Summaries and Analyses of Lit - Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice is arguably Jane Austen's most famous novel. The story, about five sisters, is set in England - at their home, Longbourn, in Meryton, in London, at Netherfield, and at Pemberly. The protagonist, Elizabeth, is a stubborn girl who insists that she will not marry except for love. Her older sister, Jane, is the most lovely sister and is sweet to the point to wanting to please and think well of everybody. Their three younger sisters, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia are insufferably silly, as their father points out. Mary is very intellectual, although not incredibly astute or intelligent. Lydia is the silliest of all, concerned only with soldiers and dancing, and Kitty, although the older of the two, seems to follow Lydia's lead. Their mother, Mrs. Bennett, is horribly obnoxious as she cares only that her daughters are well married. Her husband, Mr. Bennett, thinks himself very much above his wife and younger daughters, greatly favoring the older two, especially Lizzy. He is a kind father, however, and thinks very much ahead of his time as he accepts Lizzy's idea of marrying for love. Their world is thrown upside down when a Mr. Charles Bingley moves into a nearby estate, Netherfield. With him, he brings his two sisters, brother-in-law, and good friend, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. Bingley is a charming, sweet, obliging man who falls almost immediately in love with Jane. Darcy is taken for very proud early on and earns a nasty reputation among the Bennett's acquaintances. As Mrs. Bennett tries to get Jane settled with Bingley, she is also trying to get Lizzy engaged to Mr. Collins, a cousin who will inherit Mr. Bennett's estate after he dies. When Lizzy refuses, Mr. Collins, he proposes to Charlotte Lucas, Lizzy's close friend. She marries him, not for love, but only to be well settled, even though it is with such a ridiculous man as Mr. Collins. Throughout, Lizzy has been firmly prejudiced against Darcy and his seemingly proud, disgusting manners. He, however, is more and more intrigued by her. After a shocking marriage proposal, he writes Lizzy a letter explaining his past with Mr. Wickham and why he endeavored to break up Jane and Bingley. Lydia, meanwhile, has run off with Wickham, who was originally interested in Lizzy. After Lizzy learns the truth of Wickham's involvement with the Darcy family and Darcy has saved her youngest sister from near scandal, Lizzy realizes she has been quite in love with him for some time. In the end, Lizzy and Darcy are married, as are Jane and Bingley. Austen writes in the 3rd person in the voice of narrator who knows everything that is going on and definitely provides some opinion in certain places.
QUOTES:
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." This single quote, the first line of the novel, gets right down to the heart of the meaning and purpose of the story by touching on the two most important aspects: marriage and fortune. In those days, it was a woman's job to be married in order to not be a burden on her family. It follows, then, that a girl would want to be as well off as possible after marriage. This is all that Mrs. Bennett is trying to do for her girls, despite her rotten relationship with them. Lizzy, then, while being true to herself and wanting only to marry for love, a seemingly romantic and lovely idea, is, in fact, being somewhat selfish.
THEME: Elizabeth, like Darcy, has extreme pride and prejudice throughout the novel that keeps her from recognizing her love for Darcy for much of the novel. Much of this may be due to the society that she grew up in and her disgust with the norm of marriage without love. Through Elizabeth's faults and eventual realizations, Austen shows that, while remaining true to who you are, pride and prejudice will stand in the way of your happiness.
- Lizzy always herself --- ends up with best situation
- Pride in herself and prejudice against Darcy keeps her away from him
- Prejudice comes from society and class distinctions
- Will not marry without love --- burden to her family

