Responses to Course Material #2

This past month we finally finished discussing and analyzing the American Dream and wrote that in-depth summary and analysis for our blogs. Maybe I should just be taking more notes during class discussions or pacing myself better with my blog posts, because I thought that writing that summary and analysis was super time-consuming. I guess it’s supposed to help us later as a study guide, so it’s better than having to re-read the book or something like that, but I just found it a lot harder to write than any of the other blog posts that we’ve written up to now.

Aside from wrapping up the American Dream, we’ve also talked a bit about poetry. I thought it was interesting when Ms. Holmes mentioned how Shakespeare used prose, rhymed couplets, and blank verse throughout his works to portray different messages, such as class or to identify the supernatural. I remember touching on the topic in Brit Lit last year, but we never did much with the topic so I had pretty much forgotten it until Ms. Holmes mentioned it again during class. This time, I think the information will actually be useful since I’ll be taking the AP exam this May and I might come across a Shakespeare passage. Other than just talking about Shakespeare, we read and analyzed Promises like Piecrust and wrote a practice essay prompt on it, as well as responded to a peer’s.

The other major thing that we’ve been spending our time on is the play Death of a Salesman. We watched the movie, then annotated the play and now have read a couple critiques on the work and have begun class discussions on it. Personally, I feel like the class discussions on this book haven’t been as mind-blowing as the class discussions on the American Dream. Part of the reason might just be because DOS is a lot easier to understand (there aren’t as many theater of the absurd elements) and there don’t seem to be as many symbols and hidden meanings. Maybe I’m wrong and after our discussions on the work are finally over I’ll realize how much of the book I didn’t understand after doing a close-reading, but that’s just how it seems to me at the moment.

Although we haven’t gotten too deep into our discussions of the book, it seems like one of the central themes is that being too fixated on the American dream can lead to disaster and dissatisfaction. I always find it hard to try to wrap up the theme of a work in just a sentence, and this is probably way too general. As we discuss the book further though, we’ll probably all come to a more precise conclusion of the theme.

Open Prompt #2

2008. In a literary work, a minor character, often known as a foil, possesses traits that emphasize, by contrast or comparison, the distinctive characteristics and qualities of the main character. For example, the ideas or behavior of a minor character might be used to highlight the weaknesses or strengths of the main character. Choose a novel or play in which a minor character serves as a foil for the main character. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the relation between the minor character and the major character illuminates the meaning of the work.

Essay 3A

Overall, this was a pretty good essay. It was well written, well thought out. It has a wide range of vocabulary while still being accessible to a wide variety of readers without being overly pompous. While the student is very thorough in their explanations and analyses, I felt like at times they were being a bit of a tour guide. The beginning was a bit rocky and maybe had too much summary. I think the student realized this mid-way through the essay though and tried to fix it as best they could, because the second half of the essay is definitely much better. Even though there was summary, there was still plenty of analysis to make up for this. The student has a pretty concise conclusion, wrapping up all the main points and bringing all the analyses together, leaving the reader with a positive impression.

Essay 3B

This essay was simply ok. AP graders gave it a 6, which is probably just about the same score I’d give, if not a number lower. While the essay was clear and easy to understand, it wasn’t very well developed. It starts off with a somewhat vague intro paragraph. It talks about how the character Celie’s father abused her but how her friends helped her “find meaning in life”. The prompt is about foils, and beginning the essay in such a way makes it unclear as to whether or not Celie’s father or Celie’s friends are her foil. The rest of the essay is equally unfocused, going back and fourth between Celie’s father and her friends. The writer finally states that Celie’s father is her foil. Even though it’s good that the author finally stated a foil, I think they state it too late in the essay and wasted time/words writing about Celie’s friends. The writer also throws in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, but doesn’t really explain how it applies to the novel in enough depth. Overall, this essay could have been good but needed more development and focus.

