Close Read #4

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/opinion/death-in-connecticut.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Death in Connecticut is a response to the recent tragedy of the murder of 26 people in Newtown, Connecticut.  The author conveys a critical tone of the U.S. government through extensive use of diction, detail, and syntax.  These techniques convince the reader to side with the author's opinion and believe action must be taken about gun control in the United States.

Most of the diction used in the editorial is deliberately selected to have weight and bite behind it.  In the third paragraph, the author writes "those who agonized for hours."  Instead of using a word like "waited", the author uses the word "agonized" which delivers a blow to the reader that makes him/her imagine the extreme suffering of those involved.  Later in the editorial (paragraph 6), the author utilizes the word "sensible" in referring to any ideas that could control dangerous gun use, that Democrats will not support.  The word "sensible" makes the reader think the Democrats are insensible for not supporting anything, thus influencing the reader into being critical of them.  The author also influences the reader into being critical of the Republicans as well, saying they are "mired in an ideology that opposes any gun control."  The word "mired" makes the reader believe the Republicans are unwavering and stuck in a senseless viewpoint that will not fix the gun problem.

Detail is used in the editorial to remind the reader that this is not the first tragedy to strike the nation as the author includes specific information.  In the second to last paragraph, the author reminds the reader of similar tragedies, Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Aurora that have happened in the past twenty years.  This deliberate reminder is so that the reader will think that action must be taken against the gun problem in the United States because it has happened so frequently.  Furthermore, in the 5th paragraph it is mentioned that the assault weapons ban under Clinton has expired so the reader will realize there is nothing that is combating dangerous gun use in the United States.  With this knowledge in mind, the reader further feels the need that the government must do something.

The syntax in the editorial is carefully used to elicit an emotional response.  In the second paragraph, it says, " But what actually matters are the children. What are their names? What did they dream of becoming?"  As soon as the reader fully digests those questions, he/she will immediately feel sorrow.  The author asks questions that makes the reader realize that a human life, full of potential, was lost and a name behind the person adds even more emotional weight.  This emotional response is used to heighten a sense of anger that is felt towards those responsible, whom the author says is the U.S. government.  In the next paragraph, the author uses hyphens to add extra information that will, again, elicit an emotional response.  Specifically, it says, "Our hearts are broken for those parents who found out their children — little more than babies, really — were wounded or killed."  The extra information, that the kids were "little more than babies", is to make the reader feel worse knowing how young those murdered were.

Syntax, diction, and detail are used in Death in Connecticut to convey the author's critical tone of the United States government and to get the reader to side with him/her.  The diction connects the reader to the victims of the tragedy and also influences them to be critical of a passive government.  Emotional responses are instigated through rhetorical questions and added information and the details the author presents makes the reader feel the need to take action.  Overall, the three techniques create a highly emotional and compelling read that achieves the author's goal of conveying his/her viewpoints and influencing a reader to side with him/her.

In the wake of this horrible tragedy, it should be obvious to everyone that changes must be made regardless of the rhetorical devices used in this editorial.  My thoughts and prayers go out to you, Newtown.

Prompt #4

1990. 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.

Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is a primarily character driven play and most of the conflict is between Biff Loman and his father Willy Loman.  Willy has unrealistic expectations of life and refuses to hear the truth about his son while Biff has come to terms with the person he is and the world around him.  The two's differing ideas lead to conflict that ultimately communicate Arthur Miller's voice, criticizing the falsehood of the American Dream.  

In Death of a Salesman, Willy holds the idea that his son is bound to be great and successful.  His idea of success is society's definition, that success is measured by money and success in the business world.  When Biff can't hold a white-collar job or become "successful" as thought by Willy, Willy thinks he does it out of spite.  Biff, however, realizes that he is unhappy in the business world Willy wants for him and wants to take on a blue-collar job out on a farm.  Willy refuses to hear this from Biff and is adamant in thinking that he was born to rise in the business world, and much conflict comes from Biff unsuccessfully communicating his self-realization. Willy himself never even finds success in the business world, instead fired after decades of faithful service to his sales firm.  Through the conflict and dialog between the two characters, the reader is forced to question what it really means to be "successful."  Biff finds himself most happy in a place that is not what the American Dream defines as successful (money and the business world), thus the reader must decide if success is determined by happiness or material wealth.  If indeed success should be defined by happiness, society's American Dream is false.  

A major event in the play is when Willy gets fired from his job of several decades.  Even after faithful service, he is hung up to dry in the end.  Biff sees that he is another victim of the American Dream, being used by the people at the top never being able to rise, and that it is simply not for everyone.  He points out that he was always good with his hands (Willy adds several renovations to the family house by hand) and that pursuing a job in the business world was a confusion of what he really wanted.  Willy criticizes Biff by claiming that manual laborers are not worthy and are not successful.  Again, they are at odds and fighting because of their different views.  The reader can see through their arguments and the points that Biff presents that the American Dream may be false as it failed Willy Loman who worked hard his entire life.  Yet again, this communicates Arthur Miller's opinion of the perpetuated American Dream.

