My AP Lit&Comp Prompt: Tailor Made For YOU!

         In the following passage from Cormac McCarthy's 1985 novel Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West, the Kid has run away from home and is taking refuge from a storm inside of a tent that is holding a church service.

         Read the passage carefully. Then write an essay in which you analyze how McCarthy characterizes human nature through literary techniques that are utilized.


         You ever see such a place for rain?
         The Kid had been watching the reverend. He turned to the man who spoke. He wore long moustaches after the fashion of teamsters and he wore a widebrim hat with a low round crown. He was slightly walleyed and he was watching the Kid earnestly as if he'd know his opinion about the rain.
         I just got here, said the Kid.
         Well it beats all I ever seen.
         The Kid nodded. An enormous man dressed in an oilcloth slicker had entered the tent and removed his hat. He was as bald as a stone and he had no trace of beard and he had no brows to his eyes nor lashes to them. He was close on seven feet in height and he stood smoking a cigar even in this nomadic house of God and he seemed to have removed his hat only to chase the rain from it for now he put it on again.
         The reverend had stopped his sermon altogether. There was no sound on the tent. All watched the man. He adjusted the hat and then pushed his way forward as far as the crateboard pulpit where the reverend stood and there he turned to address the reverend's congregation. His face was serene and strangely childlike. His hands were small. He held them out.
         Ladies and gentlemen I feel it my duty to inform you that the man holding this revival is an imposter. He holds no papers of divinity from any institution recognized or improvised. He is altogether devoid of the least qualification to the office he has usurped and has only committed to memory a few passages from the good book for the purpose of lending to his fraudulent sermons some faint flavor of the piety he despises. In truth, the gentleman standing here before you posing as a minister of the Lord is not only totally illiterate but is also wanted by the law in the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Arkansas.
         Oh God, cried the reverend. Lies, lies! He began reading feverishly from his opened bible.
         On a variety of charges the most recent of which involved a girl of eleven years -- I said eleven -- who had come to him in trust and whom he was surprised in the act of violating while actually clothed in the livery of his God.
         A moan swept through the crowd. A lady sank to her knees.
         This is him, cried the reverend, sobbing. This is him. The devil. Here he stands.
         Let's hang the turd, called an ugly thug from the gallery to the rear.
         Not three weeks before this he was run out of Fort Smith Arkansas for having congress with a goat. Yes lady, that is what I said. Goat.
         Why damn my eyes if  I wont shoot the son of a bitch, said a man rising at the far side of the tent, drawing a pistol from his boot he leveled it and fired.
         The young teamster instantly produced a knife from his clothing and unseamed the tent and stepped outside into the rain. The Kid followed. They ducked low and ran across the mud toward the hotel. Already gunfire was general within the tent and a dozen exits had been hacked through the canvas walls and people were pouring out, women screaming, folk stumbling, folk trampled underfoot underfoot in the mud. The Kid and his friend reached the hotel gallery and wiped the water from their eyes and turned to watch. As they did so the tent began to sway and buckle like a huge and wounded medusa it slowly settled to the ground trailing tattered canvas walls and ratty guyropes over the ground.
         The baldheaded man was already at the bar when they entered. On the polished wood before him were two hats and a handful of coins. He raised his glass but not to them. They stood up to the bar and ordered whiskeys and the Kid laid his money down but the barman pushed it back with his thumb and nodded.
         These here is on the judge, he said.
         They drank. The teamster set his glass down and look at the kid or he seemed to, you couldnt be sure of his gaze. The Kid looked down the bar to where the judge stood. The bar was that tall not every man could even get his elbows up on it but it came just to the judge's waist and he stood with his hands placed flat-wise on the wood, leaning slightly as if about to give another address. By now men were piling through the doorway, bleeding, covered in mud, cursing. They gathered about the judge. A posse was being drawn to pursue the preacher.
         Judge, how did you come to have the goods on that no-account?
         Goods? said the judge.
         When was you in Fort Smith?
         Fort Smith?
         Where did you know him to know all that stuff on him?
         You men the Reverend Green?
         Yessir. I reckon you was in Fort Smith fore ye come out here.
         I was never in Fort Smith in my life. Doubt that he was.
         They looked from one to the other.
         Well where was it you run up on him?
         I never laid eyes on the man before today. Never even heard of him.
         He raised his glass and drank.
         There was a strange silence in the room. The men looked like mud effigies. Finally someone began to laugh. Then another. Soon they were all laughing together. Someone bought the judge a drink.

