Response to Course Material, IV

    The last month we have spent lots and lots of time with the good old Hamlet. And luckily, I tend to really enjoy the story so it has been very entertaining to me! We have watched several movies, each that depict the story in a different way, displaying different director's interpretations of the classic play. I feel I have benefited very much from watching these films, for when I was doing my close reading I was able to picture the scenes and really put the entire story together. The different films include Branagh's Hamlet, Tennant's Hamlet, Olivier's Hamlet, Hawke's Hamlet, and Jacobi's Hamlet.
     Branagh's Hamlet was very interesting to say the least. The setting in this version was very misleading, for it was not a modern castle yet it also wasn't in a castle that matches the actual Hamlet setting. Also in this movie, as well as in the others, it was portrayed as though the family was secluded and out of touch from the people of Denmark. It was made very obvious that Hamlet and his family were from Denmark due to their platinum blonde hair and blue eyes, another distinction from the public. Overall this film was okay, but definitely not my favorite, the acting was poor and it did not stay very on path with the play.
     Tennant's Hamlet was an interesting modern take on Hamlet. I thought this movie was fairly decent, however again, not my favorite. This movie took place in a very dark castle, that similar to Branagh's Hamlet, did not look like a castle of the time Hamlet really took place. The castle was very dark and again separated the royal family from the public. However, the use of cameras throughout this film made it seem as though someone was always watching, and as if the public or someone greater/an outsider was keeping an eye on everything that was going on in the castle. The mirrors also played a large role in this movie, especially in the argument between Hamlet and Ophelia. The significance of was emphasized when Ophelia lied down on the mirror floor and was contemplating the actions of Hamlet and what the future had in store for them. Also, at the end of this film when Claudius attempted to poison Hamlet and significantly failed, soon after Gertrude drank the poison and all was revealed, Claudius simply, with the shake of his shoulders, decided to drink the poison and fall to his death. The story of Hamlet was pretty well explained in this movie, however the modern parts seems to take away a little bit.
     Next we watched Jacobi and Hawke's interpretations of Hamlet. Jacobi's Hamlet, although it stuck to the story line of Hamlet very well I thought, the bright setting and strange acting methods still prevented me from feeling completely satisfied with it. The bedroom scene between Hamlet and his mother was very unsettling and took away a lot from the movie. This was over excessive and unnecessary. Hawke's interpretation, although my favorite,  was opposite of Jacobi's in terms of sticking to the story line. Hawke's modern interpretation completely strays from the original story, especially the setting of New York City. After watching these two films it was interesting to see classmates take a side to which film they enjoyed more. Jacobi's stuck to the story but was a poor film, whereas Hawke's was a much better film but greatly strayed from the original context.
     The last film we watched was Olivier's version of Hamlet. This film did a great job sticking the story line and I think the setting and cast were well chosen. The castle looked realistic for the time and helped make the entire story seem more real in a sense. The characters were also well portrayed, especially the obvious small age difference between Hamlet and his mother. This was a good film, but I do not tend to particularly like the older films. I still enjoyed it though, much more than some of the others for sure.
     I am glad we watched so many different interpretations of Hamlet, for they each pointed out something new to the story for me. Although it was still difficult in some moments to understand the original text, even when being acted out. I have enjoyed the last month and hope we will discuss Hamlet more in detail, but overall I think I finally have a good understanding of the plot. Although most of our time was spent watching Hamlet, we also did a few other activities such as viewing the history behind Hamlet, including Shakespeare's possible motives for writing the story and why he set it in a certain time age. We also read and annotated an article, "Tragic Balance in Hamlet." The point of this article was merely to observe how elevated diction is not needed in order to emphasize a point, in fact, most of the time it only makes the main point more cloudy. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what this article was even talking about, its arguments were often contradictory and went in circles.

Open Prompts, Part One #4

2004 Student Responses Question #3

Prompt: Critic Roland Barthes has said, "Literature is the question minus the answer." Choose a novel, or play, and, considering Barthes' observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers answers. Explain how the author's treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

Student 1:
This student did a great job and wrote a very strong essay. It clearly answers the prompt and provides great evidence and clear examples of the novel the student chose to support his/her thesis statement. The thesis was also very strong and highlighted everything that needs to be answer in the prompt, "In the novel Candide, the young noble travels around the world in order to answer a single question 'Is this the best of all possible worlds?'" This shows what the purpose of the novel is, but also clearly states what the mission of the book is. This student also avoids summarizing the story, but still is able to include key plot points that add to the ability to answer the question. The student explains how Candide traveled to El Decado where there he was faced with a new society in which, "grace and lost did not exist," however, his personality, formed from other whereabouts did not match with this society and forced him to move on. The prompt was well interpreted by the student and they did a good job thoroughly answering. ALthough, I do agree with the AP graders that this student would've benefitted by using greater and more sophisticated diction and syntax. There was also some repetition that occurred and took away from the paper.

