Summary and Analysis of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

Summary:

“Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead” by Tom Stoppard, is a theater of the absurd existentialism play written in the 1960s. The story starts out with a scene between R and G where G is flipping a coin and every time he flips it, it lands on heads. From there they discuss the fact that the coin has landed heads up an improbable amount of times, hence defying the likelihood that it wouldn’t. They also discuss how neither of them can remember anything, even the questions that prompt their discussion. At which point the Tragedians, a troop of actors, arrive and offer R&G sexual acts with their youngest member Edward, who plays all the women in their plays. G extends the coin flipping bet to the Player (the head honcho of the troop). After the improbable heads-up streak, the coin finally lands tails-up, hence ending the streak. The lights fade out and fade back in to show R&G in the lands of Elsinore with Claudius and Gertrude. They all talk about the potential causes of Hamlet’s madness but come to no firm resolution. After Claudius and Gertrude leave R&G to start a game of questions, where you are to only answer/ask questions and it is scored like tennis. They just end up confusing one another and begin to question who is who and begin a role-playing game where one is one and the other is Hamlet. They get more confused.


Act two, R&G are with Hamlet and he is claiming to only be mad when the wind blows a certain direction. The talk of wind prompts a conversation between R&G, when Hamlet leaves, about the wind and how they can tell where the wind is blowing and what they could do to figure it out. Claudius reintroduces the tragedians who talk about how their work only has meaning when there are people there to watch them. When the player leaves to go practice his lines, R&G discuss death and what it means to be dead and what influence you have when gone. Later while the play is being rehearsed, the player talks about the “dumb play” and how it is better used to show the meaning of the work, because words mean nothing and carry minimal communication. Continuing the rehearsal R stops it shortly after because he notices the two spies in the play. The two spies in the play are dressed in the same clothes as R&G, and R thinks he recognizes them but cannot quite place them, ultimately giving up. The play that was being rehearsed is the story of R&G and Hamlet played out and showing all that is going to happen, all the while R&G have no clue what is going to happen. In the next scene, Hamlet is seen dragging Polonius’ body away (as to hide him), and R&G try to trap him with their belts. The scene provides comic relief to the intense nature of Hamlet’s act. When Hamlet leaves, Claudius appears and says that they are to find Polonius’ body. Shortly after, Claudius tells R&G that they will be escorting Hamlet to England, not giving them a choice in the matter.


Act three, the lights fade in and they are all on a boat. R&G are talking and end up role playing again and in the heat of the moment open the letter that Claudius had sent for the guards of England in regards to Hamlet’s arrival. R&G are shocked to see that the letter is sentencing Hamlet’s immediate execution. R&G argue if they can do it or not, escort him to his death, but ultimately end up sleeping. Hamlet slips into their room and forges the same letter, but sentencing R&G instead. The next morning, it is made clear that the tragedians are on the boat as well and were cast there when the king became so infuriated with their performance that they had to escape. Quickly after, there is an attack scene with pirates, and Hamlet manages to escape the boat leaving the players and R&G behind. Lost at what is happening G stabs the player and the player dies. Well… pretends to die and shows R&G that death can be faked and it can be done all through acting and pretend. R realizes their end is near and wonders how they were caught up in the situation. He asks if they could remain on the ship to avoid their executions. He asks G if they went wrong somewhere, neither can remember. R announces that he is done with it all, and leaves the stage. G does not notice, and instead, he tries to remember their actions, believing that they must have had an opportunity to prevent all that has happened. Suddenly, G realizes he is alone and begins crying out for R, but he is unable to remember if he is G or R. He says that they will be better off the next time around, and he leaves the stage in darkness.

Quotes:

“Rosencrantz: What are you playing at?/ Guildenstern: Words, words. They’re all we have to go on.”

This quote discusses the futility of words and how they can commonly mean nothing because they lack context. In the case of the play, they do rely on words and that is the root of their shallow meanings and lack of understanding.

“Life is a gamble, at terrible odds—if it was a bet you wouldn’t take it.”

A major motif in the play is both futility of life, and gambling. They are saying that life is not worth betting on, it will never go the way you want because the world is indifferent to your will.

Theme Statement:

In "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead", Stoppard comments on the futility of human purpose in a work where people are confined to a role that they do not have control over.

