morning rain ap lit essay

Summaries, Analysis & Lists

“Morning Rain” by Hisaye Yamamoto: Analysis, Summary, Themes & Meaning

Hisaye Yamamoto’s short story “Morning Rain” was published in the collection Seventeen Syllables and Other Stories . (Amazon) There’s also a revised edition with four additional stories. In “Morning Rain”, a woman learns something about her father as they talk one morning while he’s visiting. It’s a popular  short story for students . This analysis of “Morning Rain” starts with a summary then looks at themes and a few questions.

Summary of “Morning Rain”

Sadako and her father, Mr. Endo, are at the kitchen table eating breakfast. He eats in his usual way, saving the two eggs for last and hardly chewing them. She can handle this habit of his, and is glad he’s not overly particular about how his eggs are prepared.

Sadako’s baby is napping and her husband, Harry, left for work earlier. It’s raining out so she won’t take a walk this morning, and she’ll have to hang her washing inside. Sadako asks her father about his plans for the day. He pauses a long time before answering as he always does. He’s going to visit the Iwanagas, see a movie, and then eat out for supper.

Sadako is relieved her father won’t be home for supper. Making conversation is difficult when he’s visiting from San Francisco. Harry doesn’t speak Japanese and her father doesn’t speak English. She ends up talking too much.

Mr. Endo asks if he should bring anything back, and Sadako says to get some manju. When he says “Okay”, they both smile to themselves, remembering how much Mrs. Endo used to say it.

Sadako suggest he take her umbrella because it’s raining. Mr. Endo didn’t know it was raining. Suddenly, Sadako realizes the rain is loud, and asks her father if he can hear it. He can’t. They stare at each other for a moment. He goes to the window and looks out at the water pouring from the eaves. He still can’t hear it, though.

Mr. Endo bring up the manju again, confirming what kind Sadako likes. He puts on his coat and Sadako brings the umbrella. Realizing she hasn’t said anything for a while, she answers his question about the manju. The baby starts crying and Sadako realizes she was yelling.

(End of “Morning Rain” summary)

Theme of “Morning Rain”: Communication

Communication is “Morning Rain’s” most prominent theme.

Harry, although he sometimes tries to talk to Mr. Endo, doesn’t speak enough Japanese to make it work. His efforts always “petered out in helpless English.” Likewise, Mr. Endo sometimes tries English with the same poor results. The communication between the two men is minimal.

This leaves Sadako in the middle, being able to speak both Japanese and English. Despite this advantage, her efforts don’t produce much either. She tries to keep up a pleasant conversation but it’s always tense, with her “delivering an overly ebullient monologue.” It seems she doesn’t get much back from either side. Her father has “never been one for iridescent chit-chat”, and nothing is said about her husband’s supper-time conversation with her in English. Presumably, he doesn’t make much.

The communication we’re let in on between Sadako and her father is polite, superficial and practical:

• She asks what he’s going to do today,
• he asks if he can bring anything back,
• they talk about the rain and the need for an umbrella, and
• the kind of manju that Sadako likes.

It’s also notable that the one warmer moment they experienced wasn’t shared. When they remembered their deceased mother and wife, respectively, they smiled, but not at each other, and “each remembered privately.” Clearly, there’s a significant communication barrier between them, despite the fact that they’re on good terms.

Another example occurs after Sadako realizes her father can’t hear the rain. While staring at each other, he is “not really seeing her” and she looks “as though seeing him for the first time in her life.” This disconnect emphasizes the barrier between them.

The theme of communication extends to the story’s final sentence, further emphasizing its importance. Sadako realizes she was “shouting at the top of her lungs” as her father left for his outing. The little communication they had before took noticeable effort and now it will take even more.

The overriding importance of communication is directly stated in the story: “. . . (and that was what living was, was it not, communicating with each other?)” This gives us insight into how satisfied Sadako is. If living is communicating, she’s not doing much living. She will probably feel this lack even more now that her father’s hearing is bad. (see question #1)

Theme of “Morning Rain”: A Woman’s Role

This secondary theme in “Morning Rain” overlaps heavily with the main theme, as it provides context for the characters’ differing views on communication.

Sadako’s role as wife and mother confines her more to the home. During most of the days, her husband is at work and her father isn’t visiting. She’s with the baby, who’s communicative abilities are very limited.

One of the main reasons the men are satisfied with talking less could be that they have other outlets. Harry works outside the home, so he probably talks to many people. Her father still works back in San Francisco, and while visiting his daughter, he goes out to see friends. Presumably, he talks to them more than he does to his family.

1. What is the significance of Sadako realizing that her father’s hearing is bad?

This is a sad, possibly devastating moment for Sadako. Her efforts at conversation suggest she would like to improve the communication between her and her father. Now, this additional barrier makes that even less likely to succeed. If the hearing loss progresses, it will eventually make the situation even worse. The extent to which they connect now seems to be as good as it ever will be.

Their difficulty communicating is represented by this physical impediment.

2. What suggests that Sadako wants to improve the communication the most?

While Harry and Mr. Endo make an occasional attempt to talk to each other, Sadako is the one who puts the most into it. Her effort is noted several times:

• At supper, she delivers an “overly ebullient monologue.”
• When asked about the manju she “nodded with unnecessary vigor.”
• As her father leaves, she shouts “at the top of her lungs.”

The men seem fairly satisfied with how things are, while Sadako wants more. The statement in the story equating living with communicating could only describe Sadako’s feelings.

I hope this analysis of “Morning Rain” and a look at its themes was helpful.

How to Write the AP Lit Prose Essay with Examples

March 30, 2024

AP Lit Prose Essay Examples – The College Board’s Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Course is one of the most enriching experiences that high school students can have. It exposes you to literature that most people don’t encounter until college , and it helps you develop analytical and critical thinking skills that will enhance the quality of your life, both inside and outside of school. The AP Lit Exam reflects the rigor of the course. The exam uses consistent question types, weighting, and scoring parameters each year . This means that, as you prepare for the exam, you can look at previous questions, responses, score criteria, and scorer commentary to help you practice until your essays are perfect.

What is the AP Lit Free Response testing? 

In AP Literature, you read books, short stories, and poetry, and you learn how to commit the complex act of literary analysis . But what does that mean? Well, “to analyze” literally means breaking a larger idea into smaller and smaller pieces until the pieces are small enough that they can help us to understand the larger idea. When we’re performing literary analysis, we’re breaking down a piece of literature into smaller and smaller pieces until we can use those pieces to better understand the piece of literature itself.

So, for example, let’s say you’re presented with a passage from a short story to analyze. The AP Lit Exam will ask you to write an essay with an essay with a clear, defensible thesis statement that makes an argument about the story, based on some literary elements in the short story. After reading the passage, you might talk about how foreshadowing, allusion, and dialogue work together to demonstrate something essential in the text. Then, you’ll use examples of each of those three literary elements (that you pull directly from the passage) to build your argument. You’ll finish the essay with a conclusion that uses clear reasoning to tell your reader why your argument makes sense.

AP Lit Prose Essay Examples (Continued)

But what’s the point of all of this? Why do they ask you to write these essays?

Well, the essay is, once again, testing your ability to conduct literary analysis. However, the thing that you’re also doing behind that literary analysis is a complex process of both inductive and deductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning takes a series of points of evidence and draws a larger conclusion. Deductive reasoning departs from the point of a broader premise and draws a singular conclusion. In an analytical essay like this one, you’re using small pieces of evidence to draw a larger conclusion (your thesis statement) and then you’re taking your thesis statement as a larger premise from which you derive your ultimate conclusion.

So, the exam scorers are looking at your ability to craft a strong thesis statement (a singular sentence that makes an argument), use evidence and reasoning to support that argument, and then to write the essay well. This is something they call “sophistication,” but they’re looking for well-organized thoughts carried through clear, complete sentences.

This entire process is something you can and will use throughout your life. Law, engineering, medicine—whatever pursuit, you name it—utilizes these forms of reasoning to run experiments, build cases, and persuade audiences. The process of this kind of clear, analytical thinking can be honed, developed, and made easier through repetition.

Practice Makes Perfect

Because the AP Literature Exam maintains continuity across the years, you can pull old exam copies, read the passages, and write responses. A good AP Lit teacher is going to have you do this time and time again in class until you have the formula down. But, it’s also something you can do on your own, if you’re interested in further developing your skills.

AP Lit Prose Essay Examples 

Let’s take a look at some examples of questions, answers and scorer responses that will help you to get a better idea of how to craft your own AP Literature exam essays.

In the exam in 2023, students were asked to read a poem by Alice Cary titled “Autumn,” which was published in 1874. In it, the speaker contemplates the start of autumn. Then, students are asked to craft a well-written essay which uses literary techniques to convey the speaker’s complex response to the changing seasons.

The following is an essay that received a perfect 6 on the exam. There are grammar and usage errors throughout the essay, which is important to note: even though the writer makes some mistakes, the structure and form of their argument was strong enough to merit a 6. This is what your scorers will be looking for when they read your essay.

Example Essay 

Romantic and hyperbolic imagery is used to illustrate the speaker’s unenthusiastic opinion of the coming of autumn, which conveys Cary’s idea that change is difficult to accept but necessary for growth.

Romantic imagery is utilized to demonstrate the speaker’s warm regard for the season of summer and emphasize her regretfulness for autumn’s coming, conveying the uncomfortable change away from idyllic familiarity. Summer, is portrayed in the image of a woman who “from her golden collar slips/and strays through stubble fields/and moans aloud.” Associated with sensuality and wealth, the speaker implies the interconnection between a season and bounty, comfort, and pleasure. Yet, this romantic view is dismantled by autumn, causing Summer to “slip” and “stray through stubble fields.” Thus, the coming of real change dethrones a constructed, romantic personification of summer,  conveying the speaker’s reluctance for her ideal season to be dethroned by something much less decorated and adored.

