Close Reading #4

Everybody's coach of the year

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/8689824/bill-obrien-college-football-coach-year

Rick Reilly is a columnist for ESPN who has had very strong opinions about the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State.  He has been very critical of the way the university has handled the whole situation, but in this article he explains how the new football coach has turned the program around and deserves to win coach of the year. Rick Riley uses diction, syntax, and details to help explain why Bill O’Brien is the obvious choice for coach of the year.

Reilly first sets describes what a horrible situation Penn State was in when O’Brien arrives by using pejorative diction.  Using words with strong negative connotations like “radioactive”, “tsunami” and “flames”, Reilly really emphasizes the troubles O’Brien was facing when the season started.  When Reilly describes O’Brien he uses honorific diction like “saint” and “unforgettable” when describing this years football team.  By using such powerful words to describe the situation he had to deal with and O’Brien Himself, Reilly is able to emphasize why O’Brien needs to be coach of the year. 

Syntax is used by Reilly to help support his claim that O'Brien was the best coach in collage football this year.  Reilly uses very short paragraphs that are often just one sentence to emphasize them and make them stand out.  The eleventh and twelfth paragraphs are examples of two one sentence paragraphs.  The eleventh paragraph is, "Meanwhile, across town, the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse trial was festering." and the twelfth is, "Welcome to Happy Valley!"  These two very short paragraphs really emphasize how hopeless this season seemed before it started.  These short paragraphs also help keep the reader engaged and makes the reader read each sentence closely because they are separated by white space on the page.  Reilly also puts almost all the quotes in the piece on their own line which helps emphasize them as well.  By putting such a focus on the quotes, it allows for Reilly's claim about O'Brien being the coach of the year and his evidence supporting it to become much stronger.  

Reilly also uses details to support his feelings about O'Brien.  He tells the story about how O'Brien is embarrassed when the fans chant his name and portrays him as a very unselfish person when he quotes him saying, "I hate it. I wish they'd chant a player's name."  Many college coaches are very egotistical and selfish, but Reilly goes out of his way to praise him for his selflessness which makes him stand out.  Reilly also uses a detail to describe how nobody thought Penn State was going to be good this year stating Penn State was "a team The New York Times said in July wouldn't be competitive again for a decade."  This detail shows what a remarkable job O'Brien has done this last year, further supporting the claim that he should be coach of the year. 

Reilly's goal is to educate readers about interesting sports stories that are often heartwarming, but always important.  Using diction, syntax, and details Reilly makes his articles entertaining and enjoyable for readers while educating them about the world of sports.  

Promps #4

2009. A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Select a novel or play and, focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

In the novel Lord of the Flies written by William Golding, a conch shell is used to symbolize civilization and order.   The conch shell is used to the help keep order in the novel and it reveals the characters' views of their society as well as emphasizing the meaning of the constant battle between civilization and savagery.

The conch schell was first discovered by Ralph and Piggy and it was blown into to summon all the other boys on the island.  By using the conch to bring everybody together, Golding creates the conch as symbol of civilization very early in the novel.  When everyone meets the conch is passed around by the children and whoever is holding the shell gets to speak.  This symbol acts as a peace keeping device that is used by Ralph who is trying to lead in a peaceful and democratic way.  As the play progresses and Jack and his hunters separate themselves from Ralph and Piggy, both Ralph and Piggy are constantly clutching the conch schell because the are trying to hold on to the remains of civilization and order they attempted to create.  When a boulder is thrown on piggy which kills him an crushes the conch, all order is lost on the island.  By destroying the conch, Golding uses the symbol to show how Jack and his leaders have destroyed all aspects civilization and order. 

The conch reveals how the characters feel their society on this island should be organized.  Ralph believes strongly in the conch in the beginning of the novel which shows his strong views about how the children on the island need order.  As the novel progresses, Ralph begins to doubt the power of the conch, revealing his doubts that and orderly society will can actually work on the island.  Piggy keeps his faith in the conch until his death, which reveals his constant belief in the need for civilization.  Jack is the first person to doubt the conch's power.  He ends up leading the savages who focus on killing instead of order and civilization.  The characters belief or lack of belief in the conch shows whether they favor civilization of savagery.     

The major theme and meaning of this novel involve the struggle between civilization and savagery.  This battle is highlighted using the conch in the novel.  When the conch is widely accepted and respected there is much more order on the island and they boys' society resembles a primitive civilization.  As faith in the conches power and influence diminishes, savagery becomes more appealing to many of the boys.  Once the conch is destroyed, savagery completely rules the island.  The conch reveals the importance of civilization and order to prevent anarchy and complete chaos. 

The conch shell is used is a barometer of the level of order in the novel.  As the conch lost importance so the values the boys grew up with creating a island without any form of order, which almost leads to the their society's destruction. 

Death of a Salesman

Author:

Author Miller who is a famous playwright who is critical of capitalism and the "American Dream" and expresses his opinions through his characters in the play.

Setting:

The story takes place in Brooklyn, New York.  Miller says it doesn't take place during a specific place in history but it takes place after the Great Depression.  The time period is similar to the late 1940s with flashbacks back when Happy And Biff were in High School.