Characters:

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern- 

Both serve as interchangeable means of presentation for Stoppard's work. They are simply shallow characters that are lost without the writing and direction of the author. If they were given depth then they would have been deep, but they remained as Shakespeare wrote them, shallow and to serve their purpose in the story of Hamlet. They are purposely confused and upset to show their lack of meaning and purpose.

Player-

 Used to show them how a character can be defined by their role, and embrace that. The player is one of the few, if not only, self-aware characters within this play. His self-awareness contrasts the lostness that R&G feel throughout the play.

Motifs:

Gambling

Loose papers

Music (specifically the tragedians)

Science experiments (ie. the paper airplane)

Summary and Analysis of Hamlet

Plot:

 The story of Hamlet starts out with a scene that includes guards and Horatio. The guards are telling Horatio that they have seen the ghost of the late King Hamlet. Soon thereafter Hamlet swings but and sees his father's ghost and speaks with it, the ghost of Hamlet’s late father says that his death was inflicted and not natural as it was previously thought. Hamlet learns later that Claudius, King Hamlet’s brother, poured poison (MOTIF!) into the king’s ear when he was sleeping in his gardens. Once knowing this Hamlet swears to avenge his father’s death by murdering his uncle and now stepfather.The king, being wise, told Hamlet to act off and crazy so people would not suspect his knowledge of the crime. Shortly after the king died, the king's brother was already in the marriage bed of the queen, Gertrude. After the first bit of action, it is made clear to the audience that there is turbulence in Norway, Denmark’s neighbor. Young Fortinbras, the nephew of the king of Norway, has decided that he disagrees with the original land deal that King Hamlet and King Fortinbras had agreed on prior to King Hamlet’s death, and plans to act on his will. Around this time, Polonius, the father of Ophelia and Laertes, instructs Ophelia that she is to stop seeing Hamlet because she should not risk the loss of her innocence. Polonius tells her that she is nothing of value to him, because why would a king want anything less than royalty to keep him company Polonius instructed one of his servants to follow Laertes to university and make sure that he stays clean and out of trouble. As that conversation came to an end, Ophelia comes into the room and tells her father that she is concerned that her cutting off of Hamlet is causing him to go insane. Upon the mention of insanity, Claudius decides that it would be best for Hamlet’s childhood friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to follow Hamlet around and keep them up to date on his condition. When Hamlet learns of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's allegiances, he decides to tell that he thinks that they are simply the king and queen’s puppets and had no real importance at all. Directly after that, the players roll into town and Hamlet has a brilliant idea. His idea was to have the players act out the play, The Murder of Gonzago, a direct retelling of the murder of a king by his brother and the taking of his wife, even after she swore allegiance to the original king. The king, engraved, storms out of the room leaving everyone in shock of his reaction. The next scene Gertrude is seen speaking to Hamlet about what is going on and what is making him so upset. During their heated conversation, King Hamlet's ghost appears telling him to be gentle with her and not let his anger get the best of him. Meanwhile, Polonius was listening behind the curtains waiting for something bad to happen or be said so he could put the blame on Hamlet. At some point during Hamlet and Gertrude's conversation, Polonius gets startled and makes a noise from behind the curtain, thinking it was Claudius, Hamlet has slain the figure behind the curtain. Claudius feels that there is nothing left but to send Hamlet away with a secret warrant to have him killed when he arrives in England. When on the boat, Hamlet finds the document as written by Claudius to warrant his death. Hamlet sneakily changed the note to say that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were to be killed upon arrival. With that, Hamlet snuck off the boat and returned back to Denmark just in time for Ophelia’s funeral. For when Hamlet was gone, Ophelia becomes mad and drowned herself down by the river when playing with her wildflowers. Seeing Ophelia being lowered into the grave, Hamlet sprung to his feet and jumped into the grave to show how much he loved her and how grief-stricken he was with the news of her death. Laertes had also returned in time to hear the news of his father and sister being killed and or dying, only to realize that all these deaths had to do with Hamlet himself. Angry, Laertes agreed with the king that he would kill Hamlet in a rigged fencing match. Laertes was given the sword that was unblunted and tipped with poison. As a backup, the king prepared a drink for the victory that was also poisoned. The fight commenced and there was quickly a mix up in who had the lethal sword (unbeknownst to Hamlet). Hamlet cut and poisoned Laertes and quickly made up with him and was forgiven for all the deaths of Laertes family members. The queen quickly followed up with taking a drink of the poisoned celebratory drink, then the king was told to take a drink, and them finally Hamlet himself had a drink. The only characters left at that point were Horatio and Young Fortinbras, who was told by Hamlet to figure out the leadership of Denmark on their own upon everyone’s death. THE END!

