Friday, January 31, 2014
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Blog Post #22: "The Rainbow" Essay
Part I:
In The Rainbow, D.H. Lawrence describes two contrasting worlds, one in which the woman lives, and one where the woman aspires to be. Lawrence characterizes the woman as unhappy in her current situation and her want for "knowledge" through the use of polysyndeton, imager and metaphors; however, the world she desires to be a part of depends on the world she is trying to leave.
The woman's current situation isolates her from the rest of the world. Not only is her physical location far from the "world of cities and governments' her mental capabilities are dwarfed by the "dominant and creative men" that live in these cities (Lawrence 20,23). Lawrence uses polysyndeton to describe her world as having "so much warmth and generating and pain and death" to contrast both the negatives and positives of where the woman is (Lawrence 7-8).
She is also isolated in her own family as the men are content that the "earth heaved and opened its furrow to them" and needed no extra explanation. The woman, on the other hand, needs more. She is not happy with where she is and what she is doing. By describing her feelings of others in contrast with her own, Lawrence characterizes the woman as both isolated and unsatisfied.
The woman knows there are "worlds beyond" her own and she envies the "vicar" who has more understanding (Lawrence 40, 43-44). Lawrence's use of imagery shows the vicar's true power because although it is "dark and dry and small" it sill has dominion over the Brangwen's no because of its physical prowess, but because of its "knowledge" (Lawrence 48, 66).
This, the woman realizes, is the difference between their two worlds. The two worlds, however, cannot live independently of each other. Even though it may seem to the woman that the knowledge others possess give them more power, without the woman, the vicar would not have the things it needed to survive. Without the physical actions of the woman and her family, there would be no knowledge to gain. The "life of creation, which poured unresolved into their veins" is equally as important as the knowledge she wants to achieve.
Lawrence's use of literary devices in The Rainbow shows that although the woman's own knowledge and actions are important, she fails to recognize this fact, aspiring to have the knowledge of others.
(Edited by: Katie Carr)
Part II:
1. My initial essay score was a seven. My essay provided a "reasonable analysis of how Lawrence employs literary devices" and it touched on some of the complexity of the piece. I examined the contrasting views of the woman and the men around her and how their complacency and the woman's desire to gain more knowledge isolated her. I presented my ideas with "clarity and control and refer to the text" for my evidence to support my claims and my thesis. Although I had these components to my essay, I would disagree with this score and give my essay a six. Although I touched on some of the complexity of the piece, I did not recognize the overall theme of the piece. Also, my support and analysis examined literary devices for their meaning within certain parts of the text but failed to connect back to the meaning of the passage as a whole. I had the "consistent command of the elements of effective composition", but I believe my essay lacked a "better developed analysis" that is required to receive a score of a seven.
2. One of the areas which I could improve upon in my essay is the analysis of the complex relationship between the men and women in the passage. Through class discussion, we learned that D.H. Lawrence believed that there was a clear distinction between the "spirit of purpose" of men in contrast with the "sacredness of feeling" in women. By incorporating this aspect of Lawrence's philosophy in my essay, I could offer a more in depth analysis of how he portrays the two groups in the passage. In the third paragraph of my essay, I reference this relationship, but fail to offer a complex analysis of the topic. More textual evidence is needed in my essay to prove that the woman is the one that desires something more than what she has while the men are complacent with their current situation. Not only does the quantity of the evidence need to increase, the quality needs to as well. The quotes I used in my original essay were long and did not fully support my claim. Shorter and higher quality evidence would improve my essay by providing support from the text while also keeping the focus on my own analysis instead of the words of the passage. This analysis would help to explain Lawrence's characterization of the woman which I also feel that I did not adequately analyze in my essay.
