AP Lit exam outside works

1. THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Major Themes & Analysis

• The American Dream

  • Conflict: Gatsby's pursuit vs. the reality of social stratification

  • Climax: Gatsby’s death

  • Human Condition: Aspirations vs. disillusionment; materialism vs. spiritual emptiness

• Love and Desire

  • Conflict: Gatsby’s idealized love vs. Daisy’s reality

  • Climax: The confrontation in the hotel suite

  • Human Condition: The impossibility of reliving the past

• Class and Social Mobility

  • Conflict: Gatsby's wealth vs. old-money prejudice

  • Climax: Daisy’s choice to stay with Tom

  • Human Condition: Barriers to true equality and acceptance

Central Characters

• Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, Nick Carraway, Tom Buchanan

Foil Characters

• Tom Buchanan (foil to Gatsby)

• Jordan Baker (foil to Daisy)

Literary Devices Demonstrating Themes

• Simile: "Personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures..."

• Metaphor: The green light = unattainable dream

• Personification: “The windows were ajar and gleaming white against the fresh grass outside...”

• Pathetic Fallacy: Weather during the confrontation—hot and oppressive

• Symbol: The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg

• Motif: Time and clocks (e.g., Gatsby knocking over the clock)

• Allusion: Reference to Trimalchio, a figure of lavish excess

Characterization Quotations

1. “Gatsby believed in the green light…”

2. “They’re a rotten crowd…You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.”

3. “Her voice is full of money.”

4. “I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be…”

5. “Can’t repeat the past?…Why of course you can!”

2. MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING by William Shakespeare

Major Themes & Analysis

• Deception and Misunderstanding

  • Conflict: False accusations and trickery

  • Climax: Hero’s public humiliation

  • Human Condition: Fragility of reputation and truth

• Love and Gender Roles

  • Conflict: Social expectations vs. genuine connection

  • Climax: Beatrice and Benedick confess love amidst crisis

  • Human Condition: Tension between autonomy and societal expectations

• Honor and Shame

  • Conflict: Claudio’s concern with public perception

  • Climax: Hero’s fainting after false accusation

  • Human Condition: Reputation as social currency

Central Characters

• Beatrice, Benedick, Hero, Claudio, Don Pedro

Foil Characters

• Don John (foil to Don Pedro)

• Beatrice (foil to Hero)

Literary Devices Demonstrating Themes

• Simile: “Speak low if you speak love.”

• Metaphor: Beatrice as a “harpy” and other images of wit

• Personification: “Silence is the perfect herald of joy”

• Pathetic Fallacy: Nighttime concealments mirror deception

• Symbol: The wedding as social restoration

• Motif: Eavesdropping and overhearing

• Allusion: References to Greek and Roman mythology

Characterization Quotations

1. “I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me.”

2. “Kill Claudio.”

3. “Can the world buy such a jewel?”

4. “Friendship is constant in all other things / Save in the office and affairs of love.”

5. “She speaks poniards, and every word stabs.”

3. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE by Tennessee Williams

Major Themes & Analysis

• Illusion vs. Reality

  • Conflict: Blanche’s fantasies vs. Stanley’s brutal realism

  • Climax: Blanche’s assault and subsequent breakdown

  • Human Condition: Need for illusion in a harsh world

• Desire and Destruction

  • Conflict: Blanche’s past vs. her need for connection

  • Climax: Stanley’s domination and Blanche’s collapse

  • Human Condition: Sexuality as both vitality and ruin

• Masculinity and Power

  • Conflict: Stanley’s aggression vs. Blanche’s refinement

  • Climax: The rape

  • Human Condition: Toxic masculinity and gender imbalance

Central Characters

• Blanche DuBois, Stanley Kowalski, Stella Kowalski, Mitch

Foil Characters

• Blanche (foil to Stanley)

• Stella (foil to Blanche)

Literary Devices Demonstrating Themes

• Simile: “Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light.”

• Metaphor: The streetcar named Desire as life’s inevitable journey

• Personification: The music of the “Blue Piano” reflecting Blanche’s mood

• Pathetic Fallacy: Light and shadows mirror Blanche’s inner conflict

• Symbol: Paper lantern (hiding truth)

• Motif: Music (Varsouviana, blue piano)

• Allusion: “Belle Reeve,” lost Southern grandeur

Characterization Quotations

1. “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.”

2. “Stella! Hey, Stella!”

3. “Whoever you are—I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.”

4. “I don’t want realism. I want magic!”

5. “You’re not clean enough to bring in the house with my mother.”