Closed Reading #4

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/eugene-robinson-boehner-plays-a-weak-hand/2012/12/03/227b41da-3d70-11e2-ae43-cf491b837f7b_story.html
           In this editorial from the Washington Post the “left-leaning” columnist Eugene Robinson mocks John Boehner’s reaction to the Obama Administration’s proposals on taxes and spending.  In this article Eugene attempts to show that republicans in congress are being stubborn regarding fiscal policy as the “fiscal cliff” is approaching and they are not willing to increase the taxes on the wealthy.  Eugene also wants to show that the democrats in congress and Obama are willing to compromise and that their policies are very reasonable. Eugene uses imagery, syntax, and diction to effectively portray her opinion.

           Robinson uses imagery to express his opinions about the Republicans in congress.  Saying of Geithner that he "sounds like the doctor who says you might feel a 'pinch' or a bit of 'discomfort.' Meanwhile, he’s coming at you with a needle the size of an ice pick."  This simile relates to a lot of Americans.  Most Americans hate going to the doctor to get shots and so painting Geithner as the doctor giving the shot carries with it a negative connotation.  This simile also makes the Republicans seem like they are downplaying their ideas as just a “pinch” when in reality their ideas have much greater effects.

Robinson uses syntax to put emphasis on certain aspects of the editorial.   Robinson uses paragraphs to place emphasis on certain sentences or points that he thinks are important.  For example the last paragraph is a mere nine words.  He finished this editorial with “Hence Boehner’s urgency. Time is not on his side."  Finishing the paper with a a short paragraph that contrasts greatly from the previous 65 word paragraph makes it stand out more to the reader.  When a short sentence or two are stuck in a paragraph by themselves like Eugene often does it gives the reader a short pause in the flow of the editorial to take in what has just been said.  Therefore the short paragraphs are used to make the reader think a little harder about what has been said in them.  Another way that the author emphasizes what he considers to be the most important details in the story is his use of questions.  Eugene uses sarcastic questions to mock Boehner and the other republicans in congress.  Robinson started of the editorial with a series of questions.  He said, “How dare he? President Obama, I mean: How dare he do what he promised during the campaign? How dare he insist on a “balanced approach” to fiscal policy that includes a teensy-weensy tax increase for the rich? Oh, the humanity.  This melodramatic statement is clearly meant to mock the Republicans in congress and is an interesting way to start the paper.  Eugene uses the questions here to show how he thinks the republicans are thinking in response to the new proposals.  He begins by using a very vague question,”How dare he?”.  This grabs the reader attention right away as they want to find out what happened.  He then clarifies what he means with the following question.  This question-answer technique is utilized throughout the paper and really draws the reader’s interest to what the answer is. 

Eugene uses diction to mock the Republicans and to portray Obama in a positive light.  He uses words such as “teensy-weensy” when referring to the proposed tax hike on the wealthy by the Obama Administration to show how minuscule and reasonable it is.  “Teensy-weensy” makes the tax hikes seem almost negligible and makes the conservatives seem unreasonable for not agreeing to them.  Eugene also said, “Republicans are having conniptions” in response to seeing the Obama Administration’s proposals.  The word “conniptions” makes the republicans seem over-emotional about the proposals and after he described how “reasonable” Obama’s proposals were it shows that the republicans in congress are unwilling to budge.  Using the word “conniptions” makes the Republicans seem like they are hysterical because they don’t know what to do and lack control. 

Eugene Robinson created a very persuasive editorial using many literary techniques to show the stubbornness of John Boehner and the rest of the republicans in congress with respect to the fiscal crisis, while portraying the democrats as reasonable and compromising.  

Open Prompt #4

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. 

Death of a Salesman Summary and Analysis

Author: Arthur Miller, a playwright famous for works such as The Crucible.  He is well-known for being politically active.

Setting: The play takes place throughout the American Northeast in places such as Boston, New York, and the Loman's residence in Brooklyn.  The urban location of the Loman's house in Brooklyn plays a major role in the play.  When the Loman's built there home there was a lot of sunlight and a big backyard with a garden.  Over time there were many homes built surrounding the Loman's home that blocked the sun from shining on their yard, killed their garden, and constrained them.  This is very representative of the change in the mood and well-being of the characters.  When they had a big garden they were all fairly successful and had a lot of hope for a bright future.  As the house was surrounded on all sides the garden died and the soil became infertile.  This represents the infertility in the Loman's life as well during this time and their lack of hope.  The play takes place in the "present" when this book was published in 1949 or when it was written.  Thus it is fairly safe to say that it take place in the late 1940s, however Willy has many flashbacks to the past that would be around the late 1920s or early 1930s.  Although this book does have a time period, there is not much that could not be applied to modern society.  

Narrative: As Death of a Salesman is a play there is no narrator.