A huge part of the complexity I missed in the essay was D.H. Lawrence's belief that the body was just as important, if not more, than the mind. This belief, called Blood Knowledge, was an important influence of Lawrence's works so the incorporation of this topic in my essay would add to my analysis of the complexity of the passage. In my essay, I talked about the separation of the two worlds in the passage but I did not define these two worlds. Defining the two worlds in the context of the Blood Knowledge, opens up more avenues of analysis and proves to readers that I understand the influences on Lawrence's work and how he incorporates them to create meaning. This relationship between physicality and mental ability is important in the second section of the text with the descriptions of the vicar. My analysis of the power that the vicar has over her husband should have been more in depth because this is one of the most important aspects of the piece.
The paradoxical relationship I found in the piece is not necessarily incorrect but is based on assumptions and is not well supported by evidence from the text. The actual complexity lies in the fact that Lawrence believed that the body was more powerful than the mind, yet, the woman desired to have the knowledge of the vicar instead of staying in the current situation she was in, being a farmer, which is a physically dependent profession. I acknowledged the difference between the physical and mental aspects of the two worlds but I did not talk about the irony of the way Lawrence portrays it in this passage. This ironic relationship should be the thesis of my essay because all of the previously mentioned arguments relate back to this. The use of more textual evidence that relates specific literary devices to this complexity would have improved the overall analysis of my essay.
In The Rainbow, D.H. Lawrence describes two contrasting worlds, one in which the woman lives, and one where the woman aspires to be. Lawrence characterizes the woman as unhappy in her current situation and her want for "knowledge" through the use of polysyndeton, imager and metaphors; however, the world she desires to be a part of depends on the world she is trying to leave.
The woman's current situation isolates her from the rest of the world. Not only is her physical location far from the "world of cities and governments' her mental capabilities are dwarfed by the "dominant and creative men" that live in these cities (Lawrence 20,23). Lawrence uses polysyndeton to describe her world as having "so much warmth and generating and pain and death" to contrast both the negatives and positives of where the woman is (Lawrence 7-8).
She is also isolated in her own family as the men are content that the "earth heaved and opened its furrow to them" and needed no extra explanation. The woman, on the other hand, needs more. She is not happy with where she is and what she is doing. By describing her feelings of others in contrast with her own, Lawrence characterizes the woman as both isolated and unsatisfied.
The woman knows there are "worlds beyond" her own and she envies the "vicar" who has more understanding (Lawrence 40, 43-44). Lawrence's use of imagery shows the vicar's true power because although it is "dark and dry and small" it sill has dominion over the Brangwen's no because of its physical prowess, but because of its "knowledge" (Lawrence 48, 66).
This, the woman realizes, is the difference between their two worlds. The two worlds, however, cannot live independently of each other. Even though it may seem to the woman that the knowledge others possess give them more power, without the woman, the vicar would not have the things it needed to survive. Without the physical actions of the woman and her family, there would be no knowledge to gain. The "life of creation, which poured unresolved into their veins" is equally as important as the knowledge she wants to achieve.
Lawrence's use of literary devices in The Rainbow shows that although the woman's own knowledge and actions are important, she fails to recognize this fact, aspiring to have the knowledge of others.
(Edited by: Katie Carr)
Part II:
1. My initial essay score was a seven. My essay provided a "reasonable analysis of how Lawrence employs literary devices" and it touched on some of the complexity of the piece. I examined the contrasting views of the woman and the men around her and how their complacency and the woman's desire to gain more knowledge isolated her. I presented my ideas with "clarity and control and refer to the text" for my evidence to support my claims and my thesis. Although I had these components to my essay, I would disagree with this score and give my essay a six. Although I touched on some of the complexity of the piece, I did not recognize the overall theme of the piece. Also, my support and analysis examined literary devices for their meaning within certain parts of the text but failed to connect back to the meaning of the passage as a whole. I had the "consistent command of the elements of effective composition", but I believe my essay lacked a "better developed analysis" that is required to receive a score of a seven.
