Required Summer Reading and Work
Humanities 11 – English and U.S. History
There are two parts to your required summer work in Humanities 11: the US History portion and the Literature
portion. Be sure that you do both.
For the U.S. History portion of Humanities Eleven, you must read the following book:
Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis
As you read the preface and the six chapters of Founding Brothers, think about the purpose and craft of writing
history. Does history teach lessons? Does it entertain? Does it surprise? How can new generations of
historians keep writing about the same material? What makes Joseph Ellis’s book, published in 2000, different
from a book on the founders written in 1900 or 1800? How do historians pick their topics?
Your task is to find passages that teach you something new either about a person, event, or theme in American
history or about how history is written. You must find ONE quotation from the preface and ONE quotation
from each of the six chapters (for a total of SEVEN quotations). For each of the quotes, type the quotation
along with the page number on which it is found. Then write a full paragraph explaining how the material
changes the way you think about early American history. (Each paragraph should be at least ½ page, 12 point
font, 1” margins, double-spaced.)
Due Date: This assignment is due on the first full day of school, August 25, 2010. It will count as a major/test
grade. Late papers will be penalized 10 points per day.
For the English portion of Humanities Eleven, you are to read one of the following books:
1. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
2. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
3. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
4. Seize the Day by Saul Bellow.
In addition, you must write a three-page paper which responds to the following questions:
• what kind of person is the protagonist?
• What kind of world does the protagonist live in?
• What is the protagonist’s problem?
• How does the protagonist respond to his/her problem and his/her situation in the world?
As you go about answering these questions, be sure to use specific examples from the text to support your
answers. I am looking for you to read between the lines and to develop the habit of critical reading. Some
helpful hints: Is this a good person? Lazy? Kind? Ambitious? Lost? Is this a fair and just world? How are
women treated? Do good people succeed? Why not? Is the protagonist lost? Why?
Due Date: This assignment is due on the first full day of school, August 25, 2010. It will count as one test
grade. Late papers will be penalized ten points/day. The grading will take into account spelling, punctuation,
grammar, syntax, organization, and analytical abilities. Proofread your papers. Careless errors will be penalized.
The paper should be typed, double-spaced, with your name on the top.