Plot: Willy is a business man who is confused about life, not knowing where he stands in society as a salesman as his son Biff is a high school graduate and a failure in life. Linda is an all knowing character who serves as a mother like figure to Willy and takes care of the family in times of need.  Happy is a character who is successful but neglected. Willy recognizes Biff’s failure as one of his own faults and considers it to be the biggest mistake in his own life. When Happy suggests to Biff that they could both work at a company together and that they should go achieve their “american dream”, the family suddenly becomes closer; the idea of achieving the American dream brings the family closer. However, Biff and Happy never get the job.  Willy’s past successes were attributed to his charming good looks. These looks allowed him to sleep with the receptionists of big businesses but as time passed, his charming features diminished. His depression then spurs, and his attempts of suicide with a rubber hose were later discovered by Linda. Although Linda became very concerned for Willy and cares for him, he does not seemingly feel the same way. He even cheated on Linda and when Biff found out, he was highly disappointed in his father. Betrayal is a common theme in this novel and is not only prevalent here, but also when Biff does not become successful it betrays Willy’s ambitions. Towards the end of the novel, Willy is driving subconsciously and gets in a car accident and dies. The family then morns the loss of Willy, who in the end was alleviated by all the stresses of life by dying. He achieved his American dream; to be free. 

Tone: The tone of this play is sincere and at times brutally honest.  The author does not include any sort of comic relief in the play as the author of The American Dream did.  He has a very serious message that he is trying to deliver through this play and he does so in a rather dark way.  As a result many would find this book rather depressing, yet it is very entertaining and very true.  Many of the character's emotions pour out in this play and the way the dialogue is written the reader will generally get fed up with the characters' actions.  This play is a great representation of capitalist society in America and the chase for the "American Dream".  

Themes: 

• The American Dream- The American Dream is unattainable yet extremely desirable to Willy. The chase of the American Dream leads to his unhappiness, and his Death.
• The Evil of Capitalism- 
• Betrayal: Willy betrays Linda by having an affair with another woman. Biff betrays Willy by not achieving the success that he once promised his father.

Symbols: 

• Seeds: The seeds that will was trying to plant represent hope.
• Rubber hose: The rubber hose that Willy kept trying to remove from his car to kill himself represents the fragility of life. 
• Stockings: Stockings during the time period the book was written in were viewed as a luxury.  They represent femininity.  

Quotes:  “Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground.”  The plant symbolizes a new beginning for Willy once he realizes that this is his last ditch substitute for all of his failures in his son and in his work.

“He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine . . . A salesman is got to dream, boy.” This quote discusses the rough nature of the capitalistic market in which Willy is competing in.

Response to Course Materials #4

       It's been a month since the last response to course materials and ALOT of material has been covered.  Since I last wrote we finished up our discussion of The American Dream and moved on to the Death of a Salesman by Miller.  This time instead of doing a read-through as a class we watched the movie and then read and annotated the play at our home.  The movie was almost exactly the same as the play and but it was interesting to see how they interpreted the play.  The only issue was that since I saw the movie first I didn't form my own conclusions in my head about the characters before I saw the movie. 
       Looking back on The American Dream I noticed that the themes were very similar to those in Death of a Salesman.  Both stories had clear themes of the evil of consumerism.  The characters in both the Death of a Salesman and The American Dream chased after money and material things to find happiness. In The American Dream the author goes out of his way to point out material desires of the characters.  Mommy and Daddy even looked at their deceased son as a material possession and since Grandma is not bringing any money to the table think she is useless and want to kick her out of the house.  In Death of a Salesman Biff is looked down upon by his Dad because he doesn't have a great desire for money and material possessions.  Biff desires to work out West with his hands but Willy seems to think that he is still a child for having such thoughts.  Willy was being taken advantage of by the business he makes sales for and works very hard for little pay.  He is depressed because he works so hard but does not have the money to show for it and is always complaining about some material desire.  He even goes so far as to kill himself because he knows that his family will make more money from his life insurance than they would if he was alive.  Both stories revolve around the desire to make more money and material things. 
       What was really interesting to me about our study of Death of a Salesman was how deep it went.  I have begun to view plays as bananas... with multiple layers.   As we peeled back layer and layer of Death of a Salesman we found all sorts of hidden meanings.  When our class read one of the professional criticisms on Death of a Salesman I found it really interesting that the critic disagreed with Miller on the meaning of his own play.  This showed me that there is no correct or incorrect answer as to the interpretation of plays.    
       Another thing we did in class that was very helpful was the multiple choice practice for the AP exam.  We read through passages and tried to answer as many questions correctly as possible.  The questions were rather difficult for me but I managed to get a surprisingly high percentage of them correctly.  What challenged me was that they used very complex terminology.  I am also still not used to having to think so in-depth about passages. After this we tried to create our own multiple choice questions.  I found this really helpful because it allowed us to think from the point of view of an AP test writer.   
     We are starting to read Hamlet in class now and  I am really excited to tackle a Shakespeare play, however so far I am incredibly intimidated by the elevated diction because it is so different from what I am used to seeing.  To me Shakespeare is like a foreign language.  I think it is really helpful that Ms. Holmes stops us every so often to clarify certain things, clear up the confusion, and provide a little bit of background for us to help us understand the play better.

