Open Prompt #4 (Revisited)

1970 Also. Choose a work of recognized literary merit in which a specific inanimate object (e.g., a seashell, a handkerchief, a painting) is important, and write an essay in which you show how two or three of the purposes the object serves are related to one another. 

In The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien there is a special ring and whoever puts it on will be all-powerful.  The ring has incredible power and just wearing it around one’s neck is enough to turn a normal person mad with  power.  That is where one of the main character’s, a Hobbit named Frodo, comes in.  He is the only person that can refuse the urge to wear the ring and stay somewhat sane.  Throughout the story Frodo attempts to destroy the ring as its power is too great for one person.  Along the way many people try to take the ring from him so that they can harness its  incredible power. 

The inscription on the ring reads: “One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them”. This really shows the purposes of the ring as intended by the author.  The ring is meant to rule others and bring power to its beholder, and it is meant to bind people and bring them together.

One of the purposes of the ring is to empower its beholder.  It has been used by many evil people in the past to rule the kingdom but somehow it ended up in the hands of small Frodo due to destiny.  Throughout the books Frodo wrestles with his conscious.  He knows he should not wear the ring but the ring constantly tempts him to try it on.  Frodo’s internal struggle is best shown by the character Smeagol.  Smeagol is basically a bipolar character that goes by both the name Smeagol and Gollum.  He has a good side (Smeagol) and a dark side (Gollum) that years of wearing the ring brought out from within him.  He is willing to kill to get the ring back when he is Gollum but knows that the ring is evil when he is Smeagol.  The wearer of the ring has the ability to teleport and all sorts of other powers.

One of the purposes of rings is to bring people together.  Rings have a circular shape that is meant to symbolize eternity.  They are often used to symbolize eternity in marriage but they can also be used to  symbolize eternal friendships and promises.   In The Lord of the Rings the ring brings unlikely people together, such as Frodo and Sam.  Before the novel they were not friends and didn’t like each other all that much but their adventures through dark places and close encounters with death created a tight, eternal bond that not even the power of the ring could break.   

The ring brings people together (“one ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them”) and it is a symbol of power (“one ring to rule them all”).  How do these purposes relate?  Both of these purposes are eternal as a rings shape.  The power the ring brings when it is worn is eternal and the relationships it creates are everlasting as well.  The ring brings great power, but alone one person cannot be all powerful.  The ring has the power to control all the other powerful rings in the land and utilize it.  This is very similar to the friendships it creates.  For example Frodo would not be able to do anything of great relevance alone but with his friends Sam and Gandalf he is able to do great things. 

Ceremony: Summary and Analysis

Author: This novel was written by Leslie Marmon Silko in the 1970s.  She was a mixed woman of caucasian, mexican, and Laguna Pueblo descent.  Silko was born in 1948 and lived in New Mexico. She attended the Bureau of Indian Affairs Schools, and then the University of New Mexico. 

Setting: This novel is set shortly after World War II, however flashbacks go back to the main character’s adolescence in the 1920s. The story mostly takes place in a Laguna reservation, although there are flashbacks to the Philippines and other places that Tayo has been.

Plot: The protagonist, Tayo, is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He recently returned from his service in WWII and is continuing to mourn the death of his cousin Rocky who died during the war.  Tayo is looking for a way to cure himself of his PTSD and decides to undergo a ceremony in an attempt to cure himself. Tayo is living in the midst of a draught at this time as while which he believes he caused because he prayed for rain to stop when he was at war.  Tayo’s uncle Josiah died while he was at war and he had a delusion, seeing Josiah as one of the Japanese soldiers who was killed. When Tayo returned to the United States he stayed at the veteran’s hospital until he was well enough to return home. Even then, he was under the care of his Auntie, Robert, and Grandma.

