Posts Tagged ‘essay of the week’

Essay of the Week: A Tale of Two Houses

April 23rd, 2012

Congratulations to Antonio, the winner of the last-ever Essay of the Week. I really appreciated this essay because Antonio combines his usual skills (deep analysis and solid grammar) with hard work (putting in specific scenes and details). This essay was on prompt (talking about two places) and included several key pieces of evidence. Read it!

A Tale of Two Houses

The novel, This Boy’s Life: A Memoir by Tobias Wolff, is about a boy who struggles to cope and grow up after his parents divorce. In the book, the author creates meaning by contrasting two households. One is the house of the protagonist’s stepfather, Dwight, and the other is the house of the protagonist’s friend, Chuck. Dwight’s house is harsh and Chuck’s house supportive. Wolff contrasts these two houses in order to show the benefits and consequences of living in a harsh or supportive one and show how they can affect a child trying to mature.
Dwight’s house is not quite a house. It resembles a shack that has a concrete floors and run-down furniture. In the harsh household of his step-father, Toby, the protagonist, is less likely to make bad decisions. Toby is given no breathing room and is forced to take up many responsibilities such as keeping a job, doing chores, keeping up in school, and being a boy scout. With all these things on his plate, Toby does not have enough free time to get himself into trouble. All of the pressures that he experiences at home help mold him into being more studious and upstanding; however, this environment causes him much stress and his sadistic step-father’s ways cause Toby to lose grasp of his childhood and reluctantly become responsible. This is shown in how Toby must husk chestnuts every day until it turns his hands orange and makes them smell foul. This causes him to be teased by his peers at school and learn to cope with the harsh treatment. The harsh environment, though it may be looked down upon, has benefits for Toby.

Chuck’s family is more established and he lives in a nice farm house. It is well furnished and extravagant given the town they live in. Chuck does not stay in the house with his family. Instead he lives a trek away in a barn, isolated from the rest of his family. Chuck’s house, however, is quite supportive of Toby and the isolation at Chuck’s barn offers him much more freedom. This freedom allows Toby to enjoy his life more and spend more time with his friends; however allows him to make more mistakes. This is shown when Toby is caught stealing from an obviously poor family. Though the household may be more supportive, it gives Toby more chances to do wrong. Though it may be the more accepted choice, it still has its flaws.

The two houses represent different lifestyles that people choose. On one hand, people can can be disciplinarians, much like in Dwight’s household. On the other hand, families can be passive like in Chuck’s household. Being a disciplinarian will give the child a rigid sense of right and wrong; however, it will detract from his childhood. This is clearly shown in how Toby systematically does his chores everyday without spending any time with the neighborhood kids. Being permissive may help the child be independent, but will not help the child develop a sense of right and wrong. This is shown when Toby hangs out with his friends all night, having fun, but is driven to drink while underage. Wolff contrasts these two lifestyles to highlight the benefits and weaknesses of the two ways of life.

In the novel, Wolff contrasts two houses in order to show the effects that they have on the inhabitants. One is controlling and lacks opportunities for Toby, while the other is passive and lacks direction, Wolff shows the consequences and benefits of the two.

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Essay of the Week, April 6

April 6th, 2012

I have some bad news, APers.

I’m not giving out an “Essay of the Week” this week.

And it’s not because I’m not ready to give back your essays.

It’s just that I didn’t find an essay that is worthy of “Essay of the Week.”

I mean, there were some good essays. The finalists this week for Essay of the Week were Nathaly, Paulina, and J.C. They all had pretty good essays, but none of them were superb.

The bigger thing I wanted to say is that I don’t feel like you all really worked that hard on your essays this week. Sure, there were some of you that I felt worked pretty hard, but mostly, I was disappointed by your work ethic, your follow-through, your desire.

Learn from this, APers, and put in more energy into Grammar Week, which starts now!

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Essay of the Week: “Forgotten Childhood”

March 12th, 2012

I am very proud to announce that Nathaly is the winner of Essay of the Week. Nathaly is on a roll! After winning G of the Week for our last essay, she’s continuing to step things up on her writing. I’m truly proud of her. Please read her essay for sophistication of language, excellent choice of evidence, and solid analysis. Feel free to leave comments.

Forgotten Childhood

“Flame Heart” is a poem written by the Jamaican writer, Claude McKay, who tries to remember his past, but has some trouble. The author only remembers the part of his childhood that makes him happy. The author feels nervous about his forgotten childhood, but does not lose hope by using direct diction, realistic imagery, and descriptive detail to reconstruct his memories of his childhood.

The author chooses words to provide evidence of what is happening in his memory and how he feels nervous about losing his childhood. The author has forgotten about events in the past ten years. To emphasize his nervousness, the author writes that he has “forgotten” (1) so much in his “brief” (2) years. He “cannot” (12) remember his “passion” (27), which occurs in so little time. The only thing he can “remember”(9) is a time in “December” (10) when he was “happy” (29). He feels the need to remember the “special” (5) moments in his life when his “thrilled” body fills with “joy” (23). All the author wants out of life are joyous memories to cherish. He conveys the message that even though he forgets so much in so little time, he can still be happy with the one specific memory that makes him content. His diction provides positivity over the negative outcome.

Realistic imagery shows the author recalling events in his past to reconstruct memories. The author provides many descriptive images that he argues he has forgotten. The author says, “I have forgot/ what time the purple apples come to juice..”(1-2) and “I have forgot the special, startling season/ of the pimento’s flowering and fruiting” (5-6). The author forgets the remarkable moments in his life that he wants to relive in his mind. He is trying to remember the most beautiful thing in nature, which is flourishing as time passes. He relates to the fruits and flowers to his childhood; just as the flowers and fruits grow and mature, so does he. Then he says, “I have forgotten- strange- but quiet remember/ The poinsettia’s red, blood-red in warm December” (19-20). When the author feels like he has forgotten too much from his past, he assures himself by repeating the memory of the poinsettia that engraves his memory. He does not want to let go of his childhood. The author constantly recalls his known memory after he conveys his forgotten memories.

