Blog Post #22: Link to Final Project Blog

http://woodruffaustindecameron.blogspot.com/

Blog Post #21: Pygmalion

Blog Post #20: Ophelia Instagram Selfie

Although Ophelia's flaws are not quite as obvious as those of Claudius, Gertrude, Hamlet, and other, larger characters in Hamlet, but that doesn't change the significance of her inevitable weakness. As a young woman, Ophelia has little power over her own choices and succumbs very easily to the advice of her brother, Laertes, but more importantly, to the advice - or command, rather - of her father, Polonius. In the play, Polonius explains to Ophelia while discussing Hamlet, "and with a larger tedder may he walk than may be given you," (1.3.125-126) He is quite literally telling Ophelia that she does not have as much freedom in folly or otherwise as Hamlet does - this is reminiscent of Polonius' "locking up" Ophelia and binding her to his word as her father . This notion of Ophelia's dependence upon her father  is seen in many areas, but most notably regarding her interactions with Hamlet;after Polonius commands Ophelia to keep a romantic distance between herself and Hamlet, she reports to him, "No, my good lord. But as you did command I did repel his fetters and denied His access to me." (2.1.108-110) Ophelia respects her fathers word, but her flaw in this weakness is that she has grown so accustomed to his dictating her life that she does not understand how to manage her own life without him. In essence, everything she does is a call to his attention both before and after his death - the nature of this "attention," however, changes. The "Ophelia Instagram Post" above reflects these notions; both the image and her response to Laertes' reassuring comment are very "needy" - they call for attention and for support. Of course, Polonius had to make an appearance on the Gram, where he establishes his control over her and commands her to leave behind her worries and self-doubt. 

Blog Post # 19: Hamlet Act Four Assignment

Analysis of Literary Criticism: "Shakespeare and Bedlam":



Hamlet Responding to Criticism:

Without second thought I've aimed thus far to "move [my] mad [self] to centre-stage," as Grace Tiffany suggests, but it is not as if I have foregone my sanity in the hopes of putting on "an antic disposition," (1.5.192). I may seek my incestuous mother's and uncle's attention but that doesn't change my desire "that this too too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew." (1.2.133-136). Am I not what I am? No doubt am I an actor - a man of my own mode - but this can never change that way in which I have so deeply been hurt by the very incidences which have my father reduced to a pitiful ghost. For am I not the very reflection of my own actions? In this place of madness, in this Bedlam, there are man "people for whom the distinction between role and player no longer exist," (Tiffany). While I know in myself it to be true that I cannot lie to my own reflection, perhaps it is out of my control, perhaps I have no power over the "strange or odd some'er I bear myself," and the spilling of my own sanity into a pool of my own verse and mockery (1.5.190). I know myself not to be mad, or perhaps this knowing is merely a product of my own madness, my pretend-madness. If in pretending I have brought myself past of point of salvation and up unto the intersection of reality and feigned misconstuations of the real world, then am I worth of the halls of Bedlam? My own mother has said to me "Upon the heat and flame of thy distemper
Sprinkle cool patience," but I know in myself that my father's ghost is no product of my antic disposition, rather, it is a reflection of the incestuous horrors that have been committed among my own kind (3.4.18). Although, if these notions of fact I hold myself to be true are mere product of my rationalization, perhaps I do, in fact, deserve to be in a place "designed with the intent to cure mad folk." (Tiffany). Such a location seems to me so dim and dismal, but what in  my own house is different than Bedlam - friend and foe come here to help and to mock me, to seek me out and to push me away, perhaps for entertainment, perhaps for study, perhaps for their own dispositions, perhaps for their own dispositions, perhaps for their own dispositions. 

As little as I may know about my own mind, my own sanity, I can take comfort in knowing that the "Dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds," that surround me are not a product of my own madness (4.5.2). Perhaps, though, my own dangerous conjectures pose more of a threat to me than these externalities combined. 

Blog Post #18: Hamlet Act Three Assignment: "To be or not to be,"

Directed by Kenneth Branagh:

After thoroughly analyzing Hamlet's Soliloquy in Act Three, Scene One, it is clear that, of the Branagh, Hawke, and Olivier renditions, the Kenneth Branagh direction of Hamlet best connects mis en scene to the words of Shakespeare. While one could argue that the Olivier direction offered a clearer visualization of the shifts in Hamlets soliloquy and that the Hawke direction offered a clever background that delivered messages alongside the speech, it is, without a doubt, that the Branagh direction most clearly toy with the imperative, eternal, philosophical question "to be or not to be," (3.1.55). Simple, yet loud in its reservedness, the camera focuses over Hamlet's shoulder as he speaks to himself in a mirror - immediately, the mis en scene adds information to the scene: it is clear that Hamlet is, quite literally now, too, reflecting upon himself and his own character. In the first two thirds of the soliloquy, Hamlet's head and shoulder remain in the camera shot as he speaks to the man in the mirror - presumably himself - and that is important because it identifies the presence of "more than one Hamlet." While Hamlet continues to scheme against Gertrude and Claudius, there is an evident divide between the man, Hamlet, and the character, Hamlet. In question whether "whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer or to take arms against a sea of troubles," Hamlet takes action to undermine those who have betrayed him, but his character continues to follow a path of mental decay. The only problem? In some regards, Hamlet has lost his footing, in a sense, and has trouble now distinguishing who he is and what he wants - the freedom from the plight of life in death, or the freedom for the unknown of death in life. Branagh amazingly incorporated this nuanced notion into his direction of the scene; as Hamlet begins to reveal to himself that he is losing his ability to act, Branagh removes the silhouette from the camera shot and obscures what the viewer is seeing. Is it Hamlet face-on? Is it Hamlet in a mirror? Is it Hamlet through a mirror? This ambiguity in the direction adds to the complex nature of the major theme in the soliloquy - while hamlet asks if it is to be or not to be, there is no answer and the only answer that could truly be given is both and neither. Finally, in this moment truly being an interaction between Hamlet and himself, Branagh creates a brilliant suggestion in his mis en scene choices; who are we more comfortable with than ourselves, but the director does not progress into extreme close-up. rather leave the camera at a slightly more distanced position. This establishes a distance between Hamlet and himself, as if he does not, at this point, even completely know himself.

Following Branagh's direction, Laurence Olivier would be next in line. As mentioned above, the slow panning in matched by sudden jolts back clearly identify shifts in the soliloquy, but the placement of Hamlet on a cliff-side establishes a false sense of resolution from within Hamlet. Although it does establish notions of his isolation ,Olivier does not imply Hamlet's isolation from himself which is central to his argument and his circular train of thought. Ethan Hawke's direction would likely come next in the line-up; while the mis en scene may be a little bit obvious for some viewers, Hawke makes some important decisions regarding what lay in the background. As Hamlet walks through a Blockbuster Video Store, he stays in the "actions" sections while action movies play in the background. In his own antic disposition, Hamlet builds up and searches for drama to implore social change, and what more than an "action" movie to display there elements of acting and drama that are so pivotal to Hamlet's character. While all three renditions were outstanding, this order reflects the significance each has in adding depth and complexity to the written word of Shakespeare. 

