Summer Reading
Required for English
Students are required to read the book indicated below in preparation for their English course.
Third Form, Introduction to Literature
Black Boy, Richard Wright Richard — Wright’s powerful account of his journey from innocence to experience in the Jim Crow South. It is at once an unashamed confession and a profound indictment – a poignant and disturbing record of social injustice and human suffering. (Note: Students are required to read only Part One, “Southern Night.” Part Two, “The Horror and the Glory” is optional, though encouraged.)
Fourth Form, Composition and Literature
1984, George Orwell — Written in 1949, a prophetic political satire set in an imaginary totalitarian society with parallels to our own world today.
Fifth Form, American Literature or American Studies
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain — In what many consider the great American novel, Mark Twain weaves a humorous and satirical tale about the relationship between a young, unrefined white boy and a black slave as they search for freedom in the rough world of pre-Civil War America in the Mississippi River Valley.
Sixth Form
British Literature: Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen — Set in provincial eighteenth century England, a story of the often stormy relationship between the intelligent, spirited Elizabeth Bennet and the proud and wealthy man against whom she is prejudiced from their first meeting.
Classical Tradition: Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter, Thomas Cahill — Cahill’s fascinating, readable, and entertaining account of the considerable influence of ancient Greek culture and thought is a perfect introduction to The Classical Tradition. This book provides background for many of the authors and historical figures which will be encountered in the course.
Journeys and Quests: The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri — This novel about the pains of the immigrant experience charts the Ganguli family’s journey from their traditional life in India to modern America.
World Literature: The Kite Runner, Khalid Hosseini — Hosseini’s stunning debut novel starts as an eloquent Afghan version of the American immigrant experience in the late 20th century, but betrayal and redemption come to the forefront when the narrator, a writer, returns to his ravaged homeland to rescue the son of his childhood friend after the boy’s parents are shot during the Taliban takeover in the mid ’90s.
Required for AP U.S. History and American Studies
In addition to their English summer reading assignment, students enrolled in AP United States History or American Studies must read the following book.
Founding Brothers, Joseph Ellis — This book is a Pulitzer Prize winning examination of the Founding Fathers and their attempt to put the ideals of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution into a workable form of government in the early decades of America. By examining six vignettes from the period, Joseph Ellis not only offers insight into the character – and contradictions – of the men who shaped America’s foundations, but he also gives the reader a sense for the culture and society of the early Republic.