Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Blog #4: AP English Literature Benchmark Open Question Essay & Reflection/3x3, Revisions & Reflection
Since cruelty is often a part of daily life and a normal human characteristic, it is no surprise that novels also implement this function into character progression, and in turn, plot. In "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, cruelty shows the true colors of the characters - all while making a statement on society as a whole.
The essential core of the book centers around Atticus, the defendant's lawyer, who chooses to look out for those no one will protect. Despite losing the case, this exhibited a vital human element - compassion. This is particularly hard to achieve in such a setting- a setting in which everyone vehemently disagrees, a setting where being brash and sounding correct is more important than actually being right. The general public, in this scenario, represents how bad ideas can spread. Those bigoted feelings fester when no stands up for basic decency, and it was the overall conflict in "To Kill a Mockingbird". The raucous townspeople during the trial can be related back to the context of the day. Similar events happened when Harper Lee wrote the novel; these kind of social holdings that people are placed into still happen to this day.
Sometimes the story may be cruel, but the actual message is one of perseverance, hope, and justice. Atticus repeatedly called on the judge and jury to open their eye, just a little bit more. Although these characters did not end up siding with Atticus, the reader did have the opportunity to see a new viewpoint. Sometimes all people need to change their mind is a different view that they aren't normally exposed to. And witnessing an innocent man be declared guilty can often separate the truly evil from the misunderstood.
It can be argued that the perpetrators in To Kill a Mockingbird are truly cruel. After all, their hatred and disillusionment had to be due to race, right? Perhaps that is what their actions show, but it's also possible they were unaware to the other side of the story. That can be due to background, thus not their fault.
There are many forms of cruelty: some truly cruel forms, and some disillusioned cruelty. Harper Lee made sure to show all viewpoints, yet still indicate where the reader's moral compass should lie. That shows the complexity of the tale she told through the character's eyes. It also provides a strong message on where cruelty lies in real-life culture. That is truly valuable as the reader can utilize the "take-home" message to further benefit actual world issues.
Reflection: After typing up this final benchmark essay, it's now time to analyze skills to improve on for the future. I assume like most AP Lit students, I need some work on this essay. When I initially read the prompt, I knew I was in trouble because I was not familiar with many of the literary options. It is clear I will need to be knowledgeable in enough works of literature, to master this form of essay writing. Although this seems daunting, I suspect this essay is a blessing in disguise. If you put in the work, you should be comfortable come testing time. Because I have not yet mastered this essay (evidenced by ramblings and unneeded repetition), I would score my essay a 4. I did include analysis, but the analysis is "definitely partial, unsupported, or irrelevant altogether".
Reflection for James: Similar to most students who took this benchmark essay, James struggled with recounting details and quotes from 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. This in turn severely limits the score that he would receive on an AP exam. Despite the lack of analysis in the response, the last paragraph shows a lot of promise - specifically when James states, "Atticus Finch is not a perfect being, a sceptor of truth and loving." Whether purposeful or not, leaving the reader with the lingering thought that Atticus is two different things at once improves the depth of the writing. Sadly, the lack of consistent, developed analysis holds this essay back. A score of 4 is a fair grade in this situation.
Essay Revision:
The essential core of the book centers around Atticus, the defendant's lawyer, who chooses to look out for those no one will protect. Defending Tom Robinson in this era took a lot of guts, and it was in that moment Atticus made a crucial decision: to cross the threshold of insecurity and difficulty to further advance the lives of others. Despite losing the racially-charged case, he exhibited a vital human element - compassion. Atticus also achieved an emotional victory of self-worth and a mind free of shame. This is particularly hard to achieve in such a setting- a setting in which everyone vehemently disagrees, a setting where being brash and sounding correct is more important than actually being right. The general public, in this scenario, represents how bad ideas can spread. Those bigoted feelings fester when no stands up for basic decency, and it was the overall conflict in "To Kill a Mockingbird". The raucous townspeople during the trial can be related back to the context of the day. Similar events happened when Harper Lee wrote the novel; these kind of social holdings that people are placed into still happen to this day.
