Response to Course Material (12/22)

Over the past month, we have explored the complexities and interpretations of Hamlet. One of my favorite aspects of Hamlet is Ophelia’s role. I tend to find myself disliking women characters, partly because of me and partly because of how they are written. I think I hold women characters up to a higher standard. There are still characters that I love, but I am immediately distrustful.

Ophelia is different, despite being written in a time where women were not considered equal. My immediate reaction was to assume that she understands Hamlet’s references to her being a prostitute and may have a plan to help herself and Hamlet. After watching the various versions, I did not get a strong sense that the directors wanted her to be portrayed in that way. Still, I find myself leaning to that interpretation, though the other interpretations have merit as well.

After watching so many versions, I found myself losing my original vision of how the play was acted in my head. It reminded me of re-reading the Harry Potter books after seeing the movies so many times. Reading the books, I would realize I forgot how I originally pictured it and I even forgot some of the scenes. Hamlet was the same way. I started to view the “normal” as the Branaugh and Tennant interpretations, despite the fact I did not originally view it in the way they portrayed the play. The version closest to how I pictured it was the Olivier version. The others made certain scenes (Hamlet and Ophelia) too dramatic in my opinion.

Overall, I sympathize with Hamlet. I think the main point of the main character in any piece of work is for the audience to have some connection. I have read books, like Great Expectations, where I did not feel any connection to the character and I disliked the piece more than when I read Frankenstein and hated the main character. Hamlet is a very complicated character. At times, I want to root for him, but sometimes I cannot support his actions (like sending the letter to have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern killed). Still, I think the reader is supposed to have a conflict with Hamlet, just as Hamlet is having with himself.

To explore Hamlet further we did three forum posts dealing with different interpretations of Hamlet and even specifically Ophelia. For the Tiv post, I was surprised to see so many people uncomfortable with a new Hamlet interpretation. Over the years, certain lit classes have made me complacent to interpreting literature in my own way. I am quick to let the teacher tell me what the novel, poem, play, etc. means and then just memorize it for the test. But in AP lit, I have the power to come up with my own interpretation (that is backed by evidence) and then hear other interpretations and take my interpretation and compare it. With the Tiv interpretation that is the viewpoint I took. Just viewing it as comments from classmates made it easier to judge information based on evidence. Still some parts I had to consider what I knew about the culture Shakespeare was writing in.

The prisoner NPR story was my favorite forum post to respond to. Not only does it show that people have more to offer, even if they have done bad things, but it also shows that literature can have a positive effect on people. Some people do not enjoy reading poems, books, plays, etc. but still people show they can get something new from reading literature, even a play that is hundreds of years old.

One of the last things we did was discuss an article called "Tragic Balance in Hamlet". The article definitely had some interesting points, but many people, including me, felt it was hard to get through because of the style and organization. Some of the most interesting points brought up in the essay had to do with religious references. It brought up Cain and Abel, for instance, in relation to Claudius and Old Hamlet. My mind does not automatically make these connections because I am not as familiar with the Bible as I could be. I do know the story of Cain and Abel, but there are other things I am more familiar with, like Jesus' sacrifice, Adam and Eve, and the power of three. I worry that sometimes I can miss certain references in pieces, just because I do not have the background knowledge necessary. Ms. Holmes has been helpful, with the history aspect especially, but I am hoping I will get better at recognizing references even if I am not sure exactly what they mean.

Open Prompt (12/15)

2005. In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening (1899), protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess “That outward existence which conforms, the inward life that questions.” In a novel or play that you have studied, identify a character who outwardly conforms while questioning inwardly. Then write an essay in which you analyze how this tension between outward conformity and inward questioning contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid mere plot summary.

Essay A:

With the prompt answered clearly in the introduction and thesis, the essay continues with accurate and well explained analysis. One area explains, “the intense and painful struggle which Dimmesdale has encountered conveys the message that humanity’s ultimately flames nature causes its members strife, but our undeniable desires and humanity can be discovered”. This sentence takes a piece of the text (evidence) and then explains it. The sentence is representative of the whole essay in terms of analysis and sentence structure. The essay discusses the text in the present and displays an understanding of grammar. At times the arguments are less organized, but still prevalent and well explained. Overall, the scoring given by the essay graders, an 8, seems to be right for this essay. The understanding of the novel and how it relates to the prompt is complete, but some more could be put into organization.

