Open Prompt-Question 3 2003
Tragic Figures as Instruments of the Suffering of Others
Student LLLL:
For the limited amount of time provided this student responded pretty, I feel, articulately. Then again, they did receive a 9. He/She seemed well educated in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby enough to be able to piece through the events to consider Jay Gatsby's moments of personal, inner-personal, and societal tragedy. Not only did this student fill this essay with plenty of well chosen details(ex.the fall of Gatsby to the fall of Roaring 20's) to show these forms of tragedy, they also used strong diction to add intelligence to his/her essay.Words, for example being, dichotomy, subsequent, decadence, malicious In addition to the aforementioned, the sentence structuring incorporated a strong use of syntax, especially in the longer sentences where he/she worked with punctuation to add a flow. The use of commas benefited by separating out the details. An example of a long sentence being: "At the very end of the novel, Nick explains how Gatsby 'believed in the green light,' or the happier future mankind strives for , though we are 'boats against the current born back to the past'." And so I'm led think, wow. As the readers comment, "The analysis is provided with insight and stylistic flair."
Student C:
Not as creative. Plain language. Less developed. And really really hard to read. This student wrote about the tragedy of King Lear befallen upon him by pride, sense of duty, and vanity. The student did well in briefly introducing the less than perfect family dynamics between King Lear and his three daughters, done simply by explaining what befell upon King Lear and his daughters because of pride, duty, and vanity. The first body paragraph and the smaller second summarizes the plot but unfortunately remains focused only on how pride and suffering brought destruction to King Lear and other influential characters. The last body paragraph is on King Lear's vanity. To note, the flaw rests in that this student didn't identify how all three work in an event. They are separate from each other in this essay, and although I haven't read about King Lear's tragedy, I'm sure all three must play into the same events. Reading this essay makes me feel like I'm not learning anything new. For example, when this student is analyzing how out of all three of his daughters, Cordelia rejects the opportunity to flatter her dad because of some inheritance, saying that King Lear's pride is broken. Yeah, his pride is wounded. What else is new?
Student FF:
The "thesis" is atrocious. Gosh, I should stop judging, but really, "Ken Kelsey's novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest portrays Patrick Randal McMurphy's as a tragic hero. But he is not the only one that suffers-his actions result in the suffering of others as well." And thats it folks. That's the introductory paragraph. I guess it's up to the reader to figure out why this McMurphy is a tragic hero. Or one could read on...because the writer believes it's McMurphy's inability to conform. In regards to the analysis, the majority of this essay is spent describing the events that transpired in this novel, all in the effort to show how McMurphy brings upon the suffering of others. I feel like this student should have elaborated on McMurphy's inability to conform instead of escaping with, "McMurphy would not conform to the hospital society that Ratched controlled & in the end he was met w/ destruction." Not so sure about the short hand bit, but do you see what I mean? And then this student brings up "The Combine" all of a sudden, which by the way was like, uhh where did this come from? Instead of explaining what "The Combine" is in the beginning, the writer surprises his readers, indicating that he/she either didn't really understand how to include "The Combine" or just plain didn't t know how to organize his/her essay in that moment. I enjoy the reader's comments about McMurphy's infliction of suffering on others and how this writer, "...neglects to explore the possibility that McMurphy also brought these characters joy." I never thought of that. But, I have to agree. McMurphy must have had fun with these characters too. So then is he really tragic?
Friday, November 15, 2013
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Another Day Another Summary
Death of A Salesman: Arthur Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005)
- American playwright and essayist influential in the American theatre. In his early life, Miller majored in journalism at the University of Michigan before switching to English. After this, Miller studied playwriting. He received numerous awards for his well-known plays: The Crucible, All My Sons, A View From the Bridge, etc. His play Death of a Salesman, included, received a handful of awards, one being the Pulitzer Prize for Drama(Wikipedia...yeah I know, but could they have seriously oops'd a biography?).
Significant Characters:
Willy Loman-Main character considered to be by critics a representation of the "Tragic Hero" He is hopeless without knowing that he is hopeless. He is a salesman who works to sell the products of his company, but ultimately , one learns that the product Willy is selling is himself. Willy is blatantly delusional, evidenced by his determination to be well-liked(no one really likes him). And as overworked as he is, he still wants to succeed and climb the social ladder from the lower-class life he has been living. Due to the unfortunate decisions Willy made in the past, he tends to fixate on the past and the present frequently throughout the play.
Linda- Married to Willy. Comes off as a weak and submissive female, at times by allowing Willy to out speak her during certain occasions of physical and verbal abuse. Although she know Willy has attempted to kill himself and has proof with the rubber tube, Linda does nothing more than fret to her sons about Willy's deteriorating state by asking them to try harder with their father. Linda is unaware that Willy had an affair with the Blond Woman and so, thinks the best for her. She adores him and she appreciates the hard work he has put forth despite their shabby social standings. Concluding in a way, Linda doesn't think Willy needs to change, to be more like his brother Ben.
Biff'- Willy's oldest son, who in the past is depicted as the popular and muscular "Hercules"(although he struggled in academics). Biff had a lot going for him and Willy on more than one occasion boasted with pride about his son, the football star. Unfortunately, Biff experienced a loss of innocence when he witnessed his father's infidelity, which resulted in his dislike of the father he had thought so highly of. After this revelation, Biff enters a pitiful state. He doesn't believe in himself. He is not a businessman because he flits from one job to the next and believes that he will never amount to anything.
Happy- Willy's youngest son who seems to have no sense of remorse. His focus remains largely on the women he sleeps with, even if they are engaged. One might feel pity for Happy because he is depicted as the less desired son, but ,Happy cares little about the well-beings of others, especially that of his father. This Loman would rather think that everything is fine and dandy, but this doesn't overshadow the fact that he disrespectfully finds his father embarrassing. Lastly, Happy is confident and some what of a success.
Uncle Ben-Willy's wealthy, older and confident brother.Although,Ben is deceased, Willy is the only character capable of conversing with him.Uncle Ben walked into the African jungle at the age of seventeen and walked out at the age of twenty-one a rich man after discovering diamond minds. Ben has been an absent brother, but nonetheless, a brother who Willy looks up to and seeks advice from.
A Look at Plot:
Setting-Mainly Willy Loman's house, which is in some places open/transparent without ceilings or walls. The house is surrounded by apartments and towing buildings. Behind the fence of the house resides a cemetery . Action also takes place in the yard and the places Will visits, mainly in New York and Boston.
Willy Loman is a struggling salesman who wants nothing more than to be "well-liked". He strives to be an important figure and hopes to die the death of a salesman. As a salesperson, Willy is an overworked individual who comes home exhausted from his travels.When he arrives home early from his trip at the start of the play, his wife Linda encourages him to ask his boss Howard Wagner for a job at the New York office, which he slowly finds himself agreeing to. A midst his job situation Willy is dealing with his feelings toward his "no good for nothing son", Biff, who in the past had a lot going for him.On a similar note, Biff harbors negative feelings toward his father and when his mother, Linda tells him and his brother that Willy has been trying to commit suicide, through his driving and the rubber tube, Biff is angered and believes his father to be a fake.
Willy also struggles with reality. He tends to drift into the past when he is struggling with how to be a success or when he is trying to figure out what went wrong with him and his son. The past displays happier moments between the Loman family-laughing together or preparing to head off to one of Biff's football games. Uncle Ben is also involved in these memories. As Willy's older successful brother, Willy seeks Ben out for advice. Willy wants to do well. To teach his sons the right things. Unfortunately, the past also displays the affair Willy had with The Woman.
