Spring Break Prompt 3

Many plays and novels use contrasting places (for example, two countries, two cities or towns, two houses, or the land and the sea) to represent opposed forces or ideas that are central to the meaning of the work. Choose a novel or play that contrasts two such places. Write an essay explaining how the places differ, what each place represents, and how their contrast contributes to the meaning of the work.

Light versus dark; warmth versus cold; good versus evil; love versus neglect. In Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, every element is made in doubles to contrast. What represents these elements for its differences the most is the setting. The two households in this novel, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, represent every other element and, therefore, are the greatest opposing elements in Wuthering Heights.

Both houses are isolated from the rest of the town and from each other. The atmosphere creates a sense of isolation that allows the characteristics of the opposing houses to be seen clearly.

The residents of Wuthering Heights are working class, whereas those of Thrushcross Grange were higher up on the social ladder, like the wealthy. However, the Earnshaws – the family who lived at Wuthering Heights – aspired to have the same social standing as the Lintons – the family who lived at Thrushcross Grange. This is evident when Catherine and Heathcliff spy on the Lintons through their window and when Catherine stays at the Grange for months recovering from a fever. When she returns as a lady, it portrays how the Earnshaws are so ready to change their appearance to fit in with a higher social class.

The setting of the houses correlates with the inner workings of the houses as well. For example, Wuthering Heights is always in a state of storminess. It is surrounded by the cold, dark and evil. What goes on in the house between the siblings – Hindley, Catherine, and the adopted Heathcliff – is blackmail and deception. Heathcliff blackmails Hindley in order to get the best if he does not have it for himself already. However, the Grange always seems calm. The family spends time together and the two children – Edgar and Isabella – are best of friends. Wuthering Heights is dark – it is hidden away, windows are deeply set in the wall, and there are many corners. It always had something going on, to the point of it being chaotic. The light surrounding it contrasts Thrushcross Grange – no features of this house are grim like that of the Heights. The Grange is filled with light and warmth, even in the cold night. It is appropriate as a home for calm children.

The point of these two contrasting places portray that as time goes on, the line between opposing elements becomes thinner and thinner. When these polar opposites clash, their characteristics become blended and end up influencing each other. For example, Heathcliff was truly evil as he sought revenge upon those of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, but seeing Catherine laying in her grave put things in perspective for him. Although she grew up at the Heights, she is characterized by the Grange because of her personality – it is naturally caring and loving, opposite of Heathcliff. Her influence on him even after she died changed him. And when she was living, he changed her too.

In the ending, the two families are so intermarried and both properties fall under one owner so that the line between opposing characteristics are almost indistinguishable. Bronte successfully portrayed that the clashing of contrasting places lead to intertwining characteristics that causes the line between them to go astray.

Prompt 2

Choose a character in a novel or play of your choice (from the AP List!) and write about the conflict(s) that arise since they are in conflict with the society they are from. This may be socially, religiously, and/or morally. Dig deep! You should also address whether your character comes to a good/bad fate due to this conflict(s).

Adultery. Ignominy. Isolation. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Puritan rules completely govern seventeenth-century Boston. The main character, Hester Prynne, comes in conflict with society because of these religious rules. For Puritans, it is frowned upon to have sexual encounters with anyone outside of that person’s marriage. And for Hester, her baby is the proof of those outlawed encounters. The conflict between society and Hester not only brings her ignominy, but nearly complete isolation as well.

The town gathers to gossip and frown at Hester while she begins her sentence: to stand on the scaffold with her illegitimate child. The thought of a woman having a child with a man who is not her husband is completely horrific to these “pure” Puritan minds. Puritan rules govern them so strongly that they hate this woman without knowing her or her reasons at all. To them, the reasons don’t matter; to them, love does not exist outside the marriage; to them, a family should begin with a husband and wife.

