1973. An effective literary work does not merely stop or cease; it concludes. In the view of some critics, a work that does not provide the pleasure of significant closure has terminated with an artistic fault. A satisfactory ending is not, however, always conclusive in every sense; significant closure may require the reader to abide with or adjust to ambiguity and uncertainty. In an essay, discuss the ending of a novel or play of acknowledged literary merit. Explain precisely how and why the ending appropriately or inappropriately concludes the work. Do not merely summarize the plot.
An ending is just that, an ending. After one reaches this point there is nothing else. Edward Albee uses his play The American Dream to display an indeterminate ending that is appropriate for his purposes. By having Grandma effectively end the play, Albee contributes to his idea that the lives of Mommy and Daddy are not to be followed and actually avoided.
The ending of the play has Mrs. Barker introducing the Young Man to Mommy and Daddy as their new child. Hiding “on stage” but unseen by the characters (except for the Young Man), Grandma observes the action. Just as the characters seem to be happy and satisfied in the outcomes of the current action, Grandma addresses the audience that “[the play had] better go no farther...[leaving] things the way they are right now…while everyone’s happy” (Albee 127). Mommy and Daddy are both satisfied with Young Man that they now have for a child and the Young Man is satisfied at having a job where he gets paid. Throughout the play the characters “can’t get satisfaction” or if they gain satisfaction it is fleeting (Albee 61). When Grandma ends the play when “everybody’s got what [they] wants”, where they are satisfied, inferring that if the play were to progress more that the characters would become unsatisfied again (Albee 127). The ending is set up to teach us what the characters don’t learn. While the characters are focused on having this artificial and fleeting sense of satisfaction, Grandma is letting us see that we can have deeper meaning and a fulfilling satisfaction in our lives. The ending in itself is unsatisfying because we don’t know how the lives of the new family will work out or how they will search to find happiness. Therefore the ending of the play fits the overall theme of being dissatisfied.
Edward Albee purposefully made the ending of The American Dream a bit of a cliff hanger so that you could draw your own conclusions about how the satisfaction of Mommy and Daddy and even the Young Man will wane because of its artificial and fleeting nature.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Close Readings (Dont know where to put this either...5)
We all know about the death of Gadhafi, which publicly took a turn for the worse (for Gadhafi that is) this past Thursday. With the tyrant now dead, millions of people in Lybia are celebrating. The author of this article tells us to be wary of the falling tyrants.
The author points out that with each dictator's fall, there leaves room for one more anti-American person in power, one more tyrant, or one extremist. Maybe even all 3. While he enjoys the fact that the dictatorships are falling and that people are more likely to become free under a different rein, he expresses concern. His concern is chiefly on that of Iran and its oil. The US may have supported the downfall of Gadhafi but it supports the monarchy of Iran. This, according to the author, creates anti-American feelings and is only good for the price tag of oil.
Response to Course Material (dont know where to put this 4!)
What have I learned in class since the last time I posted one of these?
A bit, however we've been focusing on actually applying the knowledge we've gained lately. This makes it hard to tell what I have learned. Though I know I have a better understanding in general about everything. So here I am asking myself, what do I write about?
The American Dream is entertaining. I have found amusement and bewilderment within its lines along with done right confusion. Albee sure knows how to make a scene uncomfortable. I'm almost a little sad to be moving on from this play..
I've gained a better understanding of how to proceed in a close reading read. It still seems a bit like pulling it out of a hat, but I am starting to see some connections. I still find it quite challenging to find things on my own though. If you talk about something and point this out then I may be able to point that out, but finding my own path instead of just branching off of what others say has not happened yet. I hope you followed that...
Anyway, I would like to say that I've been learning vocabulary words but truth be told I've been much to busy to actually put any serious effort into it. With the test in 5 days, I"m sure some serious effort will be put into though and soon.
A bit, however we've been focusing on actually applying the knowledge we've gained lately. This makes it hard to tell what I have learned. Though I know I have a better understanding in general about everything. So here I am asking myself, what do I write about?