Essay B:

The essay manages to address the prompt, with a less sophisticated argument. With a large amount of evidence, the argument that “internally, Nora wants more independence” is backed up and well explained, though there could be further analysis. At times, the sentence structure and diction is clumsy, making the overall piece less convincing. The clumsiness is shown when the author writes, “Ibsen’s purpose was to show candidly the position of women of his era”. The sentence not only could have been worded better, but  the  argument strays  from  the prompt and loses the focus of the essay. More time could have been spent analysing the argument instead of arguing for a whole new point that does not largely add to the whole essay or add to answering the prompt. Still, the essay displays a level of understanding  that  addresses some complexities within the piece allowing for a score of 6. With a more complex analysis of the work, the essay could get a higher  score.

Essay C:

This essay is only summary. Though the thesis addresses the prompt, the body of the essay fails to analyse the text further than offering it as evidence for an argument with no explanation. To start the essay, the writer rewrites the quote given in the prompt, which which wastes time and space that could be devoted to more analysis and explanation. Rewriting information from the prompt does not serve the overall argument, but instead distracts from it. Beyond the summary aspect of the essay, the writer discusses the piece of literature in the past tense writing, “now, Jane was free from the constraints of her former husbands and could become independent”. This distracts from any argument the writer has and displays a lack of understanding of writing about literature. Overall, the essay does not address  the complexities of the piece of literature and fails to form an argument that addresses the prompt. So the score given by the AP graders of a 4 is, if anything, too giving.

“American Isolato: The Rise of the Serial Killer As Anti-Hero” (Close Reading 12/8)

http://www.believermag.com/exclusives/?read=excerpt_strand

Ginger Strand’s “American Isolato: The Rise of the Serial Killer As Anti-Hero” explores the American fascination with serial killers since the late 20th century, shortly after the initial scare from the discovery of such killers. Strand uses details, diction, and syntax to highlight the true nature of serial killers compared to the image of the public viewpoint.

Detail shines as a strong factor throughout the excerpt conveying the nature of murder battles with the interest of the public. As the person that started the craze with serial killers, Ted Bundy acts as the main focus of the article. But, the public’s reaction to Bundy also needs to be highlighted to show the killer compared to how the killer is viewed. So, Strand displays just how enamored the public is with Bundy through the inclusion of the detail that “Aspen locals printed T-shirts saying, ‘Ted Bundy is a one-night stand”. In focusing on products that would typically be made by fans, Bundy seems like another celebrity, as opposed to the murderer he is. The writers furthers the display of public and media obsession, adding “when [Bundy] announced his intention to defend himself at his Florida trial, 250 reporters from 5 continents applied to the courtroom”. This detail shows how far the obsession spread. It was no longer only an American focus, but instead, a world focus. Though media and the public are seen to take a large interest in Bundy, Strand quickly shuts down the image the public receives of “a bright lawyer-to-be with a promising future in politics”. In a paragraph of his discrepancies, the last thing mentioned before his arrest is that “he abducted, raped and killed a 12-year-old girl”. With this detail, the reader is forced to notice the juxtaposition of Bundy compared to his image. With each new detail, Strand focuses the reader’s attention and builds the public’s image of a successful man, only to break it with an aspect of his true self.

The use of diction adds to Bundy as a murderer as well as Bundy as a figure in the media. Strand refers to the obsession with Bundy from the media as well as the public as “Bundymania”. This makes the interest all the more ridiculous, and shows that Strand does not look kindly on the fascination that Bundy brings in. It also furthers Bundy as a celebrity with famous things like the Twilight craze being referred to as Twilight Mania. To further that Bundy is not the same person that the public think he is, the author mentions Bundy’s efforts to portray himself as a sophisticated person by getting “the goodies”. The use of “goodies” truly shows that the image Bundy was portraying was fake and only based on the clothes he wore and things he bought, not on his actions. Beyond the media and public, even the police were deceived by Bundy. Strand claims that Bundy became the “paradigmatic” for all serial killers. Police based their assumptions of serial killer patterns after Bundy, despite the fact that Bundy’s tendencies contradicted future patterns of serial killers. Everyone fed into “Bundymania”, but Strand denies the image bought by the public, media, and even the police by saying the false assumptions, created by Bundy, make serial killers “likeable”.  The term “likeable” creates the sense that serial killers seem less severe than they really are. The diction throughout the excerpt conveys the message that instead of fearing killers, people like them and are interested in them.