Tayo’s friends Harley, Pinkie, Leroy, and Emo all fought in the war and returned to the reservation as well. They all suffer from some sort of post traumatic stress and they try to fix this problem with excessive drinking. While out, the group tries to relive their glory days and reminisce in the respect that they got while wearing their uniforms and Tayo realizes how much discrimination there is. Tayo wasn’t getting better and considered returning to the veteran’s hospital, but his grandmother called in a medicine man to help him. He performs a ceremony but the ancient remedies are not suited for his issue. It helps a little, but doesn’t make a huge impact. Tayo starts to think about his past. He remembers how close him and Rocky were the summer before they went off to the war and how Rocky called them brothers. That same summer, Josiah had a scandalous relationship with Night Swan, who was a Mexican woman. She gave him the idea to purchase Mexican cattle as well so Tayo helped him get them and watch them. There was a draught that summer so Tayo goes to a spring to do a rain ceremony and the next day it rains. Because of this, Josiah can’t make it to go see Night Swan so he asks Tayo to deliver a note for him. She seduces Tayo.

                After the medicine man sees that the ceremony hasn’t succeeded he sends Tayo to a city called Gallup where Tayo lived with his mom. He sees Betonie because he supposedly knows more about mixing cultures. Betonie says they will need to invent a new ceremony and tells him about his grandfather Descheeny and the ceremony to end the white witchery. After Betonie is done, he reminds Tayo that the ceremony is not fully complete. On his way home, Tayo is picked up by Harley, Leroy, and Helen Jean on their way to a bar. He stays for a while but then leaves and follows the signs Betonie told him about. He ends up at Ts’eh’s house where he stays the night with her and then leaves for the mountains. He finds Josiah’s cattle in a white man’s fence so he breaks into it but the cattle run away so he searches for them all night. In the morning, a mountain lion approaches him and leads him to the cattle but patrolmen catch him for trespassing but let him go so he can get the mountain lion. At this, it begins to snow so Tayo can’t find any tracks so he goes back to Ts’eh’s house and she has the cattle.

                Tayo returns home with the cattle and feels better but the draught still hasn’t ended. Robert warns Tayo that Emo has been spreading rumors about him. Emo and the police come for Tayo and Ts’eh tells him how to avoid capture. On his way, Harley and Leroy pick him up but they end up working with Emo so he runs away to an abandoned mine. He realizes that he just needs to spend the night there and the ceremony will be complete. Emo and Pinkie arrive and Tayo has to watch them torture Harley. Tayo returns home after the ceremony is complete and tells the medicine man. The draught ends and the white destruction stops. He spends one night at the medicine man’s house and the ceremony is completed.

Characters: 
Tayo: The main character. He is only half Laguna because his mother was loose with men before she died. He maintains belief in the traditional culture despite going off to fight in the war. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Rocky: Tayo’s cousin. They were very close and fought in WWII together, but he died there. He did not believe in the traditional culture as much as Tayo.

Auntie: Tayo’s aunt and Rocky’s mother. She is the sister of Tayo’s mother. She tends to favor conforming into the white society and cares a lot about image and reputation. Married to Robert.

Josiah: Tayo’s uncle (the brother of his mother). He was a father figure for Tayo. He taught Tayo about the traditions.

Betonie: The medicine man that helps Tayo make and perform his ceremony. He is looked down upon by many because he strays from tradition to blend with the times.

Harley: Tayo’s best friend who also fought in the war with him. He is an alcoholic.

Grandma: Tayo’s grandmother who intervenes at key moments and is a wise figure.

Ku’oosh: The medicine man that takes Tayo to Betonie.

Emo: Tayo’s acquaintance since childhood who also fought in the war. He is very critical of his mixed background. Antagonist of the novel.

The Woman: Ts’eh. She is a sacred character that helps Tayo complete the ceremony at three points of time.

Voice: This novel is written as a third person narrative but it is the voice of someone who sees the thoughts of grandmother Spiderwoman. It is a relatively uninvolved narrator, but since it comes from the memory of Spiderwoman, it may not be completely reliable. The tone is uninvolved. There is a lot of symbolism involving animals and important figures in Laguna traditional belief. The author also described in great detail and provided intense imagery.

Quotes: 
“It seems like I already heard these stories before… only thing is, the names sound different.” (Grandma, 260) This quote is significant because it shows the cyclical nature of Tayo’s ceremony. The fact that Grandma has heard the story before, means that she has either heard a legend pertaining to it (such as the poems in the novel), or she has heard of another similar situation. Since she has heard of it before, and it has happened again, it implies that it will occur again and again—it is a repeating cycle.