In conclusion, the conflicts between father and son, Willy and Biff Loman, stem from differing viewpoints of what success is and how reality is.  Ultimately, this communicates Arthur Miller's viewpoints of that the American Dream is a false and superficial one.      

Death of Salesman Summary/Analysis

Characters:

• Willy Loman: - Age 63, a traveling salesman, father of Biff and Happy, husband of Linda.  His father left him at a young age so he is constantly trying to create father-figures to impress and get approval from.  Has a short temper and flashbacks/mental delusions in which he replaces reality with images and scenes of the past in times of crisis.  Has a major problem with approval and constantly is trying to do things seeking for approval.  It is later revealed that he is very skilled in physical labor.  Constantly teaches his sons that personality will bring success, not hard work.
• Linda Loman: - Unemployed, wife of Willy, mother of Biff and Happy.  Loves Willy more than anything but also enables him to make the same mistakes repeatedly because she fears he cannot face reality.  She seems to understand how Willy is struggling with business but goes along with his act that everything is okay.  
• Biff Loman: - Eldest son of Linda and Biff, age 34.  A former football star in high school, he was raised to believe that he was better than everyone and could succeed in life only off of his personality instead of hard work.  Never graduates from high school, he struggles with his identity and if he should settle down and take a white-collar job or follow his dreams to move out West and become a farmer.  
• Happy Loman: - Younger womanizing son of Lina and Biff, very similar to his father in the sense that he only tries to get the approval of others.  Also is delusional with his work as he convinces himself he has a high position while he is only an assistant to the assistant buyer at a firm.  Essentially has no personality because he only tries to appeal to others.
• Charley: - Willy's wealthy and successful neighbor.  Gives money to Willy every week because he can't get paid and to keep up the illusion that things are okay.  Willy is very jealous of his success.
• Bernard: - Son of Charley that grew up with Biff and Willy.  He has grown up to be a successful lawyer after working hard in high school and Willy is also very jealous of his success.
• Ben: - Older brother of Willy that often appears in Willy's flashbacks and talks to him.  Ben strikes it rich in the jungles of Africa mining diamonds and at one point asks Willy to join him in a business venture in Alaska, which Willy ultimately declines.  He is the embodiment of success that Willy creates and is sort of a father-figure.  Willy often asks him for advice because he is the image of what he thinks success is.

Setting:

• Late 1940's Brooklyn, New York and in a flashback, Boston.

Plot Summary:

        The play opens with Willy returning home early from a business trip.  He claims he could not drive any further and kept veering off onto the shoulder so he came home.  It soon becomes clear that his mental state is not sound when he begins to hallucinate of times when his sons were young and talk to himself as soon as he goes to get a snack.  Meanwhile, Biff and Happy are up in their room, reminiscing and talking about their dissatisfaction with their current jobs.  Biff suggest they both move out West and do ranching together.  Happy goes downstairs to find his father talking to himself and tries to get him to bed.  Charley enters and plays cards with Willy until he has a flashback about Ben (unbeknownst to Charley) and loses his temper, driving him away.  Charley seems to understand Willy's difficulties with his job and offers him a job, but Willy declines.  The flashback continues after Charley leaves and it is of the moment in which Ben offers Willy a job in Alaska that he ultimately declines.  While Willy is gone, Biff and Linda argue about how Biff doesn't give Willy any love but Biff says he is a fake and refuses to explain why. Linda tells Biff how he needs to support his father because he is now working on commission and has to ask Charley for money every week and Biff responds angrily that he will despite his hatred of the city. She also reveals that Willy has had the idea to kill himself because she found a rubber pipe that he planned to use to asphyxiate himself.  Willy comes back and scolds Biff for having other ambitions outside of business, and the two begin to argue.  Happy intervenes by telling Willy that Biff plans to ask for venture capital from an old employed to start a sporting goods company with Happy which immediately changes the mood -- Willy is happy and hopeful and everyone stops arguing.
       The next day, Willy awakes with in a hopeful and cheery mood, and plans to ask his boss for a job in the city so he won't have to travel.  His boss constantly interrupts Willy before he can ask by fixating on his wire recorder, until when finally Willy has a chance to ask him, he will not give him a job.  Willy loses his temper at his boss and then gets fired which initiates a flashback.  Willy leaves the office talking to himself, still in his flashback until he gets to Charley's office.  He arrives to find Bernard, a successful lawyer, visiting his father.  Willy asks Bernard why Biff was never a success, but he questions Willy about a Boston business trip which sets off his temper.  Charley enters and Willy asks him for more money that usual to which Charley responds with another job offer.  Willy declines and Charley scolds him for always wanting to be well liked but gives him the money.  Willy exits and tells him he is his only friend.   In the next scene, Biff and Happy are found at Frank's Chop House, talking out Biff's meeting with his old boss Bill Oliver.  Biff waited for 6 hours in order to be immediately dismissed by Oliver and ends up stealing his fountain pen on the way out.  On his way out, he ultimately realizes he was born to be outdoors and not in the business world.  Happy thinks he should lie to his father and say he has a lunch date to discuss details with Oliver because the truth will crush him.  Willy arrives to have dinner with his boys and Biff starts to tell him the truth.  However, Willy starts to have a flashback in order to shut out reality each time Biff tries to get through to him, until Biff desperately lies and says he got a lunch date with Oliver.  Willy immediately returns to reality but Biff tries to tell him the truth again and why he can't go to the lunch date (he stole his pen) after which Willy begins to flashback again, and locks himself in the bathroom.  In the bathroom, Willy plays out the scene of his Boston business trip where he has an affair with another woman.  Biff unexpectedly arrives and discovers his secret, thus destroying his hero-like image of his father, and thus explaining why Biff thinks his father is a fake.  The boys return to the house to find their father trying to plant seeds in their yard (which will never grow).  Willy is meanwhile talking to Ben outside and discussing how killing himself for the insurance check might be worth it.  Biff and Linda argue again and he settles on leaving the house and cutting off communication.  Biff goes to say goodbye to his father which results in a shouting match between the two, with Willy telling him he does everything out of spite and to rot in hell.  Biff tries to make him understand that he is just not cut out for business and he is a common man.  He finally embraces his father in tears desperately trying to tell him that he is a nobody, asking to leave.  Biff goes up to bed and Willy interprets his actions as Biff admitting his love for his father.  Everything seems to be good until everyone goes up to bed except Willy, where he leaves the house and crashes his car committing suicide.  The final scene is of Willy's family and Charley's family, and nobody else at the funeral.  Biff thinks Willy always had the wrong dreams, and Charley says he was a victim of his own job.  Happy decides to stay in New York, to carry out his father's dream.