Back in the present Biff is preparing to ask Bill Oliver for a loan and Willy is caught in his own request of asking Howard Wagner for a better position. Neither characters receive what they came looking for, despite the promises they both believed would work in their favor, and as a result, they both come face to face with reality. Later at the restaurant Biff and Happy discuss Biff's failure/ Biff's revelation that he never wanted to be a businessman. Willy arrives thinking that his son's will have happy news to share with him to numb the fact that he is now jobless. They don't have much to offer Willy and they leave him at the restaurant. Willy finds himself in the bathroom and remembers the business trip where he was with The Woman. Biff enters the hotel room wanting his father to fix the problem of him failing math, but experiences a loss of innocence when he discovers the women with his father.
Later in the night Willy finds his way home, rambling about wanting to plant seeds. He and Biff have an argument. Linda is disappointed that her sons left their father, and voices her desire for wanting Biff to leave. As Biff and Willy argue about there not being a need to be "well-liked", Biff begs Willy to let him go, and cries while he does so. Willy is shocked and delighted to know that his son loves him. While the rest of his family heads to bed, Willy is content to go. He kills himself in order to be able to support his family in his death. At his funeral, only his family, Charley, and Bernard are present(not the death of a salesman). Linda cries over his grave and tells him that the mortgage had been paid off.
Style and Such:
The point of view is told through the dialogue of the characters in this play. Miller's style flows in a comprehensible way with the use in which he encompasses the literary techniques. With his use of diction he relies heavily on the colloquial style, although some words may be taken as informal.This allows for his characters to appear real and honest with their everyday interactions. Syntax makes way for shorter sentences to allow Miller's points to get across. Imagery largely centers around the setting where it describes the Loman house and character makeups. Tone of course shifts from jovial to bitter, depending on the scene. When Willy is caught in the past the memories with his family are tender, but with The Woman and Biff the tone is desperate and ashamed. In the present scenes the tone is dark because the characters have so much hope in something or other and they tend to become disappointed and outraged.
Symbols:
Gaps-The gaps in the house symbolize Willy's entrance into the past and the state of his family as they interact with those gaps. The use of these gaps portray the worn state of the character. As a family, they are not perfect and the gaps indicate a structure(the family) that is not whole.
Seeds-When planted and watered seeds can grow and grow and grow. Willy's life is a mess and he wants a rebirth of some kind, but everything he tries to control does not grow for him. His failure in his sons. His marriage. His job. Willy in the end is unable to sprout that plant and so the seeds symbolize his failure to grow and learn from his mistakes.
Stockings-Symbolize Willy's infidelity. He buys his mistress stockings but his own wife takes the time to mend hers. The presence of Linda's stockings remind Willy of his straying and leads him to anger/shame.
The Tape Recorder-Ultimately establishes Willy's confrontation with reality. The recorder bears the truth and cannot alter the past no matter how much Willy wants to alter his.
Quotes:
In the moments before his "sacrifice" Willy is about to make a fatal decision when Ben says "It's dark there, but full of diamonds"(135). This quote is important because people have to be willing to take risks. These chances and acts of courage may be detrimental but the ending result may come out better than they had ever dreamed it to be.Full of diamonds.
In Biff's confrontation with Willy, in which Biff explains himself for taking the pen and his revelation with life Biff says, "I saw the thing that I love in this world. The work and the food and time to sit and smoke. And then I looked at the pen and said to myself, what the hell am I grabbing this for? Why am I trying to become what I don't want to be? What am I doing in this office, making a contemptuous fool of myself, when all I want is out of there, waiting for the minute I say I know who I am..."(132). There is an important message in this quote because some people who aim for success pretend to be something they're not. They commit themselves to this ideal being which as a result hides their true nature. Biff's confidence in his less than successful position teaches the audience that image is not everything. Be the true you.
Theme:
*All thanks to Mary E.
Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman suggests that valuing words instead of actions leads to a delusional perception of one's conventional success; this delusion leads to a deterioration of family and one's self.
Style/Plot-The theme is dominant throughout the events that occur in this play, which are supported through diction and syntax.The colloquial diction and the short sentences are underlined and done in a way as to allow the reader to focus on the message and the circumstances where Willy contradicts himself and behaves hypocritically. Willy pumps encouragement and praise into Biff causing Biff to walk around like a mighty Hercules. But this delusion shatters after Biff witnesses the horror of his father's affair, leading Biff to then question his father's words and importantly himself.Willy and Biff rely also on the mere promises of people who had an influence over them in their past memories. The promises of these people, Howard's father and Bill Oliver's held no real weight, and yet, both Biff and Willy expect success from theses promises. And so when they do realize that promises are nothing but words to placate an individual for a time, they are broken and make decisions that one should find depressing. Biff has negative thoughts while Willy even to the end values words and doesn't fully comprehend the emotions of Biff's (the broken man) actions, and perceives the tears as love which then allows Willy to be comfortable with the idea of killing himself. The valuing of words doesn't affect only these two characters though. Linda believes so much in Willy's words that when he kills himself, she's at a loss for words because he was a success to her and in her contentment she allowed the man to go.
Title-Willy had this idea that he was "well-liked" and when he tells Howard about the death of a salesman, one is aware that Willy expects himself to have people flocking at his own funeral. The situation is ironic because hardly anyone is at his funeral and the title helps to create the realization that words are words. You can expect one outcome and receive another, one where a quote such as Willy's "They don't even know me any more"(81) occurs.Yes, Willy died and indeed, he was a salesman. One might think they're reading about his death alone but there's so much more meaning wrapped within the title, the meaning? Well, words do not speak over actions and for Willy the result was the real death of a salesman.
Symbolism-Willy boasts to his family and his acquaintances about being a fine man but his actions with The Woman caused conflict to occur in his family and led to the deterioration of their family dynamics.Because Willy was acting through this image and his actions did not add up,his life fell through, resulting in all the success he dreamed he had and would have more of to not prosper in the seeds that he was trying to grow. The theme is also important in the tape recorder because Willy realizes that he cannot alter his past actions, which hold the most importance because if he had stronger values other than being socially wanted he may have been a success. And despite his changing words to create the lie that he's "well-liked" along with the words and actions of others, his lack of success is clear to him because what is in the past and in the present is permanent. His world is shattering and there's nothing he can do about it.
- American playwright and essayist influential in the American theatre. In his early life, Miller majored in journalism at the University of Michigan before switching to English. After this, Miller studied playwriting. He received numerous awards for his well-known plays: The Crucible, All My Sons, A View From the Bridge, etc. His play Death of a Salesman, included, received a handful of awards, one being the Pulitzer Prize for Drama(Wikipedia...yeah I know, but could they have seriously oops'd a biography?).
Significant Characters:
Willy Loman-Main character considered to be by critics a representation of the "Tragic Hero" He is hopeless without knowing that he is hopeless. He is a salesman who works to sell the products of his company, but ultimately , one learns that the product Willy is selling is himself. Willy is blatantly delusional, evidenced by his determination to be well-liked(no one really likes him). And as overworked as he is, he still wants to succeed and climb the social ladder from the lower-class life he has been living. Due to the unfortunate decisions Willy made in the past, he tends to fixate on the past and the present frequently throughout the play.
