Open Prompt - Essay 4

1988. Choose a distinguished novel or play in which some of the most significant events are mental or psychological; for example, awakenings, discoveries, changes in consciousness. In a well-organized essay, describe how the author manages to give these internal events the sense of excitement, suspense, and climax usually associated with external action. Do not merely summarize the plot.

William Shakespeare's plays use mental thoughts and personal discoveries that center around the story and advance it until the end. Shakespeare's most famous and well-known play, Romeo and Juliet, uses these thoughts to bring the two lovers together and face circumstances that challenge their love. Mixing mentality within the plays plot their story of forbidden love is told and uses mostly mental factors of how they desire to be together.

Meeting for the first time at the Capulet home Romeo and Juliet instantly fall in love. As Romeo and his friends leave hidden behind their masks Juliet asks her nurse to find out his name. When she returns and tells her that "his name is Romeo, and a Montague! The only son of your great enemy." (Shakespeare), her original thoughts of love change course as she thinks "my only love sprung from my only hate" (Shakespeare). Even though she knows he is the son of her families enemy her thoughts are love are only enforced and grow stronger when he is away. Romeo learns that he loves the daughter of the Capulet's as he watches Juliet reciting a soliloquy from her balcony. His thoughts also remain unchanged as he tells her he would throw away his life as a Montague and take up another name so they would not be enemies and be together. Their love for each other adds excitement and leaves the reader thinking; will they be together?

Reality sets in when Juliet learns that Romeo, her new husband, has slayed her cousin. Not knowing that Romeo has fled the city and hopes to return she goes to the Friar and begs him to help her die. He instead gives her a vile that he says will make her seem like she is dead and that everything will be alright. She returns to her house and takes the vile in her chamber. She gives a long soliloquy where she exclaims her love for Romeo and vows to be with him forever, whether it is in life or death. Her change of consciousness changes her course of love and brings a new level of climax and suspense to the plot. Will Romeo find that she is really alive? Will she awake in time? Will they finally escape their houses and be together?

Romeo returns to find Juliet "dead" in the family tomb and he grieves for his wife. His thoughts of love remain strong until the very end, thinking that she is dead he takes poison and  ends his life. This is the highest point of suspense in the play and leaves the reader wondering what is going to happen next. It all begins again when Juliet awakes and discovers her husband newly dead by way of poison. Thinking there may still be some poison on his lips she kisses him and cries "thy lips are warm!" (Shakespeare). Finding her husband dead she takes his dagger and ends her own life. Their final encounter together brings the excitement and suspense of their love to a close.

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the most tragic of all love stories uses character and situational mentality to tell the story. Through Shakespeare's unique use of language and wit the personality of his characters and their desire can be found both in physical actions and mental thoughts.    

Close Reading - Assignment 3

Music Changes Lives - And Saves Them - The Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3562926/Music-changes-lives-and-saves-them.html

Music has always been a big part of many lives, it touches and moves people in ways that are not describable even when it happens to you or any individual. Music has lately been examined in medical and mental situations and has shown to increase individual health and save lives. As Webber's article suggests music can help children get and stay on the right path, preventing them from doing crime or drugs, as well as potentially saving their lives.

Webber's use of imagery throughout the article is very evident. In the first paragraph he writes "what began as a low-key breakfast meeting soon turned into a full-blown conference" (Webber). This statement created the image of a group in a conference room talking about the political importance of music education, like something that would happen in a school board meeting. The article ends with a real account of how music helped change the path of someone and how they have gone onto become involved with music and the importance of music education. He recalls that "beyond the call of duty, she took a tiresome little boy to a performance by the first great cellist I had ever heard" (Webber). Authors use imagery like this to create a personal and emotional connection with the reader and by seeing these scenes in my mind I felt that connection to the people and their stories. At the end it made me think about my own life and how much it has been shaped by music.

I found some of Webber's diction throughout the article to be very unexpected. Diction helps elevate the sophistication in an authors work and gives the reader something to think about  past the articles subject. He uses words such as "spearhead, "inception" and "low-key", words that one wouldn't find in the everyday article. I found these words gave an extra ring to the article's tone and even though the words are very simple. In addition to words Webber's use of alliteration was also evident. In two instances Webber wrote that some people "worked so hard to hammer home the crucial point" and that music was "hot on the heels" (Webber).  His use of alliteration jumped right out to me as a literature student but made me remember that you don't need to be studying AP literature to recognize it as a reader.

