Response to Course Materials 4

This month in AP Lit, we "performed" William Shakespeare's Hamlet. I was the ghost of King Hamlet which, much to my sadness, was not a spooky role. Hamlet is probably my favorite of Shakespeare's plays. I love how the various characters deal with their impending doom. The tension and hooks keep the reader/viewer interested. Personally, I like my books like I like my bananas, long and thorough.

Afterward, we watched various versions of Hamlet, like the David Tennant, the Kenneth Branaugh and the Ethan Hawke version. I was not able to watch the Olivier, because I went home sick. The Tennant version is my favorite one. The Branaugh one was too laughable. One scene in particular, the scene where the ghost visits Hamlet, caused me to laugh out loud. The scene was put together with reused b-roll. Also, the scene was very reminiscent of the R.O.U.S. scene in The Princess Bride, a comedy. It's like opening a drama with a Monty Python reference. A lot of the ambiguity of Hamlet  is lost in this version. Branaugh's Hamlet is not insane, he just yells a lot. Lastly, it was missing many parts that helped the theme, and added gratuitous violence. The Hawke version was decent for what it was. It was not, however, as good as the Baz Luhrmann Romeo and Juliet. I would like to watch the full version and see what they cut. 

Response to Course Materials 3

This month, we did our second reading of Death of a Salesman. With this second reading, I found that I enjoyed it more the second time. The second time around I picked up on more symbolism and minor plot points that I missed. The sign that something is truly great is when you watch/read something the second time, that it is even better the second time around. One example is Apocalypse Now. While Death of a Salesman might not be one of my favorites, I respect its literary prowess and its interpretation of the American Dream.

Later, we wrote another practice essay, this time on Death of a Salesman. I felt better about this one. Matt edited my essay and provided me with good feedback. I'm slowly working my up to a five (hopefully). I need to work on timing as well.

Lastly, we began to read Hamlet. So far, I am really enjoying Hamlet. I really enjoy Shakespearean tragedies. I was not the biggest fan of Twelfth Night or Much Ado About Nothing. The flawed characters in plays like Macbeth  and Romeo and Juliet are a joy to read. I especially enjoyed Romeo and Juliet because as a teenager, I realized that teenagers make a lot of dumb mistakes. It was pretty eyeopening, like when I read The Catcher in the Rye. Ms. Holmes selected me to be the ghost, and I love the role. Having a ghost come back to motivate Hamlet to kill people is interesting. I hope that I enjoy reading Hamlet!

Death of a Salesman Summary and Analysis

After reading Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, readers are presented with another version of the American Dream. This dream is a lot like the American Dream Mommy and Daddy represented in Edward Albee's The American Dream. Sixth hour's theme for the play was prioritizing success over moral values will harm oneself and cause personal failure. 

The play starts out with main character Willy Loman comes back from a business trip and is greeted by his wife Linda. Readers/viewers find out that Willy's sons, Happy and Biff, are back in town. Willy heads to the kitchen where he has his first flashback. This involves his sons, in high school age, Linda and his neighbor's son, Bernard. Bernard rushes in saying that Biff will fail math if he doesn't study. Willy dismisses this and asks Biff if he is "well-liked". Willy then jumps back to reality where he angrily yells at Linda for mending stockings. This reminds Willy of his affair with The Woman, where The Woman was given stockings by Willy. His brother Ben then comes in in another flashback. Here, readers/viewers find out that Ben was a wealthy diamond tycoon in Africa, where he made his fortune. Willy was offered a job by Ben to go to Alaska. Charley, his neighbor, enters and tries to calm Willy down because of the ruckus he was making. Biff complains to Linda about Willy. Lind proceeds to tell Biff about Willy's suicide attempts. The family then goes to bed. The next morning, Willy goes to visit his boss, Howard, to try and secure a news job. Howard lets him go. Willy then goes to visit Charley at his office. He meets with Charley again and asks for money after Charley offers him another job. Willy again refuses and tells Charley that he was fired. Charley, furious, gives Willy the money needed to pay his bills and criticizes Willy for being prideful. Willy then goes to Frank's Chop House to meet his sons for dinner. Beforehand, Happy starts flirting with Miss Forsythe. Earlier that day, Biff had gone to see Bill Oliver to try and get a contract, but ends up leaving with no contract. Biff tries to tell Willy what actually happened, much to Happy's displeasure. Willy blurts out that he was fired, triggering another flashback. Here, we see Willy and The Woman. Biff enters the room and sees his father having an affair. Biff breaks down, causing Willy to not be able to convince Biff's teacher to pass him in math. The boys leave their father in the restaurant. At home, Linda tells the boys to leave. Willy enters and Biff and Will fight. Biff breaks down again and tells his father that they will not be seeing each other ever again. Everyone but Willy heads upstairs. Willy gets into his car and then commits suicide. At Willy's funeral, there are only five people, Linda, Biff, Happy, Charley and Bernard. 