The American Dream is entertaining. I have found amusement and bewilderment within its lines along with done right confusion. Albee sure knows how to make a scene uncomfortable. I'm almost a little sad to be moving on from this play..
I've gained a better understanding of how to proceed in a close reading read. It still seems a bit like pulling it out of a hat, but I am starting to see some connections. I still find it quite challenging to find things on my own though. If you talk about something and point this out then I may be able to point that out, but finding my own path instead of just branching off of what others say has not happened yet. I hope you followed that...
Anyway, I would like to say that I've been learning vocabulary words but truth be told I've been much to busy to actually put any serious effort into it. With the test in 5 days, I"m sure some serious effort will be put into though and soon.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Prompt 3 (I don't know where to put it!)
1972. In retrospect, the reader often discovers that the first chapter of a novel or the opening scene of a drama introduces some of the major themes of the work. Write an essay about the opening scene of a drama or the first chapter of a novel in which you explain how it functions in this way.
The opening scene in a play is important. They introduce character, setting, plot and even theme. In Albee’s The American Dream the play’s major themes are introduced in the opening scene. Albee introduces the major themes of dissatisfaction and emasculation. He uses these themes to emphasis that the American Dream has fallen from morals to materialism.
Dissatisfaction is clearly found in the opening dialogue between Mommy and Daddy. The pair complains about Mrs. Barker being late, about the apartment managers not fixing their icebox or doorbell in a timely fashion and about Mommy’s new hat. They are clearly dissatisfied with what they think they deserve. This dissatisfaction is tied into the meaning of the play. Mommy and Daddy are concerned with materialistic things and being satisfied by them. Mommy wanted her hat to be beige and when it was called wheat she threw a tantrum until she received a false sense of satisfaction by receiving the same hat as before. This satisfaction was gained through materialistic means. It actually evens spits in the face of manners and morals by having Mommy scream and make a scene over a silly hat.
Emasculation is another theme in this play. Throughout the opening scene, Mommy is constantly emasculating Daddy. She bossily tells him to listen and then questions him repeatedly throughout her story to ensure that he is doing so. Her line “Well, I got satisfaction” is a double entendre. It can mean that she got satisfaction from shopping, or that she got satisfied sexually. Either way, she doesn’t mean that her husband, Daddy, satisfied her at all and emasculates him in this area because of it.
The American Dream is really about how people have lost their sense of humanistic principles for that of materialism. The themes of Dissatisfaction and emasculation clearly emphasized this meaning.
The opening scene in a play is important. They introduce character, setting, plot and even theme. In Albee’s The American Dream the play’s major themes are introduced in the opening scene. Albee introduces the major themes of dissatisfaction and emasculation. He uses these themes to emphasis that the American Dream has fallen from morals to materialism.
Dissatisfaction is clearly found in the opening dialogue between Mommy and Daddy. The pair complains about Mrs. Barker being late, about the apartment managers not fixing their icebox or doorbell in a timely fashion and about Mommy’s new hat. They are clearly dissatisfied with what they think they deserve. This dissatisfaction is tied into the meaning of the play. Mommy and Daddy are concerned with materialistic things and being satisfied by them. Mommy wanted her hat to be beige and when it was called wheat she threw a tantrum until she received a false sense of satisfaction by receiving the same hat as before. This satisfaction was gained through materialistic means. It actually evens spits in the face of manners and morals by having Mommy scream and make a scene over a silly hat.
Emasculation is another theme in this play. Throughout the opening scene, Mommy is constantly emasculating Daddy. She bossily tells him to listen and then questions him repeatedly throughout her story to ensure that he is doing so. Her line “Well, I got satisfaction” is a double entendre. It can mean that she got satisfaction from shopping, or that she got satisfied sexually. Either way, she doesn’t mean that her husband, Daddy, satisfied her at all and emasculates him in this area because of it.
The American Dream is really about how people have lost their sense of humanistic principles for that of materialism. The themes of Dissatisfaction and emasculation clearly emphasized this meaning.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Response to Course Material (dont know where to put this 3!)
What have I learned since my last blog post about this? Quite a bit. I think mainly we’ve been talking about Syntax and applying the techniques we’ve learned to The American Dream. We also have been going over vocabulary a little bit.