The author provide specific imagery to describe the events, but does not provide detail about the timing of the events. Descriptive detail is put into the poem to emphasize the time in which all the forgotten events take place. He says, “What month brings me shy forget-me-not” (4) and “What time of the year the ground doves brown the fields” (7). He also says, “What weeks, what months, what time of the mild year/ We cheated school to have our fling at tops?” (21-22). The author does not forget the what, but the when. He does not have trouble knowing what is happening, but when it occurs. The author describes all that is happening, but simultaneously cannot express the time that any of it occurs. Detail mentions desire for remembering more blissful moments by asking himself clarifying questions about his past. He then states “Oh, some I know!” (25) because for him the most important thing is remembering what joyous events happen, rather than when it happens. The author’s positive attitude overcome his oblivious attitude.

Claude McKay remembers certain events in his life, which gives him hope to reconstruct the rest of the memories that have brought him joy in life. The author is able to identify what he has forgotten and remembered through diction. The imagery conveys a sense of remembrance from all he has seen. Detail goes more in depth with what he truly desires. Positive emotions relate to the memories that the mind will retain.

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Essay of the Week: “Admiration and Vanity”

February 23rd, 2012

Congratulations to D’Naya, this week’s winner of the Essay of the Week!

Take a look especially at D’Naya’s diction and syntax paragraphs. The best paragraphs have more than one thing to say. D’Naya’s paragraphs begin with a topic sentence but have two major parts in each of them.

Leave D’Naya comments about what you liked and how she can improve!

Admiration and Vanity

In the passage, the speaker has attitudes of admiration and criticism toward the main character, Sir Walter Elliot. The author achieves this attitude through detail, diction, and syntax.

The details show that the speaker is admiring Sir Walter yet critical. Sir Walter Elliot gets admiration from the speaker because even though he loses his wife and child, he is still strong. The speaker makes sure to emphasize that Mr. Elliot changes his family’s history to include the deaths of his wife and child. Not only does the speaker mention that Mr. Elliot includes the deaths of his family members, but specifically, that his son was stillborn. These details about the deaths of Sir Elliot’s wife and child suggest that the speaker has empathy and is therefore admiring of Sir Walter Elliot. On the other hand, the speaker also has a critical tone. In the first sentence, the speaker notices that Sir Walter Elliot likes to read only the Barontenage, or the book about important barons. The reason he enjoys this book, of course, is that he is in it. The speaker’s implication is that Mr. Elliot is vain. At the end of the piece, the speaker’s attitude is also critical when he mentions that Mr. Elliot adds in his own handwriting to emphasize that his lineage will continue after his death. These details indicate that the speaker, although admiring of Sir Elliot, also considers him vain.

The author also achieves his own attitude through his choice of words. At first glance, the author uses positive, sophisticated diction to suggest that the speaker is admiring of Sir Elliot. For example, the speaker indicates that the main character reads about the “rise” of his family from “ancient” times. These two words suggest that the speaker has respect for Sir Elliot’s ancestry. In addition, in the same sentence, “respectable” is used, which furthers the speaker’s civil attitude. However, not all word choice in this passage is positive. The author uses negative diction to elaborate how Sir Elliot thinks even more highly of his appearance and power than women and younger men. For example, the speaker indicates that Sir Elliot thinks highly of himself more than the “few” women who surround him. Therefore, this word choice shows us that the speaker is somewhat bothered by Elliot’s ego.

The speaker also admires the main character but makes sure to emphasize on his self-importance through syntax. One way to describe the syntax of the piece is that it is not too heavy with punctuation. The author does not use too many commas. For example, at the end of the piece, the author writes, “Vanity was the beginning and end of Sir Walter Elliot’s character: vanity of person and of situation.” One may say that the effect of this decision is admiring because there are not really any emotions and feelings. Therefore, less punctuation carries less meaning, which suggests that the speaker is indifferent to Sir Elliot. Nevertheless, the way the author builds his sentences also gives off a critical attitude. Another way to describe the syntax in the piece is that it is written with short sentences. The author uses short sentences to show his disapproval of the main character. He writes, “He considered the blessing of beauty as inferior only to the blessing of baronetcy.” Therefore, the short sentences show the annoyance and difficulty the speaker has for his subject.

Furthermore, the author uses detail, diction, and syntax to elaborate on the speaker’s attitude. Using critical and admiring words throughout this whole passage made us readers understand the things that were on the surface and under it. For example, short sentences and less punctuation shows both emotion and none at all. The author also uses detail, diction, and syntax to explore the true meaning of how the speaker feels.

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Essay of the Week: “Eating Symbols”

February 10th, 2012

I am very happy to announce the Essay of the Week recipient: Marco! This is his second win. Congratulations. As usual, Marco writes a clear essay with a strong thesis, along with solid organization. Particularly impressive is his last body paragraph, in which talks about Amy Tan’s use of point of view.

Congratulations also to the EoW finalists: Nathaly, Pauline, Ellie, and Esteffany.

Please read Marco’s essay and leave comments. Thank you.

Eating Symbols

In a novel, an eating scene can symbolize much more than just a meal. In the Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan, a dining scene between Lindo and Waverly Jong, Rich Shields who is Waverly’s husband, and Waverly’s family, reveals a lot about a family’s Chinese tradition. In her book, Tan expresses how the traditions in Chinese culture fit into the lives of their Americanized offspring.

Through the dining scene, Tan reveals the significance of Chinese tradition. The scene revolves around Waverly’s husband, Rich, who is not aware of the traditions Waverly’s family holds. At the dinner table, Rich drinks two glasses of wine, while the family had only drank less than half of one. Here, Rich is not aware that the glass of wine is just for tasting, and not for pleasure. Following this event, Rich takes a big portion of the best dish prepared by Lindo Jong. Since it is the best plate at the table, everyone is supposed to take a small portion of it, and then wait to get more until everyone else at the table had had a portion of it. Finally, in the end of the scene, Rich unknowingly criticizes Lindo’s cooking. It is Chinese cook custom for the cook to insult their dishes, but only those cooked with best pride. Instead of proclaiming it to be the best dish she had cooked, Rich instead adds on condiment to it in order for it to taste better. The dinner scene here reveals the importance of knowing the customs and traditions of other cultures besides your own.