2. One of the areas which I could improve upon in my essay is the analysis of the complex relationship between the men and women in the passage. Through class discussion, we learned that D.H. Lawrence believed that there was a clear distinction between the "spirit of purpose" of men in contrast with the "sacredness of feeling" in women. By incorporating this aspect of Lawrence's philosophy in my essay, I could offer a more in depth analysis of how he portrays the two groups in the passage. In the third paragraph of my essay, I reference this relationship, but fail to offer a complex analysis of the topic. More textual evidence is needed in my essay to prove that the woman is the one that desires something more than what she has while the men are complacent with their current situation. Not only does the quantity of the evidence need to increase, the quality needs to as well. The quotes I used in my original essay were long and did not fully support my claim. Shorter and higher quality evidence would improve my essay by providing support from the text while also keeping the focus on my own analysis instead of the words of the passage. This analysis would help to explain Lawrence's characterization of the woman which I also feel that I did not adequately analyze in my essay.
A huge part of the complexity I missed in the essay was D.H. Lawrence's belief that the body was just as important, if not more, than the mind. This belief, called Blood Knowledge, was an important influence of Lawrence's works so the incorporation of this topic in my essay would add to my analysis of the complexity of the passage. In my essay, I talked about the separation of the two worlds in the passage but I did not define these two worlds. Defining the two worlds in the context of the Blood Knowledge, opens up more avenues of analysis and proves to readers that I understand the influences on Lawrence's work and how he incorporates them to create meaning. This relationship between physicality and mental ability is important in the second section of the text with the descriptions of the vicar. My analysis of the power that the vicar has over her husband should have been more in depth because this is one of the most important aspects of the piece.
The paradoxical relationship I found in the piece is not necessarily incorrect but is based on assumptions and is not well supported by evidence from the text. The actual complexity lies in the fact that Lawrence believed that the body was more powerful than the mind, yet, the woman desired to have the knowledge of the vicar instead of staying in the current situation she was in, being a farmer, which is a physically dependent profession. I acknowledged the difference between the physical and mental aspects of the two worlds but I did not talk about the irony of the way Lawrence portrays it in this passage. This ironic relationship should be the thesis of my essay because all of the previously mentioned arguments relate back to this. The use of more textual evidence that relates specific literary devices to this complexity would have improved the overall analysis of my essay.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Blog Post #21: Final Portfolio Reflection
One of the assignments I am most proud of in my portfolio is my Comparison/Contrast Summer Reading Paper. Out of all of my essays written this trimester, I believe that this is my best in terms of analyzing literature. In both the Mis En Scene and textual analysis, I found the complexity and paradoxical relationship between the author and director's choices and the themes of the literature. Not only is my thesis strong, the evidence I used to support it fits well and adds new layers to my original claim. Although this was a well written essay, there were areas for improvement; I struggled with the organization of my claims and the final product reflects this obstacle. The transitions between each paragraph is choppy at times and hurts the fluidity of the paper. This paper helped with my analysis of small passages of literature and their purpose in relation to the entirety of the work. Before this assignment, I was able to analyze parts of a film from a similar project in Honors English IIIA; however, the aspects of Mis En Scene gave a more in depth explanation of directorial choices and the effects they create.
My second assignment I am most proud of is my second Hamlet blog post. I chose the movie Gladiator to parallel to the events in Act II. I addressed the obvious similarities between the two works (both stories of revenge) but also looked for more subtle parallels. For example, the two characters both use forms of entertainment to advance their revenge schemes, Maximus uses the gladiator games and Hamlet uses the play. Also the contrast I addressed between the two characters helped lead into my character's, Horatio, connection to Act II. An area of weakness in this post is the quote integration. When using evidence from the play, I need to use shorter more meaningful quotes that provide sufficient support while not being the focus of the sentence.