Linda- Married to Willy. Comes off as a weak and submissive female, at times by allowing Willy to out speak her during certain occasions of physical and verbal abuse. Although she know Willy has attempted to kill himself and has proof with the rubber tube, Linda does nothing more than fret to her sons about Willy's deteriorating state by asking them to try harder with their father. Linda is unaware that Willy had an affair with the Blond Woman and so, thinks the best for her. She adores him and she appreciates the hard work he has put forth despite their shabby social standings. Concluding in a way, Linda doesn't think Willy needs to change, to be more like his brother Ben.
Biff'- Willy's oldest son, who in the past is depicted as the popular and muscular "Hercules"(although he struggled in academics). Biff had a lot going for him and Willy on more than one occasion boasted with pride about his son, the football star. Unfortunately, Biff experienced a loss of innocence when he witnessed his father's infidelity, which resulted in his dislike of the father he had thought so highly of. After this revelation, Biff enters a pitiful state. He doesn't believe in himself. He is not a businessman because he flits from one job to the next and believes that he will never amount to anything.
Happy- Willy's youngest son who seems to have no sense of remorse. His focus remains largely on the women he sleeps with, even if they are engaged. One might feel pity for Happy because he is depicted as the less desired son, but ,Happy cares little about the well-beings of others, especially that of his father. This Loman would rather think that everything is fine and dandy, but this doesn't overshadow the fact that he disrespectfully finds his father embarrassing. Lastly, Happy is confident and some what of a success.
Uncle Ben-Willy's wealthy, older and confident brother.Although,Ben is deceased, Willy is the only character capable of conversing with him.Uncle Ben walked into the African jungle at the age of seventeen and walked out at the age of twenty-one a rich man after discovering diamond minds. Ben has been an absent brother, but nonetheless, a brother who Willy looks up to and seeks advice from.
A Look at Plot:
Setting-Mainly Willy Loman's house, which is in some places open/transparent without ceilings or walls. The house is surrounded by apartments and towing buildings. Behind the fence of the house resides a cemetery . Action also takes place in the yard and the places Will visits, mainly in New York and Boston.
Willy Loman is a struggling salesman who wants nothing more than to be "well-liked". He strives to be an important figure and hopes to die the death of a salesman. As a salesperson, Willy is an overworked individual who comes home exhausted from his travels.When he arrives home early from his trip at the start of the play, his wife Linda encourages him to ask his boss Howard Wagner for a job at the New York office, which he slowly finds himself agreeing to. A midst his job situation Willy is dealing with his feelings toward his "no good for nothing son", Biff, who in the past had a lot going for him.On a similar note, Biff harbors negative feelings toward his father and when his mother, Linda tells him and his brother that Willy has been trying to commit suicide, through his driving and the rubber tube, Biff is angered and believes his father to be a fake.
Willy also struggles with reality. He tends to drift into the past when he is struggling with how to be a success or when he is trying to figure out what went wrong with him and his son. The past displays happier moments between the Loman family-laughing together or preparing to head off to one of Biff's football games. Uncle Ben is also involved in these memories. As Willy's older successful brother, Willy seeks Ben out for advice. Willy wants to do well. To teach his sons the right things. Unfortunately, the past also displays the affair Willy had with The Woman.
Back in the present Biff is preparing to ask Bill Oliver for a loan and Willy is caught in his own request of asking Howard Wagner for a better position. Neither characters receive what they came looking for, despite the promises they both believed would work in their favor, and as a result, they both come face to face with reality. Later at the restaurant Biff and Happy discuss Biff's failure/ Biff's revelation that he never wanted to be a businessman. Willy arrives thinking that his son's will have happy news to share with him to numb the fact that he is now jobless. They don't have much to offer Willy and they leave him at the restaurant. Willy finds himself in the bathroom and remembers the business trip where he was with The Woman. Biff enters the hotel room wanting his father to fix the problem of him failing math, but experiences a loss of innocence when he discovers the women with his father.
Later in the night Willy finds his way home, rambling about wanting to plant seeds. He and Biff have an argument. Linda is disappointed that her sons left their father, and voices her desire for wanting Biff to leave. As Biff and Willy argue about there not being a need to be "well-liked", Biff begs Willy to let him go, and cries while he does so. Willy is shocked and delighted to know that his son loves him. While the rest of his family heads to bed, Willy is content to go. He kills himself in order to be able to support his family in his death. At his funeral, only his family, Charley, and Bernard are present(not the death of a salesman). Linda cries over his grave and tells him that the mortgage had been paid off.
Style and Such:
The point of view is told through the dialogue of the characters in this play. Miller's style flows in a comprehensible way with the use in which he encompasses the literary techniques. With his use of diction he relies heavily on the colloquial style, although some words may be taken as informal.This allows for his characters to appear real and honest with their everyday interactions. Syntax makes way for shorter sentences to allow Miller's points to get across. Imagery largely centers around the setting where it describes the Loman house and character makeups. Tone of course shifts from jovial to bitter, depending on the scene. When Willy is caught in the past the memories with his family are tender, but with The Woman and Biff the tone is desperate and ashamed. In the present scenes the tone is dark because the characters have so much hope in something or other and they tend to become disappointed and outraged.
Symbols:
Gaps-The gaps in the house symbolize Willy's entrance into the past and the state of his family as they interact with those gaps. The use of these gaps portray the worn state of the character. As a family, they are not perfect and the gaps indicate a structure(the family) that is not whole.
Seeds-When planted and watered seeds can grow and grow and grow. Willy's life is a mess and he wants a rebirth of some kind, but everything he tries to control does not grow for him. His failure in his sons. His marriage. His job. Willy in the end is unable to sprout that plant and so the seeds symbolize his failure to grow and learn from his mistakes.
Stockings-Symbolize Willy's infidelity. He buys his mistress stockings but his own wife takes the time to mend hers. The presence of Linda's stockings remind Willy of his straying and leads him to anger/shame.
The Tape Recorder-Ultimately establishes Willy's confrontation with reality. The recorder bears the truth and cannot alter the past no matter how much Willy wants to alter his.
Quotes:
In the moments before his "sacrifice" Willy is about to make a fatal decision when Ben says "It's dark there, but full of diamonds"(135). This quote is important because people have to be willing to take risks. These chances and acts of courage may be detrimental but the ending result may come out better than they had ever dreamed it to be.Full of diamonds.
In Biff's confrontation with Willy, in which Biff explains himself for taking the pen and his revelation with life Biff says, "I saw the thing that I love in this world. The work and the food and time to sit and smoke. And then I looked at the pen and said to myself, what the hell am I grabbing this for? Why am I trying to become what I don't want to be? What am I doing in this office, making a contemptuous fool of myself, when all I want is out of there, waiting for the minute I say I know who I am..."(132). There is an important message in this quote because some people who aim for success pretend to be something they're not. They commit themselves to this ideal being which as a result hides their true nature. Biff's confidence in his less than successful position teaches the audience that image is not everything. Be the true you.
Theme:
*All thanks to Mary E.
Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman suggests that valuing words instead of actions leads to a delusional perception of one's conventional success; this delusion leads to a deterioration of family and one's self.
Style/Plot-The theme is dominant throughout the events that occur in this play, which are supported through diction and syntax.The colloquial diction and the short sentences are underlined and done in a way as to allow the reader to focus on the message and the circumstances where Willy contradicts himself and behaves hypocritically. Willy pumps encouragement and praise into Biff causing Biff to walk around like a mighty Hercules. But this delusion shatters after Biff witnesses the horror of his father's affair, leading Biff to then question his father's words and importantly himself.Willy and Biff rely also on the mere promises of people who had an influence over them in their past memories. The promises of these people, Howard's father and Bill Oliver's held no real weight, and yet, both Biff and Willy expect success from theses promises. And so when they do realize that promises are nothing but words to placate an individual for a time, they are broken and make decisions that one should find depressing. Biff has negative thoughts while Willy even to the end values words and doesn't fully comprehend the emotions of Biff's (the broken man) actions, and perceives the tears as love which then allows Willy to be comfortable with the idea of killing himself. The valuing of words doesn't affect only these two characters though. Linda believes so much in Willy's words that when he kills himself, she's at a loss for words because he was a success to her and in her contentment she allowed the man to go.