After her punishment on the scaffold, she is forced to wear the scarlet letter on her breast at all times. This letter is so everyone who sees her – even outside of Boston – will know that she committed adultery. Religion is so dominant in the seventeenth-century Boston that Hester’s adultery turns into a tale for ears around the world. Everyone knows of Hester Prynne and the scarlet letter. The strong Puritan values cause society to see the letter, not the woman behind it. Everywhere she goes, people stare at the symbol of adultery. Society treats her like a sickness – they avoid her at all costs as if her adultery will rub off on them somehow and they’ll become sinners too.

If not for her talent with embroidery, Hester would live in complete isolation with her daughter forever. Hester’s ability to do good and brush off the scowls allow her to be considered as “able” instead of “adulterer.” She was able to keep her head up high until the conflict she was forced into with society passed. She did not let Puritan religion judge and rule her fate forever – she made her fate by doing good and showing that the illegitimate child is not all that defines her.

The novel that begins with great hatred, conflict, and ignominy ends with resolved problems. The Puritans who chastised her for making decisions that conflicted with their religion, hailed her for her abilities to do good and make beautiful designs. The conflict that changed a life did not rule her fate.

ASWR Assignment 3

Part One:

Miesha: "My Talent is Perseverance."

*What is your talent/gift?

*What are you going to do with it?

*Compare your talent with Miesha's.

Miesha’s talent is perseverance, and I think perseverance is my talent as well.

I don’t mean to say that my talent is anything comparable to Miesha’s because she has a lot more that she needs to persevere through, but I try to persevere through whatever I do.

The perseverance I built up for myself was the result of being challenged through the course of my life. In school and in life I have faced a lot of challenges. Although I did not do the best in the schoolwork that challenged me or overcame extreme odds like Miesha in life, I did not give up. I tried my best to do what I needed to get done no matter how much it seemed hopeless to me because I always knew I had to try.

In the present as well as in the future, I plan to use this “talent” to get me through college and life. No matter what in the world I decide to do, perseverance is a key factor in my success. I know that college and life will have extreme challenges that I need to persevere through in order to be successful. Without perseverance, I would simply give up, be lazy, and have a horrible future. I’m going to use my “talent” of perseverance to get through the hardest moments in life because persevering through the challenges is the only way I can grow. (And I don’t mean height-wise to those who thought of physically growing -_- I know I’m short but I meant on the inside!)

Part Two:

Literary Connection: Jesus' Parable of the Talents NOTE: In ancient times, a measure of gold was called a talent: There once was a master and he had three servants. He goes on a trip and gives gold to each of them. The first one spends it having a good time, the second one purchases a rug in the market place. The third one goes out into the fields and buries it. When the master returns, he asks them what they did with the gold. The first one says, "I spent it and had a great time with my friends." The master says, "Very Good." The second one says, "I purchased a rug in the marketplace." The master says, "Very Good." The third one says, "Master, you will be most proud of me! I buried it in the fields and here it is!" The master beats him and sends him out of his house.

What do you think is Jesus' point? What lesson does he teach and how does it connect to you and Miesha? How does this story work on more than one level?

Jesus’ point in “Jesus’ Parable of the Talents” is that talents need to be put to use in order to mean anything. Every person has at least one talent that can be contributed to his/her own life and to those around him/her. If that person leaves the talent inside, no one will ever benefit – it’ll be a wasted talent. Although the third servant would have been the smartest in a story about character and morals, he is the one who made the biggest mistake in this story because the gold was the “talent” that was given to him. The third servant kept his gold because saving money is important in life. However, because the gold was a mere metaphor for “talent” in this story and the third servant was the only one who did not spend it, he did not use his talent.

Hiding his gold away for “safe keeping” did nothing for him. He did not get anything he really needed or did not have any fun with it, it was as if he did not have it. Nothing came out of it. If he were to have used it on something he wanted or needed, the gold would have meant more. For all he knew, he could die and it would stay buried in the field for someone else to enjoy it with no cost or hard work at all!

The story connects to Miesha and I because it is a message to make use of the talents given to you. If Miesha or I were to have used our talents for some other time, nothing good would have come of it. We would not have completed the tasks that were hard and, in the end, more worthwhile so we would not have anything to be proud of! However, following the moral of this story would allow us to make use of our talent for our benefit.