Summaries and Analyses of Lit - Hamlet

Hamlet  was written by William Shakespeare, one of his most famous tragedies. The play is set at Elsinore Castle in Denmark where the old King Hamlet has just passed away. His brother, Claudius, has taken the throne and married his widow, Gertrude. Old Hamlet's ghost appears to his son, also called Hamlet, and tells him that he was murdered by Claudius and instructs young Hamlet to take revenge on his uncle. The play then follows Hamlet's struggle as he decides whether or not to kill his uncle. In the meantime, Denmark is paranoid of the threat of an attack from young Fortinbras whose father, king of Norway, lost some land and his life in a duel with old Hamlet. Other important characters include Ophelia, Polonius, Laertes, and Horatio. Horatio is Hamlet's best friend and ends up being the only person that Hamlet truly trusts. He is a skeptic and eventually carries out Hamlet's last wishes. Polonius is an adviser to the king. His son, Laertes, goes to school in France but returns after his father is killed by Hamlet to enact revenge. His daughter, Ophelia, goes quite mad and ends up drowning. She was in love with Hamlet and he with her, although he broke off their relationship in the play. There is some evidence to suggest she kills herself because she was pregnant, although that is never said outright. In the end, Claudius, Gertrude, Laertes, Polonius, Ophelia, and Hamlet are all dead. In other words, there is no one left with a claim to the throne of Denmark. Hamlet's dying wish is that Fortinbras, an outsider, will take the throne. Shakespeare, of course, is known for his eloquent language. He uses iambic pentameter, switching out of it only when speaking of a vile, base, offensive subject or when a particularly uneducated character speaks. There are many allusions in Hamlet to the Bible including references to the story of Adam and Eve and to Peter, who denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed.
QUOTES:
"There is a certain providence in the fall of a sparrow." This, of course, is a reference to the Bible. The quote demonstrates that Hamlet knows that he will probably die when he goes to meet Laertes but accepts it.
"There is something rotten in the state of Denmark." This quote is a pretty clear foreshadowing of the coming action. It implies all the corruption of the royal family of Denmark and foreshadows the coming action.
THEME: Hamlet recognizes the corruption of the royal family of Denmark and has been instructed by his father's ghost to kill his uncle. Throughout the play, he struggles with his obligations as ruler and son. In the end, after all other have died, he meets his own death willingly and requests that an outsider, Fortinbras, take the throne. His tragic end shows that he realized Shakespeare's message that you must often sacrifice yourself for the greater good.
- Corruption - Gertrude and Claudius, murder, Hamlet's inaction, Polonius and Claudius's plotting
- Ghost scene, tells him to kill Claudius
- Has opportunity to kill uncle, does not
- "... fall of a sparrow." quote