Webber's combination of imagery, detail and strong personal voice made this article come alive. It informed me as a reader of the importance of music education and left me thinking about how music education has personally changed me and how crucial it has been. Webber's opinions on musical importance and sharing of personal stories left me wanting to read more and look into the shaping of music education of children's lives.    

Response to Course Material - Post 3

From learning about the authors use of DIDLS to how to write high rating essays to learning how to analyze literature, AP Lit continues to be a fun and amazing class. I've never analyzed literature so closely and it is another big step in preparation of the AP test. 

I was a bit nervous at first to start analyzing Albee's The American Dream but now that we have analyzed in small groups and discussed the play in class, I find analyzing to be very fun and informative. Noting Albee's diction, imagery, details, language and syntax has shown me more about Albee as the author, information about the time period, Albee's views and opinions and hidden messages throughout the work. As well as the actual notation, our class discussions have brought together everyone's ideas and individual notations with the whole class. Even when we all do individual notations and no longer work in a group or as a class, knowing how to correctly annotate a novel or play is a crucial step in understanding literature and its meanings and how to approach to the AP Lit test when it comes around.

Now that we have learned how to annotate correctly I am very excited to continue on with analyzing Death of a Salesmen. Analyzing is an important skill to know in preparation for the AP Lit test as well as college. Ap Lit continues to teach me valuable skills when reading and writing about literature and is the most fun and enjoyable hour of the day.

Open Prompt - Essay 3

1972. In retrospect, the reader often discovers that the first chapter of a novel or the opening scene of a drama introduces some of the major themes of the work. Write an essay about the opening scene of a drama or the first chapter of a novel in which you explain how it functions in this way.

Opening scenes of dramas are powerful and are meant to draw the audience into the story both figuratively and literally.  Dramas that begin with short bloody scene usually leave more of a print on the audience and have them on the edge of their seats wanting to know more. In Shakespeare's first tragedy, Titus Andronicus, the opening scene introduces the three major themes that become the meaning and overall purpose of the drama . The opening scene through detail and imagery introduces the themes of power, war and revenge.

The opening speeches from the two sons of the late Roman emperor drive the audience to decide on their values and ideas of what their country should be. When Titus returns a war hero for the Romans bringing the Queen of the Goths and her three sons as prisoners, he is offered the throne. Titus speaks to the Roman people saying that he would rather another take the throne so they can cause trouble and have the burdens of being king. He continues on reminding the people of his years as a soldier and how he would rather be honored and remembered as a soldier than a king. This imagery introduces Titus' views on power and those who are fit to be in power as well as the life of a Roman soldier and the weight it carries both at and away from Rome. 

The theme of war continues when the Queen of the Goths and her three sons are revealed to the people as the last prisoners. While the war is over the Roman people still call for bloodshed and the death of the remaining prisoners.This continued call for violence shows Titus as well as the audience that the Roman people have no care for mercy or human feelings, qualities that are not associated with many wars. To avoid a riot by his own people Titus agrees but in doing so sets the constant cycle of revenge in motion. To save her eldest son from sacrifice the Queen of the Goths, Tamora, pleads with Titus calling him a merciful man and a powerful man to Rome. By telling Titus what he wants to hear Tamora believes that she has saved her son and come into favor with Titus himself. She is gravely misktaken when Titus orders the sacrifice to be preformed right before her eyes. 

To recover from her sons death Tamora plays with the new emperors emotions and gets herself into a new position of power, the wife of the Emperor of Rome. Tamora denounces her previous race saying that she never belonged and has always admired the people and city of Rome. By doing this she establishes her dominance over Rome and now holds the control over those who held her fate.

The struggles of human power mixed with the complexity of human emotions can show many different themes. The themes of Titus Andronicus bring about the idea that power, control and dominance are what those in power live for and are expected to do on a daily basis. To not do so would show weakness and failure, leading to a whole new area of theme and life.

Close Reading - Assignment 2

Music's Health Benefits: Using Music to Ease Patients Stress During Surgery  - TIME
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1929994,00.html

When I read this article for the first time I was not very surprised that music is being experimented with to help with surgeries and other medical practices. Music has always had a special healing power for many people and has been proven "calming effective" in many other experiments and articles. Carr's article focusing on the effect music has had on those with Parkinson's Disease in medical situations, uses diction and imagery to show how everyday people are effected by the power of music.


