Prompt #3

1991. Many plays and novels use contrasting places (for example, two countries, two cities or towns, two houses, or the land and the sea) to represent opposed forces or ideas that are central to the meaning of the work. Choose a novel or play that contrasts two such places. Write an essay explaining how the places differ, what each place represents, and how their contrast contributes to the meaning of the work.

Be sure to not use notes, the book, commentaries or anything other than your brain!!! The best way to practice this is to just jam! Remember to entitle your essay and to mention the novel/play title in your opening paragraph! Please try to knock this out of the ball park!

Your essay needs to be loaded by Saturday, March 20th midnight. You will need to comment on 4 essays by Monday, March 22nd midnight! Think about what you are learning from each other in terms of writing craftsmanship, logic, voice. Good Luck!

Oceans Apart

In the novel The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, four Chinese women migrate to America hoping to find better lives. The novel follows each of their stories as well as those of their Chinese-American daughters. Although the novel is told from the point of view of each of the women, the novel primarily focuses on the stories of Jing-mei and her recently deceased mother Suyuan. The Joy Luck Club takes place in two distinct places – China and the United States. Each of these two settings represents the cultures and identities of the two groups of characters in the book – the Chinese mothers and the American daughters.

The main conflict in this novel is the generational and cultural gap between the mothers and their “Americanized” daughters. The daughters can barely speak or understand Chinese and can’t read or write in Chinese. Likewise the Chinese mothers can barely understand their daughters’ English. Many of the meanings and messages behind the mothers’ Chinese culture and customs are “lost in translation”, leaving the embarrassed daughters to believe that their mothers are weird and crazy.

The biggest conflict between the mothers and the daughters is between Suyuan and Jing-mei. Suyuan pushes her daughter to become a piano prodigy. Suyuan sees American as a place of infinite hope and possibility where her daughter can be extremely successful. Jing-mei, however, resents her mother’s urge for her to be the best and craves being “just average”. To Jing-mei, life in America means that she can live a decent life by simply being mediocre. Jing-mei’s resistance strains their relationship until Suyuan seems to give up on her daughter.

Jing-mei hates her mother’s efforts to make her the best without understanding why her mother pushed her. Suyuan had a very successful life in China as a high-ranking army general’s wife. She had many friends, money, and a comfortable life with her husband and newborn twin daughters. Suyuan was the only character who had a happy life in China. However, Suyuan’s life changes dramatically with the onset of World War II and the invasion of Japanese forces into China. With her husband dead and Japanese forces quickly approaching, Suyuan runs for her life. After many days of fleeing from the advancing Japanese troops, Suyuan is exhausted and unable to care for her babies; she abandons her daughters, hoping someone will find them and care for them. Suyuan is rescued but never sees her daughters again. Feeling guilt for the abandonment of her daughters, Suyuan pushes Jing-mei to live as full of a life as possible.

Throughout the novel Jing-mei slowly begins to understand her mother and her Chinese heritage through events like receiving her “life’s importance” (a jade pendent necklace). But Jing-mei is only able to fully understand her mother when she travels to China, her mother’s homeland. By finding her Chinese half-sisters and traveling to China itself, Jing-mei fully embraces her Chinese heritage.

The individualistic nature of American culture contrasts sharply with Chinese culture, which values family and the community over the individual. These conflicting viewpoints are shown through the events that take place in the two different countries, China and America. The actual places embody the culture and identity of its people, with the massive Pacific Ocean separating them, showing the vast cultural differences between these two countries.

Promt #2

Prompt 2: Choose a character in a novel or play of your choice (from the AP List!) and write about the conflict(s) that arise since they are in conflict with the society they are from. This may be socially, religiously, and/or morally. Dig deep! You should also address whether your character comes to a good/bad fate due to this conflict(s).

