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summer reading ASSIGNMENT
summer reading ASSIGNMENT
World Literature is a course that blends ancient and classical literature with contemporary literature from around the world. Over the course of the year, we will study literature from all corners of the globe. Our study of the world begins with summer reading. Students will have a choice between two memoirs from the continent of Asia. The authors of these memoirs each experienced oppression at the hands of totalitarian governments that changed the structures of their countries forever. Each of these countries also has a profound impact on the geopolitical landscape of the world today. Students must choose ONE memoir to read this summer, and they can expect to do research associated with their book once school begins. Below, you will find a link to a short, written assignment that must be printed, handwritten, and ready to submit on the first day of school. There are also links provided to purchase the book. Finally, you will see descriptions of each novel choice with links to historical and cultural resources to provide the historical context of each novel.
Please print the sheet that opens from the link immediately above. Hand-write your answers and be ready to turn them in on the first day of school. The questions on the sheet ask you to think about the most memorable parts of the book for you, as well as the warnings that come from reading it. Finally, the sheet asks you to relate the book to current events happening in the world today.
Links to Purchase Books for World Literature
Links to Purchase Books for World Literature
The purchase links are simply provided for your convenience. Books can be purchased anywhere, as long as they are the same edition (ISBN number) as the one on the link.
Amazon Purchase Link (Red Scarf Girl)
Amazon Purchase Link (Every Falling Star)
Red Scarf Girl
Red Scarf Girl
By Ji Li-Jiang
It's 1966, and twelve-year-old Ji-li Jiang has everything a girl could want: brains, popularity, and a bright future in Communist China. But it's also the year that China's leader, Mao Ze-dong, launches the Cultural Revolution—and Ji-li's world begins to fall apart.
Over the next few years, people who were once her friends and neighbors turn on her and her family, forcing them to live in constant terror of arrest. When Ji-li's father is imprisoned, she faces the most difficult dilemma of her life: turn on her family or risk defying the expectations of the government.
Written in an accessible and engaging style, this page-turning, honest, and deeply personal autobiography will appeal to readers of all ages and will give readers a sense of the reality of living under a totalitarian regime. It serves as a warning to present day readers about the threat posed by blind submission to totalitarian thinking today.
(320 pages)
History of the Cultural Revolution
Tiananmen Square 30 years later
*Source: Amazon.com
Every Falling Star
Every Falling Star
By Sungju Lee
Since the Korean War, the country of North Korea has been a mystery. Its leaders have cut the nation off from the rest of the world. Outside of carefully choreographed releases from the state controlled media, no one ever gets a glimpse of the reality of life beyond the demilitarized zone. Human rights watchdogs and government leaders of the free world are aware that the conditions for the average citizen of North Korea are abysmal. A few lucky souls do escape North Korea, and the author of this book is one of them. At age 12, he was forced to live on the streets and fend for himself. To survive, he created a gang and lived by thieving, fighting, begging, and stealing rides on cargo trains. This riveting memoir allows readers to learn about other cultures where freedoms they take for granted simply do not exist. It peels back the curtain on that mysterious nation that remains cut off from the rest of the world.
(344 pages)
Otto Warmbier: Jailed in North Korea
*Source: Amazon.com
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