Response to Course material dec 11

I was very pleased to begin discussing Ceremony as a class.  I will admit that I had a lot of unanswered questions after reading the book.  Though I still do, the group discussion by the class is helping a great deal in understanding the aspects of the book that were previously confusing me.  It is very helpful to have someone as knowledgeable about the Laguna Pueblo culture as Ms Holmes helping to guide the discussion.  In the vast majority of cases, our literary history has done very little to help us to identify and explain the complex and abstract imagery utilized by Silko.  The countless motif's exposed in the just first few pages, such as the idea of circles and reciprocity, colors of all sorts and their importance (yellow especially) and the theme of interlinked cultures I never picked up on.  I don't think that is attributed to me reading poorly a first time, but rather I honestly think I didn't really have the tools or understanding of the book after a first read to pick up on them.  However this is exactly what makes the close read so rewarding.  I have an epiphany with every few pages, and the story makes more sense and I see countless links between events the more I read.

Close Reading Dec 11th

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/08/24/090824fa_fact_sedaris

Details:
The details are Sedaris are very effective in achieving his goal of highly comedic editorial writing.  Right away the piece starts off with him arguing with his father over who has truly been to Australia. Though obviously they have both physically been to Australia, their differences in the belief of what Australia really is leads to irreparable schism at a dinner with family members they rarely see.  I found this whole situation to be very funny, the fact that they are arguing over a purely subjective idea that one has no chance of persuading the other to believe.  Sedaris also describes Australia as Canada in a thong, something that made me actually laugh when reading.  I was equally amused by an incident that involved them stopped in Australia investigating road kill on the side of the road.  These details, interspersed with more serious subject matter of Sedaris's journeys, are highly comedic and make the piece of reading enjoyable and certainly a form of high comedy.

Diction:
Sedaris uses typical diction to describe his adventures in Australia.  He certainly has no desire to create any disconnect between reader and writer and his diction reflects this.  Occasionally he will use elevated diction when describing especially comedic or important events of his stories, seen the use of the words "shodiness" and "constitute".  He writes in a way that a typical reader of the new yorker would easily grasp.  I was most drawn to his use of local diction, the word "shout" which carries an entirely different meaning in Australia than in America.  Shout is a verb that means to treat, the example used by Sedaris is "She shouted us to coffee".  After explaining the use of the word, and then later using the word in the piece as if its unique colloquial use was natural for him was very interesting and showed to me a level of sophistication in his writing.

Imagery:
Imagery is constantly used throughout the piece.  What is notable about its use however is the comedic way in which it is used. His imagery is explained/created in a way that is funny.  He takes funny situations and further increases the hilarity for the reader by creating images in the readers mind with funny details.  A good example is seen when he describes the roadkill that he comes across, and his attempt to identify it.  "I was surprised by the shoddiness of its coat. It was as if you’d bred a rabbit with a mule. Then there was the tail, which reminded me of a lance.  What was it actually, a teenage kangaroo?"  This absurd attempt to describe this animal certainly doesn't help the reader to get a good idea of what Sedaris saw, but in this piece that isn't his point.  He is using imagery, or rather attempts at imagery, to increase the comedic nature of the situations that he describes.

sunday dec 4th open prompt

1970. Choose a character from a novel or play of recognized literary merit and write an essay in which you (a) briefly describe the standards of the fictional society in which the character exists and (b) show how the character is affected by and responds to those standards. In your essay do not merely summarize the plot.

            The society in which a character exists is one of the most powerful features that shape his or her development, especially when the character is fundamentally opposed to all that their society is built upon.  This is the case in The Awakening, in which the protagonist Edna finds her own beliefs and actions to be unacceptable and even treacherous in her society.  The strict sexual divisions and discrimination of upper class New Orleans society cause Edna to initially  shrug off her familial and societal responsibilities and question her reason for existence, to which she cannot find a suitable answer.  

            Edna is married into a family of deep Creole heritage, and thus surrounded by such a culture.  The nature of Creole society in Louisiana during this period is one of extreme wealth and luxury.  The wealthiest men are typically businessmen who extend their hospitality to other well-to-do members of their society.  Edna is an integral part of the middle of a large chain of her husband’s associates and friends.  The image of her family is of utmost importance to her husband of Creole heritage, and the ideas of a dominant male figure in the family are the norm with no exceptions.   Infidelity by the male member’s is often ignored while female infidelity is seen to lecherous.  The woman exists primarily to serve the husband and portray his essence to the public at large.  As for Edna’s specific position in Creole society, she is expected to run the household and ensure that the image of her family is spotlessly displayed to those around them.   Whether this be throwing elaborate house parties or forging shallow relationships with wives of her husband’s business associates, she is expected to perform any task.  As a result Edna receives little attention or regard from her husband, rather than occasional lavish gifts that are meant to keep her attention.  Edna’s position as a mother, though she isn’t supposed to directly raise her children, she is certainly in charge of their societal upbringing and in ensuring that they understand their position in the world. 

