Last AP English Blog of 2012

I cannot believe that the first semester of senior year is almost over! This class has taught me so much. I think I benefited most from all the essays we write. Even though they are not the most fun thing to do, I feel that my understanding of the prompts and my writing in general has improved tremendously. Some things that I liked are the clips from Hamlet, the movie The Importance of Being Earnest, and the DI's we talked about with our small groups. 
One thing that I did not like was the short story unit. I found it hard to find all of the hidden meanings in the texts. Most of the stories were dark and depressing which makes them more difficult to read. I didn't mind some of the stories like "Most Dangerous Game" and "The Drunkard", but most were just not fun to read.
I am looking forward to the project we will do next semester with our final project proposals. I think this is a really good project and I am very interested in it. Next semester I hope that we have a unit on poetry; I have always been a fan of poetry. I am quite content with the class, and I don't feel anything needs to be changed. 

The Importance of Being Earnest

We have been watching the movie adaptation of the play "The Importance of Being Earnest", and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. At first I was skeptical of any movie we would watch in AP English, but it grew on me.

I think I liked it so much is because it had an excessive amount of drama. While watching the movie, the schemes and tricks of Algernon (Ernest) kept me on the edge of my seat. I also thought the idea that one can have a persona in the city and another in the country was very interesting. It allowed Algernon and Jack to live how they wanted to when visiting each other. There were many "funny" parts in the movie. I put quotes around funny because they were not laugh-out-loud scenes, but scenes that used puns and irony to poke fun at an uptight society. For example, the scene where Gwendolyn says she cannot love anyone that does not have the name Ernest, but does not know that Jack is not actually named Ernest. Another scene that caught my attention was between Aunt Augusta and Algernon, where Algernon says he cannot come to her party because of his sickly, and imaginary, brother Bunbury.

 

This is a very good movie, and if I have some spare time I would love to read the play!

"To Be or Not To Be: That is the Question"

Many people associate Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy with him holding the skull, but this is not true. The skull scene comes much later in the play. Even though Hamlet does not hold a skull during that soliloquy, it is still a very powerful scene. Before I read the play I had heard of that speech, but never understood what was going on. Hamlet is struggling with thoughts of suicide. "To be or not to be" translates to the question of whether to live or to die. My personal thoughts are that suicide is an easy way out of life. It is much better to face many challenges and failed, than kill yourself and never know what you could have accomplished. I understand why Hamlet feels he should kill himself, but I do not agree with it. His emotions are torn apart with the death of his father. Even though his father's death hurt him, why does he feel that killing himself is the right answer? His death would not solve any problems or bring his father back, so why do it? Granted, I have not lost a parent and do not know how I would react in that situation, but I still would not possibly consider suicide as an option. 

One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

When I first chose this book for my Independent Reading I had no idea what it was about. I decided to go out on a limb and try it out. The first scenes really caught my attention. The story is told from the point of a deaf and dumb Native American patient, Chief Bromden, who is capable of hearing and is very intelligent. He was a very interesting character and by far my favorite. Even though his speech is not very elegant or sophisticated, it is easy to follow and he gets his point across. There are many advantages of the story being told from his perspective. For example he hears all the conversations between the Big Nurse Ratched and the staff on the ward that he wouldn't hear if he wasn't faking his deafness.

This book contained multiple hidden meanings and themes. The best part about the book was that all the themes were presented in a humorous way. Ken Kesey uses the rebellious Randal P. McMurphy to lighten up all the patients and show them that living in fear of the outside world is no way to live. McMurphy gives them the strength to face society again. Kesey's ability to show these messages through humor made me love this book; I can honestly say it is one of my favorite books, and I usually like commercial science fiction books. 

There is also a movie made based on the book, which I plan to watch sometime this weekend and compare the book to the movie!