Essay 3C
This essay wasn’t very well written. The introduction starts off with “Baba is a foil to Hassan in many ways”, but then the author only lists one such way. Then the author compares the similarities of the two characters, suggesting that the author might not actually understand the meaning of a foil. The essay was very short and simplistic with very little analysis. The student states their conclusions/opinions but gives very little to back them up. The conclusion is especially weak. The student states that the two characters are super similar and ends the paragraph and essay with: “Baba’s foil to Hassan helps show this throughout the novel.” This sentence is super ambiguous. Not only did the student not clearly explain “Baba’s foil to Hassan”, but the student also uses an ambiguous “this” and it’s unclear what they’re referring to.

The American Dream

 Characters, setting, plot: The American Dream by Edward Albee is a play about materialism and the search for satisfaction. It takes place around the 1960s, in the apartment of the two main characters, Mommy and Daddy. Most of the play is simply conversation between Mommy and Daddy, if you can consider their cyclical speeches conversation. Mommy dominates the room, always controlling everything and making sure Daddy is always paying attention to her. Grandma is also present throughout most of the play. Mommy, however, resents her presence. Mommy, to continue to assert control, constantly threatens to have Grandma taken away by “the van man”.

Soon, Mrs. Barker arrives at the front door. No one seems to know why Mrs. Barker is there, and even Mrs. Barker can’t explain it. Mommy and Daddy eventually get distracted and begin looking for Grandma’s things, but can’t seem to find anything. While they’re busy, Grandma talks to Mrs. Barker and tells her a story about how people like Mommy and Daddy adopted a “bumble” but destroyed it. Not too long afterwards, a young man comes into the house and Grandma recognizes him as the American Dream. She thinks up the plan to allow everyone to be happy: this young man is looking for work, so she will have Mommy and Daddy hire him. Mommy and Daddy are looking for a new “bumble”, so this young man will work out perfectly. Mrs. Barker will also be satisfied because she will be off the hook; the reason why she went to Mommy and Daddy’s house was to give them a replacement “bumble” and this young man will do just the trick. The play ends with all characters being mostly satisfied, and Grandma escapes from the scene and is with the audience.

Style: Albee uses various techniques to get his theme across the work. First is tone. There isn’t a single tone used throughout the play, but each character takes on his/her own specific tone. Mommy, for example, is very bossy towards Daddy and rude and disrespectful towards Grandma. Daddy doesn’t have too strong of a tone and seems to agree with most things Mommy says. Grandma seems to be the voice of reason of the play. She represents the old American dream and often takes on a tone of disappointment towards the younger generation, especially towards Mommy.

Another technique Albee uses is symbolism. The major symbols of this piece are the new and old American dreams. Grandma embodies the old American dream; Mommy mentions that Grandma can’t stop working and Grandma even calls herself “pioneer stock”. The young man is the new American dream, which is made pretty obvious since Grandma actually calls him “the American dream”. This also ties in to different points of views. Grandma and the young man, being such opposites, have very different views: the young man will do anything for money, while Grandma seems very much against everything this new American dream embodies.

Finally, Albee uses imagery to reach his audience. Once of the major images in the play is the destruction of the “bumble”. Grandma talks about how a two parents like Mommy and Daddy cut the hands, tongue, and private parts of the bumble because it wasn’t perfect. Eventually, because Mommy and Daddy tried so hard to create the perfect child, the bumble simply stopped working; it died.
 

Quotes:

“That’s all that’s important… a sense of dignity.” (Grandma)

            While Mommy and Daddy had been stressing satisfaction, Grandma stresses having a sense of dignity. It doesn’t matter what one looks like or how much money one has, what matters is that one has a sense of self-worth.

“So let’s leave things as they are right now…. while everybody’s got what he wants… or everybody’s got what he thinks he wants.” (Grandma)

            This quote suggests that satisfaction – the one thing Mommy and Daddy seem to be striving for – is only ephemeral. People try so hard to get what they think they want, but once they get it, they realize that it’s not that great after all. Suddenly, they’re no longer satisfied and look for the next thing that they believe will finally grant them “true” satisfaction.

Theme: Albee’s The American Dream warns that the current generation of Americans has gutted the heart and soul of the traditional American values and replaced them with a superficial longing to acquire complete satisfaction.