Blog Post #17: Hamlet Act 2 Assignment

Hamlet on Mr. and Mrs. Smith

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C1miwFdQOQ

The movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith - deals with the central issue of trust, but this notion is redefined for the context of a married couple made up of two world class assassins.How can we fully trust someone? If we’re living life as a play, we would like our record read nothing so that we can live in impromptu appropriateness and truly in the moment - honesty aside.    

Hamlet [reflecting upon the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith]: What is it that has, for so long, kept me from finding one whom I can trust - trust more than anyone else in the world - trust more than myself in times of disposition? Clearly these two lovers have yet to find a similar comfort and, after so long, have yet to understand what it is that drives them so far apart. The Smith’s have, for their entire marriage, known nothing of each other - rather, in knowing seemingly everything they are bound to know nothing in that, by nature, their marriage has been all but a show. Temptations results from the “taints of liberty,” but loneliness can’t be solved with relations so deep - like John Smith said, “I guess that's what happens in the end, you start thinking about the beginning.” (2.1.36). My own mother and uncle have betrayed me so it seem blood has little value when it comes to trust, but I fear that my incestuous mother, like the Smiths, does not know who she is going to bed next to every night.

While Mr. and Mrs. Smith each let the other “ply his music,” this unknowingly admits that the two are in full understanding that there is information that they don’t know (2.1.81). What hypocrisy exists between a man’s expectations and his actions - I, a man of the stage and a man of mapped behavior and words, cannot allow myself to bestow the greatest of admiration in someone if I am not pure of heart enough to expect the same honesty that I provide. Although there is such a distance between the Smiths, the multi-faced nature of John Smith’s life is perfectly suited that “there is none living to whom he more adheres,” than Jane, his wife (2.2.20-21). So in this, should I expect to marry someone my equal - someone as blind to the horrors surrounding them yet so driven to meet a certain agenda? I can hardly imagine marrying my own mother, so this hardly will do. Like this wretched state to which I am bound, “there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so,” and perhaps a happy marriage is simple, is immediate, is fleeting; if I think it good, so be it, but If i think it tarnished, there must be a polish at hand (2.2.268-270). The Smiths find a marriage counselor - and a few hundred bullets - to serve as this polish, but here in the rotten state of Denmark, that which is not glimmering is even further tarnished, and I cannot see myself with a woman, be it Ophelia, and being satisfied with keeping myself from her. I may think, as my father very well had, that the act is up once I’m married, but as was said in Doug Liman’s film, “Happy endings are just stories that haven't finished yet;” hopefully this means for me that my inevitable struggles to overcome character removal are at least indicative of formerly happy times - but lo! Where are these? The daughter of “old Jephthah,” is a mocking wreck of my own lineage, but contrary to what I’ve told Polonius, I want to carry this out as best I can without “blowing my cover.” (2.2.444)

Blog Post #16: Hamlet Act One Social Media Assignment

Hamlet discussing his communication with his Father:

What horror, what alarm; the very pith and marrow of a goblin is my own father. He brings with him “airs from heaven or blasts from hell,” and I, bound to listen, hear this ghost's tale of horror, his tale of murder (1.4.45-46). At the hands of Claudius my father, King Hamlet, had fallen and now I am drawn, I am bound to avenge his “foul and most unnatural murder… [a] murder most foul.” (1.5.31-33). “The serpent that did sting [my] father’s life now wears his crown,” and I, in my distracted, worried mind, must hold onto these images, these memories, and these words of my fallen father to avenge the incestuous horrors and crimes that now plague my kin (1.5.46-47).

Oh mother! Why must the the lust for power so plague you to live in shadow and judgement of the Lord. For Claudius has made his pact clear and stands his ground - an offender to nature and to our kind. For if this is an “honest ghost,” which I know to be true, all that now surrounds us is lost to the arrant matin of the Danes (1.5.154). “Upon my sword,” I as truepenny, the unnatural, foul sins and curses against my father shall be chastened and Claudius will see a light apt to his own crimes (1.5.165).

Tweets:

“... air from heaven or blasts from hell.” (1.4.45-46)

The winds of a ghost come not from east or west, rather from sky or earth.

“... foul and unnatural murder… [A] murder most foul.” (1.5.31-33)

Murder she wrote - a murder most foul. Jessica Fletcher clearly hasn't been to Denmark.

“The serpent that did sting [my] father’s life now wears his crown,” (1.5.46-47)

From the Garden of Eden to the courts of Elsinore - temptation has followed man since the first of our tainted kind.

“Honest ghost,” (1.5.154)

Honest hearts produce honest actions; honest ghosts produce honest horror.

“Upon my sword.” (1.5.165)

As a smile is the sword of beauty, my word is the sword of sound and determined character.

Blog Post #15: Fishbowl Discussions: Comments and Feedback

Friday: Group #2 (Responding to Grace Huang [http://huanggraceapenglish2015.blogspot.com]): The extent to which people can create or recreate themselves—is identity the result of free choice or is it something determined by factors out of our control (such as race, gender, or ethnicity)?

Hi Grace! I have to say, your contributions to the fishbowl discussion - and, naturally, your dumplings -  were extremely impressive. I didn't get a chance to ask you about them, but I believe that I noticed the distinct mark of ginger in the dumplings, which, as someone extremely uneducated on Chinese cuisine, was something that I had not experienced before. To put it briefly, the "jaiozi" were amazing; but, sitting there during the fishbowl discussion and trying your dish alongside everyone else in the class really reinforced notions you brought up regarding the connections we make in preparing and eating food. Cooking and eating really are, as you put it, "place[s] where friends join together in a common pursuit..." Whether that is pursuit is eating, preparing food, relaxing, preparing to exercise, or snacking during a discussion on Their Eyes Were Watching God, there is an innate sense of togetherness that results from embracing food and embracing those with whom you embrace food. If I were to give one piece of constructive criticism - trust me, it is hard to find - I would say that when you find the discussion reaching an "awkward silence," don't be afraid to stir the pot and throw in a new point of discussion; it very well could be far off from what you were previously discussing and it may not necessarily be strictly "on point," but that is sort of the beauty of these fishbowl discussions - they are what you make of them. Again, amazing memoir, amazing discussion, amazing food.