Narrative Tone/Voice/Style:

• The play has no narrator and is primarily character driven.  Although it is more difficult to identify because it is a play, Miller's tone is primarily uncomfortable and depressed throughout the entire play as you listen to the family argue with each other and watch tragedy unfold.  Miller's voice is obviously skeptical/critical of the American Dream as the Loman family tries to grasp hold of it but simply cannot.  Furthermore, his style is captivating the audience through the characters and dialog.  The dialog is gripping and dramatic, but not written in a way that it seems impossible to believe that real people could be saying it.  It is also interesting to note that most of the characters speak formally but with colloquialisms included.  

 Imagery:

• Miller's communication of imagery is done through the set because it is a play.  The Loman home is depicted as uninviting and dark, surrounded by high rise apartments.  When Willy has flashbacks, the scene is transformed into a bright and happy setting, with open surroundings.  There is also auditory imagery with flute music that plays during flashbacks to represent the past and Willy's father -- a flute maker.  Ben is often seen with glowing light behind him further reinforcing the image that he is the physical representation of success and omniscience.  

Symbolism (a few):

• Seeds: Represents hope and growth.  The garden grew in the past, when there was a lot of hope especially for Biff's future.  The garden can no longer grow physically because the house is boxed in by apartment buildings, but also because there is no hope for the success Willy wants Biff to have.  
• The West: Represents freedom and happiness for Biff.  This is where he truly belongs, not New York.
• Diamonds: Represents the tangible wealth that Willy desires for his boys.  Associates this wealth with success, and thus associates Ben with success.  Also represents the shortcut to success which Willy thinks exists, not through hard work.  

Quotes:

• "I saw the things that I love in this world. The work and the food and the time to sit and smoke. And I looked at the pen and I thought, what the hell am I grabbing this for? Why am I trying to become what I don’t want to be?" - Biff

Biff finally realizes that the American Dream is not for him and he can no longer continue to deny it.

• "You can't eat the orange and throw the peel away -- a man is not a piece of fruit!" - Willy

This line perfectly captures how the American Dream has failed Willy; he is used by the elite and then discarded.  

Theme:

• The "American Dream" is false and can be seen through the tragedy in Death of  Salesman.

The setting of the play, New York City, is a cornerstone of the American Dream where opportunity is supposed to be endless.  Willy is ultimately failed by the dream even in New York which contributes to the theme.  The plot is entirely about Willy's life based upon false dreams and him ultimately being hung out to dry despite his clinging to the American Dream ideals.  The narrative voice is entirely depressing and pessimistic to highlight how Willy was failed by the American Dream.  The imagery, like the boxed in home of the Lomans, is deliberate to show how there is no hope for growth for them in their chasing after the American Dream.  Finally, the symbolism is there to highlight how Willy cannot grow (seeds) and how New York's business success will never work for everyone (the West and Biff).

Response to Course Material #4

Since last time, we thoroughly covered and finished Death of a Salesman.  I'll start by saying this was a really good play and I surprised myself how captivated I was while reading and watching the play.  Maybe it was John Malkovich and Dustin Hoffman.  Either way, I really enjoyed the play.  Some of the things we talked about in class, like Willy's perpetual search for approval, I kind of related to.  Sometimes I feel like I try to please others more than I end up pleasing myself.  We also read this one commentary on DOS about how Willy and Biff were kind of gay lovers which I thought was funny, although plausible because they were always just trying to appeal to each other.  From a bigger perspective, I thought it was interesting how in the world of literature you can claim anything, regardless of how ridiculous it might sound at first, if you have enough evidence to support yourself.

