CynthiaF September 6, 2015
AP Literature Summer Reading Assignment 2015
Introduction- “How’d he do that?” * Memory affects the reading of literature because it helps you make connections and recognize patterns. Patterns in turn, can reveal hidden meaning and truths in the test. If something is mentioned frequently then it is probably of some importance. That piece of information is probably vital to understanding the literature. Symbols show what the text cannot and they help guide you to a more complete understanding of the literature. * The recognition of patterns help make it easier to read complicated literature because they help recognize the relationships between ideas. In advanced literature all of the ideas are mixed in a more complex way so if you are used to looking for patterns while reading it will help ease the complexity * While reading this book I noticed that the author uses a pattern of introducing mysteries that kept my attention. Irving kept my attention because he left the mysteries unsolved until the end He didn’t develop the plot directly. The pattern he uses is a pattern of suspense. For example he spent all of Chapter 1 explaining several unimportant stories and then at the end he finally tells the story of the baseball.
Chapter 1- “Every Trip is a Quest” * Our quester: John
A place to go:
A stated reason to go there: He wants to figure out who is father is
Challenges and trials: Owen kills John’s mother before she could tell him who is father is.
The real reason to go: In the end John is feeling guilty about Owens’s death and he is trying to deal with the effects on his life * John has learned who is father is and he also understands that he feels guilty for all the deaths that have happened. Owens’s story had awoken his belief in God. Owen was on a quest to work for God. Owen went through his quest believing that he was sent to be God’s messenger
Chapter 2- : “Nice to Meet You: Acts of Communion” * The author knows the common belief in communion but then he goes on to explain that not all communion is holy. Irving says that communion is a way to break barriers, saying that “I’m with you, I share this moment with you, I feel a bond of community with you.” * In the book, when Dan Needham went to the house for the first time, it was a show of communion. Tabby had just told her family about him. This meal affected the characters. Tabby’s mother was worried that Tabby was knocked up again. When Dan arrived he gave John the armadillo. That armadillo would become one of John’s most prized possessions
Chapter 5- “Now, Where Have I seen Her Before?” * While reading this story, I am reminded of the book called Angel of Darkness by Cynthia Eden. In the story, the Angel of Darkness, named Keenan, was sent to do his job which is to kill people. So when Owen thinks that he has interrupted the Angel of Darkness that night in Tabby’s room, he believes it is now his job to finish the job
Chapter 12- “Is That a Symbol?”

Chapter 14- “Yes, She’s a Christ Figure, Too” * Owen Meany represents the Christ figure in this story. He represents the spiritual condition of the world. He believes that everything that happens is the will of God. He also represents the relationship between the earthly and the spiritual, as well, as the good avocation of faith
Chapter 19- “Geography Matters…”

Chapter 24- “…And Rarely Just Illness” * The disabilities/illnesses in this novel were the frequent amputations. The novel is full of instances where the characters or objects were limbless. Most of the time they were armless just like the dressmakers dummy, the armadillo, and Mary Magdalene.