Plot:

The first scene in the play takes place when Willy comes home late from one of his sales trips.  Willy is clearly aging quickly and his wife Linda tells him to talk to Howard (his boss) about getting switched to a position where he won't have to travel as much.  Their conversation quickly becomes about Biff, who has just returned home.  Willy is clearly disappointed in Biff's lack of success and what he believes his Biff's "laziness".  Next Biff and Happy talk about their glory days in high school and their concern about their father's mental state.  The next scene is one of Willy's flashbacks that takes place at their home (in a much more open setting).  Willy has just come back from a business trip and brags about his success to Linda, but Linda reveals that it really wasn't nearly as successful as Willy was making it out to be.  Bernard is looking for Biff in the scene to warn him that he is failing math and he needs to study or else his will fail the class and not be able to graduate.  Then Willy has a daydream within the flashback of his misstress laughing and thanking him for giving him stockings and then snaps out of it to see Linda mending stockings.  Before the flashback ends, Linda reminds Biff to return the football he stole.  When the flashback ends Happy goes to talk to his father and tell him to go to bed.  Willy is now upset with himself that he never went with his brother to Alaska.  Charlie comes in and gambles with Willy as well as offers him a job.  Later when Willy is outside, Linda tells her two boys about her and Willy's struggles including his apparent suicide attempts as well as showing them the rubber pipe which Willy plans to use to kill himself with.  When Willy returns Happy comes up with the idea that they should open up a Sporting Goods store together.  Willy and Biff are thrilled with the idea and the act ends on a happy and opportunistic note with Biff planning on talking to Bill Oliver tomorrow to ask him for a loan.

The next act opens when Willy comes down to breakfast as happy and as hopeful as he has been in a long time.  Linda tells him that Happy and Biff are going to take him out to dinner that night to celebrate their new business.  Willy then goes to talk to Howard to ask him for a position that will allow him to just stay New York instead of him traveling.  Howard first shows him his new voice recording machine and then when Willy asks him he says no.  Willy has a meltdown and claims he used to be this "fantastic" salesman and begins to tell Howard what a awesome salesman he used to be back in his "glory days".  Howard leaves for a minute then Willy completely loses it and breaks down, before Howard comes back in and fires him.  Once Howard leaves again Willy has another flashback to right before Biff's big football game.  Ben offers him the opportunity to go to Alaska but Linda tells Willy to be content with what he has here in Brooklyn which convinces Willy to turn Ben down.  Right before they leave Bernard and Happy fight for who gets to carry Happy's helmet into the locker room and it is clear they both idolize Biff.  When the flashback ends, Willy is in Charlie's office.  He begins to talk to Bernard who is now a successful lawyer, but when the topic got to Biff things started to get heated.  Bernard asks Willy why Biff never when to summer school and what happend when Biff went to visit him him in Boston.  Willy goes on one of his total denial rants where he gets super defensive and he doesn't take any of the blame for what happened with his son.  Then Willy goes in to talk to Charlie and asks for more money.  Charlie offers him a job, but Willy is still in denial about getting fired and is too proud to work for Charlie.   Charley ends up giving Willy the money and Willy makes a comment that you are worth more dead than you are when you are alive, which Charley quickly claims isn't true. The next scene take place in the restaurant where Happy orders expensive champagne and lobsters to celebrate.  He meets a women who is most likely a call girl and he begins to flirt with her.  When Biff arrives, Happy introduces him to the girl and tells her that he plays for the New York Giants.  Biff begins to tell Happy how Oliver had no idea who he was and how he was totally embarrassed  when Willy walks in.  Biff begins to tell his father the truth, but then Willy interrupted and said he was fired.  Biff continues his story until Happy interrups and lies about Biff's meeting to try to cheer his father up. Biff continues to try to tell his father what really happened as his father goes into another flashback about Bernard telling Linda that Biff flunked math.  Biff admits to stelling the pen which angers his father then he tells him that he is going to have lunch with Oliver tomorrow to cheer his father up even though it isn't true.  Then Willy angers Biff and Biff tells him what really happened with Oliver.  Biff then gets angry then takes his father to the restroom.  Biff gets angry at Happy for not caring about their father and he storms out of the restaurant and Happy and the call girls leave as well.  In the restroom Willy has the flashback when Biff came to Boston to tell his father that he failed out of school and needed his father to talk to his teacher, but he accidentally witnessed his father having an affair.  This completely devastated Biff and caused him to loose all the faith he once had in his father.  Willy wakes up from the flashback and the waiter helps him leave the bathroom and go outside.  Back home, Linda scolds her sons for leaving their father and she continued to defend him.  Willy tries to plant the garden in the dark and has a daydream where he talks to Ben about a proposition involving 20,000 dollars.  This is what Willy believes he will get from life insurance if he kills himself.  Ben warns him that "they" might not hold up their end of the bargin and tells Willy that Biff will view him as a coward.  After the daydream, Biff tells his father the complete truth and really expresses his hanger towards his father which enrages Willy. Then Biff really raises the tention in the scene by showing his father the rubber pipe.  Biff declares that his isn't a "leader of men"and neither is his father in a long rant and then breaks down crying and hugs his father.  Everyone is very touched by Biff's actions and everyone goes to bed except Willy.  Willy talks to Ben about how Biff could use the $20,000 and then speeds of in his car.

