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, quite 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 unsatisfied in their personal lives, they turn to the artificial and fleeting satisfaction of consumerism. 

Albee uses language and includes 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, infinitely 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, complete with 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 laughter found in The American Dream must be accompanied by real thought on the part of the audience. That thought inevitably leads the thinker to Albee's main point: that if someone is unsatisfied and unhappy with their personal life, they will turn to consumerism to find satisfaction, although it is false and fleeting. 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 that an audience may experience during Albee's play, they must confront the sad, unhealthy aspects of the characters lives. This laughter, while serving its purpose by entertaining, completes another duty by forcing the audience to think about what they are actually laughing at and, in turn, about Albee's meaning: that unsatisfactory personal lives will lead people to the false, fleeting satisfaction of consumerism.

Close Reading #3 - "Letting Go" by David Sedaris

Read it here!

David Sedaris's article "Letting Go" is all about giving up smoking, or, as a German woman he once met put it, "finishing" with smoking. Sedaris is all about the comedy so his anti-smoking message was pretty subtle but his use of certain techniques definitely created one.
His diction and detail created conflicting views of smoking, while he uses syntax everywhere for comedic affect. An example of his use of syntax is when he places the funniest part, or the punch line, at the end of the sentence. For example, he writes "... I went to the world's first elementary school, one where we wrote on cave walls and hunted our lunch with cubs." His use of diction and details demonstrate his feelings on smoking, some positive and some negative. He starts out by using words that contribute to good idea of cigarettes, calling them "wonderful" and a "godsend". He also talks about the bonding that takes place between fellow smokers. Cigarettes, he says, act as a "beacon" that "somehow bring [them] together", calling other smokers "[his] team". Other diction used later and vivid details show the flip side of smoking, the side that ultimately won the argument in Sedaris's mind.  He describes the effects of smoking, first on his uncle and later, his mother. His Uncle Dick had a "mucky" cough that was "painful sounding" and ultimately led to his death due to lung cancer. Later, his mother developed the same cough. He said that she would have to stop "every fifth step or so, while she wheezed and sputtered and pounded her chest with her fist" because the smoking had so damaged her lungs. She also died to lung cancer. By ending with these details and diction choices, Sedaris gives them the most weight, much the same way he puts the funniest part of the sentence at the end for maximum impact. He ends the essay with the day he quit smoking, following up the negative sides of smoking, subtly sending his audience an anti-smoking message.

Response to Course Material #3

Recently in class, we've just been annotating and analyzing Albee's The American Dream this might be a quicker response than usual. I have some mixed emotions about what we've been doing. I think the play is fascinating, Albee is a genius. To be able to find patterns and connections to theme and meaning is great, our group gets so excited when we think we figure something out. The play itself is not my favorite, I just don't really enjoy it. Its definitely not one that I would jump at the chance to see. However, I love discussing in class. The most interesting thing about what we've been doing, I think, is how things all sort of fit together. Even the tiniest of details contribute somehow to the overall meaning, like the repetition of the phrase "very much like" or Albee's specific stage directions. The Young Man fascinates me. My group has discussed a million times what actually happened to his "twin". Did the twin actually exist and was killed by Mommy and Daddy? Or was the Young Man actually that child, who was emotionally and mentally torn apart by his parents, and who reappears on their doorstep as a stranger, due to the vague and disappearing nature of the recent past? We've found some evidence to support this second theory and I cannot wait to look for more and to keep discussing it with them, Ms. Holmes, and the class.
We've also been reviewing terms for our test next week and I've been playing games to get them down!
I can't wait to begin Death of a Salesman next week because we will annotate and analyze much the same way we've done The American Dream but here I get the added bonus of loving that play!

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 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 supports that idea, also, 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. 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." 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 immediately 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 also tells his audience 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.

Close Reading #2 - "One Country's Big Gay Leap" by Frank Bruni

Read it here!

Frank Bruni's article "One Country's Big Gay Leap" talks about the legalization of same-sex marriage in Portugal, other countries that have legalized same-sex marriage, and why or why not countries are able to do so. He uses diction and detail to create for the reader an idea of what is happening in Portugal and to enforce the idea that the United States should follow in Portugal's footsteps.
Throughout the piece, Bruni uses interesting choices in diction to give an accurate idea of the state of affairs in Portugal and the other countries which have recently legalized gay marriage. He uses certain sensory words in places where they are not commonly found. For example, he writes that he had a "potent case of Portugal envy". The use of the word "potent" is an interesting choice because it is usually used to describe a stong, powerful smell and is instead used to describe envy, a feeling. The use of this word enhances Bruni's envy, making it seem like something palpable and not just an abstract emotion. Of course, his envy is of the great strides Portugal has made toward equality, that the United States has not. He does this in other places to create a stong sense of the positive atmosphere about same-sex marriage in Portugal.
His use of detail is also important in giving the reader an idea of what is going on in Portugal. He begins the essay with a detail about Brenda Frota Johnson and Isabel Advirta, whose family seems to accept their relationship now that they are officially married. Other details like this, including a similar one about Sara and Rita Martinho, demonstrate the positive ways in which the legalization of gay marriage has affected Portugal and its citizens.
By using detail and diction to show just how good the legalization of same-sex marriage has been for Portugal and the other countries that have recently passed similar legislation, Bruni argues that America should do the same. While he acknowledges the differences between our country and theirs, he asks whether it "might be possible for President Obama... to take a lead on the issue" and that he might find out "that it wouldn't make or break him".

