Response to Course Materials

Thanks to breaks, snow days and finals wrapping up, this month was pretty short. We read Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard. I enjoyed this piece, although I couldn't tell you why. Maybe it had to do with its self-aware humor. Maybe it was its like-able, relatable leads. Or maybe the layers of control present. Whatever it was, I loved it.

Our class began working on our theme statement. We knew we had to include control, split personalities between Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and the cyclical nature of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.

This month has been a little low on events. Hopefully next month we won't have a ton of breaks and snow days to stop us.

Open Prompt 2: 1970a

In Edward Albee's The American Dream, a parallel society is present in our society's stead. In this society, desire for power, materialism and selfishness are emphasized. This causes Grandma to leave and kill the problem.

Power is emphasized by characters like Mommy. She is the dominant figure in the household, compared to the stereotypical male-lead American household. This is because she forces Daddy to get a sex change so she can assert her dominance. She wants more and more power causing Grandma, who represents the old world ideals of pulling oneself up by their own bootstraps, to leave hire the Young Man to kill Mommy and Daddy. Mommy tries to control Grandma, but this causes Grandma to hide her belongings and eventually leave.

Materialism forces Grandma to leave and kill Mommy and Daddy. Mommy and her desire for more goods is present from birth. Grandma talks about how Mommy only cared about the outside of the way Grandma packed her lunches. She would not even open her lunch because it would ruin its shape. She did not look deeper. This is why she cannot find Grandma's stuff when she hides it. Grandma leaves because of this materialism.

Lastly, selfishness causes Grandma to leave. No one in the family cares for each other. Daddy is a puppet of Mommy, and Mommy takes everything that she can. She taunts the characters like Daddy, and cannot even be bothered to remember Ms. Barker's name. Grandma does not jive well with this and gets the Young Man to kill Mommy and Daddy so she does not have to deal with it anymore.

Desire for power, materialism and selfishness cause Grandma to leave the society created by the likes of Mommy and Daddy. The American Dream's society is so unlike the old one, that Grandma leaves, and purges the household.

Open Prompt Part 1: 2003

Essay #1

Student LLLL did wrote a fine essay. LLLL used a myriad of quotes to back up his points, more than I would have remembered for the AP exam. The quotes were not just there to be quotes. They added depth to LLLL' analysis. Each paragraph had one to help LLLL's points. LLLL summarized the plot but only to get his points across. It brought some out some less-thought off analysis of The Great Gatsby. LLLL went off the beaten path. The thesis paragraph is concise and well-written, however, I would have rather have more sentences instead of one short and one long, almost run on, sentence. LLLL lays out his supporting points very clearly, just by listing the three. I like this. It makes it easier to know exactly what the writer is trying to say. Lastly, LLLL brings in evidence that supports the points not only from the text, but also from the time period.

Essay #2

The thesis paragraph has valid points, but it drags on for too long. A thesis paragraph should be concise and get to the point. The title of the play, King Lear, is not even used, except to describe the King Lear as a person. William Shakespeare is not named either. However, the thesis statement at the end is good. I have no problems with the way it was written, other than maybe it is a little wordy. The conclusion shares some of the same problems of the thesis paragraph, it is too lengthy. It should just say what it needs to say, and then stop. Also, the first paragraph has a little too much summarization in it. For someone who has not read King Lear, this is appreciated, except that I should not even be reading this analysis unless I have read King Lear. AP graders may not want as much summarization of the plot.

Essay #3

Student FF does a lot of Student C did. They both summarized the plot a little too much. The thesis paragraph is the opposite of Student C's however. It shoves the reader into a plot summarization without very much about how McMurphy is a tragic hero. It just defines tragic hero. The paragraphs do not have much semblance of arguments for the plot, it just summarizes. A majority of the paragraphs just summarize the plot and then say very little about how McMurphy is a tragic hero. The essay is saying that McMurphy is a tragic hero because others got hurt along the way, but does go beyond that. That is also the only argument. With only one support, an essay like this could have many holes. Student FF has one point tacked on the end, the part with the narrator, haphazardly. It's like the writer forgot to add on a point, but only had five minutes to add it.

Hamlet Summary and Analysis

A ghost appears to some people guarding Elsinore castle. One of the people is Hamlet's friend, Horatio. Horatio goes to tell Hamlet. The man is his father, King Hamlet. King Hamlet tells his son that he was murdered by the newly-crowned king, King Hamlet's brother, Claudius. Claudius has also married King Hamlet's wife, Gertrude. Hamlet then seeks vengeance from Claudius. Hamlet begins to feign madness to help his long, drawn out plot to kill his uncle, Claudius. Claudius gets Hamlet's friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet. In addition, Polonius and Claudius decide to spy on Hamlet when he is speaking to Polonius's daughter, Ophelia. Hamlet flips out in his conversation with Ophelia. He tells her "Get thee to a nunnery" (131). A troupe of actors come to visit Elsinore. Hamlet gets the actors to act in a play where a usurper kills the king and marries the queen. Hamlet is using this to make sure that Claudius killed King Hamlet. He'll base his judgement off of his reaction. Claudius gets distraught and leaves halfway through the play. Hamlet then goes off to murk Claudius. However, Hamlet decides against killing Claudius because he is at prayer. While praying, Claudius admits to killing King Hamlet. Hamlet goes off to talk to his mother about all of this. Polonius is hiding in the bedroom and Hamlet hears him, so he stabs the tapestry Polonius is hiding behind, killing him. Hamlet is then sent off to England for his misdeeds. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are given direct orders from Claudius to have the king of England execute Hamlet. Ophelia "drowns" because of her father's death. Laertes catches wind of his father's and sister's death. Claudius tells him that it was all Hamlet's doing. Claudius comes up with a two part plan to kill Hamlet. Step one: have Laertes challenge Hamlet to a fencing match. Laertes will use a poisoned blade. Step two: Claudius will poison Hamlet. Hamlet is abducted by pirates and brought back. Hamlet comes back and is informed by Osric of the upcoming duel. Hamlet accepts and proceeds to the fight. Gertrude drinks from the poisoned drink. Then, Hamlet gets stabbed. Laertes gets stabbed with the poisoned sword and tells Hamlet about the king's plan. Hamlet then proceeds to stab Claudius. Hamlet dies. Fortinbras enters and orders a hero's burial for Hamlet.

Hamlet is a play about power, and the acquisition of power. The play would not have started unless Claudius had his power grab against King Hamlet. Claudius tries to change his fate by killing the king. He tries to speed up the process as to how he gets power. Hamlet is also interested in disposing of the power by killing Claudius. Hamlet also takes fate into his own hands by trying to kill Claudius. Also, having the power concentrated in Elsinore creates a very incestuous environment. The power in the castle causes characters to die from the power grabs of others.

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.