            Edna reacts to this in quite possibly the most abrupt manner possible. She shrugs of every task and expectation that society has of her and begins to embody something extremely radical for the time, feminism.  Tasks such as hosting lavish house parties and ensuring a positive image for the public are ignored, and she often refuses to attend parties that she is invited to.  As for her children, her fundamental insecurity about her life result in her losing all affection for them.  She doesn’t feel love or a sense to protect them, a shocking revelation for a mother.  Traditionally seen as the most fundamental of feminine responsibilities, he choice to ignore the raising of her children defines her feminist beliefs, specifically that she isn’t to be tied down by the out of date characteristic of motherhood.   Her most blatant disregard for accordance to her society’s norms is seen in her act of adultery.  After years of disregard, she no longer feels any affection for her husband, and partakes in an affair with a close friend of hers.  This provides a liberating effect for Edna, and inspires her to demand her independence.  She purchases her own home and attempts to move out on her husband.  Further perpetuating this move is her husband’s reaction, based out of concern for his image by having his wife disobey society’s demands.  Most significant of all however is Edna’s choice to take her own life.  By doing so she shed’s all unwanted responsibility and fully escapes the grasp of the norms and demands of Creole society,  thus actualizing her awakening to feminist ideals. 

            In a society that is so strictly rigid and demanding of Edna, is brutally clear that her actions that are in complete conflict with such a society cannot continue.  Her intellectual awakening to sexual social disparagements as well as the frivolous nature of her life drove her to reject all that she was meant to embody, which defined her actions as freeing and enlightening.   

Response to Course Material

Prior to this last week, we focused on our group discussion and individual annotations of Death of A Salesmen.  I thought that using the film as a first read was a very good choice.  This allowed me to have a solid understanding of the plot, character traits, and interactions/dynamics of the play.  When going back for the close read, I was pleasantly surprised to see how much was similar.  The move is a very near direct copy of the play, only leaving out some very minor discussions or events.  When I went into the close read I had some ideas in mind, and was able to quickly and easily identify these parts of the play and find plenty of evidence and examples.  Overall I feel that the movie is a very accurate version of the novel, and portray's the same feelings and emotions as Arthur Miller's actual play.  This week we spent most of our time working on projects for literary eras.  Though this was something I did in American Literature, I didn't really pay attention to that class or do anything so this is definitely something worth learning the second time around.  I learned a lot from other projects and a lot from my own group's research so overall it was definitely time well spent.  I can see this being of utmost importance on the AP exam.  Being able to identify a piece and what literary movement it fits in will allow for accurate pre-reading generalizations to be formulated which will help to understand the writing in a timely manner.

Close reading nov 20th

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2009/03/16/090316crat_atlarge_acocella

Diction: Since this piece of writing is about the frightening nature of vampires, and how they still are able to cause us great discomfort and worry, the diction involved in describing the vampires is suited well to this purpose.  The author uses the general terms of the past to describe vampires, "bloated", "purple-faced", "talons", "terrible".  Together these create a creature that no one would want to run into, very indicative of the fact that vampires still cause us a lot of fear in modern day culture, the whole point of her piece.  Her excerpts from other works about vampires describe the blood with diction such as "trickling, smeared".  These are truly discomforting and describe well the bestial nature of vampires with their lust for blood.

Imagery:  The description of vampires created through the strong and disturbing diction creates a very vivid and real image of vampires in a reader's mind.  This is coupled with past texts that do an even better job of describing vampires in their terrible deed's of sucking the blood of helpless maidens.  These images are especially vivid to a reader because they are something that truly reaches people on the deepest level.  Nothing would be worse than being unconscious and unable to help someone as they were attacked by a vampire.  The terrible nature of vampires, and the associated historical reaction by people is described with great imagery as well, as the author describes the various means by which vampires were killed :staked, burned, and beheaded.  This also creates a pretty brutal image.

Details:  The details involved in the work are especially suited to further the author's goal : to describe the significance of the fear that vampires still invoke in people to this day.  In order to do this she needed a mix of chilling fictional work and historical fact.  This is seen in her use of excerpts from Dracula and descriptions of eastern European folk lore and tradition.  Together the mix of historical fact and frightening fiction are especially well received by the audience.  This is a winning combination that undeniably proves the author's point by instilling a slight discomfort in the reader about vampires.

nov 13th open prompt

1984. Select a moment or scene in a novel, epic poem, or play that you find especially memorable. Write an essay in which you identify the line or the passage, explain its relationship to the work in which it is found, and analyze the reasons for its effectiveness.

