If you didn't know, you can "follow" someone's blog and read what others are writing. A couple of people have already taken advantage of this and started supporting each other by sharing feelings and questions.
"Wow, pecola gets impregnated by her dad!? I've noticed that a bunch of books on her list are nvels that are almost depressing and tragic. Common theme... hmmmm?"
Excuse me while I do a hard tone shift--I do it a great deal verbally. This "rambling" blogger went hard in da paint and dropped some knowledge. For those of you who don't know, Mr. Waka Flocka coined this term modeled after what is known in basketball as "driving the lane. Urban Dictionary defines it as "
to approach a problem, obstacle, or challenge with supreme confidence of success through a commitment to use of all facilities available to one's self to achieve a goal" ("hard in the paint" def 1).
Now, I'll got back the original tone I was writing in. One of my major complaints about the AP Literature selection is sometimes over-rated (I genuinely dislike many of these books and have argued for years with people about the literary merit of the texts) and repeatedly soul-crushing. Racism, classism, rape, violence, prejudice--it's rampant, but please refer to my quote from the letter.
…recognizing the universal value of literary art that probes difficult and harsh life experiences and so deepen understanding, the [AP English and Literature Development Committee] emphasize that fair representation of issues and people may occasionally include controversial material.…The best response to a controversial detail or idea in a literary work might well be a question about the larger meaning, purpose, or overall effect of the detail or idea in context. AP students should have the maturity, the skill, and the will to seek the larger meaning through thoughtful research, and this thoughtfulness is both fair and owed to the art and to the author.” (English Literature and Composition: The Course Reading,7)
So try not to let them get you down.
As for the secondary choice books, here are a few comments I'm getting a lot of e-mails asking about books, and I wanted to make a few clarifications. Remember they CAN NOT be a young adult literature book. Usually a YA book will be labeled as such on the back of the book near the price, on the back of the title page where the information for the card catalog is listed, or you might get lucky and the store will clearly have it under a giant sign. Now if you're not sure if it's YA you can also go online and go to any book selling website and scroll until you see Product Details and it will tell you weight, height, category, and reading level. Also, it broke my heart today I had to kick back several amazing books because they were part of a trilogy or a longer series. Please try and find stand alone books for the sake of making conclusive statements about the text.
English Literature and Composition: The Course Reading. Professional Development AP English Literature and Composition Workshop
Handbook 2009-2010. The College Board. 2009. 7. Print.
"hard in the paint." The Urban Dictionary. 2001. Web 14 Jul 2011. <http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hard%20in%20the%20paint>
*Yes AT, KA, JW, and RF I did just cite the phrase "goin' hard in da paint". You act like you didn't see this coming.
*Yes AT, KA, JW, and RF I did just cite the phrase "goin' hard in da paint". You act like you didn't see this coming.
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