Summaries and Analyses of Lit - Ceremony

Written by Leslie Marmon Silko. The novel is set on and around the Laguna Pueblo reservation in the Southwest, although, through Tayo's flashbacks, we see the jungle in the Philippines and a sort of mythical land of the stories told to Tayo. The time is mostly after WWII, although, again, through flashbacks and stories we visit earlier times, as well. The novel is mostly told through a third person narrative but perspective switches back and forth between characters, often without warning. The poems interwoven throughout the prose sometimes switch to first person. The protagonist, Tayo, is a young Laguna boy who has recently returned from WWII. The novel deals with Tayo's struggle after the war - to find himself, to deal with the guilt of coming home without his cousin Rocky, and to understand his culture and place in the world, especially among the whites. Rocky was Tayo's best friend, like a brother, who died in the war. Tayo feels somewhat responsible for this, especially considering Rocky's mother, Tayo's Auntie, never forgives him. Auntie took Tayo in after her sister, Tayo's mother, died. They also live with Auntie's husband, Robert, and Old Grandma who understands the great connected web that Tayo is slowly coming to recognize. Josiah, Tayo's uncle, is learned of only through Tayo's memories. He was Tayo's father figure who died while Tayo was away during war due to his cattle herd. Tayo feels responsible for his death because he was not there to help with the cattle.  Emo is the antagonist. He represents witchery, the evil Gambler of some of the stories. Old Betonie, the medicine man, helps Tayo understand this witchery, in Emo and in others, white or otherwise. He helps Tayo complete the ceremony that ultimately saves Tayo and brings him to understand the interconnected nature of life. T'seh, a woman Tayo meets several times and, you might say, falls in love with. She represents the mountains and therefore the land, to which Tayo is connected. She is something more than human, a spirit who helps Tayo further along in his journey toward understanding. Other important characters include the other boys (Harley, Pinkie, Leroy) who just got home from the war like Emo and Tayo. Also, the Night Swan, who has an affair with Josiah and later, briefly, Tayo, and like T'seh, is more spirit than human. Silko employs imagery beautifully in her novel, especially in descriptions of nature. The tone of the novel is somber, certainly not happy. At times, Tayo is desperate and despairing but overall, the tone is hopeful. Motifs are used frequently. Mountains, for example, in T'seh (surname - Montaño) and in the mountain lion, who appears in several places. Colors are a very important motif, as well, especially blue (Night Swan, Josiah's truck, pollen, jewelry -- a sacred color) and yellow (corn, pollen, dirty bar walls, urine). Directions are also important in the novel. In the Laguna culture, ceremonies moved through the sunwise cycle while all witchery moved in the opposite direction. The structure of the novel is very interesting, also. There are large blank spots in the book which represent silence and thought, as if the story were being told in the oral tradition in which all the old stories were meant to be told.
QUOTES:
"It seems like I've already heard these stories before... only thing is, the names sound different." Old Grandma says this after Tayo tells her the story of Emo's death. This illustrates the idea of the web that is so important in Silko's novel and culture. Everything is connected, all the stories are just retold over and over. Grandma knows this, as many of the elders do.
"They never thought to blame the white people for any of it..."
"Nothing is that simple... You don't write off all the white people, just like you don't trust all the Indians." These quotes are very important in showing the relationship between white and native culture, which is very prominent in the novel. The first has to do with the anger of Tayo (at certain points) and of many other Native Americans at the white people who stole their land. The relationship between white and native culture is very important in the novel. The second is a quote from Betonie who tries to show Tayo that, really, we are all the same, all on this great web, all connected.
THEME: 
Silko uses many devices to show that while it is important to hold on to your culture, specifically that of the Laguna people, you must adapt to keep your culture strong.
- Betonie and his updated ceremonies
- The cycles
- Nonlinear storyline
- Use of stories throughout
- Witchery found in present day Emo

Summaries and Analyses of Lit - Death of a Salesman

This play was written by Arthur Miller in 1949. The play is set in New York. Throughout the play, we see a hotel in Boston, the Loman's house, the office of Willy's boss, and Charlie's office, although the house is most important set. Many of these settings are seen through Willy's flashbacks, which are numerous and give us a good idea of life before the play starts as well as introduces us to Willy's brother, Ben. Ben, now deceased,  supposedly got rich in Alaska and is a role model for Willy, almost a god-like figure in Willy's life. Willy Loman is the main character. He is a traveling salesman through New England. To Willy, the most important things in life are being financially secure and well-liked, a belief he imposes on his sons. His eldest son, Biff, is back at home, trying to find a job in business in the City. We learn that Biff is not meant for business as he wants to be out west.  The younger son, Happy, tries constantly to please his parents, saying "I'm getting married, Mom". Their mother, Linda, is also only trying to please Willy, despite him constantly yelling at her. The plot follows Willy's deterioration, as he loses his job and slips further and further into his flashbacks.
Symbols are important in Death of a Salesman. For example, stockings are representative of infidelity and betrayal on Willy's part as he is buying new stockings for the woman he is sleeping with, in order to make a sale, which means he cannot buy new stockings for Linda. There are important motifs in the play, as well, such as the American West, the jungle, and Alaska. These are referenced when talking about Biff or Ben. The jungle and Alaska have to do with Willy's failure where his father and brother succeeded. The American West is a part of Biff's potential, as it is the place where he feels most like himself and the happiest.
"I want you to know... that you cut down your life for spite!" Willy says this to Biff and it is a great example of Willy's selfishness. Even when he is angry at Biff for something that Biff wants, he believes it is all about him, done simply to spite him.
"Isn't that - isn't that remarkable? Biff - he likes me!" Willy says that after fighting with Biff. This shows Willy's intense need to be well-liked as well as his desire to be a good father.
THEME: Miller is telling his audience that success comes from being true to yourself, not from financial success and being well-liked, as Willy believes.
Things to support theme: 
Setting - Willy, who has worked all his life to be wealthy and well-liked, finds himself living in a dreary house with little money to speak of.
Motifs - The motifs of Alaska and the jungle help us to understand Willy's failure, especially financially. The west, on the other hand, represents Biff's potential. If he stays true to himself and what he wants, he will go west and be able to meet his full potential as a human being.

