Close Reading- Number Four

Without Babies, Can Japan Survive?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/without-babies-can-japan-survive.html?ref=opinion

     In this article I found dicton, syntax, and detail. Alexandra Harney did a wonderful job addressing the issue of whether or not Japan can continue to exist with their low birth rate. She really convinced me that it will be hard for them to continue on with such a low birth rate.
     The detail in this article really helped me get a feel and understand exactly what Japan is going through. The facts were what made me believe that Japan is really struggling with their birth rate. An example of this is "...taught 1,250 elementary school children is now educating just 37." Going from 1250 to 37 is such a dramatic change, and without this detail, you wouldnt relize the severity of the problem. Another example is "...when 56 percent of local residents are over 65."
     The diction in this article also helps you see the severity. Harney uses plight many times throughout this article and it is a much better option than using struggle. While struggle does have the connotative, pejorative notation, plight is a more sophisticated word choice. In the first paragraph, Harney describes different places. She writes "Many of town's elegant wodden homes are abandoned. Where generations of cedar loggers, sweet potato farmers and factory workesr once made their lives, monkeys now reside." Using the word elegant and then abandonded to describe the same house, also helps you realize how bad of a situation it is.
     Harney uses wonderful syntax. She has a variety of long and short sentences. And she also uses a colon in one line, which, I think, is very effective. She also uses a set of parentheses. Harney uses hyphens.

Prompt #4-2005 Form B

2005, Form B. One of the strongest human drives seems to be a desire for power. Write an essay in which you discuss how a character in a novel or a drama struggles to free himself or herself from the power of others or seeks to gain power over others. Be sure to demonstrate in your essay how the author uses this power struggle to enhance the meaning of the work.

     In Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a great example of a power struggle between characters. A group of schoolboys get stranded on an island and are forced to live without their parents and under no rules. At first it is all happy and everyone gets along, but as time goes by, the boys begin to bicker and fight and everything goes terribly wrong.

     Ralph, the protagonist, is a smart young boy who is first elected to become the leader. Jack, the protagonist  is a power hungry, jealous boy. Once Jack is not elected, his need and want for the power becomes worse. Ralph wants their to be equality and rules. He thinks there should be rules to help control the actions and believes it will make their situation better. Jack, on the other hand, is completely against this way of thinking. He thinks that being obnoxious, savages is the way to go. He believes that rules just ruin a society. 

     The whole novel revolves around these two boys power struggle. Every action that is made, and all action that takes place is dependent upon the power struggle. The boys splitting up into to groups and engaging in war against each other is the result of the power struggle between Jack and Ralph. When Simon tries to tell the other boys about the beast within everyone, he is murdered. This is caused by the power struggle because if Jack had not gotten mad and created a whole new tribe, Simon may have not run off the find out the truth of all mankind.

     Without Ralph and Jack's power struggle, the role government plays in society would not be seen in this novel. Golding is showing how the government is in real society. Without a government and rules, we would all become savages. We would have no morals and kill other innocent people because every man is a savage inside. Government is what is controlling the savage inside all mankind. Without government, the human race would cease to exist. 

Death of a Salesman Summary

Author: Arthur Miller

Setting: Brooklyn, New York; Loman's House

Plot: Willy Loman returns to his home from a sales trip. Linda, his wife, tries to persuade him into talking to his boss to see if he can stay in New York and work. Willy says  he will talk to Howard (his boss) the next day. Willy complains that Biff, his oldest son, hasn't made anything of himself yet. Linda gets mad because he gets so dsitraught and Willy goes downstairs to get something to eat. Willy talks to himself in the kitchen while his two sons, Biff and Happy, talk about the good old days when they were young. They talk about Willy's babbling and it usually holds some critism of Biff's failure to uphold Willy's dream. Willy then daydreams of young Biff and all his glory in football. Charley's son, Bernard, comes searching for Biff saying that Biff must study or he will fail and not graduate high school. Willy says Bernard is not well liked so he will not succeed in life. Willy complains about all of the things wrong in his life. As Linda consoles him, Willy hears the laughter of his mistress. The woman and Willy flirt and she thanks him for the stockings. He goes back into the first daydream and scolds Linda for hemming her stockings. Biff has stolen a football and Linda scolds that Biff must give it back. Happy comes downstairs to settle Willy down, and Willy talks about how he is upset that he did not go with Ben to have success. Charley comes in and Willy and him play cards. Willy denies the job. Willy imagines Ben came in, then calls Charley Ben. There is a lot of confusion and Willy tells Charley that he can't play cards with Charley if he is goingto cheat. Linda then tells the boys that Willy has been trying to commit suicide. Willy goes into Howard's office and tries to talk to him about staying in New York, but gets distracted by the voice recorder. Happy and Biff take Willy out to dinner to celebrate. Biff tells Willy that he waited 6 hours for Bill Oliver and that he didn't recongize him. Biff stole his fountain pen and ran. Happy and Biff leave, saying that they don't know who he is. Willy is in the bathroom daydreaming. He's in a hotel room with another woman. Biff walks in on them and gets upset and they have a huge fight. Biff leaves upset and angry. Willy then comes back into the present and leaves to buy seeds. He comes home and starts planting. Linda and the boys fight about how Willy is dying. Biff and Willy fight then Biff cries into Willy's shoulder and tells him he loves him. Willy then leaves with Ben as Linda and the boys tell him not to. Willy's car speeds away and then he dies. At the funeral, Linda tells Willy that they are finally free. Biff and Happy talk about going out west.