Monday: Group #3 (Responding to Blake Nissen [http://nissenblakeapenglish2015.blogspot.com]): How power or voice (or lack of power or lack of voice) leads to the representation (or misrepresentation) of certain groups—within communities, societies, the world, etc. Various ways people use and/or abuse power—some for basic survival and others for lives of excess.

Blake, I don't understand how - possibly the craze of eating so much at once - but I didn't get a chance to try your Parmesan Risotto; after hearing about its rustic and warm appeal in your food memoir, this is something that I regret. You so perfectly hit the nail in the head with your title, "Food Doesn't Discriminate," and I completely understand the notions of being out of place or lost in your elements that you discussed. Your presence in the Fishbowl Discussion was also executed very well - in many instances you seemed to lead the discussion and take conversation down a new avenue if things started to turn a little dry. what I liked most about what you said in the discussion on the comparative "power" behind beauty and voice - specifically in Their Eyes Were Watching God. You argued that the importance of beauty over voice depends on which part of the book you are discussing; this was a very keen observation and I completely agree with you, there is a marked complexity in following Janie's growth and seeing the reliance upon beauty in her representation of a woman or of an African American lose prominence to her voice as she finds it throughout the novel. If I were to offer once piece of advice, I would suggest using more concrete examples and evidence in your discussion; you did not have weak ethos, but in these discussion situations, it is important to validate what you say and provide support for your interpretations. Very well done. 

Tuesday: Group #4 (Responding to Riddhi Chopra [http://choprariddhiapenglish2015.blogspot.com]): Divisions, conflicts, and multiple forces within the self.

Riddhi, I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation and the Kheer you brought in for us to try. on your poster - very well designed, by the way - I especially liked your tweet, including the #badgirl; reading that, I can't help but imagine the MIA song "Bad Girls Do It Well" playing in the background as a young girl sneaks into the kitchen for the tempting opportunity to "sweeten [her] mouth." Your presence in the fishbowl discussion was equally impressive - I actually began the discussion taking notes on another speaker, but you were making so many thorough points that I started tracking you more than I was him. You first caught my attention when you discussed the value of the transitions in Janie's life; I had never necessarily thought about the points in her life in that context before, and doing so really allowed me to see many unique elements of her growth that I had not noticed. As readers, we often overvalue the obvious - in this case, Janie's three distinct relationships. You very clearly highlighted the importance of looking at the transitions between these relationships - times when Janie was alone - and used that new contextual lens to analyse Janie in a whole new light. From the Kheer to the Fishbowl, you performed amazingly well in these projects. 

Thursday: Group #5 (Responding to Alex Chung [http://chungalexanderenglishliterature2015.blogspot.com]): The role of performance in everyday life, particularly in the sense of taking on certain roles or disguising true personalities in order to assimilate to mainstream society.

I have to say, your food memoir was one of my favorites in the class. I know that I mention this when I edited your memoir, but your voice is so clear and so unique through the writing that it is almost like a small glimpse into the mind of Alex Chung - a nerd, loud and proud. I also have to say that, although not for the same reasons, I am most definitely a nerd too, and I think to a certain degree we are all nerds in some way or another. I did try the triple-Brewer coffee that you brought in, and even though I'm not a "coffee person," I most definitely understand why it can be addicting for some people. But, as you said, food, including coffee, can bring people together - whether it is scientists in a lab or a family or a class of AP Literature nerds, there is an innate sense of "communion," as Foster puts it, in eating and sharing food. Not only was your memoir excellent, your participation in the Fishbowl Discussion was top-notch as well. I tracked you in the discussion, so you already have my comments, but to be brief, I was very impressed by your bringing up the Great Gatsby and the notion of the "unreliable narrator." That really was taking source synthesization to a whole new level. Very well done in both the memoir and the Fishbowl discussion. 

Blog Post #14: Fish Bowl Presentations: Food Memoir and Discussion Menu

Fish Bowl "The Fish Hopper" Discussion Menu: Food Memoir Material:

Blog Post #13: Semester One Reflection

Cumulative AP English Literature Semester One Reflection:

In this first semester of AP English Literature, we practiced, revised, and reviewed specific elements that will be on the AP Exam. These included the Prose Passage Essay, the Poetry Passage Essay, and the Open Essay. I set individual goals for each of these three essays after our first experiences with them, but all three lined up in that I set a goal for myself to consistently score at least sevens on the essays by this point in the year - the end of semester one. Hopefully, along this same path of improvement, I would be scoring sevens, eights, or nines consistently through the rest of the year, with my own "average" essays still falling in this upper-range area.

Although I have not yet reached my goal, I know that I have made significant improvements on my writing and my approach to the essays. More specifically, our work on the thesis statements this semester has allowed me to better understand how the thoughts, arguments, and notions put forth in an essay should be organized and related. A strong AP Literature essay does not hit on imagery, diction, and tone in a five-paragraph essay format - it can, but by no means does that make a strong essay. A strong essay is supported not only by a depth of analysis and understanding of the text and/or prompt, but also by the complexities that are addressed in the thesis and in the rest of the essay. Now, it seems easy enough to say "find the complexities in the text," but this is no easy task. Understanding in depth what it is that makes everything the writer does - figurative language, rhetorical devices, attitude towards the subject, etc - more than what it is; in other terms, finding this complexity means understanding what it is that these choices do to add to the unique, complex, and nuanced nature of the text and argument of the author. My essays, including my most recent "paired-poetry" essay from the Poetry test, have improved; each thesis I write grows a little more nuanced, a little more aware of the complexities in the text, and a little shorter - which, for me, is a good thing.

Looking back at what I've produced this semester, I would not say that I am disappointed in myself. I would not say that I have missed the mark (even though I didn't quite reach my goal), and I would not say that I have missed the opportunity to learn from my past essays. I would, though, say that I have grown as a writer. Although my most recent essay from the poetry test scored only a 5.5, I know that it is significantly better than the essays I was putting out at the beginning of the semester. Looking back at my blog, I almost have difficulty recognizing some of my writing; while this is true, I can still say that my mark as a writer hasn't been lost and my voice hasn't been distorted, just refined and improved. Ultimately, I would call this semester a success; there is, however, much more room for improvement, and I want to make use of the second semester to further refine my writing in these essays as much as possible. I am holding myself to the same goals I initially set, but I am adding one more: I want to go above and beyond the call of the classroom in improving my writing and preparing for this exam. I plan to find old AP prompts for the open, poetry, and prose essays and practice, on my own, writing in appropriate testing conditions. I would say that one of my greatest challenges in writing is time, and I have all the resources I need already available to me to prepare even further for the second semester and for the AP Exam.