Summaries and Analyses of Lit - The American Dream

Written by Edward Albee, this play has qualities and characteristics of the Theatre of the Absurd. The entire play is set in a single room of a boring, drab apartment owned by Mommy and Daddy, two unhappy characters who have turned to superficiality and consumerism to make up for their unsatisfying life. Grandma also lives with them. She seems to be the wisest character, full of irony and wit, talking to the audience as if she knows it's a play. She also seems to understand what is going on with the Young Man who visits the apartment. Mrs. Barker also visits Mommy and Daddy. She is whom they have been waiting for all this time, having apparently set them up with their "bumble of joy" years earlier. The Young Man supposedly the "American Dream" and Grandma labels him as such. He is a beautiful boy but empty, due to the murder of his twin, which we understand to be the "bumble". He ends up staying with Mommy and Daddy, a replacement for their "lost" child, which is what Barker was called about. She uses "we" and "our" in referring to herself, indicating that she is an interchangeable character, as she is also the chairman of the woman's club Mommy saw earlier but didn't recognize now. Grandma tries to tell Mrs. Barker what happened to Mommy and Daddy's child but she doesn't understand.
There are many motifs in the play including the boxes, old people, emasculation, and rooms. There are also parallels. For example, Mommy is unsatisfied with her first hat but is then happy with the same hat. She was unsatisfied with her first child but is now happy with her second (the Young Man) because she is seeing him from a new perspective.
Some good quotes include "That's the way things are today, and there's nothing you can do about it." Daddy's line is a repeated idea, especially in the first play. They use other words like "naturally" which reinforce their belief that they cannot help their situation, everything is out of their control. Another good quote which demonstrates Grandma's role in the play, as well as reinforcing the theme of fleeting, artificial satisfaction is Grandma's line, "So, let's leave things as they are right now... while everybody's happy... while everybody's got what he wants... or everybody's got what he thinks he wants."
THEME: Albee shows his audience that when people become unsatisfied in their personal lives they turn to the fleeting, artificial satisfaction of consumerism. This is what Mommy and Daddy do and Albee, through Grandma, warns his audience not to be like them.
Things that support theme:
Setting - A drab apartment. Mommy and Daddy's chairs are set apart and turned towards each other which is oddly cold and formal, suggesting an unhappy marriage.
Title - Gets the audience thinking before the play even starts about the "American Dream". Helps us see that Grandma is the old, good American Dream and the Young Man, although it isn't his fault, represents the new, superficial American Dream.
Motifs - Diction and phrases like "naturally" and "can't get satisfaction". The boxes, suggesting Grandma (the old American Dream) is leaving, giving hope to that better way of living.

Revision of Open Prompt #5

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.

Conflict between parent and child is one of the most fascinating topics for authors to explore, possibly because they have experienced it. Arthur Miller delves into this complex issue in his play, Death of a Salesman, as Willy Loman and his son Biff struggle through a tense relationship. Miller uses detail and a nonlinear timeline to create and explore the conflict between father and son which ultimately shows his audience that Willy's so-called American Dream will not bring the happiness and success that he expects it to.