Motifs:

Wildflowers- wildflowers are used in and around the character of Ophelia, are used to represent different traits and gifts that she wished to give. EX.) giving herself rue when she goes “mad”, and rue used to be used as an abortion technique back in the day.

Poison- Poison was used throughout the story of Hamlet to symbolize the decay of things that were once good. Poison is used when King Hamlet was murdered, when Laertes tries to kill Hamlet, and when everyone kills themselves in the end.

Misogyny: Women are purely the property of men and should not be treated with the idea that they can carry themselves.

Characters:

Hamlet - Late king’s son, the protagonist, avenge father’s death. Mother is Gertrude.

Claudius - Late king’s brother, and Gertrude’s new husband. Is the new king of Denmark. Murdered King Hamlet, and is trying to hide it.

Gertrude - Queen, mother of Hamlet, wife to Claudius and late wife of King Hamlet. Is not a very strong character.

Polonius - Claudius’ advisor. Father to Ophelia and Laertes. Likes to hear himself talk.

Horatio - Hamlet’s best friend and advisor.

Ophelia - Hamlet’s love interest- goes mad when Hamlet ghosts her (no pun intended). Drowns herself at peak of her madness.

Laertes - Friend of Hamlet, tries to kill Hamlet.

Fortinbras - Nephew of the king of Norway- full of P and V and wants to take back his family’s land that Denmark took when King Hamlet had taken before his death.

The Ghost - King Hamlet- wants murder to be avenged and tells Hamlet to do so.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern - “old school friends of Hamlet” and they're the village idiots. Act as comedic relief.

Theme statement: 

In Hamlet, Shakespeare juxtaposes guilt and innocence, appearance and reality, and action and inaction to demonstrate that justice is multi-faceted.

Summary and Analysis of Oedipus Rex

Summary:

“Oedipus” stars right in the thick of the action, as per the style of an in medias res and also takes place for the duration of a day as a tragedy typically does. Before the story officially stars, there is a family in the city of Thebes where king Laius and Queen Jocasta who give birth to a son Oedipus. Prior to his birth the king and queen were told by an oracle that they were doomed to have a son who will kill his father and marries his mother. With that in mind, when baby Oedipus was born, The king and queen of Thebes had Teiresias, a herdsman take him out to a field for death- so that the prophecy could not come true. Not only was Oedipus left for dead, his ankles were bound so he could not move anywhere. Ironically Oedipus means bound ankles in greek, and no one caught that in the world of Oedipus Rex. On his way to dump the child, the Teiresias runs into another herdsman from Corinth. Meanwhile, in Corinth, the king and queen were trying desperately to conceive a child of their own. So when the herdsman from Corinth came across Teiresias he offered to take the baby off his hands knowing of the king and queens situation back home- he took Oedipus back to Corinth. Oedipus was raised like any other child in the city of Corinth with mother,  queen Merope, and father, king Polybus. During one of the many grand dinners held by the queen and king of Corinth, a prophet claims that Oedipus is bound to kill his father and marry his mother. Although Oedipus was raised normally in Corinth, he was never made aware of the fact he was adopted and therefore not biologically related to the king and queen of Corinth. Oedipus, fixed on the idea of not following the prophecy, decides it best to leave Corinth. While on the road away from Corinth he runs into a caravan of people- long story short Oedipus kills everyone over a disagreement over who had the right of way, leaving only one survivor. The one survivor ends up being Tiresias- unbeknownst to Oedipus that Tiresias knew the whole story. As Oedipus continued on his quest away from Corinth he ended up in Thebes and beat the sphinx that was terrorizing the city. The legend was that if the traveler missed the riddle that the Sphinx gave, the traveler would be killed on the spot. As Oedipus entered the city he met her and beat her and became the hot man on campus and soon thereafter attracted the affections of Jocasta the queen of Corinth. Jocasta, newly widowed took to the new handsome stranger and sought to marry him. And with that Oedipus became king of Corinth with his wife (mother,) Jocasta at his side.

