Response to Course Materials November 15th

     This month, we did some more AP practice. We worked on the the process of taking the multiple choice section of the exam. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it, but I could definitely use some more work. We also did quite a bit of practice on the open prompts, mainly focusing on the introduction. Ms. Holmes taught us that a good introduction will include a thesis that answers the prompt. The AP Lit essays are different from any essay that I've written for an AP class before because they include more elements. In AP World, we just had to write as many facts as we could remember in a short time. For APUSH, we had to write information AND get it right, which was a drag. As far as I can tell, for AP Lit we will have to write a good essay that also has information.
     After completing a close read of Death of a Salesman, we had a class discussion. I was especially interested in the symbolism of each character's name. For example, Linda's name comes from the word for a German tree that represents tenderness. In previous years, I was never very interested in the symbolism of a work; I thought the teacher was just making stuff up on the spot. However, after a few lessons in analyzing literature, I find it fascinating. We also read a few pieces on tragedy and how it relates to Arthur Miller's play. The first was a general description of how tragedy has changed through the years, the second was Miller's defense of his own play as a tragedy, and the third was a critic's view on the play. I enjoyed the lecture because it provided some basic information on tragedy. The critic, Richard Foster, though, kind of annoyed me. He claimed that Death of a Salesman doesn't fit under the category of a tragic play because it doesn't follow this arbitrary set of guidelines. Although I don't doubt that those rules are often true, I don't think that every work has to be a textbook tragedy in order to be qualified under that genre.
     At the beginning of class, we began doing a different warm up exercise that involves analyzing the mood and/or atmosphere of a photo. One of the pictures that our class evaluated was a drawing of a T-rex holding an ice cream cone. Surprisingly, it ended up being relatively easy to describe. I think that writing my own description of a scene, keeping in mind the mood and atmosphere, will help me to be able to recognize it in my reading.
     We recently began reading Hamlet. I was a little nervous to start because I (and probably many others) struggle to understand Shakespeare. However, it's been pretty smooth sailing so far and Holmes does a great job at explaining the historical context to the play. I was chosen for the part of Hamlet and Ms. Holmes explained that it was because I'm the coolest kid alive.

Death of a Salesman Summary and Analysis

Author: Arthur Miller

Setting, Plot, Characters: Death of a Salesman is set in 1940s New York City and focuses on the deteriorating life of Willy Loman. His sons, Biff and Happy are staying with Willy and his wife Linda. At the beginning, Willy is returning from a failed road trip. He was supposed to go to Boston, but was not capable of making the drive. While Willy discuses this with Linda, Biff and Happy are talking about the escapades of the day. Through the whole play, the action keeps going back and forth between the present and Willy's flashbacks. After a few of these, Willy is seen talking to himself. Linda reveals that these flashbacks have been occurring with increasing frequency, especially when the boys are in town. Biff tells Willy that he plans to meet with his old boss, Bill Oliver, the next day in order to ask for a business loan. Willy immediately perks up at this idea and offers Biff advice. The next morning, Willy has a meeting with his boss, Howard, asking for a non-traveling job. Howard denies the request and eventually fires Willy. Distraught, Willy goes to his neighbor Charley's office to borrow money. There, he encounters Bernard, Charley's son and Biff's high school friend. After leaving the office, Willy goes to meet Biff and Happy for dinner where they abandon him in the restaurant bathroom. When Biff and Happy return to the house, they find Willy attempting to plant a garden in the backyard. After much discussion, Willy leaves and crashes his own car, effectively killing himself. The subsequent requiem shows Linda, Biff, Happy, Charley, and Bernard at Willy's funeral. The play closes on Linda repeating the words "We're free...."

Analysis: Much of the narrative voice is provided by Willy as he reminisces and speaks to himself. The tone could be described as sympathetic toward Willy and any man that finds himself trapped by the American Dream. Miller comes across as pitying those unfortunate enough to believe the American Dream is attainable through Willy's means. Seeds are a prominent symbol throughout the play. After leaving the restaurant, Willy reflects, "Nothing's planted. I don't have a thing in the ground." He then goes on to buy seeds and plant them in the backyard in the middle of the night. The seeds symbolize Willy's hopes and dreams, which can never be realized because the city suffocates him, much like it suffocates the plants. When Linda is repairing her stockings, it sends Willy into a fit of rage. For him, the stockings remind him of his own infidelity. They also represent his inclination toward things that appear new and whole.

