English Grade 11
Assignment
Students should purchase the Flannery O’Connor book, below. The world poetry assignments are in DiYanni's Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry and Drama. Although students' summer reading requirements do not include any formal writing assignments, we expect that students entering the 11th grade read actively, annotating the texts, taking thorough notes, and making insightful connections within and between texts.* We will explore and assess these connections and ideas when students return to school in August. Students should expect in-class writing assessments and/or short presentations on these stories and poems early in the school year. We recommend that students get an early start on these readings as meaningful comprehension of literature comes with time and repeated readings; we also recommend that students arrange study groups to compare and share interpretations before the school year begins.
*Students who require more guidance in their reading/analysis may want to consult the guide questions in DiYanni on short fiction (pp. 125-129) and on poetry (pp. 858-861).
I. Short Fiction: The Complete Stories, Flannery O'Connor
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, January 1971, ISBN -13:9780374515362
Read the following twelve stories in this collection:
- "A Good Man is Hard to Find"
- "A Late Encounter with the Enemy"
- "The Life You Save May Be Your Own"
- "The River"
- "A Circle in the Fire"
- "A Temple of the Holy Ghost"
- "The Artificial Nigger"
- "Good Country People"
- "A View of the Woods"
- "Everything that Rises Must Converge"
- "Revelation"
- "Parker's Back"
II. World Poetry: Reading, Annotating, Interpreting
Read the following poems:
- 1. Anna Akhmatova, from "Requiem," p. 1041
- 2. Yehuda Amichai, "A Pity. We Were Such a Good Invention," p. 1045
- 3. Bernard Binlin Dadié, "I Give You Thanks My God," p. 1047
- 4. Faiz Ahmed Faiz, "Before You Came," p. 1048
- 5. Eugenio Montale, "The Eel," p. 1048
- 6. Pablo Neruda, "Ode to My Socks," p. 1049
- 7. Octavio Paz, "The Street," 1052
- 8. Wislawa Szymborksa, "The Acrobat," p. 1053
- 9. Derek Walcott, "House of Umbrage," p. 1053
Read the different translations of each of the following final three poems. Be attentive to differences in connotation, meaning, and tone in these translations. (If you understand the original language of the poem, compare the original with the translations.)
- 10. Rainer Maria Rilke, "Der Panther" (The Panther), p. 879
- 11. Guillaume Apollinaire, "Le Pont Mirabeau" (Mirabeau Bridge), p. 881
- 12. Juan Ramón Jiménez, "Nocturno Sonado" (Dream Nocturne), p. 883