Title-Willy had this idea that he was "well-liked" and when he tells Howard about the death of a salesman, one is aware that Willy expects himself to have people flocking at his own funeral. The situation is ironic because hardly anyone is at his funeral and the title helps to create the realization that words are words. You can expect one outcome and receive another, one where a quote such as Willy's "They don't even know me any more"(81) occurs.Yes, Willy died and indeed, he was a salesman. One might think they're reading about his death alone but there's so much more meaning wrapped within the title, the meaning? Well, words do not speak over actions and for Willy the result was the real death of a salesman.
Symbolism-Willy boasts to his family and his acquaintances about being a fine man but his actions with The Woman caused conflict to occur in his family and led to the deterioration of their family dynamics.Because Willy was acting through this image and his actions did not add up,his life fell through, resulting in all the success he dreamed he had and would have more of to not prosper in the seeds that he was trying to grow. The theme is also important in the tape recorder because Willy realizes that he cannot alter his past actions, which hold the most importance because if he had stronger values other than being socially wanted he may have been a success. And despite his changing words to create the lie that he's "well-liked" along with the words and actions of others, his lack of success is clear to him because what is in the past and in the present is permanent. His world is shattering and there's nothing he can do about it.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Close Reading "At Berkeley"
Link
Critic Dana Stevens, a former alumna of Berkeley University, recently posted a detailed analysis of Frederick Wiseman's documentary At Berkeley concerning the interpersonal relationships between faculty and students as they interact individually and as a body to issues that impact the institution. Stevens comments expertly on the organization of the film and the events that take place within its more than four hour film span with the use of diction, syntax, and details to aide in proving that Wiseman's careful consideration of both faculty and students is done to show that despite the tension between the two groups, both sides exist together and react separately from the other when it comes to matters of the school , e.g., the cost of education.
Stevens uses recognizable diction frequently to indicate Frederick's Wiseman's deliberate observations of the faculty and students interactions in his film. This is done in a way that readers get the sense that Stevens notices Wiseman's techniques and wants them, as readers, to notice too. Wiseman, in his attempts at not favoring one side features events that involve both the reactions of the students and faculty.When Stevens writes, " He’s interested in the way people living and working together in large groups—a high school, a ballet company, a mental institution, a hospital—establish hierarchies, distribute power, resolve conflicts, and find ways to coexist, or at least survive," the reader becomes impacted by her use of the words distribute, resolve, and coexist. As a community bound with the title of a university, it comes as no surprise that the individuals found within the structure must find some way to live as humanly as possible. With the tension and the disagreements and the times of harmony. Such is the human way. And what Wiseman is trying to document. Further along in this article, Stevens uses words like curiosity and eavesdrop to define Wiseman's aim for this documentary-to make it as real as possible.As he films board room discussions to classroom discussions to student marches, it is all done in the effort to show how the university runs. In the sentence concerning the reaction to the student led march, Stevens writes, "We’re encouraged to identify neither with the students’ half-baked radical rhetoric...nor with the administrators’ vaguely paternalistic dismissal of the protesters’ often valid outrage. " The use of diction within this sentence indicates that opinions can be formed about what is being seen, but both sides aren't shown in a good light, therefore helping to support the coexisting of the faculty and students with the use of "half-baked..." and "vaguely paternalistic".
Syntax is used periodically throughout this article with the focus on punctuation, specifically commas, questions, and dashes to add fluidity and to create pauses to allow the reader to differentiate between the faculty and the students.For example Stevens writes, "Wiseman’s camera audits a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses, in which students and teachers discuss a poem by John Donne, the design flaws of a pair of prosthetic legs, the future of space travel, and, in more than one class, the impact of the latest spate of budget cuts and fee increases on their own educations and lives." The commas not only have a calming affect , like ocean water rushing up to touch the edge of the sand t, but they allow for a smooth transition from the everyday student-faculty interactions to the financial costs that are splitting the two parties in half.From there Stevens uses questions to add to the uncertainty when she describes security reactions during the student march. She writes, "Should the head librarian shut down the library before its normal closing time? Are there enough campus police in place if the protest should turn violent?' This allows for a sense of urgency as on both sides, student and faculty, the tension is rising, but fortunately it cannot go on as Wiseman documents because the university has to run as it must.
Details are an essential literary tool in this article because without them, Stevens would have no foundation to draw from in order to form a critic on Frederick Wiseman's At Berkeley.She gives specific dates, "In October of 2012, a year after a large student and faculty protest that nearly shut down the campus, a few hundred Berkeley students staged a march through the campus to the main library, where they occupied a large reading room for several hours, making speeches and issuing lists of demands with the passion, enthusiasm, and lack of coherence that only young lefties can muster." As apparent in the aforementioned sentence, Stevens is well informed about this march and gives her readers the specifics to help inform them from what she was able to take from Wiseman's documentary. Stevens then includes details on how Wiseman chose to show this student and faculty outrage, helping to highlight Wiseman's intent on filming the functioning of the university,especially with the interactions between students and faculty at Berkeley. In her efforts to educate us on Wiseman's research on Berkeley's organization, Stevens embraces his techniques and fills her articles with the details found within At Berkeley, concluding in a way to consider a possible, "imperfect, democratic institution."
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Cruising With The Course
Why in the world are we still in October? Its really May, right? 'Cause, I'm done. School? Eh, whatever. Work? Get your own stinking ice cream people(I work at an ice cream shop...joy)! Of course, I'm kidding. There's no place I'd rather be than at school and my place of work. Every day.
But, the focus right now is really about literature. Poetry. Yeah! So, I'm thinking we've been working on analyzing poetry for some time now. A lot, right? I mean, I'm not complaining. Noooooo. I enjoy a good stanza every now and then. I especially loved our reading of "Promises Like Pie Crust" by Christina Rossetti. The message folks, PROMISES suck.Don't ever ever promise anyone anything. They'll have thoughts about you...evil thoughts.Ha! Okay, that was highly intelligent of me, but no, promises are empty and they are meant to be broken. Pie crust- for those of you who have failed to notice-crumbles on your plate on purpose, just to piss you off...at least thats how the pie crust explained it to me. Ummm... what?
Well, analyzing poetry has been a new experience for me. I know, what have my teachers been teaching me? At least I have Ms.Holmes now. In the past I've read a poem and thought, Gosh, where's the nearest bar of chocolate? I guess that would be my own fault, reading depression inducing poems, that is. But, what I'm trying to say is that I noticed rhyme, alliteration, imagery, and many other techniques(DIDLS), yet I failed to isolate each one from the other. I guess, err, I know then that I would be able to analyze how one particular technique worked to add meaning before considering how they all function to establish whatever message found within the poem. Although it is not wrong to think of a poem on a more emotional one-sided level, it is also better to derive an understanding of how each line or word works to create the effects that I'm seeing. I'm slightly peeved I'm now acknowledging this because I write poetry of my own. I know what I want my readers to feel. I know where I want to kill them with a line or lead them to question a word. I'm the author using techniques for a reason.