            Quirky and odd pieces of literature tend to be very memorable for the reader.  Few pieces of literature are able to match the level of oddity and randomness of Cat’s Cradle by Curt Vonnegut.  The passage in which Ice-9 is dropped into the ocean and results in the end of all life is a particularly memorable passage from that novel.  This passage results in the culmination of the destructive behavior of humans, a theme constantly described throughout the novel, and is especially powerful in demonstrating this due to poignant use of imagery and details by Vonnegut.  

            The passage in which Ice-9 is accidentally dropped into the ocean is the logical conclusion to the series of events that lead up to this point, and demonstrates the true nature of people to cause undue harm upon themselves.  Earlier in the novel, the protagonist mentions the possible creation of Ice-9, but is skeptical about its existence.  Ice-9 is crystal that is able to freeze any water it comes into contact with, and therefore has potential to freeze over the entire world.  He demonstrates a lot of concern about this mysterious compound created by a world renowned nuclear physicist because it has the potential to quite literally end all life on the planet. The protagonist grapples throughout the novel with this man’s ability to create such powerful weapons and allow them to be unleashed upon the world.  He is a staunch critic of such inhumane action, and really much of Cat’s Cradle is a criticism of such action.  There is a startling connection between the local strongman dictator of a Caribbean island and this man who creates such powerful weapons.  When Ice-9 is finally released into the water and causes the entire world to freeze over, the inevitable future finally occurs.  It seems almost impossible that by creating such a weapon and leaving it out in the world that a positive result could come out of it.  This represents the ignorance of the creator to the true nature of the human race.  People are not careful enough or logical enough to possess such immense power to destroy their world.  This criticism of Ice-9 is can be carried over very easily to the idea of nuclear weapons; they too possess potential to absolutely annihilate all life on this planet.  Overall this passage in which the world is literally destroyed before the protagonist’s eyes is the culmination of the dangerous and foolish work of a genius who was unaware of the true nature of human beings.  However this event clearly exposes the true nature of humans and the potential they have for destruction. 

            This passage is so effective in demonstrating the destructive potential of humans by creating a truly terrible scenario, almost worse than anything nuclear weapons could cause.  The entire world literally freezes over due to Ice-9, all bodies of water are instantly frozen.  Anyone to come into contact with Ice-9 is also instantly frozen solid.  The actual event unfolds in a predictable and almost slow motion event.  The reader is aware the entire time what is going to happen, and when the Ice-9 crystal plummets toward the water below, the reader with out a doubt feels a sense of “I told you so”.  This technique to set up the signs well before the event is a powerful technique for the criticism of human nature, because just with the weapons people currently possess, the signs of possible destruction are imminent and obvious.  The imagery of the post apocalyptic world is truly memorable.  A frozen over world, everything that contained water is completely frozen solid.  Only cement is untouched and allows the protagonist to attempt to navigate the barren world.  This is especially memorable to the reader and the idea that the protagonist must spend the rest of his days avoiding dying by being frozen and trapped in a whole with a rag tag group of survivors that he knew from before the incident seems beyond terrible.  This is truly a memorable passage that is extremely effective in culminating the criticisms of Vonnegut into one powerful event that makes readers remember and feel similarly to Vonnegut in terms of his ideas of the danger of the human race.   

            

open prompt oct 29

2009, Form B. Many works of literature deal with political or social issues. Choose a novel or play that focuses on a political or social issue. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the author uses literary elements to explore this issue and explain how the issue contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

            American society’s consumerist attitudes have been under attack since their growth in the 1960’s.  Consumerism has pervaded nearly all aspects of American life, and no one criticizes this truth more than Edward Albee in his play “The American Dream”.  Albee’s use of theater of the absurd as a disguise for his criticisms when coupled with strong criticisms built through various literary techniques create a play that is effective in causing its readers to question the middle class consumer values that Albee attacks. 