The syntax used by Strand furthers the juxtaposition of the image of Bundy compared to his true self. Throughout the piece, the author uses pauses between descriptions of Bundy by the public and what is portrayed as more accurate descriptions. In one section, the author describes Bundy as, “ handsome, personable, apparently middle class and with a penchant for victims who made good copy”. The separation with “and” from positive observations of Bundy to a quick mention of his victims forces the reader to recognize Bundy as a murderer. It also compares the relationship between the real Bundy and the one seen by the public. To add to how serial killers shaped America, Strand uses interrupting phrases to get the reader to focus just in time for an important point. She exercises this when she writes, “serial killers came to be admired, not only as outlaws-- we Americans love our outlaws-- but as icons of the nation’s newly unabashed materialism”. Strand wants the reader to focus on the more important message of how serial killers relate to the American society and culture. To get the focus, she changes the sentence structure to pull the attention of the readers in. Ginger Strand uses pauses and interruptions to focus the readers attention and show the differences in how Bundy is viewed and how Bundy actually acts.

Response to Course Material (11/24)

One prevalent exercise we have done in the past few weeks is “mood and atmosphere”. Like any other class activity, these is always some by conflict in our class. The biggest reason is because we always feel the piece needs to be perfect. Writing, word by word, is one of the hardest things to do, especially when a certain mood needs to be established. There is always at least one person that says, “I’m not happy with this” because the process of one small piece of writing can go on and on. With so many people working together, the class kind of works as both the editors and the writers all at once. These exercises give me a whole new understanding of the difficulty authors go to to create a mood in their pieces.

Another experience we all shared in was the writing, discussing, and rewriting of “The Century Quilt” essay prompt. The last time we wrote an essay, we had all individually worked with the material beforehand, so, our understanding of the material was greater and easier to write about. But, the AP exam will ask us to analyze the poem and then write about it all at once. When writing for this essay, I did not have enough time to fully understand the poem, but because of this, I misunderstood aspects of the poem. I have always been a fast test taker, but when writing an essay I am unsure of, it quickly becomes difficult to word things and write down incomplete ideas.

I think the biggest thing I need to work on with the future essay prompts is coming up with an overall understanding of the poem first, and then picking out the pieces, like syntax, imagery, tone, etc. I always jump in too quickly and want to comment on things before I understand the poem. With the time restraint, I cannot seem to stop myself, like I normally do.

We have also finished Death of a Salesman. Coming up with a statement in class was slightly easier because we knew the process, but we still had difficulty fitting everything into one statement. I’m sure Hamlet will be just as hard or harder with so many characters’ roles to consider.

We have also been reading Hamlet, which has been enjoyable. My favorite of Shakespeare's plays are his dramas, and Hamlet is added evidence to the trend. Hamlet reminds me of the angsty hipster character in an indie film. Of course, Hamlet as a play is not really like an indie film, but Hamlet definitely exhibits the emotional consistency of the characters. Still, I think he has reason to be upset with his situation, but he is very much focused on his issues.

I am excited to look further into Ophelia's role. I still have not decided where exactly I think she is on the spectrum between understanding everything and being completely confused. I am leaning towards her being a character that has more understanding that people assume, but I am still not sure.

Open Prompt (11/17)

2008. In a literary work, a minor character, often known as a foil, possesses traits that emphasize, by contrast or comparison, the distinctive characteristics and qualities of the main character. For example, the ideas or behavior of a minor character might be used to highlight the weaknesses or strengths of the main character. Choose a novel or play in which a minor character serves as a foil for the main character. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the relation between the minor character and the major character illuminates the meaning of the work.

Essay 3A:

The essay works to answer the question of the work, but much of the explanation of how the two characters are foils is just summary. The writer gives a good explanation of how Huang affected Lindo, but the explanation of how they are foils is lacking some.The concluding paragraph does more to explain the characters as foils than the rest of the essay does. The writer switches between tenses when talking about the novel. Most of the essay discussed the novel in past tense, which takes away from the overall message. The quick changes to another tense also distract from the piece. This is shown in the essay with, "All the actions in the relationship between Huang and Lindo illuminated the meaning of The Joy Luck Club. The book is all about..." The changes between the tense of the verbs in the adjacent sentences show the student's lack of understanding of essay syntax and confuse the reader. The explanation of theme for the piece is explained well compared to the other aspects. It has a mixture of summary and analysis, so the evidence and the argument are more clear. Overall, the essay answers the question, but the analysis is less “perceptive” than it should be.