In between our analysis of poetry we watched a MOVIE. Thank God! I needed the break, sorry Holmes. But, I still enjoyed Death of A Salesman. After all it is our second reading after The American Dream and so, still educational. Annotating it was a....yeah, and the characters stand on their own. Each one has a little hate department in my brain. Willy, man, carpe diem, not for you. I feel for you only because no one liked you and you tried and never gained. Linda, backbone girl. I hate how you let Willy treat you. You should have walked away ages ago. Biff. Biff. Oh, Biff. I'm sorry your dad blew you up with compliments. Why did you have to give up though? The world was not meant to hand you favors.It's all you, pal. Happy, your unwillingness to sympathize and save your dad, ugh, annoying. And you treat girls like crap. Therefore you are a crappy character( although you do add humor to the play).
Cruel, yes. Tragic, in a sense. I appreciate Miller's evaluation of the lower class's struggle to climb the social pyramid, but honestly, my mood darkens whenever I think about this play. I know that dreams, like promises, fall through. What does that make the world, a terrible place to be? How is it that some people are able to succeed and others are not? Willy, as evidence indicates in the play, tries real hard. He works himself to a death that he thinks will benefit all. Although I don't agree with his cowardliness and selfish end, I pity his fall. Could he have tried harder? Maybe. But then we wouldn't question his choices. Despite my opinions, I feel led to defend him because of Richard J. Foster's bias opinion that Willy is: "a childish and stupid human being..." Alright, sir, calm down. Willy is overworked. He is tired. He does not finish with a job until the job is finished. Yeah, that makes him stupid and childish. You try being a salesperson, Foster. Tell me how you feel then. I for one, hang up when they call my house. They're relentless. Props for Willy. I without regret, would have said, "See ya!" and fled to Alaska. The man who stays is what? Lazy? Stupid? No.Crazy. But, also worth sympathizing for.Ah, what am I saying?
Wouldn't be surprised if I started to like Willy in the next couple of days.I'll start to rally for all he represents by making t-shirts and posters. Yelling until I'm hoarse. The common man. My peers will most likely say some profound thing that will cause me to change sides,also. Then again, maybe not. I'll ride along and see. Until next time...
But, the focus right now is really about literature. Poetry. Yeah! So, I'm thinking we've been working on analyzing poetry for some time now. A lot, right? I mean, I'm not complaining. Noooooo. I enjoy a good stanza every now and then. I especially loved our reading of "Promises Like Pie Crust" by Christina Rossetti. The message folks, PROMISES suck.Don't ever ever promise anyone anything. They'll have thoughts about you...evil thoughts.Ha! Okay, that was highly intelligent of me, but no, promises are empty and they are meant to be broken. Pie crust- for those of you who have failed to notice-crumbles on your plate on purpose, just to piss you off...at least thats how the pie crust explained it to me. Ummm... what?
Well, analyzing poetry has been a new experience for me. I know, what have my teachers been teaching me? At least I have Ms.Holmes now. In the past I've read a poem and thought, Gosh, where's the nearest bar of chocolate? I guess that would be my own fault, reading depression inducing poems, that is. But, what I'm trying to say is that I noticed rhyme, alliteration, imagery, and many other techniques(DIDLS), yet I failed to isolate each one from the other. I guess, err, I know then that I would be able to analyze how one particular technique worked to add meaning before considering how they all function to establish whatever message found within the poem. Although it is not wrong to think of a poem on a more emotional one-sided level, it is also better to derive an understanding of how each line or word works to create the effects that I'm seeing. I'm slightly peeved I'm now acknowledging this because I write poetry of my own. I know what I want my readers to feel. I know where I want to kill them with a line or lead them to question a word. I'm the author using techniques for a reason.
In between our analysis of poetry we watched a MOVIE. Thank God! I needed the break, sorry Holmes. But, I still enjoyed Death of A Salesman. After all it is our second reading after The American Dream and so, still educational. Annotating it was a....yeah, and the characters stand on their own. Each one has a little hate department in my brain. Willy, man, carpe diem, not for you. I feel for you only because no one liked you and you tried and never gained. Linda, backbone girl. I hate how you let Willy treat you. You should have walked away ages ago. Biff. Biff. Oh, Biff. I'm sorry your dad blew you up with compliments. Why did you have to give up though? The world was not meant to hand you favors.It's all you, pal. Happy, your unwillingness to sympathize and save your dad, ugh, annoying. And you treat girls like crap. Therefore you are a crappy character( although you do add humor to the play).
Cruel, yes. Tragic, in a sense. I appreciate Miller's evaluation of the lower class's struggle to climb the social pyramid, but honestly, my mood darkens whenever I think about this play. I know that dreams, like promises, fall through. What does that make the world, a terrible place to be? How is it that some people are able to succeed and others are not? Willy, as evidence indicates in the play, tries real hard. He works himself to a death that he thinks will benefit all. Although I don't agree with his cowardliness and selfish end, I pity his fall. Could he have tried harder? Maybe. But then we wouldn't question his choices. Despite my opinions, I feel led to defend him because of Richard J. Foster's bias opinion that Willy is: "a childish and stupid human being..." Alright, sir, calm down. Willy is overworked. He is tired. He does not finish with a job until the job is finished. Yeah, that makes him stupid and childish. You try being a salesperson, Foster. Tell me how you feel then. I for one, hang up when they call my house. They're relentless. Props for Willy. I without regret, would have said, "See ya!" and fled to Alaska. The man who stays is what? Lazy? Stupid? No.Crazy. But, also worth sympathizing for.Ah, what am I saying?
Wouldn't be surprised if I started to like Willy in the next couple of days.I'll start to rally for all he represents by making t-shirts and posters. Yelling until I'm hoarse. The common man. My peers will most likely say some profound thing that will cause me to change sides,also. Then again, maybe not. I'll ride along and see. Until next time...
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Prompt On The Mind
AP English Literature 2004 Responses
Question 3
Sample 1:
From the first sentence this student had me. Captured. From there the writer introduced his/her thesis statement analyzing Candide and the significance of the young Candide on his quest to answer the question "Is this the best of all possible worlds?" He/she accomplishes the task of providing details and a sense of the plot for those readers who are unaware of the literary work. This writer includes questions to consider, "Why would God create a world that is not the best possible?" and then works to support the question with an answer through the actions that the character Candide pursues as he tries to determine if such a perfect world exists. Organization and transitions flow smoothly through this well written essay as the writer progresses through Candide's journey to El Dorado and later to his love Lady Conagal, noting expertly the changes Candide undergoes in both situations. The first body paragraph consists in summary form followed by a second well thought out analysis of the question. The writer seems to have grasped the meaning of the question and argues Candide's final answer to the question "we must tend our garden" with his/her own interpretation(of Candide's response) that those who want the best possible world must strive/work together to achieve the ultimate Utopia.
Sample 2:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the question "What does it mean to be free?" Yes, what does it mean? Enlighten me...or try to. I'm not even sure this student knows for sure if there is an exact answer.You would think the definition would be as simple as freedom: having no chains/restrictions(voices, laws, nature, etc) holding you back. You are free to be. But, there has to be a limit, life is so cliche in its saying that life is not fair, that I am not surprised that this student concluded that freedom is freeing and limiting in his/her argument. In this essay, the student writer analyzes Mark Twain's consideration of this question in light of how slavery and civilization affect Huck and Jim. He/she compares the two characters and remarks on how they are similarly restricted in some way, by the color of one's skin(Jim) and relationship with a parental figure(Huck). Together they break down barriers and establish a bond that goes beyond what society would dictate and are free in their relationship together. The writer unfortunately tells this, and is not very specific/detailed in providing support. Also, noted when the writer later indicates that in society Huck and Finn must remain apart because of their skin differences even after their masters die(Jim's owner, Huck's dad). In ending in this way, the writer weakly concludes that freedom is limiting. How do we make it so it is not limiting? Is there no hope?