Summer, “she lies on pillows of the yellow leaves,/ And tries the old tunes for over an hour”, is contrasted with bright imagery of fallen leaves/ The juxtaposition between Summer’s character and the setting provides insight into the positivity of change—the yellow leaves—by its contrast with the failures of attempting to sustain old habits or practices, “old tunes”. “She lies on pillows” creates a sympathetic, passive image of summer in reaction to the coming of Autumn, contrasting her failures to sustain “old tunes.” According to this, it is understood that the speaker recognizes the foolishness of attempting to prevent what is to come, but her wishfulness to counter the natural progression of time.

Hyperbolic imagery displays the discrepancies between unrealistic, exaggerated perceptions of change and the reality of progress, continuing the perpetuation of Cary’s idea that change must be embraced rather than rejected. “Shorter and shorter now the twilight clips/The days, as though the sunset gates they crowd”, syntax and diction are used to literally separate different aspects of the progression of time. In an ironic parallel to the literal language, the action of twilight’s “clip” and the subject, “the days,” are cut off from each other into two different lines, emphasizing a sense of jarring and discomfort. Sunset, and Twilight are named, made into distinct entities from the day, dramatizing the shortening of night-time into fall. The dramatic, sudden implications for the change bring to mind the switch between summer and winter, rather than a transitional season like fall—emphasizing the Speaker’s perspective rather than a factual narration of the experience.

She says “the proud meadow-pink hangs down her head/Against the earth’s chilly bosom, witched with frost”. Implying pride and defeat, and the word “witched,” the speaker brings a sense of conflict, morality, and even good versus evil into the transition between seasons. Rather than a smooth, welcome change, the speaker is practically against the coming of fall. The hyperbole present in the poem serves to illustrate the Speaker’s perspective and ideas on the coming of fall, which are characterized by reluctance and hostility to change from comfort.

The topic of this poem, Fall–a season characterized by change and the deconstruction of the spring and summer landscape—is juxtaposed with the final line which evokes the season of Spring. From this, it is clear that the speaker appreciates beautiful and blossoming change. However, they resent that which destroys familiar paradigms and norms. Fall, seen as the death of summer, is characterized as a regression, though the turning of seasons is a product of the literal passage of time. Utilizing romantic imagery and hyperbole to shape the Speaker’s perspective, Cary emphasizes the need to embrace change though it is difficult, because growth is not possible without hardship or discomfort.

Scoring Criteria: Why did this essay do so well? 

When it comes to scoring well, there are some rather formulaic things that the judges are searching for. You might think that it’s important to “stand out” or “be creative” in your writing. However, aside from concerns about “sophistication,” which essentially means you know how to organize thoughts into sentences and you can use language that isn’t entirely elementary, you should really focus on sticking to a form. This will show the scorers that you know how to follow that inductive/deductive reasoning process that we mentioned earlier, and it will help to present your ideas in the most clear, coherent way possible to someone who is reading and scoring hundreds of essays.

So, how did this essay succeed? And how can you do the same thing?

First: The Thesis 

On the exam, you can either get one point or zero points for your thesis statement. The scorers said, “The essay responds to the prompt with a defensible thesis located in the introductory paragraph,” which you can read as the first sentence in the essay. This is important to note: you don’t need a flowery hook to seduce your reader; you can just start this brief essay with some strong, simple, declarative sentences—or go right into your thesis.

What makes a good thesis? A good thesis statement does the following things:

• Makes a claim that will be supported by evidence
• Is specific and precise in its use of language
• Argues for an original thought that goes beyond a simple restating of the facts

If you’re sitting here scratching your head wondering how you come up with a thesis statement off the top of your head, let me give you one piece of advice: don’t.

The AP Lit scoring criteria gives you only one point for the thesis for a reason: they’re just looking for the presence of a defensible claim that can be proven by evidence in the rest of the essay.

Second: Write your essay from the inside out 

While the thesis is given one point, the form and content of the essay can receive anywhere from zero to four points. This is where you should place the bulk of your focus.

My best advice goes like this:

• Choose your evidence first
• Develop your commentary about the evidence
• Then draft your thesis statement based on the evidence that you find and the commentary you can create.

It will seem a little counterintuitive: like you’re writing your essay from the inside out. But this is a fundamental skill that will help you in college and beyond. Don’t come up with an argument out of thin air and then try to find evidence to support your claim. Look for the evidence that exists and then ask yourself what it all means. This will also keep you from feeling stuck or blocked at the beginning of the essay. If you prepare for the exam by reviewing the literary devices that you learned in the course and practice locating them in a text, you can quickly and efficiently read a literary passage and choose two or three literary devices that you can analyze.

Third: Use scratch paper to quickly outline your evidence and commentary 

Once you’ve located two or three literary devices at work in the given passage, use scratch paper to draw up a quick outline. Give each literary device a major bullet point. Then, briefly point to the quotes/evidence you’ll use in the essay. Finally, start to think about what the literary device and evidence are doing together. Try to answer the question: what meaning does this bring to the passage?

A sample outline for one paragraph of the above essay might look like this:

Romantic imagery

Portrayal of summer

• Woman who “from her golden collar… moans aloud”
• Summer as bounty

Contrast with Autumn

• Autumn dismantles Summer
• “Stray through stubble fields”
• Autumn is change; it has the power to dethrone the romance of Summer/make summer a bit meaningless

Recognition of change in a positive light

• Summer “lies on pillows / yellow leaves / tries old tunes”
• Bright imagery/fallen leaves
• Attempt to maintain old practices fails: “old tunes”
• But! There is sympathy: “lies on pillows”

Speaker recognizes: she can’t prevent what is to come; wishes to embrace natural passage of time

By the time the writer gets to the end of the outline for their paragraph, they can easily start to draw conclusions about the paragraph based on the evidence they have pulled out. You can see how that thinking might develop over the course of the outline.

Then, the speaker would take the conclusions they’ve drawn and write a “mini claim” that will start each paragraph. The final bullet point of this outline isn’t the same as the mini claim that comes at the top of the second paragraph of the essay, however, it is the conclusion of the paragraph. You would do well to use the concluding thoughts from your outline as the mini claim to start your body paragraph. This will make your paragraphs clear, concise, and help you to construct a coherent argument.

Repeat this process for the other one or two literary devices that you’ve chosen to analyze, and then: take a step back.

Fourth: Draft your thesis 

Once you quickly sketch out your outline, take a moment to “stand back” and see what you’ve drafted. You’ll be able to see that, among your two or three literary devices, you can draw some commonality. You might be able to say, as the writer did here, that romantic and hyperbolic imagery “illustrate the speaker’s unenthusiastic opinion of the coming of autumn,” ultimately illuminating the poet’s idea “that change is difficult to accept but necessary for growth.”

This is an original argument built on the evidence accumulated by the student. It directly answers the prompt by discussing literary techniques that “convey the speaker’s complex response to the changing seasons.” Remember to go back to the prompt and see what direction they want you to head with your thesis, and craft an argument that directly speaks to that prompt.

Then, move ahead to finish your body paragraphs and conclusion.

Fifth: Give each literary device its own body paragraph 

In this essay, the writer examines the use of two literary devices that are supported by multiple pieces of evidence. The first is “romantic imagery” and the second is “hyperbolic imagery.” The writer dedicates one paragraph to each idea. You should do this, too.

This is why it’s important to choose just two or three literary devices. You really don’t have time to dig into more. Plus, more ideas will simply cloud the essay and confuse your reader.

Using your outline, start each body paragraph with a “mini claim” that makes an argument about what it is you’ll be saying in your paragraph. Lay out your pieces of evidence, then provide commentary for why your evidence proves your point about that literary device.

Move onto the next literary device, rinse, and repeat.

Sixth: Commentary and Conclusion 

Finally, you’ll want to end this brief essay with a concluding paragraph that restates your thesis, briefly touches on your most important points from each body paragraph, and includes a development of the argument that you laid out in the essay.

In this particular example essay, the writer concludes by saying, “Utilizing romantic imagery and hyperbole to shape the Speaker’s perspective, Cary emphasizes the need to embrace change though it is difficult, because growth is not possible without hardship or discomfort.” This is a direct restatement of the thesis. At this point, you’ll have reached the end of your essay. Great work!

Seventh: Sophistication 

A final note on scoring criteria: there is one point awarded to what the scoring criteria calls “sophistication.” This is evidenced by the sophistication of thought and providing a nuanced literary analysis, which we’ve already covered in the steps above.

There are some things to avoid, however:

• Sweeping generalizations, such as, “From the beginning of human history, people have always searched for love,” or “Everyone goes through periods of darkness in their lives, much like the writer of this poem.”
• Only hinting at possible interpretations instead of developing your argument
• Oversimplifying your interpretation
• Or, by contrast, using overly flowery or complex language that does not meet your level of preparation or the context of the essay.

Remember to develop your argument with nuance and complexity and to write in a style that is academic but appropriate for the task at hand.

If you want more practice or to check out other exams from the past, go to the College Board’s website .

Brittany Borghi

After earning a BA in Journalism and an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Iowa, Brittany spent five years as a full-time lecturer in the Rhetoric Department at the University of Iowa. Additionally, she’s held previous roles as a researcher, full-time daily journalist, and book editor. Brittany’s work has been featured in The Iowa Review, The Hopkins Review, and the Pittsburgh City Paper, among others, and she was also a 2021 Pushcart Prize nominee.

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, expert's guide to the ap literature exam.

Advanced Placement (AP)

If you're planning to take the AP English Literature and Composition exam, you'll need to get familiar with what to expect on the test. Whether the 2023 test date of Wednesday, May 3, is near or far, I'm here to help you get serious about preparing for the exam.

In this guide, I'll go over the test's format and question types, how it's graded, best practices for preparation, and test-day tips. You'll be on your way to AP English Lit success in no time!