The scene incorporates the main theme of keeping customs and traditions in each culture. The novel follows four daughters who have been Americanized and their four Chinese mothers. Throughout the novel, the daughters want to prove to their mothers that they are capable of being on their own, and following their new American traditions. Although they want to be independent, they still want to maintain their Chinese traditions. Each daughter wants their parents to accept their American partner, so it is important for them to also know the Chinese customs. Rich proves to Waverly’s mother and family that he is not aware of their customs, and therefore cannot show the family respect.  Rich does not prove that he is not a rude person, he just is ignorant of the customs he needs to follow. The ignorance Rich holds is what Waverly’s mother does not want in the family.

The dinner scene is effective at portraying the message Tan expresses in her novel. Without this scene in the novel, the significance of following a different culture’s traditions would not be there. The scene has a bit of humor in it, allowing the reader to sympathize for Rich as he blindly insults Chinese traditions. Having Waverly explain the scene, and not Rich or Lindo also makes the scene effective. Her point of view allows for the reader to see what he is doing wrong, and allowing the character to express her mother’s and her feelings towards the traditions. If the point of view of the scene had been from Rich’s perspective, the reader would not be aware of the mistakes he is making. The scene from the perspective of Lindo would show anger towards Rich which would lead the reader to believe he is just a rude person in general.

It is through this dinner scene that the reader can see the importance of being aware of a different cultures traditions. The novel shows the importance of keeping customs in each culture. Rich being an outsider and not knowing Chinese culture is what Lindo tries to protect her daughter from.

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Essay of the Week: “Insatiable Desires”

January 27th, 2012

Congratulations to Antonio, this week’s Essay of the Week recipient. He is our second two-time winner. Antonio blends solid analysis (particularly in his structure and point of view paragraphs) with sophisticated language. Leave comments about what you like!

Insatiable Desires

In the poem, “A Story” by Li-Young Lee, the author conveys a father’s torment in not being able to provide the stories that his son desires. The son seeks new stories from his father because the son has heard them all. However the father is unable to respond with a new story. This causes the father great anxiety and causes him to imagine a bleak future for him and his son. In order to describe the emotions that the father is feeling toward his son, Lee uses structure, point of view, and tone.

The use of structure in this poem shows the complex relationship that the father has with his son and how the father feels about his inability to satisfy his son’s desires. The author separates the poems into three distinct units, each highlighting a different stage of the boy’s feelings toward his father. The stages of the boy’s love are separated by the different stanzas in the poem. The beginning of  the poem shows the boy’s love for his father; the boy sits on his father’s lap, eagerly waiting for a story. This is shown in the second stanza where it says, “His five-year-old son waits in his lap” (3). In the middle, the boy’s attitude toward his father dramatically shifts as he is packing up so he can leave his father. This is shown when it says, “but the boy is packing his shirts” (15). The shift in the boy’s feelings toward his father is shown when the father tries to tell stories to convince his son to stay, while the son remains unfazed by his father’s efforts. Finally, in the last stanza, the boy’s feelings go back to normal and he is back to loving and depending on his father when the setting returns to the present and the father is still unable to tell a new story. This is shown when it says. “but the boy is here” (19). The author’s use of structure shows the relationship that the father has with his son.

The author’s use of point of view further displays the complex relationship that the father has with his son. The author uses third-person (limited) point of view in order to describe the feelings of the father. It is third-person (limited) point of view, because the poem only uses the father’s point of view and does not allow the reader into the thoughts of the son. The author initially displays the father’s point of view when his son asks for him to tell a new story. The father feels that even amongst all the knowledge that surrounds them, he is unable to do anything for his son. This is explicitly described when it says, “In a room full of books in a world of stories, he can recall not one” (5-8). The father is feels that even if he has all the resources around him, he is unable to provide what his son wants. The father’s point of view is further shown when the son is packing his belongings and the father tries to persuade him to stay. The father is shown as desperate in his attempts to persuade his son into staying. The father’s point of view in this situation is best described when he exclaims “don’t go” (11). Through the author’s use of point of view, the relationship between the father and son is clearly shown.

Finally, the author uses a desperate tone in order to explain the relationship between the father and his son. The tone of the words used in the poem reveals the father as a desperate man, struggling to please his son. The rash tone is specifically shown when the father is trying to stop his son from leaving. The father exclaims, “don’t go”, a venturesome attempt at making his son stay once his attempts at story-telling have failed. The father has failed in persuading his son to stay using normal means and had to resort to begging. The act of the father begging his son to stay show the father’s desperation and this act of rashness further shows the complex relationship that the father has with his son.

Through the author’s use of literary devices, Lee succeeds in showing a father’s relationship with his son. She uses structure to illustrates the change in the the son’s feelings toward his father. The point of view shows how the father feels about not being able to satisfy the desires of his son and the use of tone illustrates the father’s feelings of desperation in not being able to get his son to stay.

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Essay of the Week: “Avoiding Reality”

January 13th, 2012

Congratulations to Paulina, recipient of this week’s “Essay of the Week.” This is not only the best essay this week, but it is also the best essay so far this year. Study this essay — for how it answers the prompt, doesn’t waste words, includes solid topic sentences, and stays focused in analysis. Paulina is our first person who has won Essay of the Week twice!

Avoiding Reality

The introduction in the passage of The Secret History by Donna Tart, sets the tone for the rest of the novel. In the introduction, the author immediately characterizes the narrator’s attitude toward Bunny’s death. The narrator’s heartless, shameful, inhumane, and hostile attitude is shown by the authors use of literary techniques. Furthermore, the disinterest and uncaring attitude is demonstrated with the use of simile, symbolism, and irony.

