Prompt Revision #4: Open Prompt #1

Note – I did this essay on the book The Last Song and that’s not a well-known piece of work so I rewrote it based on Death of a Salesman

Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or a parental figure) and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid plot summary.

            In the play Death of a Salesman the relationship between Biff and his father is very important because it sets up the theme of this play and it symbolizes the struggle of trying to achieve the American Dream.

            The struggle between Biff and Willy is a deep - rooted conflict that goes back to when Biff was a child.  Biff could do no wrong in Willy’s eyes, and Biff took advantage of this special treatment by stealing and failing classes in school.  Willy worked as a salesman and had to travel a lot, and during one of Willy’s out of town trips Biff decided to come up and visit his father, and when he did he saw that his father had been cheating on his mother.  This realization lead to Biff resenting his father and losing all respect for him, as a result Biff went out on his own and tried to work on farms, and ending up in jail for a little bit.  When Biff finally comes home his father pushes him into getting a job as a salesman and this conflict of Biff wanting to do his own thing, and Willy pushing him to get a job as a salesman and make a good living sets the scene for the whole play.

           

            The themes present in this play are respect/reputation and following your dreams.  The theme of respect and reputation is present throughout the whole play because Willy constantly says that all someone needs to be successful in like is to be well liked, and that’s why Willy thinks Biff can succeed.  Willy doesn’t seen to understand that Biff doesn’t have a good education, the only thing willy cares about is his reputation so he wants to make sure his son is well liked and has a successful job.  Biff on the other hand doesn’t believe that he needs to uphold a certain reputation; instead he wants to go and try being a farmer or doing something where he can work outside and work with his hands.  Biff and Willy’s conflict add to this theme and help emphasize it.  The other theme present is following your dreams, and that’s what Biff is trying to do.  He’s trying to find himself and find a job that makes him happy.  On the other hand Willy is pushing Biff to be a salesman because that’s a respected occupation.  Throughout the play it’s apparent that Willy made the mistake of not following his passion and made a wrong decision in life, and Biff doesn’t want to do the same.

            Last is the idea of wanting to achieve the American Dream.  Willy took the job as a salesman just to achieve the American Dream, and he plays up his a job a lot in his head and makes it sound like he holds a highly respected position.  He does this because he wants to seem successful, and the reason he fights with Biff and pushes him to take a job as a salesman is so Biff can also achieve the American Dream.  Another reason is that part of Willy knows that he didn’t succeed so he wants to live through Biff.  The conflict between Willy and Biff emphasizes the idea of the American Dream, and makes readers think about the true meaning of that phrase.

            Biff and Willy’s conflict isn’t just there as a plot twist, it’s present to emphasize the themes in the play and also to make readers think about the true meaning of the American Dream.  

Ceremony Summary/Analysis

Author – Leslie Marmon Silko

Setting – Many different Laguna reservations after World War II

Point of View – Third person, and the narrator/ author shows bias towards Tayo

Characters

1.       Tayo – He’s the main character who has just come back from the war and is sick, throughout the book readers find out he’s not physically ill but mentally ill.  Tayo has to deal with being half Laguna and half white, and in the end the Ceremony that makes him feel better is the fact that he’s able to establish his identity and blend his two cultures together.

2.       Betonie – He’s the medicine man that kicks off Tayo’s journey, and he was able to connect with the spiritual world.  Betonie’s visions and his star pattern are what helped Tayo get better.

3.       Auntie – Tayo’s mom’s sister who is very concerns about her image since her sister had an affair with a white man, because of this Auntie makes a point of keeping Tayo distant.  Auntie is ready to assimilate to the white culture just like her son Rocky.

4.       Josiah – Tayo’s uncle who acted as a father figure for him.  Josiah is the one that kept Tayo close and made him feel like part of the family.  Tayo herded cattle with him, and met the Night Swan through Josiah.  One of Tayo’s problems throughout the book is coping with Josiah’s death.

Plot Summary – Tayo starts out at Auntie’s house and throughout the story readers are taken along for the ride with Tayo as he pieces together his memories.  Grandma suggests that Tayo should go to a medicine man to get better so Tayo first sees Ku’oosh, and then sees Betonie who helps him even more.  Betonie tells Tayo his future and when those things have happened Tayo’s ceremony will be completed.  Inspired by Betonie Tayo goes to chase the cattle that Josiah and he raised, and while looking for them Tayo met Ts’eh who is the yellow woman and part of Tayo’s ceremony.  After spending time together Ts’eh can see that Emo is coming to kill Tayo.  Tayo spends the night trying to hide from Emo (death) and does so successfully.  In the end Tayo is cured and readers learn that this story is one that’s told over and over again, but there are just different names.