AP English Literature: Exam Format and Question Types

The AP Literature Exam is a three-hour exam that contains two sections in this order:

• An hour-long, 55-question multiple-choice section
• A two-hour, three-question free-response section

The exam tests your ability to analyze works and excerpts of literature and cogently communicate that analysis in essay form.

Read on for a breakdown of the two different sections and their question types.

Section I: Multiple Choice

The multiple-choice section, or Section I of the AP Literature exam, is 60 minutes long and has 55 questions. It counts for 45% of your overall exam grade .

You can expect to see five excerpts of prose and poetry. You will always get at least two prose passages (fiction or drama) and two poetry passages. In general, you will not be given the author, date, or title for these works, though occasionally the title of a poem will be given. Unusual words are also sometimes defined for you.

The date ranges of these works could fall from the 16th to the 21st century. Most works will be originally written in English, but you might occasionally see a passage in translation.

There are, generally speaking, eight kinds of questions you can expect to see on the AP English Literature and Composition exam. I'll break each of them down here and give you tips on how to identify and approach them.

"Pretty flowers carried by ladies" is not one of the question types.

The 8 Multiple-Choice Question Types on the AP Literature Exam

Without further delay, here are the eight question types you can expect to see on the AP Lit exam. All questions are taken from the sample questions on the AP Course and Exam Description .

#1: Reading Comprehension

These questions test your ability to understand what the passage is saying on a pretty basic level . They don't require you to do a lot of interpretation—you just need to know what's going on.

You can identify this question type from words and phrases such as "according to," "mentioned," "asserting," and so on. You'll succeed on these questions as long as you carefully read the text . Note that you might have to go back and reread parts to make sure you understand what the passage is saying.

#2: Inference

These questions ask you to infer something—a character or narrator's opinion, an author's intention, etc.—based on what is said in the passage . It will be something that isn't stated directly or concretely but that you can assume based on what's clearly written in the passage. You can identify these questions from words such as "infer" and "imply."

The key to these questions is to not get tripped up by the fact that you are making an inference—there will be a best answer, and it will be the choice that is best supported by what is actually found in the passage .

In many ways, inference questions are like second-level reading comprehension questions: you need to know not just what a passage says, but also what it means.

#3: Identifying and Interpreting Figurative Language

These are questions for which you have to either identify what word or phrase is figurative language or provide the meaning of a figurative phrase . You can identify these as they will either explicitly mention figurative language (or a figurative device, such as a simile or metaphor ) or include a figurative phrase in the question itself.

The meaning of figurative phrases can normally be determined by that phrase's context in the passage—what is said around it? What is the phrase referring to?

Example 1: Identifying

Example 2: Interpreting

#4: Literary Technique

These questions involve identifying why an author does what they do , from using a particular phrase to repeating certain words. Basically, what techniques is the author using to construct the passage/poem, and to what effect?

You can identify these questions by words/phrases such as "serves chiefly to," "effect," "evoke," and "in order to." A good way to approach these questions is to ask yourself: so what? Why did the author use these particular words or this particular structure?

#5: Character Analysis

These questions ask you to describe something about a character . You can spot them because they will refer directly to characters' attitudes, opinions, beliefs, or relationships with other characters .

This is, in many ways, a special kind of inference question , since you are inferring the broader personality of the character based on the evidence in a passage. Also, these crop up much more commonly for prose passages than they do for poetry ones.

#6: Overall Passage Questions

Some questions ask you to identify or describe something about the passage or poem as a whole : its purpose, tone, genre, etc. You can identify these by phrases such as "in the passage" and "as a whole."

To answer these questions, you need to think about the excerpt with a bird's-eye view . What is the overall picture created by all the tiny details?

#7: Structure

Some AP Lit questions will ask you about specific structural elements of the passage: a shift in tone, a digression, the specific form of a poem, etc . Often these questions will specify a part of the passage/poem and ask you to identify what that part is accomplishing.

Being able to identify and understand the significance of any shifts —structural, tonal, in genre, and so on—will be of key importance for these questions.

#8: Grammar/Nuts & Bolts

Very occasionally you will be asked a specific grammar question , such as what word an adjective is modifying. I'd also include in this category super-specific questions such as those that ask about the meter of a poem (e.g., iambic pentameter).

These questions are less about literary artistry and more about the fairly dry technique involved in having a fluent command of the English language .

That covers the eight question types on the multiple-choice section. Now, let's take a look at the free-response section of the AP Literature exam.

Keep track of the nuts and bolts of grammar.

Section II: Free Response

The AP Literature Free Response section is two hours long and involves three free-response essay questions , so you'll have about 40 minutes per essay. That's not a lot of time considering this section of the test counts for 55% of your overall exam grade !

Note, though, that no one will prompt you to move from essay to essay, so you can theoretically divide up the time however you want. Just be sure to leave enough time for each essay! Skipping an essay, or running out of time so you have to rush through one, can really impact your final test score.

The first two essays are literary analysis essays of specific passages, with one poem and one prose excerpt. The final essay is an analysis of a given theme in a work selected by you , the student.

Essays 1 & 2: Literary Passage Analysis

For the first two essays, you'll be presented with an excerpt and directed to analyze the excerpt for a given theme, device, or development . One of the passages will be poetry, and one will be prose. You will be provided with the author of the work, the approximate date, and some orienting information (i.e., the plot context of an excerpt from a novel).

Below are some sample questions from the 2022 Free Response Questions .

Essay 3: Thematic Analysis

For the third and final essay, you'll be asked to discuss a particular theme in a work that you select . You will be provided with a list of notable works that address the given theme below the prompt, but you can also choose to discuss any "work of literary merit."

So while you do have the power to choose which work you wish to write an essay about , the key words here are "literary merit." That means no genre fiction! Stick to safe bets like authors in the list on pages 10-11 of the old 2014 AP Lit Course Description .

(I know, I know—lots of genre fiction works do have literary merit and Shakespeare actually began as low culture, and so on and so forth. Indeed, you might find academic designations of "literary merit" elitist and problematic, but the time to rage against the literary establishment is not your AP Lit test! Save it for a really, really good college admissions essay instead .)

Here's a sample question from 2022:

As you can see, the list of works provided spans many time periods and countries : there are ancient Greek plays ( Antigone ), modern literary works (such as Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale ), Shakespeare plays ( The Tempest ), 19th-century English plays ( The Importance of Being Earnest ), etc. So you have a lot to work with!

Also note that you can choose a work of "comparable literary merit." That means you can select a work not on this list as long as it's as difficult and meaningful as the example titles you've been given. So for example, Jane Eyre or East of Eden would be great choices, but Twilight or The Hunger Games would not.

Our advice? If you're not sure what a work of "comparable literary merit" is, stick to the titles on the provided list .

You might even see something by this guy.

How Is the AP Literature Test Graded?

The multiple-choice section of the exam comprises 45% of your total exam score; the three essays, or free-response section, comprise the other 55%. Each essay, then, is worth about 18% of your grade.

As on other AP exams, your raw score will be converted to a score from 1-5 . You don't have to get every point possible to get a 5 by any means. In 2022, 16.9% of students received 5s on the AP English Literature test, the 14th highest 5 score out of the 38 different AP exams.

So, how do you calculate your raw scores?

Multiple-Choice Scoring

For the multiple-choice section, you receive 1 point for each question you answer correctly . There's no guessing penalty, so you should answer every question—but guess only after you're able to eliminate any answer you know is wrong to up your chances of choosing the right one.

Free-Response Scoring

Scoring for multiple choice is pretty straightforward; however, essay scoring is a little more complicated.

Each of your essays will receive a score from 0 to 6 based on the College Board rubric , which also includes question-specific rubrics. All the rubrics are very similar, with only minor differences between them.

Each essay rubric has three elements you'll be graded on:

• Thesis (0-1 points)
• Evidence and Commentary (0-4 points)
• Sophistication (0-1 points)

We'll be looking at the current rubric for the AP Lit exam , which was released in September 2019, and what every score means for each of the three elements above:

To get a high-scoring essay in the 5-6 point range, you'll need to not only come up with an original and intriguing argument that you thoroughly support with textual evidence, but you’ll also need to stay focused, organized, and clear. And all in just 40 minutes per essay!

If getting a high score on this section sounds like a tall order, that's because it is.

Practice makes perfect!

Skill-Building for Success on the AP Literature Exam

There are several things you can do to hone your skills and best prepare for the AP Lit exam.

Read Some Books, Maybe More Than Once

One of the most important steps you can take to prepare for the AP Literature and Composition exam is to read a lot and read well . You'll be reading a wide variety of notable literary works in your AP English Literature course, but additional reading will help you further develop your analytical reading skills .

I suggest checking out this list of notable authors in the 2014 AP Lit Course Description (pages 10-11).

In addition to reading broadly, you'll want to become especially familiar with the details of four to five books with different themes so you'll be prepared to write a strong student-choice essay. You should know the plot, themes, characters, and structural details of these books inside and out.

See my AP English Literature Reading List for more guidance.

Read (and Interpret) Poetry

One thing students might not do very much on their own time but that will help a lot with AP Lit exam prep is to read poetry. Try to read poems from a lot of eras and authors to get familiar with the language.

We know that poetry can be intimidating. That's why we've put together a bunch of guides to help you crack the poetry code (so to speak). You can learn more about poetic devices —like imagery and i ambic pentameter —in our comprehensive guide. Then you can see those analytical skills in action in our expert analysis of " Do not go gentle into that good night " by Dylan Thomas.

When you think you have a grip on basic comprehension, you can then move on to close reading (see below).

Hone Your Close Reading and Analysis Skills

Your AP class will likely focus heavily on close reading and analysis of prose and poetry, but extra practice won't hurt you. Close reading is the ability to identify which techniques the author is using and why. You'll need to be able to do this both to gather evidence for original arguments on the free-response questions and to answer analytical multiple-choice questions.

