Close Reading - (11/18/2012)

Goodbye to My Twinkie Days

By: Bich Minh Nguyen

        Bich Minh Nguyen, writes about the impact the Twinkie has had on America. Nguyen captures the nostalgia that most Americans are beginning to face. He analyzes the path that American is headed toward using the Hostess cake company. His use of diction, detail and imagery makes this a very memorable article. 

  Nguyen use of diction to describe the decision is represented when uses "demise". It shows the Hostess cake company has slowly been losing business. I found that the work demise tends to have a negative connotation. Especially since this is talking about a company which going out of business. This word almost makes it seem like the Hostess cake company has turned out as a failure. 

  The imagery used in this articles adds some depth to it. Nguyen describes the Twinkies to be "...sugary, fake, buttery-ish vanilla…". This builds up the image of a fatty, sweet treat that many people used to indulge in. The imagery of the Twinkies takes the reader back in time to when they were young where they enveloped in the memories of their childhood. 

  Nostalgia is a major point that Nguyen hits on through the use of details. One thing I found to hold a lot of meaning was how Nguyen transports the reader to their childhood. When he shared the memory of finding a Hostess treat in his lunch box, he mentioned he "...traded them, saved bites of frosting and cream for last...". To me, this is something that many kids do which makes it very connectable to the reader. Nguyen seems to show that the Twinkie has becomes a common symbol that Americans have identified with for many years. Now, through his writing, his readers are able to rekindle those memories. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/17/opinion/goodbye-to-my-twinkie-days.html?_r=1&

Open Prompt - (11/11/2012)

2006, Form B. In many works of literature, a physical journey - the literal movement from one place to another - plays a central role. Choose a novel, play, or epic poem in which a physical journey is an important element and discuss how the journey adds to the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.  

  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain observes the growth of the characters through their journey on the Mississippi River. For Huck and Jim, their adventure on the river symbolizes freedom, each escaping the struggles in their life. Huck begins to understand the society for himself as he comes in contact with various obstacles throughout the journey. He unveils the corruption in society and realizes the truth for himself. Jim wants to escape a life of slavery and reunite with his family. 

  Originally, due to Huck's old fashioned upbringing, he tried to not interact with Jim. However, he soon began to realize that Jim is an actual person whose feelings should not be hurt. This allows Huck to grow as a person and accepts people based on their personality, not color. Together, Huck and Jim try their best to overcome the obstacles thrown at them. 

  The river they travel on represents more than just a traveling method. It holds a deeper meaning for Huck and Jim which symbolizes the responsibilities and challenges that accompany a life of freedom. Their journey shows the development of the character turning into a more well rounded human being as opposed to the one viewed person they were. 

Response to Course Material - (11/04/2012)

         Since my last blog post, we have made some progress. One thing that we did was analyze The Century Quilt by Marilyn Nelson. Upon analyzing the poem we learned how to the writing portion of the AP exam is scored. I think it was really helpful to look at the sample essays because it gave me a better idea on what I need to do to improve my writing in time for the exam. In addition to the writing component of the test, we also covered a couple of strategies for getting through the multiple choice questions. Some of the common structures that we looked were rhetorical function, context, antecedent, style and the tone. This really informed me about how I need to approach each type of question on the exam. Especially since we formulated our own questions for the Marriage by Gregory Corso. 

  Then this past week we partnered up and performed a skit that included a poem we read from the chapter four in combination with The American Dream. Finally, after spending a few weeks on The American Dream, we finished all our annotations and in class discussions. To wrap it up, we finished it off with a blog post that touched on the important topics in The American Dream. The next play we will be annotating is The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller since we have finished watching the movie it will give some guideline. In class we started to talk about the deeper meaning that is in the play. I found that the discussions in class are very helpful in shaping my understanding of the play/novel. 

Summary and Analysis of The American Dream - 10/24/12

        The American Dream by Edward Albee by is an allegory that embodies various hidden meaning throughout it. Comedy plays a major role in The American Dream. There are various comedic techniques that have been used to develop deeper meanings throughout the play. From the "theater of the absurd, Albee incorporates a range of techniques such as break down of communication, civilized people acting in barbaric ways (killing the "bumble") and lack of progression (repetition). This play was Albee's second big success that satirically examined American's new artificial values that took the place of real values. He emphasizes that importance of the original fundamental values that America was built on. Albee show how the new values of satisfaction, wealth and materialistic desires are beginning to dominate. 