The final scene is at Willy's funeral, that very few people showed up to.  Biff continues to be the only voice of reason at the end of the play while Charlie defends Willy saying that Biff should not blame his father because it is a hard life being a salesman.  The play ends with Linda speaking at Willy's grave saying that she made the last house payment and she ends her line by repeating "we're free..."



Significant Characters:

Willy: He is the main character of the play.  The story places the most emphasis around his life (and flashbacks).  His inability to accurately gauge his own position and value in society ends up leading to his downfall.  Willy's tendency to dance around major problems is passed on to his sons and has made their transition into adult life very difficult.  He preaches the importance of being well liked instead of the importance of hard work.  He ends up killing himself in order to get the insurance money that will allow Biff and Happy to open a Sporting Good store which in his mind will lead to their "success".

Happy: Happy is Biff's younger brother. Throughout the play he is constantly trying to impress his father throughout the play.  When Biff was trying to tell his father the truth about the meeting, Happy was trying to protect his father from the bad new and was encouraging Biff to lie about it in order to prevent his father's deep disappointment and anger.  Miller talks about how Happy has all the same issues that Willy has and will end up going down the same path as his father.

Biff: He his Willy's oldest son who returns home after serving time in jail.  He has been a constant disappointment to his father because his lack of success since his high school football days.  Biff begins to see his fathers hypocrisy and disillusion about his place in society when he walks on his father having an affair and fully realizes it by the end of the play.

Linda: She is Willy's life who constantly supports him throughout the play, but she is also acting and Willy's enabler.  She is always trying to make Willy happy and she is too afraid to confront Willy's real issues like his suicidal actions.  With the rubber pipe she can't bring herself to hide it or confront him about it so she brings it upstairs only to take it back down to he cellar when he returns home.

Ben: Ben is Willy's brother who also has been somewhat of a father figure to Willy because Willy's dad died when he was really young.  Ben represents risk taking and opportunity in the play.  He offered Willy the chance to come with him to Alaska to seek new opportunity, but Willy was convinced by Linda to stay.

Charlie:  Charley is Willy's foil.  He preaches hard work which proves to be much more effective in the real word than Willy's philosophy of the importance of being liked.  Charlie ends up having to support Willy because Willy barely brings in any income from his job.  Miller talked about how Charlie continues to support Willy because he is somewhat fascinated by Willy's exciting character since Charlie is a very boring person himself.

Bernard: Bernard is Charlie's son and Biff's foil.  He really admired Biff when they were in high school and he tried his best to help Biff pass math.  Charlie passed down the importance of hard work to Bernard which allowed Bernard to be successful in his career unlike Biff.

Style/Narrative Voice:
The play jumps from live action to flashbacks throughout the play.  Miller uses the flashback to reveal important facts and events that have shaped the characters and caused things to be the way they are currently.  Miller's voice and style create a dark cynical view of capitalism in American and the future of American society.  The play uses third person point of view but we are not able to see the characters inner thoughts besides Willy's thoughts through his flashbacks.  The tone varies drastically throughout the play.  It begins with a pretty dark tone and continues to get more ominous and hopeless until the very end of the first act when it turns around and becomes hopeful and optimistic.  In the second act the hopeful tone slowly fades away as a very serious tone continues to intensify throughout the rest of the play.  Imagery is used especially in the flashbacks.  The shinny red Chevrolet is an example which is used to help show Willy's perception of his success in his own mind.  This imagery creates the illusion that Willy was a very successful business man when in reality he wasn't.  Symbolism is also used throughout the play.  Africa and Alaska represent opportunity and fortune.  By not taking advantage of his opportunity to go out west with Ben, Willy feels that he turned town his opportunity for wealth and success.  The seeds that Willy attempts to plant unsuccessfully represent Willy's inability to create an environment for his family that will allow his son's to succeed.

Theme:
Hard work and the ability to accept your place in society are needed to be able to live the American Dream.


Willy exaggerates his success throughout the story and values being well liked over working hard.  He passes this attitude on to his son's which results in their lack of success in the real world.  This is especially true for Biff who can't keep a job in large part and he feels entitled to success.  Bernard who is Willy's foil is able to have a successful career because he understands the importance of hard work.  The symbol of seeds reinforce Willy's inability to help the next generation.  By using flashbacks Miller is able to show that Willy's self-proclaimed "glory days" were not as glorious as Willy believed they were.  Willy's family has clearly been living beyond their means which has resulted in debt and Willy acts as if he was an incredibly successful business man when in reality he ends up getting fired and has needed to barrow money to pay the bills.  By the end of the play, Biff realizes how his father has set him and his brother up for failure once he experiences the harsh realities American Capitalism and he understands that knowing his true role in society and working hard are the keys to achieving success. 

Quotes:
"The wonder of this country, that a man can end with diamond here on the basis of being liked!" (Miller 65)

Willy is saying that it the most important thing in the business world is to be well liked with the diomands symbolizing success.   This is signifant becasue it ends up being leading to the demise of Willy because he focuses on being well liked instead of being a good employee and father.  Willy is talking to his sons in this quote and it is one of the examples of Willy giving his children bad advise that poorly prepares his children for the harsh realties of the business world. 