            Albee’s play falls under the category of Theater of the Absurd, characterized by an absurd combination of character interactions, personalities and beliefs.  Theater of the Absurd is well known for having characters take seemingly insignificant occurrences to be significant, elaborating and expanding upon events that simply have no larger meaning than that which they artificially give to it.  This is something that happens repeatedly throughout “the American Dream”.  Events such as the purchasing of the beige hat, the multiple arguments over what color it truly is, and the act of exchanging the hat for the same exact hat show this perfectly.  This is one of many examples in this play where pointless events are given elevated importance by the characters, and through this show the meaninglessness of middle class values.  The character interactions of Mommy, Daddy and Grandma are equally absurd, with blatant sexual references to each other and extremely rude comments regarding personal aspects of people lives, such as countless references to Daddy’s surgery and Grandma’s bowel movements.  These are parts of society that are considered off limits in open conversation, yet are considered to be perfectly innocent and normal in Theater of The Absurd.

            Albee’s use of Theater of the Absurd allows for his criticisms of middle class consumerism to be better received by the audience.  The absurd subject matter and interactions in which Albee criticizes these values are much more blatantly obvious than the criticisms themselves.  Discomfort due to the somewhat disturbing subject matter of the play allows the criticisms to reach the reader without the reader reacting in a defensive manner.  By using a generic family, with generic names, yet with a absurd lifestyle, readers don’t react defensively to the criticisms.  It seems as if the criticisms are being put on this dysfunctional family, but in reality they are directed at the real American Middle class.  This is an effective way of ensuring the audience is receptive to the criticisms that are certainly discomforting.   

            Albee’s poignant criticisms of consumerist desires are built out of a combination of diction, details, and language.  The language of the characters, especially Mommy, is always extremely childish.  Mommy’s character represents the most consumer driven character, often speaking in a childish tone, begging or demanding that something should be done, then reacting with an immature statement. The childishness is also spread throughout in the use of malapropisms, an excellent example being bumble mistaken for bundle.  These are classic examples of children struggling with adult forms of communication, and they are prevalent among the characters of this novel, even Grandma.  The diction, though can’t be generalized, is often highly reflective of the character’s attitudes.  Mommy is often speaking with diction that shows her attempts at superiority over Daddy and Grandmother.  Daddy often uses diction that is reflective of his emasculated status in the household.  Grandma uses diction that reflects her ingenuity as a result of her being pioneer stock, severely senile one minute and a sharp force of criticism next.  The details of the play are what make up the strongest aspects of his criticism, and none more than his character Young Man embodying the American Dream.  This embodiment of the American Dream is characterized by no feelings, no emotion, no desire, simply a flawless exterior that exists only to please others.  This is exactly the criticism that Albee is making of middle class society.  Society is so caught up in its consumerist desires, it has lost all sense of meaning in life, and the American Dream has been reduced to making money and being an average person.  The Young Man displays all of this perfectly in his character, and by making his chief criticism hidden in the symbolism of a character, he is again making his criticism more receptive to the audience.  

Response to Course Material oct 23

This past week has been to most enlightening to date.  After doing a close read of The American Dream, it was very interesting to go back and begin the close read.  Having finished the close read and the annotations I can see why it is so important to utilize the close reading techniques we have learned.  Nothing can compare the understanding of the piece that I had prior to the close read and after.  Nearly everything that that play had to offer wasn't exposed on a first read.  Even aspects of the plot were fuzzy after a regular read through, which is the simplest aspect of the play.  However all of this changed after the close read. I was very proud of myself to be able to find some original ideas in the play that other's hadn't thought of.  It definitely isn't an easy process however.  I've realized that I often will attempt to close read a passage and find myself at the bottom of the page with out annotating anything or finding anything of significance. However if i take the time to go back, I can always find something on every page.  That is what makes close reading so difficult is the fact that you must have your mind completely open to interpretation of everything.  Even small sentences said by Grandma have a lot of significance when you look at the whole work as a backdrop.  It is always important to consider the large, overarching themes and motifs of The American Dream when annotating because that helps you from losing track of some very potent ideas in the reading.

close reading oct 23rd

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2011/10/24/111024taco_talk_kolbert

The diction of this piece is that of an informative and sophisticated piece of writing.  The purpose of this essay is to discuss the world's population and its rapid approach toward the 7 billion mark.  It uses a lot of technical jargon, which is representative of they type of writing that this is.  Words such as "per-capita food production" and " phosphorus-rich fertilizers" requires a certain amount of knowledge by the reader in order to understand the meaning of what the author is saying.  I found however that this relatively complicated topic of global population and its future was presented in a way that is easily understood by the audience.  The author clearly uses her education as a tool to explain and enlighten the readers, rather than require a lot of technical knowledge to interpret her essay.  