Now with that background information in mind, the play actually starts with Oedipus questioning why the city of Thebes is being cursed and plighted. To figure out what was going on, he requested that Creon, the brother of Jocasta, go to Delphi to seek the wisdom of Apollo. During his brief time in Delphi, Creon discovers that the curse will be lifted once the city finds out who killed the late king Laius and prosecute him. Since Oedipus was the leader he was he went right to work at finding who was the murder of King Laius. While interviewing citizens of Thebes, Oedipus comes across Teiresias- the herdsman who was not only present for the removal of Oedipus but the killing of Laius. Teiresias fights at first, saying that Oedipus did not want to know the truth. After several pushes, Teiresias tells Oedipus that he was responsible for the death of Laius. Rattled, Jocasta tries to calm Oedipus by saying Oracles are not always right. As an example, she shared how her and Laius’ child was prophesied to kill his father and marry his mother but he was killed and that the prophecy did not come true. The story that Jocasta told reminded Oedipus of what was told to him when he was back in Corinth- that he was to kill his father and marry his mother. Not only that but he was reminded of how he also killed a man at crossroads, which sounds eerily similar to how Laius had died. Jocasta desperately pleads with him not to keep looking into the murder because she is scared of what will be found. After a couple more interviews with other people around The Ribs, it is connected that Oedipus was Jocasta’s child. Horrified, she kills herself and shortly after Oedipus stabs his eyes out and pleads to be exiled from Thebes.

Theme:

In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles uses themes of ignorance and sight to show that fate is inevitable, humans can choose how they confront it.

Motifs:

Blindness- all blind characters can “see” more and are more enlightened. Can be seen in the blind prophet, Tiresias.

Ignorance- throughout the story characters face their own ignorance and their own “blindness” to the situation. For example, Oedipus lives through the whole story and it takes him the longest to connect all the dots.

Fate vs. Free will- There is a constant struggle within the characters whether they have the option and or power to go against fate. The removal of Oedipus from Thebes was the first shown example of characters trying to deny fate. Laius thought he was above fate and could fight it- he did not succeed.

Quotes:

"Ah! my poor children, known, ah, known too well,

The quest that brings you hither and your need.

Ye sicken all, well wot I, yet my pain,

How great soever yours, outtops it all."

This quote is important to the setup of the story because this quote sets up the feeling of extreme self-importance that Oedipus feels. Although he sees himself in such high esteem, he still feels for the people of Thebes and all that they endure. The quote is ironic in and of itself because Oedipus is talking of the great pain he feels when in reality the pain and suffering have not even started since he is not aware of his wife is his mother at this point in the story.

"The trusty Creon, my familiar friend,

Hath lain in wait to oust me and suborned

This mountebank, this juggling charlatan,

This tricksy beggar-priest, for gain alone

Keen-eyed, but in his proper art stone-blind.

Say, sirrah, hast thou ever proved thyself

A prophet? When the riddling Sphinx was here

Why hadst thou no deliverance for this folk?

And yet the riddle was not to be solved

By guess-work but required the prophet's art

Wherein thou wast found lacking; neither birds nor sign from heaven helped thee, but I came.

The simple Oedipus; I stopped her mouth."

In this quote, Oedipus is puffing his chest in the face of Creon. As Oedipus questions Creon’s credibility and skills. He also highlights his own accomplishments and how he, “the simple Oedipus,” was able to take down the sphinx when no one else could, especially Creon- the brother of Jocasta who grew up in Thebes. With this being said, Oedipus thinks himself to be just the greatest thing, and how dare anyone question his legitimacy when it came to his alibi of where he was when King Laius was killed.

Closed Prompt 2 #4

Eros by Robert Bridges and Eros by Anne Stevenson are both on the same topics of Eros, Greek god of love, but with striking differences in their interpretations. Bridges' version of Eros is classic and beautiful whereas Stevenson's version is dark and disheartening as she describes what people have done to the idea of love. While both poems are written out of sympathy for the god of love, Bridge's tone is a lot more praising, whereas Stevenson is critiquing the way humans have handled love.