Willy's top priority is to be popular or "well-liked". He puts that over his own family obligations. In regards to his children, he doesn't want them to be smart, or good people. He only cares about their popularity. For instance, when Biff is talking about his math teacher, Willy asks him why his teacher hates him. Biff responds that he pulled a prank on him. Willy then asks if the other students laughed. He says yes and Willy is happy. Also, Willy talks about all of the places that he's been to and how he's "well-liked" there. If Willy were "well-liked" then why is he not able to sell anything? His priority on success blinds him as to his actual failures. This priority causes him to idolize his brother. Ben went to Africa and became rich. When Ben goes to Africa for diamond mining, he is certainly not doing the mining. It's the natives he's exploiting. When Willy idolizes Ben. he throws all moral values out the window, and only focus on success. 

Hell On Earth: Close Reading 3

At Least They Spelled the Title Right

Considered one of the worst games of all time, Josh Harmon takes it upon himself to review Ride to Hell: Retribution.  He tells readers just how bad this game is by using a clever diction, effective syntax and  details into just how atrocious this game is.

According to Josh Harmon, this game is complete and utter garbage. He said that he could not stop laughing for two hours due to the hilarity of some of the situations. Women are treated as objects in this game, and nothing more. If there is a woman in the game, players will be having sex with them, fully clothed. To describe this, Harmon uses "never-nude", kind of like Tobias in Arrested Development. He uses words like "sexist" and "uncomfortable" to help get across how truly horrendous and offensive this game is.

Harmon's syntax also helps readers get an idea as to how terrible and repetitive this game is. In one paragraph, he talks about the main character's expression throughout everything. He does this by asking a question and then repeating the same "Squint, shifty eyes". This drives the point home about how repetitive and clunky the game is. Harmon puts him in many situations where he reacts the same way. Without this, readers may not get a true taste of how repetitive this game is.

Details are needed to accurately show how bad this game is. Harmon goes into a lot of detail showing the weaknesses of the game. He talks about the cover system, devoting a whole paragraph to it. Cover systems are an integral part of third person shooters. If this aspect of the game does not work, then the combat system is broken. By explaining the shortcomings of the cover system, readers get a view into this broken mess developer Eutechnyx calls a game.

The title speaks for Ride to Hell: Retribution. The only thing the developers got right was the title. To describe this "game" to readers, Harmon uses an apt diction, effective syntax and details about the game to tell people to not waste money on it.

Response to Course Materials 2

This month, we delved further into the world of Edward Albee's The American Dream. Our class came up with the "boss theme". That theme was "An increased emphasis on consumerism and greed creates a diseased American Dream that will turn around and destroy its creators." The conclusion came from Edward Albee saying himself that the Young Man was there to kill Mommy and Daddy. Albee's revelation is the basis of our conclusion. The Young Man is a production of the new American dream. Since he is there to kill the Mommy and Daddy, he is there because of the new dream that people like Mommy and Daddy created.

Later, we read Nuts and Bolts of College Writing. I enjoyed this book. It taught me some ways to improve my writing, which I have been trying to incorporate in my writing, not just in lit, but in my writing for the newspaper and my college essays.

How to Read Literature like a Professor was a disappointment. I thought that I would have learned new ideas and how to apply them to my analysis of literature, movies and games. I knew most of the things in the book, like the communion and weather. Also, the way I interpreted a lot of the chapters was, it is always 100 per cent the case except for when it is not (excluding the sex chapter). I enjoy coming up with my own ideas and connections rather than having them presented to me. However, I do enjoy the discussions provided by the slides Ms. Holmes puts on the board.

