November is my favorite month, because it is officially sweater weather and that holiday feeling is starting to spread, but hasn't gotten out of control and obnoxious yet. This month we also got to read Hamlet, which was pretty cool. I had always waned to read that play, so I'm glad to be able to cross that off my literary to-do list.
We did a second attempt at an essay about "The Century Quilt", except that I was absent for the first one so I actually only wrote one... But yes, we practiced essaying. We did not get them back however, and I would like to see some feedback from Ms. Holmes... Hopefully we write more essays because I need the practice. AP Lit essays seem quite different from other AP essays, such as History or Biology themed ones. Unfortunately we can't just rattle off facts; we have to write well and know all the terminology too. With practice we will get it!
Even after wrapping up DOS, there were still some loose ends. I feel like there is much more to the story than what we uncovered, but in general we did pretty well explaining things. The goldfish bowl was neat, but I think I prefer working together as a whole class, where we can shout out our ideas as they come. When it came to our theme statement discussion, everyone was going back and forth between ideas that I didn't like, so I just wrote my own and read it to the class and they loved it! That made me happy. I don't usually single-handedly win over the class that way so it was nice to contribute! I think we sometimes forget to think individually and only think collectively.
Those exercises we have started to do regarding mood and diction and such are pretty hard! We always take forever and it's grueling work. I'm sure that they will pay off though. I trust Ms. Holmes' lesson planning. I remember a certain American Lit teacher I had who made us write "journals" as a warm up activity and there was NO benefit from them and she collected them and read each one carefully and half the time the prompt was basically "write whatever you want" or else it was something difficult like "What is your definition of happiness? Please write two pages on this." I am certain all the journals were was wasted time. So the AP environment is a nice change.
And, of course, Hamlet. I think this is my new favorite Shakespeare play, after Julius Caesar. I love the witty dialogue! Hamlet is such a cool protagonist, and I'm looking forward to going back through everything for a close reading. I haven't synthesized any theories yet, but I'm pretty sure I do not like the way women and gender role are portrayed in this piece. My close reading should clarify this for me.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Monday, November 18, 2013
Open Prompt #3!!
These are from the 2003 student responses to Question 3.
Essay #1
This essay was unusually long, which I know the AP graders despise. It started off leaving me worried because the student seemed to be summarizing The Great Gatsby and not discussing how tragic heroes can drag down those around them. But the student saved it after a page or two! Suddenly they launched into this great and easy to follow analysis of Gatsby as a tragic hero, and the destruction he brings about to those around him. Despite the four pages of tiny, messy script that was hard to read, this essay actually read really well and I'm certain it received a good grade. I just think instead of summary and then analysis, they should have woven them together more. Overall, this student has great fluency in the writing and a really good argument that answers the prompt, but they should have been more concise and made a clearer thesis that they follow more tightly.
Essay #2
Well. For the opening paragraph this student totally restated the prompt. They re-wrote the whole quote and then just paraphrased the prompt situation very closely. In the second paragraph is when they introduce the literature and start responding. This seems like bad form, and the AP graders already know that quote as they have read the prompt an excessive number of times, obsessing over it and waking up in the middle of the night reciting it. So don't waste precious minutes rewriting it. The student also does some weird stuff such as discussing King Lear and then suddenly saying "...just like Hamlet." There are these little comparisons to Hamlet! That's weird and not part of the prompt, and it doesn't help the essay along at all. At the very end the student explains that Lear is a tragic hero and his choices lead to many deaths, which is tragic. Clearly they understand the play, but they just talk about the plot the whole time and the argument just lays there uselessly at the end.
Essay #3
This student took some liberties with syntax, throwing parenthesis and hyphens around. Personally I like that kind of conversational style, but it seems a bit too casual for this assignment. You don't want to seem lazy to the graders. The ideas in the essay were easily followed but they really lacked depth. They described One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest with great detail but didn't ever explain the greater significance or meaning behind these plot twists and details. I doubt this essay received better than a 5 or 6, due to this shallow quality. The student should have made a more thoughtful thesis than simply "...McMurphy is a tragic hero... his actions result in other patients suffering as well." By closely following a more thoughtful thesis and developing ideas more, this student would have created a much better essay.
Essay #1
This essay was unusually long, which I know the AP graders despise. It started off leaving me worried because the student seemed to be summarizing The Great Gatsby and not discussing how tragic heroes can drag down those around them. But the student saved it after a page or two! Suddenly they launched into this great and easy to follow analysis of Gatsby as a tragic hero, and the destruction he brings about to those around him. Despite the four pages of tiny, messy script that was hard to read, this essay actually read really well and I'm certain it received a good grade. I just think instead of summary and then analysis, they should have woven them together more. Overall, this student has great fluency in the writing and a really good argument that answers the prompt, but they should have been more concise and made a clearer thesis that they follow more tightly.
