Open prompt #3 revision

1987. Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or in traditions. Choose such a novel or play and note briefly the particular attitudes or traditions that the author apparently wishes to modify. Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence the reader's or audience's views. Avoid plot summary.

     In Edward Albee's play "The American Dream", the audience looks in on Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma while they struggle through a simple meeting with a young man, and Mrs Barker, a local adoption agent. While the play seems to be absurd and confusing, upon analysis, it is clear that Albee is showing us the absurdity of american social norms of consumerism and conformity during the 1950s. By emphasizing and exaggerating the culture in addition to having childish protagonists, Albee tells us to abandon the ways of the 50s and accept a new less rigid society.

     Albee uses exaggeration throughout his play to show the absurdity of Mommy and Daddy's society. The most prominent example of this is when mommy proudly makes a scene in order to have her "wheat colored" hat replaced with a " Beige colored" hat. Though the idea of making a scene about a hat who's color is the same regardless of if it is called beige or wheat is in itself ridiculous. The more important fact is that mommy opted to have the hat replaced upon insistence by the head of her women's club that her new hat was wheat rather than the beige she thought she had purchased. This is an exaggerated form of conformity that Albee uses to show the absurdity of 1950s culture which he finds corrupt.

     One of the most prominent themes throughout the play is Mommy and Daddy's childish behavior. The first example of this is that Mommy, Daddy and Grandma all call each other Mommy, Daddy and Grandma respectively. By having his characters communicate as though they were children addressing an adult, Albee shows their childish nature. This nature transfers to everything they do especially when it pertains to greed. The characters also are very egocentric. the characters show that they have a childlike desire for all things considered to be important by society. Albee uses this nature to compare Mommy and Daddy's greed to the consumerist society of the 1950s in which individuals are encouraged to buy without thinking.
    By using different techniques in "The American Dream", Edward Albee thoroughly convinces audiences of his dissatisfaction with the conformist, consumerist culture of the 1950's

Open prompts #4 revision

1970. Choose a character from a novel or play of recognized literary merit and write an essay in which you (a) briefly describe the standards of the fictional society in which the character exists and (b) show how the character is affected by and responds to those standards. In your essay do not merely summarize the plot.

    Many novels revolve around a fictional societies and characters roles within them. In "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", the protagonist Huck Finn, helps a slave escape on board a raft headed down the Mississippi. Along the way, Huck develops new ideas about what society requires of him and weather he agrees with it or not.

    In the novel, Huck starts in a small town in Missouri. In this town, like much of the south during the 1800's, slavery is common practice and the law of the land lies in the bible. As Huck sets out on his journey he passes through a series of different towns in which he is considered an outlaw for assisting a slave in escape. Societies in the book see Huck not only as an outlaw, but a heathen who must be reeducated and reconditioned into a good christian citizen. The main goal of Huck's society is to ensure and reinforce christian values and keep race relations to nothing more than master and slave.

   For Huck, the prospect of being assimilated into his racist, ultra religious society is dreadful. Despite these feelings, Huck struggles to overcome certain boundaries such as race relations which have been ingrained in his mind since birth. These conflicting feelings lead Huck into many moral conundrums. One such event is the final escape of Jim, Huck and Tom from the Phelp's farm where Jim is being held captive. During this episode, Huck makes up his mind after fierce debating, that he will save Jim. Though this might seem like the logical thing to do for us, it is a big step for Huck. This choice directly defies the common practice of his society and shows us that Huck is willing to choose what he believes to be morally correct over the expectations of Society.

   In the end, Huck Finn overcomes societal norms in order to become what he feels is a morally superior person. By defying what his society, Huck takes a great step towards understanding and tolerance in his life.

Revision of Open prompt #1

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.

    Leslie Silko's novel Ceremony is about  Tayo, a troubled WWII veteran who returns home where he must overcome his issues. One of the main instigators of Tayo's troubles throughout the book is a full blood Laguna named Emo. Though he is not always directly present, he is an embodiment of the witchery that is plaguing Tayo until he completes his ceremony.