Sometimes the story may be cruel, but the actual message is one of perseverance, hope, and justice. Atticus repeatedly called on the judge and jury to open their eye, just a little bit more. Although these characters did not end up siding with Atticus, the reader did have the opportunity to see a new viewpoint. Sometimes all people need to change their mind is a different view that they aren't normally exposed to. And witnessing an innocent man be declared guilty can often separate the truly evil from the misunderstood. That is the true accomplishment of Atticus. His fellow characters in the story, as well as the reader itself, started to understand (and care about) Tom Robinson's point of view. Atticus did not discover a magic pill to cure racial injustice in America, but he did enlighten the philosophical ideas of many, which is just as crucial to progress in society.
It can be argued that the perpetrators in To Kill a Mockingbird are truly cruel. After all, their hatred and disillusionment had to be due to race, right? Perhaps that is what their actions show, but it's also possible they were unaware to the other side of the story. That can be due to background, thus not their fault.
There are many forms of cruelty: some truly cruel forms, and some disillusioned cruelty. Harper Lee made sure to show all viewpoints, yet still indicate where the reader's moral compass should lie. That shows the complexity of the tale she told through the character's eyes. It also provides a strong message on where cruelty lies in real-life culture. That is truly valuable as the reader can utilize the "take-home" message to further benefit actual world issues.
Reflection Part 2: Today we began the process of making tangible improvements to our essays. To do this, we are comparing our essays with a Hero's journey to add complexity to our writing. For me, the most meaningful aspect of this assignment was how it encouraged a lack of plot summary. Instead, it focused on why the novel we chose was truly impactful based off of well-thought out actions by the main character. That being said, I personally feel this assignment was a mixed bag of progress. It was very difficult for me to write something substantial when the plot of To Kill a Mockingbird is so lost in my brain. I think I learned the gist of the Hero's Journey through this assignment, but I'm worried the knowledge won't stay with me. Because I am not yet confident about the relation between an open-ended essay and a Hero's Journey, I will need to continue making connections between the two ideas so I can effectively and correctly write with depth.
The essential core of the book centers around Atticus, the defendant's lawyer, who chooses to look out for those no one will protect. Despite losing the case, this exhibited a vital human element - compassion. This is particularly hard to achieve in such a setting- a setting in which everyone vehemently disagrees, a setting where being brash and sounding correct is more important than actually being right. The general public, in this scenario, represents how bad ideas can spread. Those bigoted feelings fester when no stands up for basic decency, and it was the overall conflict in "To Kill a Mockingbird". The raucous townspeople during the trial can be related back to the context of the day. Similar events happened when Harper Lee wrote the novel; these kind of social holdings that people are placed into still happen to this day.
Sometimes the story may be cruel, but the actual message is one of perseverance, hope, and justice. Atticus repeatedly called on the judge and jury to open their eye, just a little bit more. Although these characters did not end up siding with Atticus, the reader did have the opportunity to see a new viewpoint. Sometimes all people need to change their mind is a different view that they aren't normally exposed to. And witnessing an innocent man be declared guilty can often separate the truly evil from the misunderstood.
It can be argued that the perpetrators in To Kill a Mockingbird are truly cruel. After all, their hatred and disillusionment had to be due to race, right? Perhaps that is what their actions show, but it's also possible they were unaware to the other side of the story. That can be due to background, thus not their fault.
There are many forms of cruelty: some truly cruel forms, and some disillusioned cruelty. Harper Lee made sure to show all viewpoints, yet still indicate where the reader's moral compass should lie. That shows the complexity of the tale she told through the character's eyes. It also provides a strong message on where cruelty lies in real-life culture. That is truly valuable as the reader can utilize the "take-home" message to further benefit actual world issues.
Reflection: After typing up this final benchmark essay, it's now time to analyze skills to improve on for the future. I assume like most AP Lit students, I need some work on this essay. When I initially read the prompt, I knew I was in trouble because I was not familiar with many of the literary options. It is clear I will need to be knowledgeable in enough works of literature, to master this form of essay writing. Although this seems daunting, I suspect this essay is a blessing in disguise. If you put in the work, you should be comfortable come testing time. Because I have not yet mastered this essay (evidenced by ramblings and unneeded repetition), I would score my essay a 4. I did include analysis, but the analysis is "definitely partial, unsupported, or irrelevant altogether".
