Open Prompt 2008

Student 3A: This student writes about Lindo and Huang as foils in Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club. While a considerable amount of writing is devoted to the summary of the plot, it ultimately serves as effective evidence for the argument. The student does an excellent job using this evidence to both correctly portray the contrast among these two characters and at the same time demonstrate a deep understanding of the novel's meaning, thus deserving an 8. These types of essays have considerably more leeway in how they are allowed to analyze the literature because there is not available text to use as evidence and shape what a "correct" analysis should be. In addition, the analyses tend to be more deeply focused on one aspect or situation in the novel because the students cannot possibly tie together all of the material in the book with such limited time. For example, complete analysis of The Joy Luck Club would require a stance on all of the vignettes while this focuses on only the ones required to answer the prompt when regarding the novel's overarching message

Student 3B: This essay does a fine job of analyzing Celie as a character and how she is influenced by other minor characters, suggesting that the student focused on the part of the prompt that mentioned secondary characters. Unfortunately, the essay falls short when it fails to properly regard one character as a foil. In addition, it fails to mention the author of The Color Purple and in addition has a style that implies the reader is very familiar with the course of the novel. Because I am not, I had a hard time following exactly how some of the major references were intended to forward the argument. No doubt the graders were indeed familiar with it, and thus recognized the merit of the argument regardless of a lack of clarity and focus. Because of this, it earns a respectable 6. Had the student made it clear whether Shug or Celie's father are the foil, it may have been in contention for a higher score.

Student 3C: This student chose to tackle The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, and although had some promising comparisons between Hassan and Baba, they were simply stated and not developed, nor supported with examples from the text. The student also seems to confuse the role of a foil in general by suggesting both characters help to demonstrate the same qualities in each other, even after mentioning how they contrasted in other ways. The essay also lacks organization, which is not surprising since it did not contain great deal available to organize. The "introduction" does little more than confuse the reader, especially with the use of a word that I simply could not recognize due to both the lack of context and poor handwriting. Overall, the essay gives a muddled interpretation of the novel with little overall analysis and little understanding of what a foil actually is, earning it a 4.

The House on Mango Street Summary and Analysis

The House on Mango Street is told in the first person limited by the main character, Esperanza, in a series of vignettes. The beginning deals with her frustrations about living on Mango Street and how she hopes to move away and have a house of her own. The novel paints a picture of Latina culture as we see different family members and interactions at school through Esperanza's eyes. The novel also covers a great deal about Esperanza's sexual development, as she deals with Sally, a more sexually adventurous friend, and the burden of living as a Latina female. To endure these challenges, writes. In the end she resolves to return to Mango Street to help those who remain after she moves on.

The novel uses a great deal of imagery and is written in a personal and at times childish tone. The motifs include women looking out windows, representing lack of satisfaction with married life, and clouds, which function as both a motif and symbol representing possibly hopes and aspirations. Trees are a prominent symbol as Esperanza seems to liken her own struggle to that of a tree attempting to escape its routes to reach the sky (related to clouds).

"In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting."
Indicates that she is of two origins, the Mexican and American, and they both play a role in her identity, sometimes conflicting but mainly producing a mix of cultural associations. It could also suggest that her parents consider her to be a glimmer of promise amidst poverty and social injustice-- a hope born out of sadness.

"Sally, you lied, you lied. He wouldn’t let me go. He said I love you, I love you, Spanish girl."
This is from "Red Clowns" where Esperanza is sexually assaulted. The quote shows her conflicts with Sally and her struggle to confront the misconceptions about boys and sex that she has seen in popular culture which contrasts with the stark and unforgiving reality about what can happen to vulnerable women at a very impressionable age.

In Cisneros' novel, we see that one can overcome significant hardship in the form of poverty, racism, gender inequality, and abuse by finding individual strength and understanding, allowing one to embrace his/her origins to help his/her family or society of origin.