Here are some helpful close reading resources for prose :

• University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center's guide to close reading
• Harvard College Writing Center's close reading guide
• Purdue OWL's article on steering clear of close reading "pitfalls"

And here are some for poetry :

• University of Wisconsin-Madison's poetry-reading guide
• This guide to reading poetry at Poets.org (complete with two poetry close readings)
• Our own expert analyses of famous poems, such as " Ozymandias ", and the 10 famous sonnets you should know

Learn Literary and Poetic Devices

You'll want to be familiar with literary terms so that any test questions that ask about them will make sense to you. Again, you'll probably learn most of these in class, but it doesn't hurt to brush up on them.

Here are some comprehensive lists of literary terms with definitions :

• The 31 Literary Devices You Must Know
• The 20 Poetic Devices You Must Know
• The 9 Literary Elements You'll Find In Every Story
• What Is Imagery?
• Understanding Assonance
• What Is Iambic Pentameter in Poetry?
• Simile vs Metaphor: The 1 Big Difference
• 10 Personification Examples in Poetry, Literature, and More

Practice Writing Essays

The majority of your grade on the AP English Lit exam comes from essays, so it's critical that you practice your timed essay-writing skills . You of course should use the College Board's released free-response questions to practice writing complete timed essays of each type, but you can also practice quickly outlining thorough essays that are well supported with textual evidence.

Take Practice Tests

Taking practice tests is a great way to prepare for the exam. It will help you get familiar with the exam format and overall experience . You can get sample questions from the Course and Exam Description , the College Board website , and our guide to AP English Lit practice test resources .

Be aware that the released exams don't have complete slates of free-response questions, so you might need to supplement these with released free-response questions .

Since there are three complete released exams, you can take one toward the beginning of your prep time to get familiar with the exam and set a benchmark, and one toward the end to make sure the experience is fresh in your mind and to check your progress.

Don't wander like a lonely cloud through your AP Lit prep.

AP Literature: 6 Critical Test-Day Tips

Before we wrap up, here are my six top tips for AP Lit test day:

• #1: On the multiple-choice section, it's to your advantage to answer every question. If you eliminate all the answers you know are wrong before guessing, you'll raise your chances of guessing the correct one.
• #2: Don't rely on your memory of the passage when answering multiple-choice questions (or when writing essays, for that matter). Look back at the passage!
• #3: Interact with the text : circle, mark, underline, make notes—whatever floats your boat. This will help you retain information and actively engage with the passage.
• #4: This was mentioned above, but it's critical that you know four to five books well for the student-choice essay . You'll want to know all the characters, the plot, the themes, and any major devices or motifs the author uses throughout.
• #5: Be sure to plan out your essays! Organization and focus are critical for high-scoring AP Literature essays. An outline will take you a few minutes, but it will help your writing process go much faster.
• #6: Manage your time on essays closely. One strategy is to start with the essay you think will be the easiest to write. This way you'll be able to get through it while thinking about the other two essays.

And don't forget to eat breakfast! Apron optional.

AP Literature Exam: Key Takeaways

The AP Literature exam is a three-hour test that includes an hour-long multiple-choice section based on five prose and poetry passages and with 55 questions, and a two-hour free-response section with three essays : one analyzing a poetry passage, one analyzing a prose passage, and one analyzing a work chosen by you, the student.

The multiple-choice section is worth 45% of your total score , and the free-response section is worth 55% . The three essays are each scored on a rubric of 0-6, and raw scores are converted to a final scaled score from 1 to 5.

Here are some things you can do to prepare for the exam:

• Read books and be particularly familiar with four to five works for the student-choice essays
• Read poetry
• Work on your close reading and analysis skills
• Learn common literary devices
• Practice writing essays
• Take practice tests!

On test day, be sure to really look closely at all the passages and really interact with them by marking the text in a way that makes sense to you. This will help on both multiple-choice questions and the free-response essays. You should also outline your essays before you write them.

With all this in mind, you're well on your way to AP Lit success!

What's Next?

If you're taking other AP exams this year, you might be interested in our other AP resources: from the Ultimate Guide to the US History Exam , to the Ultimate AP Chemistry Study Guide , to the Best AP Psychology Study Guide , we have tons of articles on AP courses and exams for you !

Looking for practice exams? Here are some tips on how to find the best AP practice tests . We've also got comprehensive lists of practice tests for AP Psychology , AP Biology , AP Chemistry , and AP US History .

Deciding which APs to take? Take a look through the complete list of AP courses and tests , read our analysis of which AP classes are the hardest and easiest , and learn how many AP classes you should take .

Ellen has extensive education mentorship experience and is deeply committed to helping students succeed in all areas of life. She received a BA from Harvard in Folklore and Mythology and is currently pursuing graduate studies at Columbia University.

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, ap lit exam essay examples: where to find.

I want to check out some high-scoring essay examples to review for my upcoming AP Lit Exam. Where can I find these, and what should I focus on when analyzing them? Thanks!

You can find high-scoring essay examples for the AP Lit Exam on the College Board website. They provide samples of student responses along with the corresponding scores and commentary. Navigate to the year you want, and you'll find samples with detailed explanations. Here's the link to their resources: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-english-literature-and-composition/exam/past-exam-questions

When analyzing these essays, focus on the following:

1. Thesis statement: Pay attention to how successful essays present a clear and concise thesis statement. The thesis should concisely answer the prompt and give a roadmap for the essay.

2. Organization: Study how the essay is organized and how the writer effectively uses transitions to guide the reader through their analysis. A well-structured essay should have a logical flow and strong topic sentences.

3. Textual evidence: Notice how high-scoring essays incorporate relevant textual evidence to support their arguments. Look for instances where the writer provides a direct quote or paraphrases the text and clearly connects it back to their main argument.

4. Commentary: Analyze how the writer provides thoughtful and thorough commentary. The commentary should interpret the textual evidence and demonstrate its relevance to the argument. It should also address any potential counterarguments or alternate interpretations.

5. Style and language: Finally, consider the writer's use of language, tone, and rhetorical devices. A strong essay will have varied sentence structure, formal diction, and demonstrate a command of literary terms and techniques.

By closely examining these elements in high-scoring essays, you can gain insight into what makes an effective response and how to approach the AP Lit Exam. Practice writing your own essays using similar techniques, and don't forget to have a peer or mentor review them to provide feedback. Good luck!

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How to Write the AP Lit Prose Essay + Example

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What is the ap lit prose essay, how will ap scores affect my college chances.

AP Literature and Composition (AP Lit), not to be confused with AP English Language and Composition (AP Lang), teaches students how to develop the ability to critically read and analyze literary texts. These texts include poetry, prose, and drama. Analysis is an essential component of this course and critical for the educational development of all students when it comes to college preparation. In this course, you can expect to see an added difficulty of texts and concepts, similar to the material one would see in a college literature course.

While not as popular as AP Lang, over 380,136 students took the class in 2019. However, the course is significantly more challenging, with only 49.7% of students receiving a score of three or higher on the exam. A staggeringly low 6.2% of students received a five on the exam. 

The AP Lit exam is similar to the AP Lang exam in format, but covers different subject areas. The first section is multiple-choice questions based on five short passages. There are 55 questions to be answered in 1 hour. The passages will include at least two prose fiction passages and two poetry passages and will account for 45% of your total score. All possible answer choices can be found within the text, so you don’t need to come into the exam with prior knowledge of the passages to understand the work. 

The second section contains three free-response essays to be finished in under two hours. This section accounts for 55% of the final score and includes three essay questions: the poetry analysis essay, the prose analysis essay, and the thematic analysis essay. Typically, a five-paragraph format will suffice for this type of writing. These essays are scored holistically from one to six points.

Today we will take a look at the AP Lit prose essay and discuss tips and tricks to master this section of the exam. We will also provide an example of a well-written essay for review.  

The AP Lit prose essay is the second of the three essays included in the free-response section of the AP Lit exam, lasting around 40 minutes in total. A prose passage of approximately 500 to 700 words and a prompt will be given to guide your analytical essay. Worth about 18% of your total grade, the essay will be graded out of six points depending on the quality of your thesis (0-1 points), evidence and commentary (0-4 points), and sophistication (0-1 points). 

While this exam seems extremely overwhelming, considering there are a total of three free-response essays to complete, with proper time management and practiced skills, this essay is manageable and straightforward. In order to enhance the time management aspect of the test to the best of your ability, it is essential to understand the following six key concepts.

1. Have a Clear Understanding of the Prompt and the Passage

Since the prose essay is testing your ability to analyze literature and construct an evidence-based argument, the most important thing you can do is make sure you understand the passage. That being said, you only have about 40 minutes for the whole essay so you can’t spend too much time reading the passage. Allot yourself 5-7 minutes to read the prompt and the passage and then another 3-5 minutes to plan your response.

As you read through the prompt and text, highlight, circle, and markup anything that stands out to you. Specifically, try to find lines in the passage that could bolster your argument since you will need to include in-text citations from the passage in your essay. Even if you don’t know exactly what your argument might be, it’s still helpful to have a variety of quotes to use depending on what direction you take your essay, so take note of whatever strikes you as important. Taking the time to annotate as you read will save you a lot of time later on because you won’t need to reread the passage to find examples when you are in the middle of writing. 

Once you have a good grasp on the passage and a solid array of quotes to choose from, you should develop a rough outline of your essay. The prompt will provide 4-5 bullets that remind you of what to include in your essay, so you can use these to structure your outline. Start with a thesis, come up with 2-3 concrete claims to support your thesis, back up each claim with 1-2 pieces of evidence from the text, and write a brief explanation of how the evidence supports the claim.

2. Start with a Brief Introduction that Includes a Clear Thesis Statement

Having a strong thesis can help you stay focused and avoid tangents while writing. By deciding the relevant information you want to hit upon in your essay up front, you can prevent wasting precious time later on. Clear theses are also important for the reader because they direct their focus to your essential arguments. 