"Pop! I'm a dime a dozen, and so are you!" (Miller 105)

Biff is telling his father that the glorified views that his father has of himself and Biff are not true and they are really just ordinary people.  This exemplifies Willy's problem that he has an unrealistic view of himself and his children that lead to their troubles in the real world.  This line shows that Biff has finally realized his true place in society which his father was never able to do.

"Every day I go down and take away that little rubber pipe. But, when he comes home, I put it back where it was" (Miller 43).

Linda is describing how she takes the rubber pipe that Willy intends to use to kill him, but she always has to put it back because she don't want Willy to know that she has seen it and knows about his plans. This is an example of Willy's family's inability to address problems directly and try to solve them.  Instead of confronting Willy and getting him help, she just pretends like she never saw it and just hopes Willy won't use the pipe.  This inability to address problems is another main reason the members of this family have trouble achieving success in the real world.

Response to Course Material #4

As a class we just finished up Death of a Salesman and it seems like criticizing American seems to be a common theme in AP Lit so far.  I have found it interesting how many of the issues addressed in the American Dream and Death of a Salesman are even more relevant today then they were back then.  In the American Dream television is portrayed as having a negative influence on society.  With people having many more channels today this is even more of an issue.  Fox News and MSNBC continually bash their opposing political party creating more of a rift between Democrats and Republicans.  Then there is reality tv which is by no means intelectual television.  Even though watching Snooki running around the Jersey Shore completely intoxicated can be rather entertaining, its not setting good examples for kids and it certainly isn't educating our youth.

One of the key aspects of Death of a Salesman is Willy's inability teach the his kids the reality that in order to be successful you have to work hard especially in a America's competitive capitalist economy.  I really this is even more relevant today not only with unemployment rates so high and colleges continuing to become more competitive to get into, but with Americans also having to compete with China and India.  In todays society Bernard doesn't only represent a fellow American who understands the importance of hard work in order to achieve the American Dream, but he could also represent a kid in India or China who is years ahead in math and science.   Biff would be the lazy American who is more concerned about sports and his social life rather than school.  I believe the reason why these books are still relevant today is because the problems about America and Americans in general are still relevant today.  

We have also just started Hamlet in class.  We haven't really disscussed the novel in depth yet, but so far it seems pretty similar to the other Shakespeare works I have read.  A guy and girl who in their best interests probably shouldn't like each other but they do, all the men a scheming ways boost their egos and gain power, and everyone seems to be coming up with incredibly elaborate plans that are always doomed from the start.  So far it seems like its Romeo and Juliet crossed with MacBeth.  I also think annotating this will be the next step up in difficulty.  We eased into the process of annotating by starting with the American Dream which has very simple language then stepped up to Death of a Salesman which has more difficult language and now Hamlet will defiantly be a struggle with the elaborate language of Shakespeare.  

Close Reading #3

Just Go Away, Gary

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8639525/just-go-away-gary

Bill Simmons is a writer for Grantland and he has become increasingly angry about the continued National Hockey League (NHL) lockout.  He blames the lockout on the NHL's commissioner  Gary Bettman, who he is very critical of in the article.  Simmons uses diction, imagery, and details to help emphasize his opinion that Gary Bettman should be removed from his position as NHL commissioner.

Simmons uses pejorative diction to describe the NHL under Bettman's control.  He uses botched when describing the leagues television deals, and epidemic when describing the NHL's concussion problems. By using words with negative connotations Simmons describes his anger about the way the NHL has been run since the last lockout.  Simmons also uses pejorative diction like idiot and failure to describe Bettman himself.  These negative words help support Simmons's opinion that Bettman isn't capable of being a good commissioner and he should be removed from his position.  

Bill Simmons also uses imagery to help his readers understand what Bettman has been like as the commissioner.  Using the image of a baby holding a chainsaw he creates and image describing Bettmans leadership "hockey fans were regarding Bettman's lockout leadership the same way you'd act if you were watching a baby play with a chainsaw."  This powerful image is used to explain how incompetent and frightening Bettman's leadership has been trying to manage the NHL during the Lockout.  By using the image Simmons is saying that Bettman isn't remotely close to being able to handle a situation as dangerous as the NHL lockout.  Simmons also creates the image of a "neighbor knocking down his house, then rebuilding it from scratch" and then seven years later saying "Yeah, sorry about that — we screwed up when we rebuilt the house, had too many flaws, we needed to do it over again."  This image represents what has happened to the NHL since the last lockout.  It describes how silly it is that the NHL is in this situation again after having to cancel a full year of games during the last lockout.  These images allow Simmons to describe the dire situation in the NHL using everyday things that people can picture easily.

Simmons also uses details to support his opinions about Gary Bettman.  Simmons uses details supporting his claim that Bettman is a horrible commissioner, "on the verge of losing two NHL seasons in one decade, with four work stoppages."  This detail supports Simmons's claim that Bettman has done a poor job of managing the NHL during his tenure.  Another detail that supports Simmons's opinion is, "team after team circumventing that cap by giving out guaranteed deals lasting as long as 15 YEARS."  This detail describes how NHL teams have taken advantage of the salary cap system that Bettman created durning the previous lockout.  It provides emphasis that Bettman's solutions to the previous lockout's problems haven't really been fixed.  Both of these details provide specific examples of why Gary Bettman should be removed as commissioner.