Firstly in Bridges' poem, a picture adoration and sympathy towards Eros is pained. First, the adoration, as seen in the first 3 lines of the poem where Bridges refers to Eros as an "Idol" and a "tyrant." Both idol and tyrant show the great respect that Bridges feels towards Eros and his powers. Bridges goes as far as to call Eros, "[The] king of joy," which is a very literal way of expressing his adoration of the god. The poem also flows with the end-rhyme that bridges instilled throughout the peom. The sweet flow of the words makes the poem sound as if it were to be a song of praise to Eros and not just something for the entertainment of meer men who wish to appreciate love and literature. The final token of appreciation that is given to Eros in this poem would be where Bridges says, "And wouldst in darkness come, but thou/ Makest the light where’er thou go." The reason that this is at the end is that Bridges wanted to leave the reader with the feeling that no matter what darkness lays ahead or in their life, Eros can come in and bring with him, light that will eat the darkness up. This is important to the contrast of the poems because it is here that Bridges makes his statement that humans are worthy of Eros attention.

On the flip side, Stevenson's ideas of Eros are that of a beat up god who has become an abused slave to humankind. The first example of Stevenson's view on Eros is seen right in the beginning where she calls for love and immediately thereafter Eros shows up, "With boxer lips/ And patchy wings askew?’. This is to show that as Eros has been called upon frivolously by many others and his talents have been abused to the point of his unrecognizable demise. In Eros' dialogue in Stevenson's poem, he speaks of how he is,"‘the brute you see/ Is what long overuse/ Has made of me." He feels as though he has been overused and underappreciated. The short choppy lines make the reader feel exacerbated- like they are looking into the damage their recklessness has caused. Later in the poem, Stevenson writes through the words of Eros, "We slaves who are immortal" as to say that humans have elevated themselves to such a place of undeserved privilege that they feel they can make a god their slave.

Although both Stevenson and Bridges wrote of their sympathy for the god of love, Eros, They both did so in a way that reflected their individual views on his role within humankind. Bridges chose to do so in a way that reflected his classical writing style and his personal appreciation for Eros. Whereas Stevenson only wrote of Eros' overuse and underappreciation from the mere morals

Closed Prompt 2 #3

Both Keats and Longfellow's poems are about unfulfilled desires and the ever-present idea that death is coming. Later on in both poems, their views shift slightly on the matter of life and what needs to come out of it. Longfellow's view on life stays grim and depressing throughout his poem, whereas Keats wants to see all that life has to offer but is daunted by the fear of death and not accomplishing that which wants.

The most similar part of the poems was in the beginnings of them, both start grim and depressing as they express their disdain towards eventual death. Keat's, "I may cease to be," parallels Longfellow's, "Half of my life is gone," by both expressing their common belief that they may stop living at any point. The similarities between the poems extend to Longfellow saying, "gone, and I have let/
The years slip from me and have not fulfilled/ The aspiration of my youth," and Keats' ominous use of the word "before," implying that there is still so much that he has not done that he wishes to do.

The middle part of both of poems is where Longfellow and Keats start to differentiate their points. Keats starts sharing his desire for romance in line 5, "When I behold, upon the night’s starr’d face,/
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance," to convey his desire for romance before his passing. In contrast, Longfellow says, "But sorrow, and a care that almost killed,/ Kept me from what I may accomplish yet." Longfellow's views are much grimmer and he believes that overwhelming sorrow and dismay is enough to keep him from acting on his desires. Between the two poems, Longfellow is much more depressing and believes that his desires are not able to be pursued because it is all futile, whereas Keats believes that his desire is enough to keep wishing for it and striving for it.

When I Have Fears and Mezzo Cammin both conclude in a scenic way, hence making them similar on the surface, but different once you read a little beneath the surface. "Then on the shore/ Of the wide world I stand alone, and think/ Till love and fame to nothingness do sink," the conclusion of Keats' poem uses imagery to paint this picture of a man standing and looking out onto the world and reflecting his life. Keats shares his view on his past, and how it was filled with more important ideas, other than if you completed a desire or not. In sharp contrast, Longfellow paints a similar image with a man standing and contemplating his life. " A city in the twilight dim and vast, ....The cataract of Death far thundering from the heights," is Longfellows interpretation of a man looking back at his life. The city is a metaphor for his life- vast and dim, filled with missed opportunities and a sorrowful outlook. The real contrast between Keats' and Longfellow's poems is that Longfellow ends his poem with the cry of death, as to say there is no point because all is futile in the end.