Essay 3B:

The essay does not clearly label two characters that are foils. One paragraph focuses on the father’s effect on Celie and the other focuses on Shug’s effect on Celie. The first paragraph does not set up the piece with a clear thesis that addresses the prompt, but instead labels Shug as “friends”. Instead of immediately going into the explanation of the thesis statement, the writer focuses on the father’s influence. Though this may be important to address, the writer spends just as much space setting up this explanation as he/she does explaining Shug’s influence. There is not a clear discussion of theme. The writer analyzes how Celie is affected, but does not explain what it means for the entire novel. Because the writer fails to adequately address theme, he/she fails to address the prompt completely. There are a few grammatical mistakes, as shown in this excerpt: "Shug has a domineering personality who does not listen to any men". This mistake is large enough to distract and confuse the reader from the message of the sentence.

Essay 3C:

This essay fails to offer enough information and does not address the complexities of the novel. The explanation of theme consists of the writer saying the novel is about “loyalty and friendship”. This statement does not address what the author is saying about friendship and loyalty, only that the two things are part of the novel. The “analysis” for the theme statement is only the writer saying Hassan and Baba are loyal characters. The writer uses Baba and Hassan as foils, but Amir and Hassan would be better representations of the novel and there is more evidence for how their relationship affects the theme. Even the summary of the book is too sparse. It is not well represented with a clear plot that furthers the writer’s point. Instead, random plot points are brought up in relation to Hassan and Baba to try to shape the argument. The writer uses contractions, like “wasn’t”, that take away from the piece as as well. Overall, the essay fails to address theme or how the characters affected each other.

Death of a Salesman Summary and Analysis

Death of a Salesman: A Summary

Author:  Arthur Miller

Setting: In Willy Loman's home (most of play)- house has no roof and is disjointed in areas

             In Boston

             In New York City- sales office, Charley’s law office, restaurant

Characters:

Willy Loman- salesmen, father to Biff and Happy, husband to Linda. About 62 years old and ready to retire. He experiences jumps into the past several times during the play and is contemplating killing himself, so his family can have the insurance money. He and Biff have a strained relationship because of an instance in Boston. He always conveys to his children that selling is the best job a man could do, but he shows some regret in his decision to stat in New York instead of going to Alaska to search for gold with his brother.

Linda Loman- Wife of Willy; a meek character; knows about Willy trying to kill himself, but will not stop it; believes Willy to be a good man. Towards the end, she becomes very upset with her sons, even telling Biff he should leave.

Biff Loman- Willy’s and Linda’s oldest son. Never graduated from high school; high school football star; bad relationship with Willy; early 30s; wants to work outdoors and farm, but Willy wants him to be a salesman; eventually decides to move back West

Happy Loman- Younger brother; works as an assitant at a company; womanizer, claims he sleeps with women that are married and about to be married; people pleaser; wants to live like his father has

Uncle Ben- Willy’s brother; struck gold in Africa (South) while trying to go to Alaska (Northwest); large man, sophisticated; portrayed as successful, though he is dead

Charley- Willy’s neighbor; lawyer; portrayed as successful; father of Bernard; loaning Willy money to Willy every week

Bernard- Charley’s son; about Biff’s age; in high school was considered nerdy by Willy; arguing a case at the supreme court; portrayed as successful by Willy

Howard- Willy’s boss; fires Willy; has a wife, daughter, and son; father used to own company; portrayed as successful by Willy

The Woman- a secretary Willy met while selling; Willy cheats on Linda with her and is caught by Biff

Summary:

Willy Loman is in his sixties and still working as a salesman, but he cannot even bring money in through selling. With Biff staying in his house, Willy is on edge and begins to jump back to past memories, where the entire family seems happier. Biff is a football star, Willy is making a bit more money, and overall Biff seems to admire Willy.

Willy also seems to show Ben his brother in a positive light. Ben makes a lot of money, according to Willy, and he has so much money because he struck gold in Africa, though he was heading to Alaska. Ben did physically hurt Biff in the memory, but Willy still admires him.