In other words, it’s important to make the introduction brief and compact so your thesis statement shines through. The introduction should include details from the passage, like the author and title, but don’t waste too much time with extraneous details. Get to the heart of your essay as quick as possible. 

3. Use Clear Examples to Support Your Argument 

One of the requirements AP Lit readers are looking for is your use of evidence. In order to satisfy this aspect of the rubric, you should make sure each body paragraph has at least 1-2 pieces of evidence, directly from the text, that relate to the claim that paragraph is making. Since the prose essay tests your ability to recognize and analyze literary elements and techniques, it’s often better to include smaller quotes. For example, when writing about the author’s use of imagery or diction you might pick out specific words and quote each word separately rather than quoting a large block of text. Smaller quotes clarify exactly what stood out to you so your reader can better understand what are you saying.

Including smaller quotes also allows you to include more evidence in your essay. Be careful though—having more quotes is not necessarily better! You will showcase your strength as a writer not by the number of quotes you manage to jam into a paragraph, but by the relevance of the quotes to your argument and explanation you provide.  If the details don’t connect, they are merely just strings of details.

4. Discussion is Crucial to Connect Your Evidence to Your Argument 

As the previous tip explained, citing phrases and words from the passage won’t get you anywhere if you don’t provide an explanation as to how your examples support the claim you are making. After each new piece of evidence is introduced, you should have a sentence or two that explains the significance of this quote to the piece as a whole.

This part of the paragraph is the “So what?” You’ve already stated the point you are trying to get across in the topic sentence and shared the examples from the text, so now show the reader why or how this quote demonstrates an effective use of a literary technique by the author. Sometimes students can get bogged down by the discussion and lose sight of the point they are trying to make. If this happens to you while writing, take a step back and ask yourself “Why did I include this quote? What does it contribute to the piece as a whole?” Write down your answer and you will be good to go. 

5. Write a Brief Conclusion

While the critical part of the essay is to provide a substantive, organized, and clear argument throughout the body paragraphs, a conclusion provides a satisfying ending to the essay and the last opportunity to drive home your argument. If you run out of time for a conclusion because of extra time spent in the preceding paragraphs, do not worry, as that is not fatal to your score. 

Without repeating your thesis statement word for word, find a way to return to the thesis statement by summing up your main points. This recap reinforces the arguments stated in the previous paragraphs, while all of the preceding paragraphs successfully proved the thesis statement.

6. Don’t Forget About Your Grammar

Though you will undoubtedly be pressed for time, it’s still important your essay is well-written with correct punctuating and spelling. Many students are able to write a strong thesis and include good evidence and commentary, but the final point on the rubric is for sophistication. This criteria is more holistic than the former ones which means you should have elevated thoughts and writing—no grammatical errors. While a lack of grammatical mistakes alone won’t earn you the sophistication point, it will leave the reader with a more favorable impression of you. 

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Here are Nine Must-have Tips and Tricks to Get a Good Score on the Prose Essay:

• Carefully read, review, and underline key instruction s in the prompt.
• Briefly outlin e what you want to cover in your essay.
• Be sure to have a clear thesis that includes the terms mentioned in the instructions, literary devices, tone, and meaning.
• Include the author’s name and title  in your introduction. Refer to characters by name.
• Quality over quantity when it comes to picking quotes! Better to have a smaller number of more detailed quotes than a large amount of vague ones.
• Fully explain how each piece of evidence supports your thesis .  
• Focus on the literary techniques in the passage and avoid summarizing the plot. 
• Use transitions to connect sentences and paragraphs.
• Keep your introduction and conclusion short, and don’t repeat your thesis verbatim in your conclusion.

Here is an example essay from 2020 that received a perfect 6:

[1] In this passage from a 1912 novel, the narrator wistfully details his childhood crush on a girl violinist. Through a motif of the allure of musical instruments, and abundant sensory details that summon a vivid image of the event of their meeting, the reader can infer that the narrator was utterly enraptured by his obsession in the moment, and upon later reflection cannot help but feel a combination of amusement and a resummoning of the moment’s passion. 

[2] The overwhelming abundance of hyper-specific sensory details reveals to the reader that meeting his crush must have been an intensely powerful experience to create such a vivid memory. The narrator can picture the “half-dim church”, can hear the “clear wail” of the girl’s violin, can see “her eyes almost closing”, can smell a “faint but distinct fragrance.” Clearly, this moment of discovery was very impactful on the boy, because even later he can remember the experience in minute detail. However, these details may also not be entirely faithful to the original experience; they all possess a somewhat mysterious quality that shows how the narrator may be employing hyperbole to accentuate the girl’s allure. The church is “half-dim”, the eyes “almost closing” – all the details are held within an ethereal state of halfway, which also serves to emphasize that this is all told through memory. The first paragraph also introduces the central conciet of music. The narrator was drawn to the “tones she called forth” from her violin and wanted desperately to play her “accompaniment.” This serves the double role of sensory imagery (with the added effect of music being a powerful aural image) and metaphor, as the accompaniment stands in for the narrator’s true desire to be coupled with his newfound crush. The musical juxtaposition between the “heaving tremor of the organ” and the “clear wail” of her violin serves to further accentuate how the narrator percieved the girl as above all other things, as high as an angel. Clearly, the memory of his meeting his crush is a powerful one that left an indelible impact on the narrator. 

[3] Upon reflecting on this memory and the period of obsession that followed, the narrator cannot help but feel amused at the lengths to which his younger self would go; this is communicated to the reader with some playful irony and bemused yet earnest tone. The narrator claims to have made his “first and last attempts at poetry” in devotion to his crush, and jokes that he did not know to be “ashamed” at the quality of his poetry. This playful tone pokes fun at his childhood self for being an inexperienced poet, yet also acknowledges the very real passion that the poetry stemmed from. The narrator goes on to mention his “successful” endeavor to conceal his crush from his friends and the girl; this holds an ironic tone because the narrator immediately admits that his attempts to hide it were ill-fated and all parties were very aware of his feelings. The narrator also recalls his younger self jumping to hyperbolic extremes when imagining what he would do if betrayed by his love, calling her a “heartless jade” to ironically play along with the memory. Despite all this irony, the narrator does also truly comprehend the depths of his past self’s infatuation and finds it moving. The narrator begins the second paragraph with a sentence that moves urgently, emphasizing the myriad ways the boy was obsessed. He also remarks, somewhat wistfully, that the experience of having this crush “moved [him] to a degree which now [he] can hardly think of as possible.” Clearly, upon reflection the narrator feels a combination of amusement at the silliness of his former self and wistful respect for the emotion that the crush stirred within him. 

[4] In this passage, the narrator has a multifaceted emotional response while remembering an experience that was very impactful on him. The meaning of the work is that when we look back on our memories (especially those of intense passion), added perspective can modify or augment how those experiences make us feel

More essay examples, score sheets, and commentaries can be found at College Board .

While AP Scores help to boost your weighted GPA, or give you the option to get college credit, AP Scores don’t have a strong effect on your admissions chances . However, colleges can still see your self-reported scores, so you might not want to automatically send scores to colleges if they are lower than a 3. That being said, admissions officers care far more about your grade in an AP class than your score on the exam.

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AP Lit HW HELP (FRQ 2) !!! Please ensure that you provide accurate,...

AP Lit HW HELP (FRQ 2) !!! Please ensure that you provide accurate, thoughtful, well-written and evidence-based responses that respond to the prompt in their entirety.

Prompt : The excerpt is from Hisaye Yamamoto's story "Morning Rain," published in 1952. This passage depicts a family conversation. Read the passage carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how Yamamoto uses literary elements and techniques to convey the ways in which the communication among Sadako, Mr. Endo, and Harry reveals their complex relationships.  

Be sure to do the following:

. Respond to the prompt with a thesis that presents a defensible interpretation. . Select and use evidence to support your line of reasoning. . Explain how the evidence supports your line of reasoning. . Use appropriate grammar and punctuation in communicating your argument.  

It was a little past nine.

Sadako, seated across the kitchen table from her father, watched him eat his eggs. He had always eaten them in this particular way, he would probably never change. First, he finished at his leisure everything but the eggs—the two pieces of toast, the tomato juice, the coffee—then, with two expert flips of his fork he tossed the two fried eggs, whole, into his mouth, chewed once or twice, then swallowed, and breakfast was over for him. Well, it could be worse, Sadako thought. She remembered a man in a story who demanded two fried eggs for breakfast every morning, one egg with a deep orange yolk and one egg with a light yellow yolk. Even her husband liked his eggs one way and not another; he could not abide fried eggs with a crusty bottom—the underside, as she had learned from bitter experience, had to be tender. (She liked crisp bottoms herself.) At least, her father didn't quibble about the manner of eggs served him.

"Well, what are your plans for today, Oto-san?"* she asked. She asked it pretty well, too; she only had to resort to English for "plans."

Mr. Endo gave the question a lot of thought. He gave everything a lot of thought, or he appeared to, but he never said much. Sadako had time to start washing his dishes before his answer came. She had eaten much earlier with her husband, before he left for work, and those dishes were already done. The baby, right on schedule, was already taking her morning nap. Today, because it was raining, she would have to improvise a wash line inside for the diapers. And there would be no forenoon stroll for the baby. Well, it was just as well. It was always such a job getting the Taylor Tot down the steep outside stairs of the garage apartment.

"Sa, I think I'll visit with the Iwanagas this afternoon. I didn't see them the last time. Then there's a movie I want to see at the Fuji-kwan. Don't expect me for supper. I'll eat something down in Nihon-machi."

