Multiple Choice Questions

One thing I take strongly take from this course is the multiple choice question from our practice books.It's prep that I need for the ap exam. I always found literature to be subjective, but this course has proven otherwise and I'm so glad that I've realized that. I always thought that there were multiple connotations that I could take from one poem, but I've been proven wrong on multiple instances. The real struggle is finding ways to figure out the exact meaning of a poem. Thankfully, we've been working on that all through out the year.

Discussions.

Our in class discussions are something I still need work on. I feel kind of dumb founded because I never make the conclusions that some of my classmates do. It's amazing how many ideas get sprawled from one question, and how easy it is to get off on a tangent. I try to contribute to the conversation as much as I can, but I can't seem to find as much to say as everyone else does. It's almost contradicting in a sense because my annotations are deep, but in actual words I can't speak. I guess I'm a stronger write than I am a speaker, and that's something I've learned from our discussions. 

Annotations.

I've annotated nearly 4 books this year and am onto my fifth, and man am I proud! It took a lot of patience and energy to analyze concepts that I'm not ordained to. I can confidently say that my work has paid off. I've never delved so deeply into books as I have this year. My friends have always told me I tend to over analyze people, so I expended that energy into the books we've read this year. Although it was frustrating to find deeper connotations in some of our works, I'm glad that I was forced to do it. It even taught me how to manage my time. I never crammed to get my annotations done as some other people may have done, I always created a time line for myself and stayed on task. 

Writing.

This course has taught me how to write. I've learned how to tackle the main idea of a prompt, the techniques I need, and how to construct my writing. I didn't know how to effectively present my ideas before I took this course, no matter if it was an essay, freestyle, plainstyle, or an analysis of a book. Knowing how to write and convince my audience of an argument is critical in life, no matter what career I may pursue. It took me a while to realize how to support my claim, or how to even figure out what the prompt was asking but after months into this year, I think I can confidently say that I have more of an idea about how to present my topics. I think that hardest part was allowing to let my work flow in a sequential manner. It's a challenge that I have improved on. 

Open Prompt Revised: Lord Of The Flies

 1976. The conflict created when the will of an individual opposes the will of the majority is the recurring theme of many novels, plays, and essays. Select the work of an essayist who is in opposition to his or her society; or from a work of recognized literary merit, select a fictional character who is in opposition to his or her society. In a critical essay, analyze the conflict and discuss the moral and ethical implications for both the individual and the society. Do not summarize the plot or action of the work you choose.

               Often times in Literature, a character must be in opposition to society in order to do what is right.  In Lord of the Flies, Ralph is a character of innocence that has to face the harshes of society that his opponent Jack creates on the island. 

                When the boys land on the island alone, they create a unity amongst each other and agree to cooperate in order to be rescued. When Jack steps up to claim power, the boys blindly follow in his footsteps and do as they are told. However, Ralph is in a conflict with the way Jack runs the island with his morals and guidelines. Jack acts like a savage; he believes that hunting pigs, doing dances around a fire and talking to dead creatures will allow them to be rescued. Ralph is startled by Jack’s immaturity and refuses to listen to his orders. 

 Ralph wants order. He wants people to be assigned a specific job and work together equally amongst each other. However, Jack wants to show that his clan is the best, and that the hunters should have more respect due to the fact that they provide food to the other boys. When the boys go hunting, Jack kills a pig.  This act of killing leads him to believe that he is powerful and has the right to kill anyone who is in opposition to him. Each character slowly but surely loses their innocence except Ralph and his friend Piggy who can truly see the beast that is manifested within everyone.

                Ralph’s rebellion towards the rest of the uncivilized society on the island shows how he morally makes right decisions and turns away from immature actions. His morality and faith come into question when Jack challenges him to become savage-like. Although Ralph is tempted, he turns away and continues to control the beast that lives within him as he slowly watches his peers become corrupted.

Open Prompt Revised: The American Dream

1993. "The true test of comedy is that it shall awaken thoughtful laughter." Choose a novel, play, or long poem in which a scene or character awakens "thoughtful laughter" in the reader. Write an essay in which you show why this laughter is "thoughtful" and how it contributes to the meaning of the work.