I still have not made up my mind about how I feel about Death of a Salesman. For me, it's a lot like The Great Gatsby. I felt as though I did not get a good understanding of anything. I completely missed the green light, considered the largest symbol in the entire book. It did not make sense to me. Death of a Salesman is kind of the same. However, I am not completely lost. I got some things, but missed key points like the $20,000 while watching the movie. 

We got introduced to the format of the AP exam, like how the multiple choice and essays work. The multiple choice section sounds tough, but the essays were easier than expected. The format is a lot like the AP World History format, three essays to write in 2 hours. Our class got to write a practice essay. Unlike in AP World, we learned how to write before were graded on an essay. This essay is greatly appreciated. I was partnered with Zeke for the essay corrections. Zeke, along with my own corrections with the help of Nuts and Bolts of College Writing helped turn my horrendous practice essay into something decent. I still have a ton of progress to make, but I feel much better about the AP Exam writing portion.

Summary and Analysis of The American Dream

Edward Albee's The American Dream presents viewer with an absurd, twisted and cynical view of what the American Dream. The American Dream not only presents a reimagined American Dream (Mommy), but also contrasts it with the old American Dream (Grandma). Albee even goes as far as to say that this new American Dream, fueled by greed and consumerism, will ultimately kill you.

The American Dream starts out in a living room with the married couple Mommy and Daddy, along with Mommy's mother Grandma. Mommy tells Daddy about her trip to the store to get a hat, a beige hat to be exact. Mommy then flips out when the president of her women's club tells her that she bought a wheat hat. This causes Mommy to storm back into the store and demand a new hat. Grandma enters with loads of boxes. With the boxes to spark her memory, Mommy reminisces about how Grandma would pack her lunches in neatly wrapped boxes. The neatly wrapped boxes looked too nice to unwrap, so she didn't. Mommy was content in receiving food from children who felt bad for her. Viewers then find out that Mommy only married Daddy for his money. The doorbell soon rings and Grandma shouts about how the van people have finally come to take her away. Mrs. Barker comes in instead of the van people. Mommy asks her if she would like to remove her dress. Daddy then says, "I just blushed and giggled and got sticky wet" (Albee 79). This is due to Daddy being forced into a sex change by Mommy. Then, Mommy threatens to have Grandma taken away. She tells Daddy to go smash Grandma's TV. Mrs. Barker then asks Grandma about the nature of her visit. Grandma tells Mrs. Barker a hint about her visit. She tells her that a man, very much like Daddy, and a woman, very much like Mommy, contacted Bye-Bye Adoption Services about getting a "bumble". They adopt the bumble, but the bumble only had eyes for Daddy, so Mommy proceeded to mutilate it. The bumble was killed and the family called the Bye-Bye Adoption Service to get their money back. Mrs. Barker goes to get her water from Mommy when then the doorbell rings again. It's the Young Man. Grandma talks to him and comments on his physical appearance. She then christens him the American Dream. The Young Man says that he came for work and that he'll do anything for money. Grandma takes him up on that offer. Mrs. Barker come back and see the Young Man. Grandma says that he is the van man. She and the Young Man leave with the boxes. Mommy and Daddy enter and find out that the van man took Grandma. Mommy becomes distraught saying that the van man was fake. Grandma breaks the fourth wall while watching the family adopt the Young Man as one of their own. She says that she'll leave now while everyone is happy.

Mommy and Grandma are foils. Mommy represents the new American dream, while Grandma represents the old American dream. The new American dream is fueled by greed and consumerism while the old American dream is more of the old "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps". For instance, Mommy complaining about her beige hat to the store clerk shows that she only cares about what others think of her. If the president of her woman's club hadn't come along, then she would have been perfectly content without the president's input. Mommy and Grandma's separate views of the boxes also plays a role in the separate American dreams. Mommy only cared about the outside of the boxes so she wouldn't eat the lunches. Grandma would eat the food. Grandma cared about what was on the inside.

The Young Man is what the new American Dream created by Mommy and Daddy's generation. The Young Man is the brother of the bumble. Grandma naming him the American Dream is important. He was raised in a society that only cares about the superficial aspects of life. This is why Mommy and Daddy killed the bumble. The Young Man now will do anything for money. Grandma is paying him to kill Mommy and Daddy so it comes full circle.