The details of this essay are very technical and specific, drawing from history, and without knowledge of some of these references much will be missed by the reader.  She describes the work of Thomas Matlhus, an author of an essay who promised global famine as a  result of large population growth and the work of Robert Ehlrich who promised a huge die off soon after the 1960's.  Obviously these predictions weren't correct but knowing the gist of these writers and beliefs adds to the understanding of this technical essay because they are very minimally described.  Knowing more about these authors in addition to knowing technical information about global food production downturn would overall enrich the understanding of this technical essay, more than just the slight descriptions given from this essay.  


The piece starts with very clear imagery.  The author paints a picture of where the 7 billionth child will be born - baby who does the trick will most likely appear in India, where the number of births per minute—fifty-one—is higher than in any other nation. But he or she could also be born in China—the world’s most populous country—or in a fast-growing nation like Nigeria or Guatemala or, really, anywhere.  This passage is very unique when compared to the rest of the essay.  This is really the only part that has anything resembling imagery.  I think that she used this sort of an intro, with rich imagery that makes the reader wonder to themselves where this mystical 7 billionth child will be born in order to grab interest from the get go of the reader.  I think that this is highly effective and it is a good way to lead into more technical writing by the author.  

open prompt 3 oct 16

The most important themes in literature are sometimes developed in scenes in which a death or deaths take place. Choose a novel or play and write a well-organized essay in which you show how a specific death scene helps to illuminate the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary. 

Death is never a trivial aspect of literature.  It always carries with it much more than the event of death itself.  This is shown to be true in The Awakening by Kate Chopin in which Edna Pontellier makes the drastic decision of choosing to take her own life.  This death illuminates the meaning of the novel as a whole by emphasizing the level of despair she felt as a result of her awakening and giving her the ultimate control of her life, the choice to live or die. 

            As a result of Edna becoming aware of the injustices of her life, she becomes an extremely lost and depressed individual.  This is made very clear by details of the novel, including the moments of emotional breakdown that occur multiple times, her strange comments to friends and family about her lack of desire to live her life anymore and especially in her lack of connection to her children. By the end of the novel she is so disconnected to her past life in which she was forced to conform to the traditional female roles of upper class society that she acts in ways that no one around her can explain.  She commits actions that extremely frowned upon during her era and completely unacceptable such as committing adultery and moving out on her husband while still married.  What is most extreme is her loss of connection to her children.  She has no sense of the maternal instinct that all mothers have.  Though she definitely lacked the affection and feelings of connection that most mothers do at the beginning of the novel, all remnants of this disappear by the end.  The fact that she sees no reason in staying alive for the sake of her children shows this. Obviously committing suicide was the most extreme option that one could take when struggling with the situation that Edna was.  The fact that she chose this option has much to say about how truly lost she was.  Her experiences throughout the novel alienated her in such an extreme way, and her constant sense of loss and longing were so strong that she saw no other alternative to death.  A large meaning of the novel is to show the significance of Edna’s awakening, and show how dismal her life really was on account of her being trapped in the tragedy that is the domestic life.  The despair associated with this lifestyle is so perfectly received by the reader on account of Edna’s action of suicide.  Nothing is more significant in showing the deep wounds that a character may have than having them take their own life, and Edna shows this to certainly be the case. 

            A large theme associated with The Awakening is the lack of control that Edna has over her life due to her domestic position in the household.  Her choice to commit suicide demonstrated the ultimate control over her own life.  The fact that only she could decide whether she lived or died is a way that Edna took back all of the control that was stripped away from her throughout her marriage and upbringing.  The importance of her choice to take her life is made very clear by the unique writing style used at the end of the novel.  The scene in which Edna drowns is filled with imagery that no other part of the novel shares. As she begins to feel the pangs of panic, that she her attempt at her life may actually work, she sees many images of her life flash before her.  These images are extremely vivid and for Edna it is as if she is truly reliving these moments.  The fact that this imagery is very unique to this section of the story draws attention to this section of the story.  It is a definitive end to Edna’s life of uncertainty and discomfort.  Her extreme act demonstrated that to herself that she did have control over her life even when it seemed that every aspect of it was controlled by outside sources.  The scene of her death added a lot of gravity to this theme of control and defined Edna as a martyr for her own cause, and allowed her strong desire for true independence to be realized. 

            The Awakening is a novel in which the protagonist is lost and isn’t able to find meaning in her life.  Meaning for Edna however comes in a unique and ironic fashion.  Only through death is she able to achieve her independence and through this find meaning to her life.  This absolute yearning for independence is something that is emphasized on account of the manner in which she obtains it, through a death brought on by her own doing. 

