ENRICHED AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE II SUMMER READING
2018-2019 SCHOOL YEAR
Taught By: Schyvonne Ross schyvonne.ross@reyn.org Follow Me @Ms_Ross_English

Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stay grows longer, more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain
whether or not Dana's life will end, long before it has a chance to begin.

MEET THE AUTHOR
Octavia Estelle Butler, often referred to as the “grand dame of science fiction,” was born in Pasadena, California on June 22, 1947. She received an Associate of Arts degree in 1968 from Pasadena Community College, and also attended California State University in Los Angeles and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

Octavia Butler is a writer who will be with us for a long, long time, and Kindred is that rare magical artifact . . . the novel one returns to, again and again.—Harlan Ellison

"One cannot finish Kindred without feeling changed. It is a shattering work of art with much to say about love, hate, slavery, and racial dilemmas, then and now." —Sam Frank, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner

"In Kindred, Octavia Butler creates a road for the impossible and a balm for the unbearable. It is everything the literature of science fiction can be." —Walter Mosley

"Truly terrifying . . . A book you'll find hard to put down."—Essence

"Butler's books are exceptional . . . She is a realist, writing the most detailed social criticism and creating some of the most fascinating female characters in the genre . . . real women caught in impossible situations."—Dorothy Allison, Village Voice

"Butler's literary craftsmanship is superb."—Washington Post Book World

"One of the most original, thought-provoking works examining race and identity."—Lynell George,

Los Angeles Times

JOURNAL

Purchase a 1 subject notebook.
You have 2 options.
As you are completing your daily reading you will provide 6-8 bullet points on the major events.  -OR-
After you complete your daily reading you will write a 6-8 sentence summary of the reading.
A journal entry should include the date, the pages you read, and your bullet points or summary.
The journal is worth 200 points.

ASSIGNMENT #1

Based on descriptions in the novel, I want you to determine what the experience of slavery was like in America. In the chart below, cite text from the book that describes Dana’s experience as a slave (living conditions, daily experiences, etc). In the next box, write in the page number where the text came from. Last, in a Google Doc, write 125 words on your opinion of the life slaves experienced, based on the information in the book.  Share with me.  50 points.

QUOTE	PAGE NUMBER	

		

ASSIGNMENT #2

Kanye West recently made a statement that slavery was a choice. You will be writing an argumentative research paper over what Kanye said, “Was slavery a choice?”

You will need to use three pieces of evidence from Kindred in your essay. Additionally, you will need to find two internet sources that support your claim. The internet sources that you use, must come from a site that ends in .org, .net, or .edu. You may also use INFOhio, which can be accessed through the student portal. You must be signed into your school account to access INFOhio. Your essay must include two pieces of evidence from each internet source. In all, that is two pieces of evidence from your first internet source, two pieces of evidence from your second internet source, and three pieces of evidence from your
book--a total of seven pieces of evidence.

Your essay should be at least 750 words and at least five paragraphs, but can have more paragraphs and be longer than 750 words. Please keep in mind that the first paragraph is your introduction, and the last paragraph is your conclusion.

Your introduction and conclusion paragraphs should be 6-8 sentences, and your body paragraphs should be at least 10 sentences.

Please include a Works Cited page that lists your sources in proper MLA format. Include Kindred as one of your sources. If you are not sure how to cite your sources, please go to the Purdue Owl which can be accessed through the student portal.  You can also get to the Purdue Owl by searching Google.

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR PAPER IS IN MLA FORMAT AND IS DOUBLE SPACED. USE TIMES NEW ROMAN OR ARIAL AS YOUR FONT. THE SIZE OF YOUR FONT SHOULD BE 12.

Be ready to present your essay on the first day of school. 50 points. Share your essay with me by the first day of school.  200 points.