“Sunrise.” (4) and “Sunrise, / accept this offering, / Sunrise.” (262). The repetition of “sunrise” after the ceremony has taken place, emphasizes the cyclical nature of the novel, and life itself. This reaffirms the idea that the ceremony is a repeated pattern throughout history that is only slightly carried with time.

Theme: The theme of this novel is that everything is cyclical and the importance of finding a balance of culture. This is affirmed by Betonie’s ceremony working on Tayo because it is a new ceremony that combines old ceremonies with new tradition and ideas. By blending cultures to cure the world of white destruction, the author shows that a cooperative mixture of the two cultures is necessary to have good again in the world.

Response to Course Materials

          Since the last "Response to Course Material" we have finished Ceremony, started to read Fifth Business, and we have talked about Jung's criticism.  Ceremony was a rather difficult book for me to understand.  I still can't fully grasp what Silko's intentions were with this novel.  I can't tell if she believed in taking in a mixture of Laguna and American culture or if she believed that white people and everything associated with them is "witchery" and is seen as corruption to her.  The annotations were rather difficult as well.  I was rather confused by the frequent flashback's Tayo has and the book was filled with complex symbolism.  I think the reason annotations are harder with novels than with the plays for me is because they contain less dialogue.  I think this book will be really helpful because I needed to work on interpreting novels in depth as well.  

          I really enjoyed the lecture on Jung’s criticism. I’ve never taken a psych class, but I found these ideas to be very interesting. I haven’t really noticed them while actually reading Fifth Business though, but I haven’t gotten very far so that is probably why. This novel is really interesting, but so far I don’t really understand the author’s purpose in writing it, assuming it wasn’t just for entertainment.  The format is different than most of the books that I have read in the past and I’m not really sure why. It’s written as a first person narrative and the whole thing is supposed to be for his boss to redeem himself after what was written about him in the school paper. One thing that I like is that the situation and the narrative voice tell a lot about who the character is. You get a good feel for his character by his actions alone, but by having him as the narrator as well, expressing thoughts and viewpoints, adds a lot to it. I think we are probably reading this book because it is so different from the other pieces we have read this year. It’s good that we’re being exposed to more kinds of literature because it will help us when we try to interpret passages on the AP test and in future courses.

Open Prompt #1 (Revisited)

2009, Form B. Many works of literature deal with political or social issues. Choose a novel or play that focuses on a political or social issue. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the author uses literary elements to explore this issue and explain how the issue contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. 

     George Orwells's Animal Farm is a book with clearly political motives.  The story was written during the prime of Stalinist Russia.  The novel is about a group of animals on a farm and their struggles but the message seems to be much more meaningful.  

     In the novel a group of animals overthrow the unkind, often-drunk farmer and the pigs fill the role as the heads of the farm.  The animal uprising against the farmer is very similar to the Bolshevik Revolution in which the Russian government was overthrown by the Bolshevik political group now called the Russian Communist Party.   The brutal dominance and position of authority the pigs held after the farmer was killed mirrors that of soviet communism under Stalin.

     These pigs completely dominate the farm and are a symbol of complete authority just as Stalin was in Soviet Russia.  Things at the farm under the pigs rule end up being even worse than they were before as a horse is worked to death.  This is similar to the way things were in Soviet Russia under Stalin.  Stalin killed millions of people directly and millions of others indirectly through his repression.  Under Stalin many people were worked to death, and many others were so poor that they starved to death.     

     This novel clearly speaks out against the way Stalin was running his country and communism in general.  I think a message of the book is that absolute power is bad regardless.  The animals were suffering under the farmer and they were suffering under the pigs as well because in both systems of rule the animals (other than the pigs) had no say in the governing of the farm.  I think that the author is trying to convey the idea that communism will never work and that the people need to have a say in government.  

     The clear allusions in this novel to Stalinist Russia make this story much more captivating.  The events on the farm closely mirror many of the events in Russia relating to communism.  The allusions draw on a much deeper meaning to the story and it made the novel appeal to a high number of people during the peak of Stalinist communism and the fear of communism in the Americas (the red scare).  This novel hit home with many Americans who were witnessing all of the awful things happening in russia.  

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Summary and Analysis)

Author: This play was written by Tom Stoppard.  He was born on July 3^rd, 1937 in Czechoslovak and lived a very difficult childhood.  His family was forced to flee from multiple homes to multiple countries during World War II.  After his father’s death, his mother married a major in the British Military and they all moved to England, whose culture Stoppard accepted as his own.