Open Prompt Oct 9th

Palestinian American literary theorist and cultural critic Edward Said has written that “Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience. It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home: its essential sadness can never be surmounted.” Yet Said has also said that exile can become “a potent, even enriching” experience. Select a novel, play, or epic in which a character experiences such a rift and becomes cut off from “home,” whether that home is the character’s birthplace, family, homeland, or other special place. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the character’s experience with exile is both alienating and enriching, and how this experience illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. 




     Exile is a unique force in literature, able to not only destroy characters, but also able to reforge them into an almost entirely new being.  One of the most famous stories of exile in American Literature is that of The Grapes Of Wrath, in which the Joad family are forced to leave their home in the dust bowl and travel to California to try to make a living.  Tom feels the effects of exile more than anyone else in the novel, both from his home and his family.  The exile that Tom Joad experiences destroys his sense of belonging and worth in his family, but out from this comes a sense of purpose for his life, reinforcing the theme of rebirth in a new land. 
     From the beginning it is obvious that Tom Joad has lost ties to his family.  His time spent in prison has left him lost and lacking sense of direction.  His initial insecurity about returning home and worries about his acceptance back into the family leave him truly lost.  Steinbeck's use of prison as a tool to alienate Tom from his family is very effective in creating the lost and damaged character that Tom is.  Tom's first interaction as a free man with a truck driver taking him home shows that he has lost much of his ability to interact normally with people.  His uneasiness about returning home is also directly tied to the fact that he has been isolated from them in prison.  Though he is able to successfully rejoin his family, he encounters his second source of exile, literally being forced from his newly found home.  Tom is forced to travel on a perilous journey with his family to California, in which he is forced to witness the family quite literally fall apart as death and despair leave them hopeless.  Again this exile breaks down Tom into the generic man who is fleeing the dust bowl trying to save his family.  
     Arising from his alienation through prison and his physical exile with his family is a new man however.  Tom is forced to completely rebuild relationships among his family members, especially with his mother and brother.  Since he was forced to start with nearly a clean slate, he was able to rebuild these relationships into something far more meaningful than they were prior to his time in prison.  The exodus also adds to his reformation as a character and solidifies his position in the family.  Tom quickly becomes vital to the family's survival with his hard work and eagerness to earn his families respect.  He is thrown into a difficult situation in which is mother and father are constantly in a struggle for power, and out of this he takes on a powerful dynamic in the family.  Through his experiences in trying to help his family to survive he learns the philosophy of Jim Casey, and becomes an avid supporter of worker's rights and at the end of the book sacrifices all of what he has worked to rebuild after his imprisonment to fight for the workers of California.  His exile is what allowed for this creation of a self-sacrificing leader that wasn't present in the beginning of the novel.
     The main idea behind the Grapes of Wrath is the promise that California presents, the jobs, the land, the bountiful farmland, turns out to be false.  Though this is certainly true for the vast majority of those who travel there, and the trip, especially for the Joad family, takes much more away than it grants, the new land does yield some benefits.  Tom Joad benefits most from his exile to the new land, and he perfectly embodies the idea that a new land can bring about a rebirth.  His transformation from a misunderstood criminal to a self-sacrificing labor organizer perfectly embodies the rebirth that a new land can promise.  Though many of the hopes of the exiled are unable to materialize, Tom Joad is able to experience quite literally a rebirth, nearly an entire recreation of his character, proving the idea that some hope can be found in the land of false hopes. 
    The Grapes of Wrath's story of exile is tragic and depressing, and goes to show how powerful exile is in literature.  It is able to nearly destroy the entire Joad family.  However arising from this near destruction are people completely transformed, and Tom Joad embodies this idea more than anyone.  His characterization at the end of the book has completely changed, and the idea that California can be fruitful for him is shown to be more than just a unfounded hope.

Response to Course Material - oct 9

This week has definitely been the most educational for me thus far in the course. Having learned and practiced every aspect of DIDLS, I felt that I finally understood what they were for and how to use them accordingly.  The most important part of having learned every part is that I can now make a lot more sense of pieces that I read.  Being limited to only certain knowledge of DIDLS made it kind of confusing.  Reading the American Dream was a great way to finally start to apply these to a text that I've never been exposed to before.  It really was  a very odd play.  The theater of the absurd reading was very explanatory and I thought was a really good explanation of what The American Dream was like.  It is still weird for me to read a play that is filled with such absurd character interactions and such random immaturity.  I am still sort of confused by what Albee is trying to say with his piece.  I'm looking forward to reading again, this time for the obscure and hidden details that are hidden throughout this play, which will be very interesting to see his true ideas.  After review the form of essay writing again, I'm certain that I know understand this.  The fact that the thesis serves as the outline for your essay is something that I missed when first explained.  This cleared up a lot of questions I had about organization for the essay, and I can see that the essays produced in this manner are far more effective and cogent.

