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.