Reflection for James: Similar to most students who took this benchmark essay, James struggled with recounting details and quotes from 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. This in turn severely limits the score that he would receive on an AP exam. Despite the lack of analysis in the response, the last paragraph shows a lot of promise - specifically when James states, "Atticus Finch is not a perfect being, a sceptor of truth and loving." Whether purposeful or not, leaving the reader with the lingering thought that Atticus is two different things at once improves the depth of the writing. Sadly, the lack of consistent, developed analysis holds this essay back. A score of 4 is a fair grade in this situation.
Essay Revision:
Atticus defends Robinson
Hero loses case
Town exhibits backlash
Since cruelty is often a part of daily life and a normal human
characteristic, it is no surprise that novels also implement this
function into character progression, and in turn, plot. In "To Kill a
Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, cruelty shows the true colors of the
characters - all while making a statement on society as a whole.Hero loses case
Town exhibits backlash
The essential core of the book centers around Atticus, the defendant's lawyer, who chooses to look out for those no one will protect. Defending Tom Robinson in this era took a lot of guts, and it was in that moment Atticus made a crucial decision: to cross the threshold of insecurity and difficulty to further advance the lives of others. Despite losing the racially-charged case, he exhibited a vital human element - compassion. Atticus also achieved an emotional victory of self-worth and a mind free of shame. This is particularly hard to achieve in such a setting- a setting in which everyone vehemently disagrees, a setting where being brash and sounding correct is more important than actually being right. The general public, in this scenario, represents how bad ideas can spread. Those bigoted feelings fester when no stands up for basic decency, and it was the overall conflict in "To Kill a Mockingbird". The raucous townspeople during the trial can be related back to the context of the day. Similar events happened when Harper Lee wrote the novel; these kind of social holdings that people are placed into still happen to this day.
Sometimes the story may be cruel, but the actual message is one of perseverance, hope, and justice. Atticus repeatedly called on the judge and jury to open their eye, just a little bit more. Although these characters did not end up siding with Atticus, the reader did have the opportunity to see a new viewpoint. Sometimes all people need to change their mind is a different view that they aren't normally exposed to. And witnessing an innocent man be declared guilty can often separate the truly evil from the misunderstood. That is the true accomplishment of Atticus. His fellow characters in the story, as well as the reader itself, started to understand (and care about) Tom Robinson's point of view. Atticus did not discover a magic pill to cure racial injustice in America, but he did enlighten the philosophical ideas of many, which is just as crucial to progress in society.
It can be argued that the perpetrators in To Kill a Mockingbird are truly cruel. After all, their hatred and disillusionment had to be due to race, right? Perhaps that is what their actions show, but it's also possible they were unaware to the other side of the story. That can be due to background, thus not their fault.
There are many forms of cruelty: some truly cruel forms, and some disillusioned cruelty. Harper Lee made sure to show all viewpoints, yet still indicate where the reader's moral compass should lie. That shows the complexity of the tale she told through the character's eyes. It also provides a strong message on where cruelty lies in real-life culture. That is truly valuable as the reader can utilize the "take-home" message to further benefit actual world issues.
Reflection Part 2: Today we began the process of making tangible improvements to our essays. To do this, we are comparing our essays with a Hero's journey to add complexity to our writing. For me, the most meaningful aspect of this assignment was how it encouraged a lack of plot summary. Instead, it focused on why the novel we chose was truly impactful based off of well-thought out actions by the main character. That being said, I personally feel this assignment was a mixed bag of progress. It was very difficult for me to write something substantial when the plot of To Kill a Mockingbird is so lost in my brain. I think I learned the gist of the Hero's Journey through this assignment, but I'm worried the knowledge won't stay with me. Because I am not yet confident about the relation between an open-ended essay and a Hero's Journey, I will need to continue making connections between the two ideas so I can effectively and correctly write with depth.
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