Close reading oct 1

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/evanosnos/2011/09/a-heavenly-palace-moment.html

The author really focuses on relating China's launch of its new space station to the cold war feelings of the space race.  He really is able to do this with imagery.  Using things such as "expecting Cronkite to narrate the events" and "the Sputnik Moment" bring back images of the cold war to people.  Though I obviously wasn't alive during the cold war, the era, from what I've learned about it, is really brought up when I read passages like this.  The images of rocket ships, nuclear missiles, and massive armies brought up whenever references to the cold war are made.  The author also makes a comment that the launching of the station is like an international heavy weight showdown, bringing images of they Rocky movies to mind, but instead of Rocky huge spaceships.

The author has a very sarcastic tone toward the end of the article and this as result of his use of details.  He states that "But a key step to getting that space station will be docking with an unmanned spacecraft in November.". And follows it with the fact that China just dealt with a subway crash this last week, claiming that it dashed there hopes for great leaps of technology.  This is a very sarcastic comment and a very ironic situation for China, the fact that they are looking to master the limits of technology in space but can't even drive subway train.  He tops his sarcasm off by including a quote by a Chinese citizen that "subway drivers have solved the issue of unmanned docking".  


The author throughout the article stresses the fact that he is really unsure of whether this is actually of any importance to anyone, whether it really is reminiscent of the cold war.  This is revealed in his contrasting diction choices.  He uses words like "adrenaline shot, Cold War ring, showdown" to describe the feelings of this moment as a really large step for China and a very dangerous thing for the US.  He then makes it clear that this after all might not be a big deal at all.  He uses words like "cynicism, ambiguous" to describe the emotions of the Chinese people and there opinion of all of this.

Peer Review

Response to Course Material

The ideas of the AP Lit essay are something that I'm not entirely foreign to after taking APUSH and AP World.  However the specifics of the essay are very new to me.  My biggest habit that I have to break for writing the new essays is the thesis and intro.  I'm very used to setting up an elaborate intro (in order to show historical context) and then writing a concise relating to history.  Whats hard for me is cutting that intro down into the three vital parts, intro, background and thesis.  It is something will just need to work on to break my old habit.  Additionally I'm used to writing theses with less stuff in them.  The AP lit questions consider multiple parts, each with a certain requirement like show this with the author's effects or interpret the meaning on account of these things.  It is hard right away to write a thesis that encompasses all of the necessary aspects.  I see a two part thesis to be a helpful way to assist in solving this problem.  As for my understanding of Poetry, this week has been very beneficial.  Prior to this class I feel that what I was looking for in poetry was extremely limited in order to interpret it.  After reading the chapter on poetry however, and diving into the specifics of DIDLS, I feel that I have many more tools to interpret and understand poetry on a level that is much less superficial.  I'm also gaining a better understanding of how DIDLS creates meaning, after the Lazarus and Hughes poems, because that was something I was still not really seeing until I saw an example.

Open Prompt Sept 18th

1987. Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or in traditions. Choose such a novel or play and note briefly the particular attitudes or traditions that the author apparently wishes to modify. Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence the reader's or audience's views. Avoid plot summary.

For writers who create there works during times of reform in society, it is a safe bet that there pieces will take part in and add to the conversation of reform.  This is certainly the case for Upton Sinclair’s piece The Jungle, written during the Progressive era that is most notably known influencing President Roosevelt in creating the Meat Inspection Act.  What is often ignored however is the fact that Sinclair’s piece was never about reform for America’s meat industry, but rather a cry for socialism in the United States.  Sinclair wishes to change the capitalist system and democratic government in the United States to a Socialist system and his views are especially effective to readers thanks to vivid imagery and unsavory details.  

            Sinclair’s main tradition that he wanted to modify was the tradition of a capitalist economy and democratic government that allowed a capitalistic system to dominate it.  With this capitalistic economy came the social attitude of competition among classes, in which the wealthy dominated the poor.  He makes brutally clear throughout the novel that the competition between massive corporations drives the horde of workers that are employed by them to near death in order to receive pay that is far below that of subsistence.  Capitalism of the early 1900’s was so free that the wealth became so heavily concentrated in the upper classes that there was nearly nothing left for those who worked to bring the corporations there wealth.  What allowed for this unfettered form of capitalism was a democratic form of government that was driver entirely by greed.  Local government, specifically which in Chicoago, was entirely controlled by political machines that were funded by local corporations. Sinclair knew that the solution to all of these problems was simply a socialistic society.  By making the idea of economic competition and greed obsolete, everyone would be on an equal level and would be able to live at a respectable level for human beings.  He was able to slightly disguise this message with one that was better received at the time, regulation of the meat industry of Chicago, and was successful at bringing change in this area only.  