"Okay." Sadako was rather relieved. Supper times were always uneasy when her father was visiting from San Francisco, where he worked as a gardener for a well-to-do family (it was the same job he had held before the war). She tried her best to keep a pleasant digestible conversation going, but she always ended up tensely, delivering an overly ebullient monologue. Harry, tongue-tied when it came to Japanese, limited himself to asking her to pass the salt and pepper. And her father had never been one for iridescent chit-chat. Oh, once in a while, Harry tried, he really tried, but he always petered out in helpless English. Once or twice, too, her father had tried a bit of English. But the fact was that these two principal men in her life were, as far as communicating with each other was concerned (and that was what living was, was it not, communicating with each other?), incompatible.

"Is there anything you want from down there?" asked, setting fire to his first cigarette of the day.

"Well, if it's not too much trouble, I think some manju would be nice."

"Okay." Mr. Endo smiled at himself for saying so, and Sadako smiled into the dishwater. Each remembered privately how freely and blithely Mrs. Endo had used that term when she was alive.

"You'd better take my umbrella. This rain doesn't look as though it'll let up soon."

"Is it raining?" Mr. Endo asked, mildly surprised.

"Certainly, it's raining." Sadako turned from the cupboard, where she was stacking dishes. "After all, it's November already. It's about time we had some rain, Los Angeles or no Los Angeles."

Then, sharply, she looked at her father, her mouth agape. "Is it raining? You mean you can't hear that rain?"

Mr. Endo shook his head, no.

They stared at each other for a moment, father and daughter, he not really seeing her and she as though seeing him for the first time in her life.

Then, while Sadako continued to stare at him, Mr. Endo, stepping suddenly to the misted kitchen window, cleared an egg-sized space on it with the heel of his hand and peered out. Sure enough there was water dribbling steadily from the eaves, and the slender, bare limbs of the thorned stone pear tree down below in the yard stood out black and wetly shining in the whitish air. He closed his eyes, knowing a second's vertigo as he strained with all his might and even then could not hear the sound of that considerable rain, which, all this time, must have been noisily strumming the roof.

"You like the green ones, don't you, the green ones with kinako?"

Sadako nodded with unnecessary vigor. She watched him put on his overcoat and then brought him the umbrella. As he was going out the door, she realized she had not said a word to him since she asked him whether he could hear the rain.

"Oh yes," she said, "get a lot of the green ones, the green ones with kinako!" It was only when the baby cried out a second later that she became aware that she had been shouting at the top of her lungs.

Question: In a well-written essay, analyze how Yamamoto uses literary elements and techniques to convey the ways in which the communication among Sadako, Mr. Endo, and Harry reveals their complex relationships.

Please make sure that you use the followng rubric while writing the response:

Answer & Explanation

In Hisaye Yamamoto's "Morning Rain," the complex relationships between Sadako, Mr. Endo, and Harry are conveyed through the use of literary elements and techniques. Yamamoto employs characterization, imagery, and symbolism to illustrate the difficulties that arise due to cultural and linguistic barriers. The passage depicts a conversation among the family members, in which Mr. Endo reveals his plans for the day, and Sadako is surprised to learn that he cannot hear the rain. This interaction serves as a metaphor for the communication problems that exist between the characters.

Yamamoto's characterization of the three characters highlights their cultural differences. Mr. Endo is portrayed as a reserved and contemplative man who prefers to think before he speaks. His silence is often misinterpreted by his daughter Sadako, who is used to the more outgoing personality of her American husband Harry. Meanwhile, Harry is described as being "tongue-tied when it came to Japanese," and thus unable to communicate effectively with Mr. Endo. Sadako herself is depicted as being caught between two worlds, trying to balance her Japanese heritage with her American lifestyle. This dynamic creates tension within the family and makes it difficult for them to communicate effectively.

Yamamoto also uses imagery to convey the isolation experienced by the characters. The rain, for example, is described in detail, with water "dribbling steadily from the eaves" and the "slender, bare limbs of the thorned stone pear tree" glistening in the mist. This vivid imagery emphasizes the gloomy atmosphere and reinforces the idea that the characters are separated from each other. The fact that Mr. Endo cannot hear the rain also serves as a metaphor for the difficulties that arise when communication is hindered by cultural and linguistic barriers.

Finally, the use of symbolism in the passage highlights the importance of family and tradition in Japanese culture. When Sadako asks her father what he wants from the store, he requests manju, a sweet Japanese pastry. The fact that they both smile and remember Mrs. Endo, who used to use the term freely, illustrates the importance of tradition and cultural heritage in their lives. The manju symbolizes the cultural ties that bind them together, despite the difficulties they face in communicating.

In conclusion, Yamamoto's use of characterization, imagery, and symbolism effectively conveys the complexities of the relationships between Sadako, Mr. Endo, and Harry. The passage emphasizes the difficulties that arise when communication is hindered by cultural and linguistic barriers, and underscores the importance of tradition and family ties in Japanese culture.

Based on the provided excerpt, Yamamoto uses literary elements and techniques to convey the complex relationships among Sadako, Mr. Endo, and Harry through the use of characterization, setting, and symbolism.

Firstly, Yamamoto characterizes Mr. Endo as a reserved and taciturn individual who does not speak much. This is evident in the passage where he takes a long time to respond to Sadako's question about his plans for the day. The author also uses the imagery of Mr. Endo eating his eggs in a particular manner to highlight his unchanging and methodical nature, which further reinforces his character as a man of few words. On the other hand, Sadako is depicted as more talkative and attempts to make conversation, but she struggles to find common ground with her father and husband due to their communication barriers.

Furthermore, the setting of the story plays a significant role in conveying the complex relationships between the characters. The fact that it is raining outside adds a sense of melancholy to the atmosphere, which mirrors the underlying tensions and unresolved conflicts between the characters. Additionally, the mention of Nihon-machi, the Japanese neighborhood in San Francisco where Mr. Endo lives and works, creates a sense of cultural divide between him and his daughter and son-in-law. The contrast between the two settings highlights the cultural and generational differences that add to the complexity of their relationships.

Symbolism is also used by Yamamoto to convey the emotional distance and disconnection between the characters. For example, Mr. Endo's inability to hear the rain symbolizes his detachment from his surroundings and his daughter's life. This is reinforced by the fact that Sadako is surprised that her father cannot hear the rain, indicating that she feels a distance between them that she had not realized before. Additionally, the mention of manju, a Japanese sweet that they used to enjoy together with Mrs. Endo, highlights the absence of a unifying presence in their lives after her death. The absence of Mrs. Endo serves as a constant reminder of the rift between the characters.

In conclusion, Yamamoto uses various literary elements and techniques, including characterization, setting, and symbolism, to convey the complex relationships between Sadako, Mr. Endo, and Harry. The author effectively conveys the cultural, linguistic, and generational barriers that separate the characters and prevent them from connecting with each other on a deeper level. The use of imagery, symbolism, and setting creates a sense of melancholy that underlies the characters' interactions and highlights the unresolved conflicts and emotional distance between them.

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Lit & More

July 19, 2020 ·

Expanding the Canon in AP Literature

Planning Content & Choosing Curriculum

BIPOC, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islanders, Native American, and world authors are not new to the scene. They are not “trendy.” They’ve been around for ages. Unfortunately, many teachers (myself included) have not been concerned enough over their representation in the literary canon or the AP* Lit curriculum in general.

For many of us, that changed in the summer of 2020.

I live in St. Paul, Minnesota. The murder of George Floyd was an eye-opener to the oppression of Black people for many residents in my area and around the world. This is especially true as his murderer, officer Derek Chauvin, used to live just down the road from my own home. I spent the summer of 2020 summer reading and researching racial oppression in my country, both in the past and in the present. It’s true, I am a white woman and that this may be unknown territory for me. However, I have teachers who look to me for guidance. I want to do right. I want to be helpful. This is my best attempt.

* AP® is a trademark registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, this website .

Inclusivity in AP ® Lit: 2nd Installment

This is the second installment in a six-part series on inclusivity in AP ® English Literature. I use “inclusivity” to refer to both the authors in the curriculum and the students in the classroom, but I’ll expound more on that in a later post. Week 1 focused on re-defining the meaning of “AP ® Worthy” when it comes to choosing books. You can read that post here .

This article is simply a hub to record fiction, plays, novels, poetry, and nonfiction by authors for AP ® Lit who are not white. You can use this list to expand your reading list beyond white authors, both personally and for your students. Furthermore, you can use it to explore more works by some of your favorite authors. For example, did you know Zora Neale Hurston wrote stories, poems, and nonfiction? There’s more to most authors than their 1-2 famous works!

Here are some of the best recommendations I can offer, and I will continue to update this list in the future. I’ve included Native American and indigenous authors, Latinx authors, and other authors from Asia, Africa, and around the world.

To clarify, I have not read all of these texts (can anyone?). However, they are based on the recommendations of AP ® English Literature teachers, titles from released AP ® English Lit exams or the College Board website. I’ve gathered recommendations from admirable movements and organizations, including #disrupttexts, #thebookchat, and #teachlivingpoets. I’ve also included links to any resources on my TpT site that I have available to help teach these authors if you’re interested.

