Prompt #4

1999. The eighteenth-century British novelist Laurence Sterne wrote, "No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man's mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time."

From a novel or play choose a character (not necessarily the protagonist) whose mind is pulled in conflicting directions by two compelling desires, ambitions, obligations, or influences. Then, in a well-organized essay, identify each of the two conflicting forces and explain how this conflict with one character illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. You may use one of the novels or plays listed below or another novel or work of similar literary quality.

           

            Society adores the struggle between two loves; it has been the topic of books and movies for centuries.  Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights was not the first story to depict the choice between two loves, but it certainly is a memorable one.  Catherine’s struggle between Heathcliff and Edgar reveals a deeper meaning in Wuthering Heights, calm love that fits societal expectations is better than passion that leaves destruction in its wake.

            Catherine married just as society wanted her to; she married Edgar Linton.  Their marriage was filled with turmoil, but all of the issues were caused by the appearance of her childhood friend, Heathcliff.  The two men could not be more opposite, and after Catherine dies, that becomes very apparent.  Edgar finds peace quickly and learns to accept Catherine’s death; Heathcliff, on the other hand, is tortured by her for years.  Bronte purposely places these two men on the opposite end of a spectrum, and asks the reader to judge which fares better.  It is not hard to see that the calm, gentle love between Edgar and Catherine leaves him much happier than Heathcliff.

Bronte goes to long lengths to make her readers see the destruction of Catherine’s passionate affair with Heathcliff; not only does his return to her life disturb her marriage, it also hurts those around them.  Heathcliff and Catherine torment her sister-in-law, Isabella, for suggesting that she loves Heathcliff more than Catherine loves her husband.  Although this functions as a good plot device, it also means more.   After their interaction with Isabella, she is never the same; in fact that is practically her last appearance in the novel. This one interaction with the passion between Heathcliff and Catherine destroys Isabella forever.

Bronte associates violence and pain with Heathcliff, while associating happiness and tranquility with Edgar.  Her point is clear: love that society approves of and love that leaves both lovers happy is far superior to harsh passion.

Close Reading #4

Why immigration uproar went nationwide

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/24/opinion/singer-immigration-nationwide/index.html?hpt=op_t1

Details reveal some of the author's bias in the very first paragraph. She includes the negative impacts of the new Alabama laws both emotional impacts and economical impacts. This would make most readers sympathetic to the illegals right from the start. The fact that the population growth was more severe in the 90's than the 2000's also emphasizes the idea that the "uproar" is unnessecary and an overreaction.

The fifth paragraph contains one sentence, but it is full of meaning. The use of the word "ruckus" connotates a disruptive and unproductive, implying the reactions to immigration issues are disruptive to the American way of life and unproductive since there have been no real accomplishments in the area. The phrase "foreign-born populations" could be replaced with "illegals" or "hispanics", yet the author chose to use a phrase with very little negative connotations. The phrase is also quite elevated. That gives the immigrants a feeling of intelligence to the readers. It also implies that the issue isn't with only Hispanics which may quell some reader's feelings. All of this promotes a positive image of immigrants and therefore a negative image of the new immigration laws.

The second to last paragraph emphasizes the brokenness of the immigration system though syntax by finishing the first clause with the word "broken" and the second phrase of the sentence with the word "it" referring back to the immigration system.

As a whole the article stresses the negatives of cracking down on immigration.

Response to Course Material #3

I've loved reading The American Dream. The close reading both as a class and on my own has been very productive. I've always enjoyed using Sticky Notes in my books, but being able to write directly on a word has opened a whole new realm of detail oriented reading. The class discussions have also really enhanced my understanding of the play. The discussions are both enjoyable and hearing other people's input really opens my mind. The entire class environment is awesome. I love that we can ta and laugh about literature with kids shutting down and refusing to participate. Everyone in the class participates and it makes the class fun to be in.

Open Prompt

2005, Form B. One of the strongest human drives seems to be a desire for power. Write an essay in which you discuss how a character in a novel or a drama struggles to free himself or herself from the power of others or seeks to gain power over others. Be sure to demonstrate in your essay how the author uses this power struggle to enhance the meaning of the work.

            Power is one of the many things most humans strive for, whether it is power over a spouse or an entire country, people seem to want power.  In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the title character spends the entire play forcing his way towards the seat of power, the throne.  Shakespeare uses Macbeth to assert that power, the ascension to power, corrupts only those who thirst for it.  This becomes obvious through his treatment of Macbeth as opposed to Malcolm.

