Open Prompt #2 (Revision) -Apr. 21-

2009 A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Select novel or play and, focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde writes about a boy named Dorian Gray, who starts off as an innocent boy, but is changed after being influenced by Lord Henry. Dorian, who met Lord Henry while sitting for a painting by his friend Basil, wished that the painting that Basil created would age, rather than himself. Wilde uses the actual painting of Dorian Gray as a symbol that shows Dorian Gray's loss of innocence and his underlying selfishness.

Dorian had started as an innocent boy with a good heart, according to Basil. Though, when Dorian hears Lord Henry's theories and thoughts on life, he begins to change. Henry’s theories cause Dorian to wish that the picture would be the one that ages, in fear that he would be ugly when he ages. From then on, the painting begins to change, showing how Dorian's innocence has changed. Lord Henry's teachings had exposed Dorian and Dorian was then no longer able to hide behind his innocence, and caused him to be "cursed". The painting also had changed as Dorian continuously became more corrupted. When Dorian kills his good friend just because he didn’t want him to know about the painting, it’s appearance changed. Dorian's hands in the picture were covered with blood, and his face held an evil grin. The changing of the painting highlights how Dorian is quickly losing his old, innocent, self, and is turning into a sick, ugly, person.

The picture also exposes Dorian's selfishness that he holds within. When he wished that the painting would age, he had wanted to be perfect forever, without realizing the consequences. Lord Henry has taught Dorian to live life in attempt to achieve the ultimate pleasures of it, causing Dorian to think selfishly. With this state of mind, Dorian leaves the girl he proposed to, only because he thought he loved her for her acting. He didn't care about how she felt, causing her to kill herself. His actions caused the  painting to gain an unattractive grin, which made Dorian realize his selfishness and feel guilty.

Overall, the painting reveals certain aspects of the character, Dorian Gray. By placing the painting as a symbol, Wilde shows that Dorian is a selfish man and that he loses his innocence through influence. 

Ceremony: Summary/Analysis

Author: Leslie Marmon Silko is a Native American writer from the Laguna Pueblo tribe. She is the original recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Grant. She was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico and is of Laguna Pueblo, Anglo American, and Mexican American decent.
Setting: The Laguna Pueblo reservation and surrounding areas, such as a town called Gallup. There are a few flashbacks to Philippines.
Plot: After thinking he sees his Uncle Josiah shot while fighting WWII in the Philippine jungle, Tayo returns back home to the Laguna Pueblo reservation. Tayo, who has been "infected" by the evil that comes from the whites, must purify himself through a ceremony. He learns how to properly complete the ceremony from a medicine man named Betonie and his assistant Shush. He's constantly haunted by images of his cousin/brother Rocky's death. Along the way he meets Ts'eh, who guides him through his ceremony, whom he also falls in love with. He also must deal with fellow Native American veterans who have given in to the same evil that haunts him.
Characters:
Tayo: The main character of the book. Has been tainted by evil, and is on a mission to complete a ceremony that will cleanse him of the darkness. Is half Laguna Pueblo.
Rocky: Tayo's cousin who died while fighting in WWII. Seemed to be more interesting in western things.
Josiah: Tayo's uncle who was trampled by cattle while Tayo was fighting. Taught Tayo everything he knows, and is a very wise man. Dated Night Swan.
Night Swan: Mysterious Mexican woman who dated Josiah. Slept with Tayo to teach him about change. An old dancer that apparently can seduce men quite easily.
Ts'eh: A yellow woman that Tayo finds in the woods. Tayo falls for her, and she guides him through part of the ceremony.
Emo: Tayo's "rival" who has given into the evil of the world. Doesn't seem to flinch at all at the sight of blood and death. Full name is Geronimo.
Auntie: Tayo's aunt who is always busy worrying about gossip going around about her family as well as gossip about her.
Grandma: Tayo's blind grandmother who is quite wise, and knows more than you think.
Author's Style: The book is written with some passages in a poem like form. The book has a storytelling feel overall.
Point of View: The point of view is a third person. It feels as if it's someone telling a story, which fits with the Native American oral storytelling tradition.
Imagery: The imagery in Ceremony was vivid. The scenery was described with much detail, and seemed to focus on color, especially the colors red, white, yellow, and blue.
Symbols: 
The Colors Blue, Red, White, and Yellow: Each represents the directions North,South,East, and West, which each have their own meanings.
The Mountain Lion, Shush, and the Cattle: Each represent spirit animals that lead Tayo through the Ceremony.
The Cattle/Tayo: The Cattle represented the storm clouds in the story of the gambler, while Tayo represents sun father, who saves the clouds/cattle from the gambler.
Quotes:
"You see, in many ways, the ceremonies have always been changing"
This quote shows that in order to properly heal Tayo, they must do a ceremony that has changed, just like things have around them. This also shows that people, such as whites and Native Americans need to put aside their differences and learn to live together.
"They blame us, the ones who look different. That way they don't have to think about what has happened inside themselves"
This quote from the Night Swan explains how people are so afraid of change that they blame others that are different from themselves, yet they fail to realize that they themselves are already changing and there's nothing they can really do.
Theme: Change/New vs.Tradition. This can be seen in many parts of the book, especially when Tayo speaks to Betonie. He says that though tradition is important, it is not adapted to the new modern world, and so doesn't have the same effect that it used to. The books shows how the world is constantly changing, and for all of us to survive, we all must adapt to the changes.