Bill Simmons is a Los Angles Kings season ticket holder and he loves taking his daughter to their games.  He uses diction, imagery, and details to describe to his readers why Gary Bettman should be impeached. His  goal is to call out Gary Bettman in an entertaining way to entertain his readers and encourage the NHL to end their lockout so he can continue to take his daughter to Kings' games.

Promps #3

2008, Form B. In some works of literature, childhood and adolescence are portrayed as times graced by innocence and a sense of wonder; in other works, they are depicted as times of tribulation and terror. Focusing on a single novel or play, explain how its representation of childhood or adolescence shapes the meaning of the work as a whole.

In J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is struggling with the concept of growing up.  His adolescence is portrayed a time full of innocence and fearful uncertainty,  which contributes to the meaning which is the harsh and painful realities of growing up and finding one's place in society.

Holden's innocence is portrayed throughout the novel, which reminds the reader that Holden is still a teenager.  When Holden call's the prostitute he intends to have sex with her, but when she actually arrives he just wants to talk to her.  This reveals Holden's innocence despite trying to act like an adult by calling the prostitute in the first place.  He is trying to act as if he is an adult, but when he does so his innocence only becomes more apparent which emphasizes the meaning of the the harsh realies people realize when they are growing up.  When he tries to flirt with the group of girls at a bar, the girls end up making fun of him, but Holden's innocence is reveled when he is unable to realize that they are really mocking him and have no intrest in him at all.  Holden's innocence sets him up for the painful realities of society and adult life.  In addition to his innocence, Holden's confusion and fear about society gave him a rude awakening about the real world is like.

Holden throughout the story describes different characters as being phony.  Instead of really getting to know people he just labels them as "phonies" in an attempt to distance himself from them.  Holden is afraid of getting to know many of the characters on a deeper level an his way of expressing this is showing disinterest in them when he calls them phonies.  His difficulties connecting with other people express the difficulty of finding one's place in society.  When people trying to find their place in society, they are often confused about themselves as well. Holden is clearly confused about his teenage life and fearful of the uncertain future that his adult life that is quickly approaching.  Holden's teenage life is full of confusion the importance of education.  Holden also has been kicked out of multiple schools and is currently failing almost all of his classes because he isn't applying himself in them.  The meaning of the harsh realities came into play when Holden realized that he had to find a way get a job and support himself at the end of the novel.  With the lack of education, he realizes that his options are limited and he panics and eventually ends up in a mental health facility.  The harsh realities were too much for Holden to handle which emphasizes their importance in adolescence shaping the meaning of the novel about the stuggles of growing up.

The events in The Catcher in the Rye consistently reenforce Holden's fear about his future and him holding on to his childhood innocence.  This innocence causes him to be in denial about his future which then leads to painful realties that Holden experiences that become very important events in the story.  Since these events are such important moments in Holden's life, the meaning of the harsh and painful realities of growing up and finding one's place in society is shaped by these events.

Response to Course Material #3

Recently in class we have done a lot of tone exercises.  I have found it interesting how small the differences are between these different tones, but these small differences can alter the meaning of the passage considerably.  We also watched the Death of a Salesman movie.  As I was watching the movie, I would hear a specific line from one of the characters and immediately realize imagine the annotation I would write for that line.  It seemed weird at first, but I realized that this meant the annotations were beginning to come more easily and I was understanding the movie on a deeper level than I'm used to.  

We also retook the terms test and while studying the terms a second time I realized that my reading level has improved so I was able to understand the passage allowing me to determine what term was being used.  Whenever I watch a movie now I think about the message the director is trying to communicate.  I was watching Shutter Island and I realized that it was really about how difficult it is for societies to classify people who are mentally disabled and how does a person actually know they are having delusions.     

The American Dream Summary and Analysis

Author: The story was written by Edward Albee and the play was first preformed in 1961.  The play gives off the impression that Albee had strong negative opinions about current society, especially the current American Dream and the how commodification is in society.

Setting: The entire story took place in Mommy and Daddy's apartment.  It was a pretty normal apartment, but it was commodified as a representation of Mommy and Daddy's wealth and social status.

Plot and Significant Characters: The only real change that occurred in the story was that Grandma ended up leaving on her own terms to go to the nursing home. Both the Young Man and Mrs. Barker appear in the play.  Mrs. Barker worded at the Bye-Bye Adoption service and gave Mommy and Daddy their "bumble of joy" which they eventually  killed before the play took place.  The Young Man was referred as the Van Man who Grandma ended up leaving the apartment with.  The three most important characters were Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma.  Mommy constantly emasculates Daddy throughout the story and treats Grandma as if she is no longer an equal human being because of her age.  Daddy is portrayed as a woman and Grandma is the only character who every says anything containing logic or real thinking.

Narrative Voice and Albee's style:  The play was an example of the Theater of the Absurd.  The characters were constantly repeating themselves and the overall plot was very static throughout the entire play.  The point of view was 3rd person where we didn't know about any of the characters inner thoughts.   Overall the tone was cometic but it also was mocking the character's stupidity and obsession with money and social status.  There was also constant imagery involving sex.  There were dozens of sexual innuendoes as well as Daddy becoming "sticky wet" when Mrs. Barker took her dress off.  These constant sexual images also helped describe all the characters besides grandma as being very stupid and immature.  Albee used symbolism to convey most of the meaning in the story.  Grandma represents the old American Dream while the Young Man represents the new American dream.  Albee voices his disgust about what the American Dream is turning into by constantly having the Young Man talk about money and how he will do anything to he can to get it.

