Kayla Stevens AP Lit Comp: November 2012

Thursday, November 29, 2012

No Exit

Think about the place you have chosen as your hell. Does it look ordinary and bourgeois, like Sartre's drawing room, or is it equipped with literal instruments of torture like Dante's Inferno? Can the mind be in hell in a beautiful place? Is there a way to find peace in a hellish physical environment? Enter Sartre's space more fully and imagine how it would feel to live there endlessly, night and day.
My idea of hell is a place where I am extremely unhappy and I have no one I love around me. It could be anywhere. Sometimes I see school as a type of hell, but school isn't the stereotypical hell we picture in our minds. There is a way to find peace in a hellish enviornment: you have to accept your surroundings and the people that surround you. Once you give up fighting against what you don't want to see, you will become content.

Could hell be described as too much of anything without a break? Are variety, moderation and balance instruments we use to keep us from boiling in any inferno of excess,' whether it be cheesecake or ravenous sex?
Athletes will understand when I say that certain work outs are often described as hell. If practice runs long and it is boring or a really hard physically, most will say that "this is hell." But they don't mean it in the literal term that they have died and are being punished for there sins. They mean that they are tired and want to get "the hell" out of there.

How does Sartre create a sense of place through dialogue? Can you imagine what it feels like to stay awake all the time with the lights on with no hope of leaving a specific place? How does GARCIN react to this hell? How could you twist your daily activities around so that everyday habits become hell? Is there a pattern of circumstances that reinforces the experience of hell?
He shows panic in their voice. It shows that they are trapped. The characters also describe the setting through the dialogue. Garcin reacts calmly, then he is super confused, then calm and accepting, then he goes a little bonkers. But overall he seems to keep his cool considering where he is and the new life he is presented with. I'm not really sure if there is a way to create your own living hell. Usually other people create it for you rather it be intentionally or unintentionally. When people say that a certain situation is hell, they mean that it is difficult for them to cope with physically or mentally.

"No Exit" is a story about three people that were basically thrown together in hell as their own torturers. Each person was put there to torture on or the other, or both. They are there for what seems like just a few hours and they all get on eachothers nerves so quickly. They realize that "hell is other people" and yet they still contiue to bicker and bug eachother.
I think that Sartre does a great job of getting his message accross which is "hell is other people." He is saying that you dont need to be in the firey furnace of what we see hell to be, to be in hell. All you need to to be malcontent with things and people that you do not like.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens/ Lit Analysis #4

GENERAL
1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read, and explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)

CHARACTERIZATION
1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?
2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character? Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.

General

1. Pip comes from a non-traditional background, he was an orphaned child who was being raised by his sister and her husband in London during the mid-nineteenth century. As he was in a graveyard gazing upon the tombstones of his family, a man attacked him from behind and threatened to kill. This man, Magwitch, turned out to be a criminal who had escaped from jail. Just as Pip was doing everything this man said in order to live another day, Magwitch was recaptured.

Recovering from this near-death experience, Pip's uncle took him to the Statis House to play. This house is the home of Miss Havisham. While in her home, Pip meets and falls in love with Estella. Estella was raised to break boys hearts at the request of Miss Havisham. She eventually married an abusive man. But just because she was married didn’t stop Pip’s persistent perusing of the young lady.

Pip was given a generous fortune from an unknown source. To claim his fortune, Pip had to travel to London where he could inherit this fortune at the age of twenty-one. While in London, Pip met Herbert Pockett, whom he aided with his fortune in order to help Herbert pursue his dreams. Magwitch turned out to be the source of Pip’s fortune, not Miss Havisham. Pip became close with the murderer and tried to help him escape London. But they failed and he was sentenced to death.

At the end, Pip discovered the love of his life, Estella, is Magwitch's daughter, but it doesn’t affect the feelings he has for her. They live happily ever after together.

2. A theme for this novel would be true love never fails. Even though Estella was rude and mean to Pip he still perused her. Even while she was married. He was able to see through the impurities and his persistence paid off.

3. The tone of the novel is distressed and hopeful at the same time.

· “Well then, understand once for all that I never shall or can be anything but miserable unless I can lead a very different sort of life form the life I lead now.”