Blog Post #12: "Five Flights Up" and "Five AM"

Paired Poetry Essay: “Five Flights Up” and “Five AM”

While Elizabeth Bishop and William Stafford both personify the harbingers of morning in their poems “Five Flights Up” and “Five AM,” the two poets discuss the morning from very different perspectives. Bishop’s use of antithesis, which ironically plays on her envious attitude towards morning, and personification contrasts Stafford’s pairing of personification with enjambment, which illustrates his beloved unfamiliarity with his surroundings. Stafford discusses the rejuvenating properties of morning, while Bishop’s frustrated attitude towards the morning marks the persistence of her troubles through the morning's dew.

Bishop creates a quietly distant interplay with the morning in “Five Flights Up.” In discussing the morning as an uninvolved, removed observer, a clear distance is created between her and what lay outside her window, perhaps from “five flights up.” Bishop’s distinct use of personification creates this “distance,” allowing everything that she sees outside to act in an understandable, human way. After recognizing the distant question of the bird and of the dog, Bishop personifies the coming day which possibly answers these questions, “simply/by day itself.” (ll. 8-9) In allowing the day , not herself, to take action in answering the questions of the morning, Bishop further removes herself from the events unfolding before her, from the events she has difficulty relating to; she is almost jealous of the simple beauty of morning, a simplicity she doesn't feel in her own life, self-sufficient and sure of itself. The bird that Bishop watches from afar, and “unknown” bird, “sits on his usual branch.” (L. 2) Bishop’s use of antithesis here reinforces her removal from the morning. Bishop recognizes that this spot is frequented by a bird, but it isn’t until this moment that she questions “who” the bird is; although she sees him time and time again in his “usual” spot, Bishop observes this bird from afar, and all it ever can be to her is a discernible stranger. Just as she knows the morning is answering the questions of the bird and dog, but fails to understand the answer, Bishop’s unfamiliar familiarity with this bird further removes her from her observations. Though the morning is so simple, so honest, so rejuvenating for the bird, Bishop can’t escape the troubles of yesterday from five flights up.

In “Five AM,” William Stafford takes a clearly different attitude towards the morning. His use of personification is limited to the opening and closing of his poem where he describes the rain touching his face and “the early morning breath[ing].” (L. 1) Between these distant, removed observations, though, Stafford contrasts Bishop by stepping back from his observations and generally discussing humanity. His observations of the morning are more concrete, more significant than Bishop’s distanced encapsulation in her observations; this allows Bishop to divert from his immediate surroundings and contemplate their relevance, their significant in the world beyond his scope, the world beyond Five AM. Staffords use of enjambment adds to this contemplative attitude towards morning; by stopping mid-line in the middle of his poem with lines like, “People in every country who never…” allows for breaks in his pacing (L. 9). This pacing, which like Bishop’s is slow, includes breaks, pauses, which suggest a turn in Stafford’s thought from the immediate to the worldly. Clearly, Stafford’s attitude towards the morning is more interested, involved, and contemplative.

While Bishop envies the simple, routine morning from her place of grief, Stafford contemplates the overarching significance of morning, Bishop looks at what morning is while Stafford considers what it means.  

Blog Post #11: Compare and Contrast Poetry Essay

William Blake's Poems "The Chimney Sweeper," convey an augmentation in the speaker's, a young chimney sweep, understanding of his parents' betrayal. Blake traces the boy's growth out of innocence and into a ",'heaven of [his] misery.'" in his use of lists and counter-point discussion of light and dark, black and white. This listing and reliance on binary oppositions, which demarcate a transition from immaturity to sobering maturation, illustrate Blake's increasingly bitter attitude towards the chimney sweep's situation.

Both Blake's 1794 and 1789 poems "The Chimney Sweeper," demonstrate a natural organization and trail of logic, following a path very similar to that of unfettered human thought. The tone behind this organization, seen clearly in Blake's lists, however, is drastically different between the two poems. The 1789 poem structures lists in an expected manner - point one, point two, and point three - which is very similar to the type of speech used when speaking to other people, people like "Dick,  Joe, Ned, and Jack," (11). The expected, calculated speech reinforces Blake's notion that the boy's are disillusioned in thinking that "if all do their duty, they need not fear harm." (24) The 1794, in contrast, is less measured and more emotionally driven. In describing the parents' false sense of reassurance, the boys cries, "[they] are gone to praise God & his Priest & King," (11) Blake's use of polysyndeton at this point in the poem illustrates the boy's bitter frustration about his parents' own disillusioned thoughts of innocence. The transition from the 1789 poem to the 1794 poem clearly marks a growth in the boys thinking, an evolution from innocence into understanding.

The binary opposition between the colors black and white is present in both of Blake's poems, but their connotations are vastly different. In the 1789 poem, the color white is clearly symbolic of hope, rebirth, and cleanliness; the words "naked and white," are the two most pertinent examples of this notion (17). The Angle is described as being a "bright," figure who come to tell they chimney sweeps of all there is that lies for them beyond the pains and labors that they face in the "dark" world they live in (13). This is a clear slight towards truth, however, the honest realization that the boy comes to is not quite as bright. (STOP)

Paired Poem Essay Reflection:

This prompt was our first exposure to a poetry compare and contrast essay, and it was not as intimidating as I thought it would be. Reading pages 41 through 57 before writing this essay was helpful in understanding how to organize my thoughts and approach the paired poetry essay, specifically regarding the writing of the thesis. When this type of essay was introduced, I was worried that it would be fat too easy to fall into the trap of working just with surface features and basic details without elaboration; especially when the amount of material we are working with doubles in quantity, it can be significantly more difficult to pull out and original, nuanced argument. While originality isn't necessarily immediately aligned with success on these essays - I'm sure they have been many original responses to this prompt that couldn't have scored higher than a two - it is always reassuring to feel like you are solving a puzzle when writing an essay; putting together the hidden, nuanced parts of an argument is really almost like a game, with time, your own knowledge, and your preparedness competing against you. Specifically, on my first draft of this essay, I did not win the battle against time. Unfortunately, this immediately drags down the value of my writing; although I felt confident in the thoughts I had and the way I was going to relate them, by not finishing, my trail of logic was hazy and my support was severely lacking. This mistake would likely result in my essay scoring a two. The first body paragraph still provides some support for my argument, but it is incomplete which significantly hurts the value of my writing. One significant goal that I need to set for myself is regarding time; I've noticed that, even though I now better understand what an effective, efficient thesis looks like, I spend too long on this part of the essay, trying to perfect it to set the right initial impression of my writing. In the future, I need to spend no more than five minutes writing this part of the essay so that I can move on and actually write an entire essay in the time provided. I know that once I address my time-management problems, it will be much easier to break into the 7-9 essay score range. Hopefully, my revision of this essay will allow me to tie together the thoughts and evidence that I was unable to work with because of time constraints.

