Synthesis of Course Material #4

Tying Works of Literature Together - A main goal of AP Lit
Hamlet and The American Dream
-Hamlet (to a point) and Grandma feign their loss of mental faculties, they use this to manipulate those around them, by feigning this the people around them tend to expose more and act more sympathetically to the characters
-Pointless existence, Hamlet sees his life as a prince to be worth nothing in the world, and Albee stresses throughout the play that the life that Daddy and Mommy live is trivial and materialistic

Pride and Prejudice and Death of A Salesman
-misguided youth pursuing foolish things, the daughters pursue husbands throughout the novel, only Elizabeth is able to somewhat accomplish other things seen in her book reading, clever wit.  Biff and Hap are raised by Willy to be overly confident, they are raised in a way that doesn't function in a world where respect is earned through wealth or hard work, they don't have either.
-Biff and Elizabeth are both wise and ahead of their time, somewhat resistant to their families creed, don't fit in well with their families

Ceremony and Death of A Salesman  
-Rocky and Biff have a similar situation, both talented and promise to be very successful in the world, however both are sucked into making terrible choices that ruin their chances for success
-Tayo is lost just like Biff, Tayo however on a more extreme level.  Tayo's sickness and constant vomiting, a reluctance to heal, is analogous to Biff's tendency to steal, he is reluctant to heal the rift with his father after his betrayal of Linda
- Tayo and Biff are raised in hostile families, Auntie and Willy/Linda tend to make recovery harder for these two lost characters

Synthesis of Course Material #3

Main Fictional Texts Read to Date Related to the American Experience

The American Dream
-Daddy, Mommy, Grandma, Young Man, Mrs. Barker
-Mommy- dominates the household, absolutely ridiculous
-Daddy- emasculated, literally and figuratively, caught up in Mommy's false ideals
-Grandma- the old Dream, what it used to represent, witty and feigns senility
-Mrs. Barker - "the man", represents the institutions of society
-Young Man - twin of their old child who was killed, experienced pain and suffering, the old dream, grandma's protege

Death of A Salesman
-Willie -  self worshiping, narcissistic, sensitive, deluded, lost in the past, suffers from actual mental problems
-Linda- Loves Willie and her boys, hates to see them in their constant battle with their father
-Hap - the son who Willie largely ignores, craves to have the attention of his Dad, does exactly what Willie wants Biff to do yet receives no attention
-Biff- once a follower of Willy's philosophy,  now focuses on rebelling against his father's wishes, truly lost in the, can't find comfort in a world after being raised on such a belief system

Ceremony- Completely different set of symbols, themes, writing style than any other text read in this class
Symbols include colors, directions, dust
-Tayo- Native American Vet, suffering from a mix of post traumatic stress disorder, the loss of his best Rocky and his Uncle Josiah.  Blames himself for the death of Josiah, only by forgiving himself and fixing the drought and dire situation of the Native Americans of his tribe is he able to be healed, a mix of the two cultures, only he can traverse this void and bring about a ceremony that will save both white and native peoples
-Betonie- modern day Shaman, embraces the changes to the world to create a ceremony for Tayo that will work in the modern world
-Emo- Tayo's sworn enemy, a fellow vet who is a destroyer, symbolizes the evil and destruction so prevalent in the world, arguably worse than any white person encountered in the book
-Josiah and Rocky- Tayo's closet friends, he is destroyed by losing them, taught Tayo all he knows
-Auntie- christian valued woman, focused only on the impression of the family to the community, wants to be seen as a martyr for raising Tayo

Synthesis of Course Material #2

Close Reading - How to Close Read A Text
1. First Read - get an idea of the plot, the setting, the characters, tone and the resultant mood, look for obvious themes
2. Second Read- Look for the following
-Diction- connotation, denotation, informal or formal dicition, slang, dialect
-Figurative Language- personification, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, paradox, irony
-Imagery - how sense impressions are created, and what sense they appeal to
-Syntax - simple or complex, inverted sentence subject-verb-object order
-Tone and Mood
During the 2nd read:
-Ask questions of the text, literally ask them to yourself and ponder them, start simple and build complexity
- Annotate - Making notes of all the items listed above, write questions in the margins, attempt to draw connections between the different lines or sections with actual writing
-stay engaged with the text by any means necessary

Synthesis of Course Material #1

DIDLS and The AP Lit Essay

DIDLS

Diction-style of speaking or writing as dependent on word choice- basically what words are used by the writer and what this says about the author and his work, what level does the author speak at? consider dialects and level of sophistication 

Imagery-writing that creates vivid images in the reader's mind, evoke the reader's senses, not limited to the visual-can be very powerful in making parts of a work stand out and increasing their importance, notice especially where there is imagery and where there isn't

Details-what is included in the writing, who what when where why, what happens can often be tied directly to the theme of the piece

Language-how the author uses language in a piece, important to consider dialect, formality, wordiness, is it being used as a device to create confusion or facilitate understanding?

Syntax-how sentences are put together, specifically the form and aspects of the sentence

DIDLS is used in the AP Lit Essay to answer the one universal question that is present in every question: HOw does the author techniques to create meaning.  The techniques are DIDLS, and when using them stating them is not enough.  Stating what the author uses has absolutely no benefit, it is a redundancy because anyone reading the author's work will notice this.  The point is to uncover the DIDLS that add to the meaning of the work, through contributing to theme, plot development, motifs, etc.  For the AP Lit Essay this is a part of every question, whether stated or not.  The thesis of the essay must always answer the prompt.  The introduction should begin with a brief overarching statement, then a sentence tying a piece of work to the question, then a thesis that answers the question and is in a form that the rest of the essay will precisely follow in a logical argument.

Revision of Open Prompt #4

Odd pieces of literature effectuate memorable reading experiences. Cat's Cradle by Curt Vonnegut is one such quirky piece of writing. The passage in which Ice-9 falls contacts the ocean and prompts the end of all life is a particularly vivid apocalyptic portrait.  This passage serves as the culmination of the destructive behavior of humans, a motif of the novel, and  demonstrates the gravity of the situation all to well. 

            The passage in which Ice-9 contacts the ocean is the logical conclusion to the series of events that lead up to this point, demonstrating the true nature of people to destroy. Earlier in the novel, the protagonist mentions the possible creation of Ice-9, but is skeptical about its existence.  He has trouble believing something could cause such destruction, one slip and it could literally end all life on the planet. The protagonist grapples throughout the novel with man’s ability to manufacture his own destruction.  Much of Cat’s Cradle is a criticism of such actions.  There is a startling connection between the local strongman dictator of a Caribbean island and the nuclear physicist who created Ice-9, raising the question of whether this man is scientist.  The inevitable fact of creating a weapon that could destroy mankind, is that it will.  This represents the ignorance of the creator to the true nature of the human race.  People lack the logic necessary to wield power.  This criticism of Ice-9 is really on of  nuclear weapons; they too possess potential to wipe out all of man kind.   This passage in which the world is 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, made painfully evident.

            This passage is  effective in illustrating human nature by creating a horrific scenario, possibly worse than nuclear Armageddon.  All of the world freezes over due to Ice-9, all bodies of water are instantly frozen.  The true essence of life, the one thing vital to life, is all ruined.  The fateful event unfolds in a predictable scene, the reader is aware far before the characters what they are about to cause.    When the  Ice-9 crystal plummets toward the water below, the reader benefits from dramatic irony in its finest form. This technique to critique human nature is perfect, because we currently are living in a world like this. The weapons man currently possesses perpetuates imminent destruction.  The imagery of the post apocalyptic world is vivid.  A frozen hellscape with only cement untouched and allowing the protagonist  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.