We also began reading Hamlet last week, which I am not all that excited for.  I have never been good at reading old British literature (which is why I took American Lit) so this might be a struggle in the coming weeks.  For some reason, I trip over the words and often have to read them several times.  It's a good thing that we read the text several times over the course of the study! (Although I am not very excited to annotate...) I do find it interesting, however, how Shakespeare makes a lot of the dialog so deliberate.  I think reading the play and searching for the deeper meanings will help me search for deeper meanings when I read everything, especially on the AP Exam.  Because there are so many hidden things in the play, I'm certain we will get a lot of practice finding them.
    

Close Read #3

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/opinion/sunday/new-hope-on-immigration.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

          In New Hope on Immigration, the author primarily communicates a point addressing the President and government to act on immigration reform while many opponents are softening their position.  Techniques such as word choice, detail, and figurative language are used to strengthen the author's argument and to create a more compelling editorial.  He/she gains supportby influencing the reader's decision with the techniques without outright telling them that certain things are right or wrong.   

         Out of the three, diction is used most extensively throughout the editorial.  The editorial opens using the words "unauthorized immigrants" in lieu of illegal immigrants which is a clever move as "illegal" sounds a lot worse to a reader than "unauthorized."  Later on, the author uses the word "undocumented" in place of "unauthorized" and then refers to the same people as "Americans-in-fact".  A slow progression is made to a completely positive connotation by the end of the editorial so that a reader will convince his/herself unconsciously that illegal immigrants are nominally different from any other citizen.  This progression is made subtly enough so that a reader will not notice and so the article seems more objective while describing illegal immigrants.  

         Detail is used in the editorial to support the author's position through deliberate choice of only facts supporting his/her side.  In the second paragraph, the author says, "[Asians] rejected Mitt Romney by 3 to 1, according to exit polls," to make it seem like the Republican party is becoming more irrelevant.  This, in effect, persuades to reader to also reject the Republican opinion because statistics reject it.  One cannot argue numbers or facts so a statistic favoring the author's opinion strongly creates an effect of persuasion.  The author goes also on to provide details that blow up immigration reform to appear to be a very important issue on the agenda.  It is specifically mentioned that there "11 million" undocumented immigrants and "400,000" deportations which gives the author a tangible sense of how many people are affected by immigration reform.  

         Finally, figurative language is used to ridicule and deprecate the Republican party.  Readers will not want to associate with the Republican voice thus creating support for the author's opinions.  In the first paragraph, the author writes, "Senators like John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who once bravely supported bipartisan reform but slunk away late in the last Bush administration, are scratching at the door again, as if the last five years never happened."  These opponents of immigration reform are made out to look pathetic and wishy-washy in the reader's eyes with the image of some kind unwanted dog back "scratching at the door again."  Later, fair-weathered bipartisan Republicans are again described as changing with the times: "But the election did scare some of the immigration opportunists back onto the bipartisan bus."  The "bus" is a band-wagon.  

         The author's diction, figurative language, and deliberate inclusion of details are all used to gain support for the author's opinion.  These techniques are subtly used so the reader will side with the author unconsciously.

Prompt #3

2008. In a literary work, a minor character, often known as a foil, possesses traits that emphasize, by contrast or comparison, the distinctive characteristics and qualities of the main character. For example, the ideas or behavior of a minor character might be used to highlight the weaknesses or strengths of the main character. 

Choose a novel or play in which a minor character serves as a foil for the main character. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the relation between the minor character and the major character illuminates the meaning of the work.

In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Bernard serves as a foil to Biff which highlights the themes of denial and the failure of the American Dream.  Bernard works hard as a teenager and grows up to be a success while Biff coasts off of his personality and popularity and grows up to be a lost, wandering soul without real employment. 

Denial is a major theme within the work, as all the character's struggle to cope with reality.  Willy, Biff's father, raises Biff to believe that personality is everything in the world and that all things will fall into place if one has the right personality/relationships.  As a result, when Biff is a teenager, he does poorly in school and fails to graduate.  Willy only denies Biff's faults instead of teaching him to do the right thing.  For example, when Willy encourages Biff to steal or when he tells Biff to cheat on his exams.  He only sees his son as perfect.  Bernard, the foil, does not receive the same kind of unconditional encouragement and is forced to work hard in order to succeed.  However, this good work ethic makes him successful as an adult.  When they are adults Willy further denies that he had anything to do with Biff's unemployment as an adult.  From a bigger perspective, Willy's problem with denial throughout the play led him to raise Biff into the man he is in the present who has trouble gaining unemployment.  The stark contrast between Biff and Bernard leads the reader into questioning why they are so different which highlights the theme of denial, the main reason behind their differences.  These differences continue to highlight denial as Willy questions them as well.  He constantly searches for answers from the different characters which encourages the reader to search for answers as well.  

The American Dream is a major theme in the work, highlighted by Biff and Bernard as Biff is the poster child of the American Dream while Biff is the complete opposite.  Bernard is a very successful lawyer who earned his worth in the world through his trade.  Biff cannot find happiness in white-collar, professional work, so he has trouble holding a job.  The American Dream as represented in the play is that anyone can go into the world of professionals and climb their way to the top.  The American Dream fails Biff and he is left having trouble getting a job because his real desire is to move West and work on a farm, with no desire to become an important person. The failure of the American Dream and Arthur Miller's message that it is not for everyone is highlighted by the differences between Biff and Bernard.  As the reader looks for an explanation for their differences they can see that Bernard finds extreme success through the American Dream while Biff suffers.  