Closed Reading #3

The great gaffe by Charles Krauthammer

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-the-great-gaffe/2012/10/18/38ce0d18-1954-11e2-bd10-5ff056538b7c_story.html

          In this editorial, conservative Charles Krauthammere discusses the 2012 presidential race, more specifically the second presidential debate between candidates Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.  In this article Charles tries to persuade the readers that the way Romney answered the Libya question was an enormous gaffe, and that Obama has misled the country pertaining to the murder of the US Ambassador in Benghazi and gotten away with it as a result of Romney's gaffe.  Krauthammere uses imagery, syntax, and diction to effectively portray her opinion.

           Krauthammere uses imagery to paint the debate as a very hard fought and close debate.  For example he says, "Fight night at Hofstra.  The two boxers, confined within a ring of spectators - circling, feinting, taunting, staring eachother down - come several times, by my reckoning, no more than one provocation away from actual fisticuffs, of the kind that on occasion so delightfully break out in the Taiwanese parliament.  Think of it: the Secret Service storming the ring, pinning Mitt Romney to the canvas as Candy Crowley administers the 10 count."  Through this creative metaphor Charles is trying to show that that the debate was very close and that the successful cover-up of what truly happened in Benghazi resulted in Obama's win.  This is represented by the secret service "pinning" Romney.  This paints a picture in the mind of  a boxing match.  The civilians asking the questions are represented by the fans, and the boxers represent the two presidential candidates.  The fact that the debate was related to boxing shows that there were a lot of verbal punches thrown amongst the candidates and high tensions.  In this short paragraph there is also an allusion to the moment when the two candidates got in each other's faces and looked like they were going to fight when he says, "staring each other down - come several times, by reckoning, no more than one provocation away from actual fist cuffs.

          The author also uses syntax to put emphasis on certain aspects of the editorial.  When Krauthammere wants to show how little information there is discussed in major media or the show the thought processes of many americans on a topic he uses questions that make the reader think.  This emphasizes the said way that the Obama administration "misled" the american people.  An example of this is when he says, "No one misled? His U.N. ambassador went on not one but five morning shows to spin a confection that the sacking of the consulate and the murder of four Americans came from a video-motivated demonstration turned ugly: 'People gathered outside the embassy and then it grew very violent and those with extremist ties joined the fray and came with heavy weapons.'"  Another way that the author emphasizes what he considers to be the most important details in the story is his use of paragraphs.  If there is a main point he is trying to get across she will leave that sentence in a paragraph all by itself so that it seems more important.  K.T. says, "Romney will be ready Monday."  The author placed this short statement in a paragraph all by itself to show the importance and emphasize the contents of the sentence.  When a short sentence is stuck in a paragraph by itself it gives the reader a short pause in the flow of the editorial to think about the statement.  In this case it is almost seems as if this short statement is meant to intimidate Obama.

          Krauthammere uses diction to show show the deceitfulness of the Obama Administration’s Benghazi cover up and to portray Romney in a positive light.  He uses words such as “misled” to show how deceived the country and dodged difficult questions about the Benghazi assassination.  The word misled makes the reader think that President Obama has planned out how to manipulate the American people to believe that the murder in Benghazi was not an act of terror but was cause by a video.   Krauthammere even went so far as to call the Obama administration his "minions".  Pejorative diction such as this is commonly associated with evil people.  By using the word minions Charles clearly is trying to portray Obama as evil.  On the other hand he also uses word such as "dazzling" to describe Romney's performance in the first debate.  This word is incredibly complementary and makes Romney seem like a God.  When he was describing Obama's "win" in the second debate he says that "the margin was small, paling in comparison to Romney's 52-point victory".  Words such as paling are used to downplay the victory of Obama so it seems he wouldn't even compare to the greatness that he seems to think Romney is.  

         Krauthammere created a very convincing and persuasive editorial using many literary techniques that attempt’s to show the deceitfulness of Obama and his administration with respect to the Benghazi assassination, and downplay Obama's nationally declared "win" in the second debate compared to Romney's whopping "win" in the first debate.

Open Prompt #3

Prompt: 2008, Form B. In some works of literature, childhood and adolescence are portrayed as times graced by innocence and a sense of wonder; in other works, they are depicted as times of tribulation and terror. Focusing on a single novel or play, explain how its representation of childhood or adolescence shapes the meaning of the work as a whole. 
     
     William Golding’s Lord of the Flies portrays the childhood years very differently from the way that they are commonly perceived.  Golding clearly held a view that the childhood years are marked by tribulation and terror. In his novel, Golding shows that children are not inherently good and innocent, but instead quite the contrary.  William appears to believe that the human race is inherently evil, and without the constraints of society's expectations, this inner-evil bubbles to the surface and shows its face.  
     