• Abulhawa, Susan – Mornings in Jenin
• Acevedo, Elizabeth – The Poet X and Clap When You Land (novels in verse, both personal favorites)
• Achebe, Chinua – Things Fall Apart
• Adeyemi, Tomi – Children of Blood and Bone
• Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi – Purple Hibiscus or Americanah
• A llende, Isabel – House of Spirits
• Almada, Selva – The Wind That Lays Waste
• Alvarez, Julia – How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents or In the Time of the Butterflies
• Anaya, Rudolfo – Bless Me, Ultima
• Baldwin, James – Giovonni’s Room , Another Country , or Go Tell It on the Mountain
• Bennett, Brit – The Vanishing Half
• Butler, Octavia – Parable of the Sower or Kindred
• Cao, Lan – Monkey Bridge
• Cisneros, Sandra – The House on Mango Street or Caramelo

• Chang, Jung – Wild Swans
• Clarke, Breena – River, Cross My Heart
• Cleage, Pearl – What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day
• Coates, Ta-Nehisi – The Water Dancer
• Danticat, Edwidge – Breath, Eyes, Memory , The Farming of Bones , The Dew Breaker
• Desai, Kiran – The Inheritance of Loss
• Díaz, Junot – The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
• Dimaline, Cherie – The Marrow Thieves
• Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee – One Amazing Thing (excerpt used in 2020 AP ® Lit exam)
• Edugyan, Esi – Washington Black
• Ellison, Ralph – Invisible Man
• Eng, Tan Twan – The Gift of Rain (excerpt used in 2020 AP ® Lit exam)
• Erdich, Leslie – Love Medicine , Tracks , or Round House
• Esquivel, Laura – Like Water For Chocolate
• Gaines, Ernest – A Gathering of Old Men or A Lesson Before Dying
• Gyasi, Yaa – Homegoing (personal favorite)
• Haley, Alex – Roots: The Saga of an American Family

“I am increasingly convinced that  AP ® English Literature and Composition by its very nature privileges whiteness and a white view of literature . I would argue similar problems plague most Advanced Placement ® classes.” – Arthur Chiaravalli

• Hami, Mohsi – Exit West
• Harper, Frances Ellen Watkins – Iola Leroy (also called Shadows Uplifted )
• Herrera, Yuri – Signs Preceding the End of the World
• Hosseini, Khaled – The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns
• Hughes, Langston – Not Without Laughter
• Hurston, Zora Neale – Their Eyes Were Watching God
• Kamali, Marjan – The Stationary Shop
• Ishiguro, Kazuo – The Remains of the Day or Never Let Me Go
• Kim, Richard E. – The Martyred
• King, Thomas – Green Grass, Running Water
• Kingston, Maxine Hong – The Woman Warrior
• Ko, Lisa – The Leavers
• Kogawa, Joy – Obasan
• Jen, Gish – Typical American
• Jin, Ha – Waitin g or A Free Life: A Novel
• Johnson, James Weldon – The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man (excerpt used in 2020 AP ® Lit exam)
• Jones, Tayari – An American Marriage
• Lahiri, Jhumpa – The Namesake

• Lalami, Laila – The Other Americans (excerpt used in 2020 AP ® Lit exam)
• Larsen, Nella – Passing or Quicksand
• Lee, Chang-Rae – A Gesture Life or Native Speaker
• Lee, Min Jin – Pachinko (personal favorite)
• Murakami, Haruki – Kafka on the Shore or Norwegian Wood
• Marquez, Gabriel García – 100 Years of Solitude , Love in the Time of Cholera , or Chronicle of Death Foretold
• Marshall, Paule – Brown Girl, Brownstones or Praisesong for the Widow
• Mathis, Ayana – The Twelve Tribes of Hattie
• Mbue, Imbolo – Behold the Dreamers
• McKay, Claude – Home to Harlem
• Momaday, N Scott – House Made of Dawn

Another AP ® Lit teacher discusses the underrepresentation of Latinx authors in this excellent blog post.

• Morrison, Toni – Beloved, Song of Solomon , Sula , or The Bluest Eye (personal favorite: Beloved )
• Mukherjee, Bharati – Jasmine
• Mustafah, Sahar – The Beauty of Your Face
• Naipaul, V. S. – A Bend in the River
• Naylor, Gloria – The Women of Brewster Place , Mama Day or Linden Hills
• Ng, Celeste – Everything I Never Told You or Little Fires Everywhere
• Ng, Fae M. – Bone: A Novel
• Nguyen, Viet Thanh – The Sympathizer
• Okada, John – No-No Boy
• Olivarez, José – Citizen Illegal
• Orange, Tommy – There, There
• Petry, Ann – The Street
• Rao, Shobha – Girls Burn Brighter
• Roy, Arundhati – The God of Small Things
• Rulfo, Juan – Pedro Paramo
• Rum, Estaf – A Woman is No Man
• Rushdie, Salmon – Midnight’s Children or Free Radio
• Saadawi, Ahmed – Frankenstein in Baghdad
• Sanchez, Erika L. – I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

• Sapphire – Push
• Saramago, José – Blindness
• Selvon, Sam – Moses Ascending
• Silko, Leslie Marmon – Ceremony
• Smith, Zadie – White Teeth
• Syal, Meera – Anita and Me (excerpt used in 2020 AP ® Lit exam)
• Tan, Amy – The Bonesetter’s Daughter or The Joy Luck Club
• Thurman, Wallace – The Blacker the Berry
• Villarreal, Jose Antonio – Pocho
• Vuong, Ocean – On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous
• Walker, Alice – The Color Purple
• Ward, Jesmyn – Sing, Unburied, Sing or Salvage the Bones
• Whitehead, Colson – The Underground Railroad or The Nickel Boys (personal favorites)
• Wideman, John Edgar – Sent For You Yesterday
• Wright, Richard – Black Boy and Native Son
• Yapa, Sunil – Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of Your Fist

• Baldwin, James – Native Son
• Cruz, Nilo – Anna in the Tropics
• Fuller, Charles – A Soldier’s Play
• Hall, Katori – Mountaintop
• Hansberry, Lorraine – A Raisin in the Sun (personal favorite)
• Hudes, Quiara Alegria – Water by the Spoonful
• Hughes, Langston – Black Nativity
• Jacobs-Jenkins, Branden – Appropriate, An Octoroon, Gloria , or Everybody
• Jones, Leroi (also known as Amiri Baraka) – Dutchman
• Levy, Andrea and Helen Edmundson – Small Island
• Milner, Ron – Checkmates
• Nottage, Lynn – Sweat
• Orta, Marisela Treviño – Shoe
• Parks, Suzanne-Lori – Top Dog/Underdog
• Sanchez-Scott, Milcha – Roosters
• Shange, Ntozake – For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf
• Smith, Anna Deavere – Fires in the Mirror or Twilight (Los Angeles, 1992)
• Valdez, Luis – Zoot Suit
• Wilson, August – Fences , Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom , The Piano Lesson (personal favorite: Fences )

• Alexie, Sherman – “Evolution” and “On the Second Anniversary of My Father’s Death” (personal favorite: “Evolution”)
• Angelou, Maya – Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘fore I Diiie (collection of poems) “Phenomenal Woman” and “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”
• Asghar, Fatimah – “If They Should Come For Us”
• Baldwin, James – “Untitled”
• Braithwaite, Edward Kamau – “Ogun”
• Brooks, Gwendolyn – “We Real Cool,” “The Bean Eaters,” “Kitchenette Building,” or “The Ballad of Rudolph Reed” (personal favorite: “We Real Cool”)
• Brown, Jericho – “Dear Dr. Frankenstein” or “Say Thank You Say I’m Sorry”
• Clifton, Lucille – “mulberry fields,” “won’t you celebrate with me,” “forgiving my father,” and “sorrows” (personal favorite: “mulberry fields”)
• Coleman, Wanda – American Sonnets (poetry collection)
• Cullen, Countee – “Incident”

• Diaz, Natalie – “Abecedarian Requiring Further Examination of Anglikan Seraphym Subjugation of a Wild Indian Rezervation”
• Dixon, Melvin – “Heartbeats”
• Dove, Rita – “Ars Poetica”
• Dunbar, Paul Laurence – “We Wear the Mask,” “The Paradox,” or “Douglass”
• Giovanni, Nikki – “Nikki-Rosa”
• Handal, Nathalie – “Caribe in Nueva York”
• Harjo, Joy – “How to Write a Poem in a Time of War”
• Harper, Michael S. – “American History”
• Harvey, Yona – “Hurricane”
• Hayden, Robert – “Those Winter Sundays” or “Middle Passage”
• Hayes, Terrance – “We Should Make a Documentary About Spades”
• Hughes, Langston – “Theme for English B,” “I, Too, Sing America,” “Cross,” “Harlem,” “Mother to Son,” or “Song For a Dark Girl” (Personal favorite: all of them )
• Johnson, James Weldon – “A Poet to His Baby Son”
• Joseph, Allison – “Thirty Lines About the ‘Fro”
• Komunyakaa, Yusef – “Facing It”
• Lee, Li-Young – “A Story” and “I Ask My Mother to Sing”
• Lorde, Audre – “Coal”

Click here to read my top 10 poems to teach in AP ® Lit.

• May, Jamaal – “There Are Birds Here” or “A Brief History of Hostility”
• Nelson, Marilyn – “How I Discovered Poetry” or “Bedside Reading”
• Neruda, Pablo – Any poem!
• Nezhukumatathil, Aimee – “Baked Goods”
• Nye, Naomi Shihab – “Defining White” and “My Father and the Fig Tree” (personal favorite: “My Father and the Fig Tree”)
• Olivarez, José – “I Walk Into Every Room and Yell Where the Mexicans At”
• Randall, Dudley – “Ballad of Birmingham” (personal favorite)
• Rankine, Claudia – Citizen: An American Lyric (book-length poem), “Coherence in Consequence” or “Weather”
• Rushdin, Kate – “The Bridge Poem” or This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color
• Sanchez, Sonia – “This is Not a Small Voice”
• Senior, Olive – “Plants”
• Shakur, Tupac – The Rose That Grew from Concrete (poetry collection)
• Shire, Warsan – “Backwards” or “The House”
• Smith, Clint – Counting Descent (poetry collection) or “The Drone”
• Spriggs, Bianca Lynn – “What Women Are Made Of”
• Trethewey, Natasha – “Incident” or “Miscegenation”
• Troupe, Quincy – “Flying Kites” or “Poem For My Father”
• Truth, Sojourner – “Ain’t I a Woman?” (personal favorite)
• Walcott, Derek – “Omeros” (epic poem) or “XIV”
• Walker, Alice – “Women”
• Walker, Margaret – “Childhood,” “For My People,” or “Lineage”
• Wheatley, Phillis – “On Being Brought from Africa to America”
• Woodson, Jacqueline – Brown Girl Dreaming (novel told through poetry)

