Sophomore English Honors Summer Assignment

During your sophomore year of English well be focusing on a broad spectrum of

international and American literature in which we analyze how these influences have
shaped the perceptions we have of ourselves, our culture, our country, and our world. To
best prepare you for this you will be required to complete the following three tasks to
broaden your understanding of culture and the world:
1. Read one fiction or nonfiction novel written by an international author.
You may read a novel from any author who was born in, associates with, or has spent the vast majority of their
lives living outside the United States.
Possible authors may include:
Jos Saramago, Alexandre Dumas, Leo Tolstoy, James Joyce, Jonathon Swift,
Rudyard Kipling, Chinua Achebe, Kang Chol-Hwan, Stieg Larsson, Milan Kundera, Gabriel Garca
Mrquez, Khaled Hosseini, etc.
Try to find an author that may be outside your comfort zone, while J.K. Rowling might be considered an international
author its unlikely youll gain a more worldly understanding or a more profound understanding of modern Britain after
reading one of her novels.
Good Reads has a fairly comprehensive list of other possible authors and novels:
http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/international-authors
Your local librarian will be more than willing to suggest something as well

Write one blog post and 5 comments on twicks.weebly.com. This blog post must be at
least three paragraphs long and discuss one or more of the following issues:
o Is this individual an effective arbiter of their country and culture?
o Does everything the author describes translate effectively to your culture? If not, how were the values,
themes, and portrayals exclusive to the authors culture alone?
o Does this authors portrayal reflect your stereotypical understanding of the country and culture they
represent?
o Did you learn anything new about this individuals culture, country, etc. that you didnt already know?
You must also create 5 comments regarding other students posts. Each comment must
be 1 paragraph long and should address the issues the original post addressed.
2. Read one non-fiction memoir concerning an Americans experiences abroad:
You may read any non-fiction account you wish but possible novels may include:
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth
Gilbert
Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy by Frances Mayes
In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
My Life in France by Julia Child
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner
Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik
The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
Good Reads has another fairly comprehensive list:
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/633.Favourite_Travel_Books
Your local librarian will be more than willing to suggest something as well

Write a 2 to 3 page synthesis essay that describes the country, culture, and landscape
the author encounters and use outside research to describe that country and what the
author learns about it. Try to address the following issues in that essay:
o Does this individual truly understand the culture or country they interact with?

Sophomore English Honors Summer Assignment

o Should we be skeptical of this individuals portrayal or understanding of country and culture theyre

visiting?
o Can a foreigner ever effectively represent or understand a culture that isnt their own?
o Does this author attempt to claim some degree of ownership of the culture theyre interacting with?
o Is it possible to gain anything truly meaningful from another culture, or is every human culture similar in
the most fundamental ways?
Essays need to be a minimum of two full pages, double spaced, 12 point font, Times New
Roman, and include MLA citation with a Works Cited Page with at least 3 sources.
3. Last but not least, you need to watch a film or a few episodes of a television show
that has both international and American versions.
You may choose any two films or television shows you wish as long as theyre appropriate for your
sensibilities and they were produced internationally and have direct American correlations. If a film
combination listed below is not appropriate it is up to you to find a substitute.
Godzilla (2014) Gojira (1954)
City of Angels (1998) Der Himmel ber Berlin (1987)
Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2010) Hachiko Monogatari (1987
A Fistful of Dollars (1964) Yojimbo (1961)
The Magnificent Seven (1960) Seven Samurai (1954)
Solaris (2002) Solaris (1972)Vanilla Sky (2001) Abre los ojos (1997)
Let Me In (2010) Let the Right One In (2008)
Possible Television Shows
The Office (2001) The Office (2005)
Top Gear (2002) Top Gear (2010)
House of Cards (1990) House of Cards (2013)
Rake (2010) Rake (2014)
Many of these pairing can be found on Netflix, Youtube, Hulu, or many other free video streaming websites.
Grab a friend and watch them together.
Create a poster that represents the contrasts and similarities between the two films you
watched. Write a summary for each film, and write about the differences for each.
Include at least 5 quotes from each film and include 5 visual representations from each
film. While creating the poster keep the following questions in line:
o Which of the two versions did you prefer? Do you think your own cultural background biased your
decision?
o Are both versions basically the same? If so, why was there a need to create another version? If not,
why were the changes made needed?
o Are there any major alterations in production and do those choices made within the genres that
encompass these films or shows reflect their country of origin?

-I.E. The American Horror movie emphasized the violent death of its protagonists while its Korean
counterpart left the fates of the protagonist to the viewers imagination because

o What was the most important reason for reproducing this film in a different country? Was there a

purpose besides more monetary gain while utilizing an already successful narrative?
Your blog post and comments need to be completed before August 10th.
Your synthesis essay and poster are due on August 10th.
Blog postings are to be completed on twicks.weebly.com under the tab titled Summer
Assignment.

Sophomore English Honors Summer Assignment

-If you have any questions or need any assistance post your questions on twicks.weebly.com under the
tab titled Moreand the tab labeled Help. Your questions will be answered by your teacher or other
students within a few days of posting.
Make sure to start this assignment early, as summer tends to go by quickly. Good luck
and Im looking forward to seeing you in the fall.
Tyler Earl Wicks and Julianne Dillard