Memorable Quotes:

"Well, you know how it is: the doctors took our something that was there and put in something that want there.  An operation" (83).

This quote is when Daddy is describing his sex change operation.  It shows how Daddy is really a woman and adds to the strangeness of the play.  It's characterizing Daddy as being a weak character whose is completely emasculated by Mommy.

"It's that television! Daddy, go break her television" (92).

Mommy believes that Grandma gets all of her radical opinions from television.  This symbolizes the values and ideas that television creates among society and the negative affects they can have.

"And we'll drink to celebrate. To satisfaction!  Who says you can't get satisfaction these days!" (126).

Mommy is talking about celebrating Grandma leaving the apartment.  It symbolizes how the new American Dream (now that Grandma has left) is really about the constant need for satisfaction.  Albee is describing how the constant need for satisfaction is what dives society.



Theme:  The old American Dream is being replaced by a new American Dream that is about being superior to other people based on the commodification of almost everything in your life.

The apartment, the setting,  is referenced many times to describe their social status.  The apartment is use to commodify their wealth.  The title of the play really makes it clear that Albee is talking about the American Dream itself not just newer generations replacing older generations.  By the only major change in the plot being the Young Man taking Grandma away, it is describing how the the New American Dream (the Young Man) is replacing the old values (the boxes) and the old American Dream (Grandma).  The style of Theater of the Absurd and the comedic voice  allows Albee to be very critical of the current American society in a degrading and mocking way, which allows Albee to make his points strong and vivid about current American culture.  The constant imagery of sex shows the newer generation's immaturity as well as its constant need for satisfaction.  Not only does Albee use the symbolism of Grandma and The Young Man, but Mommy and Daddy's inability to find water within the house symbolizes how they have become corrupt and are unable to cleanse themselves and regain their innocence and clarity.  Mommy and Daddy's loss of innocence represents a corrupt society as a whole which has adopted and embraces this new American Dream.

Close Reading #2

Buying the Election?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/09/opinion/nocera-buying-the-election.html?ref=columnists

Joe Nocera, a columnist for the New York Times, wrote an article called "Buying the Election" about campaign funding is having a negative influence on American politics.  Nocera is trying to explain how the large increase in funding for politicians is hurting democracy in America.  Nocera uses details, imagery, and diction to help convey and emphasize his negative opinion towards campaign funding.  

A challenge that Joe Nocera likely faced when writing this column was trying to make this problem seem relatable to an everyday reader.  He uses imagery to help connect to the readers when he wrote, "They seem to spend more time fund-raising than pressing the flesh with voters" (Nocera).  Pressing the flesh with voters is meant to represent the person connection you feel with a candidate by shaking their hand.  Nocera is saying that these fund-raisers have replaced connecting to voters. This has created a wider gap between voters and presidential candidates, which doesn't help democracy.  

Joe Nocera also uses diction to help explain his opinion.  He uses words like expensive that help make his point that the large amounts of money are bad.  An example of him negatively describing these large sums of money is, "... in the real world is that unlimited spending will not serve to enlighten voters." He uses the word unlimited to help convey how the spending is completely out of control. Nocera also uses pejorative diction such as corrupt when he says, "... money that comes into politics has the potential to corrupt." Corrupt brings images of crime and greed when used so Nocera uses it to help put these images into the readers mind while reading.  The diction allows him to help convey the harmful affects of campaign funding.  

Nocera also uses particular details to help emphasize opinions.  He uses the example of Sheldon Adelson who "pumped 10 million into into Restore Our Future, the biggest Republican super PAC."  This example shows the large sums going towards political campaigns just because the feel a certain way about a particular issue.  It really emphasizes the new wave of money trying to influence policy which goes against the basic principals of democracy.

The details,  imagery, and diction that Nocera uses all lead towards his goal of pointing how campaign funding is hurting American democracy.  They help lead the reader towards Nocera's opinion and serve as a guide for how the reader is suppose to react and interprete Nocera's findings.  

Prompts #2

2006. Many writers use a country setting to establish values within a work of literature. For example, the country may be a place of virtue and peace or one of primitivism and ignorance. Choose a novel or play in which such a setting plays a significant role. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the country setting functions in the work as a whole.

The country setting in Of Mice and Men plays an essential role in the story.  The country is used to represent a place of primitivism, ignorance, and most important loneliness.  

The country is set up as a simple setting that most people can picture easily.  George and Lenny, the two main characters, live a very simple and primitive lifestyle working on different ranches trying to make a living.  John Steinbeck uses this simple rural setting to help convey the theme of the improbability of the American Dream.  By working on farms for most of their lives, the classic American Dream of owning property of their own seems very realistic and less forced upon their readers.  If the story had taken place in the suburbs, the basic desire to own your own property would seem less relevant.  

The country setting also a place of ignorance in Of Mice and Men.  Lenny who has mental disabilities is a very strong and productive worker.  George has to constantly protect Lenny and tell him to keep silent to not reveal is ignorance.  The country setting helps create the general feeling that the society where George and Lenny live doesn't accept people like George.  The attitudes of the other characters especially Curley reflect ignorance and intolerance that seems somewhat reasonable for this setting.  Instead of this ignorance feeling out of place it seems to fit in with the normal perception of a country setting.