Power is also important to the play. One of the main characters, Daddy, loses his masculinity due to Mommy's desire for power. Mommy also wants to be the center of attention. She constantly makes sure that Daddy is paying attention to her. This also happens with her run-in with the president of her woman's club. She appeases people of a higher status. She is trying to climb the social ladder to quench her thirst for control and power. 

Do You Like Hurting Other People?: Close Reading 2

Edge Staff: Hotline Miami Review

Many games today are oriented towards violence such as the game being reviewed, Hotline Miami. The staff of Edge Magazine asks a great and prevalent question: "do you like hurting other people?". Games are not the only media to fall in this category. A Clockwork Orange uses violence in its story (Kubrick and Burgess' versions) to showcase its themes. Violence and love are contrasted in Romeo and Juliet. The Edge Staff go as far as to say that the link between violence and entertainment is the central theme of the game. The Edge Staff asks this question with the use of clever diction, an insight, through details and images, into the violence of Hotline Miami and connections with other video games.

The review of Hotline Miami uses a clever diction to get its question across to the reader. The Edge Staff uses the word "masocore" a term referring to a genre of video games design to frustrate users with difficult objectives and various trial and error scenarios. Masocore is a combination of masochist and hardcore. Players derive pleasure from the arduous objectives and the hardcore aspects of some of the killing. Describing the game as thus drives home the point of this brutal, 2-D slaughter-fest where players are meant to enjoy massacring their fellow humans. The Edge Staff also uses filleting, a word usually reserved to the killing of animals or in reference to a juicy steak. Filleting shows how little human life matters to the players and main character of Hotline Miami. With words like this, readers can clearly understand if they enjoy hurting other people. 

Violence is a centerpiece of the gameplay in Hotline Miami. Killing in Hotline Miami is very methodical. According to the Edge Staff, "Most violent games are about chewing through an endless bus queue of enemies" whereas in Hotline Miami, it is simplified into three sections: "waiting, killing, and dying when you get it wrong". They even talk about how one kills. "Death may come by katana, by wrench, or by door, but it always comes in a sweaty blur," the Edge Staff said. Not only do they describe the means of death, they describe how it is done: in a frantic manner. When reevaluating the question of "do you like hurting other people?" it is crucial to know why. Why is important because killing is presented in a different way in comparison to other games with high bodycounts. These details gives readers a look into the horrific masterpiece known as Hotline Miami. 

Lastly, the Edge Staff compares violence in Hotline Miami to violence in other games. They talk about the rhythm of the game, primarily the instant restarts after death. Super Meat Boy, another game in the masocore genre, is referenced comparing it to Hotline Miami in regard to its "instadeath" mechanic. Instead of a combo based shooter, Hotline Miami turns into a grisly, methodical twitch shooter. The Edge Staff even goes as far to call it "a glorious sandbox of gore". The Edge Staff goes even compares it to Rockstar Games' infamous Manhunt, saying that Hotline Miami "will sicken you even as it provides its murky thrills" just like in Manhunt. 

In today's society, violence is everywhere, from children's cartoons, the silver screen and even the literature we read. The Edge Staff uses these ideas of thematic violence to ask the question "do we like hurting other people?" through the use of apt diction, giving readers a first hand account into the violence of Hotline Miami, and with connections to other games with similar themes and motifs. 

Response to Course Materials 1

One of the first concepts that we learned in AP Lit was DIDLS with and extra S for symbolism. For those who do not know, D stands for diction, I for imagery, D for details, L for language, and S for syntax. Never before in any of my literature classes, had I been given such a simple and complete way to analysis literature. We spent the majority of our time on imagery and details. I never thought that diction, language or syntax could affect the way we analyze literature. After reading and thinking about Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart, I realized that short choppy sentences can add a sense of insanity into the narration. For instance, the narrator uses short choppy sentences with abrupt stops to explain that his madness was justified, which created a frantic insane vibe.

After using DIDLS on short stories, we brought DIDLS to poetry. For the poetry, I decided to analyze My Father and the Fig Tree by Naomi Shihab Nye. I never thought of poetry in the definition given to us in class, "Language condensed for artistic effect". My Father and the Fig Tree was a perfect example of this. The author managed to cram so much information about his life and his father's into a two hundred and eighty word poem. Until reading some examples of poetry and using DIDLS to analyze them, I did not have a full appreciation of what poetry was.