Syntax applies to the phrases or sentence structure. It can be anything from colons, to Subject-Verb-Object order, or maybe even run-ons or fragments. These different techniques create different affects. Maybe it makes it seem as if the speaker is crazy, or creates a sense of confusion at what is happening in the piece. Long story short, it can do a lot. This is a little easier to handle then the other DIDLS techniques. I don’t quite know why, but this is just easier for me.
We’ve been using the techniques such as close reading and DIDLS to begin looking at The American Dream. Even though we’ve only done a first read I think I’ve gotten better and finding things! It makes me happy to know I’m improving. ☺ I plan on keeping that up too.
This vocabulary is going to kill me. Just saying. There is so much in such little time to memorize it, plus I don’t think memorizing the definition will help me identify them in literature. I have a hard time transferring that information to application. It will take some practice.
Syntax applies to the phrases or sentence structure. It can be anything from colons, to Subject-Verb-Object order, or maybe even run-ons or fragments. These different techniques create different affects. Maybe it makes it seem as if the speaker is crazy, or creates a sense of confusion at what is happening in the piece. Long story short, it can do a lot. This is a little easier to handle then the other DIDLS techniques. I don’t quite know why, but this is just easier for me.
We’ve been using the techniques such as close reading and DIDLS to begin looking at The American Dream. Even though we’ve only done a first read I think I’ve gotten better and finding things! It makes me happy to know I’m improving. ☺ I plan on keeping that up too.
This vocabulary is going to kill me. Just saying. There is so much in such little time to memorize it, plus I don’t think memorizing the definition will help me identify them in literature. I have a hard time transferring that information to application. It will take some practice.
Close Readings (Dont know where to put this either...)
iSad
The iPod, iPad, Mac computers, Toy Story and other Apple merchandise have become hallmarks of our generation. The inventor, Steve Jobs, is now dead at age 56. The author of iSad, uses details to show that Jobs wasn’t just an inventor, but a true inspiration to the world.
The use of details helps us to see how people were in enthralled with Jobs and his products. “On the sidewalk beside the Apple…Jobs' fans…created a shrine to his memory. They left flowers, lit candles and placed fresh apples on the concrete. The same spontaneous tributes occurred…in London, Paris, Tokyo and elsewhere around the world.” If no one cared about Jobs, they wouldn’t have created shrines, especially ones with such creativity as a fresh apple. According to the article, people flooded Facebook and Twitter with stories “about their first iPod or Macintosh”. Apple has become a worldwide sensation with its cover boy as Jobs.
Steve Jobs wasn’t always a success. As the article details, he was “kicked out of the company he co-founded” in 1985 and went on to fail at selling the NeXT personal computer. His fist major success after leaving Apple would come with Toy Story where he sold millions of tickets. He then slowly made his way back into the high ranks of Apple, creating a true inspirational American story of hard work paying off.
Steve Jobs has been called “the Thomas Edison of our age” and has a sotry that has inspired people all over the world. With his death, he will be missed along with the inventions he might have been able to produce.
The iPod, iPad, Mac computers, Toy Story and other Apple merchandise have become hallmarks of our generation. The inventor, Steve Jobs, is now dead at age 56. The author of iSad, uses details to show that Jobs wasn’t just an inventor, but a true inspiration to the world.
The use of details helps us to see how people were in enthralled with Jobs and his products. “On the sidewalk beside the Apple…Jobs' fans…created a shrine to his memory. They left flowers, lit candles and placed fresh apples on the concrete. The same spontaneous tributes occurred…in London, Paris, Tokyo and elsewhere around the world.” If no one cared about Jobs, they wouldn’t have created shrines, especially ones with such creativity as a fresh apple. According to the article, people flooded Facebook and Twitter with stories “about their first iPod or Macintosh”. Apple has become a worldwide sensation with its cover boy as Jobs.
Steve Jobs wasn’t always a success. As the article details, he was “kicked out of the company he co-founded” in 1985 and went on to fail at selling the NeXT personal computer. His fist major success after leaving Apple would come with Toy Story where he sold millions of tickets. He then slowly made his way back into the high ranks of Apple, creating a true inspirational American story of hard work paying off.