Miller uses a nonlinear time line in the play to reveal to the audience some of the sources of the conflict between Willy and Biff. The play begins in present day and often flashes back in time to some memory of Willy's. In the beginning, flashbacks show us that when Biff in high school, the two had a wonderful relationship. Present day, however, the conflict and tension in their relationship is evident. Later, Willy flashes back to a memory of Biff visiting him on one of his trips to Boston to tell his father that he flunked math where he finds a young secretary in Willy's hotel room. Willy tries to talk his way around the truth but eventually just tries to justify his affair by saying repeatedly, "I'm so lonely", to his stunned, devastated son. The nonlinear way the story is told shows the audience the original source of conflict between Biff and his father. Miller also provides details that enhance the audience's understanding of this father/son conflict. Throughout the play, details reveal to the audience Willy's idea of a successful life. In other words, his American Dream includes being involved in business, being financially secure, and being "well-liked". Details also show the audience that Biff's idea of the American Dream is much different than his father's. Many times, Biff has left his home to go out west and Miller's details tell what Biff loves about being there: baby calves being born, open air, "the time to sit around and smoke". This, being contrary to Willy's idea of success and happiness, is a major source of tension between the two. 

This conflict contributes heavily to Miller's main point which is that the American Dream, as Willy sees it, will not bring happiness or success to one who achieves it. In the end, Willy finds himself poor and forgotten in the sales world, despite how important those things have always been to him. He still has not let go of this dream, however, and kills himself so his family can have the insurance money that his death will bring them. At his funeral, which no one but his family and two family friends attend, his wife, Linda, repeats the words, "we're free". Willy, now dead, is certainly not free, nor is Linda, nor their other son, Happy, who continues on in the business world, following in Willy's footsteps. Biff, who chooses again to go out west, is the only one who is really free. He finally realizes who he is and that happiness and success comes of that, not of being "well-liked" and rich as his father always said, which is Miller's main point.

Father/son conflict is a commonly explored theme in literature. Miller uses this theme, which he creates through detail and a nonlinear timeline, to get his message across to his audience. He shows that happiness and success comes from knowing and being true to yourself, not from the American Dream that Willy couldn't let go of, the dream of wealth and being "well-liked".

Revision of Open Prompt #4

1993. "The true test of comedy is that it shall awaken thoughtful laughter." Choose a novel, play, or long poem in which a scene or character awakens "thoughtful laughter" in the reader. Write an essay in which you show why this laughter is "thoughtful" and how it contributes to the meaning of the work.

A confused adoption lady, a crazy grandma, a day-old cake, some missing pekingese, and lots and lots of boxes. These details and many others, along with some sarcasm and irony, make Edward Albee's play, The American Dream, a funny one. Underneath the laughter, however, an audience is forced to stop and think about what Albee is trying to say. He uses details and language to, as one critic called it, "awaken thoughtful laughter" in his audience, entertaining them while, at the same time, causing them to consider that when people are dissatisfied in their personal lives, they turn to the artificial and fleeting satisfaction of consumerism. 

Albee uses language and many details to make his audience laugh. Humorous language techniques are found in many places in the play. For example, h

e uses alliteration in the phrase "a penchant for pornography" to highlight the comedy of an adoption lady who is interested in the "intimate" things her clients say. He also uses a paraprosdokian when grandma calls their era "the age of deformity", rather than the age of conformity, as one might expect. These language choices, and others, add to the humor of Albee's play. He also 

uses a plethora of details to create funny moments in the dialogue of his characters. For example, Mommy tells Daddy the story of how she went to buy a beige hat that was really wheat and then when she went to return it, they gave her back the same hat, which she then believed was beige. The story is incredibly lengthy, including details about the hat, the store, and everything that was said. The story is also constantly interrupted by Mommy's complaints and Daddy's inability to pay attention to what she says. The result is a hilarious, albeit somewhat irritating, story about a trip to a hat shop. 

All the humorous language and details found in The American Dream, while entertaining, must also be accompanied by real thought on the part of the audience. The techniques Albee uses to make the audience laugh also point to his main message: that if someone is unsatisfied and unhappy with their personal life, they will turn to consumerism to find satisfaction, although it is false and extremely temporary. The paraprosdokian used by grandma, for example, is a funny use of a common phrase, but it also forces the audience to consider how messed up and therefore unsatisfying their lives really are. The details of Mommy's hat story show that, because of her unsatisfying, "deformed" life, she has turned to consumerism to fill the void. 