Responce to Class Material #2

VOCAB VOCAB VOCAB!!! Over the past couple of weeks, our class has focused very heavily on literary terms that the AP test goes over and uses. Without going into it, here is a list of words that we went over and learned as a class:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qMle5ATnv4AOAEhsidTlwCRCIwukMVXp_yr8_mdbfHI/edit
We also did read and were tested on The American Dream by Edward Albee (See Summary and Analysis of The American Dream).

Those are the two big things we have been focusing on but we have also read a couple of sheets and done a couple practices for the AP exam in May.

Some of the papers that we have read were about different theories of different types of humor and why they are funny, one was on existentialism theory and another on the theater of the absurd. All of the papers helped us to read The American Dream. The main ideas were as simple as what their titles suggest. They were helpful, but their titles say it all. We also read a biography of sorts on Edward Albee and some of his life experiences- abusive parents and what not.

We also had several blog posts that we were to do over the last couple weeks; a couple responses to student responses, a couple mock AP essays and the summary for the American Dream that I mentioned earlier.

From reading student responses along with writing my own essays, I have learned that I need to be careful of summarizing and paraphrasing events and simply focus on making my retelling and referencing more concise when it comes to my explanation and answering of the essay question.

Over the last three days (11-7,8,9) our class also did a tone activity to show how very subtle changes in wording and inflection can change the tone of the phrase. I enjoyed it because several kids in the class made theirs humorous.

Summary and Analysis of "The American Dream"

Summary (With symbolism and side notes):
The American Dream, by Edward Albee, is a play first performed in 1961 that reflects the values that the American Dream entails. The characters In the play are Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Mrs. Barker, and the young man. The play starts off in the family room in Mommy and Daddy's apartment, and Mommy is telling complacent Daddy about her trip to the store. She went to buy a new hat and got into an argument with a woman outside of the store over whether the hat was wheat-colored or cream-colored. This was important to show the materialistic nature of the women in the 50s and 60s.  Shortly after that, Grandma enters the scene with her beautifully wrapped boxes. The boxes represent the quantification of material objects that are included in the dream. Throughout the play, Grandma talks about how you need substance to make anything worth anything. Soon thereafter, Mrs. Barker shows up to the scene. There is an abundance of confusion and Daddy can't remember Mrs. Barker's name, and no one knows why she is there or what she has to do. It is here that Mommy and Mrs. Barker start their pleasantries. Mommy asked questions, but they were not as you would expect. They were with the same diction as a normal question, but they were questions such as "would you like to take off your dress, as to be more comfortable?" (Not an actual quote, just a paraphrased example.) This was included to show the shallowness of the interactions and how they are nothing more than an empty ritual. Fast forward a little further the scene is just Grandma and Mrs. Barker, Grandma is trying to hint to Mrs. Barker why she is there. The hint was what happened a while back; This was written is a very specific style of something like this has already happened. The short story of what happened was Mommy and Daddy mangled their first child because he cried and "touched himself." As punishment for his human actions, they cut off his limbs and finally, he died. Mrs. Barker is trying to connect the dots, and it is there that the audience is aware that Mrs. Barker is there supposedly as a representative/ agent for an adoption agency. Then the American dream comes knocking at the door, literally. Grandma welcomed the final character into the scene, the young man. One of the first things she does is comment on his beauty and she calls him "The American Dream." The American Dream aka the young man talks, says that he is empty and hurts in all the places that Mommy and Daddy harmed the other child. This leads the audience to believe that the young man was the twin of Mommy and Daddy's first (failed) child. The play concluded with Grandma leaving the scene with the young man being welcomed into Mommy and Daddy's lives alongside Mrs. Barker who supposedly facilitated the whole thing. The truth of the matter is that Grandma seemed to be the only character who knew what was going on most if not the whole time.

Theme Statement:

Albee’s The American Dream critiques the shifting American values of materialism, social behavior, and individual morals.

Important Quotes:

"What a masculine Daddy! Isn’t he a masculine Daddy?" - Mommy 

This quote shows how Mommy is trying to convince/tell Daddy how masculine he is. In context, Mommy was trying to get him to open the door to let Mrs. Barker in, so she was building him up so he would do as she said. I also have speculations that this effort to enforce a masculine facade regardless of if that is who Daddy really is, or wants to be.