Google and SparkNotes

SparkNotes and Google are a student's best friend and worst enemy. They can help with checking homework problems or explaining a difficult text. However, they cal also get students into trouble. Students rely on these sites way too much, and it becomes quite obvious on quizzes and tests who knows the material and who does not. I think the line needs to be drawn at when students completely rely on these sources and do not add any of their own ideas into their work. I believe it is fine to complete the work given to you and then use these resources to check your work. But, if you are wrong, then make the changes necessary and do not copy and paste things from these websites.

Students cross this boundary line all the time; why do they do that? It's the easy way out. They don't have to think. They don't have to work. We are the generation of instant gratification. It takes too long to think about the difficult question and it is so tempting to find the answer in .025 seconds from Google. It is sad how easy it is to cheat because of the Internet. On the other hand, it is amazing all the new possibilities available now because of the Internet. Somehow we need to find the balance...

Salem: A Play with Puppets

On Wednesday, our English class went to watch the school play Salem: A Play with Puppets. I thought it would be childish with the puppets, but it was actually quite funny. The play mentioned many social issues, but in a light, humorous way. I learned that the play was specifically written for that group of students. That was really neat because most of the plays the drama class performs do not fit the students they have. I used to be in Drama III/IV and there was always a shortage of boys. It's not just a problem at Dunbar, most boys just are not into that kind of thing. 

Now back to the play! I was thrown off a little bit by the name of the play. The fact that the students were learning about The Crucible was not mentioned very much. The connection was very subtle and almost non-existent. I also thought one of the elements of the play was very cliche. The vortex scene has been used over and over again in plays and movies. After the show, some students asked questions about the play and its production. I thought it was interesting how much effort was put into maneuvering and manipulating the puppets.  

More questions about Oedipus Rex

Oedipus with the Sphinx

These aren't my Discussion Items, but extra questions I had about the book in general and my opinion about fate vs. free will:

Fate vs. free will is a large issue in Oedipus Rex. I think part of it is fate, but another part is the characters reacting to the fate they have been given. If the King and Queen of Thebes had not given Oedipus away to be killed, would the story be different? Would Oedipus still end up killing his father and sleeping with his mother? The overreaction of his parents is at fault here. Though Oedipus is not necessarily free of blame. It was his anger that cause him to murder his father. 

That was one part of the reading I did not understand. Why exactly did Oedipus kill the men in the carriage that he later found out were his father and his entourage? What made him so angry that he felt he had to kill them?

Another question I had about the book was when the mother, Jocasta, figured out that Oedipus was her son very early, but she decided not to tell him. Why was this? What purpose is there to keep Oedipus in the dark about his own story? Did she not think he would figure it out and could keep living the way things were before?

The Big Bad Thesis Statement

Thesis statements have always been a problem for me. The main reason is I learned a specific formula last year in AP English. Mr. Mullins talked about it last class, so I'm not going to go into detail. I am a math and science person, so once I learn a formula it is hard for me to do or think of something another way. I almost always apply that formula to every essay I write, even if it doesn't fully answer the prompt. I think I do this because I never learned any other way to write thesis statements, and I don't trust my own ideas enough to make up new thesis statements. I have always been told that my thesis statements are too broad or too specific. I cannot seem to find the happy medium between the two. 

I am not very confident about creating thesis statements, but I believe that is due to my lack of practice with them. We did an adequate amount of work with thesis statements last year in AP English, but those were a different format than this year. I also felt like I did not get enough feedback to improve my statements. I can already tell that Mr. Mullins grades harder which will (hopefully) improve my thesis statements for the AP test.

I found that there are multiple sites that give examples of good thesis statements; One specific site is The Writing Center. I hope this helps!

Existentialism

In our short story unit we read "The Guest" which incorporated many existentialist ideas. This was very hard for me to comprehend at 9 in the morning. I work best with concrete ideas, and the idea that "to do is to be" went right over my head. After getting the packet about existentialism, I was able to understand the ideas better, but not necessarily comprehend them. I believe that a person's actions do not define them. For example, there are many people that would do anything to defend and protect their family, even if that entails them hurting another person. I do not think this makes someone a bad person just by one action.

