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!