" I no longer have the capacity to feel anything. I have no emotions. I have been drained, torn asunder disemboweled. I have, now, only my person, my body, my face. I use what I have I let people love me I accept the syntax around me, for while I know I cannot relate; I know I must be related to." - the young man
In the summary, I briefly touched upon the meaning of the young man explaining his pain and emptiness to Grandma. The main idea that was discussed as a class was that of the young man and the first child being related because not only did the stories line up, but so did the pains that were felt. This I believe to be symbolic of Albee's childhood and upbringing. He was thought to be a possession of sorts, not a real person who learns and makes mistakes. In the biography the class read on Albee, it was said that his parents were not super loving and parental, but could show him off like no one's business. That is seen in this part of the play, whether it is admitted or not. There are simply too many similarities to situations and emotions that Albee must have felt towards his parents during his upbringing.

"What I'll really have to do is to see if it applies to anything. I mean, after all, I do do volunteer work if an adoption service, but it isn't very much like the Bye-Bye Adoption Service is the Bye-Bye Adoption Service and while I can remember Mommy and Daddy coming to see me, oh, about twenty years ago, about buying a bumble, I can't quite remember anyone very much like Mommy and Daddy coming to see me about buying a bundle."

This quote was important due to the plot of the play because this is the first time someone implores Grandma to share her thoughts and explain things. The compromise as made by Grandma is that she talks about experiences though comparisons versus just stating what she is thinking. I believe this to be a fundamental idea of theater of the absurd, having ideas that are shrouded with a little crazy and confusion. Keeps the audience of their toes and their mind sharp so they do not miss any little details during the seemingly unimportant dialogue between characters. back to the quote- this quote is the climax of the play where the audience finds out that this has all happened before and that Mommy and Daddy were unhappy with their "bumble" so their solution was simply to find a new one (20 years later.)

Closed Prompt 1 #2

2009
1A: I believe that this student deserved an 8 on the AP grading scale. It was an extremely well-written essay that I hope that I will be able to emulate when it comes time for me to take the AP exam. Student A did a wonderful job delving deeper than the surface of the speech. As written by Shakespear, it pretty hard to understand and so the fact that student A was able to both comprehend and interpret the work was pretty amazing in and of itself. Specifically, I appreciated the fact that the handwriting was legible and grammatically correct. My one nit-picking detail was I would have appreciated a couple more examples, but that is pretty objective considering I am not an AP reader and have not read a thousand other essays.

1B: Student B, in my opinion, deserves a 6 on the AP grading scale.  Just like Student A student B did a great job on their essay and did a pretty good job tapping into the depth of the piece. Granted, I think that A did a little bit better than B but that is simply because A was a lot more thorough in their points regarding the play. One of my critiques of student B  is the fact that they fell victim to the paraphrasing bug when writing their essay. This is something that I will have to be very careful about when it comes to my own AP essay when it comes time to write it. Besides that, I feel that student B did a good job with their introduction and conclusion introducing and finishing their ideas.

1C: Although student C had the nicest handwriting, their essay only deserves a 4 or 5 on the AP essay scale. Just as B did, C used a lot of paraphrasing to cover the fact that the content was pretty shallow. Student C's intro was super promising but fell apart when it came to application. As the essay progressed student C lost a lot of the focus that the initial points needed to execute. C did a great job with their introduction paragraph, they laid their ideas and thoughts out very well. On the other hand, their conclusion was not as great. I believe it was due to the lack of focus that was demonstrated in the body paragraphs. My other critique would be, I would have appreciated more concise examples throughout the essay versus paraphrased sections that had to do with the subtopic.

Closed Promt 2 #2

In the introduction to Ann Petry's novel, The Street, she uses personification, imagery, and figurative language to show Lutie Johnson's relationship to the weather and urban setting. Perty's use of musical devices throughout her introduction gives the reader a sense of if they were reading lyrics to a song or lines of a poem. The beautiful language juxtaposes the ugly weather and bleak city setting, by emphasizing how unpleasant it is outside on the street.

Throughout the introduction, Perty uses an abundance of personification to give the scene movement and life. A couple of the many examples are phrases such as: "Fingering its way along the curb, the
wind set the bits of paper to dancing high in the air", "stuck its fingers inside their coat collars", and "It found every scrap of paper along the street". All of these examples are discussing the biting wind on the street, and by calling the wind "it," Petry gives a sort of life to the wind as it plays with the passers-by on the street. Personification is an important tool that allows the author to turn the wing into something more than just that: something meaningful, and alive.