Throughout this trimester I have actively participated in both group discussion and group projects. In group discussions, I attempt to answer questions, although not always correctly, to test my understanding of the topic. When I answer a question correctly, it increases my confidence in the subject and when I answer incorrectly, it confirms that I need to review those topics. My motivation to read and complete the homework comes from the desire to participate in these discussions effectively. Personally, I participated more in discussion when we broke up into smaller groups because I felt more comfortable sharing my opinions. Within these smaller groups, I was also able to help other classmates in and out of school with editing papers, reviewing concepts, or working through a difficult text.
In group projects, I contributed greatly to ensure that the final product had all of the required items and was done in the right way. However, I did not control each part of the projects. If someone had a specific job, I let them complete it instead of trying to do everything myself. This helped to keep a peaceful working environment within the group and also allowed for each group member to contribute to the project without feeling left out. Occasionally in certain projects, I felt that I was doing a majority of the heavy lifting. For example, coming up with the thesis and specific evidence to support it while other group members completed informational slides. Instead of everyone contributing to our analysis it was only me, or me and one other group member. This made it difficult to come up with arguments on a couple of occasions because we didn't have the entire group's ideas contributing to the thesis. In my individual projects and papers, I did a good job managing my time so that I didn't have to do all of the work on one day.
At the beginning of this trimester, my goals were to expand my knowledge of literary devices, study more poetry, and read more literature. Throughout the poetry unit, I learned and studied more than seven new literary devices and analyzed specific examples in all types of poetry and prose. Specifically, the PowerPoint presentations expanded my understanding of literary devices and stylistic choices and how they created meaning in relation to the overall message of the work. I can always expand upon my knowledge of literary devices, and as I transition into the second trimester, I need to continually look for devices in our reading. One way I can improve this outside of the classroom is in my own personal reading, whether it is Sports Illustrated or the newspaper, I can look for literary devices and see how they create meaning within topics which I am interested in. Before the second trimester ends, I want to learn at least 10 new types of literary devices and be able to explain how each can create meaning in a piece of literature.
As I previously stated, the poetry presentations helped immensely in my understanding of this type of literature. Throughout the trimester, I have carefully analyzed more than 10 poems. The studying of the Foster chapters, literary archetypes, literary periods, and literary theory all compounded and aided in my learning. However, I am still struggling with expanding upon the complexity of the poem. Some of my initial thesis statements before they were reviewed still failed to address how the author uses literary devices to create meaning. A way to improve upon this skill in the future is to continue studying all of the aspects that contribute to the complexity of a piece of literature. By knowing these concepts by heart, I can identify more subtle influences within the passages revealing more complexity, thus improving my analytical and open ended essay writing. Before the second trimester ends, I want to complete in depth analyses of at least four different poems.
I do not feel like I accomplished my final goal as thoroughly as I had hoped. This trimester focused primarily on poetry, although some literature was sprinkled in throughout. We analyzed both of our summer reading books, which was helpful in finding how small events or scenes in a book can contribute to the meaning as a whole, and some other short passages on a variety of topics The amount of literature I read and analyzed this trimester, however, was not enough. For second trimester, I need to focus on the analysis of prose and dial back a bit on poetry. Although I am comfortable with this type of analysis from taking AP Language and Composition, there are nuances with regards to AP Literature that need to be learned to excel in these types of essays. Before second trimester ends, I want to complete in depth analyses of at least six pieces of prose.
This class has been one of the most insightful English classes I have taken in my high school career. I will carry the skills I have learned into part B of the class and expand upon my current knowledge with new concepts. I will admit, this class has been extremely difficult and frustrating at times but I am glad I stuck it out and am looking forward to another challenge second trimester.
My second assignment I am most proud of is my second Hamlet blog post. I chose the movie Gladiator to parallel to the events in Act II. I addressed the obvious similarities between the two works (both stories of revenge) but also looked for more subtle parallels. For example, the two characters both use forms of entertainment to advance their revenge schemes, Maximus uses the gladiator games and Hamlet uses the play. Also the contrast I addressed between the two characters helped lead into my character's, Horatio, connection to Act II. An area of weakness in this post is the quote integration. When using evidence from the play, I need to use shorter more meaningful quotes that provide sufficient support while not being the focus of the sentence.