Soon after, we read The American Dream by Edward Albee which introduced me to the concept of the Theater of the Absurd. I found a new genre that I enjoy. I had heard about play like this (Waiting for Godot and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead) but had never actually read any examples. Part of the reason I love the Theater of the Absurd, is the way it satirizes things that we take for granted and pokes fun at our society, even though it is set in a world with backwards ideals. For instance, Grandma names the young man "The American Dream", which is poking fun at what the American Dream actually is.. The young man is a handsome, yet empty shell of a person who will do anything for money, which is saying that the American Dream is something that is glorious, but is exactly how it is portrayed, and empty ideal that seems grand. 

Jesus Resurrected: Close Reading 1

James Poniewozik: Black Jesus laughs with, more than at, its Son of God

http://time.com/3086811/review-black-jesus-adult-swim/

Reviewer James Poniewozik makes it clear that Adult Swim's Black Jesus is a "mockery with Jesus" and not a "mockery of Jesus". Poniewozik makes his point clear with the help of clear diction, details that give us an insight into the show and by making connections with other pop culture references to Jesus' rebirth.

The article's diction helps the reader gain an understanding about the show itself. Readers will pick up on his choice of words like "New Testament-ish" and "Sunday-School-pageant getup" show that this show is a weird mash-up of old ideas with a new interpretation. When Poniewozik uses "New Testament-ish" he is referring to Black Jesus "hanging out with sinner, partiers and prostitutes". Jesus was often affiliated with those types of people when he was alive, showing the new interpretation of old ideas. The use of "Sunday-School-pageant getup" draws parallels with modern day Sunday Schools. A lot of churches will act out certain scenes from the Bible, much like what Black Jesus does. Just like these Sunday Schools, Black Jesus is trying to spread a message about God and Christianity.

Poniewozik uses a myriad of examples to give readers an insight into the show. For instance, he uses quotes from the show like Black Jesus saying "I ain't in charge of miracles. That's Pops!". Thanks to this quote, readers get an insight into the Son of God's life in South Compton and his affiliation with his father, God. Black Jesus creates miracles like healing people and reading minds, but insists that all of these miracles are God's work. Quotes like this help readers gain a better understanding into Black Jesus as a character. Poniewozik also uses other examples, such as talking about the conflicts Black Jesus faces. Without this, readers may be led to believe that Jesus engages in religious conflicts. Instead, he deals with "crooks and self-dealers who care less about the community than their community of one". Poniewozik also shows that the show is not about mocking Jesus or Christianity by stating "Black Jesus may be crude and irreverent, but it's most interested in mocking a world in which Jesus' message perpetually won't fly". These details are crucial for readers to know before they watch the show. Without these details, readers may believe that the show is something that it is not. Poniewozik even quotes John 20:29 when referring to people who believe the show to be blasphemous and yet have not seen it. With this comparison to Doubting Thomas (the biblical character who doubts Jesus' existence), he tells readers to give Black Jesus a chance before they make their decision on whether to call it blasphemous or not.

Lastly, Poniewozik uses references to pop culture to draw parallels with other versions of Black Jesus. He relates the show to Monty Python's The Life of Brian, Saturday Night Live's: Djesus Uncrossed, and ever Family Guy's depiction of a Black Jesus. With comparisons like this, the readers can determine the tongue-in-cheek mentality of Black Jesus from a comparison to other forms of the character Black Jesus or even a biblical interpretation of Jesus. He also mentions that this is not a new concept of Jesus' return, giving examples of creators using the rebirth of Christ as a concept. Jesus' returning has been seen in South Park  and in Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brother's  Karamazov. Poniewozik uses these to show that Black Jesus is not only a reinterpretation of old ideas in the biblical sense, but also a reinterpretation of Jesus' return in the pop culture sense.

Poniewozik uses an effective diction, details that give reader an idea as to what the show is actually about and makes connections through pop culture all to show that Black Jesus is actually a "stoner hangout comedy at heart" rather than a "mockery of Jesus". He shows that the show is not all what it is chalked up to be, but rather about Black Jesus trying to spread his message to a non receptive society.