This play takes place in the dysfunctional apartment of Mommy, Daddy and Grandma. It is centered around Mommy's dominating personality who emasculates Daddy; together they plan to have the van man take Grandma away. It is obvious from the reading that the Young Man is the American Dream. However the deeper meaning behind the Young Man is the representation of the materialistic American Dream. He stands for the new generation which has artificial values. Grandma is complex character who also represents the American Dream. The difference is that Grandma symbolizes the old American Dream which follows the path of values and ideals that handwork pays off. Since Grandma is the old American Dream, she the only character that is always present. Grandma leaving is representative of the old American Dream ending and the Young Man entering is representative of the new American Dream. 

Daddy is characterized as feminine. Daddy becomes the woman of the family with his timid personality and womanly characteristics. For the majority of the play, he is the one of sticks up for Grandma and shows that he cares. He listens to Mommy and does everything she asks him to do. Daddy is shown to be inferior compared to Mommy. He needs Mommy to assure himself of his masculinity. She tantalizes Daddy about his masculinity to make him feel important for a short period of time until she takes that away from him. However, Mommy is the one "man" of the house. She is the one that lays down the rules and enforces them making sure that nobody strays off. She uses her power to take as much control as possible without being considerate of others. When Mrs. Barker comes to their apartment, Mommy makes it clear that her house is controlled by her and no one else. Mrs. Barker represents a prostitute and is referred to as a professional woman provides satisfaction for others. However on some level she makes herself somewhat relatable. 

The point of view of this play is from someone that sees the negative sides of the American society to possibly initiate a change. One aspect of the corruption that Albee focuses on is consumerism. Mommy expresses who she can't get any satisfaction anymore earlier in the play. However by the end, can claims that she can. 

The narrative voice in The American Dream is not centered around one person but rather the combination of all the characters. The tone of Mommy is demanding and controlling especially towards Daddy and Grandma. She gives off the vibe like she knows everything. Daddy is the obedient one who follows Mommy's orders. On the other hand, Grandma is pushed to a point where she will snap give it right back to Mommy. She shows more depth to herself compared to the Young Man, who represents the American Dream. The Young Man comes of as shallow and doesn't seem to have much substance to him with represents what the American society is becoming. 

Imagery is created in this play when Granmda tells the story about how Mommy and Daddy mutilated their child. It describes that the hands and tongue where cut off. They showed no affection toward the baby and don't mind that they can just go an buy another one. Mommy and Daddy are wealthy so most of their thoughts and actions are centered around money and how to use it to get satisfaction. The new American Dream or the Young Man, represents the shallow and materialist ideal of Americans. He was no deeper feelings or values which is what Albee is trying to convey. The Young Man's depth is shown when he says, “I no longer have the capacity to feel anything. I have no emotions… I have, now, only my person…my body… my face… I let people love me… I accept the syntax around me, for while I know I cannot relate…I know I must be related to” (115). This relates to the American values that are becoming prevalent in society. Americans are only concerned about how they can get satisfaction and there is no acknowledgment.

Grandma, representing the old American Dream and values, has a lot of depth and intensity to her. She displays the values of hard- work and integrity; all which has been replaced by the need of pleasure, money and lack of emotions. Mommy and Daddy have become to blinded to the old values, it keeps them from seeing anything that belongs to Grandma. She embodies deeper meaning which Mommy and Daddy are no longer able to relate. For example, when Grandma brought in the nicely wrapped boxes, Mommy and Daddy were only attracted to them because of how good they look on the outside but showed no interest as to what is on the inside. The inside hold substance that is close to Grandma and her values which Mommy and Daddy show now interest in. 

One quote I found to be important is Grandma's line when she says “You got to have a sense of dignity…if you don’t…civilization is doomed” (64). I feel like this represents Grandma's outlook on society. She is implying that American don't have a sense of dignity in themselves anymore and only care about the materialist things in life. When Grandma says something, there are values of the old American Dream which influences her thought/actions giving her some depth. When the Young Man says something it is not very insightful and sounds rather shallow like when he says. “It's that I have no talents at all, except what you see ... my person; my body, my face. In every other way I am incomplete, and I must therefore ... compensate” (113). This in no way reflects any values of the old American Dream. He has no deeper feelings and doesn't seem to have an pride in himself considering he is willing to do anything for money. 

Close Reading - 10/21/2012

Testing My Twins

By: Clair Needell Hollander

This article focuses on the decrease of test scores and the strange relationship between of test scores between the identical twins. The identical twins in this article have previously displayed identical scores including the subsections. But a recent identical drop in test scores has been brought to attention. 

