A Canticle for Leibowitz

2013 Advanced Placement Examination, English Literature and Composition. Question 3. Suggested time: 40 minutes.

Frequently in literature, a novel or play focuses around a pair of “counterparts,” characters who seem inseparably bound by situation or by fate. This mutual involvement, which may range from the acute interdependence of soul-mates to the polar hostility of rivals, is often used to further the work’s larger literary purpose. From the novels and plays you have read, choose a work that features such a pair of “counterparts.” Using your knowledge of the work, clarify the nature of the characters’ relationship and indicate in what way their intimate involvement makes an important contribution to the work as a whole. You may choose from the list below or use another novel or play of recognized literary merit.

• Waiting for Godot
• Crime and Punishment
• The Scarlet Letter
• Romeo and Juliet
• Frankenstein
• Death in Venice
• Billy Budd
• Othello
• The Mill on the Floss
• Les Misérables
• The Sound and the Fury
• The Importance of Being Earnest
• Of Mice and Men
• Jude the Obscure
• Julius Caesar
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• J.B.
• On the Road
• Cry, the Beloved Country
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• Wuthering Heights
• Amadeus
• The Power and the Glory