Essay #2
Well. For the opening paragraph this student totally restated the prompt. They re-wrote the whole quote and then just paraphrased the prompt situation very closely. In the second paragraph is when they introduce the literature and start responding. This seems like bad form, and the AP graders already know that quote as they have read the prompt an excessive number of times, obsessing over it and waking up in the middle of the night reciting it. So don't waste precious minutes rewriting it. The student also does some weird stuff such as discussing King Lear and then suddenly saying "...just like Hamlet." There are these little comparisons to Hamlet! That's weird and not part of the prompt, and it doesn't help the essay along at all. At the very end the student explains that Lear is a tragic hero and his choices lead to many deaths, which is tragic. Clearly they understand the play, but they just talk about the plot the whole time and the argument just lays there uselessly at the end.
Essay #3
This student took some liberties with syntax, throwing parenthesis and hyphens around. Personally I like that kind of conversational style, but it seems a bit too casual for this assignment. You don't want to seem lazy to the graders. The ideas in the essay were easily followed but they really lacked depth. They described One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest with great detail but didn't ever explain the greater significance or meaning behind these plot twists and details. I doubt this essay received better than a 5 or 6, due to this shallow quality. The student should have made a more thoughtful thesis than simply "...McMurphy is a tragic hero... his actions result in other patients suffering as well." By closely following a more thoughtful thesis and developing ideas more, this student would have created a much better essay.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Death of a Salesman
Arthur Miller was born in New York (1915--2005), experienced several bad marriages including one with Marilyn Monroe, and studied at the University of Michigan. His family was pretty wealthy until the Wall Street crash of 1929, then they had to live more modestly. (www.biography.com/people/arthurmiller)
The play is set in Brooklyn, at Willy's apartment and at some other places around the area of New York.
Key Plot points: Willy has been struggling with his job as a salesman, Linda wants him to stop traveling, and he is troubled by how Biff hasn't accomplished anything. Linda warns her sons that Willy is suicidal.Willy is frequently lost in daydreams of past memories of happier times, searching for the moment that changed everything. Which is, of course, when Biff caught him having an affair after he went to tell his father that he flunked math and would have to make it up in summer school. Biff is so disheartened that he gives up on his dreams, and the family is torn apart. Willy also sees visions of his deified older brother, Ben, who was a father figure for him. Further proof of family dysfunction. Willy goes to talk to his boss about not traveling anymore, and he gets fired. This is the moment that the salesman dies, as he must confront reality. He goes to see his friend Charley and sees how successful Charley's son Bernard has become. Meanwhile, Biff had promised to try for a business deal (really just to appease his dad) and he fails at that, too. The boys went out to dinner to celebrate, but instead have to admit their failures, and the sons leave Willy alone there. Later that night, Biff and Willy get into a fight and Biff cries, which makes Willy feel loved (so strange) and everything starts to seem better, but then Willy kills himself. But his insurance was all good, so Linda paid off the house and will get by.
Characters:
Willy Loman: A delusional salesman, he has convinced himself that he is a great and accomplished man, but really he's just a compulsive liar (or extremely deluded).
Linda Loman: Willy's wife. She is very supportive of him and takes his side over her sons'. She supports him more than he realizes, and manages the household affairs and money.
Biff Loman: *Biff can mean mistake, like if you trip and totally wipe out.* Biff is the older son, and he was always the superstar growing up. He's athletic and had a scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania, but threw it away after learning about his dad's deceitfulness and lack of character. Willy is disappointed that Biff never became all that he had expected out of him.
Happy Loman: Biff's younger brother, the forgotten one, living in Biff's shadow. He uses women as he pleases and presents himself inaccurately a lot like his dad does.
Ben: Willy's older brother who became very wealthy. He's very masculine and epic-seeming and represents everything that Willy desires to be.
Charley: Willy's only friend. Charley gives him money a lot and he is very successful, causing a bit of tension between he and Willy.
Miller's Style adds some interesting elements to the play. He added the gaps in the walls as a visual aid for the audience, to distinguish dreams from reality when it's kind of ambiguous. The point of view in this play switches between the members of the family, highlighting that this is not only about Willy's struggle, but how it affects the entire family dynamic.
Symbols:
Stockings are symbols of guilt for Willy. They're what he offered his mistress and so it really freaks him out to see his wife mending her old stockings, as it makes him feel so guilty.
Howard's Voice Recorder is a symbol for reality. A machine that records the past accurately and in a way that Willy can't lie about later.
Seeds are a symbol for Willy's disappointment in his children. They are like failed seeds to him, because they didn't grow up like he wanted them to. I also found on SparkNotes the theory that they represent a desire to feed his family, since he struggles financially.
Quotes:
From Act 2
WILLY: I don’t think that was funny, Charley. This is the greatest day of his life.
