references in the margin when you see a theme or symbol repeated or expanded upon • Underline: use this method sparingly- underline only a few words at a time and never do so without a comment in

the margin. If you want to draw attention to an entire passage, instead use a bracket to enclose the section and comment in the margin.

• Highlight- use the same caution as with underlining • Color code a work- you may choose to use different colors when marking passages that refer to important symbols

or reveal development in main characters • Use Post-It notes when you cannot write in the book

WHAT TO ANNOTATE While some of what you should mark has been commented on above, here are some suggestions of what to watch for or mark:

• Character development- Is something important revealed about the character? Does the character change? Why? How?

• Setting- Is this key in the work? When does the work take place? Does the author use time and/or place in a significant way?

• Point of view- What is the effect? Is there a narrator? How reliable is he or she? • Narrative pace/time/sequence of events- what is the effect if they are out of the ordinary? • Irony- Is it present? How so? Why? To what effect? • Tone and mood • Imagery • Themes • Symbols • Key events- summarize in the margins or at the beginning or end of chapters. • Powerful, important, meaningful, or significant lines or quotations (with a note in the margin) • Contrasts/contradictions/juxtapositions/shifts- These are always significant and purposeful in great works of

literature. • Note how the author uses language and how it is significant- the effects of word choice (diction) and sentence

structure (syntax). • Make predictions as to what is coming or why something is mentioned or emphasized. • Connect ideas to other ideas within the text. • Note the repetition of words, phrases, actions, events, patterns. • Make a note if you experience an epiphany. • Note anything you would like to discuss or do not understand.

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS

• Inside the front cover: Make a character list with a small space for character summary and page references for key scenes, moments of character development, etc.

• Inside the back cover: Make a list of major themes, symbols, motifs, allusions, etc. with space for page references to be added as you read.

• Top, bottom, and side margins: Interpretive notes, questions, or remarks that comment on the events and literary elements on that page or that tie in to notes in the front and back cover.

• Please use one color to mark your initial thoughts as you read, and another to mark more thoroughly after you have read and reflected on a passage (or after/during class discussion).

WHEN TO ANNOTATE Before you read:

• Examine the front and back cover • Read the title and any subtitles • Examine the way the text is set up (book, short story, dialogue, diary, how the chapters work, etc.)

During reading:

• Mark in the text (as discussed here) • Write in the margins (as discussed here) • Add quotes to your commonplace book

After reading:

• Reread your annotations- draw conclusions to questions you have asked • Examine patterns/repetitions- determine possible meanings • Determine the significance of the title now that you have read the work

You do not need to catch everything an author is doing. This is the benefit of this system combined with classroom discussion: you will notice some things, and your classmates will notice other things.