Response to Course Material #8 -Apr. 14-

First things first, Ceremony. Though, very very painful to annotate, I thought it was actually a really interesting book, with a whole lot of symbolism. Reading it a second time allowed me to see more within the text that I didn't see in the initial read. Though, I personally didn't enjoy the sections where all it was, was the descriptions of the scenery, probably because it was very slow and hard to comment on while annotating. But I admit that the descriptions led to beautiful images in my mind. There seriously was a ton of symbols in the book, such as the colors red, white, yellow, and blue, all meaning certain directions, which also were a symbol. The mountain lion, deer, and bear all being spirit animals that lead Tayo on his journey was something that I missed while reading the text, though looking back, it was something that could make sense. But other than Ceremony, we have just started Fifth Business (which I admit, I'm not far in...). So far, it's an odd book, the idea of a man writing to his boss to explain something that he didn't do by telling him his life story is... sorta weird. Maybe once I get further I'll update this post. But I think that's all we've done since the last post that I can remember.

Open Prompt #3 (Revision) -Mar. 17-

1986. Some works of literature use the element to time in a distinct way. The chronological  sequence of  events may be altered, or time may be suspended or accelerated. Choose a novel, an epic, or a play of recognized literary merit and show how the author's manipulation of time contributes to the effectiveness of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

The novel Gentlemen & Players by Joanne Harris is written so that the story is not exactly told in chronological order. Rather than having the story written straight through, Harris writes in two different perspectives that take place in two different times and switch constantly back and forth. One comes from one of the teachers, Roy Straitley, at St. Oswalds school (which is one of the main settings of the story). The other comes from someone who goes by the name Snyde (The identity of the second isn't revealed until later in the book), who sneaks into St. Oswalds and pretends to be one of the students. Straitley's perspective comes from the present, unlike Snyde's, which comes from the past. The alternation between the two time periods greatly contributes to the novel, allowing for a more detailed back story and clarity, despite the constant switch between the two speakers. The changes in time also adds more mystery to the book, leaving the reader confused at parts, as well as building up to the end of the novel.

The switches between the two time periods allow for the reader to have a more detailed back story to the main conflict in the book. Since it's constantly switching, it allows for both stories to have an equal amount of time to play out. Through this, you are able to see elements of Snyde's past that ultimately effects them in the future. For example, the abuse they faced as a child from their father who would care for them on minute and then would be beating them the next. Another example would be the love they felt for Leon Mitchell. They had fallen for Leon, but he had a girlfriend. Yet, once Leon found out that Snyde was a girl (he had originally thought that she was a boy because she had been dressing up as one) he freaked out, leaving Snyde with a feeling of betrayal. The detailed back story allows the reader to understand certain things that come up in the present perspective.

The switches also make the story clearer, Snyde's story from the past explains what's going on the in the future. For example,  the story explains why Snyde is out to ruin St. Oswalds. In the past perspective, it shows that Snyde was the reason why Leon Mitchell fell off of the roof of St. Oswalds. It explains that Snyde blames this accident on St. Oswalds, and so shows why the events in the present are happening. Another example shows why Snyde targets Straitley in the present. According to the past perspective, Straitley was the one that scared Leon and Snyde, forcing them to jump the gap that killed Leon. This explains why Snyde messes with Straitley in the present, they force him to think that students steal his stuff and makes him look like he dislikes Jewish people.

