Revised Open Prompt #4

1994. In some works of literature, a character who appears briefly, or does not appear at all, is a significant presence. Choose a novel or play of literary merit and write an essay in which you show how such a character functions in the work. You may wish to discuss how the character affects action, theme, or the development of other characters. Avoid plot summary.

            People affect other people: that is a fact of life.  An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley examines how little things can affect others through Eva Smith.  Although Eva Smith never appears in on stage, interactions with her define other characters.  Priestley uses this to push how British values failed those at the bottom of society.

            When Inspector Goole shows each member of the Birling family how they contributed to Eva Smith’s suicide, their reaction defines them.  Mr. and Mrs. Birling’s denial and anger exhibit the broken old beliefs.  Because Eva Smith was a working girl, Mr. and Mrs. Birling have no sympathy for her plight. Even though she was pregnant with their grandchild, they are more upset that their son gave her money than for the role they played in her death. These reactions indicate Priestley’s views on the fading British social order.  Horror and guilt plagues Sheila and Eric Birling showing the audience that there is still hope for them, the next generation.  Reactions to Eva Smith’s death put the characters into categories: those who uphold the strict British social order and those who dare to care for the less fortunate.

Eva Smith may not be real in the context of the play.  She is given multiple names and she never comes onto the stage.  The doubt of her existence only broadens Priestley’s message: Inspector Goole says, “…there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths” (Priestley).   Eva Smith’s faceless character puts the Birlings’ responsibility for her death on everyone. Whether Eva Smith is a person or an idea, she is pertinent to the play.

Anyone could have been Eva Smith.  Society failed to help her, and because of that she died.  The Birling family is defined by how they treated Eva Smith, a character who never appears on stage, yet Eva Smith’s anonymity aids Priestley’s in critiquing all British values.

Revised Open Prompt #3

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.

            Most humans strive for power; whether it is over a spouse or an entire country.  In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the title character spends the entire play forcing his way to power, to the throne.  In Macbeth, the ascension to power corrupts only those who thirst for it, as shown by Macbeth as opposed to Malcolm.

            Shakespeare portrays Macbeth negatively as he thirsts for power.  The first passage Macbeth is mentioned in, he is a war hero.  The language is elegant and Macbeth is god-like.  But when Macbeth begins his quest for power, he loses his heroic qualities.  His sanity is questioned.  Although the audience does not witness the murders, they must see the mess he creates both figuratively and literally.  Seeing blood impresses on the audience Macbeth’s corruption.

            Malcolm isn’t a main character; although he plays a large role in the plot, he rarely appears on stage.  Malcolm tests Macduff’s intentions to assure that his country will be safe while Malcolm is exiled.  Malcolm is forced into the throne, although he may have desired it, he did not actively seek the throne.   He is displayed positively next to Macbeth, who did everything to become King and no longer answer to any authority.

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

Revised Open 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 often one can judge literature 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, both of which are in the first scene.  Shakespeare uses witches 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 line introduces a major struggle in Macbeth, good and evil.  As the play progresses the line is a commentary on Macbeth as a character.  Is he truly evil or is he merely misguided?  Does surrendering to temptation make him evil?  These are all questions implied in one line, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (Shakespeare). 

Starting in the first scene, the witches predict Macbeth’s future, questioning whether it’s his choice to be king, or if he is fated to be king.  The audience may 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.  Shakespeare doesn’t beat around the bush; he introduces the witches and the theme of fate versus freewill.

Beginning Macbeth with the witches has purpose: Shakespeare uses the witches to introduce fate versus freewill and good versus evil.

Revised Open Prompt #1

Choose a character from a novel or play of recognized literary merit and write an essay in which you (a) briefly describe the standards of the fictional society in which the character exists and (b) show how the character is affected by and responds to those standards. In your essay do not merely summarize the plot.

           Many people believe that environment determines how its people interact, but people also determine the environment.  In Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff, a gypsy child, is brought into a wealthy English family, but abused by his jealous foster siblings.  Heathcliff’s environment shapes him into as a cynical monster.

          Heathcliff was thrust into the racist upper-class Victorian society.  As a gypsy, he was scorned by the all, and especially by his foster brother, Hindley.  Hindley persecuted Heathcliff, forcing him to do hard labor, separating him from the family, and verbally degrading him.  Wuthering Heights becomes depressing when Hindley succumbs to alcoholism.  During this time, the evil in Heathcliff emerges; he is no longer the victim.  

          After Hindley takes away Heathcliff's only friend, Catherine, Heathcliff turns inward, and by Hindley's death Heathcliff is crueler than Hindley.  Diction emphasizes Heathcliff's new character, describing him as a monster at many times in the book.  Heathcliff is constantly shown in shadows, creating a dark atmosphere.   Heathcliff's character has turned dark, and mysterious.

         Bronte proves her point through Heathcliff, a dynamic character.  Hindley’s racism turns Heathcliff, the happy child, into a monster.

Open Prompt #6

            1994. In some works of literature, a character who appears briefly, or does not appear at all, is a significant presence. Choose a novel or play of literary merit and write an essay in which you show how such a character functions in the work. You may wish to discuss how the character affects action, theme, or the development of other characters. Avoid plot summary.