The use of simile throughout the passage demonstrates the narrator’s heartless attitude. When the narrator describes Bunny’s murder, he compares each event with a less important and almost irrelevant analogy. The narrator describes, “…remember piling gratefully into the car and starting down the road like a family vacation…with Henry driving clench-jawed through the potholes and the rest of us leaning over the sears and talking like children” (54-60). Here, two continuous simile descriptions are purposely embedded in the passage to show the narrator’s heartless attitude toward the murder. After having left Bunny in the wilderness, he describes his trip back “like a family vacation” and the group of criminals “talking like children.” The narrator compares his actions and the group’s actions with happy events after having killed Bunny. Overall, the narrator’s attitude is seen when he uses the similes because he shows disinterest and a spirit of heartlessness.

The symbol of the ravine describes the narrator’s mental struggle and shameful attitude toward Bunny’s murder. There are two instances where the ravine appears in the passage and it seems as though it symbolizes struggles and Bunny himself. The narrator mentions, “…and though once I thought I had left that ravine forever on April afternoon long ago, now I am not sure..” (35-36). In this sentence, the word ravine could be easily replaced by the word struggle or murder. The ravine does not just mean a bird, but it symbolizes and demonstrates the narrator’s personal struggle with Bunny’s murder. The fact that he cannot name his struggle or talk about what he has committed shows that he has a battle with himself. In other words, he is ashamed and shows a spirit of remorse because the novel mentions, “I thought I had left the ravine forever…now I am not sure.” Here, he is almost questioning and complaining to his past by saying, why should the memories of his past come back if he had left them forever? All in all, the ravine is used to portray the narrator as someone who is ashamed of his past and is therefore, unwilling to face the reality.

Finally, the narrator’s hostile attitude reveals itself when he uses irony by mentioning the color white and introducing Bunny’s murder. The narrator automatically begins the passage with a pleasant and beautiful description of snow. Snow and the the color white appears many time in the passage. For example, the narrator mentions in the beginning of the introduction, “The snow in the mountains…” (1-2). The fact that the narrator clearly uses the color white in the introduction shows the narrator’s attitude and hostile intentions. Also, he uses the same irony when he says, “…though I remember the walk back and first lonely flakes of snow” (54-55). The narrator uses the color white to mock and minimize the extremity of the situation he is in. Right after he has killed Bunny he purposely describes the scenery and includes the “flakes of snow.” Within these sentences there is irony because during a horrid situation he uses the snow flakes and the color white, which ironically mean something pleasant and positive. To finalize, irony is used to show that the narrator is hostile and gruesome because he purposely goes around in circles when he explains the murder to distract the reader from reality.

In the novel, the use of simile, symbolism, and irony are used to portray the kind of attitude the narrator has in the introduction. These literary techniques allows the author to portray the narrator as someone gruesome, hostile, shameful, heartless, and inhumane. In conclusion, all these examples and techniques allow the tone to establish for the rest of the appalling novel.

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Essay of the Week: Sethe’s Past

December 9th, 2011

Congratulations to Paulina, the recipient of the Essay of the Week! Feel free to leave comments and congratulations!

In the novel Beloved by Tori Morrison, multiple events affect the character in negative way. Sethe goes through many tragic events, which consequently change her habits and attitude. Therefore, these occurrences show that leaving negative and dreadful memories of the past is absolutely necessary to live a free and positive present.

Sethe’s past is the the cause of her monotonous present activities. Sethe kills one of her daughters, Beloved, in order to save her from the slave life. The way the narrator describes the event is gruesome, which reflects on Sethe’s life. For example, the narrator describes that Sethe slams her child against a wall numerous times, with the intention of killing Beloved. Thus, this murder affects her present activities. When Sethe is in her present home, she cleans and watches people walk by her house everyday. Also, when she describes her day, the majority of the time, she is in solitude. The story continuously transitions from present to past to show that Sethe constantly remembers her devastating past life. For example, the only time in the story that describes the murder is when she flashes back. Furthermore, this shows that she cannot forget the murder. Instead of freeing herself from that horrid event and accepting that her daughter is gone, she continuously thinks about that event with lament. Holding on to past past affects Sethe’s daily and present activities. Therefore, letting go of gratuitous problems and memories from the past is the best way to live a peaceful and tranquil life without monotony.

Sethe’s murder causes her attitude to change into one that is indifferent and unstable. Once Sethe kills Beloved, her attitude toward life radically alters. Sethe suddenly becomes dissatisfied by Beloved’s company but she also abhors her when Paul D. comes around and visits her house. This indifferent attitude is due to the the murder of her daughter in Sweet Home. Having killed someone in general is something that affects the mind permanently, unless one truly forgets. In Sethe’s case, Beloved’s company does not allow Sethe’s to have a stable attitude. For example, sometimes the Beloved’s actions affect Sethe’s attitude because she would have strange outburst of anger because Paul D. was in their home. The complete restoration of her present and attitude will only occur if her past is forgotten, this means forgetting about Beloved because she is dead. Therefore, the only way for Sethe to become free and established, is by letting go of the past faults she has committed.

Sethe’s mental and physical abuse in the past provoke her to desire love and acquire affection in the present. In Sweet Home, the white men took her milk and mistreated her. She became mentally unstable, ultimately because she would be whipped excessively from the slave owner. During this time, she is not embraced nor loved, even at her new home, where she resides with Denver. Sethe seems very lonely at times and would not even bother having visitors. Not until Paul D. arrives at her home, she becomes embraced and the family would go out more often. Hence, she enjoys Paul D.’s company. This is revealed, when he touches her breast and stays with her; he makes her feel alive. Furthermore, because Sethe does not let go of past abuses, she constantly desires and aspirates for love and company because of insecurity. Therefore, in order for Sethe to have complete happiness, she must let go of the hurt others have caused her in order to be genuinely content with life and feel secure.

In conclusion, Sethe’s negative past life affects her present activities, and attitudes. Her personal struggles cause her to become confused, unstable, and isolated from society. All in all, her experiences show that it is vital to release the past in order to live in peace with the present.