Back to the present, Biff tells Willy that he is going to meet a salesmen he used to work with and tell him about an idea he has for sports equipment. He tells Willy this after he hears about Willy’s attempts to kill himself, and is making an effort despite his desire to work with his hands in the West. Willy shows aggression towards Linda, which upsets Biff, but they all go to bed with their plans intact.

The next day, Willy goes to his boss, Howard, to tell him he wants to work in New York CIty instead of traveling. Howard messes around with his recorder, showing Willy, before he finally tells Willy he has to fire him. Willy tries to bargain salary with him, but Howard refuses.

Willy visits his neighbor, Charley’s office to borrow money. He sees Biff’s childhood friend and finds out that Biff decided to not go to summer school, despite the fact he failed a class and was unable to graduate, after he visited Willy in Boston. He also finds out that Bernard is arguing a case at the Supreme Court and takes money from Charley, but refuses a job.

Willy goes to meet Biff and Happy at the restaurant, where Biff is telling Happy that he did not ever sell for the man he saw and that he did not see him. Instead he stole his pen, something he says he does to sabotage himself at many jobs.

Willy shows up, and Happy tells Biff to tell Willy what he wants to hear. Biff tells Willy that he has a meeting with the man the next day. Happy and Biff leave, abandoning Willy at the restaurant. Willy is in the memory where Biff discovers him cheating on Linda. Biff starts crying and leaves Willy in Boston.

When home, Willy is planting seeds, but Biff quickly gets in a fight with him. Biff decides to leave, but still cries to Willy. Willy crashes his car and dies, so the family can collect on the insurance. At the funeral, Biff goes one way and Linda, Happy, Bernard, and Charley go another.

Death of a Salesman: An Analysis

Theme: Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman conveys that society’s definition of success may not match one’s own dream and ignoring one’s true dream may lead to destruction.

Throughout the play, Willy struggles with his true desire. He seems to believe selling is the best thing he should be doing, but also displays regret in his decision to sell instead of going to Alaska with Ben. By the end of the play, it is clear that Willy's true desire to similar to Biff's. He is happiest planting seeds in the backyard. Linda even says he put his best work in the porch he built on their house. Still, Willy's focus is on selling. He refuses to abandon the work he has done in sales, despite his lack of ability to sell. Sometimes he displays that he is good at selling, but more often he is complaining that people do not take well to him. His low commission is more evidence that he is not good at what he is doing. 

Other characters, like Charley, Bernard, and Ben, achieve more success just because they do not try to go against their own desires. All cultivate the things they are good at, though they are all in different fields, and in the end they are paid back for their work with money and happiness from Willy's point of view.

POV:

The play centers around Willy and the memories are being remembered by him. Because of this, many aspects are hard to trust. With so many actions and words from Willy being contradictions, parts of the memories, like how much Willy made or Biff’s admiration of him, could be exaggerated. Some people even debate the existence of Ben.

Tone:

The play is largely a tragedy, which makes the whole tone of the play negative and sad. The characters bring out pity and Willy is often pitied by other characters, like Charley, Bernard and Howard. Generally, the entire play displays a negative outlook on society and how work is viewed.

Imagery:

Most of the imagery comes from Miller’s detailed stage directions. The stage directions make Willy seem small and weak, but also unbalanced. The smallest things make Willy incredibly angry or happy and the emotions change quickly. Biff on the other hand seems to be above what is happening towards the end. He is described as above the earth and often has light around him. This contradicting descriptions show how Willy is unaware of the world and himself, while Biff is self aware.

Symbolism:

The seeds and porch symbolize Willy’s true desire to work with the land, rather than be a salesman. Willy only became a salesman because he thought it would make him successful. The seed are planted in infertile ground and will not grow because the dream of working with the land, maybe in the West, like Biff wants, is lost on Willy by the end of the play.

The recorder symbolizes Willy’s lack of understanding with his past. Willy is unable to admit that he is the reason Biff did not go to summer school and have a successful life. Biff defied Willy because he cheated and because Biff lost respect for him. The recorder’s perfect memory forces Willy to recognize his flaws.