Sample 3:
A short essay indeed. This student attempts to analyze the question "Does anything ever stay the same?" in Chineau Achebe's Thing's Fall Apart but he/she leaves an unsupported and unorganized/unfinished essay arguing the role of the character Okonkwo in his determination to maintain order within his village.The introductory paragraph is messy and quite confusing with all the ideas within it battling for center stage. The first and only body paragraph focuses on how certain events work to bring the story to a resolution. I get the sense that the paragraph is arguing that ideas and society will change over time no matter how one attempts to prevent the change. Cultures will change and traditions will evolve. But, I shouldn't need to get the sense of that. I would have preferred to have seen evidence to back this student's analysis of the question "Does anything ever stay the same?" The question alone is able to be answered in my mind with one word .Yes. This student's essay failed to be profound. No insight at all. Overall, it is a very vague and sad attempt. I don't even want to say it's an attempt.
Question 3
Sample 1:
From the first sentence this student had me. Captured. From there the writer introduced his/her thesis statement analyzing Candide and the significance of the young Candide on his quest to answer the question "Is this the best of all possible worlds?" He/she accomplishes the task of providing details and a sense of the plot for those readers who are unaware of the literary work. This writer includes questions to consider, "Why would God create a world that is not the best possible?" and then works to support the question with an answer through the actions that the character Candide pursues as he tries to determine if such a perfect world exists. Organization and transitions flow smoothly through this well written essay as the writer progresses through Candide's journey to El Dorado and later to his love Lady Conagal, noting expertly the changes Candide undergoes in both situations. The first body paragraph consists in summary form followed by a second well thought out analysis of the question. The writer seems to have grasped the meaning of the question and argues Candide's final answer to the question "we must tend our garden" with his/her own interpretation(of Candide's response) that those who want the best possible world must strive/work together to achieve the ultimate Utopia.
Sample 2:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the question "What does it mean to be free?" Yes, what does it mean? Enlighten me...or try to. I'm not even sure this student knows for sure if there is an exact answer.You would think the definition would be as simple as freedom: having no chains/restrictions(voices, laws, nature, etc) holding you back. You are free to be. But, there has to be a limit, life is so cliche in its saying that life is not fair, that I am not surprised that this student concluded that freedom is freeing and limiting in his/her argument. In this essay, the student writer analyzes Mark Twain's consideration of this question in light of how slavery and civilization affect Huck and Jim. He/she compares the two characters and remarks on how they are similarly restricted in some way, by the color of one's skin(Jim) and relationship with a parental figure(Huck). Together they break down barriers and establish a bond that goes beyond what society would dictate and are free in their relationship together. The writer unfortunately tells this, and is not very specific/detailed in providing support. Also, noted when the writer later indicates that in society Huck and Finn must remain apart because of their skin differences even after their masters die(Jim's owner, Huck's dad). In ending in this way, the writer weakly concludes that freedom is limiting. How do we make it so it is not limiting? Is there no hope?
Sample 3:
A short essay indeed. This student attempts to analyze the question "Does anything ever stay the same?" in Chineau Achebe's Thing's Fall Apart but he/she leaves an unsupported and unorganized/unfinished essay arguing the role of the character Okonkwo in his determination to maintain order within his village.The introductory paragraph is messy and quite confusing with all the ideas within it battling for center stage. The first and only body paragraph focuses on how certain events work to bring the story to a resolution. I get the sense that the paragraph is arguing that ideas and society will change over time no matter how one attempts to prevent the change. Cultures will change and traditions will evolve. But, I shouldn't need to get the sense of that. I would have preferred to have seen evidence to back this student's analysis of the question "Does anything ever stay the same?" The question alone is able to be answered in my mind with one word .Yes. This student's essay failed to be profound. No insight at all. Overall, it is a very vague and sad attempt. I don't even want to say it's an attempt.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
A play, A dream-The American Dream Summary Analysis
The American Dream
Written in 1960 by playwright Edward Albee. In this work and numerous others, Albee considers human ideals,socially and morally.He is well known for his works The Zoo Story, Three Tall Women, A Delicate Balance and The Sandbox, to name a few.
In this short play the setting remains relatively plain. The focus centers more on the conversation between the family members and their associates. There is a living room containing two chairs. Again, no detail is provided to emphasize the detail on these chairs. Other than the fact that they are facing each other...Beyond these chairs there resides a sofa, a door leading out of the apartment, and an archway allowing access to other rooms in the apartment( Albee 57).
Characters:
Mommy
Daddy
Grandma
Mrs. Barker
Young Man
The first page starts off with Mommy going on and on to Daddy about a "beige" hat that she bought. From there Grandma enters the scene with boxes. Mommy insults her to her face, how old she is "pioneer stock" and later complains about her to Daddy. Daddy, however, cares more for Grandma. Grandma exits, and Mommy and Daddy talk about how Mommy used to be poor and how she would give leave the food Grandma had packed for her in her lunch box for Grandma to eat later. This allowed Mommy to take the food from her classmates. Following this conversation, Mommy and Daddy have a sexual moment that fails terribly. No satisfaction occurs as Grandma interrupts. Mrs.Barker soon enter the scene after this. She doesn't know why she is at the apartment. The adults chatter and Grandma acts mysterious. Mommy threatens to have the Van Man take her away. Later Mommy and Daddy are gone from the living room, trying to find their way around the house. Grandma laughs about this. Grandma and Mrs.Barker are left alone to talk about the issues with the first bumble and they form a connection. The doorbell rings after some time and Grandma opens it to find the Young Man. She names him the American Dream. They converse about his life, how he is physically perfect but internally numb to emotion. Grandma plans in her head and with the help of Mrs. Barker, she is able to leave, as Mrs. Barker introduces Mommy and Daddy to their new bumble. Satisfaction achieved but not. They are unsatisfied with the wine. And Grandma ends with us. What will we choose?
Character dynamics- All names are simple. Allows for ambiguity. Mommy is authoritative and married Daddy for his money. Daddy appears meek and confused about his sexuality and allows Mommy to dominate him. She is more masculine while he is more feminine. Also, evident in Daddy's recent operation. Now emasculated. Grandma is wise, being the Old American Dream. Consider her as "pioneer stock". Only character that is able to interact with the audience. She leaves the materialistic environment as she "passes the torch" to the new dream, the Young Man. Fits ideal of perfection.Beauty. Physical god-like quality. He'll do anything. Mrs.Barker is part of many women's clubs and represents the Bye Bye Adoption Agency. She provided Mommy and Daddy with their first bundle. She has come to give them a new one, turns out Grandma helps Mrs.Barker accomplish this with the Young Man.
Point of view is told through each character by their words. Imagery is minor, thus the reason for why dialogue dominates the play. It is a play. Minimal directions are provided for the characters. Other than the imagery of the mutilation of the first bumble by the hands of Mommy and Daddy. You can imagine the cutting off of body parts,but in no way do the five senses work hard in this play. Diction is the dominating technique. Somewhere between colloquial and informal. Conversation is common/everyday like, but occasionally slang is used. Concerning the tone, feels foolish, perhaps even light.I get no sense of darkness from the dialogue because the characters interact in such a humorous, mainly ridiculous way. This foolish/childish tone allows Albee to poke fun of the American Dream of achieving satisfaction through materialistic ways and he plays with it well as he allows his characters to interact with one another. Even when the tone is harsh(instigator=Mommy), the tone doesn't stray far from humorous.