Setting: The play is essentially set within Hamlet and thus the setting is mostly the same.  In the first scene Stoppard decribes “Two Elizabethans passing the time in a place without any visible character.” The setting in this play is symbolic as the lack of characterization of setting parrallels the lack of characterization of Rosencrantz and guildenstern.  The lack of description represents how little shallowly they were described in Hamlet.  No information was provided of their backgrounds or personality at all in the original play.   Any changes in the setting are abrupt and lack substantial transition. Stoppard only shows where the action happens and the characters seem to suddenly appear there. 

Plot: The play opens on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern walking and flipping coins. When it lands on heads Rosencrantz wins, and tails is Guildenstern. It only lands on heads and Guildenstern questions the probability of that. For a moment they forget what they’re doing there and then they remember that a messenger was sent to get them. Soon they come across a bunch of players who are desperate for money and offer up Alfred’s services for a few coins. They start betting against each other with the coins and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern win and then finally the coin lands tails up.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are suddenly transported into Elsinore where they first see Hamlet and Ophelia go by and are then approached by Claudius and Gertrude who confuse their identities and ask them to find out what is wrong with Hamlet. After they leave, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern begin playing a game of question and answer and then decide to practice questioning one another in preparation of questioning Hamlet, however after a lot of confusion they end up deciding that Hamlet is upset because of the death of his father and his mother’s quick marriage.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern then approach Hamlet who originally addresses them warmly, but also has difficulty identifying who is who. He then goes into a confusing speech for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, causing them to question whether or not he really is insane and Polonius comes in saying that the players have arrived and they enter. Hamlet says there will be a play the next day and the Player, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern discuss what might be wrong with Hamlet and then after the players leave, the two discuss death.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern inform the other characters that Hamlet wants them to go to the play and they leave. Hamlet enters doing his “To be, or not to be” speech and Ophelia comes in as well and the two talk without noticing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The tragedians are performing theirHamlet parallel play and Ophelia enters with Hamlet telling her to go to a nunnery and then leaving. She cries and Claudius and Polonius take her away. After this, the Player talks about the story ofHamlet, the deaths of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and then the concept of the representation of death on stage.

The next day, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are asked to find Hamlet, who has killed Polonius. They find him and ask about the body, but he refuses to tell them anything and says they are just Claudius’s tools. Hamlet is brought back by guards. Outside, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern discuss how they must take Hamlet to England. In the final act, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern appear on a boat to England but they cannot see and they begin to question whether or not they are still alive. Hamlet is sleeping near there and they decide to open the letter from Claudius to the king ofEngland. After reading that it calls for the death of Hamlet, they don’t know what to do. The two go to bed, Hamlet switches the letter, and they awake to hearing music coming from barrels on the ship. It is the tragedians and then pirates charge the ship. After the pirates are gone, so is Hamlet. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell the Player about the letter and rehearse what they are going to say, thus seeing that the letter now calls for their own death. Guildenstern stabs the Player who falls, but jumps back up, calling it a mediocre death. He then continues to describe the deaths that they can perform. At this, it is now Rosencrantz and Guildenstern whose deaths are coming and they realize it. Guildenstern questions how they ended up there and how they might have changed their fate. It is assumed that they die here because the scene switches to the end of Hamlet where all of the main characters are dead except for Horatio and the English Ambassadors come in and Horatio gives his speech.

Characters: The play includes only characters from the original play of Hamlet, however some of the characters are described from different viewpoints and different aspects of the characters show through. Hamlet, Ophelia, Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius, and Horatio are all the same basic characters that they were originally.  Characters who have altered characteristics are as follows:

Rosencrantz: Rosencrantz seems unintelligent on the surface and attempts to enjoy life and not question his surroundings—he just goes with it. He has many significant and meaningful lines, but he rarely intends them to be so insightful.

Guildenstern: Guildenstern questions the world around him from the beginning of the play. He clearly recognizes that things are not as they are supposed to be in his world. He seems to know (at least subconsciously) that they are a part of a play. He often makes comments in which he overestimates his own intelligence and ability to reason. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are often mistaken for one another and even lose track of their own identities.

