In Class AP Essay #2

In Class AP Essay

The United States and the continent of Africa are nothing short of two completely different worlds.  Yet the magnitude at which these two societies differ increases as one forces their own beliefs and morals on another.  In the novel The Poisonwood Bible, a traditional "white-bread" American family moves to a small African village and begins a quest to not only force the villagers to seek God but begin on a journey to find themselves.

In one of the most violent and surreal moments of the novel, Adah one of the main characters, experiences a sense of abandonment like never before.  Adah is a character who is seen as an outcast from the beginning of the novel.  Due to her mental illness she is physically and emotionally slower than the rest of her sisters.  During a night like any other, a wave of giant ants suddenly sweeps through the village eating everything in their path.  As Nathan and Orleanna try to gather their daughters and run for the river, Adah is the only sister left behind until a villager finally rescues her.  Adah in her previous life in the United States was always cared for and looked after by her parents, never being let out of their sight.  Since moving to their new home in a foreign land, Adah has been somewhat forgotten due to the new responsibilities of the entire family.  The realization that she is truly alone develops after the wave of ants.  Because of the new environment Adah has been thrown into she becomes more independent than ever.

Nathan Price, the father of Adah knew he was on a religious pilgrimage of good intentions.  Yet because of his strict moral values, he not only pushed the villagers away but his family as well, Adah in particular.  Adah did make a special contact with religion while she lived in the states yet she felt no hatred towards it also.  However as her life in the Congo continued as well as the seemingly endless raid of her father's beliefs, she began to make a strong opposition towards any kind of religion.  This was due in part because of her father's new found insanity as well as the loneliness she encountered in such an unknown environment.  It is through her perspective on religion that the overriding theme can be found: one must find their own beliefs rather than have them forced by another.

A new culture or environment can cause extreme changes in characters which is why Adah is no different.  The moment she stepped foot in the unfamiliar world of Africa she knew something was different and that something would change.  Ultimately through the raid of giant ants and her fathers uncontrollable persistence of religion, Adah became something she never even expected.  


 

Poetry Essay #2

May Swenson utilizes powerful and unique imagery while also expressing two different point of views throughout her entire poem known as "The Centaur".

During the beginning of the poem the reader finds that the author is looking back at her childhood.  She is specifically reminiscing on when she used to ride her favorite horse.  The author then makes the transition from adulthood to childhood.  By making such a swift change in point of views the reader must take into consideration that the author most likely did this on purpose to relay the idea of just how important her childhood was to her.  By the end of the poem the author is reminded by the powerful presence of her mother.  The emotion of the author as a little girl is completely changed when she come in contact with her mother.  Her words and actions become more restricted, "Go tie your hair, said my mother, and Why is your mouth all green?"  From this quote the reader understands that the author had to completely change her point of view in the poem to correlate towards the treatment she received from her mother.

Swenson's use of imagery only adds another dimension to her vivid poem.  "My head and my neck were mine, yet they were shaped like a horse."  This quote represents Swenson's most unique imagery in that she expresses to the reader that she herself has become the horse or that the horse and her have become one.  The reader is left with the only one idea and that is the belief in just how connected the author is with her horse.  "I had cut me a long limber horse with a good thick knob for a head, and pealed him slick and clean."  Here the author is describing her creation of a wooden horse with the use of her brother's knife.  Yet the reader gets a sense that the author is also describing the outer appearance of her own horse through the creation of her wooden one.  Through her animated imagery Swenson truly captures the reader in a world where anything and everything can happen.

"The Centaur" accurately represents the passion that Swenson had for her horse through colorful imagery and a dynamic point of view.  Without these core literary techniques the poem would not have been able to richly define the thoughts and beliefs of May Swenson.

Poetry Essay #1

Within both poems the ancient beauty Helen is described in two very distinct ways.  In Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, “To Helen”, Poe reveres Helen for her beauty and grace.  Poe however is alone in his love for Helen.  The author H.D. on the other hand finds a way to criticize Helen’s beauty in her poem “Helen”.  She immediately disregards her beauty and sees it as her downfall and as a source of her own hatred as well as Greece’s hatred.

Poe’s poem can be seen as a shallow apostrophe towards a woman whose beauty is regarded by Poe and Poe alone.  Rather than explaining to the reader that her beauty is renowned by great societies, Poe only mentions the singular love he has for Helen.  By discounting all other perspectives, the reader is left with only the petty beliefs of one man.  H.D.’s attitude toward Helen is quite different from that of Poe’s.  She mentions that Greece in its entirety, “All Greece hates/ All Greece reviles”, is engulfed with detestation towards Helen.  By referring to a whole society that loathes even at the name of Helen, H.D. gives the reader a deeper sense of her own hatred towards the woman.  H.D.’s abhorrence towards Helen is actually quite dynamic when compared to the static love of Poe.  She mentions Helen as a woman at the beginning of the poem yet as the work progresses so does the hate which ultimately leaves H.D. referring to Helen as a statue by the end of the poem.