Themes

1.       Storytelling – At the end readers realize this is just a story and Tayo and the characters just fit into the character slots.  The many poems also add to this theme because they act as a backbone for the story because the ideas in the poem parallel and foreshadows Tayo’s journey.

2.       Integration of Culture – Tayo’s whole journey/ceremony happens due to the root issue of Tayo’s mixed culture, because he’s stuck between the white and Laguna culture.  In the end when Tayo is finally cured it’s because he found a good balance and as a result found his identity.

3.       Tradition – This is evident throughout the story because the people who tried to stray away from culture ended up dead, for example Rocky and Helen Jean.  This is also a lesson to be learned, and Tayo ends up surviving because he still sticks to some traditional ways.

Quotes

1.       She sighed, and laid her head back on the chair. "It seems like I already heard these stories before—only thing is, the names sound different."

Ø  This quote is important because backs up the theme of storytelling and how everybody’s story is the same, and the character roles are just filled with different people

2.       Only Humans had to endure anything because only humans resisted what they saw outside of themselves.

Ø  This quote is important because when Tayo took Josiah’s advice and took charge of his “animal” side Tayo succeeded in life and met fewer obstacles

3.       He could feel it inside his skull- the tension of little thread being pulled and how it was with tangled things, things tied together, and as he tried to pull them apart and rewind them into their places, they snagged and tangled even more.

Ø  This quote showed readers how confused Tayo is and the quote uses symbolism to help that point across because the tangles thread represented Tayo.

 

 

 

Response To Course Materials #8....Last One!!!!!

We're almost there...only a few more weeks until the dreaded AP exam.  Since the last post we've finished Ceremony and annotated the whole book, which took some time.  But after annotating I found a lot of important things, for example the repetition of the color blue, and the idea of lions, bears, and deer.  After discussing the novel and reading many articles talking about it and the culture I was able to see the novel in an analytic way, and I pulled out the theme of change/transformations.  This book showed me that there's a lot more that what's on the surface, obviously this is true for all the books we have read because we keep digging to find new meanings, but with Ceremony I felt like the deeper levels were achieved by learning more about the Laguna culture rather than just analyzing.  When it comes to the previous books we have read the only similarity I see with Tayo and the other characters is the idea of identity.  Tayo is like Biff in that sense because they both don't know themselves because they are trying to live up to the standards of others.  For Biff it's his father he's trying to impress, and with Tayo it's the whole community and their idea that Tayo is inferior to then because he's not full Laguna.

We have now started to read Fifth Business and this book is definitely easier to read than any of the other books, and we don't have to annotate it!!!!!!!  So far I'm enjoying the book, and I'm interested to see where the Jung ideas we talked about in class will fit into this novel.  Now moving on to the AP exam, Im still nervous for it because I don't know if my analyzing skills are strong enough, but I think doing the practice multiple choice during FLEX will help!

Prompt Revision #3: Open Prompt #4

1979. Choose a complex and important character in a novel or a play of recognized literary merit who might on the basis of the character's actions alone be considered evil or immoral. In a well-organized essay, explain both how and why the full presentation of the character in the work makes us react more sympathetically than we otherwise might. Avoid plot summary.

                In the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman is seen through different viewpoints.  Throughout the play readers feel anger and frustration towards Willy Loman due to his immoral and evil actions, but at other times readers feel guilt and maybe even sympathy towards him.  Willy Loman is a complex character who can evoke the desired emotion from readers when appropriate.  Readers feel anger towards Willy when they find out about his affair and his constant lack of authority when it comes to his son Biff, but readers feel sympathy when they learn about Willy’s situation, and his immense sense of pride.

                At the beginning of the play readers find out that Willy Loman has been having “flashbacks” that readers and his sons blame on Willy just being crazy.  As the play goes on Linda Loman explains that Willy’s salary has been taken away and he’s solely working on commission, Willy has been traveling hundreds of miles per week, and he is suicidal.  At this point Arthur Miller evokes feelings of sympathy from the readers, and also from Willy’s sons who now see Willy in a new way.  Miller conveniently added this piece of information right after readers find out Willy is having an affair, so they don’t feel like he’s only a bad guy.