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Essay of the Week: “Fake Patriotism”

December 2nd, 2011

Congratulations to Marco, the recipient of the Essay of the Week! Marco has always been sharp, and he’s always been a strong writer, but this week, he put everything together. Congrats.

Fake Patriotism

In the poem by e. e. cummings, the author mocks the pride people believe they have for their country, while he portrays a government of secrecy and lies. cummings uses war in his poem in order to show how clueless the people and soldiers are of the truth. Through style, tone, and diction, cummings describes his feelings toward America in order for the reader to see the truth behind the American government.

The style that cummings uses in his poem shows how the speaker first describes pride, and then the lies of the government.. He begins his poem writing, “god america i love you …” The beginning of his poem expresses the love one has for his country. Although he doesn’t capitalize “america”, which symbolizes the unimportance of the name, the speaker shows pride by reciting “oh say can you see”, part of the “Star-Spangled Banner”. In the end of the poem, once he has pointed out the negative and unnecessary effects of war, cummings writes “He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water.” In these last lines, the reader can see the first capitalized letters in the poem. The fact that the author capitalizes the word “He” shows that cummings is not in fact the speaker of the poem, and is narrating an opinion or thought of someone else. The capitalization on the word shows the reader that the people are much more important than the country itself, and that the word of the people is more truthful than that of the government.

The tone of cummings poem lets the reader see the government is what makes the country corrupted. Near the end of the poem, cummings begins to talk about the soldiers who died for their country. He writes, “why talk of beauty what could be more beautiful than these heroic happy dead who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter they did not stop to think they died instead then shall the voice of liberty be mute?” War is a duty of the soldiers, who believe there is a cause behind it when there is not. The author tells how the soldiers “did not stop to think”, meaning they were led onto this war through trickery. The soldiers that died did so without truth. cummings writes, “shall the voice of liberty be mute?” telling the reader how the government deceives many individuals, and manipulates them into doing something without motive. In the end of the poem, the reader can see that the government is the cause of negativity for the country, and it is up to the people to make it right.

Diction in cumming’s poem helps the reader see the emphasis in which he criticizes the country. While talking about war, cummings writes “happy dead”. Through this description, the reader can see that the soldiers have died happily fighting for their country thinking there was a cause to do so, when there wasn’t. Since the truth is hidden from them, the soldiers died happily not knowing the truth. In addition, cummings uses the word “slaughter” to describe the death of the soldiers. Through the use of this word, the reader can see the soldiers died gruesomely. They happily sacrificed themselves for their country, the country that made them fight without cause.

Through style, tone, and diction, cummings shows to the reader the pride he has in his country, while at the same time expressing the unimportant aspects of his country. The lives sacrificed for the country were done so through the trickery of the government, not allowing the soldiers to think before giving their life to their country. The government is responsible for the corruption of a country, and cumming’s portrays that in his poem, letting the reader know the people’s word is a much more important one.

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Essay of the Week: The Judgment

November 18th, 2011

Congratulations to Leo, the recipient of Essay of the Week! I liked this essay because the message was insightful and the analysis was incisive. Without the many grammar errors (Leo is improving his grammar, too), this essay would’ve been a 7!

Leave him some comments!

The Judgment

Don DeLillo describes the childhood of the murderer that is responsible for the assassination of President Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, in his book Libra. In the given passage, DeLillo portrays Oswald as an isolated child in society. In order to do so, DeLillo uses an apathetic tone to describe the protagonist’s inner activity, creates an image of an antisocial person who isolates himself from society and uses a limited third person’s point of view which restricts readers from seeing Oswald’s true self and allows readers to judge Oswald fairly.

DeLillo describes Oswald as an emotionless child, which disconnects readers from the protagonist. For example, while Oswald sees an Italian is murdered in a candy store, DeLillo uses concise words to describe the scene precisely. He says the man is “shot five times” (22), his brain “dashing the wall” (23) near the comic-book rack; and after all this violence, he adds a fact that “his mother sold stocking in Manhattan” at the end. The precision and concision in DeLillo’s word makes this sentence like a news report. News broadcasts are emotionless speeches that only report information; therefore, Oswald, too must feels emotionless and merely reports the scene to readers. While the majority of people can hardly stay calm at the scene of murder scene, DeLillo uses the apathetic tone in Oswald’s word to describe the lack of empathy of the main character. Such description provides readers a better understanding of the protagonist and prevents reader from feeling empathy toward Oswald.

The author uses Oswald’s strange behavior to create imagery. Oswald is portrayed as a character who is not good at communication. In the passage, when he sees attractive girls try to talk to him with things he does not understand, Oswald “[makes] his smile in his secret way” (6-7). This action immediately leads the readers to imagine a silent guy who responds with nothing but a creepy smile, while somebody talks to him. This strange behavior indicates that Oswald has secret thoughts in his mind and hide them in his heart. However, the thought is not being clarify by DeLillo, which leave space for readers to make their own judgment. Furthermore, when Oswald receives a free gift from a woman. he pushes it away because he thinks it costs money. However, when he notices the gift is free and it is Mother’s Day: “He folded the leaflet neatly and put it in his pocket to save for later” (34-35). Although the author never describes what Oswald is trying to do,  his actions have told readers that he wants to pretend it is his gift for his mother. DeLillo draws an image in readers’ mind by describing Oswald’s behavior. These behaviors tell readers that Oswald is a phony liar who uses gift from the woman to pretend his Mother’s day gift. After readers are able to see the protagonist in their own imagination, they can understand Oswald more and able to make their own decision toward Oswald’s moral belief.

DeLillo uses a limited third person’s point of view to describe Oswald’s inner activity. While Oswald’s thought remain unclear in this passage, readers must try to understand the characters’ inner activity on their own. For instance, while Oswald rides the subway, the author writes: “He liked the feeling [people] were on the edge” (47). It is unclear what kind of feeling it is for readers. Perhaps, it is a furious feeling that Oswald wants to push people off the edge or it is a philosophical feeling that everybody is being pushed to the edge unconsciously. However, until the author gives a real answer, that Oswald felt fury, readers are allowed to make their own assumption and judgment toward Oswald’s character. Another example is while Oswald walks into the subway, he feels that “the noise had a power” (53), “the dark had a power” (54) and “the view down the tracks was a form of power” (55). Because DeLillo never tells readers why there is power in the noise, the darkness and the view; therefore, readers have to make their own guess. The author uses third person’s point of view to manipulate and limit information about the protagonist. He does this to allow readers to judge Oswald equally, because in real life nobody can know others’ thought.