Quotes:

“And when I saw that, I realized that selling was the greatest career a man could want” (Miller 81)

Here, Willy shows that he only became a salesman because he saw someone else was successful at it. He thinks that being a salesman is the key to success, when in reality, Willy is entirely unsuccessful as a salesmen. He really does not want to be a salesmen, but convinces himself to want it and tries to convince Biff and Happy they want it too. In the end, Willy’s greatest achievement is his porch that he built. This is true, though he tells Biff that he cannot be successful if he works on a farm, because he measures success through the man he met, through society.

“Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground” (122).

Here, Willy is literally talking about planting seeds in his back yard, a yard that is unable to grow anything. But, figuratively, Miller is trying to show that Willy is going to die with sons he disapproves of and really no legacy of success. Willy made all his decisions because he wanted to be successful and have hundreds of people at his funeral, but he does not achieve this goal. This is because he does not spend his life working with his true desire, but instead focuses on ways other people, like the man he met, his father, Ben, etc. were successful. In the end, Willy only has two sons to leave behind and neither have done what Willy wanted them to do, neither could be labeled successful in his eyes.

"Muskin's and Thinkin's" (Close Reading 11/10)

http://www.believermag.com/issues/201310/?read=column_pendarvis

“In Muskin’s and Thinkin’s”, Jack Pendarvis reveals his happiness with his choice to leave writing and move toward farming. Pendarvis uses syntax, diction, and imagery to create a jokingly taunting tone and message of happiness with a new lifestyle.

Pendarvis personalizes the piece by utilizing the syntax to make the whole piece more conversational. Throughout the piece, the author uses a mixture of first and second person. He even mixes their use within sentences with “I can just picture you”. These uses create an informal sense surrounding the piece, but they also add to a taunting tone. Pendarvis uses first person to show how happy he is with his decision to quit writing. Then he uses second person to turn it back on his audience and make them feel lesser than him for not making the same decision. At one point he states to his reader, “I’m literally watching as you atrophy. Meanwhile I just get stronger in mind, body, and spirit”. This statement implies that the reader thinks the audience of writers are wasting away because they write, while he is only improving through his decision to quit writing. It creates a sense of superiority and it would not have that sense without both first and second person. Pendarvis also uses questions to show that the taunting tone is somewhat joking. At one point he asks, “When I actually start farming, will I be able to lift a car with my mind?”. He quickly responds, “seems likely”. The question and answer show that he is excited to start his farming work, but it also shows that he is joking about how much better he is for starting this work, because of how ridiculous the claim is. Pendarvis uses second and first person as well as questions to create a tone of joking superiority and a sense that he is happy with his decision. In creating this tone, the whole piece holds its overall meaning of a sincere farewell, as opposed to a flippant goodbye.

A mixture of elevated and informal diction is used by Pendarvis to create an expectation of superiority and then break the expectation to show a joking underlay. In the same paragraph, Pendarvis uses the words “atrophy” and “jerk”. “Atrophy” cannot be labeled informal diction by any means, just as “jerk” could not be named elevated diction. The juxtaposition shows the contradiction in his overall tone. Though he may create a condescending tone towards the audience, the use of informal diction brings him back down to a lower level to show he is not serious. The author uses the word “repulsed” to describe how he feels about the other writers reading this piece. Though the word adds to a superiority in his tone, the extremity of the word makes it seem more humorous and joking, than serious. He later uses “blast” to describe his time with the other writers, ultimately showing he enjoys them and that he is not serious in his taunting portrayal of his thoughts. Pendarvis utilizes a mixture of diction to show that his tone in ultimately joking.

Pendarvis uses imagery to solidify his feelings about farming and reinforce a joking tone. Within the piece, the imagery is almost solely dedicated to descriptions of farming. Towards the end of the piece, the author declares, “the first thing I’m going to do is find a big pile of dirt and just run my hands through it”. This positive image shows how happy Pendarvis is to move on to farming. Like this example, the rest of the piece holds positive imagery as well, especially when describing farming. At one point, Pendarvis compares his hair to Hercules’ and then says, “I’m tossing my shining curls back and forth right now”. Because he connects his curly hair with farming, this image increases the positive connection to a change of job from writing to farming. The writer also uses images that contradict in elegance to show part of him is joking when describing how much better he is than his audience. He says he will be “experiencing the true satisfaction that can never come from the pointless internal murmuring of the puny bookworm in his cocoon of so called knowledge” and then quickly adds “also, I am pantless in this scenario”. The quick change from a detailed image to a straightforward statement displays his joking tone, especially because the second part is humorous. Imagery in this piece adds to a happy reaction to change as well as a joking addition to the tone.