Overall, the alteration of events chronologically helps contribute to the effectiveness Gentlemen & Players. The time switches creates mystery, the sudden changes and vague points in the plot creates confusion for the reader. The lack of clarity creates suspense, the past plot points become clearer as more of the plot is revealed, making the reader wonder how the past effects the future. It  also adds more to the story as well as helps explain many elements of the story to the reader, despite the continuous switching between time periods.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead: Summary/Analysis

Author: Tom Stoppard was born in Czechoslovakia, but is of British decent. He was knighted in 1997 and received one Academy Award and four Tony Awards.
Setting: Denmark and a Boat to England
Plot: We first find Ros and Guil flipping coins, but it constantly has heads as a result. Guil becomes suspicious, and beings to questions the probability of the coin constantly becoming heads. Soon, a group of actors known as the tragedians and the Player arrive. They talking about how the tragedians aren't just actors, but also prostitutes. They place bets based on coin flips and birth years doubled. They actors, losing the bet (even though they won), agree to perform a play, and as they begin, Ros and Guil "leave". This transitions into Hamlet's Castle, where Hamlet and Ophelia are seen (around the time Hamlet goes "insane"). Ros and Guil talk to the king and queen as seen in the play Hamlet. As Ros and Guil prepare to talk to Hamlet, they play the question game to warm up to ask him about his mental status. After they practice, the finally go to face Hamlet. After their conversation with Hamlet, Guil complains about how they didn't find any new information about Hamlet. The players return, angry that they didn't stay for the play. The rehearse for the play that Hamlet has requested, which looks exactly like Hamlet. Guil is disturbed when he sees their deaths acted out and becomes angry. Afterwards, Claudius sends Ros and Guil to go find where Hamlet hid Polonius' corpse, as well as tells them to go with Hamlet to England. After finding Hamlet, they come across a captain. When done speaking to them, they talk about what England may have for them. In the final act, Ros and Guil find themselves on a boat. Once on the boat, they realize they don't know what to do when they finally meet to the King of England. Again, they act out the scene in preparation. When they finally get to the reading of the letter, they realize that Hamlet will be killed once they get to England. They seem a bit hesitant to go through with the plan, but eventually do. As the stage goes black, you can see Hamlet switching the letters as stated in Hamlet. They later find the players hiding on the ship, since their play had offended the king. Soon after, pirates attack the boat, and take Hamlet with them. After, Ros and Guil rehearse again for their meeting with the King, but this time realize that the letter has changed, and now they're sentenced to death. The player, telling them that everything ends in death, angers Guil, making him attempt to kill him, but the blade was fake. The play concludes with Ros and Guil wondering what went wrong, and why were they sentenced to death. Finally, the ambassadors lines from Hamlet end the play.
Characters:
Guil: A smart man, seems to question many things and tries to come up with logical explanations for everything. He worries about what life has in store for them and seems to realize that he's only a character in a play. His Character Note in the beginning is "Well alive to the oddity of it. He is not worried about the money, but he is worried about the implications; aware but not going to panic about it"
Ros: Seemingly clueless man, though has some wisdom to him. He seems to be more emotion based than Guil. More accepting of their fate than Guil tends to be. He seems to be a caring, tender, sort of person. His Character Note is: "The run of 'heads' is impossible, yet Ros betrays no surprise at all - he feels none. However, he is nice enough to feel a little embarrassed at taking so much money off his friend"
The Player: He seems to know a lot about fate and death/life. He also seems to know a lot about Ros and Guil. Guil believes that he knows the answer to his questions, and constantly gets mad at him when he doesn't want to accept his answers. Like tragic plays with Love, Blood, and Rhetoric.
Author's Style: Since this play is based off of Hamlet it has a bit of a Shakespearean feel to it, especially since lines from play are included. Though, the language Stoppard uses in the play is mainly modern English (except for the parts from Hamlet of course), since he is trying to write for a different audience than what Shakespeare was writing for. Like Shakespeare, Stoppard leaves many parts of the play for interpretation and has lines with double meaning.
Tone: The tone seemed playful through most of the play, yet towards the end of it, it became more serious as Ros and Guil were sailing to their deaths. The topic of life and death was referenced more towards the end, which creates a darker tone.
Symbols: 
The Coins: The coins represented how time has stopped. The constant result of heads shows that time has stopped and has made the same event occur over and over again. They also represent chance, the 50-50 chance of heads or tails when flipping a coin.
The Box: Guil had referenced a box at some point in the play, and that box has represented the book. He discusses about living in the box, and that living in said box is better than no life at all.
Quotes:
"Life in a box is better than no life at all" (71)
This quote, Ros is talking about living in a box. He discusses how you can be alive or dead within the box. The box, is like the book. They're trapped within the book, the same story repeating itself over and over again. Ros and Guil are both dead and alive within it. Stoppard, here, is questioning our existence. Are we real? Or are we just characters in a play?
"...if six monkeys were..." (12)
This quote is a reference to the quote in which the idea behind it is that if an infinite number of monkeys had an infinite number of type writers, one will eventually type out all of Shakespeare's work. This is saying that there is an infinite number of possibilities. Related to fate vs. chance, which is seen throughout the play, for example, the meeting of the players. This idea is also found in Hamlet. 
Theme: The reality of the world. The play constantly questions our reality and how the world works, as well as the elements of life and death. Guil seems to understand that they're trapped within a book, and Ros seems to figure it out. They question their lives, their purpose, and who they really are. Through this, Stoppard makes us stop and question the same things, who are we and what are we doing here.