DeLillo uses tone, imagery and a third person’s point of view to introduce Oswald’s character to readers; however, he also purposely hides Oswald’s thought to allow readers to make their own judgment toward the protagonist. While the thought is hidden, readers can draw and connections between Oswald’s childhood and his assassination in the future, individually. DeLillo limits the information about Oswald’s thought to make sure the conclusion of the connection drawn by readers are not misguided.

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Essay of the Week: Social Conflicts in Catcher

November 4th, 2011

In the book, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the main character, Holden, is in constant conflict with society both literally and metaphorically. It is by design that Holden asserts his independence because this shapes his individuality. His character is defined by his resilient actions against society. Some instances are during his time at Yancy Academy, others during his time in New York, and some on his general view of society; these instances show overall conflict within the book.

Holden does not want to conform to society’s standards because he believes he is an outcast. When Holden is first at Yancy Academy, he decides to fail his classes even though he is full well intelligent enough to pass them. He does not do his work, solely on the fact that he believes it is beneath him. To society, that is unacceptable and because of this people tend to avoid him. He deters contact with others, which sets the theme of independence. Thus leaving Holden to rely on himself for comfort and support. The author does this so that Holden, as a character, is isolated. His isolation is seen as bizarre to society which puts Holden into a position where he must choose between his morality and society’s.

During Holden’s time in New York he learns of society’s “do’s and don’t’s”. One example is where he finds it socially acceptable to wear a bright red hunting hat, while society questions his choice of wearing a red hunting hat rather than a regular, socially acceptable, hat. He does this to further his distance from society by making himself stand out. This conflict with society gives Holden the idea that his independence is unacceptable. However, to him, his differences give him a greater learning experience by giving him a difference in perspective while also being able to learn about acceptable behavior, according to society.

Holden separates himself because he believes that society has an antiquated sense of morality, while his morality is more modern. Throughout the book, Holden criticizes people based on their morality. For example, he calls people “phony” to show that he feels the way they think is obsolete. However, in his sense of thought he hates change. To him and to a select few in the book, Holden believes that they got older while their minds stayed young. He believes that all adults are “phony”, while to society; to lose one’s innocence is a part of growing up. This is a major conflict in the book that Holden finds metaphorically baffling. He is mentally stumped because he does not want to lose his innocence if it requires him to get lost in the crowd, so to speak. Holden’s constant clash with society is due to the fact that he is trying to grow up while at the same time, keep his innocence.

In conclusion, Holden’s views in general are the exact opposite of society’s; however, this is to give the overall meaning of independence to the book. His views are made to be the opposite. He is meant to be an outcast to show that even he can succeed, even without society’s help. It is a bold statement from the author to give a character the exact opposite attributes of society to show independence.

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Essay of the Week #5: Jane’s Imprisonment

October 21st, 2011

Congratulations to Brenda, this week’s recipient of Essay of the Week! Focus on her succinct economy of language. This means that Brenda does not waste words; each sentence conveys meaning.

Jane’s Imprisonment

In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte introduces a young orphan who is surrounded with constant limitations throughout her life. In order to intensify this constraint, Bronte uses diction, imagery, and point of view to make the reader relate to her daily imprisonment, and to feel sympathy for the outcast orphan.

The author uses diction to create a emphasize the dissatisfaction and constraint in Jane’s life. Jane describes parts of her life as “dreadful,” (6) “saddened,” (7) and even having an “inferiority” (8). Jane has an inferiority, which restricts her from doing things others may do such as being “clustered round their mamma” (10). The dreadful diction reflects the feeling of confinement Jane has. Jane cannot even socialize with others. Jane says that her foster mother had “regretted to be under the necessity of keeping me at a distance” (14). Isolation is a form of restriction for Jane because she cannot even voice her opinions. She is impeded from having friends, company and happiness.

Bronte uses imagery of gloomy weather in the story to represent the longevity of Jane’s constraint.. The story is set in a “cold winter” (3) during a “ drear November day” (29). The sky is filled with “clouds so somber and rain so penetrating” (4). Not only do people restrict Jane but the weather does so too. The weather itself is restricting, penetrating and interfering with her life. In a way the weather reflects Jane’s emotions after being imprisoned for so long. Later in the passage, Bronte describes a scenery full of “pale blank mist” (31) with “ceaseless rain sweeping away wildly before long and lamentable blast” (33). The story began with “leafless shrubbery” (2) which represents loneliness and cold winter wind. It ends with mist and a strong rain that doesn’t seem to stop. Because of this, Jane realizes that her constraint and isolation will not cease and may even get worse in the future. The winter time represents sadness, and even death. In this case the death is not a literal one, but it is the weakening of Jane’s hope for freedom.

Since the story is told in a first person narrative with Jane as the narrator, one feels Jane’s suffering and one knows her personal opinions firsthand. Her momma then commands “Be seated somewhere; and until you can speak pleasantly, remain silent” (23). Jane is commanded to restrict herself from speaking, therefore the reader is too. The only time someone speaks to Jane is to dictate a demand or a restriction. Jane has no human connection because the only interaction she gets are commands. Her confinement is not only woeful but it restricts her social interactions as well. Another insight one gets from Jane’s narrative is a description of her personal moments. Since she is outcasted she goes into another room where she was “shrined in double retirement” (27) under a heavy curtain to view the worsening weather. She secludes herself even more from the family into a small window sill. The window sill represents her longing for escape while the heavy curtain is the atrocious. As she looks out the window she confronts her declining future.

