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.