Because our talent is not gold or anything tangible, we are allowed to use it as much as we want! Our talent is not something that is limited to a mere object such as gold, so we can continue doing the things that require using the talents we were given. I think that would be another message Jesus is trying to say. What I am trying to say is, another moral to this story is that our talent has no limits in that we can use it as much as we want, and we should use it as much as we can.

The story has more than one level of meaning. The first meaning is that if something that has a monetary value is not used, it could be wasted from being lost or stolen. So we should use it before someone else has the chance to enjoy our items for us while we are off to the side, sad that we lost our money. The second level would be what I mentioned earlier – that if we do not use our talents, nothing good will come of it and so many times of learning and benefit would never have happened!

Prompt 1

Choose a symbol used in a novel or play of your choice and discuss its function in the world of the work. Be sure to give the title of the work and its author in the Introduction paragraph. You should strive for 4 - 5 paragraphs. Good Luck! After posting, read and comment on 4 other postings. Your comments should be helpful to the writer and may be things you noticed, something for them to think about, and some words of encouragement. You must complete your essay and your comments by Tuesday, January 12th!

In his book, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne employs many objects and even people as symbols. The most obvious of these symbols is the real “scarlet letter” which Hester wears. However, in this book, there is another “scarlet letter”: a living scarlet letter, who goes by the name of Pearl. Throughout the book, Hawthorne uses Pearl to symbolize the scarlet letter in another form.

The real scarlet letter that Hester wears is to show that she is an adulterer, her punishment for having an illegitimate child. As a baby, Pearl would dress up in the finest of clothes made by her own mother. When she grew older, around the age of five or so, she began to wear bright red clothing with gold embroidery. Because of the color and embroidery, Pearl physically resembled the scarlet letter. The physical correlation between the two is the least important reason for why she is the “living scarlet letter.”

If the scarlet letter on Hester’s breast did not suffice, Pearl would have done well to be the “punishment” and source for ignominy. Although the scarlet letter commanded attention, Pearl was the “loudest” thing about Hester. Wherever they went, Pearl danced along her mother’s side in bright clothing and she was noted (by Hawthorne) as beautiful while doing it. Pearl was the most important thing to Hester – she was the main attraction to Hester if viewed by outsiders; if Hester viewed her own life, Pearl was the most dominant thing in her life. Pearl is Hester’s constant reminder of sin as well as happiness.

What truly made the scarlet letter the scarlet letter was the lesson it was to teach Hester Prynne. The ignominy and isolation Hester faced from being with Pearl in public taught her not to sin. Everyday with Pearl was a reminder of the sin Hester committed – Pearl was a constant reminder that one act of sin can have a lifetime consequence. However, because Hester’s love with the minister was true love, she was granted with the joy of having a child. Pearl was Hester’s “middle-ground” in that Pearl punishes her for her sins as well as blesses Hester with love and company she would not have felt without her. Had Pearl not been born, Hester’s wife would have come back to her and they would have lived a comfortable but unhappy life as they did in England. Pearl was the turning point in Hester’s life. If she had not been born, Hester’s affair would have never been discovered and she would never have had to wear the scarlet letter. However, without Pearl, Hester would not have grown into the admirable woman that Hawthorne wrote about.

The shift from “adulterer” to “able” was only made possible through the scarlet letters together: the embroidery and Pearl. Pearl was symbolic for Hester’s sins and happiness. Everyday Hester learned through Pearl the lessons Puritans felt she would learn from this as well as true happiness. Pearl’s growth physically tracked Hester’s growth in character throughout the novel. Through Pearl, Hawthorne expressed Hester’s joy, sadness, humility, and growth because she stood symbolic for so much.

ASWR Assignment 2

After reading this book review, what do you think your experience reading this book is going to be like? Do you tend to look at book reviews before you purchase a book? Do you use book reviews to influence your book purchases? Are you more apt to listen to a friend who recommends a book to you? Your response should be at least 250 words.