Symbolism is present in Grandma representing the Old American Dream. She embodies old values that center around the family and hard work. The Young Man symbolizes the new American Dream of perfection. The idea is to buy and to seek satisfaction in the ways of material belongings. Another symbol is the destruction of traditional family values in the death of Mommy and Daddy's first nameless bumble. The twin of the new American Dream. Instead of loving their child and forming a relationship with him, they determine together that he is not enough. They do not love him enough. He is not the perfection that they were seeking. So, materialistically they got rid of the object that they bought after it lost its appeal, without any remorse..
Quotes
Mommy says, "Well, I got satisfaction"(Albee 61). Satisfaction is always at work. The characters in this play always seem to be wanting it. Everything must satisfy. If it doesn't, then go out and buy something that does. The American Dream is not about togetherness. There is individualism in this sentence as Mommy considers what she alone got. Nothing else matters, except her satisfaction.
Grandma says, "My sacks are empty, the fluid in my eyeballs is all caked on the inside edges, my spine is made of sugar candy"(Albee 82).The Old American Dream is dying. What used to be valuable has now ceased to be so. Ideas/ideals have changed and these new conditions dominate the old ones. The Old American Dream has to pass on to make way for the next age of materialistic ideals.
Theme
Displaying the criticism of American morals, Edward Albee's The American Dream generates a concern for how the current American generation lacks regard for the old American values by fabricating new values to replace the old ones , thus allowing for a materialistic individual, who, as a result, is fixated on acquiring unattainable satisfaction, but this does not mean that change is inevitable..
Through the work's title, The American Dream the basis for the entire play and theme is set. The definition of the American Dream is, in my opinion, the worldly focus everyone establishes as they follow the explicit rules of their time(necessary for satisfaction). By titling his play as so, Albee accentuates the desire of the people and his disfavor toward it. To follow the American Dream. It is not a dream set by one person, but by a large body. By inferring from the title, I believe that to follow the American Dream, one has to follow the crowd.Buy what everyone else is buying If you don't, where's the satisfaction? It can be exhausting, and materialism does not complete an individual. Grandma indicates materialism when she says to Mrs. Barker, "You weren't here, exactly, because we've moved around a lot, from one apartment to another, up and down the social ladder like mice..."(Albee 95).
The plot(along with symbolism) does not merely dabble with old American values vs. the new American values. The play is centered around the theme. Old American values are dying away as Grandma leaves, and the characters, for example, Mommy has no respect for Grandma's views. Mommy always judges her and tears her down for her views.Daddy does at times too. The characters complain about not getting satisfaction all the time and especially for Mommy, she never stops looking for satisfaction. In her masculine position in the house. In her beige hat. In the type of bumble she has. She buys for satisfaction. "I can always go shopping," she says(Albee 62). She owns objects for satisfaction. With the new American Dream symbolizing society's new set of values, Mommy welcomes him gladly because he is what she wants.They fit perfectly. And therefore, the American Dream fits with Daddy too, because he submissively obeys Mommy.While the old American Dream promotes hard work, the new set of values reject this "ridiculous" ideal. The new values aren't willing to work. They would rather have it all right in front of them for quick satisfaction.And it continues. Buy. Satisfaction. Buy. Satisfaction. They bought their own child for satisfaction. And by destroying the first twin, they removed themselves from the old traditional values of family. Connection. Mommy and Daddy wanted a little bumble of their own. He wasn't good enough. Wait. Buy again. New American Dream.
Grandma turns to the audience in the end of the play indicating that she isn't leaving. She's on the edges peering in occasionally, but she is not gone. We, the next generation, have the power to choose. Despite the early generation of Mommy and Daddy creating a selfish America, their decisions do not make us.We can work hard. We can decide what comes next.
Written in 1960 by playwright Edward Albee. In this work and numerous others, Albee considers human ideals,socially and morally.He is well known for his works The Zoo Story, Three Tall Women, A Delicate Balance and The Sandbox, to name a few.
In this short play the setting remains relatively plain. The focus centers more on the conversation between the family members and their associates. There is a living room containing two chairs. Again, no detail is provided to emphasize the detail on these chairs. Other than the fact that they are facing each other...Beyond these chairs there resides a sofa, a door leading out of the apartment, and an archway allowing access to other rooms in the apartment( Albee 57).
Characters:
Mommy
Daddy
Grandma
Mrs. Barker
Young Man
The first page starts off with Mommy going on and on to Daddy about a "beige" hat that she bought. From there Grandma enters the scene with boxes. Mommy insults her to her face, how old she is "pioneer stock" and later complains about her to Daddy. Daddy, however, cares more for Grandma. Grandma exits, and Mommy and Daddy talk about how Mommy used to be poor and how she would give leave the food Grandma had packed for her in her lunch box for Grandma to eat later. This allowed Mommy to take the food from her classmates. Following this conversation, Mommy and Daddy have a sexual moment that fails terribly. No satisfaction occurs as Grandma interrupts. Mrs.Barker soon enter the scene after this. She doesn't know why she is at the apartment. The adults chatter and Grandma acts mysterious. Mommy threatens to have the Van Man take her away. Later Mommy and Daddy are gone from the living room, trying to find their way around the house. Grandma laughs about this. Grandma and Mrs.Barker are left alone to talk about the issues with the first bumble and they form a connection. The doorbell rings after some time and Grandma opens it to find the Young Man. She names him the American Dream. They converse about his life, how he is physically perfect but internally numb to emotion. Grandma plans in her head and with the help of Mrs. Barker, she is able to leave, as Mrs. Barker introduces Mommy and Daddy to their new bumble. Satisfaction achieved but not. They are unsatisfied with the wine. And Grandma ends with us. What will we choose?
Character dynamics- All names are simple. Allows for ambiguity. Mommy is authoritative and married Daddy for his money. Daddy appears meek and confused about his sexuality and allows Mommy to dominate him. She is more masculine while he is more feminine. Also, evident in Daddy's recent operation. Now emasculated. Grandma is wise, being the Old American Dream. Consider her as "pioneer stock". Only character that is able to interact with the audience. She leaves the materialistic environment as she "passes the torch" to the new dream, the Young Man. Fits ideal of perfection.Beauty. Physical god-like quality. He'll do anything. Mrs.Barker is part of many women's clubs and represents the Bye Bye Adoption Agency. She provided Mommy and Daddy with their first bundle. She has come to give them a new one, turns out Grandma helps Mrs.Barker accomplish this with the Young Man.
Point of view is told through each character by their words. Imagery is minor, thus the reason for why dialogue dominates the play. It is a play. Minimal directions are provided for the characters. Other than the imagery of the mutilation of the first bumble by the hands of Mommy and Daddy. You can imagine the cutting off of body parts,but in no way do the five senses work hard in this play. Diction is the dominating technique. Somewhere between colloquial and informal. Conversation is common/everyday like, but occasionally slang is used. Concerning the tone, feels foolish, perhaps even light.I get no sense of darkness from the dialogue because the characters interact in such a humorous, mainly ridiculous way. This foolish/childish tone allows Albee to poke fun of the American Dream of achieving satisfaction through materialistic ways and he plays with it well as he allows his characters to interact with one another. Even when the tone is harsh(instigator=Mommy), the tone doesn't stray far from humorous.