Carr uses very elevated and sophisticated diction throughout the whole article. Her use of medical terms and other diction is strong and gives a sense of intensity to the entire article. She uses words such as "well-being" and "frazzled" to give a sense of human emotion to the reader. Many people who are going into a medical procedure or surgery, including myself, would say that they are nervous, scared and even frazzled because they don't know if the outcome will be good or bad. Her other diction including "soothing" and "eye-opening" gives a medical insight to the reader. Experiments such as these are very different and have had some interesting outcomes that that some people have been really shocked at. Music may not seem like a physical therapy or a healing power that you can see, but it is something that has helped people through the best and the worst times.

Carr's use of imagery in the article helps the reader connect to what the article is trying to say. In the beginning of the article she uses the phrase "pounded drums and plucked strings" (Carr) to create the image that when music began with the pounding of drums it has always had a good effect on humans. Her use of imagery in the medical sense is also very clever and helps the reader visualize what is going on, even if they don't know the medical terms or names of procedures. This was very helpful to me when reading the article since I am not a big hospital, doctor and medicine person.

This article gives a whole new aspect to the power of  music and how it can reach ordinary people everyday. Even if you are not musician or don't have any musical interest at all, music both teaches and reaches people in their own way, helping them get through the hard times and the good old days.

Response to Course Material - Post 2

Repetition for me has always been key. Practicing certain elements that go into good writing such as writing an intro and thesis, as well as learning more about analyzing literature, I feel that I am becoming very well prepared for the AP test.

Essays in the past have always been a hit or miss. Teachers have given me essays and only had me write on the spot. When we got the graded result back, that was it and we had no chance of fixing or re-writing. Having this opportunity to fix things in practice AP lit essays has helped improve my essays and will only get better as the AP test gets closer. By doing this repetition I can make sure that I answer all parts of the prompt, have a strong intro/thesis and have textual examples to support it that include the authors techniques (DIDLS).

In addition to improving my writing I have really enjoyed reading the first of five books that we will analyze in class. I've never read any of them, and after reading Albee's The American Dream I am very excited to discuss and find out what he is really trying to say. By combining class discussion and the authors use of DIDLS, analyzing literature will become much easier and will help me on the AP test.

AP lit class continues to be awesome! I enjoy the blog posts, readings in class, group work and overall fun that I can have when studying literature. Learning more about the material and what goes into becoming a good writer and analyst will help me both in college and further in the future.

Open Prompt - Essay 2

1975 Also. Unlike the novelist, the writer of a play does not use his own voice and only rarely uses a narrator's voice to guide the audience's responses to character and action. Select a play you have read and write an essay in which you explain the techniques the playwright uses to guide his audience's responses to the central characters and the action. You might consider the effect on the audience of things like setting, the use of comparable and contrasting characters, and the characters' responses to each other. Support your argument with specific references to the play. Do not give a plot summary.


Which would you rather watch: A comedic play with fictional lovable characters or a nonfiction drama with real characters remembering one of early America's worst tragedies? While many would chose the comedy, there are more depressing and "real account"plays in constant production. Christopher Piehler's contemporary play, The Triangle Factory Fire Project, tells the story of a factory destroyed by a horrible fire, through a range of characters who account the tragedy and the aftermath themselves. Piehler's use of diction, setting and tone not only retells the story but relays a whole new meaning to the audience when someone suddenly screams "FIRE!".

In the first half of the show, Phiehler gives each character a distinct tone and way of talking. Shepherd, the first character to take the stage, uses words like "editorialize", "headline" and "awful". This sets him up as a relatable character to the audience and gives them their first taste of what and how the characters are going to tell their story. Ethel, one of four female characters, gives the audience a more contrasting and hopeful tone when looking at the situation.  In ACT 2 where she recounts part of the fire, she remembers that a "dark fellow said, "What's the use of crying?" [and she] felt ashamed. And then [she] though, "Well, my life is lost anyway,". Her tone from this passage gives the audience a false hope through her dramatic irony and a taste of the horror that she faced on the ninth floor.

Ethel also steers the audience to understand the setting and time period where the play takes place. Ethel uses old-fashioned words such as "pocketbook" and "floorlady", which tells the audience that the play takes place sometime in the USA where both pocketbooks were used daily and floor-ladies were found in all factories. Other male characters constantly talk about being out of work, looking for a job and coming to collect the pay of those who died in the fire, eventually being turned away empty handed. These needs by the characters tell the audience that something must have happened to dramatically shift the idea and virtues of the major work force and find any way to get justice. With this sense of setting from the characters, they move onto the aftermath and the injustice that could be found in the courts. 


The Triangle Fire Factory Project shows a different look on American history. The audience leaves thinking that while America had many triumphs and great era's of its time, it has also gone through some of the worst tragedies and horrors that the world has ever seen.