Student 2:
This essay has a clear thesis in the beginning and allows the reader to believe that the body of the essay will centralize around that subject, however that is not the case for this paper. At the beginning the student starts off strong and seems to understand what the prompt is asking, but unfortunately as the paper goes on, the student is unable to directly tie back his/her points and examples to support the thesis and therefore looses a lot of depth. Also, while reading this essay I was not very impressed with the chosen diction or syntax. Although I know there is only so much time allotted to write this essay, this student wrote a little too sloppy and unorganized for my likings. I am somewhat surprised this essay received a 6. For instance, the sentence, "Jim and Huck run away from their physical masters, Pop in Huck's case, Jim's owner in Jim's case, and escape on a raft." I know plot summaries are frowned upon, however, I think this student could've done a better job of structuring this sentence, perhaps even by splitting it into two and adding a little more detail. In the end, the student was able to once again focus on the thesis and talks more directly about the prompt, however I do not think he/she came full circle and could've been more affective in their writing.

Student 3:
Similar to student 2, this essay has a lot of potential in the fact that it has a good story to answer the prompt with, and is able to mention the prompt in a thesis in the first paragraph. The student is not able to fully answer the prompt, although he/she does provide examples from the story, he/she doesn't completely connect them and give exact reasoning as to why they are mentioned. The intro and conclusion are not very strong or related to each other; they do not make a complete circle of ideas or focus on the thesis statement.  Again, like the other two essays, diction and syntax were a major issue in this essay and even distract the reader from what the student is really trying to say. For instance, "he never believed that his village and his people would change. But as time gradually passed, changes began to form." This is not a very strong or detailed description, although it is one of the only main and strong points identified in this essay.  This essay was not very impressive, it did not reach its full potential and therefor deserves the 3 that it received.

Close Reading 12/8

For deteriorating Trenton Central High school conditions, seeing is believing

Found at: http://www.nj.com/times-opinion/index.ssf/2013/12/editorial_for_deteriorating_tr.html

In this editorial from New Jersey Times, the author uses a variety of rhetorical devices such as diction, imagery, and syntax to prove how awful the conditions are at Trenton Central High School, and how essential it is that these conditions are paid a little attention to in hopes of raising the graduation rate.
The author primarily uses colloquial diction which keeps the article casual so the reader can easily relate to it, making it clear that the author is like an average person you could run into on the streets. The author does use some words that help the passage going and enforce the point that the school is in such tragic conditions, quoting the school is "a ticking time bomb." This quote gives me an impression that something needs to be done quickly for the conditions are getting worse and worse. The author also mentions some of the obstacles that are preventing the school from being fixed, "a snarl of bureaucracy, politics and hard times." The use of "snarl" made me think of an angry dog that was too viscous to be petted or helped, and therefore does a good job portraying the bureaucracy as out of hand and fierce. The diction the author chose to use in this article played a large role in emphasizing the treachery of the school and the importance to fix its decaying walls.
The author also describes several scenarios throughout the article, intending to paint vivid images in the readers mind to help portray the severity of the schools poor conditions. The school's "abysmal" conditions seen by powerful visitors are well described by the author and allow the reader to have a harsh reaction. The sights of visitors at the school describe, "seeing mold, crumbling plaster, and "the waterfall" - a wall in the gym where water streams down during rainstorms." This instantly places a dismal and dreary image in the mind of readers, emphasizing how awful this school is. Without this image, the article would have lost a crucial piece of information that leaves a large of an impact on the readers and maintains the urgency this article needs.
The syntax also plays a large role in showing the importance of this article. Sentence length is one element the author varies in order to help made some points more important than others. The author uses some shorter sentences to show the concerns of the ones the poor conditions are affecting, "teachers have testified at state hearings" and "parents have pleaded, and students have rallied." These short but key sentences are vital to directly show how the conditions are affecting the teachers, parents, and students. The author also uses longer sentences when providing more detailed information, such as the stats of how many students have graduated in the last year. Without the changes in the sentence length, this article would loose the significance of the impact on the students and their teachers and parents, as well as other important information relevant to this cause.
I found this article very interesting and convincing, I am worried for Trenton Central High School and hope that it will receive the help that it needs soon. I, as a reader, was given this impression because of the authors use of diction, imagery, and syntax.