Secondly, Ann Petry uses imagery to paint concise pictures of the screen on the street and the weather affecting the passers-by on the street. As the reader reads, "A few hurried pedestrians who bent double in an effort to offer the least possible exposed surface to its violent assault" they gain a feeling as if a memory of having to cover all their body so the biting wind outside will not be able to rip the warmth off of their skin. "Her eyeballs were bathed in a rush of coldness and she had to blink in order to read the words on the sign swaying back and forth over her head," is another example of Perty using distinct feelings such as being cold to paint such a vivid picture of the screen. The most vivid of all sentences in this excerpt would have to be, "because its original coat of white paint was streaked with rust where years of rain and snow had finally eaten the paint off down to the metal and the metal 55 had slowly rusted, making a dark red stain like blood," due to the scenes graphic description of the slowly receding pain and the stains that were left in the original paints place.

Finally, Petry used an abundance of figurative language in this excerpt of The Street, by doing so it makes the scene feel like that of one that would be in a song or poetry. The abundance of figurative language can be seen in sentences like, "It even took time to rush into doorways and areaways and find chicken bones and 20 pork-chop bones and pushed them along the curb." The wind did not literally rush into doorways and find chicken bones and exactly 20 pork-chop bones, Petry simply wrote this to explain how strong the wind was, in that it could have picked up and taken away the bones. Another example is, "It found all the dirt and dust and grime on the sidewalk," because yet again the wind did not literally lift up all of the dirt. Although the wind pay of scooped up plenty of dirt and make it swirl throughout the air, the figurative language allows the reader to imagine a scene of chaos and whether attacking the streets of this city.

The Street, by Ann Petry is a beautiful literary work that shows an abundance of musical devices such as, personification, imagery, and figurative language to paint the picture of a cold and windy day in the city. With that being said, Petry did a wonderful job of showing the reader exactly what she wanted them to see on that unpleasant November day in the city.

Closed Prompt 2

This excerpt from, Fasting, Feasting by Anita Desai, the author uses literary devices such as language, point of view, and several actions to show the reader how uncomfortable Arun is in his surroundings. By doing so, it forces the reader to sympathize with Arun and his new surroundings, hence making it more clear to the reader what Arun is experiencing.

Language is a strong literary device used throughout the whole excerpt to illustrate the emotional setting. In the first paragraph, Desai describes Arun as despondent- in low spirits due to loss of courage. This sets up the excerpt with a sad and lethargic setting. later on in the excerpt when Arun is outside he sees " these grasses stirring with insidious life, and bushes with poisonous berries." This description of nature is written in such a way that you can feel how uncomfortable Arun is with being outside. The language that Desai uses throughout the excerpt paints a picture of an uncomfortable boy in a foreign environment. By using more of a more dark and unhappy vocabulary, the writer shows us exactly how her words should illustrate how uncomfortable Arun is.

The excerpt, written in third person, allows the reader to witness Arun and his surroundings in an unbiased manner. This excerpt is primarily showing Arun's experience and how he sees and thinks. If the story had been told in a first person view than the reader would only be able to feel and think as Arun does, but by writing in third person it allows the reader to perceive situation in their own way- and allows them to draw their own conclusions. A good example of a situation that would of changed if written in first person is, "Melanie and Arun follow silently. they try to find a way to walk that will not compel them to stand side by side or in any way close together. Who follows whom? Is is an awkward problem." The reason this is a good example is because it allows the reader to contemplate why they can't stand side by side? why do they feel awkward with each other? If this had been written in first person then it would of only explained one view leaving the rest of the picture neglected.

Lastly, Desai uses the actions of her characters to highlight Arun's discomfort. the interactions between Melanie and Arun show the awkward and forced nature of their relationship, "Melanie comes to the door, dressed in her bathing suit with a big shirt drawn across her shoulders, and she stares at him challengingly, he starts wildly to find an  excuse." Here Melanie is trying to get Arun to go sailing with herself and the rest of his host family, and Arun is trying desperately to find a way out of doing so. Even an exchange as simple as that shows the readers how Arun feels and how he views the common activities of his host family.

At first glace the except of fasting, feasting, seems lighthearted and like a family trying to go sailing on a nice day. After looking a little deeper it is made clear that Arun, the main character, is uncomfortable with his family and going outside. Desai uses actions of characters, point of view, and language to contribute to the emotional profile of Arun.