AP Lit cards – Flashcards

The Jungle Author: Upton Sinclair Main Characters: Jurgis Rudkus,Ona Lukoszaite,Teta Elzbieta Lukoszaite,Marija Berczynskas,Phil Connor Summary: Jurgis Rudkus and Ona Lukoszaite, a young man and woman who have recently immigrated to Chicago from Lithuania, hold their wedding feast at a bar in an area of Chicago known as Packingtown. The couple and several relatives have come to Chicago in search of a better life, but Packingtown, the center of Lithuanian immigration and of Chicago's meatpacking industry, is a hard, dangerous, and filthy place and it's difficult to find a job. A lot of hard work, death, and crime comes to their family as they try to make a living in Packingtown. Major Themes:Socialism as a Remedy for the Evils of Capitalism, The Immigrant Experience and the Hollowness of the American Dream Tone:Oppressive, Intense, Unsettling Symbols/ Motifs:Corruption, Family and Tradition, Cans of Rotten Meat, The Jungle POV:Third person omniscient

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Author: Mark Twain Main Characters: Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer,Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, Jim, Pap, Judge Thatcher, The duke and the dauphin Summary: In the novel the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain tells the story of a 13 year old boy his adventures in Mississippi river. The time setting is before the Civil war. The novel is written in a narration form by the lead character, Huckleberry. It covers his interactions with many different people from different background. It is Huck's quest to find his real identity. Major Themes:Racism and slavery, Intellectual and Moral Education, The Hypocrisy of "Civilized" Society Tone:Moralistic, Introspective, Tongue-in-Cheek Motifs/ Symbols: Childhood, Lies and Cons, Superstitions and Folk Beliefs POV: First Person

Uncle Tom's Cabin Author: Harriet Beecher Stowe Main Characters:Uncle Tom, Aunt Chloe, Arthur Shelby,Emily Shelby, George Shelby, George Harris Summary:Arthur Shelby (a nice slave owner) cannot afford to keep all the slaves and sells Uncle Tom- a middle aged slave with a family. He was going to sell Harry, her maid slave's son, but the mother Eliza runs away with Harry. Harry and Eliza are hunted and Tom goes to live with St. Clare who shortly before he died he offered to free Tom. He dies before this happens and Tom is sold to Simon Legree a cruel man. Legree begins to hate Tom when Tom refuses Legree's order to whip his fellow slave. Legree beats Tom viciously, and resolves to crush his new slave's faith in God. Major Themes:The Evils of Slavery,The Incompatibility of Slavery & Christian Values,The Moral Power of Women Tone:serious, stoic, intense Motifs/ Symbols:Christ Figures, the Supernatural, geography POV:Third Person and Second Person Omniscient

Dead Man Walking Author: Sister Helen Prejean Main Characters:Sister Helen Prejean,Frank C. Blackburn, Major Kendall Cody, Chava Colon, Tom Dybdahl,Governor Edwin Edwards Summary:In 1982, Sister Helen Prejean became the spiritual advisor to Patrick Sonnier, the convicted killer of two teenagers who was sentenced to die in the electric chair of Louisiana's Angola State Prison. In the months before Sonnier's death, the Roman Catholic nun came to know a man who was as terrified as he had once been terrifying. At the same time, she came to know the families of the victims and the men whose job it was to execute him--men who often harbored doubts about the rightness of what they were doing. Major Themes:The redemptive power of love, the linked symptoms of social injustice, the importance of personal responsibility, the moral cost of executions Tone:Compassionate, outraged Motifs/ Symbols:Supreme Court decisions, grief, the role of government, C. Paul Phelps, the death house, the work of Albert Camus POV:First Person

The Crucible Author: Arthur Miller Main Characters:John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor,Abigail Williams,Reverend John Hale, Reverend Parris,Rebecca Nurse,Francis Nurse,Judge Danforth Summary:Some girls were caught dancing naked in the woods by Reverend Parris. They had conjured up spirits and this led to the accusations of the girls as witches. They accuse other women of the town of being witches. This leads to trials of these women with the girls as the jury.John Proctor is having an affair with Abigail and Elizabeth Proctor knows of the affair.Abigail accuses Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch.Deputy Governor Danforth is the judge and changes his mind about who he finds innocent. Mary goes to testify against the girls, but gets scared and blames it all on John, getting him killed. Major Themes:Intolerance, hysteria, reputation Tone: Serious and tragic Motifs/ Symbols: Empowerment; accusation, confession, legal proceedings in general,rats, toads, and bats. POV:none (it's a play)