Paired Poem Essay Revision:

William Blake's Poems "The Chimney Sweeper," convey an augmentation in the speaker's, a young chimney sweep, understanding of his parents' betrayal. Blake traces the boy's growth out of innocence and into a ",'heaven of [his] misery.'" in his use of lists and counter-point discussion of light and dark, black and white. This listing and reliance on binary oppositions, which demarcate a transition from immaturity to sobering maturation, illustrate Blake's increasingly bitter attitude towards the chimney sweep's situation.

Both Blake's 1794 and 1789 poems "The Chimney Sweeper," demonstrate a natural organization and trail of logic, following a path very similar to that of unfettered human thought. The tone behind this organization, seen clearly in Blake's lists, however, is drastically different between the two poems. The 1789 poem structures lists in an expected manner - point one, point two, and point three - which is very similar to the type of speech used when speaking to other people, people like "Dick,  Joe, Ned, and Jack," (11). The expected, calculated speech reinforces Blake's notion that the boy's are disillusioned in thinking that "if all do their duty, they need not fear harm." (24) The 1794, in contrast, is less measured and more emotionally driven. In describing the parents' false sense of reassurance, the boys cries, "[they] are gone to praise God & his Priest & King," (11) Blake's use of polysyndeton at this point in the poem illustrates the boy's bitter frustration about his parents' own disillusioned thoughts of innocence. The transition from the 1789 poem to the 1794 poem clearly marks a growth in the boys thinking, an evolution from innocence into understanding.

The binary opposition between the colors black and white is present in both of Blake's poems, but their connotations are vastly different. In the 1789 poem, the color white is clearly symbolic of hope, rebirth, and cleanliness; the words "naked and white," are the two most pertinent examples of this notion (17). The Angel is described as being a "bright," figure who comes to tell the chimney sweeps of all there is that lies for them beyond the pains and labors that they face in the "dark" world they live in (13). This is a clear slight towards truth, however, the honest realization that the boy comes to is not quite as bright. Blake's 1794 poem contrasts the white of the cold, winter snow with the the chimney sweep, a "little black thing," dressed in the garments of death (1). Although pure and fair in contrast to the suit-stained sweep, this bright snow does not yield the joyous, enlightening truth that the first poem seemed to promise; the blinding white of the snow is more reminiscent of "a heaven of [the sweeps'] misery." (12) The boy, here, is implicating God in his suffering, tainting the purity and promise that the color white carried in Blake's 1789 poem. When the sweep was young, too young to even speak his own trade, "'weep! 'weep," he saw the world through suit-stained rose colored glasses (3); the transition, then, into the 1794 poem clearly delineates his stark realization that he has lost his faith.

In the 1789 and 1794 poems "The Chimney Sweeper," a young sweep, disillusioned by the thought that work will equate to safety, "Arbeit macht Frei," serves as a mouthpiece through which author William Blake demonstrates his bitterly resentful attitude towards the decrepit situation for young chimney sweepers in the 18th century. Blake's contrasting somber and bitter tones between the two poems illustrate the boy's transition from vain hopefulness to resignative animosity.  

Blog Post #10: Mythology Presentation

Blog Post #9: A witch? Which witch? Fairy Tales and Poetry Presentation

Blog Post #8: Ode on a Grecian Urn (John Keats)

Poetry Project Reflection: Ode on a Grecian Urn, by John Keats In our first full project as a group (the Falling Leaves), we created a performance music video to better understand the inherent nuances in classic forms of poetry. In these videos, we made choices regarding the visual elements, music, and reading of the poem the we felt best reflected our interpretation of the shifts and purpose of the form. After beginning research on the ode form, we quickly found that this project was not as simple as putting a dramatic reading of the poem to some music. While the Ode itself dates back to ancient Greece, John Keats used a modified version heavily inspired by sonnet-form to maintain the appreciation of a single object or idea while adding his own stylistic touches to the actual writing of the piece. Similar to "Yellow," by Coldplay, our style inspiration for this project, Keats speaks directly to the object, the urn, about which he speaks. His use of apostrophe is a defining characteristic of this ode and when Keats finishes speaking to the urn in the last two lines, the inanimate object to which Keats was chatting metaphorically speaks, leaving the reader with two of the most widely debated lines between scholars of poetry. While it was difficult to fully understand the ambiguous nature of these lines and other parts of the poem, by pushing ourselves to develop our own understanding, meaning, and interpretation of the poem before looking for outside resources, Alex, Alex, Dan, and I forced ourselves to make bolder conclusions in our analysis and interpretation of the text. While this was frustrating at first for some of us, taking a step back allowed us to focus less on what the "correct" answer is and more on what "an" answer is. Upon later cross-examination, we found that the meanings we found in Keats' writing lined up well with those devised by experts in the field. What we relied on mostly for this conclusion were the tone shifts (specifically the Strophe, Anti-strope, and epode in an ode), the literary devices used, and historical context surrounding Keats' writing of the poem. We dissected and looked-over these elements very closely, but by working in a group, we were all able to add little bits of the poem's meaning to the incomplete puzzle that we are all able to make on our own. I was also surprised in my group's ability synthesis these smaller elements and stay organized in the process; Maybe it was the 12 google docs, but given the time restrictions we all had over the course of this project, I think we handled such an involved task well. Specifically, we didn't have time to film either in class or outside of school, but we were able to all record our respective parts in a certain space in our homes. This actually fit well with our stylistic choices, as we were going to have the listener, "the urn" follow around various speakers through the poem. I know that by the next project, I want to have everything finished about one day sooner to give use time to run through the presentation and make sure it is coherent, clear, and clever.

Blog Post #7: Group Identity

Blog Post #6: Creative Project

Blog Post #5: The Namesake Compare and Contrast Essay

The Namesake Compare and Contrast Essay

In the novel and the film adaptation of The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri, both Lahiri and Mira Nair connote cultural dissonance between the the parent-culture and the youth-culture of children of immigrants. Ashima and Ashoke Ganguli, two Indian immigrants, give birth to their son Gogol in the United States, who consequently feels the burden of having to uphold both the expectations of American culture and of Bengali culture. Especially in his rebellious teenage years, Gogol grows to resent the values his parents’ culture expects him to uphold, specifically regarding respect towards elders and towards tradition. Gogol struggle to find a balance in his dual-heritage, but, as Lahiri suggests, he doesn’t fully understand identity until he undergoes personal growth in his acceptance of the inevitable coexistence of his American and his Bengali Heritage. Both versions of the Gangulis’ story outline Gogol’s  retaliation against the Bengali part of his identity and recreate the persistent tension Gogol feels between attitudes towards elders in American life and in Bengali culture.

