March Course Material

Hey. Why are we doing this now instead of at the end of the month? There's another half to this month!

The closed prompt practice was extremely helpful. I would love if we did even more of them to practice for the AP, which we probably will. I actually really loved the writing style of Cisneros, and I wish I could write in that style! Maybe with lots of practice I can. :)

After essay practice, we read lots and lots of info about Native American culture to prep for Ceremony. I'm embarrassed to say, but I didn't absorb a whole lot of the content. It's just so foreign to me that it's difficult to remember the details, but in reading I recall the references like "corn mother." But I don't necessarily remember the backstory and significance.

I feel a little lost in Ceremony. The more I read, the more I like it and adjust to Silko's style. She writes in a very wandering manner, and the third-person POV doesn't help me too much. Nonetheless, I do like the story so far and her style is growing on me a we read on. I'm looking forward to all the native culture we're being exposed to; At the start of this unit I was more than a little ignorant about this culture and had little background knowledge. I love learning about other cultures and values anyway. Hence, my running of the world language/cultures club.

Lastly, we discussed literary lenses. So... I somehow totally forgot about the assigned reading on the lenses, and then made an idiot of myself in class and disappointed Ms Holmes. So that sucked. Don't worry, though, team. I went back and caught up. And sorry, Ms Holmes. It was an accident.

Good luck, everyone, on keeping caught up with your reading of Ceremony! I'm still hoping Ms Holmes is going to say "I was just kidding; You don't have to annotate that whole book!" but we'll see...

Open Prompt Practice

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

In Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman, the main character Willy Loman is frequently reaching to the past, reliving memories both good and bad until he can figure out where he went wrong with his life. This causes dysfunction in his family, as he interacts with them as if nothing has changed between the past and present. Because he can not be content until he accepts responsibility for his past mistakes, the play conveys a universal message that one can not simply bury bad memories in the back of their mind; rather, one must face reality and learn from their mistakes lest they become trapped in the past.

At any moment throughout the play, Willy Loman may be mentally teleported to a past memory without warning. He recalls his son, Biff, when he was in high school and remembers Biff's popularity and success with sports. When he comes back to the present, Willy speaks to Biff about how well-liked he is an insists he go get his old job back. This is just frustrating for Biff because that part of his life is over and his father's statements are inaccurate.

Because Willy resists remembering his big mistake--which was having an affair that Biff witnessed--for much of the play, he doesn't understand why his relationship with Biff isn't what it used to be. He continues interacting with Biff as if nothing is wrong, which really offends him and only hurts their relationship even more. It's not until he finally faces that memory that he can really talk to his son.

After facing his past regrets, Willy is able to move forward in his life. Unfortunately, this means he is finally able to finish his goal of committing suicide. While he was avoiding dealing with his past he was stuck in life, and his interactions with his family were inappropriate and based on their past situation instead of the present. After he deals with his past problems he can finally understand his family's dynamic and find peace for himself. This suggests that one must contend with their past in order to move forward.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

Author:

Tom Stoppard, or T-Stopz, if you prefer. Fun fact from Wikipedia (so whip this one out at your own discretion): " "Stoppardian" became a term describing works using wit and comedy while addressing philosophical concepts " (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Stoppard#Themes)

Plot:

- R and G are on stage in an undeveloped, vague, void-like setting. They flip coins which come up "Heads" without fail every time, which troubles Guil who continues betting on "Tails." He questions the law of probability.
-The two can not remember why they are there, but only know they were summoned by a (mysterious) messenger to travel this way.
-The acting group comes by, offers themselves as prostitutes, then start to leave after rejection. Guil and the Player bet on a coin toss, which actually turns out "Tails" and the players repay the bet with a play.
-Suddenly R and G are absorbed into the play of Hamlet, where Claudius assigns them their task of figuring out why Hamlet is so stressed out.
-The two play word games which yield no progress and they meet with Hamlet and it's just confusing for everyone; they can't figure out exactly why Hamlet is so strange or if it's true madness.
-Play-ception happens.
-Hamlet kills Polonius and R and G are assigned to take him to England.
-R and G realize that the King's letter says to execute Hamlet, but they decide not to change the course they are already on. In the night, Hamlet swaps the letter for one ordering R and G's execution.
-The actors jump out of barrels and pirates attack.
-Guil reads the new letter and in his desperation stabs the Player, who "dies" but then gets back up because the knife was just a stage prop.
-The two realize their deaths are coming and Rosencrantz exits, emotional. Guildenstern talks about how there should have been another option / a time to say "No" and avoid it all. He fades out, dying.
-The play ends with the Hamlet cast all dead while Horatio delivers a closing speech.

Characters

Rosencrantz: The more relaxed of the two. He would rather calmly seek a solution to their problems than philosophize and reason endlessly like Guil does. He reacts to the situation with indifference but to death with emotion and fear.

Guildenstern: A know-it-all type. He reacts to the situation with frustration and fear, but to death with indifference (just a little regret). He overthinks and therefore makes no real progress.

The Player: He's very mysterious and implies that he understands the situation R and G are in. The Player represents low-culture, foiling R and G. (He interprets entertainment as simply sex and violence)

Hamlet: Prince of Denmark. You know.

Stoppard's Style

Stoppard uses extensive stage directions, which allow the play to read well like a novel (kind of). Often the little commentary can add a burst of humor as it complements or contradicts the dialogue around it.

Symbols

coins = failure of logic, rules, balance
England = heaven, afterlife
boat = life. just life.
the letter = opportunity to change your fate

Theme 

One must take control of their own life, rather than allow others to make decisions for them. Failure to take charge and responsibility for one's own choices is self destructive and yields a meaningless existence.

Quotes

"There must have been a moment... at the beginning... where we could have said, No"
(Illustrates that they should have seized the opportunity to change course.)

“Rosencrantz: Shouldn't we be doing something--constructive?
Guildenstern: What did you have in mind? ... A short, blunt human pyramid...?”  
(The desire to make their own progress, and the mocking of that notion.)

Rationale

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern fail to take control of their own life when they continue on their way to England, knowing their undeserved deaths await there. That's clearly self-destructive. Ros and Guil also look to the Player for answers and guidance (DIRECTION), but just going with the flow of the play lends them no understanding of why things are happening. They never obtain adequate answers or direction this way, but would be better off simply arriving to their own conclusion and creating their own rules as they do in word-games.