     In the Lord of the Flies a group of British school students are involved in a plane crash, leaving the kids stranded on an island to fend for themselves.  The children’s actions and decisions mirror the adult world despite the difference in maturity and age.  The kid's immediately try to set up rules and regulations to mirror the rule's that the government and their parents's place on them.  They show the desire for order through this however as they are stranded and isolated from society for longer and longer, the children decide to show their true colors and rebel.  The main character, Ralph attempts to maintain order but human nature interfere.  The kids separate themselves into two tribes: one led by Ralph, and the other by Jack.  Eventually animalistic tribal warfare erupts and many characters are killed.  There is a great forrest fire on the island which represents the eruption of complete chaos erupts.  This mirror's the adult society as this story takes place in the midst of World War II.  The children were fleeing the war, however their human nature drove them back to war.

     The parallels between the children stranded on the island and the adults in the rest of the world give a frightening insight on the nature of humans.  Golding was clearly trying to show that humans are inherently evil.  The terror that resulted on the island shows that children, if not properly socialized by society will revert to their roots.  The difference between the children and the adults is that the adults have been socialized by society to behave a certain way.  The children are representative of the result of those left in isolation of society and not properly socialized to behave the way that society expects.  The children begin the way that society expects of them: with rules and order.  However the children soon turn against the societal norm and chaos erupts.  The only children that were truly innocent in the novel were killed (the young boy and Piggy).  This represents the animalistic and savage ways of society, and shows that adolescence  is a time when children are stripped of their innocence.  

       The Lord of the Flies is a great example of a story in which the representation of childhoood and adolescence shape the meaning of the work as a whole.  Golding clearly did not intend to make the story about children alone.  The children are representative of the adult world as well.  Golding attempted to show the evil ways of human nature, and savagery of society without the constraints of laws and order through the way the children acted when they were in isolation from society.   

Response to Course Materials #3

     Since my last response to course materials our class has finished our discussion of The American Dream and annotated it, started to work with Death of a Salesman, and took the second terms test.
     When the class first read through The American Dream I barely understood any of it.  I was entertained by it but I didn't understand any of the deeper meanings whatsoever.  The analysis we read of The American Dream better helped me understand the themes of the novel and some of its symbols. The packet also better helped me understand the Theater of the Absurd and its applications.  I learned that Grandma represents the "Old American Dream" whereas the young man is the "New American Dream".  Our class discussion and the annotations helped me further understand the main themes and meanings of the piece as well as the more complex symbols such as the "bumble of joy" and the twin brothers.  There is so much more to the play than meets the eye and it really stands as a testament to rereading a piece.
     Although we haven't done much discussion of Death of a Salesman, and haven't read the actual book yet, based on the movie I can tell that it is going to be another hard book to crack.  Contrary to The American Dream however I am not left completely clueless as to the meaning.  The main character, Willie, seems like he is rather senile.  I think that the book is a representation of the evils of a capitalist society as Willie is being taken advantage of by big business.  Of the brief discussion in class one really interesting connection I made was of all of the christ figures in the book.  Biff is 34, whereas Jesus was 33.  This is representative of Biff being passed the hope of ever being what his family expected of him.  Willie and the rest of the family wanted Biff to succeed in the world of sales but he failed at that.  He is good with his hands just as Jesus was as well.  The family looked to him as a source of salvation but he let them down.  He is a sort of failed christ figure.  Willie on the other hand works himself to the core every day for his family and made the ultimate sacrifice of his life, just as Jesus did, because he knew that he was worth more dead than alive.  He knew that his family would benefit from his life insurance.  Ben, Willie's brother, is also a sort of christ figure as he is always looked at as perfect.  He is big, tall, powerful, and successful due his diamonds.  This leads Willie to always look to his brother for help, just as one would look to God for help.  I also noticed a few connections of Death of a Salesman and The American Dream.  Both Willie and Grandma seemed very disillusioned with society.  I also noticed that in both stories the "American Dream" is a major theme.  Willie had been determined to achieve gain a grip of the "American Dream" his whole life.  He wanted to provide for his family and have all of the hot commodities.  He also seemed very upset and unsatisfied with life just as the characters in The American Dream were.  I found that Willie complaining about the refrigerator was very similar to the characters in The American Dream complaining about the toilet.  There is still a lot that I do not understand of the book but I think I will gain a much greater understanding after we finish the annotations.
     The terms test that we recently took made me lose a good deal of confidence.  I didn't study as much as I should have for the first terms test and my grade reflected that.  This time however I studied for hours and really felt like I had all the terms down.  I felt like I was able to apply them really well to literature and felt confident going into the test.  Coming out... not so much.  I got the same grade as I did the first time after hours of work and a much better understanding of the terms.  What was tricky to me is that it seemed as though there was more than one right answer. Upon checking over the test however, I realized that there were just many answers that were very close to being correct, but just a little bit off.  I think that I will be able to apply the terms much better than I could before so that is a good thing but my test score did not reflect that.  I think I was just thrown off by the answers that were near-answers.  This will definitely make me read the questions on the AP test of as we learned in class that the AP tests have a lot of near-answers to throw people off as well.
     Overall we have learned a lot these past few weeks and I am excited to further analyze Death of a Salesman.