Senior Project Remarks

The whole senior project.....fiasco has ended, thank God, without too many casualties. But it could've been better ( I mean, there still WERE casualties, and that is a big no-no). I don't know much about what went on with the other classes, so I can't offer insight (nor criticism) that you should consider for future reference. But I can tell you EXACTLY what you might want to consider for our class. A fatal blow for most of the casualties that occured was that horrible binder. The main thing that I believe went wrong with it is the fact that you made us start on the senior project stuff LAST SEMESTER, and then you tell us, like, 2 or 3 weeks before its all actually due THIS SEMESTER that we STILL have things to do. Most people who have some inkling of a life have understandably forgotten about the dreaded senior project and when you sprung those last steps up on us at, seemingly, the last minute, most of us i'm sure were unprepared mentally if not physically. Can you guess what my suggestion for improvement is yet? Well, i'll tell ya! Have the class do the entire senior project either all at once in a well spaced out manner (time-wise; like 2 or 3 months) or have them do it gradually over the course of the school year. That way the senior project will not be completely, or even partially, forgotten and the students will have time to practice what they know, lose some of the edge off their fears and anxieties, and, at the very least, not be taken by surprise as I felt our class was.

Benchmark Remark: It was a Shark!

The benchmark wasn't THAT horrible, but I definitely don't think I passed. All the poems and passages were difficult to me (to a degree) but one passage was the worst out of all of them: the first prose passage, the one that talked about "the dawning of spring". It was horrible in that the was language was like a poem. Just longer and harder to understand. And the beginning of the passage was especially hard (I knew it was talking about water, but why? It REALLY didn't fit in with anything, or even make sense. I didn't understand till I moved on to the rest of the passage). But by the end of the passage I was able to glean some kind of understanding.

And what of the literary terms, you ask? Were there any ones giving me trouble? Heh, don't even get me started...... Lets just say there were a whole lotta A words in there I couldn't remember for the life of me, no matter how simple I know they are now.

And what can I do to improve my  testing strategies for the big, bad AP exam, when it comes to the multiple choice section? IDK. Study literary terms and devices, get better at analyzing prose and poems, and anything else I suck at on this topic. But exactly how? That's up to you, teacher, for I have no clue as for what to do.

And it is, so, so very late in the game too.

The Great Debate

It was cool. Pretty organized, too. The points made I feel were pretty valid too, but ultimately I feel that my team won. Our points were not only valid, to begin with, but as the debate went on our points became harder and harder to effectively refute. Thus, our win.

I've Got Psychiatry On My Side

Take a look:

http://www.sidran.org/sub.cfm?contentID=74&sectionid=4

(I'll point out the key things ;)

Let me put in my five cents in before I break down the article. First off, I believe that Beloved is the physical manifestation of the ghost of Sethe's dead baby girl. And just like some people believe ghosts feed off of certain emotions or whatever else that living humans give off, I believe Beloved has become what she is due to Sethe talking about her past; technically, the emotions Sethe (probably) gives off when talking about her past. Beloved feeds off of these negative emotions; thats why she always questions Sethe about her past and feels the need to always be around her. Its not just due to her childlike mindset.