Diction:

  Since this article focuses on the poor performance on test scores, Hollander uses a lot of pejorative diction like "disturbing" and "diminished". When I hear disturbing it creates the feeling of shock and surprise especially in this article. It leads me to believe the case of low test scores is out of the ordinary. Diminished tends to have a negative connotation describing the fading away something and in this situation, it is the high achieving test scores. The majority of the article uses pejorative diction to describe the possible external situation which could have contributed to the poor test scores.   

Imagery: 

  The twin are highly performing kids who have a tendency to be reading all the time going again their house rules. There are a lot places throughout this article that brought images in my head. For example, when Hollander said the "...teenage sister, who routinely pounds on the door yelling…" brings the image of sibling fights that take place. I think Hollander's technique of focusing on issues that tend to happen in the daily lives of people helps the reader connect with the article. Since many household have sibling rivalry this makes the article more relatable which brings an image into the readers mind. Another image brought into my head was the description that said, "...wilted lettuce and bruised fruit...". Again, Hollander sticks to common things that typically families are used. 

Syntax:

  At points in this article, I felt like I always almost getting preached. How sentence are formed and their length impacts the readers feelings toward a given topic or about the article. For example, "We need to always be striving. We need to be energized by thoughtful analysis of our successes and failures". I feeling these sentence sounds like I am being lectured to do something. I think the structure contributes of the tone of the these sentences which in my opinion comes off too forceful. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/21/opinion/sunday/testing-my-twins.html?ref=opinion&_r=0&pagewanted=print

Open Prompt - 10/14/2012

1990. Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or a parental figure) and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid plot summary.

  In The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks, Veronica “Ronnie”, a rebellious teenager is forced to deal with the pain her divorced parents. The distance between her father and her causes her to reject all of her father's attempts to reach out to her when she moves in with him. 

  She alienates herself from her parents especially her father and stops playing music. Through music, Ronnie and her father had developed a special bond which was soon broken after the divorce. Ronnie's resentment causes her to open up to the wrong people which leads to more trouble. Her rebellious attitude landed her in a difficult situation when she was caught stealing.

  As the story goes on, Ronnie slowly beings to open herself up to her father about the guy she's falling for, Will. As things being to fall into place, a surprise leaves Ronnie feeling betrayed and alone. She learns that her father has cancer which leads her to develop a barrier to get through the pain. Her pain was not only caused by finding out he has cancer but also her insensitive behavior toward him which she only came to when there was bigger problem. 

  Initially, the problem for Ronnie was not the divorce but the outcome of it. It caused her to lose her relationship with her dad as well as loosing the passion of music they cared about. The bond she had with father become a part of her being and losing that closeness ultimately become her downfall. The conflict in this novel shows the importance between the love parents and children share. 

Response to Course Material - 10/07/2012

  Over the course of the past few weeks, we have covered various topics in preparation for our AP exam. From the textbook, Literature and Composition, I was able to get a better understanding of DIDLS. The application of DIDLS to writing was very beneficial. In class, when we were given an excerpt from a novel or play, breaking down the writing to identify the six parts helped me be more alert for future readings.

  In class, we also learned about the different literary movements and the meanings they carry. Each of the movements had a particular focus. For example, Renaissance literature primarily focuses on science, logic and individualism. Each literary movement reflects on the period of time it takes place which defines those literary works. I particularly found our lessons on mythology to be very interesting. Since Classical literature alludes to Greek and Roman Gods, most of the novels are centered around those stories. I was not very familiar with these myths until it was covered in class. I think that since I have a better foundation on this that I can better analyze Classical literature.

  After reading The American Dream, I initially thought there was no point to it. It almost seemed like it was pointless to read such a play. However, after we got the handouts that closely analyzed the play, I then understood that this play is an allegory of the American Dream. On the surface it seems like a strange play but after reading the purpose and ideas behind it makes a lot of sense. For example, we were directly told in the play that the Young Man is the American Dream. After reading the analysis, I realized that the Young Man was not the only person that represented the American Dream. Grandma was representation of the old American Dream which was slowly being forgotten; the Young Man was the new American Dream that revolved around society's focus on materialistic goods. Grandma's age was the end of the old American Dream and a new beginning for the new one. This play really opened my eyes and made me understand that I should not just jump to the conclusions. I realized that I need to understand the deeper meaning by reading  in between the lines.