The loneliness of the country is also portrayed and has a major impact on the story.   Curley's wife instigates many of the problems on the farm primarily because she is lonely and doesn't have other women to talk to.  If she lived in the city or a setting where there are more people she likely wouldn't have spent so much time wandering around the farm talking to the farm hands.  This ends up leading to Lenny getting in trouble because Curley's wife talks to him and then angers him.  The loneliness of the characters in this country setting is one of the main catalysts for the problems the characters face.

The country not only exemplifies a primitive, ignorant, and lonely place in this novel, it also helps progress the plot with these themes.  Just by choosing a particular setting, the author establishes values of many of its characters and emphasizes the themes.  

Response to Course Material #2

In class recently we have done a lot of work with close reading a piece of literature.  I feel like I'm starting to read more in-depth into the poems and segments of novels that we discuss during class.  Before I took this class, I never really knew what to look for when looking for the theme and purpose of the literature.  Now I fell like I have a better understanding while I'm reading what I'm looking for and what connections I have to make while reading.  The one thing that strange to me is how broad and far-reaching some of the conclusions feel when we discuss them during class.  The conclusions usually seem logical and have information to support them, but I'm often thinking to myself, "How do we know."  

We also discussed the different critical lenses during class as well as the different time periods.  Both of these things are important to consider when analyzing literature.  The critical lenses lesson really gave me a broader view of the different ways of anazling literature.  I would have liked to see more examples of the critical lenses that we hadn't discussed in previous classes such as post structuralists because often times when reading a piece of literature you don't think that the writing is indirectly referring to something.  I found the discussion of the different eras of writing a lot more interesting.  In particular I really liked the discussion about the simulacrum.  It made me rethink certain movies and books about high schools that I have read and how they all are about societies view of high school and what high school is actually like.  In the movie 21 Jump Street there is such a strong divide between the "popular" and the "unpopular" kids.  This is a common view in many movies and books, but in reality the line is much more blurred.  Unlike in 21 Jump Street most high schools have groups that blend together.  "Jocks" are friends with "nerds" and people who may be considered popular work on projects with and are in clubs or play sports with people who are considered unpopular.  I found it interesting how powerful these ideas created by Hollywood and authors are in determining how we view certain things.

I felt like most of the subjects we covered the last few weeks including the close reading, critical lenses, and the history of literature are mostly preparing us for the AP exam rather than adult reading and writing.  I can see why it is important to understand the critical lenses, and the history of literature when you are writing an analysis of  a poem on the AP exam.  They both help you understand the authors purpose and the meaning of the literature when you are doing your close reading.

Close Reading 1

Red Sox Nation Hits the Reset Button

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8307572/red-sox-nation-hits-reset-button

Bill Simmons who wrote this article is a die hard Red-Sox fan who is reflecting on the Red Sox season after they made a blockbuster trade with the Dodgers.  The diction,  imagery, and details all add to Simmons's view on the Red Sox's season.   

This column is full of pejorative diction describing both the Red Sox season and their management.  Simmons uses words like illogically, recklessly, and senselessly describing the way management has constructed this team.  Words used to describe the team include broken-down, swoon, and squandered.  The use of pejorative diction really emphasis his frustration with the whole franchise.

Bill Simmons also uses Imagery to help explain what it has been like to watch the Red Sox this year.  He sums it up using a readers email describing watching the Red Sox the last couple years being "married for twenty years, no longer loving one another, but still staying together for the kids." This evokes feelings of struggle and misery.  People know couples who are in this situation and can relate to what Red Sox fans are watching because of this analogy. 

In this column, Simmons also uses details to help describe what the last two Red Sox seasons have been right.  He references the "beer and fried chicken team" which was a scandal last year it was reveled that pitchers who weren't playing would have beer and fried chicken during games in the locker room.  He also adds how the general manager fled town after last season and the team has already quit on the new manager this year.  These details all help get across Simmons' view of the dysfunctional Red Sox.

Diction, imagery, and details were all used to help portray the Red Sox's struggles.  By using these rhetoric devises Bill Simmons is able to comunicate what it has been like the last two years as a Red Sox fan by relating it to peoples daily lives.

Prompts #1

1995. Writers often highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters who are alienated from that culture or society because of gender, race, class, or creed. Choose a novel or a play in which such a character plays a significant role and show how that character's alienation reveals the surrounding society's assumptions or moral values.

Characters in novels and plays often represent certain issues or conflicts in society.  In To Kill a Mockingbird, the character Tom Robinson represents racism and the general attitude towards African Americans in the south.  

Tom Robinson, a poor african american farm hand, was falsely accused of raping a white girl despite minimal evidence against him.  Almost the entire community believes Tom is guilty which represents the animosity towards african americans during this time period.  The only evidence against Tom was Bob Ewell's word saying that he witness Tom rape his daughter.  This represents how much more influence a white person had than an african american.  Bob Ewell was one of the least respected members of society and even his word was considered better than Tom's.  

