Is Swamplandia! AP Worthy?

This is a difficult question to answer.

Well, what constitutes something as AP worthy?

I'd say...probably...a lot of stuff.

1. The vocabulary is at college-level.
2. Analysis can be done to uncover the meaning of the work as a whole.
3. The book has a meaning as a whole. 
4. There is some kind of development, most likely character development.
5. There is evidence of complex devices: motifs, symbols, etc.
6. It's challenging.
7. Things aren't so straightforward. 
8. It must be analyzed to fully understand.

...aaaand that's all I could come up with.

So, Swamplandia! scored a 6.5/8 (81.25%) on the 'Madeline-scale'. I'd say that's pretty good. I have found that the vocabulary is actually quite basic and simple for an AP level book. Because of that, I took off .5 for the lack of challenge. 

BUT WAIT!

I'm not saying that it's an easy read. Swamplandia! has a complex, twisted web of relationships. Some of these relationships are with other characters, but the main focus in the novel is on the characters' relationships' with themselves, not each other. Even at 3/4 of the way through the book, I still don't understand why some of the characters do what they do. 

Also, I've realized throughout this section of the book that moths have been a motif the entire time. Each time Ava experiences something ghostly, she sees moths. Sometimes they arrive in swarms, other times she sees one linger in her bedroom. Either way, moths symbolize Ossie's relationship with the dead and the danger they are in. Here are a few instances of moths being mentioned:

• "That's how my sister's metamorphosis started to happen, I think- inside that white cocoon" (19).
• "'Ossie is talking to dead people again, Chief'...Outside our porch had become a cauldron of pale brown moths and the bigger ivory moths with sapphire-tipped wings, a sky-flood of them.They entered a large rip in our screen. They had fixed wings like sharp little bone, these moths, and it was astonishingly sad when you accidentally killed one" (32).
• "Then the ghost turned into particulates of wings. 'Calm down, dummy, it's just a bunch of moths'" (78).
• "Moths were sparkling around our ceiling in patterns that seemed almost meaningful, stitching a violet-brown lace between the blades..." (92). 
• "...paperwhite moths flew up to hit or kiss their wings against our bedroom window screens and even the tiniest rasp made me want to cry out" (94).
• "I peered around the river bend, saw only thin trees and moths" (135).

And as soon as Ossie leaves the island with her ghost-soon-to-be-husband, the moths disappear from sight.  

 

Ava and Bird Man are still on an endless journey, becoming more and more detached from civilization.