    It is clear that Bengali culture is deeply rooted in tradition. Far more-so than the American culture that Gogol grew accustomed to in school, Bengalis are expected to carry out and uphold the values of those who came before them; this expectation instills a sense of respect for elders in their cultural community, especially for family members. This respect is evident in many part of Bengali culture, but most relevantly, in family naming rights; after giving birth to Gogol, Ashima and Ashoke do not have a name picked out for him, that decision is saved for Ashima’s grandmother, their son’s great grandmother. By giving the power in naming their child to an elder in their family, the Gangulis would be immediately linking their child to the traditions of the Bengalis who are most experienced in life, honoring the respect they feel for these family members. When the letter from Calcutta does not arrive because of Ashima’s grandmother’s decaying health, it is clear that Ashoke is pained to pick a name for their child - to dishonor the values that they have held so closely their whole lives. Ashoke and Ashima clearly find it difficult to be so separated from the source of their culture, which influences them to hold onto the values that are within their control much tighter.

    This compensation is clear on Gogol’s fourteenth birthday in Lahiri’s novel. On this day of celebration, “close to forty guests come from three different states,” to gather at his parents modestly-sized Pemberton Road house; none of these guests, however, are his friends from school (72). In comparing this celebration, the Bengali one, to the “tame” affair with his friends the day before, Lahiri parallels the two events. While the ‘American’ birthday party is paired with “pizzas that [Ashoke] picked up on his way home from work,” she details the food Ashima prepared days in advance for the Bengali celebration using three lines describing Gogol’s ‘favorite’ traditional dishes (72). Lahiri’s listing of the Bengali food prepared for the party is marked with a disinterested tone. The use of a list to describe the foods that, once again, Ashima is preparing “as usual,” parallels the disdain Gogol feels for the Bengali celebration (72). As a fourteen year-old boy, Gogol isn’t interested in reminiscing about Calcutta and life before America, a life he hasn’t been exposed to, let alone anything his parents want of him. In keeping with the typical American-teenage attitude, Gogol is resistant to participate in what he feels is yet another excuse for his parents to bring Bengali culture back into their home and entertain “their crowd,” not his crowd (73). Lahiri’s use of synecdoche here marks the generalizations Gogol makes about Bengali culture; all he had ever known of Bengalis was his parents “crowd,” so he associates all of their actions with other Indian-immigrant parents in the United States. The uniformity of their parties, their beliefs, and their actions bored Gogol, further settling in his resentment of Bengali culture.

    The direction of the film further explores the children’s resistance to the importance of respect toward elders in Bengali culture. Nair films the scene in the Gangulis’ warmly-lit, small living room; positioning only one or two characters within the narrow frame at a time, she creates an intimate feeling, as if each audience is another guest at Ashoke’s and Ashima’s home. While in American culture parties are valued for their activities - watching baseball games, playing pool in the den - Nair’s direction of this Bengali gathering makes it clear that the people in the room are what matter, the true value lying in spending time with one another. In the scene, however,  Gogol’s, Sonia’s, and Moushumi’s body language interrupts the intimacy Nair creates in her bosom positioning of characters within the frame. Dressed in a dark-purple American dress, Sonia walks into the frame as the scene opens and looks up at Gogol as he walks in with a roll of her eyes. As Gogol walks in with a messily-fitted blue button down and long, shaggy hair, it is clear that neither of the Ganguli children have any interest in reciprocating that excitement their older ‘family members’ have in spending time with other Bengalis. After asking where he was going to study at university, Gogol’s Mashi suggests, “have as much fun as you want, but remember…” Without a moment of hesitation, as if he had heard this same piece of advice hundreds of times before Gogol, with a smile and a roll of his eyes, speaks over her, “marry a Bengali.” Gogol’s parents and his parents’ friends expect their children to marry other Bengali children and carry on the values and traditions of their culture; their children, however, have different plans. Kal Penn, the actor who portrayed Gogol, repeats this command alongside his Mashi in a mocking way. As an American teenager, marriage isn’t really a concern for Gogol, but it is very important in their culture that Bengali children be able to carry on the traditions that were established hundreds of years before them. Although he may not be immediately concerned with the notion of marriage, his patronization of his elders’ beliefs shows a deep disrespect that is not characteristic of a Bengali - something that would be more expected of a typical American teenager.

    The Namesake is an examination of the nuances of life between two distinct cultures and how identity can be found by accepting and understanding both cultures. This bildungsroman follows Gogol Ganguli as he works his way towards becoming a “master of both worlds,” a master of American and Bengali culture. The central opposition to this path of mastery, or self-acceptance, is the contrasting values between the two cultures, specifically the attitude towards elders. Although Lahiri relies on listing and synecdoche to reinforce the dissonance in this value and Nair utilizes the positioning of objects within the frame and body language, both creative works depict Gogol in a state before accepting and understanding both of his cultures, a state before he truly understood who he was.

Works Cited

Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesake. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. 72-73. Print.

The Namesake. Dir. Mira Nair. Prod. Mira Nair and Lydia Dean Pilcher. By Sooni Taraporevala.

Perf. Kal Penn, Tabu, and Irrfan Khan. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2007.

Blog Post #4: Open Essay and Reflection

The presence of cruelty doesn't always involve an aggressor and a victim; an inevitable part of the human experience, cruelty is a scar left on many characters in literature. In Ali Smith's How to be Both, Francesca, an Italian-Renaissance painter, finds her true sexual and emotional identity as a victim of personal conflict.

As a young girl, Francesca demonstrated a passion for the arts, specifically painting. Although her family had no money to support her passions, Francesca's mother supported her with all her heart. After her mother's death, Francesca grew to be comforted by femininity, a gentle reminder of her mother's presence. These two parts of Francesca's life, however, could not coexist. Italy in the 16th century was not an easy place for women to find work as a painter, in fact, it was unheard of. This meant that Francesca had to pick between the two most meaningful aspects of her identity. In tearing apart two such valuable parts of herself, it would have been impossible for Francesca to reinvent herself without compromising her integrity. This reformation from Francesca into Francesco, her 'male' ipseity, left seeds of regret and self-loathing that would fester in Francesco's mind for the next thirty years.

Francesco did all he could to keep his physical identity a secret. Not only was his reputation as a fresco-painter on the line, but he had committed herself to a completely new life - to be exposed as a woman would be to admit that the past ten years of his life were a complete and utter lie. Francesco frequents a nearby brothel to use prostitutes as live models for his artwork, but it isn't long before the nature of his visits changes; within months, several of the prostitutes have learned of his "missing manhood," and have grown to seek out the gentler touch of a woman. With the scar still tender after stitching her identity back together, this sexual revelation only drove Francesco into a state of greater self-loathing. Was he supposed to love women? Was she supposed to love men? Was she capable of loving either? Torn by these questions daily, Francesco repressed this part of his life, only making the cruel torment in her head grow stronger and louder.