Now, to the reason behind this blog:

The article I have found talks about trauma stress (post, mainly) and ways people deal with it. Trauma is a(n) event(s) that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury to that person suffering the trauma or another person. "One of the most effective ways that people cope with overwhelming trauma is called 'dissociation'." Dissociation is when there is a change in a person's consciousness that disturbs their identity, thoughts, feelings, and experiences.  I believe that Sethe and Paul D use dissociation to cope with their past; For Sethe, memories of the past interfere with her waking life(specifically called hypernesia) and for Paul D, he consciously locks away his feelings and memories (a mild form of amnesia).

But Beloved is changing them. She is forcing them to face their pasts, their trauma, unknowingly and unintentionally.

Zombie Attack!

Okay, the world as we know it has ended; zombies walk(run) among(the few of) us. Lets say your uncle . . . Ted, is among the newly risen. You and uncle Ted had great, great times together. When he died you lost your entire world. But now he's back! You think "oh the fun we will have" now. But wait! Uncle Ted can speak clear english; all this uncle Ted does is grunt and moan. And uncle Ted doesn't nibble on peoples necks. It doesn't take you long to see that these are not only clear signs of a zombie, but this isn't your uncle Ted, nor will he ever "come back".

As shown above, the past never dies, since it will always exist in memories. And, sometimes, that past can come back physically, though it will not be the same. In Beloved, Sethe, thinking she has left her past behind somewhat, is actually held back by her past mentally. As if that weren't enough her past concentrates itself into a living being, in the form of her dead daughter(as an adult). Even though the physical Beloved died, memories and her spirit live on.

In the Piano Lesson, Berniece belives she can hold onto the past, long gone, through the possesion of an engraved piano. But this piano, this past, holds her back from moving on. Though having long since passed, her past affects her life very much; how could it possibly be dead?

The past never dies, and can be an active part of yout life depending.bb on how powerful it is. There will always be memories to keep it going. And if amnesia were to claim you, don't fret ---- certain emotions will be there, when triggered.

Why all the failing wnd flailing?

The most missed questions seem to be surface questions; nothing truly hard, and definitely not deep. They ask you basically who is saying what, why are they saying it, and would they agree or disagree to such and such things. They are tricky level one and two questions. So why do most of us miss them? The question may be asked in a way that makes us think the answer is deeper than it actually is. The question may be utilizing terms or concepts we don't know or don't remember. We may be making these questions harder than they are, or we may have never had any real chance of answering it correctly anyway. Either way what we can do to begin solving the problem is by knowing that although these questions are meant to make us think, there is nothing we have to interpret as if we are finding a thesis for an essay; we inly have so much time and too many excerpts to think like we're writing an essay. Know that the questions will never go deeper than what should be seen. And as gor yhe terms a.d concepts dillema, study more literature elements and devices.

Now, my goals for the class are simple: pass, pass, and, lets not forget, pass with an A. For those tricky benchmark questions, i'll do what I stated above. For essays, i'll steal einstein's brain. I know he can think at the speed of light.

Huck Finn Debate

Well, if you only take into account the amount of evidence and how it supported the team's point, then our team won the debate. You were very eloquent in your speech but you only gave examples, and not cold hard facts. The debate, overall, was.....interesting. People had fun, yeah.

Article Posting - Toni Morrison

Though I'm kind of iffy about one thing she was stressing(about the abrupt cutoffs in the chapter alluding to a father/son relationship between Jim and Huck), but not completely ruling out, I do agree whole heartedlt with one thing she was saying: that there would be no book without Jim. Now, I still think there could be a novel, but it wouldn't even be half as interesting without Jim to provide subtle complexities to the plot. Really, I think the novel, just because Jim is such a make-or-break-the-novel character, may be advocating civil rights for blacks; of course, in a subtle way that - if you notice it - leads to conclusions like these. And if that is so then all the usage of the n-word is meant to make readers(of that time) aware of how big a part it is in society and how it degrades it.