Player: The Player has some of the most important lines of the play. He directly recognizes that he is an actor at all times and often tells the other characters that they are as well. He serves as a voice for Stoppard and gives Rosencrantz and Guildenstern hints about the false world around them and provides deep insight.

Voice: This play uses both dialogue and narrative voice to express the ideas of the author. Stoppard uses double meanings in most of the lines (both dialogue and description). He also uses symbolism through the “play-within-a-play”. This is supposed to show what they are all a part of. Stoppard also uses audience involvement to get across the idea that the audience should not feel for the characters. For example, Rosencrantz yells “Fire!” and then ridicules the audience for not reacting.

Quotes:
"Words, words. They’re all we have to go on."  This quote to me is the main message of the play.  Words are intended to communicate ideas and if words are considered "all we have to go on" then we are doing a poor job at communicating effectively.  

Theme: There seem to be many possible themes of this play. It could be a critique of Shakespeare’s disregard for some characters, however to me it is a play desvribed best by the above quote.  The theme to me is that words are intended as a device to communicate speach and over time the way we communicate has become increasingly muddied and confusing to the point that some people can talk for an entire book without saying anything of importance, such as Ros and Guil. 

Response to Course Materials #7

          In class we have recently finished or discussion of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.  I thought it was one of the hardest books to annotate so far as the whole book was so repetitive and it was hard to come up with some new ideas.  The language in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern wasn't as difficult to understand as it was in Hamlet because it was written several hundred years later and had a much less formal style, however the meanings were still just as hard to understand.  Another reason I thought Rosencrantz and Guildenstern was challenging to analyze was because the two main characters spent the majority of the story in utter confusion, playing literary games, flipping coins, figuring out which direction was south, trying to remembering why they were sent for, or discerning who is who.  The confusion of the characters only made me confused along with them as well.

          Outside of our study of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, we have been practicing writing AP essays and answering/writing AP multiple choice questions.  Even though the AP exam is coming in just over two months, I am still struggling with both of these tasks.  I think I need to start working on some multiple choice and essay writing at home however we have had so much work outside of class as it is it is hard to find the time.  I am sure the in-class work will be a great help!  Two months is still plenty of time to master this skill for the exam.  Through practicing writing our own AP questions and answers I am now starting to think like a test-maker which will be very helpful for eliminating distracters on the AP exam.  I am sure with practice I can get the coveted 5! 

Open Prompt #2 (Revisited)

1983. From a novel or play of literary merit, select an important character who is a villain. Then, in a well-organized essay, analyze the nature of the character's villainy and show how it enhances meaning in the work. Do not merely summarize the plot. 


          In the classic novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville Moby Dick is thought of by Captain Ahab to be the ultimate evil.  Moby Dick is a sperm whale who tore off Captain Ahab’s leg.  Throughout the novel Captain Ahab, filled with a lust for vengeance, tries to defeat the whale. 

  A major theme of this novel is that revenge is not worth it.  Throughout the novel Captain Ahab, filled with a lust for vengeance, tries to defeat the whale.  Ahab was obsessed with this as his only goal was to hunt and kill the whale.  Ahab let this obsession consume his thoughts and he could not find happiness in life until this whale was dead.   

Moby Dick clearly represents represents greatness.  It is an insurmountable task to kill Moby Dick as he is so giant and powerful.  Moby Dick is clearly the villain in the novel as he ripped off Captain Ahab’s leg during a whaling incident and led to the deaths of almost the whole crew.  Moby Dick’s attacks are not unwarranted, but he causes harm to many characters in the story and is portrayed by Captain Ahab as complete evil.  Moby Dick’s villainy is caused by the whaling crew hunting and attempting to kill it so Moby Dick is not truly evil.

Ahab met another whaler named Captain Boomer who lost an arm to Moby Dick.  Instead of being angry and seeking vengeance Captain Boomer was just happy to be alive.  The two different responses to being attacked by the two men represent that everyone has a choice to make when they are wronged.  They can choose the unfulfilling choice of revenge or they can choose to forgive or forget.  It is clear that revenge is not the correct choice as Ahab’s quest for vengeance results in Moby Dick sinking the whole ship, resulting in every man dying except for one lucky character named Ishmael.  Captain Boomer chose not to seek revenge and as a result lived a much happier life.