Response to Course Material

Despite having a break during this blog cycle, we have covered a large amount of material, mostly related to The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. After annotating on our own, we discussed many different motifs and themes in class. I found the most interesting motif to be the way that many of the older women look out the window. This not only represented their unhappiness, but also commented on the nature of the woman's role in poor Latino neighborhoods and perhaps the institution of marriage as it relates to educational and professional opportunities, or the lack of them, for Latina women. I thought we covered a lot of other interesting points during class, especially when we participated in the "round table discussion." I thought this gave a lot of people a chance to share insights that they would not have contributed in the larger group.

We also briefly covered different literary eras and critical perspectives in a power point presentation. Most of the presentation was on information I covered in detail in American Lit, but there were a few new elements as well. It was interesting to hear about postmodern elements such as the simulacrum, which we discussed in American Lit, but not in as much detail. Mrs. Holmes also mentioned how contemporary literature implements "stream of consciousness" writing. It's surprising how much we rely on antecedents to follow traditional prose, and the lack of them makes even simple descriptions turgid.

We also recently started Shakespeare's Hamlet. In preparation, we read two articles about Elizabethan theater. I look forward to reading Hamlet in class and beginning to decipher this incredibly complex piece of writing that has captivated scholars for centuries. In eighth grade, I read it on my own and analyzed in from a psychoanalytical perspective. This time I look forward to seeing it from other angles and forming a stronger understanding of the play.

Response to question 2 from 2008 exam

     In this excerpt from Desai's Fasting, Feasting, the tone can be characterized by Arun's insecurity and fear of his current situation, along with possible disgust. The passage can be broken into three different sections that build upon each other to show how uncomfortable Arun is with following his American hosts to the beach. The first section is from line one to twelve and shows general reluctance to follow Mrs. Patton to the beach. The second is from thirteen to thirty and shows Arun's awkward interaction with Melanie and an interesting depiction of Mrs. Patton. The final section, from line 31 to 55 shifts from a portrayal of Arun's actions to his observations about the town on his way to the beach. This serves to contrast urban and natural settings and how they align with his perspective.
   
    The first section uses a great deal of negative language, primarily when Mrs. Patton exclaims, using epizeuxis, "No, no, no. We're all three of us going." This helps to contrast Arun's quiet but persistent refusal to go to the beach with Mrs. Patton's desire to take advantage of the summertime. When Desai writes in line 1 that Arun "cannot plead work" it shows that he is much more comfortable serving his host family rather than becoming a member of it. In preferring work over leisure, he is not conforming to the American treatment of the summer. As we see later, this behavior is not intended to spite Mrs. Patton but has to do with his perception of the beach and nature in general. Overall, these opening paragraphs help to establish the reluctant mood Arun possesses on his walk to the beach.

   In the second section, the most important interaction is that between Melanie and Arun, which shows that Arun assumes the role of a servant over a reluctant guest and temporary member of the family by first acknowledging that Melanie can "lag even better" and then accepting that he should "help carry those baskets anyway." The other important interaction is between Arun and Mrs. Patton where she gives him a "radiant, lipsticked smile" in exchange for receiving help with the beach provisions. This presents Mrs. Patton as nearly a caricature of American ignorance with her blond hair and lipstick, entirely unaware that Arun's deliberately servile nature is not a gesture of politeness but rather discontent and insecurity. After all, she is the only one actually interested in enjoying summer for the sake of summer, as we can see with the line from Porgy and Bess.

  While Mrs. Patton represents the American way of life during the summer and thus embraces nature, Desai characterizes Arun in exactly the opposite way in the third section, where he looks at the wilderness and the "insidious green" with contempt. This response signifies his mistrust of the new environment. He "passionately" prefers the post office and "picture framers" because it is associated with labor and security. Desai portrays Arun in this way to make a statement about his failure to acclimate to the American way of life and its entanglement with the natural world, of which he wants no part.