After establishing a career as a painter and finding moderate success, Francesco still struggled to find sexual and emotional harmony within herself. He painted himself into a mural of St. Vincent Ferrer, and upon revisiting the image, he sees a boy looking up at the eyes of his self-portrait. These eyes force Francesco to look back on his life, to look back on the young girl he once was who yearned to dance around in dresses. All the hatred he she had for himself, the years of self-oppression, had finally been resolved. The honesty Francesco found within the eyes of his own painting drove him to question the true value of gender. Her years of rumination and emotional cruelty towards himself had finally come to reason. Although she never answered the very questions that pained her for a majority of life, she found an answer to a question she never thought to ask himself: how to be both. 

In How to be Both, Francesca uses cruelty as a means of reflection, a way to finally end the bickering between the two versions of herself living within him.
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The presence of cruelty dresses in many robes. As an inevitable part of the human experience, cruelty is often a scar left on many characters in literature. I Ali Smith's How to be Both, Francesca, an Italian-Renaissance painter, finds her true sexual and emotional identity as a victim of social conflict.

As a young girl, Francesca demonstrated a passion for the arts, specifically painting. Although her family had no money to support her passions, Francesca's mother supported her with all her heart. After her mother died, Francesca's farther made the hardest decision of his life: transforming Francesca into Francesco. Italy in the 16th century was not an easy place for women to find work as a painter, in fact, it was unheard of. After years of cutting her hair short and wearing trousers and loose linens, Francesco passed as any normal, young, girlish boy. As a child, this reinvention had little effect on her, but as Francesco hit his late teens, the demands of his lifestyle grew unbearable.

"Freak," "prim," "homosexual." Francesco met many challenges trying to make friends, but a culture so set in gender roles was not accepting of androgynous he. The stones thrown by silly boys and names yelled by conservative community-members did not bother Francesco, rather, it was his sexual revelations that drove him to the edge of her sanity. This instance of cruelty was not one of society or of his father, it was cruelty within' her own mind, her own heart. Was he supposed to love women? Was she supposed to love men? Was she capable of loving either? Torn by these questions daily, Francesco repressed this part of his life, only making the cruel torment in his head grow stronger and louder.

Francesco worked for the wealthy, spending hours one end painting, re-painting, then re-painting again, murals and frescoes all across southern Italy. This time spent alone painting allowed Francesco to further torment himself, endlessly questioning who he was. After painting for hours on end without questioning what his brush was detailing, Francesco had painted himself into the mural. Standing up and looking at the two bright eyes before him, she knew. She knew who she was. In the eyes, she saw Francesco and Francesca. She saw her true identity - an end to the cruelty she was forcing upon himself.  

In How to be Both, Francesca uses cruelty as a means of reflection, a way to finally end the bickering between the two versions of herself living within him.
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Open Passage Reflection:

In this essay, I responded to the 2015 AP Literature and Composition Open Essay Prompt. This prompt was different than the Poetry Prompt and Prose Prompt in that it did not provide a passage or specific text to use in the essay, it was just as it is named: open. This meant that we could chose any of the novels listed below the prompt or any work of equal literary merit. I chose to write about How to be Both by Ali Smith, one of the books I read for AP Literature over the summer. I initially wanted to analyze cruelty in The Crucible, which would have worked out much better for me than Smith's novel. In my essay I analyzed the cruelty Francesca put upon herself and its significance in her path to self-discovery. Although this is a theme in the book and Francesca does force cruel judgment upon herself, the nature of cruelty in this work is not necessarily in keeping with the prompt. The 2015 AP Prompt asks about the significance of cruelty in the book as a whole, and Smith's novel is divided into two parts, each with two very different stories. In both works, cruelty is not a prevalent theme and connects very little between the two halves. In the moment, I thought that I would be able to make the book fit the prompt, but that completely disregards the value of the prompt - the goal here should be to find a novel that fits the prompt and can be used more effectively to craft an argument that is specific and relevant to the question. My essay contained a lot of summary as a result of my poor book-choice, which immediately drew it down to a five. I struggled to find relevant and concrete examples to draw from the text that related back to the prompts discussion of the function of cruelty as a motivation or a major social or political factor. In fact, I failed to even discuss the social or political value of cruelty, which weakened my already limp analysis, pulling my essay even further down to a four. Although a four is what my essay deserved, I still think that there are elements of the writing that I can be proud of; I feel that my artistic selection of pronouns was definitely reminiscent of higher-level thinking and writing, but as it wasn't in keeping with the lens of the prompt, it was all for none. In future Open Essays, I want to take more time selecting a text and pre-writing to ensure I have appropriate material to provide a sufficient response to the prompt. More specifically, I want to bring my essay score up to a seven within the next month. Although this is three point higher in a much smaller time-frame than my previous goals, I know that this essay was not a strong reflection of my writing ability, even as a novice to the Open Prompt. 
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Responding to Ainsley White's Open Essay:
(http://whiteainsleyapenglish2015.blogspot.com)

Ainsley responded to the 2015 AP English Literature Open Prompt by discussing Lord of the Flies. Unfortunately, she forgot the author of the novel (William Golding), which could be a significant drawback on the AP Exam; any AP reader could easily argue that if a student can't remember the author of a literary work, they can hardly be capable of providing a thorough and significant analysis of the work that is much more than just plot summary. In my personal opinion, Ainsley was still able to provide a few pieces of apt reference to the text that included specific and accurate evidence, which restored some of the ethos that was lost in the very beginning. Although there were a few pieces of specific, supporting evidence, Ainsley's essay relied heavily upon plot summary to support her thesis. This immediately pulls her essay down to a five, even without taking any other factors into consideration. Her third paragraph was pretty bulky, and she could have easily made the information here more concise. Though there is this room for improvement, with the essay as it sits, the chunky and unstructured paragraph is an organization distraction and disrupts the essay's flow of logic. Ainsley's essay falls somewhere in the three to four range, but I feel that her essay is far from demonstrating inept writing, and there weren't necessarily any errors with misreading, so a four would be a more appropriate score. Once Ainsley sets a few measurable goals, she will be on the right track to take another swing at the Open Essay. One goal I might suggest she set is to find five novels that she is comfortable writing about. Building a bank of knowledge regarding these texts, including Themes, Characters, Motifs, and Author Names, would help her to establish more credibility in her writing. Overall, this essay may not have scored very high on the one-to-nine scale, but there is a lot Ainsley can take from just having the opportunity to write an Open Essay, something she is totally new to - something we all are totally new to.