Oedipus Author: Sophocles Main Characters: Oedipus, Jocasta, Teiresias, Creon, messenger from Corinth, Herdsman, Priest, Second Messenger, Ismene and Antigone. Summary: Oedipus is abandoned after his father hears a prophecy that he is to kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus is adopted and later hears that same prophecy. He then solves a riddle from the Sphinx, and in return, the kingdom gives him their queen's hand in marriage, who is his biological mother. Major theme: the tension between individual action and fate. Tone: The tone is mainly expressed by the Chorus through genuine sympathy. Motifs/Symbols: Oedipus' scars, vision/blindness POV: Third person (The Chorus)

Night Author: Elie Wiesel Main Characters: Moshe the Beadle, Madame Schachter, Juliek, Shlomo, and Eliezer. Summary: Night is a work by Elie Wiesel about his experience with his father in the Nazi German concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald in 1944-1945, at the height of the Holocaust and toward the end of the Second World War. Major theme: the terrors of the holocaust Tone: Dark, explicit Motifs/ Symbols: Night, Fire POV: First Person

Things Fall Apart Author: Chinua Achebe Main Characters: Ikemefuna, Nwoye, Ezinma, Okonkwo, Mr Brown Summary: The novel depicts the life of Okonkwo, a leader and local wrestling champion in Umuofia. It describes his family and personal history, the customs and society of the Igbo, and the influence of British colonialism and Christian missionaries on the Igbo community during the late nineteenth century. Major Theme: The struggle between change and tradition Tone: Ironic, Tragic Motifs/Symbols: Locusts, fire POV: Third Person Omniscient

The Glass Menagerie Author: Tennessee Williams Main Characters: Amanda Wingfield, Laura Wingfield, Tom Wingfield, Jim O'Conner Summary: Amanda is the mother who lives in the past, constantly recalling the numerous suitors who were after her. She is now trying to relive that through her daughter Laura, who has never had a date because she views herself as a cripple. Amanda has Tom invite a friend from work over for dinner, and after the fine (Jim) and Laura dance and kiss. Jim then leaves to be with his fiancée, and Tom leaves a screaming Amanda Themes: difficulty of accepting reality, impossibility of true escape Tone: tragic, sarcastic Symbols/Motifs: Laura's glass menagerie, glass unicorn, blue roses, fire escape POV: first person (Tom)

Waiting For Godot Author: Samuel Beckett Main Characters: Vladimir, Estragon, Pozzo, Lucky, Boy, Godot Summary: Two men, Vladimir and Estragon, are waiting by a tree. They converse about various subjects, and we learn that they are waiting for a man named Godot. While they wait a man named Pozzo enters with another man, Lucky, on a leash. At one point they take off Lucky's hat and he rambles about nonsense, and it is scary. They leave and the two are left to wait for Godot, who never ends up showing up. Themes: Have Patience, Conversation Passes Time Tone: Flat and Humorous Symbols/Motifs: The Boy, Lucky POV: Third Person Restricted

Of Mice and Men Author: John Stienbeck Main characters: Lennie, George, Candy, Crooks, Curly, Slim, Carlson Summary: George and Lennie are two immigrant workers. Lennie often accidentally kills thing. Lennie accidentally kills Curely's wife and has to go on the run. George realizes it is best to put Lennie out of his misery and has to kill his best friend. Major Themes: Sometimes in life people have to make the hardest choices, the American Dream and struggle during that time period Tone: Somber, heart-felt Symbols/Motifs: George and Lennies' dream farm, Lennie's puppy, Candy's dog POV: Third person limited

The Odyssey Author: Homer Main Characters: Odysseus, Telemachus, Penelope, Athena, Poseidon, Zeus Summary: After the fall of Troy, Odysseus' palace is overrun. When he is on the run a nymph who loves him imprisons him on her island. Odysseus describes all of the events that lead up to his landing on the island. Once home, he reveals himself to everyone. Major Theme: The power of brains over strength, pitfall on temptations Symbols/Motifs: storytelling, disguises, food, the wedding bed POV: Third person limited

Lord of the Flies Author: William Goulding Main Characters: Ralph, Jack, Simon, Piggy, Roger, Sam and Eric, Lord of the Flies Summary: A group of you private school children become stranded on an island alone. The group is split into two groups, each with their own leaders, enjoying life with no adults. As the days pass, Jack's group- called the Hunters- begin to turn into savages. Jack declares himself the new leader and sets out to hunt a pig, and once killed, the kids idolize the pig's head on a stick. Ralph's tribe is killed by the others and the rest were saved. Major Themes: Civilization v. savagery, loss of innocence Tone: Dark, violent, tragic, unsparing Symbols/Motifs: Lord of the Flies, piggy's glasses, the beast POV: Third person limited