Albee’s play is simply called The American Dream, as though there is only one, but the title is really a question: which American Dream will you choose? Albee presents two versions of the American Dream through his work: the old (represented by Grandma) and the new (represented by the young man, as well as Mommy and Daddy). The play seems to be about the negative aspects of the new American Dream and the positive aspects of the Old American Dream, proving Albee’s bias. There is the literal image of Mommy and Daddy gutting their bumble of all its substance, but this can be taken figuratively; the couple can be seen as stripping the old American Dream of all its substance, until it simply looks perfect, but has no real value. Albee wants to portray to his readers the horrors of becoming too materialistic and hopes that you will choose to embody the old American Dream. 

Close Reading, 10/13

Why a gorilla nanny is the right choice for our family.
By Jon Methven
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/why-a-gorilla-nanny-is-the-right-choice-for-our-family

            This article is a satire, describing why the narrator and his family decided to hire a gorilla in lieu of a nanny.  The author, Jon Methven, uses details, diction, and language to convince the reader that nannies are worth their price.

            First, Methven uses details to portray that nannies are something that should be carefully chosen. The narrator gives details of specific events that have happened since he has hired this gorilla nanny. He describes how the Steve the gorilla was at the Riverside dog park when Steve scared the dogs (and owners) and crated such a scene that “the game warden was called in with tranquilizer darts”. The narrator then goes on to explain that no one had anything to worry about because “gorillas are herbivorous by nature”. Later the narrator describes an unfriendly encounter Steve had with some people that were riding the escalator with him. The narrator justifies this by saying that it is part of an “innate survival code, as New Yorkers,” to not ride an escalator while a gorilla is still on it. Methven uses small details to satirize those who hire cheap nannies. He uses the gorilla to portray the ‘cheap nanny’ because, as far as the reader knows, this gorilla is free. The narrator puts up with a lot of trouble to keep Steve and even puts himself and his kids in danger – something that any sane person wouldn’t ever do when there’s an easy solution to the problem.

            Methven also uses diction to make a serious situation seem trivial or unimportant. The narrator states how one day the gorilla Steve simply “arrived” at the family’s front door. The narrator and his family quickly take Steve in and put him to work, not bothering to question where he came from. Later, the narrator mentions that sometimes other nannies are “uncomfortable” with Steve’s “nose-to-nose” greetings. Finally, the narrator asserts that he and his wife are now able to start “enjoying” the night since they are able to go out and spend the money that they’ve saved by hiring Steve. The narrator continues by saying that the reason he and his wife go out is because the gorilla “refuses” to allow the couple to see their kids until late at night, so the narrator and his wife are most often “found…waiting” by their front stoop (not actually going out and enjoying the night). Methven uses diction to under-exaggerate how oppressive this new nanny is. If the family had simply found a way to hire a legitimate nanny, they would have none of these problems.

            Similarly, Methven uses language to create a casual tone. He starts off the piece by saying: “Recently, many Upper West Side parents may have noticed we’ve…hired a 400-pound silverback gorilla for our daycare options.” Later, when describing the gorilla, the narrator says, “did you know silverback gorillas like to make ALL the decisions?” Since the tone is so casual, it is obvious that the narrator isn’t upset by this fact, but may actually be happy about the leadership Steve takes on. The narrator goes on to say that Steve can always end conflicts, either with a stare or by throwing objects across the room and adds, “but when it comes to watching our kids, we’ve never been happier.” This suggests that normally the author would agree that Steve ending conflicts in the manner that he does would normally be a bad thing, but in this case, since he is able to control the kids, it’s a wonderful skill, despite the risk of harm. Of course, there would be little to no risk of injury or abuse if the narrator had bothered to hire a real nanny.

            Methven uses language, diction, and details to portray the importance of investing time and money to hire a good nanny. The whole article is about the dangers of hiring a nanny that is inexperienced, cheap, and/or violent. Although nannies can be expensive, if both parents are working and a nanny is needed, it is best to spend the money because otherwise the children are at risk and the parents will constantly have to worry about them. This piece isn’t just about hiring a good nanny though. It’s about spending time and money on what’s important and getting priorities straight. Spend the most time and money on issues that matter, not the ones that don’t.