ENGLISH 9 SUMMER READING DIRECTIONS: To complete the summer reading successfully, you should read the texts in the following order: 1) Haroun and the Sea of Stories 2) Lord of the Flies 3) Peter Pan The summer reading questions build on each other, and the final set on Peter Pan, asks you to make connections between all three books, so be sure to read the novels and answer the questions in the correct order. Please have the responses to the questions ready to submit to your teacher on the first day of class. Please  do  not  refer  to  Spark  Notes  or  any  online  or  printed  study  guide  in  answering  the  questions.  Use  of  such  materials  violates  the  honor  code.      SUMMER  READING  TEXT  #3—PETER  PAN    Directions:  Before  you  begin  Peter  Pan,  look  over  and  familiarize  yourself  with  the  following  questions.  Then  take  notes  on  the  questions  as  you  read  along.  You  must  note  relevant  page  numbers.  Some  questions  ask  you  to  compare  themes  or  characters  from  the  other  summer  reading  texts,  so  you  must  finish  all  three  novels  before  completing  the  questions.  When  you  are  finished  with  the  texts,  answer  the  questions  as  fully  as  possible.  Even  if  a  question  seems  difficult,  you  need  to  make  an  effort  to  answer  it.    We  will  discuss  the  questions,  and  I  will  collect  them,  so  please  type  your  answers.    All  questions  are  due  on  the  first  day  of  class.  Please  do  not  refer  to  Spark  Notes  or  any  online  or  printed  study  guide  in  answering  these  questions.  Use  of  such  materials  violates  the  honor  code.      1.    Describe  Neverland.    What  elements  of  the  island  seem  appealing?    Why?  What  elements  strike  you  as  disturbing  or  less  appealing?    Why?  Compare  Neverland  to  the  island  in  Lord  of  the  Flies?    How  are  they  similar?    Why  do  both  authors  spend  time  giving  the  reader  detailed  descriptions  of  the  islands?    2.    Who  are  the  “lost  boys”?    Describe  their  lives  on  the  island.    What  about  their  lives  in  Neverland  is  appealing  to  them?    What  elements  seem  negative?    What  do  they  gain  by  living  there?    Why  do  they  choose  to  return  to  reality?    What  do  they  lose  by  this  return?    What  is  gained?    How  might  the  boys  in  Lord  of  the  Flies  be  considered  “lost  boys”?    Why  do  some  want  to  return  home  and  others  want  to  stay?    3.    Unlike  Lord  of  the  Flies,  Peter  Pan  has  several  female  characters.    Who  are  they  and  how  are  they  portrayed?    How  do  they  affect  the  action  in  the  book?    Why  is  Peter  drawn  to  Wendy?    What  makes  him  uncomfortable  about  her?    Why?    Why  do  you  think  Golding  excludes  female  characters  from  Lord  of  the  Flies?    What  assumptions  might  he  be  making  about  girls  or  women  that  would  make  them  unsuitable  for  his  story?    Are  any  of  those  assumptions  similar  to  ones  that  Barrie  makes  in  his  book?  Explain.    Does  Rushdie  make  similar  assumptions?    Why  or  why  not?  

 4.  Barrie  ends  his  text  with  the  comment  that  Peter’s  calling  children  away  to  Neverland    “will  go  on,  so  long  as  children  are  gay  and  innocent  and  heartless.”    Based  on  this  quotation  and  other  examples  of  your  choosing,  explain  how  Barrie  views  childhood  and  children.    Using  examples  from  Lord  of  the  Flies  and  Haroun,  compare  Barrie’s  ideas  about  both  to  Golding’s  and  Rushdie’s.        5.    In  Peter  Pan,  Hook  and  Peter  vie  for  rule  of  Neverland;  in  Lord  of  the  Flies,  Jack  and  Ralph  struggle  for  power;  in  Haroun  and  the  Sea  of  Stories,  King  Chattergy  and  Khattam-­‐Shud  battle  for  control  of  Kahani.    Look  carefully  at  all  three  books  and  compare  the  writers’  views  on  leadership  and  power.    What  makes  a  good  leader?    A  bad  leader?  Why  do  people  want  to  be  leaders?    What  effect  does  power  have  on  leaders?    Why  do  people  sometimes  gravitate  to  cruel  leaders?