CHARLEY: Willy, when are you going to grow up?
WILLY: Yeah, heh? When this game is over, you’ll be laughing out of the other side of your face. They’ll be calling him another Red Grange. Twenty-five thousand a year.
This quote shows how delusional Willy is. It's just a football game, and he is way too proud of it. He's shooting too high, and it's unrealistic.
From Act 1
WILLY: … was rich! That’s just the spirit I want to imbue them with! To walk into a jungle! I was right! I was right! I was right!
This quote shows how Willy thinks wealth and success just fall into your lap. He thinks it's as simple as "walking into a jungle..." and emerging wealthy. This is why he doesn't work hard.
Theme
Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman suggests that valuing words instead of actions leads to a delusional perception of one's success; this delusion leads to a deterioration of relationships as well as one's own rational thinking.
This is evident by how Willy is always lying about himself and his accomplishments, telling his boss that he used to make much more than he truly did, or saying that he never relies on others for help, despite the known fact that Charley lends him money frequently. Willy always talked himself up, and Biff too. Willy bragged about his whole family, but never actually worked at achieving those goals of his. He makes fun of Bernard for studying, because he doesn't actually see the need for working towards his dreams. He expects them to just come to him. This inflated view of himself makes Willy quite delusional, and he spends many years denying his failure. He is failing as a businessman but tells the family that he is famous along his work routes. He lies so much that he warps his own perception of reality. This makes his family lose trust and faith in Willy.
Even the title of the play, Death of a Salesman, refers to the moment that Willy is faced with reality. When he is fired and has to accept his failure, that is the death of the salesman in him. The realization of how deluded he has been acting leads to him finally committing suicide.
The symbol of the voice recorder also carries this theme. It kicks on after Willy is fired, startling him. Suddenly he realizes he can't just keep lying. He will be held accountable for his actions and his failures, and how badly he has distorted his life is made clear to him. (Well, clearer--he's still a bit deluded).
The play is set in Brooklyn, at Willy's apartment and at some other places around the area of New York.
Key Plot points: Willy has been struggling with his job as a salesman, Linda wants him to stop traveling, and he is troubled by how Biff hasn't accomplished anything. Linda warns her sons that Willy is suicidal.Willy is frequently lost in daydreams of past memories of happier times, searching for the moment that changed everything. Which is, of course, when Biff caught him having an affair after he went to tell his father that he flunked math and would have to make it up in summer school. Biff is so disheartened that he gives up on his dreams, and the family is torn apart. Willy also sees visions of his deified older brother, Ben, who was a father figure for him. Further proof of family dysfunction. Willy goes to talk to his boss about not traveling anymore, and he gets fired. This is the moment that the salesman dies, as he must confront reality. He goes to see his friend Charley and sees how successful Charley's son Bernard has become. Meanwhile, Biff had promised to try for a business deal (really just to appease his dad) and he fails at that, too. The boys went out to dinner to celebrate, but instead have to admit their failures, and the sons leave Willy alone there. Later that night, Biff and Willy get into a fight and Biff cries, which makes Willy feel loved (so strange) and everything starts to seem better, but then Willy kills himself. But his insurance was all good, so Linda paid off the house and will get by.
Characters:
Willy Loman: A delusional salesman, he has convinced himself that he is a great and accomplished man, but really he's just a compulsive liar (or extremely deluded).
Linda Loman: Willy's wife. She is very supportive of him and takes his side over her sons'. She supports him more than he realizes, and manages the household affairs and money.
Biff Loman: *Biff can mean mistake, like if you trip and totally wipe out.* Biff is the older son, and he was always the superstar growing up. He's athletic and had a scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania, but threw it away after learning about his dad's deceitfulness and lack of character. Willy is disappointed that Biff never became all that he had expected out of him.
Happy Loman: Biff's younger brother, the forgotten one, living in Biff's shadow. He uses women as he pleases and presents himself inaccurately a lot like his dad does.
Ben: Willy's older brother who became very wealthy. He's very masculine and epic-seeming and represents everything that Willy desires to be.
Charley: Willy's only friend. Charley gives him money a lot and he is very successful, causing a bit of tension between he and Willy.
Miller's Style adds some interesting elements to the play. He added the gaps in the walls as a visual aid for the audience, to distinguish dreams from reality when it's kind of ambiguous. The point of view in this play switches between the members of the family, highlighting that this is not only about Willy's struggle, but how it affects the entire family dynamic.
Symbols:
Stockings are symbols of guilt for Willy. They're what he offered his mistress and so it really freaks him out to see his wife mending her old stockings, as it makes him feel so guilty.
Howard's Voice Recorder is a symbol for reality. A machine that records the past accurately and in a way that Willy can't lie about later.
Seeds are a symbol for Willy's disappointment in his children. They are like failed seeds to him, because they didn't grow up like he wanted them to. I also found on SparkNotes the theory that they represent a desire to feed his family, since he struggles financially.