Even through the lighthearted laughter Albee's humor causes, the audience is also forced to confront the sad, unhealthy aspects of the characters lives. This laughter, while serving its purpose by entertaining, fulfills another duty by making the audience think about what they are actually laughing at which is Albee's meaning that unsatisfactory personal lives will lead people to the false, fleeting satisfaction of consumerism.

Revision of Open Prompt #3

1972. In retrospect, the reader often discovers that the first chapter of a novel or the opening scene of a drama introduces some of the major themes of the work. Write an essay about the opening scene of a drama or the first chapter of a novel in which you explain how it functions in this way.

Many great authors manage to hint at major themes in their work in the opening scene. Edward Albee masters this in his absurdist play The American Dream. The play centers around several unhappy characters, specifically Mommy and Daddy, and their so-called American Dream. Albee uses diction and detail in the opening scene of the play to hint at one of the overall themes: that when people become dissatisfied in their personal lives, they turn to the fleeting and artificial satisfaction of consumerism.

The curtain rises on a relatively empty stage: just two armchairs occupied by Mommy and Daddy, a couch separating them. This furniture arrangement hints at the distance between the husband and wife, a detail Albee was adamant about in his stage directions. Other details demonstrate the dissatisfaction Mommy and Daddy feel in their relationship, such as the disinterested way that Daddy listens to Mommy talk about her day. They speak of dissatisfaction in other things that reflect their dissatisfaction with each other, such as the tardiness of whomever they are waiting for, as well as that person's inability to get things fixed. They say over and over again that "that's just the way things are today", as if they have no say in the matter. Diction also supports the idea that they have no control, as Albee uses words like "naturally" and "of course". Albee's diction and details show the audience right away that Mommy and Daddy "can't get satisfaction" from each other or their marriage.

The scene continues with Mommy telling Daddy about the new hat she had bought earlier that day. She says that she bought a beige hat but upon leaving the store and speaking with the chairman of her women's club, she discovers that the hat is actually wheat-colored. She storms back into the store, demanding a beige hat. When the store gives her the exact same hat, insisting it is beige, not wheat, she is "satisfied" and purchases the hat. After she finishes her story, Daddy says, "You did get satisfaction, didn't you." And Mommy says that she certainly did. The satisfaction, then, comes from the purchase made, not from being with Daddy or interacting with anyone in her life. Throughout the story, she continues to use the word "naturally", implying that she cannot change the fact that she only gets satisfaction through shopping. She even says to Daddy, "I can always go shopping." The details used to tell her story, as well as the specific diction choices, show the audience that since she isn't satisfied with her marriage, she turns to consumerism to fill the void. 

Despite Mommy's apparent satisfaction, Albee is sure to make it clear that her satisfaction is false and only temporary. Mommy is originally satisfied with her "beige" hat until only minutes later when she decides that it is "wheat". This detail demonstrates the brevity of consumer satisfaction. Albee is telling us that, with consumerism, as quickly as we get what we think we want, we want something else. Albee also talks about the false nature of satisfaction through consumerism through Mommy's comment about the lights in the store. She tells Daddy, twice, that the store has "artificial lights" which caused her to think the wheat hat was beige. The artificial lights are representative of the artificial satisfaction Mommy finds in the store that they illuminate. 

In the first scene of The American Dream, Albee manages to convey a major theme of the play. He comments on the fact that when people become dissatisfied with some aspect of their personal lives, they turn to consumerism to compensate. He is also sure to let his audience know that the satisfaction found in this way is false and only temporary. This important theme is introduced briefly in this first scene and is brought up again and again through the play.

Revision of Open Prompt #1

1985. A critic has said that one important measure of a superior work of literature is its ability to produce in the reader a healthy confusion of pleasure and disquietude. Select a literary work that produces this "healthy confusion." Write an essay in which you explain the sources of the "pleasure and disquietude" experienced by the readers of the work.