Overall, Death of a Salesman is able to emphasize it's themes and meaning through it's use of foils Biff and Bernard.  The reader unconsciously answers questions and as a result understands the meaning of the play.

Response to Course Material #3

         Recently in class we have been studying Death of a Salesman, which I have found to be shockingly similar to our last focus, The American Dream.  I'm not certain if the entire year is going to have a focus on American ideals, but I guess that will make itself apparent once we read the next work.  We have not discussed too much about the deeper meanings of Death of Salesman, but I missed Friday so we might have talked more about it.  Hopefully both of these texts will prove to be useful on the AP exam which I am sure they will be (otherwise why else would we be reading them.)
        Another thing we did in class is practice multiple choice questions on the AP exam.  The application of this practice is obvious because we will get better at answering multiple choice questions.  We identified the different types of wrong answers and I was surprised to see how the practice questions tended to have them all.  The different wrong answers included too narrow, too broad, opposite, We will be well prepared to avoid the traps that the exam writers have set up for us.
       Finally, we did work out of the textbook.  I thought this was beneficial because not only did it give us tone practice, it exposed us to some other authors that we haven't studied.  These included Langston Hughes and Amy Tan.  Interestingly enough, they were about the American Dream.  Additionally, Mohan and my presentation was successful in informing the class about our poem and making the class laugh.

Summary/Analysis of The American Dream

     The American Dream by Edward Albee

Characters:

• Mommy:  Controlling and masculine figure of the household.  Is part of the "new generation" and is looking to get rid of Grandma.
• Daddy:  Feminine (literally has lady parts) and complacent figure of household.  Also part of the new generation but sides with Grandma during certain times.  Is very wealthy.
• Grandma:  Only character in play that has sense, remembers anything, and communicates like a normal person.  Represents the "old American ideals" of industriousness and resourcefulness.
• Mrs. Barker:  Struggles for control with Mommy, represents corporate America?  Holds positions of power outside the house, is part of the Bye-Bye Adoption Agency.
• Young Man:  Also known as "the American Dream", he physically represents the new American ideals  of consumerism and commodification that were beginning to take hold in the 1960's when the play was written.  He has no skills, cannot feel emotion, and will do anything for money yet is physically perfect. 

Setting:

• Mommy and Daddy's apartment with no extraordinary features.

Plot Summary:

• The play opens with Mommy talking to Daddy (more commanding him to listen) about buying a hat and then eventually repurchasing it.  Grandma comes onto the stage with a lot of wrapped boxes but neither Daddy nor Mommy inquire about what is in them but rather praise their appearance.  Grandma and Mommy argue but the doorbell soon rings and Mrs. Barker is at the door.  Mrs. Barker enters but Daddy and Mommy don't know why she is here and neither does she.  She casually removes her dress when invited to by Mommy.  Grandma is constantly silenced but eventually has her say when she announces the boxes have nothing to do with Mrs. Barker's visit after many questions from the clueless other characters.  Grandma hides all of her things inside the boxes, including intangible things like running water.  While Grandma and Mrs. Barker are alone, she drops a hint to Mrs. Barker that strongly suggests that she is here to talk about the baby that Mommy and Daddy adopted and were unsatisfied with.  Daddy and Mommy murder the baby by dismemberment after dissatisfaction for ridiculous reasons like the baby crying.  A young man shows up at the door who Grandma thinks is the van man to take her away (a made up entity that is meant to "take away" old people often mentioned by Mommy.)  The young man is physically perfect and it is discovered that he is the twin of the baby that Mommy and Daddy murdered.  He cannot feel any emotion and has no skills, and is only looking for ways to make money.  Grandma comes up with the solution of him becoming a new son for Mommy and Daddy while she leaves the stage.  Mommy is initially upset with Grandma's disappearance after being told the van man took her away (because there is no van man) but quickly forgets about that when she meets the young man.  The play ends with everyone satisfied even though Grandma has left.

Narrative Tone/Style (also symbolism, point of view, imagery):

      The piece is a play thus has no narrator.  However, Albee primarily keeps the action moving through Grandma and communicates his voice through her as well.  Albee uses the characters as symbols of American society in the 1960's.  The entire play itself represents the replacement of old American ideals, like industriousness and resourcefulness, for new artificial ones such as consumerism and commodification of everything.  Albee believed this was a problem so he addressed it through the symbolic characters.  Grandma makes biting and witty remarks all throughout the play so one can infer that Albee's voice is intended to be the same.  Overall, however, Albee's tone is intentionally indifferent to make the play seem like it is meaningless and absurd.

       Albee's primarily style of communication in the play is akin to Theatre of the Absurd.  The characters repeat dialog again and again to create a sense of communication disconnect as well as have a lack of understanding of anything to make it seem like there is no meaning.  Of course after analysis one can see that the play is not true Theatre of the Absurd as there is conflict resolution as well as the mentioned symbolism which would go against the absurdist notion of a meaningless world. There are certain parts during the play in which imagery plays a role in heightening the sense of absurdity, for example, when Grandma describes the murder of the baby.  Point of view also plays a role in the play because the play only advances when Grandma is talking.  Her point of view is the most logical and clear one throughout the entire play.  As the old American Dream, this was done intentionally to highlight the fact the old American ideals are more logical.

