2009,
Form B. Many works of literature deal with political or
social issues. Choose a novel or play that focuses on a political oe social
issue. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the author uses literary
elements to explore this issue and explazin how the issue contributes to the
meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Twain explores social issues. The main literary element he uses is satire. He satirizes social classes and religion mainly. Huck Finn's father is a complete idiot and just doesn't know anything. But, the black slave, Jim, is more intelgent than the white man that is Huck Finn's father. Pap, Huck Finn's dad, is a white male, which means he is on the very top of the social class pyramid in this novel. And Jim, is on the very botttom. But their attitudes and intellgience levels are completely opposite.
Jim wasn't someone that anyone would trust because he is African American. But Huck Finn, trusts him more than anyone else does. He realizes that just because he has different colored skin, doesn't mean that he is a different person. Twain shows this by Jim kind of becoming Huck's older brother and caring for him. He shows how the different social classes mix, and how the pyramid just gets thrown off because Huck trusts Jim so much.
Another way Twain uses satire is with religion. Huck's aunt, whom he lives with, teaches him all about the Bible and what God does and why Huck should pay attention. But Huck just doesn't even care and says that he's not even sure what all of this means and why he needs to learn it. This completely goes against the norm for the time period. Twain just really wrote in a completely different way and satrirized a lot of things that other writers wouldn't have.
You make a lot of good points about satire. I definitely agree with what you said about Twain taking risks in his satire, as this kind of writing wasn't as common during this time period (many people think Twain was rejecting Romanticism and embracing Realism). This novel is still controversial today.
ReplyDeleteNext time, I think this essay could be improved by using more examples of literary elements, since the question says to analyze multiple elements. You might be able to say something about colloquialism or dialogue, since this is a central part of the book (Twain put a lot of work into creating different dialogues for each character). Nice job!
I really like how you emphasized the use of satire when addressing social issues. I like how you used examples of the satire in to novel. I think that it would also really help your analysis if you used examples of literary devices and how they contributed to the satire of the novel. I haven't read this novel but I'm sure there are many details from the novel that you could use to help support your opinion and other literary devices like syntax and diction. I also think you should have elaborated more about religion being addressed in the novel as well. You briefly described it and gave an example, but i would have liked to see you go into more detail about the satire with religion in the novel.
ReplyDeleteHi Megan-
ReplyDeleteI definately agree with Ally and Nathan about using more examples. Having read this book, I loved how Ally suggested analyzing how the dialogue portrays each character. I think it would help emphasize that Huck's dad is not intellectual and that Jim is actually trustworthy and extremely caring. I liked how you chose to use satire to show the social problems of the time period, but why do you think Twain used satire? What do you think motivated him to do so, even though he knew it may be controversial? Also, I think the style of your first paragraph was a little too informal. For example you said, "Huck's father is a complete idiot." Althought that is true and adds to your voice, I don't think it is very appropriate to say that on the AP Exam. However, your other paragraphs are perfectly appropriate and formal. Overall, you did a great job with this prompt by adding a unique twist, but I think adding a little more about literary elements and meaning will enhance this response.