Freshman Summer Reading 2018-19
1. Brave New World by Alduous Huxley: A glimpse into a futuristic, dystopian world where people are
created rather than born and encouraged to follow their desires and senses as distraction from the
reality of being human.
Read the novel and think about the following questions:
o What things in this society seem wrong to you? Why?
o What things in this society might be similar to the world we live in? Think about
things like pop music and culture, modern day morals around sex and drug abuse,
and the importance of technology in our lives.
Be prepared to discuss this novel during our dystopia unit. You will need to know characters,
plot, and themes and be able to reference specific events and language in the novel.
2. “The Allegory of the Cave” by Plato (attached packet): A dialogue between Socrates and a student
that discusses how education works, the disconnect between the world of the senses and the truth of
the spirit, and the duty of the educated to better their society.
Read the text AND the annotations on the side and think about the following questions:
o How do you think about your education?
o What are the features of an ideal school or classroom? What things do you like from
teachers? From classmates?
Be prepared to discuss this text in the first week of school.
3. “Desiderata” by Max Ehrmann (Attached): A poem about relationships to people, places, and self.
Read the poem and consider the following questions:
o In what respects does this poem connect to “The Allegory of the Cave”? Do you see
any similar ideas?
o What lines most speak to you? Which line(s) would you like to carry forward into
your new school year? [Answer on CVHS Writing Diagnostic]
Be prepared to discuss the poem and share your answers to the questions in the first few
days of school.