Symbolism is present in Grandma representing the Old American Dream. She embodies old values that center around the family and hard work. The Young Man symbolizes the new American Dream of perfection. The idea is to buy and to seek satisfaction in the ways of material belongings. Another symbol is the destruction of traditional family values in the death of Mommy and Daddy's first nameless bumble. The twin of the new American Dream. Instead of loving their child and forming a relationship with him, they determine together that he is not enough. They do not love him enough. He is not the perfection that they were seeking. So, materialistically they got rid of the object that they bought after it lost its appeal, without any remorse..
Quotes
Mommy says, "Well, I got satisfaction"(Albee 61). Satisfaction is always at work. The characters in this play always seem to be wanting it. Everything must satisfy. If it doesn't, then go out and buy something that does. The American Dream is not about togetherness. There is individualism in this sentence as Mommy considers what she alone got. Nothing else matters, except her satisfaction.
Grandma says, "My sacks are empty, the fluid in my eyeballs is all caked on the inside edges, my spine is made of sugar candy"(Albee 82).The Old American Dream is dying. What used to be valuable has now ceased to be so. Ideas/ideals have changed and these new conditions dominate the old ones. The Old American Dream has to pass on to make way for the next age of materialistic ideals.
Theme
Displaying the criticism of American morals, Edward Albee's The American Dream generates a concern for how the current American generation lacks regard for the old American values by fabricating new values to replace the old ones , thus allowing for a materialistic individual, who, as a result, is fixated on acquiring unattainable satisfaction, but this does not mean that change is inevitable..
Through the work's title, The American Dream the basis for the entire play and theme is set. The definition of the American Dream is, in my opinion, the worldly focus everyone establishes as they follow the explicit rules of their time(necessary for satisfaction). By titling his play as so, Albee accentuates the desire of the people and his disfavor toward it. To follow the American Dream. It is not a dream set by one person, but by a large body. By inferring from the title, I believe that to follow the American Dream, one has to follow the crowd.Buy what everyone else is buying If you don't, where's the satisfaction? It can be exhausting, and materialism does not complete an individual. Grandma indicates materialism when she says to Mrs. Barker, "You weren't here, exactly, because we've moved around a lot, from one apartment to another, up and down the social ladder like mice..."(Albee 95).
The plot(along with symbolism) does not merely dabble with old American values vs. the new American values. The play is centered around the theme. Old American values are dying away as Grandma leaves, and the characters, for example, Mommy has no respect for Grandma's views. Mommy always judges her and tears her down for her views.Daddy does at times too. The characters complain about not getting satisfaction all the time and especially for Mommy, she never stops looking for satisfaction. In her masculine position in the house. In her beige hat. In the type of bumble she has. She buys for satisfaction. "I can always go shopping," she says(Albee 62). She owns objects for satisfaction. With the new American Dream symbolizing society's new set of values, Mommy welcomes him gladly because he is what she wants.They fit perfectly. And therefore, the American Dream fits with Daddy too, because he submissively obeys Mommy.While the old American Dream promotes hard work, the new set of values reject this "ridiculous" ideal. The new values aren't willing to work. They would rather have it all right in front of them for quick satisfaction.And it continues. Buy. Satisfaction. Buy. Satisfaction. They bought their own child for satisfaction. And by destroying the first twin, they removed themselves from the old traditional values of family. Connection. Mommy and Daddy wanted a little bumble of their own. He wasn't good enough. Wait. Buy again. New American Dream.
Grandma turns to the audience in the end of the play indicating that she isn't leaving. She's on the edges peering in occasionally, but she is not gone. We, the next generation, have the power to choose. Despite the early generation of Mommy and Daddy creating a selfish America, their decisions do not make us.We can work hard. We can decide what comes next.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
"Review-The Fault in Our Stars by John Green" Close Reading
Link*
The tears fell.The sadness chilled my blood and I sat in my own orbit of misery and momentary pain. The last word was read and I knew I had to close the book for the last time before I impulsively decided to burn it for it's achievement in sending me to silly tears.Cancer sucks. But, was I reacting to the characters or the dooming reality of cancer taking me out too? I honestly never thought to question the quality of this book. I read it. It made me cry. Therefore, in my mind, it must be a great book. Wrong. I'm probably just another cry baby, and yet, I can't say that I'm ashamed of this fact though, because it was through Steph Sinclair's humorous, yet honest review of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars where she shares her opinions through the use of diction, language, and syntax, that allowed me, the now not so firm believer in cry first-save analysis for waaaay later girl- to consider past my initial emotions.
I found that through the colloquial like use of diction,Sinclair writes conversationally for her readers to create a casual display to support her review of Green's book. She does not overly attack her readers with a wordy vocabulary. She addresses herself in such a relaxed way that you feel as if she is right there with you, at a coffee shop, getting to know one another. And to support this breezy everyday like word choice, she comforts her writing with words like;grim, impending, subtly, convenient,utter, conflicted, morbid, and jar etc, to highlight her personal disfavor and favor of Green's novel. This method of hers leads me, as the reader, to feel comfortable, safe. I want to know what else she thinks about The Fault In Our Stars, which then allows me to reconsider my own opinions for how well the book worked to establish it's main characters Hazel and Augustus.
Sinclair then embarks on a journey with figurative language to also impact her readers in her review. She doesn't slam John Green's work, but quietly considers the lengthy process that led her to reject reading The Fault in Our Stars to the point where she had to allow herself to face the pages. She uses figurative phrases that are familiar to help create a connecting line between her and her readers. For me, as I read through the line: "I usually tackle things head on, showing no fear, but with this book I had to approach things differently due to its subject matter," I understood her qualms about not wanting to read this popular work. I was hesitant at first too. I new that she literally didn't force her body to tackle substance less matters, and I appreciated her use of this phrase because it allowed me to relate and understand her better through her ordeal since I do the same thing...at times. And she didn't stop there. As you read on, she continues with figurative language with: "And I’m so happy someone finally pushed me to read this book because it did not disappoint." This figurative sentence highlights her removal from being unsteady in her decision to being content because she had someone there to push her to read it.
And then in her use of syntax, Sinclair plays with short sentences to create a more meaningful review, with no need for calculated interpretation. In the sentence: "The plot was simply “ok” for me, never wowing me or keeping me on the edge of my seat," the manageable sentence length allowed me to pick out her opinion of the book.The sentence is not long with phrases branching off of one another. It doesn't create anxiety when determining which details are the important ones to remember. The intent is there. That being that Sinclair wasn't astounded by the quality of depth/meaning within The Fault in Our Stars. Also present when she writes, "It was because cancer sucks." Sinclair then works with punctuation to emphasize her points through dashes and commas. For example when she writes: "But it was like he sat down and created mini-Despicable-Me-minion-like John Greens for this novel. They are all witty, super intelligent and too pretentious for their own good." This obvious disapproval of Green's characters Hazel and Augustus, allows for pauses in reading to create Sinclair's attitude against Green's characterizations. I find these sentences to be humorous as Sinclair lightly pokes fun of two characters(who I initially thought to be very real) in a way that brings about her true emotions and the cold hard facts. She wasn't able to make a connection with Hazel and Augustus, the disease-ridden teenagers. But now the question is, did I? I read The Fault in Our Stars over two years ago. Would I share the same opinions of Sinclair if I were to read it again(even though I swore to never touch it)? Will the book change in meaning/creativity? Hmm, I'm almost too afraid to find out.
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