Quotes:

• "So, let's leave things as they are right now...while everybody's happy...while everybody's got what he wants...or everybody's got what he thinks he wants." - Grandma ~~ This quote explains how the American people are satisfied with their current state of living (with old ideals disappearing) no matter how bad it may seem.
• "WHAT a masculine Daddy! Isn't he a masculine Daddy?" - Mommy ~~ This quote is an example of how Mommy is the masculine figure in the family and teases Daddy with his masculinity.  

Theme:

The United States is being taken over by commodification, consumerism, and superficiality while the old values of the "American Dream" are quickly disappearing to nobody's concern. 

• The title of the play is a direct reference to this theme.  Although there seems to be an absence of a lot of plot development, the absence is what contributes to the work.  Because there doesn't seem to be a meaning, Albee veils his allegory with elements of the Theatre of the Absurd.  Contrary to the appearance, the plot of Mommy and Daddy physically purchasing a baby and validating a murder through commodification further supports the theme.  Albee's voice (concerning the new American Dream) is communicated through the character of Grandma.  Furthermore, all of the characters are symbolic with each representing new/old ideals.  The shallowness of all the characters' dialog except for Grandma parallels the superficiality of a new generation raised on shallow ideals.  The tone of the play seems to be indifferent to make it seem absurd, however it is actually critical because of how it attacks the new American Dream.  Finally, the imagery within the play is primarily found in the stories told by Grandma (specifically the murder of the baby) which is used to highlight the commodification of elements of everyday life.   

Close Reading #2

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/19/opinion/another-defeat-for-the-defense-of-marriage-act.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

This editorial from the New York Times is about the forthcoming defeat of the Defense of Marriage Act.  The author uses diction, detail, and syntax to support her passionate tone of opposing the act.  

The author's writing is rife with diction, perhaps the most used technique in the piece.  In the second paragraph, the author says, "Any sensible reading of the Constitution and basic fairness demand a repudiation of this discriminatory law" (para. 2 ln. 1).  The words sensible and basic give the sentence a tone like it should be obvious to anyone that this law must be removed.  At the end of the sentence, the word discriminatory brings up images of hatred and unfairness that goes against the very ideals that the United States was founded on.  Anyone reading this will feel the same opposition the author does if they have any sense of what is right and wrong.  

Detail is also a key technique present in the piece to deliver hard hitting and fact-supported blows to any differing opinions.  In the third paragraph, there is a story about a real woman getting shorted because of the Defense of Marriage Act.  The full details of the story are given when the author says, "The 2-to-1 ruling on Thursday came in the case of Edith Windsor, who married her partner of more than 40 years...and was required to pay $363,053 in estate taxes" (para. 3 ln. 1).  The author chose to include this because the implications of the law are put into a real life context with a real person with a name.  The reader can relate to the woman who suffered which further would convince them to oppose the law.  

Finally, the author uses syntax to support his/her opinion.  The clause surrounded by hyphens is used to strengthen a sentence as extra support when the author says, "It is the first federal appeals court ruling to recognize that discrimination against gay men and lesbians — like discrimination based on gender or directed against children born out of wedlock — must be subject to “heightened scrutiny”" (para. 5. ln. 1).  The author likens gay discrimination to gender discrimination by the added clause so that readers think discrimination of gays is just as severe.  Another example of use of syntax is the author's strategic quoting of government officials.  He/she says "As Judge Jacobs explained, the law is “not related to an important government interest” and gay people “are not in a position to adequately protect themselves from the discriminatory wishes of the majoritarian public” (para. 6 ln. 1).  Not only does the quote support the author's opinion, the fact a judge said it adds authority and weight behind the opinion.  The reader will validate the opinion because a judge supported it.   

Blog Prompt 2

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.

       J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye centers around adolescent Holden Caulfield struggling with growing up.  Holden copes with understanding feelings of alienation and his sexuality.  Overall, this contributes to the novel's themes of the pain of growing up and artificiality of the adult world.

      At school, Holden feels as if he has no real friends.  He often uses the term, "phony" to describe his peers as he thinks they are disingenuous.  The only real friend he can communicate with is his little sister, Phoebe.  Sincerity is something he thinks is lacking among almost everyone but remains within younger people.  An example of his alienation is during a school-wide football game, when he chooses not to attend it to read a book instead.  The alienation he feels is something many kids feel as they get older, a lack of understanding.  As Holden is getting older he also feels pressure to lose his virginity.  However, he has never felt comfortable to do so even if conditions were right.  At one point during the novel, he sees a couple performing sexual acts and thinks of them as "perverts" and doesn't understand why they would do such things.  At another point, he hires a prostitute but only wants to talk to her in the end.  Holden struggles to understand sexuality even though those around him have already done so, which additionally adds to his alienation.   