Characters:

• Willy Loman
• Linda Loman
• Happy Loman
• Biff Loman
• Charler
• Bernard
• Howard Wagner
• Stanley
• Miss Forsythe
• Letta
• Jenny
• The Woman

Narrative Voice: none really, it's a play

STYLE
1. Point of View: First person, all characters interact with each other; there is no outsider telling the story; because it is a play, there is no way to really tell if an outsider is looking in and telling the story because there is no narrator

2. Tone: Willy Loman is crazy and consumed by the materialistic dream. He wants to be a businessman even though he is no good at it. He thinks that being liked and known is the key to success. Miller wants us to see that Willy is like many people in the world. We don't do what makes us happy, but what we think will please others. We can't just do what we want to do. We have to have the big bucks to pay for useless things. Biff is unsuccessful but is trying to do what he likes. But he also changes to become what his father wants. Miller wants us to notice that Biff has gone and tried to find himself, which many people cannot do because they are too concerned with who likes them. Happy is just dumb. He has no respect for women, and he is going to end up like Willy. Miller does this to show that if you continue to do things only to please other people, that your life will not end up something you want it to be. Sometimes success isn't always a good thing. Linda cares for Willy even though she knows she must do more.

3.  Imagery:

• Willy's daydreaming
• Linda mending her stockings
• The Woman and Willy's interactions

4. Symbolism

• Seeds- Willy's opportunity to prove the worth of labor
• Diamonds- tangible wealth, Ben, one's wealth and materialism
• Stockings- Linda's and The Woman's, new stockings, betrayl, financial
• Rubber Hose- suicide

QUOTES
1. "Bernard: But sometimes Willy, it's better for a man just to walk away."
Importance: This shows the different ways Bernard and Biff were raised. Biff was always told what to do and how to act and what to be. Charley never told Bernard how to live his life. Bernard is successful and Biff is not.

2. "Biff: I don't care what they think! They've laughed at Dad for years, and you know why? Becasue we don't belong in this nuthouse of a city! We should be mixing cement on some open plain, or-or carpenters. A carpenter is allowed to whistle!"
Importance: This shows how Willy never took a journey south or west or anywhere but east. He stayed in New York and the surrouning areas. He never took a journey to find himself. He is unaware that Biff is right, and that he should be a carpenter. Biff lived out west so he knows what he is to do with his life.

3. "Willy: All the cement, lumber, the reconstruction I put in this house1There ain't a crack to be found in it any more."
Importance: Willy has done all of the carpentry for the house and is still oblivious that that is what he was meant to do. But because he never took the journey south he will never know.


Theme: One theme in Death of a Salesman is betrayl and family disfunction. Willy betrays Linda and Biff when he has an affair and Biff finds out. Willy never tells Linda and Biff never tells anyone about it. They both keep all their secrets bottled up. Biff betrays Willy's dream for him. Biff never actually tries to become a salesman. The constant fighting and betrayl between these two characters is the main reason for the disfunction of the family. But everyones lies and secrets contribute.

Response to Course Material: Number Four

So I guess we didn't do much since last time, or maybe I am just super forgetful, which is probably the case. We watched Death of  a Salesman and discussed the differences betweent the movie and play. That was...hm..I'm not sure. I guess I didn't exactly find it fun, but I didn't exactly not mind it. We have been doing a tone word challenge every day. I'm not so good at them, but I guess the point is to learn different tone words. And I have learned a lot. We started Hamlet. I am not the biggest Shakespeare fan. In fact, I try to avoid it because I just don't get it sometimes. It's harder for me to read. Oh well. Reading it as a class and having Ms. Holmes explain things is really helful. And even though I don't enjoy reading Shakespeare, I am enjoying this play a lot.