Scout's father represented Tom and even she was treated differently as the trial approached.  It shows how angry and agressive society can get over an issue like race.  This anger has been know to affect and even harm innocent people.   The innocent person in the novel was Scout who was almost stabbed while she was walking home at night.  

Tom Robinson and his trial has become a symbol of racial issues in America.  To Kill a Mockingbird has become an classic piece of literature in large part due to the portrail of racial issues through the characters in the book. 

Response to Course Material #1

So far we have focused on literary terms and understanding how to write an essay.  Both these terms and the information about writing an essay are things that you can utilize to do well on the AP exam.  The information about writing essays will also be useful in college and writing in our professional lives.

Actually memorizing the literary terms wasn't that difficult.  However, trying to distinguish them in a passage was very challenging.  In order to choose the correct term, I had to analyze the writing in ways that I'm not used to.  Searching writing for symbols while thinking about the authors purpose and tone was very difficult.  I fell like with practice I will be able to get used to reading poetry and literature while analyzing it this thoroughly.

When we took notes on the essay writing information, we outlined how to communicate clearly and write a strong essay.  The three sections worked together to teach us to write an essay, while communicating your ideas in order to get your point across, and how to incorporate these ideas into the essay for the AP exam.  Without making an effective argument it makes it much more difficult to make your point clearly.  You have to organize your argument and figure out what type of argument you are making.  When making this argument you have to keep in mind four essential  things.  Why are you writing this piece, who are you writing it for, how do you want to be perceived as based on your writing and what are you writing about.  By just using the structure that was described during the Argument Slide Show you will have a well structured essay without it being written and fine tuned for the purpose that you intended.  On the AP exam it is essential to know your audience and your purpose for writing the essay.  The AP exam wants you to identify and point out literary devices which is why it was important to memorize the literary terms as well as be able to identify them in writing.  The AP exam also requires that you write a persuasive argument which requires a proper setup and knowing how to communicate your ideas effectively.

All the things we do in class begin to seem more and more interrelated once you begin to analyze them. By merging all these ideas together, I can see how our reading as well as our writing will improve.

Blog 3: Nuts and Bolts Analysis

David Sedaris effectively utilized many of the techniques suggested by The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing in his essay "Me Talk Pretty One Day."  Sedaris used several of the methods including: using action-verbs to improve clarity, the use of parallelisms to make the piece more graceful, and using pronouns to make the writing flow

Harvey emphasizes using active verbs instead of linking verbs.  He explains "things get ugly" when linking verbs are used to represent actions (Harvey 15).  In "Me Talk Pretty One Day" almost all the action is described using action verbs which make the story much more clear.  When describing what was happening during class, Sedaris used active verbs when he writes "The second Anna learned from the first and claimed to love sunshine and detest lies" (Sedaris 12).  In addition to making his writing more clear, Sedaris also uses concepts from The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing to make his writing graceful.

Harvey suggests that using parallelisms helps improve your writing.  Harvey describes the effects of this rhetorical device when he says, "Parallelism makes writing more comprehensible, graceful, and memorable" (Harvey 50).  Parallelisms were used throughout Sedaris' essay.  Sedaris uses a this rhetorical device when he writes about the teacher's actions, "She crouched low for her attack, placed her hands on the young woman’s desk, and leaned close" (Sedaris 12).  By using the parallelism here, it not only helps the writing feel more graceful, it also helps the piece flow. 

Harvey talks about how using little words like pronouns allow the writing to flow because the author doesn't have to keep on repeating the antecedent.  After stating the name of the subject, the seamstress, Sedaris refers to the seamstress only as she and her for the rest of this passage, "The seamstress did not understand what was being said but knew that this was an occasion for shame. Her rabbity mouth huffed for breath, and she stared down at her lap as though the appropriate comeback were stitched somewhere alongside the zipper of her slacks" (Sederis 12).  The use of she and her instead of the seamstress every time makes the paragraph much easier to read.

By using the principles in The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing, Sedaris creates a piece of writing that flows, is graceful, and is clear.  These traits allow "Me Talk Pretty One Day" to be an effective piece of literature that tells a story and delivers its themes and purpose clearly.  

Blog 1 Diagnostic Test

     It surprised me how in-depth  some of the questions were especially some of the questions about the tone and the interpretation of the passage were.  It didn't surprise me that there were questions about who the speaker is and what the passage is about.  Those questions seemed pretty similar to the reading section questions on both the ACT and the SAT.  The frustrating part about this test was how closely I had to read the text to find some of the answers to the questions, but i was encouraged that many of the questions seemed somewhat familiar to ACT questions.  Overall my experience was pretty positive taking the diagnostic test despite it feeling like it took forever complete.

Blog 2: Poetry Goals

1.  Understand the authors purpose for writing the poem with more accuracy and precession
2.  Find more symbols in poems
3. Learn how to find the poem's major conceit
4.  Be able to find the poem's irony if it has any irony
5.  Be able to recognize poetry terms when they are utilized in a poem

     In the practice problems I often couldn't determine the author's purpose for writing the poem.  When I was reading the poems, I had trouble finding the more complicated symbols.  When I was asked to find the poems major conceit I didn't know what to look for.  One of the poems had irony in it and I had trouble figuring out what it was.  When i was asked to find the use of a poetry term in the poem, I had difficulty determining when it was used.