The American Dream Analysis

Author: Edward Albee (1928-present), an American playwright that wrote in the Theater of the Absurd and often examined the modern condition in his plays.

Setting: The living room of Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma's apartment located in a city.  The play takes place within the 1950s-1960s. 

Significant Characters: 

Grandma- Considered the old “American Dream”. She has a way of controlling the plot through her comments and at the end of the play she even exits the action and speaks from an outside perspective like a director. 

Mommy- Immature, controlling, attention-seeking, masculine, and manipulative.  She threatens Grandma that she will be taken away and takes away Daddy’s masculinity to manipulate the characters.  She is far from the ideal house-wife and uses the other characters in the play.  She was born poor and married into money.

Daddy- Emasculated/Feminine, immature, and passive.  Daddy does whatever mommy tells him too and even was said in the play to possess female “parts”.

Mrs. Barker- Works at Bye-Bye Adoption Service and she is responsible for giving Mommy and Daddy their first child.  She is the chairman of the women’s club and represents the socially responsible housewife.  She often rather oblivious to the things around her and speaks to the characters in the play as though she is better than them.

Young Man- A representation of the “American Dream”.  He is the twin of Mommy and Daddy's first child that Mrs. Barker gave them.  He is strong and attractive but lacks substance.  He has not been able to feel since his twin brother was murdered and will do anything for money.  He is the satisfaction that Mommy and Daddy have been searching for.

Plot: The characters are all seeking some sort of satisfaction but they are not sure where to get it.  The story begins with Mommy talking to daddy about a new hat she bought.  She had a debate with Mrs. Barker about what color her hat was and told daddy about how she got "satisfaction".  Throughout this part of the story Mommy constantly asks daddy to repeat what she says.  Daddy faithfully and un-enthusiastically replies correctly every time.  Grandma comes out and Mommy and Daddy began to complain about how much of a burden she is around the house and mommy keeps bringing up sending her away to a nursing home.  Mommy and Daddy complement on how nicely Grandma wrapped her boxes but do not care what lays inside.  Grandma shows that she is ashamed of how mommy turned out.  Mrs. Barker then comes to the door and the characters, including Mrs. Barker, try to figure out why she is here.  Mommy then meets a young man out near the elevator who is very attractive.  Grandma begins a long conversation with the young man where it is revealed that Mommy and Daddy used to have a son.  Grandma says that they killed and mutilated him for being a "bad boy".  The young man tells Grandma that he used to have a twin brother and at this point it can be easily inferred that Mommy and Daddy's son was the young man's twin.  The young man says that without his brother he is empty and hollow on the inside and cannot feel emotion.  He is willing to do anything for money.  Grandma then leaves and the young man replaces her.  Mommy and Daddy do not seems to care that Grandma left because now they have a new "son" that has no emotion and is aesthetically pleasing.  For Mommy and Daddy this is their satisfaction.  The play ends hinting at incest between Mommy and the young man, and Grandma breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the audience saying, “Let’s leave things as they are right now… while everybody’s happy… while everybody’s got what he wants… or everybody’s got what he thinks he wants. Good night, dears”.

Narrative Voice/Author Style: 

- There is no point of view as it is a play, however Grandma moves the plot along with her dialogue and has the ability to in and out of the action of the play.  At the end of the play she has a narrator-like position.

- The tone is critical and comical.  The author criticize modern society and it’s materialism and shallowness however he does this in a rather comical way.

- There is little imagery in the play as it tends to be rather vague due to its absurdist style however the mutilating of the baby was described in great detail to represent the savageness of consumerism.

Symbols: 

Grandma - Represents the old “American Dream”

Mommy and Daddy - Represent the American middle/lower class 

Mrs. Barker- Represents socially responsible housewife

Young Man - Represents the “American Dream”   

Grandma’s Boxes- Represent the shallowness of society.  Mommy and Daddy only observe the outside of the boxes but do not care what is inside. 

Mutilated Baby- Represents the savageness of consumerism.Theme: 

Theme: 

A major theme in this play is that the "American Dream" is not what it used to be.  Albee chastises society for its change in values.  The "American Dream" is represented by the young man.  Grandma, who represents the "old American Dream" had pride and substance too her.  She may not have been the most beautiful person on the outside but she says exactly what she means and is honest with everyone.  She is not shallow and does not value money more than other pleasures in life.  On the contrary, the current "American Dream" has no substance to him but looks attractive on the outside.  He does not have any feelings and is willing to do anything for money.  This represents that the American Dream is shallow.  This is meant to show that people only care about aesthetic appeal these days and have lost their pride to earn money doing something meaningful and worthwhile.  The imagery of the mutilating of the baby is used to show how mutilated the "American Dream" has become. 