· “I walked away at a good pace, thinking it was easier to go than I had supposed it would be. But the village was very peaceful and quiet, and the light mists were solemnly rising, as if to show me the world, and I had been so innocent and little there, and all beyond was so unknown and great, that in a moment with a strong heave and I sob I broke into tears. “

· “Nothing was needed but this; the wretched man, after loading wretched me with his gold and silver chains for years, had risked his life to come to me, and I held it there in my keeping! If I had been attracted to him by the strongest admiration and affection, instead of shrinking from him with the strongest repugnance; it could have been no worse. On the contrary, it would have been better, for his preservation would then have naturally and tenderly addressed my heart.”

Metaphor-"... think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day." (page 82) In this quote, the chains and flowers were metaphors for what could potentially hold the characters back from doing what they really wanted.
Anaphora-"... one [man's] a blacksmith, and one's a whitesmith, and one's a goldsmith, and one's a coppersmith. Divisions among such must come, and must be met as they come." (page 260) This quote made a point that each man must be separated due to their profession.
Narration-"...I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip." (page 1) Right from the beginning of the novel, Dickens identified Pip as the main character as well as the narrator.
Foil- "Keep still, you little devil, or I'll cut your throat!" (page 1) This quote was made by Magwitch, the convict that attacked Pip at the beginning of the novel. This quote only made Pip look more innocent and defenseless and made Magwitch look more evil and crooked. Pip was identified as a young orphan who was visiting his parents tombstones as he got attacked by a criminal who escaped incarceration. These two descriptions made each character look opposite of another at this point in time.
Setting- "As I was looking out at the iron gate of Bartholomew Close into Little Britain, I saw Miss Jaggers coming across the road towards me." (page 142) During this time in the novel setting was crucial since Pip had to travel to London to collect his fortune.
Innuendo-"I give Pirrip as my father's family name, on the authority of his tombstone and my sister..." (page 1) Immediately we discover that Pip is an orphan without him directly saying so.
Local Color- "I am going to London, Miss Pockett.." (page 136) London exists in this novel just as it does in reality. In fact, this is where Dickens grew up.
Frame of reference-"Nevertheless, a hackney-coachmen, who seemed to have as many capes to his greasy great-coat as he was years old.." (page 139) During this era, coachmen were extremely common as well as popular.
Point of view-"I looked all around for the horrible young man, and could see no signs of him." (page 5) This quotes proves that the point of view is in first person in this novel.
Symbol- "I am greatly changed. I wonder you know me." (page 415). This quote by Estella represents change in this novel. All in all, I feel that Estella represents change and recovery throughout the whole novel.

Characterization

1. Direct characterization:

· “I took the opportunity of being alone in the courtyard, to look at my coarse hands and my common boots. They had never troubled me before, but they troubled me now, as vulgar appendages.”

· “She had her back towards me, and held her pretty brown hair spread out in her two hands, and never looked round, and passed out of my view directly.”

Indirect characterization:

· “I cried, kicked the wall and took a hard twist at my hair.”

· “I noticed that Miss Havisham put down the jewel exactly on the spot from which she had taken it up.”

2. The author’s syntax does change when he is focusing on a character. While narrating, he tells the story in regular English. But when a character is speaking, the English is broken and sometimes unintelligent. “I had not been mistaken in my fancy that there was a simple dignity in him. He touched me gently on the forehead and went out. As soon as I could recover myself sufficiently, I hurried out after him and looked for him in the neighbouring streets; but he was gone.” “I wish’, said the other, with a bitter curse upon the cold,’ that I had ‘em here. I’d sell all the friends I ever had, for one, and think it a blessed good barigain…”

3. Pip is dynamic and round character. At the beginning of the novel, he was a small, young boy with little chance at becoming successful in life. Then he was presented with the opportunity of being rich and respected. He also went from fearing a man who tried to kill him, to becoming his acquaintance and helping him escape.

4. After reading the novel, I feel like I had met a person. Pip is a very easy character to relate to. The love story within the novel helps the reader become attached to Pip. His story pulls at the reader’s heartstrings. “You have always held your place in my heart.” I answered. This line pulls together the whole idea of true love waits. It shows that Pip waited and waited for Estella no matter the cost and he probably would have waited for her until the day he died.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Sonnet

They were stuck in a cave
Against their will
Held there till the grave
Never to live life to it's fill

Prisoners were held to see
Only shadows
That was their reality
They lived in the nightglow

One man's freedom
To step outside
To gain wisdom
Of the world they've been denied

The man felt strong and fufilled
While the others were lost and unskilled

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Mindmaps...