            Shakespeare portrays Macbeth negatively as soon as he begins thirsting for power.  The first passage Macbeth is ever mentioned in, he is a war hero.  The language used is elegant and Macbeth seems almost god like.  But as soon as Macbeth begins his quest for power, he loses his hero like qualities.  His sanity comes into question, and the audience sees the blood of his victims.  Although the audience does not witness the murders, they must see the mess he creates both figuratively and literally.  This unavoidable visual impresses on them how corrupt Macbeth has become because of his desire to rule.

            Malcolm is hardly a main character; although he plays a large role in the plot, he appears relatively rarely.  In one of Malcolm’s largest scenes, he tests Macduff’s intentions in order to assure that his country will be safe despite being exiled from it.  The throne was forced upon Malcolm, although he may have desired it, he never attempted to murder his way up the chain.   In this way he is displayed very positively next to Macbeth, who did everything in his power to become King and no longer answer to any authority.

            Malcolm and Macbeth are not complete opposites, but in their rises power, Shakespeare makes it very clear that Macbeth’s thirst for power lead to corruption and his ultimate demise, where Malcolm remained pure and successful.

Response to Course Material #2

I still really enjoy the class, the people are easy to interact with and the material is relatable.  You'd think that families that mutilate their children wouldn't be relatable, but their craziness is oddly normal, what family is normal anyway?  I'm still not quite comfortable with open prompt essays, partially because the techniques most analyzed in open prompts are my least favorite techniques. I just don't like using details, it always feels too much like summarizing.  The class work with closed prompts is starting really sink in. It's made analyzing a specific work come a lot quicker, although I have to admit that may be because I can bounce it off the other members of my group.

Close Reading #2

Chris Christie and our biases about weight by Rebecca Puhl

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/07/opinion/puhl-christie-weight/index.html?hpt=op_t1

I chose this article because we discussed this issue in my Government class as well, and I figured it would lend well to some cross curriculum thinking.  I also struggle with this article because I know I can have some of these biases.  Anyway, on to analyzing.

The very first sentence manages to characterize the authors opinion of media coverage of the obese.  Her diction lends very nicely to making the media looked bad.  The word "frenzy" makes the reader think of many things, maybe animals rushing toward a fallen prey or people shoving each other to reach a goal, but no matter what comes to mind, it's not positive.  Again in the second sentence she uses diction for a specific purpose, but this time to support Chris Christie.  She uses the word "deliberated" to describe his debate about entering the presidential race.  The word "deliberated" is very sophisticated, a word only educated people would use normally, this suggests that the subject, Christie, is also well educated.

Also, in the ninth paragraph, Puhl emphasizes that thinner employees may not be healthier.  The second sentence uses syntax to compare the possible health of obese and thin people.  By using the same form, subject verb compliment, she compares the two compliments.  The first of the two being an active life of an obese person, and the second being a lazy and unhealthy life of a thin person.

The entire article pushes for recognition of obese discrimination.  The details offered throughout suggest that not only is legislation protecting the obese necessary, but also desired by the American population.  By reporting details like, "81% of women and 65% of men expressed support for laws that would make it illegal for employers to discriminate against obese employees" (Puhl), the reader forms opinions more strongly in favor of the author's opinions.  If the reader believes that most Americans wish to have such legislation, then they are likely to side with the apparent majority.


Overall, the author creates a forceful voice to entice the reader to believe discrimination against the obese is wide spread, unfair, and needs to be addressed.

Prompt #2

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.

People say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, but in many cases you can judge a work by its first chapter or scene.  Such a work is Shakespeare’s Macbeth. After reading the play, the reader should recognize witchcraft, and the meaning of fate as a major theme.  Now if they look back at the very first chapter, the same elements are there.  Shakespeare introduces the witches in the very first scene and then uses them throughout the play to reinforce the struggle between fate and freewill and the line between good and evil.

The three witches in Macbeth, during their first scene, say “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (Shakespeare).  This one little line begins one of the major struggles in Macbeth, good and evil.  The audience is at first confused by this line, but as the play progresses they see how it is a commentary on Macbeth as a character.  Is he truly evil?  Or is he just a man tempted by others to commit crimes?  Does that make him evil?  These are all questions emphasized in that one line, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (Shakespeare). 

From that first scene on, the witches predict things in Macbeth’s future, but by doing so they question whether it’s truly his choice to become king, or if he was always fated to be king.  The audience can believe two things about Macbeth’s future: he was fated to live and die the way he did or he formed his life around the witches’ predictions.  Either way, those three witches greatly influenced his life, directly or indirectly.  Shakespeare doesn’t beat around the bush; he introduces the witches and the theme of fate versus freewill.

Beginning Macbeth with the appearance of the three witches was no random plot choice; Shakespeare deliberately used the witches as a way to introduce the themes of fate versus freewill and good versus evil.