Closed Reading #2

Hillary takes responsibility for Libya but Obama's terror policy is real problem by K.T. McFarland

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/10/17/hillary-takes-responsibility-for-libya-but-obama-terror-policy-is-real-problem/#ixzz29zgrrXTE 

In this editorial, conservative K.T. McFarland attempts to persuade readers that President Obama’s foreign policy is not working and that the assassination of the ambassador in Benghazi is Obama’s fault, but is being covered up.  K.T. primarily uses diction, syntax, and imagery to display her opinion effectively.

McFarland uses imagery to paint Obama as dishonest.  An example of this is when she says, “Secretary Clinton says, there is such a “fog of war” that we’re not sure what happened, never mind that the fog was deliberately created by the Obama administration’s own fog machine.”  Fog makes it harder to see what is in front of us.  Through this creative metaphor McFarland is trying to show that that Obama’s administration is trying to cover up what truly happened in Benghazi.  K.T. also says, “The mainstream media, like an overindulgent parent, believes the Obama administration’s excuses, and most people don’t care what happens half a world away when they don’t have jobs at home.”  This simile portray’s president Obama as a child making excuses.  This paints a picture in the reader’s mind of an immature little kid making excuses to his mother after he did something naughty.  This simile makes the president seem irresponsible without directly stating this.  

The author also uses syntax to put emphasis on certain aspects of the editorial.  When K.T. wants to show how little information there is on a topic she uses questions that make the reader think.  This emphasizes the said Obama cover-up.  An example of this is when she says, “The president dodged the question with lots of references about how no one wants the answer to that question, or cares more than he does, but in the end he didn’t answer the question.  Now you have to ask WHY?”  Another way that the other emphasizes what she considers to be the most important details in the story is her use of paragraphs.  If there is a main point she is trying to get across she will leave that sentence in a paragraph all by itself so that it seems more important.  K.T. says “Looks like the Obama administration has gotten away with it.”  The author placed this short statement in a paragraph all by itself to show its gravity and to give the reader a short pause in the flow of the editorial to think about the statement.

K.T. McFarland uses diction to show show the deceitfulness of the Obama Administration’s Benghazi “cover up”.  She uses words such as “dodged” to show how Obama dodged difficult questions about the Benghazi assassination.  The word dodged makes the reader think that President Obama has planned out how to evade the questions so that he doesn’t have to say the truth.   Another example of this is when K.T. says that until Al Qaeda is defeated they will have an “escalating” series of attacks to put fear into the reader’s mind.  Al Qaeda has already caused so much terror in our country and the word escalating makes it seems as though the attacks will get worse and worse without any real proof that they will.  

McFarland created a very convincing and persuasive editorial using many literary techniques that attempt’s to show the deceitfulness and flaws of Obama’s foreign policy in general and with respect to the Benghazi assassination.  

Open Prompt #2

  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.   

Response to Course Materials #2

Since my last “Response to Course Materials” we covered a lot of ground in AP English.  Our class has read The American Dream by Edward Albee, we have learned what DIDLS stands for and how to apply it to literature, we analyzed we have learned about the literary eras and we have learned about critical perspective.  I think learning the acronym DIDLS was the most helpful thing that we have learned so far.  DIDLS stands for Diction, Imagery, Details, Language, Syntax and these are very helpful literary elements to use when analyzing a piece of literature.  I already have this phrase ingrained in my memory and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.  Now whenever I look at a piece of literature I try to identify all of these literary components and show how they relate to the meaning, and I think this is starting to become a natural instinct already.  The part of DIDLS that I think I need the most work on is analyzing a piece of literature for its syntax and showing how this relates to the story.  This is not very easy for me as I have never been trained to think in terms of sentence structure relating to meaning until this year.  I think this will take a lot of work for me but with a little extra practice I think I will be able to start to get the hang of it.  When we took the quiz on critical perspective I didn’t do as well as I had hoped.  I think I need a little more work on memorizing these different critical lenses.  It will be very useful to consider the lens being used so I can better identify the authors motivation in their writing.  I think it is very important to know the general trends of each literary era because this will help me better understand the meaning or the motivation of the other.  The literary trends sheet that we are working is definitely helping me to see trends over time of the literary eras and I think it will help make this information more concrete in my mind. The American Dream by Edward Albee was a very fun play to read in the class.  After the first read through I did not really understand the meaning of it but after we read the paper that analyzed the story I started to understand it a lot better. The paper also helped me better understand what The Theater of the Absurd is the writer of the analysis was debating whether or whether not this book fit the qualifications.  In the end the writer decided that it wasn’t truly absurd as the plot seemed to kind of go somewhere instead of going completely full circle.  I think I will understand the themes of the story much better after a second read through.  I have taken in a lot of information over the past few weeks and I just need to keep practicing these techniques I have learned to cement them into practice.

