In Class Essay #2

Desire. Simple definition, but surprisingly complex to understand. It is the driving factor for mankind and defines who we are. It has brought mankind knocking on the doorstep of a new age and is going to propel us forward. But as Sir Philip Sidney states in his poem, desires can also lead to negative outcomes and motivate us to desire want ill gains. Sir Philip Sidney elaborates more on the negative side of desires, comparing it to a "blind man's mark".

In Class Essay #1

Pauline Hopkins quote speaks volumes and is certainly true. It applies to almost everyone that has ever lived on this planet. Our surroundings, the people in our lives, shape us into who we are. It defines us and influences us to make the decisions that we make. This strongly influences an authors decision making into who the characters are and how the setting will affect the characters. A perfect example of this is Yann Martel's Life of Pi. The novel closely examines just how much influence that characters and the setting can affect someone.

Poetry Essay Prompt #1

I think that an intro paragraph is sufficient in helping me prepare for the AP Exam.

Prompt: The following two poems are about Helen of Troy. Renowned in the ancient world for her beauty, Helen was the wife of Menelaus, a Greek King. She was carried off to Troy by the Trojan prince Paris, and her abduction was the immediate cause of the Trojan War. Read the two poems carefully. Considering such elements as speaker, diction, imagery, form, and tone, write a well-organized essay in which you contrast the speakers’ views of Helen.


               Both poems have contrasting ideas that portray Helen's beauty in very different manners. It's interesting that though they both use similar literary techniques to describe very different portrayals of Helen and her beauty. "Helen" describes her beauty as a curse, while "To Helen" describes her beauty as physical and spiritually uplifting. Even though the tone and diction are different, they both use these elements. Both authors use tone and diction to help them describe their differing opinions on Helen's beauty.

Groupthink

Our group discussed the poem "As I Walked Out One Evening" by W.H Auden. We didn't have much time, but we worked on filling out the grid together and we came to the realization that the hardest part was finding the shift. Eventually figured out the shift coincided with the word "time". Understanding where the shift occurred in this poem will help us figure out the shifts in other poems, due to the difficulty of the identification of the shift in this poem.

Gridlock

"Hope" by Emily Dickinson


Title:
Most likely the overall theme for the poem
Paraphrase:
"Hope is the thing with feathers, That perches in the soul, And sings the tune--without the words" These lines are clearly associating the qualities of a bird with the qualities of hope.

"And sore must be the storm,That could abash the little bird, That kept so many warm." Dickinson is still associating hope with the qualities of a bird and also saying how could someone crush the bird that brought hope to many.

Connotation:
1. "And sore must be the storm"
Sore seems to mean more along the lines of evil.
2."That kept so many warm"
This means that that the hope was a beacon and uplifting for those who needed it.
3."It asked a crumb of me"
This means that hope required nothing in return for giving out its "warmth"

Attitude:
Dickinson seems to admire hope and the things it can do to help others.
Shift:
There is a very small in shift where she describes how hope can exist in the strangest places.
Title revisited:
Hope is a major part of the poem and part of the theme.
Theme:
The theme is hope. It can raise even the most down person and uplift them.

Macbeth Micro AP Exam

I thought that the pace was a little fast and unreasonable, but it was still manageable. There were some questions I knew right off the bat and I could've used the extra time I had on those questions to answer ones I needed a little more time for. But overall it wasn't too bad and the essay prompt was fair.

Life of Pi questions and essay prompts

1. How does the idea of survival play out in this text?

2. What does Pi try to communicate through his choice of the animals, other than the tiger, with whom he shares the lifeboat?

3. What are important characteristics of Pi and Richard Parker? 

4. Which of the stories seems more believable? Explain

5. How does religion play a role in Pi's journey?

Essay Prompt
Religion plays a key role in Yann Martel's novel Life of Pi. The main character Pi, unusually follows three religions, yet Pi feels following just one is not the important part, the power to believe in them is what is important. How does the author show this theme and what techniques does the use to demonstrate this?

We feel like we know Pi through the entire story then fine out at the end that his story may not be true. Why does Pi make up the second story and how can you tie in his belief I'm religion with it?

Many authors use parallel events and characters to demonstrate their themes in the novel. Chose a work of literature (Life of Pi) where the author use the literary techniques of parallel events and characters to demonstrate their theme.