That Irony Thing

First, Read this:

"Morning"—means "Milking"—to the Farmer—
Dawn—to the Teneriffe—
Dice—to the Maid—
Morning means just Risk—to the Lover—
Just revelation—to the Beloved—

Epicures—date a Breakfast—by it—
Brides—an Apocalypse—
Worlds—a Flood—
Faint-going Lives—Their Lapse from Sighing—
Faith—The Experiment of Our Lord 

Can you guess who this poem is by? Yes, you guessed it! Emily Dickinson. Now, onto what I wish I get paid for.

This poem is ironic in how certain words mean different things to different people. Take the first line: morning doesn't really mean milking to farmer, its just what it connotes to; its the first thing this man thinks of when he gets up in the morning (*Yawn* Gotta milk Betsy). Let's go on to the second line. Teneriffe is an island in the Canary Islands of Spain; tourists flock to this island because of its rustic beauty. By being such a beautiful and relaxing place, for some people it may be the first thing they think of when they see or think of dawn. Travel on down to the second stanza, second line. First off, Apocalypse means the end of the world, as we know it. Being a bride is being in a transitional state, the end of something and the start of another. For some brides the process of marriage is seen as an apocalyse, an end and a beginning, which is bad. But this is what being a bride connotes, to them. Let's move on to the last line in the second stanza. Faith is considered many things: blind belief, unbending foundation, really its whatever you want it to be. But, mainly to Christians, faith is what Dickinson wrote, an experiment of God. Oh, oh, oh. This is Dramatic irony.

Dear Mr. Twain...

Why didn't you make a guide to Huckleberry Finn? If you hadn't noticed (but I'm sure you have) certain people need certain help. Using myself as an example, I get the jist of Huckleberry Finn so far (I'm on page 209 in my futuristic edition), but I don't think I quite understand everything you've got going on in the novel. And for people like me who wish to understand your genious reasoning and logic, we need a little help, a bit of guidance; something you failed to include.

As to what I do see and (think) I understand, the novel is about a young boy on the journey of life, encountering situations that change his way of thinking and set up his character in adult life through tackling subjects such as child abuse, racism, morality, and religion. The novel shows us different aspects of human nature and how they influence a person's character. The novel is a great psychological study and insight with splashes of humor. What I don't understand is how you are any different from any other "great american author" that I have read from. You all tackle the same issues, and in my eyes, come to the same conclusion and leave us with a choice: change it or leave it. I love psychology and, if I do say so myself, know quite a bit about it, or at least enough to have already known what you're point was in Huck Finn by the tenth chapter.

So, basically, what is so great about Huckleberry Finn?

'Cuz I don't see nuthin'.

Huckleberry Finn

The novel mainly takes place on the mississippi river, where Huck Finn encounters many strange things. A prevalent theme, related to Huck's travels on the river, is finding himself through a great journey. The river, for Huck and maybe even Jim, is the journey of life and all the things that happen to him (them) on the river are the aspects that make up life; the truths.
For example, Huck's encounter with the Grangerfords; they have a senseless feud going on with the Shepardsons, showing that people need to be aware of their traditions and why they follow them.

Othello 2 U

Act IV:
1.) Desdemona's/ Othello's handkerchief
2.)Uh, very plausible. The handkerchief plays a major role in the play, being a symbol for infidelity and purity.
3.) He truly believes that Desdemona's cheating
5.) Desdemona really is as pure as people in the play say and Emilia is like Iago, but good not bad.
6.) The scene out (3) where Desdemona and Emilia are taking about cheaters

Act V:
1.) Iago directs Rodrigo in the final stages of his plan, blood spills, Iago outs Rodrigo, Rodrigo mad, Othello kills Desdemona, Emilia mad, Othello explains, everything about Iago begins to come to light through Emilia
4.) Othello's fear of not fitting in when he thought he did in some way drives him to kill Desdemona
5.) Othello was all too ready to see any and all good in people, even if it was fake as food nowadays
6.) Yeah, sort of, he is great.of heart, but it doesn't make him seem any less dumb

DONE!!!!