Closed Reading

Romney’s class warfare

By Eugene Robinson  

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/eugene-robinson-romneys-class-warfare/2012/09/20/98327b4c-0359-11e2-8102-ebee9c66e190_story.html 

          Recently Mitt Romney was caught by a hidden camera making a controversial speech at a fundraiser about how he was going to win the presidential election.  He mentioned that 47 percent of Americans don’t pay income tax and they are going to vote for obama regardless of how he campaigns.  In this editorial in the Washington Post, opinion writer Eugene Robinson takes a clear stance against Mitt Romney’s political ideology in his “47 percent” speech at a fundraiser.  Eugene shows the stereotypical liberal thought that republicans are all wealthy and only care about themselves.  Eugene uses diction, details, and figurative language to show his opinions about Romney’s speech and republicans in general. 

          He described the differences between the conservatives as, “the smug-and-rich against the down-on-their-luck, the wealthy tax avoiders against those too poor to owe income tax”.  Rich and wealthy are words that do not have a negative annotation but clearly in this text they carry a negative connotation and are used to describe the ignorant and selfish people who don’t care about the underprivileged.  He once again shared his thoughts of Romney’s view on the parties saying the political parties are the “wealthy Republicans vs. the unwashed hordes”.  Calling the underprivileged (referring to as Democrats in this editorial) “hordes” dehumanizes the people and further emphasizes Eugene Robinson’s thoughts that Romney does not care about the wellbeing of that “47 percent” that he talked about.

          Robinson uses great details to persuade the readers.  Details such as the “$50,000-a-plate fundraiser in Boca Raton, Fla.” showed that when Romney was speaking at the fundraiser he was speaking to wealthy elite.  Not many people can afford to eat a dinner for that price.  This detail is also used to show Robinson’s view of people that Romney’s supporters: the rich.

          Eugene Robinson persuaded the readers through his great use of figurative language.  He described Romney’s fundraiser saying it was, “In an elegant dining room where the self-satisfaction was thick enough to cut with a knife”.  Robinson made it seems as if the smugness or self-satisfaction was a tangible object.  This helped persuade once again the kind of people that the writer thinks support Mitt Romney.  Robinson said, “The truth is that Romney is mixing apples, oranges and bananas. The three groups he mentions — those who support the president, those who receive payments from entitlement programs and those who are not required to pay federal income tax — are not the same people.”  This colorful analogy comparing these three groups of people to different types of fruits is used to show that these groups are not the same.  This analogy makes Eugene’s idea very easy to understand as fruit is a very simple concept that most people have a grasp on. 

  This editorial about Romney’s “47 percent” speech used diction, imagery, and detail to enhance Robinson’s point.  These literary devices made the editorial more interesting and easier to understand.  This made the editorial a very persuasive article as Robinson’s opinions were translated clearly through the text.  

Open Prompt

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.  

Response to Course Materials

Even though I haven’t been in class for a full week yet I feel like I have really learned a lot in AP English.  I think that after the summer and first few days of school I already look at literature in a completely different way.  I really enjoyed The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing by Michael Harvey.  The most influential idea in this book to me was that pompous writing with big fancy words and formal structure does not always mean that it is good writing.  Through the summer work I have realized that ideas are the most important piece of literature.  Ideas are the backbone that words cannot hide but instead are used to aide the presenting of ideas.  How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster showed me how to read and understand literature better.  I think this book showed me that the “what” of literature is not important unless you understand how it relates to the story itself.  In the past I have always been taught to figure out the “what” of literature but I never understood its relevance.  The power-points and this story have made me realize that the “what” (diction, syntax, symbols, etc.) are there to aid in the understanding of the big picture.  The terms test we took on September 7th (Friday) made me realize that it is not enough to just know the definitions of terms but you need to know how to identify them in the text.  Overall I think I have learned more in AP English so far than my other three years of high school english combined.

Me Talk Pretty One Day

When I first saw the title of the essay, “Me Talk Pretty One Day”, I was unsure what to think.  The title drew my attention and made me want to know what the essay was about.  At first I thought that it would be written by someone who couldn’t speak English fluently and I expected it to be written in broken English.   To my pleasant surprise I thought that the essay was a masterpiece.  It held my interest throughout and included many elements of The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing by Michael Harvey.   His essay flowed well, his ideas were clear and concise, and he used punctuation very well.

     David Sedaris’ “Me Talk Pretty One Day” is an informal essay that gets the point across clearly.  He did not jam his essay with big words to make himself sound smarter like most college kids do but instead he used the proper word choice to communicate his ideas effectively.  In The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing Michael Harvey says, “Concision leaves us fewer words to hide behind”. (1)  When you cut out all the filler your ideas are much easier to read and understand however if your ideas are weak that will also show easier.  Sedaris had very strong ideas and he did not add in unnecessary words and filler to hide them.  The product was a clear and concise essay that is easy and entertaining to read.   