            People affect other people: that is a fact of life.  The play, An Inspector Calls, by J.B. Priestley examines how the little things a person does can affect others through his character, Eva Smith.  Although Eva Smith never appears in the play, the way the other characters react to her life defines them, as well as pushes Priestley’s belief that the British values often failed those at the bottom of the food chain.

            When Inspector Goole shows each member of the Birling family how they contributed to Eva Smith’s suicide, their reaction defines them.  The denial and anger that Mr. and Mrs. Birling exhibit how broken the old beliefs they hold are.  These reactions are clear indicators of how Priestley views the fading British social order.  Because Eva Smith was a working girl, Mr. and Mrs. Birling have no sympathy for her plight. Even after they discover she was pregnant with their grandchild, they are more upset that their son gave her money than themselves for the role they played in her death. The horror and guilt that plague Sheila and Eric Birling show the audience that there is still hope for them, the next generation.  How they reacted to Eva Smith’s death put them into categories, those who upheld the strict British social order, and those who dared to care for the less fortunate.

Eva Smith may not be real in the context of the play.  She is given multiple names and she never comes onto the stage.  The doubt of her existence only broadens Priestley’s message: Inspector Goole says, “…there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths” (Priestley).   Eva Smith’s faceless character puts the Birling’s responsibility for her death on everyone who has ever hurt anyone.

Anyone could have been Eva Smith.  Society failed to help her.  Those who could help chose not to, and because of that she died.  The Birling family is defined by how they treated Eva Smith, a character who never appears on stage, yet Eva Smith’s anonymity aids Priestley’s in critiquing the all British values, and not just one family’s values.

Prompt #5

2006. Many writers use a country setting to establish values within a work of literature. For example, the country may be a place of virtue and peace or one of primitivism and ignorance. Choose a novel or play in which such a setting plays a significant role. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the country setting functions in the work as a whole.

                Nature is said to be one thing that the human race will never conquer, and because of that nature can be one of the most frightening things to a human being.  Shakespeare plays on the fear of the forest in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  The forest setting of A Midsummer Night’s Dream adds to the fear featured in the play and solidifies the lack of control the human characters have over their actions.

                Fear in A Midsummer Night’s Dream is closely related to woodland setting.  The characters are safe until they enter the forest.  This forces the audience to associate the woods with danger, and makes the forest seem suspicious.  The unseen danger of the forest is supplemented by the choice of play that the actors put on:  Pyramus and Thisby meet their deaths in a forest.  They parallel Hermia and Lysander who also have forbidden love and run to the forest to escape society.  Thus all of the events in the forest are overshadowed by the idea of fear.

Once the four lovers enter the forest it becomes very clear that they have little control over their own actions.  The play opens with very clear boundaries in all of the lovers’ relationships, and all of those boundaries fall apart while in the woods.  This shows that their preferences do not matter. Also, the fact that Oberon and Titania are completely aware of the lovers’ presence while the lovers are oblivious to the fairies’ highlights the superiority of the fairies.  Because the fairies are able to take away the humans’ freewill, their superiority symbolizes the superiority of magic and fate.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is set in the forest for a reason: nature has often left humans’ powerless.  The forest setting emphasizes that the characters have no power over their actions while in the dangerous woods.

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.

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.

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.

Prompts

Choose a character from a novel or play of recognized literary merit and write an essay in which you (a) briefly describe the standards of the fictional society in which the character exists and (b) show how the character is affected by and responds to those standards. In your essay do not merely summarize the plot.

           Many people believe that environment helps determine how its inhabitants interact.  Part of any given environment is the kind of people that live there.  In Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff, a gypsy child, is brought into a wealthy English family, but then he is treated horribly by his jealous foster siblings.  Emily Bronte presents that character is determined by surroundings through Heathcliff, as he goes from an innocent boy to a cynical monster.

          Heathcliff was thrown into the racist upper-class Victorian society.  As a gypsy, he was looked down upon, and treated badly.  His foster brother, Hindley, was crueler to him than anyone.  Hindley persecuted Heathcliff, forcing him to do hard labor, seperating him from the family, and degrading him with language.  Hindley is portrayed as quite evil, and his when he becomes an alcoholic, he allows the house to fall into the dark.  During this time, Heathcliff also begins to show "evil" tendencies, very different from his childhood, where he was portrayed as the victim.  

          After Hindley takes away Heathcliff's only friend, Catherine, Heathcliff turns inward, and upon Hindley's death Heathcliff becomes crueler than Hindley ever was.  Bronte uses diction to show Heathcliff's new character, describing him as a "monster" at many times in the book.  She also constantly shows him in shadows, creating a dark atmosphere.  These tactics show that Heathcliff's character has turned dark, and mysterious.

         Bronte proves her point by presenting Heathcliff differently from the beginning of the book to the end.  By showing him as a moderately happy, although shy, child, and then as a near monster, we see that because of the fierce racism Hindley shows Heathcliff, a monster is born.