Othello

Iago needs help. He's running around, messing with other people's business, creating problems...and for what? The reason changes so much, I don't think he even knows what he wants. But he knows what he's doing, that's for sure. In my book, Iago is an unstable sociopath. People like him do the things they do for their benefit without batting an eye for any other person's feelings and goals. But unlike other sociopaths, his reasons for all the trouble he's causing switch around and get farther from what he said he ultimately wants, to be Othello's lieutenent. He could've stopped with Cassio. But then his goals changed. He wants to break up Othello's marriage because...he belives he's sleeping with his with Emilia? And notice that he gives no proof, just states what he feels. Maybe like Maugrette said, Iago is gay, and he just doesn't know what to do about his feelings for Othello. But I think the problem may be different. Iago may be the real victim in this play; not Othello, Desdemona, whoever else. Of course, most characters are still a victim but not as much as Iago. The other characters at least have a true purpose; Iago just sort of floats around, stirring up trouble, and he's not even sure why.

Response to "On Misunderstanding Oedipus"

First of all E.R. Dodds, the author of this, disagrees with Sigmund Freud (to a point), which I FULLY back him up on. Freud only saw the specifics that the play MIGHT have been addressing while Dodd goes for a more broader interpretation that, I feel, can be more easily accepted by most. Second, Dodds was comprehensive while being concise. Dodds calls Oedipus a symbol of human intelligence,which I feel casts Oedipus in a good light. And did I already mention that Freud's interpretation seems so far out to meand that he doesn't even include girls in his interpretation, which excludes him from my idea of a correct interpretation?( I mean, he couldn't possibly be saying girls want to get with their mothers and kill their fathers, right?)

Oedipus the King Quaestiones

Quaestiones:
1. Tiresias is not very explicit for revealing Oedipus's guilt beyond the "you don't want to know" and "you'll regret it" statements. And it should be blamed on Oedipus's stupidity due to his pride that it takes so long for him to recognize his guilt and admit it.

3. I partially agree. Oedipus's ignorance does play a part in his punishment, but it can also be charged to his curiosity. So many people warned him to leave it alobe and he didn't listen. This fact also plays a part in determining his punishment.

5. Jocasta is an individual with distinctive traits of personality. When she talks to Oedipus she gives him needed advice-like a mother- yet becomes so secretive when it came to the "pass along baby" part of the play.

6. Dramatic irony is when the reader knows something th character doesn't that will be their downfall. An instance of this could be how Oedipus accused Creon of conspiracy. This scene shows that fate was not the only factor for his punishment.

7. This is a disadvantage because it reduces pathos for the play.

8. Oedipus figures that he was blind to everything before, why not make it true? And also because he thought it was the best way to escape the pain. Maybe the use of Jocasta's clothing pin to blind himself is his way of saying that Jocasta caused his death the most.

9. Woe really is him now and he might be better off dead.

11. The gods I think were just. The people of Thebes came to him like he was on the same level as them and Jocasta was all like "forget the gods" and stuff.

12. No; the people of Thebes have been rid of their plight.

A noticable theme is that the truth will not always set you free in a positice,way.

Oedipus Rex: The Ultimate Mistake

Can you guess the hamartia for Oedipus? Yup, you guessed it, hubris. Like in most other early plays, its the main character's pride that really bring them down, though they are most usually in a horrible predicament already in the play. Oedipus Rex most relates to that Julius Caesar play by shakespheare and Antigone, which it is close to. Some character in these plays who is seen regularly has a horrible case of excessive pride that either causes or accelerates their downfall. There also tends to be alot of pathos- you know, woe is me and all that jazz- like how there is an appeal to your pity for Oedipus and his...uncommon predicament. As far as i've read of Oedipus Rex, catharsis doesn't have a role in the story yet, but i'm as sure it will at the end. It just wouldn't be an early play if there wasn't some form of catharsis at the end of the play that the troubled characters commit.