Here is a simple mindmap:
http://www.text2mindmap.com/
it simply organizes the months of the year by season.

A more complicated mindmap:
http://www.matchware.com/en/products/mindview/mindview2_be/examples.htm#
shows time management for managers.

here is a simple mindmapping website:
http://drichard.org/mindmaps/

Monday, November 12, 2012

Literature Analysis #3

The Road by Coramc McCarthy

Literature Analysis Questions

GENERAL
1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read, and explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)

CHARACTERIZATION
1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?
2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character? Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.

Literature Analysis Answers

1. The novel is about a father and his son walking across post-apocalyptic North America. It is the middle of winter and it is always cold. The son is about 6 years old but has the maturity level of a thirty year old man. He asks questions that require deep thought to answer and most of the time he never gets his answers. His father only replies with “I don’t know.” They are walking across the land to hopefully get to the coast where they can be “safe.” While they are walking they have to hide from cannibals that roam around in their large diesel trucks. The only form of protection they have is a little handgun and they have very little food.

At night, while the boy sleeps, the father reflects on his past. He remembers his wife and how she left them. He thinks back to his childhood when the world wasn’t covered in ash and the sky was blue instead of grey.

The story ends with the father’s death and the boy moving on with another family.

2. The theme is responsibility and dependency. The man is 100% responsible for his son. If they had lived a normal life, he would still be responsible for him, but in this new strange world, he has to make sure that he is always warm and healthy (as possible) and fed and safe from strangers. The boy is dependent on his father because he has no clue where they are going. He has to trust that his father will keep him safe and fed. He trusts his father, even though his father is barely able to keep him alive.

3. The author’s tone is removed. It seems as if he is narrating a documentary rather than telling a story.

“ He went to see about the boy. He was damp with sweat and the man pulled back one of the blankets and fanned his face and then turned down the heater and went back to bed.”

“Nobody wants to be here and nobody wants to leave.”

“Houses or barns or under the bank of a road-side ditch with blankets pulled over their heads and the noon sky black as the cellars of hell.”

4. Characterization- the author uses indirect characterization throughout the entire novel. “Just wait here. He said. I’m going with you. I thought you were scared. I am scared. Okay, just stay close behind me.”

Conflict- the world is covered in grey ash and there are few signs of life and it’s the middle of winter. “He just say there holding the binoculars and watching the ashen daylight congeal over the land.”

Flashback- the father often flashes back to times when his wife was still with them. “I don’t care. It’s meaningless. You can think of me as a faithless slut if you like. I’ve taken a new lover. He can give me what you cannot.” “Death is not a lover.” “Oh yes he is.”

Mood- the mood is of darkness and sorrow with not much hope. “We used to talk about death, but not anymore. Why is that?” “I don’t know” “It’s because it’s here. There’s nothing left to talk about.”

Motif- the road. “He fashioned sweeps from two old brooms he’d found and wired them to the cart to clear the limbs from the road…”

Paradox- the man tells his son of how life used to be. It is hard to imagine for the boy because he never witnessed it. “It’s a dam… It made the lake. Before they built the dam, that was just a river down there. The dam used the water than ran through it to turn big fans called turbines that would generate electricity… To make lights.”

Characterization

1. The author doesn’t use any direct characterization. Two examples of indirect characterization are “Just wait here. He said. I’m going with you. I thought you were scared. I am scared. Okay, just stay close behind me.” This shows that the boy is scared like he should be, but he is brave. “You wanted to know what he bad guys looked like. Now you know. It may happen again. My job is to take care of you. I was appointed to do that by God. I will kill anyone who touches you. Do you understand?” This example shows that the man can be impatient and lose his temper with the boy. But it also shows that he is very protective and religious.

2. The author is very static when he changes from character to character. The way he tells the story is very dry and stoic.

3. The main character, the man, is static and flat. His morals never change and his goal never changes. He always wants to do what’s best for the boy and get him to safety. His main goal in the novel is to get to the coast unharmed. They succeed but they don’t find what they had been looking for. This discourages the man but he keeps on walking to find a place where his boy can finally be safe.

4. I feel like I have read a character. There is no way for my mind to grasp the situation that the boy and his father are in. I can’t even picture the world that McCarthy describes.