More often than not, as humans, we experience many emotions at one time, often conflicting, caused by the multitude of people and circumstances in our lives. Great works of literature, according to one critic, should produce this same effect of "healthy confusion". In Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, a romance set during the Civil War, almost every emotion felt by readers are accompanied by opposite ones. Mitchell uses details and imagery to show characters and events that create the conflicting emotions of "pleasure and disquietude" in the reader which contribute to one of Mitchell's ultimate messages - that no person is either completely good or bad.

Scarlett O'Hara, a young woman of the southern aristocracy, is the novel's protagonist. Throughout the novel, she alternately hates, gets along with, and eventually loves the charming Rhett Butler, a blockade runner who turns up now and then in Scarlett's life. Through her constant use of well-placed details, Mitchell shows readers that Scarlett's character is a head-strong young woman, willing to use any means necessary to get what she wants. For example, when Scarlett's plantation is threatened by heavy property taxes, Scarlett decides to ask Rhett for the money. Mitchell describes in detail Scarlett's fluttering eyelashes, the green velvet curtains out of which she makes a dress, and the tantrums she throws when he refuses her the money. These details certainly create a "disquietude" and displeasure about Scarlett's character. This negative feeling, however, is countered when Mitchell uses more details, as well as imagery, to show Scarlett at her best. Much later, after Scarlett and Rhett have married, Mitchell's gives wonderful details about their daughter, Bonnie, through Scarlett's eyes. Scarlett watches her baby girl and notices the curve of her soft cheek, the gentle curl of her hair, the bright blue of her eyes, and the soft, sweetness of her laugh. This imagery shows the love Scarlett has for her daughter, creating that sense of "pleasure" in the audience to counter the "disquietude".

The techniques Mitchell uses to create these almost opposite emotions in her readers help her to convey an important message of the novel. The details and imagery provided that cause readers to feel so conflicted about Scarlett are used in the same way to create that same feeling about Rhett and many of the other characters. Therefore, it is hard for a reader to say exactly what they feel about a certain character or to classify them as purely good or evil. This is exactly what Mitchell intended, as she is trying to prove to her audience, through these techniques, that no human being is simply good or bad. 

A certain level of "healthy confusion" is necessary to any great work of literature, as one critic stated. A piece comes alive when readers can feel those opposing emotions. Through the use of well-thought out and carefully placed detail, as well as stunning imagery, Margaret Mitchell creates that sense of "pleasure and disquietude" about characters and events in her novel, Gone with the Wind, which ultimately proves Mitchell's point that no person is completely good or bad. 

Synthesis of Course Material #4 - Other

We've done some other things this year that don't really fit into the three major categories. The most obvious of these is all the time we spent studying our list of literary terms. This was especially helpful with our annotation, being able to recognize when an author was using certain things to help tell their story. Another of these was the presentations we made on Prezi about the literary eras. This was extremely helpful in recognizing certain themes and techniques used in texts that may fit into the eras in which they were written. Some of them I was learning about for the first time and on some, it was nice to get refresher as we studied them in American Literature. Another topic that doesn't fit is the Theatre of the Absurd that we studied when we looked at The American Dream. I found the concept of the Theatre of the Absurd fascinating but, as entertainment, I'm not a huge fan of most of the plays I've seen so far that fit into this category. We also talked about the definition of comedy and the theories on why something is funny. We looked at the different philosophies on tragedy, as well, and how it's changed through the years, from Aristotle all the way to Northrop Frye. The idea of every text being either Apollonian and Dionysian was extremely interesting to me, although I think that some texts have elements of both in them. We also looked at the different critical theories and worked on applying them to texts. We did this a little bit in Brit Lit but it made a lot more sense to me this year and I can see how you can apply almost every theory to a text and see it a little bit differently with each. All of these other topics, while they don't fit in the other categories, have really helped me in understanding the literature we've read, as well as in writing the essays.