     I thought Sedaris did a great job following Harvey’s rules for punctuation.  In his book, The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing, Harvey says, “Indirect questions have their uses, but direct questions are also legitimate and can be remarkably effective in formal writing.” (44)  Sedaris did a good job using a direct question when he says, “Why refer to Lady Crack Pipe or Good Sir Dishrag when these things could never live up to all that their sex implied?” (13)  Another success was Sedaris’ use of dashes.  A good example of this is when he said, “I absorbed as much of her abuse as I could understand, thinking – but not saying – that I find it ridiculous to assign a gender to an inanimate object which is incapable of disrobing and making an occasional fool of itself.”  He uses the pair of dashes to stray away from the normal flow of the paragraph.   

     Sedaris’ essay is an easy, entertaining read as it is very clear and concise but also because he uses many of the techniques mentioned in the third chapter of The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing about flow.  He used many pronouns, punchlines, and introductory clauses to create a flow that Michael Harvey would surely be proud of.  “Me Talk Pretty One Day” is a piece of comedic and literary genius.  David Sedaris did an outstanding job of using punch lines to make the story interesting.  My favorite punch line of his is when he says, “The teacher forged on, and we learned that Carlos, the Argentine bandonion player, loved wine, music, and, in his words, ‘making sex with the womans of the world.’” (12)  Harvey said that punch lines can make it easier to take in large amounts of information without feeling swamped by it.  Sedaris also used introductory clauses such as, “At the age of 41” (11), and “While the optimist struggled to defend himself”.  In Harvey’s words introductory clauses “make room for contextual information, so that by the time you reach your main point your reader gets it.”  This helped to make Sedaris’ essay even clearer, easier, and more interesting to read. 

     It is very unlikely that David Sedaris ever read Michael Harvey’s book The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing, his essay “Me Talk Pretty One Day” does a great job of applying Harvey’s techniques.   David Sedaris wrote an essay that was smart without writing in the collegiate pompous style that Harvey talks about.  I think Harvey would consider this essay a model essay that all writers -not only in college- should try to emulate.

My Five Poetry Goals

My five poetry goals are: 

     

1.) To have the patience to strategically reread each poem multiple times

2.) To be able to identify the different types of poems 

3.) To be able to identify the speaker in the poem

4.) To be able to identify the purpose and main themes that characterize a poem 

5.) To be able to identify the symbolism within poetry 

These poems were denser and harder to understand than most poems I am used to reading.  If I follow my five goals I think I will be able to understand poetry much better.  The Peterson’s AP poetry section mentioned several times how key it  is to reread each poem several times (they suggested four) so my first goal is to reread each piece of poetry I have to read several times to uncover deeper meanings within. My second goal is to be able to identify amongst the different types/forms of poetry.  As I was answering some of the practice problems I realized that I don’t know my forms of poetry very well and it was difficult to identify what was what for me.  My third goal is to be able to identify who is speaking in the poem.  I noticed when they asked who was speaking during the Sonnet 55 practice problems I could not identify who the speaker was and I had to guess.  I also struggled to identify the speaker as I read The Terrorist, He Watches  for the forum posts.  Learning how to identify the speaker will take some practice as it is not basic memorization like identifying the different types of poems but I think that the skill will come as I work more with poetry.  Usually one of the question about a poem is why it was written, or the themes in a poem.  My fourth goal is to be able to identify the purpose and main themes that characterize a poem or why it was written.  I usually struggle with this as I don’t usually understand who is speaking and because of complex symbolism used that I can’t recognize.  My fifth goal is to be able to recognize and understand the symbolism used in poetry.  I think that My third, fourth, and fifth goals are all interlaced and as I become better at one skill it will make it will help me with the other weaknesses I have.  I think that these skills will take time to acquire but I think if I keep these goals in mind as I read poetry it will become easier and easier each time I analyze another poem.

Peterson's Diagnostic Exam

     The diagnostic test was not as daunting as I had first thought it would be. One thing that surprised me about the diagnostic test was that I did not feel rushed taking it.  Although the passages were quite difficult to understand I ended up getting the majority of the questions right!  To me the structure was quite similar to the ACT’s reading section, however the pieces of literature in the diagnostic test were denser and tougher to interpret.  The prose was fairly easy to understand the first time I read through it but the poetry was a completely different story.  I had to read the poems multiple times just to grasp the basic ideas behind them and answer the questions but I still did not feel like I ever truly understood them.  I noticed that because the poems were short I could reread them over and over and still finish with plenty of time to spare.  One thing I struggled with was understanding the complex vocabulary used in both the questions and the passages.  Another difficult thing for me was identifying the types of poetry used.  Miraculously I managed to get those questions right using the process of elimination but it is definitely a skill that needs a lot of work.  Overall I have many things I need to improve on but taking this diagnostic test really boosted my confidence that I can conquer the AP English Literature and Composition Exam!