My thoughts on “And Still We Rise” is much like Mark Welch’s. I feel that Miles Corwin spent a lot of his time and effort into making the rest of American society (and perhaps societies around the world) to recreate these students’ lives in our own imaginations. Many people from a community like mine take the privileges and blessings they have for granted.

For those who feel offended by that statement, ask yourself if you ever get mad at technology, teachers who assign too much homework, and college applications. Or maybe even your parents for making you come home by curfew. But it truly is not our faults – it’s how we were raised.

This book allows me to really appreciate all of the things in life that I dread – homework, AP classes, tests, pressure for college – because now I know that there are other people out there who have to do all of what I do while dealing with their abusive parents or neglective foster parents and their full-time jobs. The students from South-Central who persevere throughout the entire 13 years of their education to graduate from high school (especially in the gifted program at Crenshaw) and especially those who manage to go on to college, are truly gifted.

To have a family who abuses and doesn’t care about them, to ignore gang activity and stay off the streets, to go to work so they can save up money for basic essentials and clothes, to stay up late at night after a hard day so they can study… that’s tough. I know that I wouldn’t last one year in this city. I would cry myself to sleep every night, pitying myself, asking myself “why me?” I doubt I’d have the courage and strength to do what these students do.

When I buy a book to read, I don’t read the book reviews. I tend to listen to my friends’ opinions or read the back of the cover and judge the book then. Now, I think if I look online for book reviews to read, I’ll find the books that are really great, the books that inspire.

ASWR Assignment 1

Read pages 1 - 61 in the text! Write a response to the 1st 61 pages with this prompt: What is Crenshaw High School like in comparison to Mililani High School? You may write in terms of the community, the layout/environment of the school, and the students/faculty/teachers? This needs to be at least 300 words. You may use quotes from the text to support you.

Crenshaw High School and Mililani High School differ in a countless amount of ways: from location to ethnicity to the personalities of the people and much more.

Crenshaw is located in a multiethnic ghetto called South-Central where 1/3 of their residents “subsist below the national poverty level.” South-Central is a collage of gangs: the Rollin 30s, Rollin 40s, Rollin 60s, Harlem Crips, Georgetown Crips, EastSide 97th Street Crips, Ness Gangster Bloods, Inglewood Family Bloods and so on. Each gang fights for territory anywhere possible – even in the members’ own high school. In Mililani, we don’t really have gangs. If we do, they’re really underground because no gang activity happens here.

The adolescents of South-Central have a somewhat forced destiny thrust upon them. Many students conform to the gang life because their friends join gangs, the people they live by are all one gang. In South-Central, if you’re not in a gang, you don’t have many other people to care for you other than your family. This portion of the United States definitely live at the extremes: they’re either extremely gangster or extremely devoted to making a better life for themselves. In this neighborhood, it is not uncommon to be beat or neglected by a parent or to be a “ward of the state.” Because of the other pressures of life here, the students do poorly when compared to the rest of the nation.

The adolescents of Mililani do not grow up with the same pressures to conform to gang life. There are opportunities to play sports, excel in academics, join Boy Scouts, and do other extra-curricular activities. Residents can walk the streets without the risk of getting shot up on the block by a rival gang and many families are friends. At Mililani High School, academics, sports, and community service is strongly promoted as well as widely accepted – something that cannot be said for Crenshaw. Although the residents here are not as rich as those in Beverly Hills, we still live lives of luxury.

In ethnicity, more than half of the population of South-Central is Latino and most of the rest are black. In Mililani, Asian is the dominant race.

However, there are certain parallels Mililani has with Crenshaw. For example, compared to the nation, Hawaii is not exactly the smartest. Although school is more important to more people here than in South-Central, Hawaii can still be considered as behind the nation. Not to mention, there are select students who truly wish to excel in school in both high schools. The students of the gifted program at Crenshaw are like the students who take AP and GT here at Mililani. We all want to go to college with scholarships, to create the best lives we can for ourselves.