Synthesis of Course Material #3 - Open and Closed Prompts

We've looked at the two different types of essays on the AP and have practiced writing both in and out of class. They are different but we must approach the prompts in very similar ways. We've learned several "formulas" for writing essays on the AP. The most important is the basic AP question: how does the author use techniques to create effects that create meaning? We must be sure to always answer the hidden "so what?" question, even when it doesn't seem to be in the prompt. Another important formula is TAP - thesis answers prompt. We should just be able to stop after our thesis and have it vaguely answer the question. The last is a formula for an intro paragraph: topic sentence, background, thesis. In theory, we could just have those three sentences, although background may take several and we've learned that it's perfectly alright to have a multi-sentence thesis. We've talked a lot about reading the prompt itself, learning to take our time to make sure we address all the goals of the prompt, identify them as techniques, effects, or meaning, and then writing our thesis to answer all the goals. After we've got our thesis and our intro paragraph, we can start in on the body paragraphs, which should follow pretty naturally from the thesis with one paragraph to explain each of the goals of the prompt. The conclusion, then should wrap up the essay and restate our thesis. This all applies to both types of prompts. The difference, then, is that in a closed prompt we're given text to close read and use to answer the prompt. Most of the one's we've done have been two poems that we have to compare and contrast. We should spend a lot more time on the sheet given to us on closed prompts, as we have to close read and annotate the text to make sure we understand it and can form a thesis to address all the goals of the prompt. In an open prompt, we aren't given any text, although they provide a list of suggestions. We've been told not to look at the list first so that we pick a text to fit the prompt and don't try to make the prompt fit a certain text. This is harder in some ways because we have to remember texts we've read but it's also sometimes easier because we pick what we write about. Both prompts are hard but we're getting better with all the practice!

Synthesis of Course Material #2 - Close Reading and Annotation

We started the year learning about close reading and I would say it's been one of the most important parts of the class so far. We started out slow, learning about DIDLS - detail, imagery, diction, language, and syntax - and learning what each part meant. We did a lot of activities to help us get the hang of each of them. The packets weren't the most interesting thing we've done but they were probably one of the most helpful. The hardest to get the hang of was syntax. We read bits of Virginia Tufte's Syntax as Style, which helped us a lot and now I think the way that author's use syntax to emphasize a point or draw our attention to something is incredibly fascinating. Applying these techniques to the text was difficult but with practice we got the hang of it. Once we understood close reading, we could start annotating texts. We started with Albee's The American Dream, annotating mostly in groups to help each other out. It was confusing at first but now, it makes all the difference in recognizing certain techniques and effects and understanding the author's meaning. Even more helpful than annotation, though, in understanding a text, is discussing it with other people. As much as I can notice in the text when I annotate, other people catch things that I miss and when we put our observations together we get a clearer understanding.

Synthesis of Course Material #1 - Literature

In the class so far we've read two novels (Ceremony and Pride & Prejudice), several plays (The American Dream, Death of a Salesman, Hamlet, and bits of The Importance of Being Earnest), and many poems. We also read Foster's How to Read Literature like a Professor, some Greek mythology and parts of the Bible as our summer work before the course started. We've gone through them all, close reading and annotating and then discussed the works as a whole in class. We started out annotating all together, helping each other out with The American Dream, our first attempt at close reading. By the time we got to Pride & Prejudice, though, we annotated completely on our own and discussed a bit in class. It's wonderful to recognize how much progress we've made since our first go at annotation. I love getting to look at so many different kinds of literature and the techniques authors use to tell their stories. It's very satisfying to finally come to some conclusion about the author's ultimate themes and messages. I haven't disliked any of the texts we've read although I wouldn't call The American Dream one of my favorites. The most nerve-racking thing, I think, as we start to look ahead to the AP test, is whether or not we're going to be able to remember these texts to answer our open prompts. The good news, I guess, is that most of what we've read could be applied to any number of prompts they could throw at us because there is so much good stuff in all of them. Besides the novels and plays, we've done a lot of poetry so far, as they often show up on closed prompts. I've always been a novels girl but this class has given me a new appreciation for poetry. I've just never really spent much time on it until now. Rossetti's "Promises Like Pie-Crust" and Collins's"The History Teacher" are two of my new favorites. Overall, I've really enjoyed the literature we've looked at and feel like I've learned a lot about the texts themselves and the way we approach them.