Cool Quotes:
"He's liked, but he's not well liked."
This idea is constantly repeated. Willy believes that to be successful is to be well liked. He thinks that the only way to advance in the business world is to have connections and to be able to bond with people. Willy tries to instill this value in his sons, constantly asking if their actions receive the approval of their peers. This also connects to the motif of social prosperity that contributes to the theme of the play.
"The only thing you got in this world is what you can sell."
Charley's statement reflects both Willy's failure as a salesman and the inclination of American society toward consumerism. Charley, having achieved the idealized American Dream, sums up Willy's incapability to understand the purpose of his job. Willy does not understand that the goal is not to be well liked, but to sell. Charley speaks from the typical American point of view, making it clear that the only thing that matters in life is money.


THEME: The sense of entitlement for the idealized American Dream of financial and social prosperity can lead to tragedy.
Set in urban America, the play reflects an area which is often seen as housing the people that have achieved the American Dream. Living in the richer neighborhoods of New York City is a testament to the wealth and prosperity of an individual. The urban landscape, specifically the apartments, symbolizes how the increasing urbanization are crushing Willy's dreams. The title works to create the irony that although Willy dies, he does not die the prosperous death of a salesman that was part of his fantasy.

Close Reading November 9th

     Comedy Central's sketch show, "Key and Peele", has been consistently popular since its first episode in 2012. The program has been making waves with the release of its fourth season in September of this year. In Rob Sheffield's article for Rolling Stone, Key and Peele Are TV's Funniest Couple, he talks about the success of the show and how it has ushered in a new era of cable comedy; Sheffield uses diction, imagery, details, and syntax to praise it.

     From the very beginning, the author draws the reader's attention with his diction. Using words like "prowl" and "ravaged" in the first sentence, Sheffield brings the reader in, describing one of the sketches. He uses honorific words like "genius", "buzzing", and "daring" to describe the show. The author also uses made up phrases like "Golden-Age-ing it up" to explain the success of Key and Peele. Sheffield could have easily chosen more bland terms in his description of the show, but he uses specific words to give the reader a positive idea. 

     Although the article is only talking about a television show, Rob Sheffield uses imagery and details to describe some of the iconic scenes. Again, in the very first sentence he says "The scene: two men with guns prowl through a ravaged urban wasteland after an alien apocalypse." With images like "prowl" and "ravaged" the author appeals to the reader's sense of sight. These words put a clear picture in the mind of the barren wilderness Key and Peele are traversing in this sketch. The details the author employs are the key to bringing the show to life. He uses direct quotes from the program to provide both humor and approval. Quotes like "And what are you, my little friend? Not a spoon, not a fork – something in between. A fpoon! What will you think of next, Germany?" reflect the comedy that goes along with the show. Both the images and the details that are included work together to honor Key and Peele and the cable comedy era it has led.

     The author uses a more casual syntax to relate to the reader so he can get his message across. A few of the sentences are broken up by parenthetical interruptions. For example, in the sentence "Their specialty is taking a simple one-joke premise (Obama talks differently to black people) and kicking it back and forth to the point of hysteria – by the end, Obama's yelling, 'Afternoon, my octaroon!'", the parentheses give the reader an idea of a casual conversation with the author. In the final paragraph, Sheffield says "All these cable successes raise a sticky question: Why is it so hard for the networks to be funny?" The use of a colon better connects the independent clause to the question than a period would. All of the syntax choices come off like a chat with the author, making the reader more inclined to listen to his opinion.

     The literary elements that Rob Sheffield uses, like diction, imagery, details, and syntax, all cooperate to create a dialogue between the reader and the author and act to create a decisive view of "Key and Peele" and its affect on comedy.