A true piece of comedy is said to evoke "thoughtful laughter" which causes one to think intellectually about a joke or subject. In "The American Dream", Edward Albee promotes thoughtful laughter by presenting scenarios where intellectual thought must be applied. Albee uses techniques such as tone and diction to show how the manipulation of power and rebelling against societal norms creates humor.

 Mommy is proven to be masculine; she is given more power than Daddy. The idea that women have more power than men shows a "backward society", which contrasts the norm that men have more authority than women. This technique promotes laughter when  Mommy forces daddy to laugh at her jokes or when she forces Daddy to answer the door. When Daddy is hesitating to answering the door, Mommy states "You're indecisive, you're a woman" ( Albee 18), this shows that not only is Mommy aware of the lack of coherent thought that women possess, but also that Daddy's inability to be more masculine is a flaw in his character. It is evident that Mommy is strong and firm in her actions, and Daddy is weak and has no control in his. After observing the relationship Mommy and Daddy foster, the audience can clearly see how the manipulation of power promotes laughter.

Mommy and Daddy commonly address each other in a child-like tone. When Mommy goes shopping and ends up buying the same hat twice just to feel that she bought a "beige colored hat" rather than a "wheat colored hat", Daddy applauds at her immature behavior when she throws a fit in the store. This promotes thoughtful laughter because the audience has to think about how oblivious Mommy behaves in public and how Daddy supports it. In this sense, Mommy is once again given more power. 

Albee uses diction and tone to show how Mommy is given more power than Daddy. Through a series of events that contrast to idealistic values, he promote "thoughtful laughter" that displays the manipulation of power in a backwards society. 

Open Prompt Revised: Death of A Salesman

2007. In many works of literature, past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present activities, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or play in which a character must contend with some aspect of the past, either personal or societal. Then write an essay in which you show how the character's relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

            Often times in literature, a character’s attitude is influenced by their past and can be expressed likewise in their current attitude. In Arthur Miller’s Death of A Salesman, Willy’s confidence and actions are derived from his past, even though he is currently a failure. Miller claims that Willy's ego comes from his brother's words of wisdom and his past successes as a salesman. 

            Willy used to sleep with receptionists in order for big businesses to buy from him and allow his business to flourish. This was his money making tactic that boosted his self esteem. As he aged over time, his appearance did also. His business started to diminish when less women were willing to sleep with him, this eventually led to his failure. Although he cannot support himself like he used to, his mind is always set in the past, so he still believes that he is just as successful as he used to be.  

            Willy’s deceased brother Ben is a successful man who metaphorically went into the “jungle”  and  became rich. He took a leap into the world of opportunities and found himself a wealthy living. Willy thus takes Ben’s advice and tries to think what Ben would do in certain circumstances. He believes that in order to be successful, one must adhere to examples of a superior power in order to lead their own lives. Ben’s past conversation with Willy still run through Willy’s mind as if he were still alive. Willy still has hope, even though time has significantly passed. 

            Willy’s attitude is not influenced by his failure, but rather his past successes. This allows for him to maintain a positive outlook on life. 

Open Prompt Revised: The Road Not Taken

Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken"  is about the struggles of making decisions. The last 2 lines of the poem "I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." shows the outcomes of the decisions made and this effectively claims that the "road less traveled" is actually the better decision to be made. 

The last 2 lines of the poem claims that the decision the author made on which road to travel was an obstacle, but he was glad that he took the one less traveled by. In the first stanza, the author regrets that he was unable to travel both roads, and "stared" down both paths, deciding which one would have a better outcome. This stanza is metaphorical for when one has to look at both sides that are presented to him or her and acknowledge which one would have a better outcome.  

These last two lines are effective because it claims that the "road less traveled by" is the decision that is less favorable but, "...that has made all the difference." meaning that it is more beneficial. The traveler saw "two roads diverged in a yellow wood" but had taken time to contemplate which one was better.This describes when one is portrays the pros versus the cons in a decision. Thus, it is effective because it shows how the author conclusively was led to the road less traveled, and how it impacted him. 

The "Road Not Taken" is symbolic for the the tough decisions that people have to make in life, and analyzes the decision making process and how the outcome is effective because it is least favorable.