Response to Course Material #7 -Mar. 10-

Now after reading through Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, I now have a better understanding of the ideas that Stoppard has portrayed in the play. For example, the idea about how Ros and Guil are trapped within the book and that time for them is frozen. I honestly thought that was mind blowing, especially when thinking about our existence. It makes me wonder if this is all real life. I have to admit, I have a little attachment to Ros and Guil, they're actually lovable characters. But now that annotations are done and we're moving on, I'm quite glad. Even though we only went through the first few pages of Ceremony, I already find it interesting. The ideas about the spirits and stories are really interesting to me, and I can't wait to get through the rest of the book. I heard from a past AP Lit student that this book is mind blowing and slightly depressing. That only makes me want to read the rest of the book now (except for when we get to annotations, I hear those are pretty tough). Other than those two things we've done a few more atmosphere exercises. Those are fun as always and I always enjoy the sarcastic suggestions for the mood word for our pictures. We've also written an essay on a passage from Shakespeare as practice. I honestly thought that the passage was a bit difficult to pick apart without misinterpreting parts of the passage, but overall I guess it wasn't too bad. Though, after Ms. Holmes went through the passage, it was a lot clearer. I was able to identify more themes than before, and wished I had seen them when writing my essay.

Open Prompt #4 (Revision) -Feb. 17-

2002, Form B. Often in literature, a character's success in achieving goals depends on keeping a secret and divulging it only at the right moment, if at all. Choose a novel or play of literary merit that requires a character to keep a secret. In a well-organized essay, briefly explain the necessity for secrecy and how the character's choice to reveal or keep the secret affects the plot and contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. You may select a work from the list below, or you may choose another work of recognized literary merit suitable to the topic. Do NOT write about a short story, poem, or film.


In Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night, Viola, the protagonist of the story, must keep her gender a secret. Shipwrecked in Illyria and thinking that her older brother Sebastian is dead, Viola dresses as a man and works for Duke Orsino under the name of Cesario. Viola's secret of truly being a woman is only know by Viola and the captain of the ship. Viola's choice to keep her gender a secret has a huge impact on the plot and the work as a whole.

Viola's secret is, in fact, what causes certain events to occur in the plot. Since Viola is pretending to be a man, she must hide her feelings from the Duke, which causes her a few problems, such as constantly listening to Orsino talking about how lovely Olivia is. Though, the bigger problem is Olivia, who's fallen in love with Viola/ Cesario, not knowing her true identity. Obviously because Viola is a woman, she is unable to requite Olivia's love and so avoids her constant flirting. This love triangle also leads to the confusion at the end of the play. Viola's brother, Sebastian, who survived, returns to Illyria. Olivia, then, confuses him with Viola. Since Viola still hasn't revealed her secret, Sebastian, who is has no idea what's going on, accepts Olivia's marriage proposal. This causes he Duke to believe that Viola/Cesario betrayed him. To clear the confusion, Viola finally reveals her true gender and marries the Duke. 

The gender swap also contributes to the overall themes of the play. One the most obvious themes is Mistaken Identity. Viola's disguise leads to many believing that she's a man, though she is a woman. This also causes for Sebastian to be mistaken as Viola/ Cesario. Another theme that is affected is love causing pain. The Duke is in love with Olivia, and constantly reminds her and offers her gifts, but Olivia is in love with Viola/Cesario, which causes the Duke some pain. Viola is in love with the Duke, but the Duke is constantly talking about Olivia's beauty, and so Viola is suffering as well. If Viola had revealed her secret earlier in the play, this wouldn't be a problem, Olivia wouldn't like her anymore knowing that she's a woman, and Viola can try to woo the Duke without worry.

Overall, if Viola had told her secret earlier in the play, none of the events would occur. Olivia would ever have fallen in love with her, Viola wouldn't have ended up working for the Duke, and Sebastian's return wouldn't have been so confusing for the characters. Her secret clearly influences most of the plot and contributes to the themes of the play.