Through a jokingly taunting tone, the piece manages to display the true of a genuine goodbye to colleagues of Pendarvis. In order to convey this tone, the author uses positive imagery, contradicting diction and syntax. All the devices add to a clearer tone and message in Pendarvis' work.

Responses to Course Material (10/27)

Along with The American Dream and Death of a Salesman, we have explored how to tackle the multiple choice section in general and with poetry. The key to looking at the passages is to get a sense of the piece and then do a closer reading. For poetry, you get a sense of the speaker, tone, images, figurative language, and situation. Then look further into each and find specific examples.

This process reminds me of how I do word searches. I always start by looking at the block of words and letting my mind notice words. Once I have hit a point where I cannot find nything else, I start to look at the block line by line and eventually, letter by letter. The clear break down of steps stops me from being overwhelmed, just as the steps for the passages are meant to do.

I have found through our practice that the only thing that hinders me from answering the multiple questions correctly is the use of vocabulcary that I am not used to. I understand the passage, but vocabulary in the stem or the alternatives confuses me, so I cannot answer the question with certainty. I have been using context of the stem and the other alternatives to help, but sometimes I cannot decide the answer. I need to look to other sources, like litereary articles, to help me extend my vocabulary.

When making a thesis statement for The American Dream, the hardest part was including all the aspects of the play. In the past, I have written papers on one motif, or one aspect of the theme. For instance I may write a paper for The American Dream on Albee's comment on dysfunctional gender roles, but I would not include every other aspect we had to work into our theme statement. Because I have never done this, I found it difficult to include everything in one statement. I am glad the entire class contributed so we could work it out, but by the time the AP exam comes around, I need to be able to do this on my own.

Open Prompt (10/20)

2003. According to critic Northrop Frye, “Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divisive lightning.” Select a novel or play in which a tragic figure functions as an instrument of the suffering of others. Then write an essay in which you explain how the suffering brought upon others by that figure contributes to the tragic vision of the work as a whole.

Essay LL’LL:

This essay is well written and easy to follow, so I was not surprised by its perfect score. The writer manages to use the necessary plot points of The Great Gatsby to convey his argument of Gatsby as a tragic character. Each big event is further explained with analysis, so the explanation and reason for the plot point is apparent. The essay also contains quotes central to the story that further improve the argument. The essay begins with Gatsby’s destruction in his own life and to himself. In the end, the essay connects Gatsby’s character to all the other characters as well as American society as a whole. It also shows how the characters are affected by Gatsby and how Gatsby is affected by society. The comparisons lock the argument in place, and focus the argument directly towards answering the prompt question. The writer also manages to use diction appropriate to the essay without falling into informal uses at all. With the discussion of society in relation to Gatsby in the introduction and then the same connection in the end, the essay comes full circle, making the connections stronger.

Essay C:

This essay also manages to convey a message that follows the prompt and does so with plot from the work. Still, the essay focuses more on summarizing than connecting in places, taking away from the overall essay. The diction is formal most of the time, but the writer uses words like “stupidly” at times, also taking away from the argument. The re-writing of the quote given in the prompt is unnecessary and only takes up space and time that could be used to further the analysis of the argument. In the end, the essay stays on task with explaining the tragic character and how that affects everyone in the story, still the writer could have gotten to this point further. The last paragraph raps up the point well and gives a well formed explanation while also summarizing the entire essay. Overall, the essay gives a good analysis and forms a sufficient argument, but further development could be made.

Essay FF:

While this essay focuses on how one tragic character negatively affects others, the essay does not manage to use convincing analysis. Most of the essay is a summary and the writer generally says because of the plot point just explained, people suffered. There is no connect through explanation that would make the argument persuasive and analytical. Though I have not read the book, the criticism by the AP board states that the essay fails to address the counter-argument of the tragic character also causing others happiness at times. With a complete lack of recognition of aspects of the book that are against the argument, the writer is not addressing the book as a whole, but choosing parts that are convenient. Because of this, the entire argument is flawed and even less persuasive. The essay also puts things like “tragic flaw” in parenthesis and expects that to act as an explanation for the whole summary of the plot. The language is relatively focused, but not as sophisticated as it could be.