            The details of the Chicago stock yards and the life that Yurgis Rudkus lived were what gave Sinclair’s story basis and made it especially receptive to audiences due to their depressing nature that people can’t ignore.  A few examples come to mind.  Sinclair spends a lot of the book describing the steps and procedures of animal slaughter in the stockyards of Chicago.  These gruesome details and often disgusting examples of rampant disease in food are downright disturbing for readers and at the time they certainly were concerned for their own well being.  He also often discusses the amount of work that Yurgis does to support his large extended family, somedays working nearly 18 hours in brutal physical labor, something very typical at that time.  This isn’t enough however and his entire extended family must go to work, including his elderly uncle and 10 year old nephew.  Even everyone working isn’t enough for the family and the weak members of his family die off very quickly.  Sinclair also adds to this tragic situation the terrible elements including mud clogged streets and brutal Chicago winters that make Yurgis fight every day to get to work.  All of these detail work together to create a tragic character out of Yurgis.  His plights are never ending and no matter how hard he tries to save his family, the work ahead of him is insurmountable and he loses everyone around him.  People can’t help but to feel for Yurgis and the tragic nature of his story really makes readers receptive to Sinclair’s idea that socialism could fix all of these issues.  It is hard for a reader not to read and wonder what Yurgis’s life in America would have been like if it would have been socialistic.  

            The imagery associated with The Jungle is also very effective in influencing reader’s views because it gives readers the horrors of Yurgis’s life in a manner that is inescapable.  Sinclair’s use of imagery is brilliant because of how brutal and terrifying it is for readers and it is impossible to ignore in this fashion.  One example that is especially vivid for the reader is the description of  Little Standislovas getting locked in a meat plant at night and being eaten alive by rats.  This is easily the most disturbing scene in the book.  To think of a little kid being eaten by rats just because he was trying to work late to help his family to survive is beyond tragic.  For any reader, especially a parent, this occurrence is so disturbing that they can’t help but agree with Sinclair that the capitalistic system of the 1900’s was truly horrible.  Another vivid example is Sinclair’s description of Yurgis coming home excitedly awaiting to witness his new born child, but ends up having to face his wife dying in childbirth.  The possibility of hope and utter depression of what actually happens is a sharp image in reader’s minds.  The only reason that this scene happens is because Yurgis is too poor to take his wife to a safe place to have her child.  The system that Sinclair attacks is directly responsible for this terrible scene, and again readers are easily brought into agreement with his opinion after reading such a vivid and shocking scene of death.   

            Sinclair was certainly a covert critic of America’s economic and social situation of the Progressive Era but was none the less very effective. Though his idea of a socialist government never took hold in America his piece was very effective.  People were certainly simultaneously disgusted and moved by the vivid story of Yurgis Rudkus, and these emotions brought about due to Sinclair’s use of details and imagery were especially effective in readers accepting Sinclair’s ideas.

            

Close Reading for Sep 9

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/georgepacker/2011/09/obama-against-the-nihilists.html 

In terms of diction, the author uses very specific set of dismal and aggressive words to create a very critical tone in his writing.  He calls the republicans Nihilists repeatedly, attacking their belief in extremely limited government and also there lack of morality when interacting in the political world with the Deomcrats.  He also states "In a climate of political rage and economic despair, nihilism plays a lot better", which through his word diction, specifically "rage" and "despair" adds to his very critical tone of the republican party.

The author's detail usage are very obviously reflective of the liberal side of this issue, creating the sense of bias that I picked up when reading this piece.  He uses the fact, "the President expressed was a fairly unquiet anger at Washington’s—meaning Congress’—failure to act on those Americans’ behalf", which attacks the Republican controlled congress for getting nothing done to bring relief to the economy.  He also includes the statement, "He didn’t waste much time arguing against the Republican idea of solving all problems by cutting taxes and regulations", which isn't a completely true fact, which again creates the sense of bias. 

The author's use of syntax is also quite effective in creating a dismal tone for the piece.  One part that specifically stood out to me was his question "Do Americans still have enough faith in him, and in government, to give the President a second shot at reviving the economy?" He followed this question with the statement "Im not at all sure."  I feel that this longer question, that encompasses many important aspects such as faith in the president/government and the future of the economy being answered with such a short and brief bummer of an answer is an effective use of syntax to create a dismal mood of writing.

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/georgepacker/2011/09/obama-against-the-nihilists.html#ixzz1XZ7MPmiB