                Adultery is definitely seen as an immoral action, and Willy Loman is guilty for cheating on his wife with another woman while he is out on his business trips.  Readers find out that this affair may be more than just for fun when the woman says “I’ll put you right through to the buyers.”  This means that Willy could be using her just to get ahead in the business world, and that would just cause more anger towards Willy.  Linda’s kind and understanding attitude towards Willy angers readers even more, because Willy is taking Linda for granted, and going off to fool around with another woman.

            Throughout the play readers learn that Will has a great sense of pride and doesn’t want his family to see him as a failure.  This idea is emphasized when Willy lost his job, and wouldn’t accept a new job from Charley.  At this point readers may be frustrated with Willy, but at the same time they would feel sympathy, and some readers may even be able to relate to what Willy’s going through.

                Lastly Willy has no sense of morals when it comes to his favorite son; Biff.  Biff is a thief and doesn’t care about school, but Willy has no sense of authority, because he believes Biff will get ahead in the real world due to his looks and likeability.  At the beginning of the play Biff steals a football in one of Willy’s flashbacks and when Willy finds out he says “Sure, he’s gotta practice with a regulation ball, doesn’t he?”  This just shows that Willy doesn’t have a good sense of morals and believes Biff can do no wrong; this action evokes anger from readers because Willy isn’t acting as the authority figure, but rather as Biff’s friend.  Also when Biff tells Willy that his math teacher is only failing him because he doesn’t like Biff because Biff imitated him in front of the whole class Willy just asks if the other students thought if it was funny.  This proves that Willy doesn’t discipline his sons for their bad behavior, but just wants them to be well liked.

                Arthur Miller did a great job creating the complex character of Willy Loman who manages to be evil, yet still have readers cheering him on due to the sympathy they feel.  Willy Loman is a very different character who manages to be loved and hated at the same time.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead summary/analysis

Author – Tom Stoppard

Setting – There are three main locations…

1.      A no man’s land – this is significant because this idea of uncertainty is not only portrayed by the location but by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as well, they have no idea why they are there and what they are supposed to do.

2.      Court of Denmark – this is significant because this is the part of the play where they are sucked into the world of Hamlet

3.      Boat – this is significant because being on the boat represents death, where you are all alone in a large body of water

Characters

1.      Rosencrantz – He can be seen as the goofy sidekick who does whatever he is told and really doesn’t think for himself.  Rosencrantz (Ros) is a nicer personality than Guil, and he is more likeable by the people they meet on their journey.  Once in a while Ros does say something out of character that’s wise or profound.

2.      Guildenstern – Guil is the leader in the duo and he is a realist.  Guil may not be much smarter than Ros, but is trying to prove that he’s smart by talking about well-known scientific theories.  Guil scares readers because he is realistic and reveals a scary truth that everyone will end up dying and that nobody serves a true purpose in the world.  Guil is also not seen as the best friend, because he has no loyalty and this is seen when he thought it was okay to send Hamlet to his death.

3.      The Player – He is the leader of the tragedians, and when readers first meet him he doesn’t give off the best first impression, because he talks about rape and prostitution.  He feels that life is like being an actor in a play where someone else has already determined your fate, so there’s no point trying to change it.  Overall the player is obsessed with death and that’s what the majority of his lines talk about

Plot Summary

1.      The play starts out with Ros and Guil flipping coins and it keeps landing on heads and Ros keeps pocketing the money

2.      Guil then starts trying to understand this phenomenon and brings in the law of probability, which he explains incorrectly

3.      Then Ros and Guil remember that a messenger came and sent for them, but they don’t remember why

4.      Then the tragedians come along, and offer to act out anything or do any sexual activities for money

5.      Guil challenges the player to a coin toss, and using wits and logic Guil wins, then the player walks away upset

6.      All of a sudden Ros and Guil are put into a scene from Hamlet where Claudius and Gertrude ask Ros and Guil to spy on Hamlet and find out what’s bothering him

7.      The Ros and Guil decide to play questions as a way to practice talking to Hamlet, but it just leads to misunderstandings, and is seen as humorous

8.      Then Hamlet walks in, interrupting the game of questions and acts normal and warm towards his childhood friends

9.      Hamlet tells his friends that he’s not crazy, but Ros and Guil still don’t think they got all the information they were supposed to

10.  Then the players walk in and Hamlet asks them to perform The Murder of Gonzago

11.  The players and Ros and Guil start to talk and the player tells them to stop constantly questioning the situation/life and to calm down