The Greatest Life Lesson

In the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, Grant, the cynical and apathetic protagonist, faces internal conflicts that manifest into external conflicts with his surrounding community. Grant’s conflicts stem from his confusion about his identity, purpose in life, and place in society. Faced with self-doubt fueled by an atmosphere filled with racism, Grant abandons his African American background by shunning religion and the problems faced by the black community. By abandoning his faith, Grant is placed in a position of constant conflict with everyone from his aunt to the black priest of the community. Ignoring his African American background doesn’t improve Grant’s position in society – the white community continues to treat Grant as less than human. Completely alienated from society, Grant is only able to abandon his cynical attitude after the unjustified execution of Jefferson, an uneducated African American.

Grant grows up before the Civil Rights Movement in Louisiana, where the racist attitude of the white community causes unequal treatment for African Americans. This inequality is shown in the trial of Jefferson, a young African American who was in a liquor store when the owner was shot and killed. By simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time and because he is black, Jefferson is sentenced to death for the murder of the white shopkeeper even though he is completely innocent.

The trial and prosecution of Jefferson serves as a backdrop to Grant’s conflicts. Since Grant is a schoolteacher and the only educated African American in his small community, Grant is practically forced by his aunt to make Jefferson a “man” before his execution. Grant resents his aunt’s demands, believing that nothing could be done for Jefferson. Nevertheless, Grant visits Jefferson in his jail cell and is appalled at Jefferson’s behavior – believing that he is nothing more than a hog, Jefferson acts like an animal and refuses to listen to Grant.

Under constant pressure from his aunt, Grant continues to visit Jefferson and slowly makes progress until finally Jefferson starts to talk to Grant. As the two men begin to form a close bond of friendship, Grant is forced to confront his issues about how society treats him. Feeling that he is unable to change anything, Grant takes out his frustration on Vivian, his girlfriend. Vivian, however, is an extremely strong character and forces Grant to either leave her or to solve his issues.

As Jefferson’s execution date is set and draws nearer, Grant buys Jefferson a radio and a notebook. Both of these items help Grant make significant progress with Jefferson – because of the radio, Jefferson is willing to talk to Grant, while the notebook allows Jefferson to share his thoughts openly without judgment.

The few days before the execution mark a tremendous change in Jefferson. Jefferson has accepted his fate and his responsibility to the black community to die with honor. Jefferson’s bravery and courage in the face of an imminate and unjustified death deeply move Grant.

On the day of the electrocution, Grant is unable to make himself go to the courthouse for Jefferson. After receiving Jefferson’s notebook from Paul, the kind white policeman, Grant learns that Jefferson walked like a man to the electric chair. Feeling overwhelmed by the death of his new friend and the “lesson” that Jefferson had taught him, Grant starts to cry.

Jefferson had taught Grant two important lessons through his death. The first lesson is that any injustice can only be solved by action. Grant had cynically complained about the treatment he received from white society but had never done anything to stop it. By walking proudly as a man instead of like a defeated animal, Jefferson inspires the community to take action against injustice.

Finally, the second and most important lesson that Grant learns is to be proud of your identity and to not let others decide what you make of yourself. Grant shaped himself to the expectations of white society because he never tried to improve his situation. By walking like a man when the white community wanted Jefferson to crawl like an animal, Jefferson shows Grant that he should embrace and accept his individuality instead of letting others mold him into whatever they want.

In A Lesson Before Dying, Grant is only able to solve his conflicts with society and within himself after the death of Jefferson. By learning to accept himself and to take action against injustice, Grant finally embraces Jefferson’s lesson and starts to positively change his fate by helping his community.

Prompt #1

Task: Read the following prompt and answer to the best of your ability! Choose a symbol used in a novel or play of your choice and discuss its function in the world of the work. Be sure to give the title of the work and its author in the Introduction paragraph. You should strive for 4 - 5 paragraphs. Good Luck! After posting, read and comment on 4 other postings. Your comments should be helpful to the writer and may be things you noticed, something for them to think about, and some words of encouragement. You must complete your essay and your comments by Tuesday, January 12th!

The Use of "Le Bois" to Symbolize the Darkness of Human Nature

In the novel Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, the main character, Antoinette, grows up on a failed plantation in Jamaica, surrounded by a wild and untamed landscape. Similar to the forest in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, the forests of Jamaica and nature symbolize the darker side of human nature, chiefly greed, exploitation, hatred, sinfulness, loss of innocence, and isolation.