Response to Course Material #2

Since my last response, we have covered a few more things, one of them being syntax. After going through  Syntax as Style by Virginia Tufte, the concept of syntax makes a lot more sense. There is a lot to recognize about syntax and I'm still having trouble doing so especially with the more subtle things like "deliberate omission of conjunctions". It makes a lot more sense now, though, especially in looking at things like sentence length, fragments, punctuation, and inverted syntax to see how they draw attention to certain things and emphasize an author's point. Sarah and I went through a part of Ernest Hemingway's Walden and found lots of evidence of how he used syntax to prove his point. For example, he writes in very lengthy, drawn out sentences and then all of a sudden, he throws in a short sentence ("Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!") which immediately catches your attention (notice the use of an exclamation point and repetition, as well) and happens to state, in one word, the essential meaning of the passage.
We've also looked at comedy, which absolutely fascinated me. The six elements required for something to be funny as well as all the theories about why something is funny really interested me. We laugh so much, at so many things, and we never stop to think about why it they make us laugh. I particularly like the relief theory but I think in order to cover all of comedy, you have to accept that what makes something funny may be a mix of all five theories. Or it may also be true that some humorous things could fit into some of the theories but not the others. The comedy terms were familiar to me but some were new and I think it's difficult to remember the differences between some of the close ones like travesty and burlesque. I'll need to practice a lot with the games before the terms test!
The Theatre of the Absurd is an interesting concept, as well. I'm a history nerd so I liked that they were, in the article, able to trace the origins of the Theatre of the Absurd throughout the history of theatre. I'm not at all surprised that they said that WWII was what eventually set off this style of theatre. From what I know, from history classes and American Lit, the Theatre of the Absurd follows naturally from the disillusionment following the war. It would have been easy for people feeling that disillusionment to accept that we're never going to get a good answer for why life is the way it is. In some aspects, I feel that way today. The idea of language not being a successful means of communication being a part of the Theatre of the Absurd is another post-modern idea that doesn't surprise me at all, especially when you think about Absurdist plays like Waiting for Godot and The American Dream.
The first read we did of The American Dream was great since I've been looking forward to getting started in our reading in this class. It's a very strange play, to say the least. In trying to write our intros and topic sentences, our group kept getting off topic, caught in these great discussions about the play. We came up with some interesting theories and have a lot of questions. I cannot wait to discuss as a whole class.
Writing intros and topic sentences was very difficult, especially since we aren't entirely clear on what Albee's meaning may have been in the play. It's stressful, how hard writing a good essay seems and it makes me nervous. But I just remind myself that we're working on it and we have until May to learn how to write a good essay. It will take some time but I can do it, I just have to be patient!

Open Prompt #2

1980. A recurring theme in literature is the classic war between a passion and responsibility. For instance, a personal cause, a love, a desire for revenge, a determination to redress a wrong, or some other emotion or drive may conflict with moral duty. Choose a literary work in which a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with his or her responsibilities. In a well-written essay show clearly the nature of the conflict, its effects upon the character, and its significance to the work.

Some of the most tragic love stories involve a hero or heroine who cannot be with their loved one. Just this happens to poor Walter Hartright in Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White, he falls in love with his drawing student, Laura, who is already engaged. Walter suffers privately in his quiet love for Laura as it conflicts with both her promises to her fiance and his promises to his employer, her uncle. Collins uses intense detail to show the apparent hopelessness of Walter's situation which emphasizes the universal tragedy of separated lovers. 

Walter first falls in love with Laura when he is instructing her and her sister, Marian, in drawing at their home at Limmeridge House. Although she is engaged, Laura's fiance, Sir Percival Glyde, is absent from their lives and he is allowed to quietly admire her, while struggling privately with his love for her and his more obligations to treat her as nothing more than a student. Collins uses imagery to highlight Walter's feelings for Laura. They sit in a lovely garden, in full bloom, as he helps her with a drawing. There he notices her soft features, her gentle smile, and her delicate hands. He admires her blonde hair and fair complexion as she focuses on her work. The details given of Laura and the beautiful nature around her show Walter's intense emotion and love for her. Conflicting with this, however, are the details of his struggle. He knows he cannot touch her for he is her pupil and would be violating his employers trust, almost certainly losing his job. More pressing than this, even, is the fact that she is engaged. Socially, as well as morally, confessing his feelings for Laura would be impossible. These details provide an intense look at Walter's internal struggle, which has been and will be felt by many different despairing lovers.

Soon, Walter's struggle can no longer be kept private when Marian realizes that Walter has fallen in love with Laura and kindly advises him to leave Limmeridge. He heeds this advice and journeys to Central America as Laura marries Sir Percival and goes on a 6 month honeymoon to Italy. Collins uses colorful details here, as well, to describe their separation. Walter writes to Marian of his travels through brutal landscapes, often on dangerous missions in rain forests teeming with deadly creates. Laura, meanwhile, is traveling with her new husband through Italy, trying her very best to love him and be his wife, although she is still in love with Walter. Sir Percival, despite Laura's efforts, turns cold and bitter toward her, completely opposite of his prior charming, polite, considerate manner. Their misery in their respective situations creates the terrible tragedy of lovers separated due to the impossibility of the drawing master and his married pupil being together. Walter and Laura's pain at being separated stems from the conflict between their passion and obligations that prevent their marriage, a pain felt by many tortured lovers. 

Despite their strong love, Laura and Walter cannot be together due to their morals and prior responsibilities and obligations. Collins creates the hopelessness of their situations by using intense and beautiful details and long descriptions, emphasizing to the reader the idea of the tragic suffering felt by lovers who cannot be together.