12.  Then the player talks about what the play is about (mimics the situation that Hamlet is in)

13.  Then the three of them start talking about Hamlet and the player tells Ros and Guil that Hamlet is in love with Ophelia

14.  Then Ros and Guil watch the dress rehearsal and here all the events that will happen in the future are acted out, including the fact that Ros and Guil will be hanged

15.  Then Guil gets upset saying that a play cannot reflect death (Stoppard’s voice), but the player disagrees

16.  The next day Hamlet stabs Polonius and Ros and Guil are sent to go talk to Hamlet and try to figure out where he put Polonius’s body

17.  Then readers find out that Ros and Guil have to take Hamlet to England for some unknown reason

18.  The last act opens with Ros and Guil on a boat, and they are arguing about what to do when they get to England

19.  As a result they act out what they will say to the king when they get to England, during this acting out they open the letter they have to give to the king

20.  The letter says that Hamlet will be killed, and Hamlet overhears this so when Ros and Guil are asleep Hamlet exchanges the letter for one that he wrote saying Ros and Guil should get killed instead

21.  Ros and Guil talk about what they should do, and when they reopen the letter they read that it has been changed and it’s sending them to death rather than Hamlet

22.  The next morning pirates invade the boat and they take Hamlet with them

23.  Then Guil stabs the player, and everyone thinks he’s dead, but then he gets up and reveals the dagger used to stab the player was a fake prop

24.  The next scene we see Ros and Guil ready to be hanged, they question what actions have led them to this situation and what their purpose was in the world

25.  The last scene is out of Hamlet where we see everyone in the Court dead and Horatio is speaking

Symbols

1.      The boat represents a world of uncertainty, because Ros and Guil have no control over the boat, they just have to see where the boat takes them

2.      The coins represent the randomness of the world, because the coins defy the rules of probability.  They also represent fate versus chance

3.      The play represents the idea that life is like a play and we have no choice in our fate, we’ll end up wherever we’re supposed to because it’s all predetermined

Themes

1.      Communication because throughout the play Ros and Guil would be having a conversation but each of them were in their own world and that led to a lot of miscommunication and added humor to the play

2.      Isolation because Ros and Guil lived in a world of their own, and they would just pop in and out of scenes from Hamlet, readers would never see  them travel to those places they would just appear

3.      Death because there is the idea that we are all going to die, and there’s also the idea that art can’t accurately describe death, we can only know what it truly is by experiencing it for ourselves

Important Quotes

1.      ROS: What are you playing at?
GUIL: Words, words. They're all we have to go on

Ø  This quote is important because it shows how desperate these two characters are to find out what their purpose is, and they only have the idea of communication.  This quote emphasizes the theme of communication and misunderstanding.

2.      ROS (he means): Is he dead?
PLAYER: Who knows?
GUIL (rattled): He's not coming back?
PLAYER: Hardly.
ROS: He's dead then. He's dead as far as we're concerned
PLAYER: Or we are as far as he is.

Ø  This shows the uncertainty when it comes to death, and nobody can know what it truly is until they have experienced it.  This quote emphasizes the theme of death, and it shows the many definitions of death as well.

 

 

 

Response to Course Materials #7

            In the last couple of weeks we have done some more AP essay practice and as much as I hate writing essays I’m glad we are doing them, because it’s helping me answer the “BIG” question of meaning.  I’ve realized that there are many different interpretations for each passage we’re given and made me feel better to hear Holmes say that even if your interpretation is different than what the scorers thought you could still do well as long as you can back up your interpretation with quotes.  I feel like these essays are harder for me because it’s very different from the writing I’ve done in my other English classes, where teachers would encourage a super creative catchy intro.  But hopefully these practices will help me do well on the AP exam.

            We finished Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, which I’m pretty happy about because I didn’t really like the book.  I think the multiple layers to the book confused me a little bit, but the group discussions definitely helped me understand the book a little more.  I found that the ideas in Hamlet were opposite than the ones presented in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.  For example there was the question of identity in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, whereas in Hamlet he knew who he was, but is issue was whether or not to take action.  There was also the example of religion, where Hamlet was a Jesus figure, but in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead there was no God.  I thought these contrasts were interesting, because it took two different takes on one story.

            We are now starting Ceremony, which I’m exited for because the summary of the story sounds interesting.  I liked learning about the history behind the story, and it made me realize how different texts can come across differently depending on the background of the person reading it.