Short Stories/Short Fiction

• Achebe, Chinua – “Dead Men’s Path”
• Alvar, Mia – “The Miracle Worker”
• Alvarez, Julia – “Antojos”
• Angelou, Maya – “Steady Going Up”
• Baldwin, James – “Sonny’s Blues” or “Exodus”
• Bambara, Toni Cade – “Talkin bout Sonny,” “Maggie” or “The Organizer’s Wife”
• Bennet Jr., Lerone – “The Convert”
• Boehm, Lucille – “Condemned House”
• Bontemps, Arna – “A Summer Tragedy”
• Brown, Frank London – “A Matter of Time”
• Brown, Sterling – “And/Or”
• Butler, Emma E. – “Polly’s Hack Ride”
• Butler, Octavia – “Bloodchild”
• Dorsey, Gertrude H. – “An Equation”
• Du Bois, W. E. B. – “The Comet,” “Jesus Christ in Texas” or “On Being Crazy”
• Chestnutt, Charles W. – “The Passing of Grandison,” “Uncle Wellington’s Wives” or “The Goophered Grapevine”
• Chokshi, Roshani – The Gilded Wolves
• Choo, Yangsze – The Night Tiger
• Cisneros, Sandra – “Eleven,” “My Name,” or Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (collection of short stories) (personal favorite – “Eleven”)
• Clarke, Breena – “The Drill”
• Clarke, John Henrik – “The Boy Who Painted Christ Black”
• Collier, Eugenia W. – “Marigolds”
• Danticat, Edwidge – “New York Day Women”
• Davis, Arthur P. – “How John Boscoe Outsung the Devil”
• Davis, John P. – “The Overcoat”
• Due, Tananarive – Ghost Summer (collection of short stories)
• Dunbar, Paul Laurence – “The Scapegoat” or “The Lynching of Jube Benson”

• Ellison, Ralph – “Afternoon”
• Eng, Tan Twan – The Gift of Rain or The Garden of Evening Mists
• Erdich, Louise – “Red Convertible”
• Evans, Danielle Valore – Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self (collection of short stories)
• Fajardo-Anstine, Kali – “Sugar Babies” or “Remedies”
• Fauset, Jessie – “Mary Elizabeth”
• Fisher, Rudolph – “The City of Refuge”
• Fuller, Hoyt W. – “The Senegalese”
• Gains, Ernest J. – “The Sky is Gray”
• Hairston, Loyle – “The Winds of Change”
• Hamer, Martin J. – “Sarah”
• Himes, Chester – “Mama’s Missionary Money”
• Hughes, Langston – “Feet Live Their Own Life” or “One Friday Morning”

Did you know? Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was the first Black woman to publish a short story back in 1859.

• Hurston, Zora Neale – “Muttsy” or “The Gilded Six-Bits”
• Jones, LeRoi – “The Screamers”
• Jordan, Jennifer – “The Wife”
• Kelley, William Melvin – “Cry For Me”
• Killens, John O. – “God Bless America”
• Kincaid, Jamaica – “Girl” (personal favorite)
• King, Thomas – “Borders”
• la Guma, Alex – “The Lemon Orchard”
• Lahiri, Jhumpa – The Interpreter of Maladies (collection of short stories)
• LaValle, Victor – “The Ballad of Black Tom” or Slapboxing with Jesus (collection of short stories)
• Liu, Ken – “The Paper Menagerie”
• Lowe, Ramona – “The Woman in the Window”
• Marquez, Gabriel Garcia – “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” , “One of These Days,” or “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World”
• Marshall, Paule – “Reena”
• McBride, James – Five Carat Soul (collection of short stories)
• McCay, Claude – “He Also Loved” or “Truant”
• McPherson, James Alan – “On Trains”
• Moore, Alice Ruth (also called Alice Dunbar Nelson) – “A Carnival Jangle”
• Morrison, Toni – “Recitatif”
• Murakami, Haruki – “Samsa in Love”

• Murray, Albert – “Train Whistle Guitar”
• Nettel, Guadalupe – Bezoar (collection of short stories)
• Nichols, Laura D. – “Prodigal”
• Offord, Carl Ruthven – “So Peaceful in the Country”
• Orozco, Daniel – “Orientation”
• Packer, ZZ – “Speaking in Tongues”
• Penso, Kia – “The Gift”
• Petry, Ann – “The Bones of Louella Brown” or “Solo on the Drums”
• Ries, Adeline F. – “Mamma: A Story”
• Robotham, Rosemarie – “Jesse”
• Schweblin, Samantha – Fever Dream or Mouthful of Birds (short story collections)
• Senna, Danzy – “The Care of the Self”
• Shawl, Nisi – “Black Betty” or “The Water Museum”
• Silko, Leslie Marmon – “Tony’s Story”
• Smith, John Caswell – “Fighter”
• Suarez, Virgil – “A Perfect Hotspot”
• Tellez, Hernando – “Lather and Nothing Else”
• Tervalon, Jervey – “Picture This”
• Toomer, Jean – “Becky”
• Vroman, Mary Elizabeth – “See How They Run”
• Walker, Alice – “Flowers,” “Elethia,” or “Everyday Use” (personal favorite – “Everyday Use”)
• Wang, Xuan Juliana – Home Remedies (collection of short stories)
• West, Dorothy – “The Typewriter” or “Mammy”
• Wright, Richard – “Uncle Tom’s Children” or “Bright and Morning Star”
• Yerby, Frank – “The Homecoming”
• Yu, Charles – Sorry Please Thank You (collection of short stories)

• Angelou, Maya – I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• Ashe, Arthur – Days of Grace
• Eire, Carlos – Waiting for Snow in Havana
• Fisher, Antwone – Finding Fish: A Memoir
• Hurston, Zora Neale – Dust Tracks on a Road
• Laymon, Kiese – Heavy: An American Memoir
• Mathabane, Mark – Kaffir Boy
• McBride, James – The Color of Water
• Mchado, Carmen Maria – In the Dream House
• Momaday, N. Scott – The Way to Rainy Mountain
• Noah, Trevor – Born a Crime (personal favorite)
• Satrapi, Marjane – Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
• Tan, Amy – “Mother Tongue”
• Ung, Luong – First They Killed My Father
• Wideman, John Edgar – Brothers and Keepers
• Yang, Kao Kalia – The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot* (this author is white, but the subject and discussion on oppression and disregard for the Lacks family and Black Americans in general makes it worthy of inclusion)

• Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi – We Should All Be Feminists
• Baldwin, James – The Fire Next Time , Notes of a Native Son , or “Nobody Knows My Name” (essays)
• Coates, Ta-Nehisi – Between the World and Me
• Du Bois, W. E. B. – The Suppression of the African Slave-Trade to the United States of America, 1638-1870, The Souls of Black Folk , or The Emerging Thought of W. E. B. Du Bois: Essays and Editorials from “The Crisis”
• Edim, Glory (editory) – Well-Read Black Girl (collection of essays)
• Ellison, Ralph – Shadow and Act
• Haley, Alex – The Autobiography of Malcolm X
• Hughes, Langston – “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain”
• Hurston, Zora Neale – “I Love Myself When I am Laughing and Then Again When I am Looking Mean and Impressive”
• Kendi, Ibram X. – How to Be an AntiRacist or Stamped From the Beginning
• Joseph, Peniel E. – Waiting ‘Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America
• Lorde, Audre – Sister Outsider
• Luiselli, Valeria – Tell Me How it Ends or Sidewalks
• Morrison, Toni – Playing in the Dark or What Moves at the Margin
• Naipaul, V. S. – Middle Passage
• Reynolds, Jason and Ibram X. Kendi – Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning
• Roberts, Dorothy – Fatal Invention
• Stevenson, Bryan – Just Mercy
• Taylor, Keeanga-Yamahtta (editor) – How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective
• Walker, Alice – “In Search of Zora Neale Hurston”

• Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi – “The Danger of a Single Story” (TED Talk)
• Collins, Kathleen – The Cruz Brothers and Miss Malloy and Losing Ground (film narratives)
• DuVernay, Ava – 13th (film)
• Glover, Donald (aka Childish Gambino) – “This is America” (music video)
• Haley, Alex – Roots (television miniseries)
• Hannah-Jones, Nikole – The 1619 Project (interactive website by The New York Times )
• Hurston, Zora Neale – Barracoon – (collection of interview questions)
• King, Martin Luther – “I Have a Dream” speech
• Peck, Raoul – I am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin documentary)
• Smith, Clint – “How to Raise a Black Son in America” (TED Talk)

This list took me a full week to compile but I’m sure I missed some great additions. Please comment below or email me with suggestions of other authors for AP ® Lit and I’ll add them to the list!

Reader Interactions

July 19, 2020 at 8:35 am

This list is extensive, and I love how it includes poetry and short stories, too. Thanks for doing this work that I’m sure others will benefit from. I’ll likely pull from your poetry and short stories here. And wow that Medium essay you linked to — eye opening. Reading about the historical and social context of New Criticism really drives home the inherent racism of the AP Lit exam and the authors/writing styles it privileges. That was written 2 years ago, and the only place I see a chance is in the new rubric awarding “broader context” with a sophistication point.

July 19, 2020 at 11:57 am

Wow! This is THE list! Thank you so much for all the time and energy and love you pour into your work.

July 19, 2020 at 9:10 pm

Amazing list! I especially appreciate the short stories and poetry titles. (Isn’t Never Let Me Go by Ishiguro? not Murakami?)

July 19, 2020 at 9:13 pm

Yes I just fixed that error. Thank you!

April 22, 2021 at 7:13 am

Do you have an alternative? I actually researched the term for the title and debated it for quite a while but can’t find any clearer way of explaining it.

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