My beliefs are more like those found in essentialism, which says that everyone has an unchanging "essence" inside them that affects their actions. When I think of "essence", I think of your soul or spirit or your normal personality  I believe some people are born optimistic while others are born pessimistic. I am an optimistic person, which has its positives and negatives. On the positive side I am almost always happy and see the best in people I come in contact with. Negatively, I put my trust in people that don't deserve it. I believe that everyone is good, until they do something to break my trust. 

The Overused Word: Amazing

On a daily basis I know I use the word "amazing" at least 20 to 30 times for explaining a story to my friends, telling a joke, etc. It has become a habit of this generation and the generation before that to overuse the word "amazing". Before I read this article, I honestly did not know what amazing meant. Well, I thought I knew what it meant, but I was wrong. My definition was the accepted one by today's society, which was that amazing meant "big, good, excellent, kind, numerous, beautiful, etc."

While I was reading the article, I came across the part that mentions how "if everyone who works in television is amazing, then amazing isn't very amazing and no one can truly be called amazing". This statement made me realize what how I sound when I overuse the word amazing. It made everything I say seem the exact opposite of how I wanted it to sound. Instead of using the word "amazing", I should be using a more correct word that fits into my stories not be grammatically correct, but to help my friends better understand what I am saying. Now that I understand how overused amazing is, I need to broaden my vocabulary and find some synonyms for "amazing" I found a website that has synonyms just for amazing called "Synonyms for Amazing". I hope looking at this site and others will help expand my vocabulary and prepare me for the AP test.

The True Nature of Literary Fiction

The stories we have read in English so far have been very dark and depressing. With that said, I don't believe that this is the true nature of literary fiction. Authors of literary fiction are trying to give the reader a new perspective on life. Mr. Mullins said that literary authors are like explorers trying to uncover the mysteries of the human spirit. I think literary fiction is meant to explore those mysteries, and most of them happen to be dark or depressing. I think the imbalance in the anthology book is due to the fact that some of the best literary stories contain parts that are dark and depressing. I don't think this means that there are no happy literary stories.

Maybe the literary authors are trying to stay away from the happy ending and commercial fiction vibe, and so they go in the completely opposite direction and produce dark, depressing, disturbing stories. The literary authors probably wanted to make a name for themselves and create what they consider better fiction.

I just want to give an update on senior year. It's going really well so far! I love that I am only at school for two blocks. The only thing I don't like is that I don't get to hear the announcements during the lunch break. I didn't know that there was a National Honor Society meeting today until Yixia told me fourth block!!

"Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway

I had to read this story multiple times to understand what was going on. I kind of liked that it was very emotionless. The story did not tell the characters thoughts or feelings. This allows the reader to interpret the story in different ways. Some people may think that the girl does not want to keep the baby, but at some points in the story I think she does. I think Hemingway created an emotionless story to depict a real life situation. If I heard a conversation like this while at a restaurant, I would not be able to tell what the two people were thinking. It adds mystery to the story and gives it a whole new level.

I really liked the fact that the story was so straightforward, but at the same time it contained so many hidden meanings and symbols. These things engage the reader in the story, and keep their attention. Hemingway's style of writing suits someone like me. I like that the writing is very basic, and does not contain frilly vocabulary. I also liked that the reader has to figure out what the conversation is about. It is like a puzzle; you use the clues given by Hemingway to figure out the reason for the conversation. This was my first encounter reading anything by Ernest Hemingway, and I think I might try to read some of his other stories. 

The Pickup by Nadine Gordimer

 

 

For my Independent Reading book I decided on The Pickup by Nadine Gordimer. I'm not too far into it, but it has already caught and kept my attention. As of right now in the book, it seems to be a love story about two people from different social classes. Nadine has a very unique style of writing; she never uses quotations. At first, I was very confused and couldn't tell what was going on. Now it is a little easier, but sometimes it is still hard to follow dialogue between four or five people.