Concerning the structure of both poems, each consist of three stanzas yet when deeper examination is made it is simple to see that each structure reflects the author’s attitude toward Helen in a different way.  Poe follows a strict pattern, the first stanza consists of the rhyming scheme ABABB, the second ABABA, and the third being ABBAB.  Each stanza also consists of five lines.  The poem’s structure as a whole once again imitates Poe’s unchanging love for Helen.  H.D. creates a very different structure in order to reproduce her own sense of Helen.  There is no immediate pattern that emerges and the length of the stanzas increase as the poem goes on.  This therefore indicates once again that H.D. wants to reader to feel not only troubled when reading about Helen but when reading the poem itself.

Although both poems share various formal structuring and a common title, the beliefs of both authors could not be any different.  The distinction in tone begs the question of how attraction of the opposite sex can truly blind the morals of those who have become seemingly sightless.  The sharp division in the structure of the two poems also conveys the distinct feelings of the authors.  It is with great confidence therefore that a reader can admit just how different these poems truly are.

GROUPTHINK

My group and I mainly focused on discussing our senior project.  We felt like this was the most important subject to review because we are intertwining the junior orientation with our project and knew that this had to be finished soon.  We were able to split up the work in a fair manner without anyone having too demanding of a workload.  Once we have completed the junior orientation I believe my group will then be able to move on to other necessary events coming up such as the AP exam.

GRIDLOCK #2

Vendler Grid

Meaning	Hughes I believe wanted his readers to understand that without dreams we as humans cease to exist.
Antecedent Scenario	I have a feeling that due to Hughes race he wanted people to understand that we are all human as long as we dream.
Structural Parts	The poem starts off with the sentence, "Hold fast to dreams."  Halfway through the poem, Hughes refers back to this message revealing just how much he wants to stress this idea.
Climax	There is no singular climax.  I feel as if the entire poem itself is a climax.
Other Parts	The greatest change in the poem develops from the authors use of imagery.  In the first part of the poem Hughes refers to life with no dream as a, "Broken-winged bird."  When the transition to the second part of the poem is made Hughes refers to life not filled with dreams as a, "Barren field frozen with snow."

Skeleton	The skeleton throughout the entire poem is actually very static.  There is no change in how the author or the reader reacts to the poem itself.
Content Genre- games	This poem is without a doubt a dream poem.  The author does not stray from his belief of just how truly important dreams are for a full and lasting life.
Tone	Hughes wanted his audience to feel as if there was something to strive for, something to live for.  He pronounced this message through his poem
Agency	I believe the agent is the reader and throughout the poem the agent does not change.
Roads Not Taken	Another author who had to experience great adversity probably could have written about a similar theme, however because Langston Hughes wrote this piece he was able to add his own personal touch.  Similar poems have probably been created yet Hughes adds a dimension specific to his own life and his own experiences.
Speech Acts	Langston Hughes throughout the poem is giving strictly advice to those that read the poem.
Outer and Inner Structural Forms	There are only two sentences in the entire poem and they both share a very common structure.  The poem is written in third person.  The agent is the reader.  The poem is written in the present tense.  There are two main images including that of an injured bird and a field that is completely frozen due to snow.
Imagination	Honestly I find that Hughes most memorable use of his imagination is through his imagery that he creates.  It has certainly left an imprint on my own mind and my own imagination.

GRIDLOCK #1

Dreams  by Langston Hughes
Hughes main points reflect his beliefs of holding on to dreams in any situation.
In the first sentence Hughes says to, "Hold fast to dreams."  By "fast" I believe the connotation Hughes intends to stress is the strength at which one should hold on to their dreams.
Hughes is passionate about dreams and his passion carries over to the reader.  With vivid imagery he is able to truly capture the reader.Honestly there is no shift in the poem.  It simply relays the same message throughout the entire work.Simply dream is what I believe Hughes wanted the reader to understand.

TPCASTT:  Poem Analysis Method:   title, paraphrase, connotation, diction,  attitude, tone, shift(s), title revisited and  theme
Title of poem means
Paraphrase parts of the Poem
Connotation of some of the words – changing literal meaning to implied or associated values
Attitude What is the attitude of the author, characters or yourself?
Shift At first we think or feel one way – then there is a shift:  identify the shifts and explain them
Title revisited Any new insights on meaning or significance of title?
Theme

SEVENTH READING

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

-Langston Hughes

Macbeth Act 2

• Macbeth has a dream/vision of  dagger that points him toward room where Duncan is. The dagger turns bloody
• Macbeth says that he has killed Duncan
• Feels somewhat guilty, Lady Macbeth does not
• Lady Macbeth tries to cover up the murder
• Lennox said that some scary things occurred during the night
• Since Lady Macbeth got the guards drunk Lennox believes they have committed the murder
• Macbeth says he killed the guards for the sake of the king

Open Essay Questions for Life of Pi

1. Write an essay about a novel (Life of Pi) that reveals a sense of self identity through a momentous plot of hardships and obstacles.  Identify the self awareness, and explain its significance to the work as a whole. 
2. Frequently a work of literature will revolve around a major transformation in a character.  This transformation can often be taken as literal or figurative.  Choose a novel (Life of Pi) and write a well-organized essay in which you discuss the complexion of the transformation and its relationship to the character and the theme.
3. In many works of literature, past events can affect, positively or negatively, the attitude of a character.  Choose a novel or play in which a character must battle with some aspect of the past.  Then write an essay in which you show how the character's relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work (Life of Pi) as a whole.