     Holden's experiences through the novel highlight the trials of getting older.  Salinger communicates that the "phoniness" he perceives among his peers and adults is a lack of sincerity among adults.  The insincerity found within the general masses is almost required to fit into society, thus making it difficult for Holden to fit in.  Realization of this can be painful for those who want to remain a kid on the inside as they must adapt to a new and phony world.  As Holden experiences alienation because of his struggle to adapt, the process of growing up for him is a painful one.  

         

Response to Course Materials #2

The past month in lit has been fast and we have already learned a lot.  We started our study on The American Dream which I think has been pretty interesting learning about the different meanings behind it.  This will be helpful for the AP exam because we need to be able to know how to pick apart texts and find deeper meanings behind them.  We definitely need to practice if we want to score well.  We also have been talking about the key to tone -- DIDLS.  This stands for diction, imagery, details, langauge, syntax.  We are doing this because identifying the tone is key to understanding the text better.  There has been a tone exercise pretty much every day where we read a passage and try to identify the tone.  I'm not sure how this will play on the AP exam but I'm certain that understanding of tone is key to knowing the text better.  Finally, we have reviewed movements in literature and their characteristics. We can connect these characteristics from movement to the texts we study and see how they fall within the movement. Not only that, we can use the general traits of pieces within the movement to help us dissect the literature.  For example, we can look for anti-heroes in post-modern literature because we already know that they were popular during that movement.

Romney Editorial Close Read

http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/underdogged/?ref=opinion

Jill Lepore, author of the editorial from the New York Times strongly feels that Mitt Romney misrepresents himself frequently as an "underdog."  She uses the elements of rhetoric detail, syntax, and diction to communicate her opinion.

One of the key pieces of rhetoric in the piece is Lepore's use of detail.  She has a systematic inclusion of evidence that describe the different uses of the word "underdog" in history.  This is done to strengthen her argument because then the reader sees how the definition has always been different from who Romney is.  Some examples of this are the opening topic sentences of each paragraph like "In the 1940s, social scientists used the word “underdog” as shorthand for “socially and economically underprivileged Americans” (Lepore para. 6 ln. 1) and "IN 1963, Howard Schuman at Harvard and John Harding at Cornell published an article called “Sympathetic Identification with the Underdog” (Lepore para 7. ln. 1). In all of the evidence, an underdog is more or less defined as usually little, weaker, and fighting person.  Lepore wants to make it clear that in no point in history has Romney been an underdog because he is rich and powerful.  

Lepore also uses syntax within her editorial to emphasize points.  She frequently uses brevity and conciseness to make her opinion clear and to make it sound more objective than opinionated.  This technique is highlighted in paragraph 15 in the first and last lines.  She says, "Mitt Romney is no Downtrodden Man...This is not a man who loves underdogs" (Lepore para. 15 ln. 1-6).  Lepore also weaves quoted words from historical texts in her sentences to add weight and authority as well.  In this sentence, she references a Harvard study: "They defined an underdog as an “ethnic minority facing discrimination.”" (Lepore para. 7 ln. 2-3).  Because the words were lifted straight from a scholarly source as denoted by the quotation marks, her opinion appears to be supported by a reputable source.  

A final use of rhetoric within the editorial is Lepore's use of diction.  In the final paragraphs she uses loaded words with negative connotations to summarize her point.  In the last line, "Mr. Romney’s branding himself an underdog to earn voter sympathy might not be the weirdest feature of his topsy-turvy campaign" (Lepore para. 17 ln. 1) she uses the word "branding" because typically things are branded artificially or wrongly.  The word specifically carries negative connotations.  She also uses the word "topsy-turvy" in referring to his campaign itself, which has the negative connotation of being unstable or haphazard.  Lepore utilizes diction to further enforce the tone of her editorial which itself communicates a negative opinion.  

Blog Prompt 1

2006, Form B. In many works of literature, a physical journey - the literal movement from one place to another - plays a central role. Choose a novel, play, or epic poem in which a physical journey is an important element and discuss how the journey adds to the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

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            Among all plays and literature, Homer's Odyssey is widely regarded as one of the most influential works of all time.  The epic has influenced thousands of years of literature with a central journey as the main aspect of the plot.  Throughout the entire poem, Odysseus travels literally to hell and back in order to return to his home of Ithaca.  His journey makes up the entire plot so it is a critically important element of the poem.  During his journey, he overcomes several trials and tribulations which test his physical and mental strength.  One example is the group of sirens which tempt Odysseus to drown himself.  His ship’s crew must use every resource to stop him from doing so.  Another example a shipwreck which kills every one of his crewmates and friends, leaving only him alive to fend for himself.

           These unfortunate events are important to the journey and therefore the poem because they help Odysseus grow as a person and leave him much wiser when he returns home.  He uses his intelligence to form a plan which would save his wife from suitors and restore order to his kingdom to conclude the poem.  The journey is also important because it helps the poem communicate the some main themes through the different events that occur along the way.  One specific theme that repeats itself through the story is obedience to the gods – disobedience is what led to the death of all his crew mates (as one example).  Another motif is temptation, as seen through his encounter with the sirens and stay with Calypso. 