The novel begins with Antoinette narrating her childhood. After the death of her father and the emancipation of slaves, the estate that Antoinette lives at, called Coulibri, falls into ruins. The white society of the island ostracizes Antoinette's family, while the black community humiliates them, calling Antoinette a "white cockroach".

Antoinette finds relief from the degrading insults of society in the overrun garden of Coulibri. This garden and the surrounding forest signify Antoinette's isolation and lost innocence. Even though Antoinette finds relief here from the problems in her life, this uncivilized escape from humanity alters Antoinette's personality. The more time Antoinette spends in the wilderness, the more isolated from society Antoinette becomes. As Antoinette devotes more of her time to wandering the garden, she is increasingly distressed by the manner in which she is tried by society, until she completely hates people.

To Antoinette, the garden at Coulibri is luscious and beautiful, comparable to the Garden of Eden. However, the garden contains a sinister atmosphere, and the plants are animistic in nature - "One was snaky looking, another like an octopus with long thin brown tentacles bare of leaves hanging from a twisted root." (Pg 17) Before Antoinette was born and the estate ruined, the garden was both beautiful and tamed, an innocent Eden. Now the garden is wild and excessive, just like the rest of Coulibri, including its inhabitants.

Completely engrossed in her escape from reality, Antoinette doesn't feel the need for human companionship. Antoinette's mother, however, hates being isolated from society, and finds relief when new neighbors settle in a nearby estate. The neighbors visit Coulibri and laugh at Antoinette's wild and dirty appearance, furthering Antoinette's predisposed view of people being evil and causing Antoinette to feel ashamed.

After the visitors leave, Antoinette has a nightmare where she is running through a forest, being chased by someone who hates her. Antoinette is unable to identify the man pursuing her, and as he gets increasingly closer, Antoinette screams and wakes up. The dark forest defines the atmosphere of the nightmare, symbolizing the hatred, greed, and sinfulness of the man hunting her.

Tragic events in the novel force Antoinette to attend a convent school in Spanish Town, where Antoinette is finally liberated from her horrible past. Sheltered from nature and the wild forests, Antoinette spends the most normal part of her life studying under the nuns of the convent.

When Antoinette turns seventeen, Mr. Mason (her stepfather) visits Antoinette to inform her that she will be leaving the convent and returning to society. Antoinette obediently accepts the decision, feeling a great sense of loss and sadness for losing her only refuge. That night she has the same nightmare that she experienced years before, only she is wearing a white wedding dress and following the man, crying when she looks at his face and seeing only hatred. When Antoinette refuses to follow any further, the trees around her jerk violently. These trees once again symbolize the hatred, sinfulness, and greed of the man with her.

Shortly after leaving the convent, Antoinette is forced to marry an unnamed Englishman. For their honeymoon they travel to one of Antoinette's estates in Granbois, meaning great forest in French (gran = great, bois = forest). Antoinette's husband is intimidated by the colorful environment of the island, feeling uncomfortable and out of place. Both Antoinette and her husband enjoy their marriage until Antoinette's husband receives a letter from a Creole who claims to be Antoinette's half-brother. This man describes the madness and cruelty of Antoinette's family, causing Antoinette's husband to feel confused and distressed. Antoinette's husband starts to distance himself from Antoinette, and one night runs into the forest surrounding the estate. He finds an abandoned estate in the middle of the forest, and frequently returns to the site. The forest takes over and controls Antoinette's husband, much as it had controlled Antoinette as a child. Instead of causing a feeling of isolation, the forest fosters his hatred and greed, further ruining his relationship with Antoinette. His hatred for Antoinette continues to grow as he spends more time on the island, until he completely despises Antoinette.

The destructive nature of the forest on a person's personality denotes the forest as a symbol of the dark qualities of human nature. As a manifestation of the greed, exploitation, hatred, sinfulness, lost innocence, and isolation that are felt so abundantly in the atmosphere of post-slavery Jamaica, the forests serve as an important symbol in Wide Sargasso Sea.