RTCM # ah screw it.

We started this section of course materials back in December so there might be a little more to cover than usual. but it's second semester so Ima take a bye on this one and maybe do some serious writing later but probably not I've had about enough of this maybe I'll retire my career as a writer early idk. Lit makes me think more than most other classes and that's about it so let me think.

Later blog

Open Prompt 1, Part 2

2003 Prompt:

According to critic Northrop Frye, “Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divisive lightning.” Select a novel or play in which a tragic figure functions as an instrument of the suffering of others. Then write an essay in which you explain how the suffering brought upon others by that figure contributes to the tragic vision of the work as a whole.

Countless figures in countless written works can be described as having had suffering brought down upon them and thusly affected the nature of the work, slanting it toward tragedy. William Shakespeare's Hamlet is the perfect example of such a work. Hamlet, the main character, is the instrument of tragedy in this tragedy, bringing and spreading his personal suffering and ultimately turning the path of the play to this.

Right from the start of Hamlet, Hamlet's mental state reflects the events swirling around Elsinore. Feigned madness masking intelligence and betrayal... Hamlet's obvious madness may be pretended by underneath the poor guy is under a lot of stress. His dad just stopped by as a ghost, his uncle is a murderer and his mother and uncle are both adulterers. That's a lot for one guy to take, but Hamlet does it. The audience sees him quietly withdraw from Elsinore into himself and go a little insane even under his facade. In his resolution to kill his uncle and avenge his father, Hamlet must turn his back on the values taught to him by both his mother and God. His suffering under these conditions produces interactions with other characters like Gertrude and Ophelia that only drive further the point of their own suffering.

There are more examples of Hamlet's own suffering spreading through the castle than this response can hold but in particular, Ophelia's suicide, Polonius' murder and Hamlet's own death warrant explanations. Hamlet's recent abuse of Ophelia (a result of his own suffering) coupled with her father's death and brother's absence set her over the edge and she kills herself. Hamlet was the trigger there. Hamlet's suffering actually directly drove him to killing Polonius, ruse that it may have been. Polonius' murder came out of Hamlet's grief and impulsiveness.Lastly, Hamlet drove his uncle to desiring his death and actually taking steps toward that goal. The little showdown that took place in the last pages of the play was a result of Hamlet's suffering driving everyone around him away and eventually together again, a little closer than any of them may have preferred.
Hamlet's suffering is an epitome of suffering directing the nature of a work to tragedy. His own suffering lead to the ultimate suffering of literally every other character in the play.

Open Prompt 1, Part 1

2003 Prompt:

According to critic Northrop Frye, “Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divisive lightning.” Select a novel or play in which a tragic figure functions as an instrument of the suffering of others. Then write an essay in which you explain how the suffering brought upon others by that figure contributes to the tragic vision of the work as a whole.

LLLL:

This sample was a coherent, well-thought-out and focused response. The author wrote clear thoughts that proved how Fitzgerald's book fitted the prompt.The author's analysis of scenes (the scene in which Gatsby is introduced, for example) is presented well and followed with a description that persuades one to believe that this particular scene could have been written to specifically describe the torture of Gatsby and later Daisy are two contributors to the tragic vision of the novel in its entirety. The author uses quotes to further their response's integrity and show real familiarity with the work at the same time. The only problem I can see with this response is the lack of a statement addressing the prompt directly. Of course they respond to the prompt but it is more subtle than I believe would be recommended.

C:
This response, unlike the other, did address the prompt in its response. The author could have explained their examples more clearly. The examples they used could be considered as responses to the prompt and the writer did manage to explain them as relevant but those scenes could have had been described more in-detail, not assuming the reader has also analyzed these passages. All-in-all, I think it was a good-not-great response that could have been written a lot more simply and concisely.

FF:
I never read Cuckoo's Nest, only watched the movie. And I'm not exactly convinced the writer of this response didn't do the same. The provided examples and analysis were dumbed down quite a bit more than I expected to see in an AP essay response. I wouldn't have come to this work being a terrific example to respond to this prompt in the first place, but maybe that's because I only saw Nicholson's McMurphy. not Kesey's. The author has trouble breaking their monotonous voice and actually surprising the reader. Like the first response, this one could use a little more concision by getting rid of the irrelevant fluff and sticking with what they are trying to support their choice with.