Steve Jobs has been called “the Thomas Edison of our age” and has a sotry that has inspired people all over the world. With his death, he will be missed along with the inventions he might have been able to produce.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Prompt 2 (I don't know where to put it!)
2009, Form B. Many works of literature deal with political or social issues. Choose a novel or play that focuses on a political or social issue. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the author uses literary elements to explore this issue and explain how the issue contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.
As World War II came to a close, Communism and its ideals threatened the ‘free’ countries such as England and the US. George Orwell’s novel 1984 explores the political issues of Communism’s control over people’s lives. In 1984, Orwell used language and details to explore how, if England kept progressing the way it was, it soon would be a great Communist nation with out any rights. The whole meaning of this work is to bring to our attention the political patterns of our own country.
The language used in 1984 has a lot of symbols. The telescreens are symbolic in that they are always present. One can never turn them off completely as they are always spurting news or propaganda about the Party. They also have a more sinister function of spying on the residents, watching for any misbehavior. This symbolizes to what extent a totalitarian government can abuse technology instead of putting it to good use and benefiting its civilians. It also supports themes throughout the novel such as the abuse of technology, the dangers of totalitarian governments, the control of information and psychological manipulation. Big Brother is another symbol that Orwell uses through out his novel. The words “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” are posted on posters everywhere in Oceania. Big Brother is symbolic of the government and how its protective, in reference to brother, yet ominous, in reference to always watching. It is an obvious abuse of power by the government of the inalienable right of privacy.
Many details in the novel help push the political issue of Communism into the minds of its readers. Orwell uses such details as the government banning sex with people to really push into the minds of his readers just how far this government has gone and abused their power, how Communism is controlling people’s lives and that this could happen to them. Another detail is that by the end Winston loves Big Brother. Tortured for months and brainwashed, O’Brien finally makes Winston love Big Brother taking away the individuality treasured among people and his ability to think for himself. Both of these are fears that Orwell has about Communism that he is conveying to us.
Orwell’s fear of Communism after World War II led him to write 1984 about how Communism has taken over the rights and minds of its people. Though he doesn’t ever come out and say it, he is warning us with this political novel that our country too could become like Oceania if we aren’t careful.
As World War II came to a close, Communism and its ideals threatened the ‘free’ countries such as England and the US. George Orwell’s novel 1984 explores the political issues of Communism’s control over people’s lives. In 1984, Orwell used language and details to explore how, if England kept progressing the way it was, it soon would be a great Communist nation with out any rights. The whole meaning of this work is to bring to our attention the political patterns of our own country.
The language used in 1984 has a lot of symbols. The telescreens are symbolic in that they are always present. One can never turn them off completely as they are always spurting news or propaganda about the Party. They also have a more sinister function of spying on the residents, watching for any misbehavior. This symbolizes to what extent a totalitarian government can abuse technology instead of putting it to good use and benefiting its civilians. It also supports themes throughout the novel such as the abuse of technology, the dangers of totalitarian governments, the control of information and psychological manipulation. Big Brother is another symbol that Orwell uses through out his novel. The words “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” are posted on posters everywhere in Oceania. Big Brother is symbolic of the government and how its protective, in reference to brother, yet ominous, in reference to always watching. It is an obvious abuse of power by the government of the inalienable right of privacy.
Many details in the novel help push the political issue of Communism into the minds of its readers. Orwell uses such details as the government banning sex with people to really push into the minds of his readers just how far this government has gone and abused their power, how Communism is controlling people’s lives and that this could happen to them. Another detail is that by the end Winston loves Big Brother. Tortured for months and brainwashed, O’Brien finally makes Winston love Big Brother taking away the individuality treasured among people and his ability to think for himself. Both of these are fears that Orwell has about Communism that he is conveying to us.
Orwell’s fear of Communism after World War II led him to write 1984 about how Communism has taken over the rights and minds of its people. Though he doesn’t ever come out and say it, he is warning us with this political novel that our country too could become like Oceania if we aren’t careful.
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