Charlotte Bronte uses diction, imagery, and point of view in Jane Eyre to emphasize the confinement in Jane’s life. Bronte does this so readers can feel her confinement and sympathize and relate to the lonely girl.

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Chris: Transformation

October 10th, 2011

Since the first essay we did this year, I hoped that one day I would be able to get Essay of the Week. This week it came true. I was finally recognized for my hard work. My transformation has begun, and I only hope to grow even more from now on.

Transforming Kid GIF - Transforming Kid

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Essay of the Week: “Joy and Pain of Infants”

October 7th, 2011

Congratulations to Chris, the winner of this week’s Essay of the Week! What do you think of it? Write your comments (1 positive, 1 grammar suggestion) before Monday at Noon.

Joy and Pain of Infants

Poetry has a way of magnifying imagery to create a deeper representation of what is truly meant to be pictured. In the poems, “Morning Song” and “Infant Sorrow”, Sylvia Plath and William Blake use imagery as a way to intensify their idea of infancy. Both poems explore the same idea of infancy, but have different interpretations on the beginning of a newborn life. Blake uses imagery to describe infancy as terrible and evil, while Plath describes it as beautiful and serene.

In her poem, Sylvia Plath uses imagery as a way to express the beauty and serenity of infancy. This type of imagery helps describe her perspective on infants by intensifying the beauty she sees. She describes the infant’s cries as “clear vowels” that “rise like balloons”, as a way to describe the serenity of the cries that are always seen as annoying. She uses  “our voices echo magnifying your arrival.” Plath shows the magnitude of having a new born baby and the joy it brings to a family. Unlike Blake’s poem, Plath’s interprets crying as joyful, and not bothering, resembling a song. She describes the baby crying, like playing the “notes” of a song. The imagery she conveys help understand the beauty she sees within infants.

In his poem, William Blake uses imagery as a way to describe the sorrow of having a new born baby. Blake uses imagery so that the sorrow in his poem is amplified and to make the pain much more noticeable. He describes infants as “Helpless, naked, piping loud”, by also describing their inner feelings as “bound and weary”. He utilizes imagery by describing more inner feelings and is able to represent infancy as painful. A time in some one’s life where everything is “dangerous” and the only place safe is with the mother or father. Unlike Plath’s poem, Blake uses imagery as way to show how painful a baby can be. The pain a delicate human being can take, and the protection they need from their “mother”.

Blake’s and Plath’s poems both utilize imagery as a way to deepen their true thoughts about infancy, by explaining more and more about the pain and sorrow it brings. Plath’s poem is a poem that revolves around the idea that infants bring joy. Blake’s poem is more centralized on the idea that they only cause pain. But, poems speak about the mother being the caretaker. Blake and Plath use imagery to convey the mother as the savior of the baby. In Plath’s poem, she is the one saves the infant from crying. For example, she says “One cry, and I stumble from bed, cow-heavy and floral”. This description shows how the mother is characterized as the person who saves the baby. In Blake’s poem, she is also seen as the savior of the baby, by being the person the infant can trust. He describes the infant’s movements towards the mother as “to sulk upon my mother’s breast.” This imagery also conveys the mother as being the person who can save the infant from any misery, relieving any tension put on him.

Both poems convey the idea of infancy differently, to further explain the different interpretations of having a new child. They both include the idea of protection from their mother, and how infants rely on them to start their own lives. Overall, Plath sees infancy as a joyful experience where a baby is the most important and innocent thing in a person’s life. Blake sees infancy as a painful moment in life where infants cause terrible feeling to individuals. Not only those imagery magnify the representations of infancy in the poem, it shows the joy and pain of infants.

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Essay of the Week: Overcoming Obstacles

September 30th, 2011

Congratulations to Monae, who made a huge breakthrough this week. This essay is a testament to how much improvement can come through effort.

Overcoming All Obstacles

In “A White Heron,” Sarah Orne Jewett uses diction, imagery, and narrative pace to dramatize the adventure of the main character, Sylvia. The author dramatizes the adventure to emphasize the theme of reaching our goals.

The author first conveys her message by using diction to accentuate the difficulty of Sylvia’s journey. The tree, which symbolizes her challenge, is portrayed as “monstrous” (21). This choice of words not only implies difficulty but also danger. In addition , the tree is without “boundary” (4), which shows that Sylvia is going at her own risk. Therefore,  the author’s diction sets up a huge obstacle. Later in the passage, the diction changes when Sylvia triumphs over the challenge. Sylvia is “brave (51) and “determined” (45), no longer “small and silly” (17). This change in diction demonstrates the grit that Sylvia has developed.

Jewett uses imagery by describing  the scene of how Sylvia is feeling about meeting her goal. At first Jewett conveys  Sylvia as a brave girl but as she sees the “green leaves heavy and wet with dew” (24-25), she starts to get that fear and notice that this adventure is not as easy as she thought it would be. As she discovers this, she then  “crept out along the saying oak limb at last, and took the daring step across into the old pine-tree” (34-35). Once Sylvia does this, Jewett expresses triumph and a “daring” (35) characteristic that helps Sylvia get through her obstacle. As she perseveres, she soon reaches the top and notices how in  the “glorious east flew two hawks” (60). “How low they looked in the air from that height when before one had only seen far up” (61-62). When Sylvia finally sees this panoramic view, the author symbolizes this as the met expectation of finally reaching her goal. When “Sylvia felt as if she too could go flying away among clouds” (65-66) that was the moment when she felt as if she could accomplish all. The purpose that Jewett made in using imagery was that, sky’s the limit and its better to visualize it and live it.

Finally Jewett uses narrative pace so that the reader can get a smooth flow of how her adventure went. The author describes Sylvia’s adventure in a format that gives the readers a consistent pattern of what Sylvia went through in her adventure. The author uses phrases that describe the height of the tree as “monstrous” (21). Then the author then slowly works down to showing how she becomes afraid of the “dangerous pass” (31) and later builds the adventure to Sylvia being this “brave” (51) women with grit. The flow of how the story was presented has affect on how the journey went. Jewett put the narrative pace in this motion so it can let the reader digest the heroic experience Sylvia went through and how you can achieve your goals.

