Prompt #3- 1990

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.

     In Death of  a Salesman  by Arthur Miller, you see a large conflict between Willy, a father, and Biff, his son. The fights and conflict betweeen these two men creates the whole play. The plot revolves around these two characters and their fights and how they interact.
     The main cause of the conflict is Willy's need to be successful. Because he spends his whole life trying to become successful and never does, he puts his life dream onto Biff. Biff cannot carry out this dream becasue he knows that he is not meant to be a salesman. Biff took his trip west, to opportunity and freedom, and he realized that he should be building things. And after coming across this discovery, Biff realizes this is also supposed to be Willy's life.
     Another cause you see is when Biff finds Willy cheating on Linda, Willy's wife. Biff is devestated and calls Willy a liar and a fake. He cannot believe that something like this would happen. Willy tries to cover it up, but he knows there's nothing he can do to change what Biff saw. Because Biff finds out about this affair, he is unable to go to summer school to pass high school. Willy blames himself for Biff's failure. And in return, Willy feels the need to make Biff's life better.
     Willy's unsuccessfulness is put  onto Biff. Biff feels like he has to carry out his father's dream for him. But no matter what Biff does, Willy disapproves. So finally, Biff is fed up with all of the lies. He notices the disfunction that his fights with Willy has caused the family. He tells Willy that he knows he is a failure but that he is done with all the lies. Willy is frustrated and angry. But Biff then tells Willy he loves him, and everything changes. Willy and Biff no longer fight and Biff carries out his own dream.

Close Reading-Number Three

Throw Out the Rules! Read A Fairy Tale.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/opinion/sunday/throw-out-the-rules-and-read-the-grimm-tales.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss


     In this article I found diction, details, and syntax. The author has great word choice, uses great examples, and has a variety of sentence lengths and structures.
     Diction in this piece was great. I have seen better, but Verlyn Klinkenborg did use different words. Like in the first paragraph, Klinkenborg writes "the power of enchanted princess is axiomatic".  Instead of just saying that it was self-evident or just out there, she uses axiomatic. Also she wrties "trouble comes abruptly and in threes." By using abruptly, it is more harsh than sudden. Another example is "like embroidered samplers". When I hear embroidered, I think of a more soft, elegant tone.
     Klinnkenborg uses much detail. Instead of just writing about the Grimm Brother's stories and how a new author has adapted them, she uses quotes. She adds in quotes here and there from different stories. It makes the piece more interesting and I personally did not know that some of these phrases came from Grimm. Adding these quotes defintely makes it more interesting to read.
     Lastly, she uses syntax. Her diffferent sentence lenghts help with the flow of the article. And she uses many interejections. Normally, this would bother me and make me more confused, but it was quite interesting. She writes "The tale - and mose of the rules within them - are completetely discontinous." Her use of the hyphens instead of commas, is different. And interesting.

Response to Course Material: Number Three

I am not really sure if we did this this past week or two, or if it fits in with last weeks post, but I will write about it now.
     We prepared for the AP multiple choice test in class. We read a poem, and then had to make AP questions to go along with it. Once we had written questions, we traded with another group to try and answer them. Once I learned the different distractor types for questions, I realized what kinds get me confused during tests. I think this will help me not only for AP lit but for other classes. It made me realize that I should really double check my answers.
     Another thing we did was start our next book, Death of a Salesman. We watched the movie, but for me it was nothing new. I wasn't lost as to what was happening and why because I watched the movie last year in American Lit and we disucssed it. Actually reading the play will be something new for me though, and I am looking forward to seeing how cloesly the play and movie match up.
     To relate Death of a Salesman to other class material, each person recieved a question and had to answer it. Then we passed the various questions around the room, and near the end of the hour, we discussed them. Even though I already knew what the play was about and had sort of anaylyzed it already, relating it to critical lenses and movements brought new light to the subject. This should help me understand the play even more, and help me along as I annotate the book.
     One last thing. Tone. We read chapter 4 and part of chapter 5 in the textbook. Then we were assigned a paper, to chose two pieces from chapter four and anaylyze the tone. This was helpful for me because I am not the best at analyzing and it just gave me more practice. Then once we came to class the next day, we found one person who analyzed the same piece as us. The two of us related the piece we had in common with views of a character from The American Dream. This just shows something about literature. Everything really is related.