Throughout this trimester I have actively participated in both group discussion and group projects. In group discussions, I attempt to answer questions, although not always correctly, to test my understanding of the topic. When I answer a question correctly, it increases my confidence in the subject and when I answer incorrectly, it confirms that I need to review those topics. My motivation to read and complete the homework comes from the desire to participate in these discussions effectively. Personally, I participated more in discussion when we broke up into smaller groups because I felt more comfortable sharing my opinions. Within these smaller groups, I was also able to help other classmates in and out of school with editing papers, reviewing concepts, or working through a difficult text.
In group projects, I contributed greatly to ensure that the final product had all of the required items and was done in the right way. However, I did not control each part of the projects. If someone had a specific job, I let them complete it instead of trying to do everything myself. This helped to keep a peaceful working environment within the group and also allowed for each group member to contribute to the project without feeling left out. Occasionally in certain projects, I felt that I was doing a majority of the heavy lifting. For example, coming up with the thesis and specific evidence to support it while other group members completed informational slides. Instead of everyone contributing to our analysis it was only me, or me and one other group member. This made it difficult to come up with arguments on a couple of occasions because we didn't have the entire group's ideas contributing to the thesis. In my individual projects and papers, I did a good job managing my time so that I didn't have to do all of the work on one day.
At the beginning of this trimester, my goals were to expand my knowledge of literary devices, study more poetry, and read more literature. Throughout the poetry unit, I learned and studied more than seven new literary devices and analyzed specific examples in all types of poetry and prose. Specifically, the PowerPoint presentations expanded my understanding of literary devices and stylistic choices and how they created meaning in relation to the overall message of the work. I can always expand upon my knowledge of literary devices, and as I transition into the second trimester, I need to continually look for devices in our reading. One way I can improve this outside of the classroom is in my own personal reading, whether it is Sports Illustrated or the newspaper, I can look for literary devices and see how they create meaning within topics which I am interested in. Before the second trimester ends, I want to learn at least 10 new types of literary devices and be able to explain how each can create meaning in a piece of literature.
As I previously stated, the poetry presentations helped immensely in my understanding of this type of literature. Throughout the trimester, I have carefully analyzed more than 10 poems. The studying of the Foster chapters, literary archetypes, literary periods, and literary theory all compounded and aided in my learning. However, I am still struggling with expanding upon the complexity of the poem. Some of my initial thesis statements before they were reviewed still failed to address how the author uses literary devices to create meaning. A way to improve upon this skill in the future is to continue studying all of the aspects that contribute to the complexity of a piece of literature. By knowing these concepts by heart, I can identify more subtle influences within the passages revealing more complexity, thus improving my analytical and open ended essay writing. Before the second trimester ends, I want to complete in depth analyses of at least four different poems.
I do not feel like I accomplished my final goal as thoroughly as I had hoped. This trimester focused primarily on poetry, although some literature was sprinkled in throughout. We analyzed both of our summer reading books, which was helpful in finding how small events or scenes in a book can contribute to the meaning as a whole, and some other short passages on a variety of topics The amount of literature I read and analyzed this trimester, however, was not enough. For second trimester, I need to focus on the analysis of prose and dial back a bit on poetry. Although I am comfortable with this type of analysis from taking AP Language and Composition, there are nuances with regards to AP Literature that need to be learned to excel in these types of essays. Before second trimester ends, I want to complete in depth analyses of at least six pieces of prose.
This class has been one of the most insightful English classes I have taken in my high school career. I will carry the skills I have learned into part B of the class and expand upon my current knowledge with new concepts. I will admit, this class has been extremely difficult and frustrating at times but I am glad I stuck it out and am looking forward to another challenge second trimester.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
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