     The first time we meet Emo, he is drunk and belligerent. In this case, Emo represents the evil threat that alcohol presents to the Laguna culture. By personifying the alcoholism in the Laguna society, we as readers are able to adopt a more sincere understanding of the effects alcoholism is having on the Laguna people. Silko also uses Emo in order to show on an individual level how alcohol is changing the veterans and the society. This makes the whole issue of alcohol in the book much more personal and impactful.

       Emo is also a racist. He hates all whites and also anyone who is not full Laguna, such as Tayo. Silko uses this quality of Emo to show just how destructive and horrible racism and inter tribal hatred is. By showing us first hand the abuse that Tayo takes from Emo on account of his race, silko makes the issue have a more direct effect on the story and on the reader. While Silko could have just spoken about how awful the racism towards natives was, she instead chose to show the racism from a  personal perspective. Watching Emo abuse Tayo because of race makes the issue much more personal and much more effective as a tool for showing readers the racism towards Native Americans of the time.

     The final evil quality that Silko portrays through Emo is violence. While the effect the war had on the different characters varies, it is only Emo who seems mostly unaffected by the war. Tayo for instance struggles with the idea that he may have killed a Japanese soldier which sends him into bouts of depression. Emo even carries around a bag of human teeth that he captured as trophies. When Silko presents Emo like this, the reader has little option but to see him as a blood thirsty savage. Emo's affection towards violence makes Emo even more evil and despicable.  

   By presenting Emo in the way she does, Silko makes him seem extraordinarily evil. This helps the reader to see Tayo's point of view and get a better understanding of Tayo's story and struggle. Without making Emo into the madman he seems to be, the book but be much less and seem all together less sincere.

Synthesis #4

Another important task that we practiced frequently was writing Closed readings. The main purpose of these was to practice working with DIDLS and analyzing a piece of literature. We were instructed to choose a article or story each time and then break it down, paying close attention to the use of DIDLS as a means of establishing a well thought out analysis of the piece. Over the course of the 1st semester, we completed 3 of these. This was one of my favorite exercises because not only did it help me a great deal with understanding and applying DIDLS, but it also gave me a chance to read some very interesting material from an variety of authors. Most importantly, the closed reading helped train me to identify DIDLS, and otehr themes in pieces of literature, which will come in handy come the AP test in May.

Synthesis #3

We have spent a great deal of time this year working on preparing for the AP test, primarily with Open Prompt Essays. These are essays in which the reader is given a question and asked to respond using a work of literature as evidence. In order to do this we are not only asked to recall a previously read text, but also to answer the question of meaning. Luckily we have been taught of DIDLS, which gives us a means to analyze or recall a work of literature in a  way that will help us make a point or argument. We have also been taught TAP, an acronym that stands for Thesis answers prompt. This is to remind us that our thesis statement should answer the prompt directly, and serves to help us keep our essay on track and to the point. Since the Open prompt is what we will encounter on the AP Exam, we have spent the majority of our writing time on them. I feel as though i have a decent grasp on them, but certainly need a great deal of polishing.

Synthesis #2

One of the tools we have used throughout the year int he classroom is open discussion. This is very important because it not only stimulates new thoughts, but also forces communication int he classroom as well as introducing us to a plethora of new or revisited ideas. I really enjoy the discussions because it allows us to come up with theories on the text and explore the meaning as a class and on a personal level. It is also intresting because oftentimes, what one person gets from a text is very different from the next, and can tell us a lot about a person based on their comprehension and perceived meaning of a text. With each different book, we are forced to consider new, different dynamics than what we had to use for the last. This was particularly true with regards to Ceremony. This is because it was based on an entirely different set of symbols, language, and ideas. it is interesting the way we must change our comprehension of a book based on details like the era, location and background of the author. Everything adds its own dynamic to the equation.

Synthesis #1

DIDLS
Diction- Word choice
Imagery- Descriptive language used to render an image in the mind.
Details- Details used to enrich a text and add additional information.
Language-How the author uses language. Includes Dialect, literal language, formality among other things.
Syntax- The formation of a sentence, word order. Can be used to convey meaning or significance. Most difficult part of DIDLS

This Acronym is used to remind us of important aspects of a piece of literature, and forms the basic foundation for analyzing a piece of literature. In particular is is used to answer the question "How does the Author use techniques to create meaning". This question is the basis for almost all analysis of any work of literature.