I haven't learned too much about the main characters yet either. The two main characters that the story follows are Julie and Abdu. Abdu is an illegal immigrant in South Africa. His name isn't actually Abdu, but he has to hide his identity to stay in South Africa. He works in a auto repair shop, and lives a very poor lifestyle. Julie on the other hand, lives a very lavish lifestyle. She still feels like she is missing something. She doesn't seem to be happy having such nice things when other people like Abdu live in shambles.

At first I thought that the title referred to a car, as in a pickup truck, but I was wrong. I think it refers to how Julie picked Abdu up off the streets and became his friend and lover. My inference might be wrong, but I think that it has something to do with the people instead of a car.

Ambiguous Stories

Last English class we discussed the short stories "The Child by Tiger" by Thomas Wolfe and "The Destructors" by Graham Greene. Both of these stories contain characters with ambiguous motives. In "The Child by Tiger" we never figured out why Dick Prosser went off on a killing spree, and in "The Destructors" we never figured out Trevor's reason for destroying Old Misery's house. That bothers me quite a lot! I'm accustomed to everything being laid out clearly in books, but this is just totally different. I understand what both of the authors were trying to do; they want their readers to use their imagination and determine the motives of those characters. Maybe I have trouble with this because I don't have a big imagination and I'm not very creative.

There was another aspect about our discussion that got on my nerves. As we were leaving class Mr. Mullins said most of the groups' protagonist/ antagonist theories were wrong. In books that are contain ambiguous parts or indeterminate endings, how can anyone be sure their specific interpretation is correct? The only way to truly know is to ask the author. I feel that it is unfair to say that our interpretation was wrong just because it is not the most widely accepted interpretation. Now, some interpretations are just completely off topic and ridiculous, and I understand why those interpretations are not widely accepted. However, I think if someone has enough support to back up their interpretation, then it should be acceptable. 

Literary fiction vs. Commercial fiction

In English class on Monday we talked about literary fiction versus commercial fiction. I was surprised to realize that I had somewhat talked about literary and commercial fiction in my summer reading journals. I mentioned how both my summer reading books, American Gods by Neil Gaiman and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, were more character based than plot based. Literary fiction is more character based and commercial fiction is more plot based. I also said that I like the plot based books better because they are easier and more enjoyable to read, which means I like commercial fiction.

Commercial fiction is extremely popular and gives people and escape from their daily lives. Literary fiction on the other hand makes you see the world in a different way after reading and is usually less enjoyable to read. The books we read were in between literary and commercial fiction. This makes sense because both books were enjoyable to an extent, but also changed my views on the world. With American Gods, I learned about how it is hard to tell the difference between good and evil through Neil Gaiman's character Mr. Wednesday. Never Let Me Go opened my eyes to how the world sometimes overlooks how technological advancement can negatively affect certain groups of people.  

Bracelet Beginnings

Bracelets are as fun to make as they are to receive. I got my first bracelet from my best friend in eighth grade. I was ecstatic to finally have a so-called "friendship bracelet". In eighth grade, receiving a friendship bracelet was like a right of passage. If you had one, you were "in" with my group of friends. Since that day, I have been making friendship bracelets on and off.

I think the most enjoyable part of making friendship bracelets for me is that I can give them to my friends. I also like that they are a fun way to pass time. Over finals week freshman year, I brought my materials to school and made bracelets. My classmates were amazed at my talent and how fast I could create a bracelet. Soon after I started knotting my bracelet, I had a whole group of people surrounding me and asking me all sorts of questions. The funny thing was that the people that gathered around me that day weren't my best friends; in fact, they were classmates I didn't talk to on a regular basis. My hobby lets me meet new people and make new friends all the time.