In conclusion, in this piece the author does dramatize Sylvia’s adventure by using diction, imagery and narrative pace. She does this by using “brave” (51) and “small silly”(17) vocabulary, descriptive image and a steady narrative  pace to exaggerate how her emotions on her adventure changes as she reaches the “golden dazzle” (59) of success.  Therefore Jewett sends the message of “determination” (45) through Sylvia by showing readers that she met her goal and that she is capable of getting to that higher place in life.

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Essay of the Week #2: “Blackberry-Picking”

September 16th, 2011

Congratulations to Wendy! For your Weekender, let’s leave some good comments for her!

It is More than Just Blackberry Picking

The poem “Blackberry-Picking” by Seamus Heaney gives the reader literal description of blackberry picking but also a deeper meaning. The poem as a whole is a metaphor of  growing up and loosing innocence by adulthood. It  is constructed of smaller metaphors that demonstrate hardships and the vivid image of childhood’s innocence. In the poem, blackberry picking can be define as hardships, hard work but also the phase of childhood turning into adulthood which is shown through metaphors, imagery and diction.The poem itself can be viewed as a metaphor of a childhood experience that then turns into adulthood. The poem uses metaphors that transmit hardships that are faced towards the end of childhood and makes one see the reality in where the inevitable happens; the transformation into adulthood. To demonstrate this the speaker breaks the poem into two stanzas, in the first stanza the narrator uses the blackberries as a metaphor to describe himself and his last moments of childhood, “the blackberries would ripen.” This metaphor demonstrates that he was growing up just like the berries. Moreover, he is enjoying the last moments of his childhood that will forever stay with him, “Leaving stains upon the tongue.” The speaker also adds that in his childhood there were hardships, “We trekked” but also enjoyed his childhood to the maximum “picked until the cans were full.” Towards the end of the stanza he begins to lose his innocence and starts his journey to adulthood, “our palms sticky as Bluebeard’s.”This brings the reader to the second stanza which shows the metaphor of the transformation into an adult, “A rat-grey fungus, glutting on our cache.” This line shows that it was inevitable to not face this phase in life because no matter how unconsciously one tries to hide from it, it still shows up. In addition, the speaker expresses that he wishes his childhood could stay and it hurts him to have to grow up.

Besides metaphors the speaker also uses various imagery throughout the poem. The imagery used is a demonstration to the reader of the transformation and struggle of innocence and reality. The speaker wants the reader to feel and see his experience and view of childhood but also see his transformation into an adult. This is an experience that all readers can relate to, therefore he paints the picture of these experience through the description of imagery. For example, when the speaker says, “given heavy rain and sun” picturing both at the same time the reader realizes there is a struggle. The rain is blocking the sun, specifically the adulthood is blocking childhood from shinning through any longer. Imagery in the first stanza is positive the speaker describes those blackberries nicely “a glossy purple clot” but in the second stanza he describes them as filled with fungus. Finally, in the second stanza when the speaker says, “We hoarded the fresh blackberries in the byre” the reader can clearly see that he was really trying to protect his childhood.

Diction in this poem is also an important element. The diction in this poem is not too difficult to understand but it is also not so simple either. Some words such as, “hoarded” and “byre” are not common words which makes them more hard to understand. However, they serve to be direct and give the poem an intensity and seriousness. Moreover, the use of uncommon words demonstrate the difficulty of this dilemma that everyone faces. Besides that, the use of words such as “summer’s blood” in the first stanza portray that it was a happy time, a time of blossom in his life. In contrast, in the second stanza he uses the words “fungus” and “wasn’t fair” which give the poem a negative aspect that show he was unhappy with this change his life.

The use of the metaphors, imagery and diction all give the poem a more deeper understanding. Through these elements the poet conveys the deeper meaning of what the narrator’s experience is really about. Facing the hardship of transitioning into adulthood and leaving innocence behind. Any reader can relate to this because everyone confronts this phase of life. This is a hardship that no mater how hard one tries to avoid it, eventually it will occur. We all face the struggle of letting go one of the best time of our lives, where everything is happiness and then all of the sudden face a different struggles life brings every year as one becomes older. The “Blackberry-Picking” demonstrates that it is okay for this circumstance to happen because it happens to everyone.

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AP Essay of the Week: Justice in The Kite Runner

September 1st, 2011

Justice in The Kite Runner

In the book the Kite Runner, justice is something that isn’t honored by the characters. They just let problems repeatedly go on until no one cares to mention it. Amir, the protagonist sees his servant being molested yet he says nothing in order to get justice. At first he believes that peoples’ needs of justice are nonequivalent, then he discovers that everyone has an equal need for justice, and finally his search for justice creates an underlying theme of acceptance.

Amir at first believes that not all people deserve equal justice. Amir’s servant gets raped by the neighborhood bully, but Amir does not say anything about it He did not feel that his servant’s right to justice, was equal to his own. Amr could have told someone what would happen, and retrieve justice for his servant but he chose to keep his mouth shut for fear of being attacked by the neighborhood bully. Amir feels that his whims are more important than the needs of his servant because his servant is a second class citizen and is not affected by the same rules as normal people. Amir does not see justice as an equal oppurtunity.

When Amir gets older, he discovers that all people should have equal justice. Because he realizes that he was wrong, Amir sets out to retrieve justice for his servant. Amir understands that people from all walks of life are the same and are deserving of equal justice. Therefore he acquires justice for his servant by confronting the neighborhood bully and adopting his servant’s son. Amir understands that all people deserve equal justice, therefore he gets justice for those who have been wronged.

Because of the search for justice the theme of acceptance can easily be seen. Speciffically, accepting people who are different than you are and understanding that even though you are different, you are the same in some areas. The search for justice in the book brings people together based off of their differences instead of driving them apart.

Amir first believed that not all people were entitled to equal justice, then he grows up and realizes that  everyone is entitled to justice,  and the  search for justice in the entire book points out the theme of acceptance.According to the Kite Runner, justice brings us together.

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