         Because the journey itself enables Homer to develop/nurture Odysseus as a character and communicate different motifs, many layers of depth are added to the piece.  This journey of growth is what inspired many works in the future to have a similar journey to the one found in the Odyssey.  

   

            

Response to Course Materials #1

The first week of school was not particularly heavy in learning in lit.  The bulk of it was going over our summer homework.  I think that making the PowerPoint over Foster's book will be useful in the near future because now we have a firm understanding of the different symbols authors use and it will be easier to be aware of them while reading.  Not only did it reinforce the ideas, but we actually had to think about examples in popular culture which is practice for looking for them.  Another thing we went over in class was forum posting which was important because we're going to do a lot of those and we need to do them correctly.  It is necessary to provide insight in your posts and responses and not just summarize what you read/say "I agree."  The last thing we did during the week was take a lit terms test which I got totally wrecked by.  I studied for a long time to make sure I understood the definitions but my skills in identifying them were still pretty weak apparently. I took solace in the fact everyone did pretty bad. However, it's easy to see how you would need to be able to identify the terms in context.  This is AP Lit which is all about picking part text and connecting them to explain the big picture.  All in all, I think everything we did was to help prepare us for the work to come.

Analysis of David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day

      David Sedaris wrote the essay fairly well by following most of the rules found in Michael Harvey's book, The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing.  The key point of Harvey's book is to avoid "pompous" writing by being concise and clear.  Sedaris does exactly this in his essay by avoiding incredibly complex language and keeping his ideas clear.

      Throughout the essay, Sedaris utilizes the different ways discussed in The Nuts and Bolts to have good flow.  Immediately, he demonstrates control over pronouns to keep the essay reading well.  In this part, he describes the steamstress with proper use of pronouns so you can focus more on what is happening. 

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. (Sedaris 12)

Although this seems like a simple enough skill to have, Harvey makes it a point that it is important to use pronouns so that instead of focusing on the subject over and over again you can pay more attention to what is being described. (Harvey 26)  As Sedaris does this, your attention isn't drawn away from the streamstress's "rabbity mouth" and frantic search for a retort.  

      Another technique that Sedaris employs is his use of introductory phrases to keep the essay flowing smoothly.  In chapter 3, section 4 of Harvey's book, he mentions the use of linking phrases and conjunctions at the beginning of sentences to keep a paragraph cohesive.  In Me Talk Pretty One Day, Sedaris uses this technique in the entire essay.  The use of this skill can be seen in sentences like "When called upon, I delivered an effortless list of things" (Sedaris 13) and "While the optimist struggled to defend herself, I scrambled to think of an answer." (Sedaris 12) This keeps the essay flowing while varying sentence structure making it interesting. 

     The most important part of Sedaris's essay that makes it well written is it's conciseness and clarity.  The tone is casual, like you are his friend and he is recounting his experiences over a drink.  He does not use incredibly complicated wording so the reader is with him for the whole essay.  Harvey mentions this time and time again throughout his book and emphasizes avoiding "pompous" writing.  Although I am positive that Sedaris has an extensive vocabulary, being a professional writer, he does not clutter his writing by inserting the biggest words he knows.  

     Despite being well-written, Sedaris does employ some use of the passive voice which Harvey advises against.  This can be seen in sentences like, "Vacations were recounted, and questions were raised concerning mutual friends with names like Kang and Vlatnya." (Sedaris 11)  However, this use of the passive voice is very minor in the essay and would only be a problem if it dominated the writing. 

     Overall, David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day applies the skills described in The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing to create a well constructed essay.  The essay is easy to read through conciseness and clarity yet is still interesting and flows well.  The proper use of pronouns and linking phrases keeps this flow.  It is obvious that Sedaris is a professional writer because he avoids the mistakes Harvey describes that many novice writers make.

Poetry Goals

I thought it was pretty hard to narrow down five things I need to work on because I think I'm pretty bad at everything right now overall.

1.  Stay more focused during reading
2.  Try to pay more attention to details
3.  Learn more poetry terms
4.  Understand figurative language better
5.  Understand the extended metaphors better

I chose the first goal because that is a major weakness for me while reading.  Often times I get distracted or bored and skip around the text.  This can lead to me missing certain elements or not have a good understanding of the whole text.  The next goal, to pay attention to details, was chosen because I skim over details that prove to be important later on.  Learning more poetry terms is a fairly straightforward goal because that is just a matter of memorization that I haven't ever done up until this point.  Understanding figurative language and extended metaphors I think will come by achieving the first goal because if I have a better understanding of the text I will be able to pick up on the language/metaphors more easily.

Diagnostic Test Reflection

I will open my first blog post by saying that I did not enjoy taking the diagnostic test.  This is a personal blog after all, so I might as well be honest.  That being said, I did not experience much surprise while taking the test.  I did perform better than I anticipated, however.  33/50 is not good but I wanted to take AP Lit in order to get better at reading and writing. Hopefully by the end of the year I will score better!  I scored better on the analysis of the informative text which I accredit to my strength in reading non-fiction texts.  The poetry parts of the test killed me, but I was expecting that because I haven't done much with poetry in my past English classes.  I think in general reading comprehension has been tougher for me because I don't read that much but I want to get better at it.