Quotes:
From Act 2
WILLY: I don’t think that was funny, Charley. This is the greatest day of his life.
CHARLEY: Willy, when are you going to grow up?
WILLY: Yeah, heh? When this game is over, you’ll be laughing out of the other side of your face. They’ll be calling him another Red Grange. Twenty-five thousand a year.
This quote shows how delusional Willy is. It's just a football game, and he is way too proud of it. He's shooting too high, and it's unrealistic.
From Act 1
WILLY: … was rich! That’s just the spirit I want to imbue them with! To walk into a jungle! I was right! I was right! I was right!
This quote shows how Willy thinks wealth and success just fall into your lap. He thinks it's as simple as "walking into a jungle..." and emerging wealthy. This is why he doesn't work hard.
Theme
Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman suggests that valuing words instead of actions leads to a delusional perception of one's success; this delusion leads to a deterioration of relationships as well as one's own rational thinking.
This is evident by how Willy is always lying about himself and his accomplishments, telling his boss that he used to make much more than he truly did, or saying that he never relies on others for help, despite the known fact that Charley lends him money frequently. Willy always talked himself up, and Biff too. Willy bragged about his whole family, but never actually worked at achieving those goals of his. He makes fun of Bernard for studying, because he doesn't actually see the need for working towards his dreams. He expects them to just come to him. This inflated view of himself makes Willy quite delusional, and he spends many years denying his failure. He is failing as a businessman but tells the family that he is famous along his work routes. He lies so much that he warps his own perception of reality. This makes his family lose trust and faith in Willy.
Even the title of the play, Death of a Salesman, refers to the moment that Willy is faced with reality. When he is fired and has to accept his failure, that is the death of the salesman in him. The realization of how deluded he has been acting leads to him finally committing suicide.
The symbol of the voice recorder also carries this theme. It kicks on after Willy is fired, startling him. Suddenly he realizes he can't just keep lying. He will be held accountable for his actions and his failures, and how badly he has distorted his life is made clear to him. (Well, clearer--he's still a bit deluded).
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Close Reading #3
Teens are going to extremes with texting
by The Jersey Journal (2009).
http://www.nj.com/hudson/voices/index.ssf/2009/10/editorial_teens_are_going_to_e.html
In this Editorial, the use of diction, figurative language, and details serve to explain the unhealthy side effects of excessive text messaging, while suggesting that teens are truly just helpless victims to this illness.
The author (who is not identified specifically, so will be referred to as "he") chooses words that emphasize the addiction aspect of this behavior, and portray the teens as helpless to fight back. He describes youths staying up all night with "thumbs pumping." Pumping calls to mind machinery, as though the kids are mindless and robotic, maybe even brainwashed, and thus not held accountable for their actions. He describes the "avalanche of messages" which, an avalanche is something that can't be stopped and the victims are pretty powerless, and how it is "robbing" children of sleep. Robbing also takes the blame off of the kids. They aren't willingly sacrificing their hours of sleep, it is being taken from them by this situation they're in. Later the author describes how there are rehab centers that serve to "wean" people off of technology. Wean emphasizes the addiction aspect and the weakness of the teens, but it also calls to mind infants being "weaned" off of breast milk. This is to generate sympathy for the teens, depicting them as vulnerable and in need of help.
Figurative language is used in a similar way, conveying sympathy for the teens struggling with this addiction. The author mentions how hard it is for teens to put down their phones because they "seem as natural as breathing." This simile implies that adolescents simply don't know any differently, and won't be able to recognize their behaviors as problematic, because they are normal for them. Later the author explains how the lack of sleep due to texting "results [in] poor performance, a sort of sleepwalking through classes and the day in a fog that some physicians liken to drunkenness." This imagery definitely demonstrates the harm that can fall on teens' health, and the association with drinking justifies the addictive nature of technology.
The use of details serves to solidify the argument with evidence. The author describes a specific teen girl, and how she sends over 10,000 text messages each month. To do this she has to interrupt her showers and stay up all night. By using a specific case study, it makes the argument more personal, which contributes to the sympathy the reader has been accumulating. Statistics are also used, like "13- to 17-year-olds send or receive an average of 1,742 text messages a month," and these add to the urgency of the editorial, making it seem like a true pandemic among us.
The purpose of this piece is to illustrate the text messaging problem many teens are facing, and to explain that it's not the teens' faults, but it's an addiction or illness they are victims of. The diction, language, and details carry this message to the reader.
***Ok, side note: I don't agree with this at all. We should be held accountable for our choices! There is no way that teens are just "victims" to texts. We are more than capable of NOT texting all night and I can't stand when people argue that kind of thing. People need to be held accountable for more; not everything is "a result of society's expectations" and whatever else annoying people say. Okay. I'm done.***
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