Blog Post #3: Prose Passage Essay and Reflection

In literature, indirect characterization can express an unbelievably wide array of information while using very few words. In Louise Erdrich's The Beet Queen, the distinct contrast in tone, selection of detail, and imagery clearly depicts the impact of Eastern North Dakota on the two siblings. 

After aborting the rail-car they hitched a ride on, Mary and Karl find themselves lost in the town of Argus. As Mary "trudged froward," Karl was stopped by the scent of a blossoming tree. Without taking notice as a dog starts barking at him or as a woman starts to yell, Karl is entranced by the beautiful scent of the blossoms. The stock-still tone Erdrich uses to describe Karl's fascination is a sharp contrast to the agitated tone used to describe Mary. As she shouts for her brother, Mary is "frightened" by his behavior and is worried both by his distraction and by  the unfamiliar street lined with "weathered grey houses." This tone contrast suggests that, while the vast unknown of Argus was frightening to Mary, it was far more intriguing for Karl.

Karl's fascination is not limited to the single tree. Erdrich reinforces this notion by chosing to add the while Mary ran back towards their Aunt's house in the east, "Karl ran back to the box-car and the train." Karl saw the blossom as an opportunity, as an example of all the wonderful and new unknowns existing out in the world - even beyond Minnesota and North Dakota. Erdrich also chose to explain that Mary ran to the East, to her Aunt's house, a very different approach than Karl. While he ran towards adventure and new opportunities, she retired to a place she already knew, a place where she was comfortable. The unknown world that Karl longed for was the very idea that Mary ran away from.

After introducing Mary, Erdrich describes that "there was only more bare horizon for her to see." For Mary, this horizon was exactly that - bare. Erdrich's selection of detail further solidifies the contrast between the environment's impact on the two children. Mary's attention is caught by the bare horizon and Karl is stopped by the "delicate perfume" of flower blossoms. The imagery used in describing Mary's experience is far more hopeless than the appreciative and vivid imagery used to describe Karl's.
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Prose Passage Essay Reflection:

As our first exposure to the AP Literature Prose Passage Prompt, we were given the 2015 Prose Passage. An excerpt from Louise Erdrich's The Beet Queen, the 1986 passage is set in eastern North Dakota during the Great Depression. The prompt asked us to "analyze how Erdric depicts the impact of the environment on the two children. [we] may want to consider such literary devices as tone, imagery, selection of detail, and point of view." The passage follows two siblings, Mary and Karl Adare, as they hop off of a box-car and stroll through the town of Argus, North Dakota. I approached this essay as if it were an analysis essay in AP Composition and Language. The prompt was similar enough to an analysis prompt to help me in understanding how to approach this first essay, but after finishing the essay and Norming the AP Prose Rubric, there are quite a few distinct aspects to the AP Lit Prose Passage. Successful essays should "make a strong case for the interpretation of the impact of the environment on the two children." In my essay, I did not consistently hit on the exact impact of the environment, and dug more into the characterization of Mary and Karl. Although, when writing the essay, I tied these two elements together indirectly, it was not as clear and specific as a more persuasive analysis. In fact, I opened my essay by pointing out the value of indirect characterization, which slightly distracted the essay from the central theme of the prompt: the environment's impact on the children. Although this does deviate slightly from the prompt, I tied the nature of this information back into the environment's impact in my thesis, which allowed the essay to sustain a reasonable analysis and convey a sustained, competent reading of the passage. My analysis of the contrasts between the environment's impact on Mary and Karl were superficial in the beginning, but more nuances and complexities were pulled out in my third and fourth paragraphs. For these reasons, I feel like my essay deserved a six or a seven; a six would likely be the most appropriate score as my command of effective composition left much to be desired. Again, although this score is not ideal, I think it is a fine place to build off of for the rest of the year; with this in mind, I don't think I am far from scoring a solid seven on the Prose Prompt, and at that point, I want to pull my essay score up one point every six points. This goal would allow me to consistently score upper-level essays (eight and nine) by winter. Prose analysis is one of my strengths, and I know that after this initial exposure, there is a lot of room for improvement, and many paths to achieving that.
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Responding to Alex Chung's Prose Essay and Reflection:
(chungalexanderenglishliterature2015.blogspot.com)

Before I even begin to discuss Alex's Prose Essay, I have to point out how much I appreciate his blog title. Up until a few days ago, his blog was headed by "AP English Lit," but now, in bold letters, the top of his blog reads: "An INCREDIBLY AMAZING TITLE that shall BEDAZZLE the CASUAL READER through CLEVER use of WORDPLAY." I have seen many blog titles for this class, but I have to say that his use of the word "BEDAZZLE" really made his new title something 'incredibly amazing'. Titles aside, Alex wrote an essay and reflection in response to the 2015 Prose Passage. An excerpt from Louise Erdrich's The Beet Queen, the prompt asked us to "analyze how Erdric depicts the impact of the environment on the two children. [we] may want to consider such literary devices as tone, imagery, selection of detail, and point of view." The passage follows two siblings, Mary and Karl Adare, as they hop off of a box-car and stroll through the town of Argus, North Dakota. Alex analysed the impact of the environment on these children by discussing Erdrich's neutral tone, use of third person omniscient, vivid imagery, and selection of detail. His essay starts very similarly to mine, describing the significance of characterization of literature. Although this is also how I chose to start my essay, I pointed out in my reflection that it "slightly distracted the essay from the central theme of the prompt: the environment's impact on the children." His discussion of characterization wouldn't necessarily pull down his score, as it is very closely related to the main theme of the prompt, however, it could very easily be the one part of his essay that could hold him back from receiving a higher score. Alex's essay does tend to be quite repetitive, but only when trying to reinforce a point, which is why I think it wouldn't count against him. The AP graders look at the essays as rough drafts, and as long as he is making those points and making them clear, a little repetition shouldn't hurt him. A little. In his reflection, Alex pointed out that his use of "literary realism" in his essay was off-topic, and I completely agree with his point. By removing this point, Alex could have given himself more time to go into a more thorough and relevant discussion about Erdrich's tone. Taking this into account alongside his lack of more specific and apt textual references, I agree with him that this essay would likely score a five. Although his points were not necessarily superficial, their strength was marred by weak textual support. At the end of his reflection, Alex noted that he "think[s] [he] can improve by annotating the essay, using more textual evidence, and studying more about the types of prompts." Though these goals can be qualified, I think that even more thorough and specific goals would be beneficial in his reflection. It may sound like a cliche, but sometimes goals that include numbers are the easiest to work with, because there is an established and clear way of determining if they have been met and to what degree. Although this was a lower-scoring essay for Alex, I think it was a great first Prose Essay and at this point there is a lot of room for Alex to fine-tune his approach to the essay, which he feels will improve his final product.