Practice AP Essay: The Sirens

            The Sirens are known in Greek mythology for their alluring song of death. No man can resist their song, and no man leaves alive once he is pulled in. Margaret Atwood and Homer both describe the Sirens in their work but go about doing it in different ways. By writing from two different points of view with differing tones, the authors give the audience a more dynamic understanding of the Sirens.

            Homer’s recount is written from the first person point of view of Odysseus while Atwood’s poem is written from the first person point of view of a Siren. In Homer’s version, Odysseus is aware of the threat of the Sirens and is bracing himself to resist their song. Odysseus, valiantly trying to resist, still “signal[s] the crew with frowns to set [him] free” (Homer 21). Point of view is so important here because everyone knows how strong a warrior Odysseus is, and yet even he could not resist without his crew holding him back.  Moreover, this shows that the Sirens are able to be defeated. Odysseus takes the reader step by step how to resist the Sirens and stay alive. Atwood’s version of the story is from the point of view of a Siren. This allows the reader to see the true cunning involved with a Siren’s actions. The actual process of roping in a victim is portrayed, making the Siren seem like a much a more dynamic character than in Homer’s passage. The Siren cheekily tells her next victim, “Alas/ it is a boring song/ but it works every time” (Atwood 25-7). The reader can see the intricacies that go into her speech and how exactly she allures the men because it is actually a Siren telling the story. She becomes more interesting and understandable in Atwood’s recount.

            The tones of the two pieces are also quite opposite. Homer’s piece has a much more serious tone.  Odysseus is trying to return home to his finally and therefore, must escape the grasps of the perilous Sirens. He has his crew tie him up “hand and foot in the tight ship” (Homer 8). The crew and Odysseus are fighting for their lives, and the desperation is evident. This is no joking matter, and Odysseus is not concerned with the details about the Siren’s song. He is solely concerned with escaping them and getting home. Atwood’s version, however, is much more light-hearted and witty. By taking on the role of a Siren herself, Atwood shows the deceit and cunning that goes into getting victims. She exemplifies exactly why no man can resist with her alluring speech. The tone is light because to the Sirens, taking in and destroying sailors is a game. They gain pleasure from tricking the men that pass by. The tone in Atwood’s piece reflects the personality of the Sirens.

            The differing points of view and tones used to describe the Sirens show how the world views the Sirens and how the Sirens view the world. Odysseus, the metaphor for society, is scared of the Sirens and forced to hatch elaborate plans just to survive. The Sirens, as seen through Atwood’s account, are cunning and playful, finding unique ways to reel in every sailor that passes. One passage depicts terror; the other depicts a glorified game.

P&P #10

              Wickham is an absolute and utter scoundrel. Though Pride and Prejudice  is not a typical antagonist versus protagonist plotline, Wickham would win the antagonist role without a doubt if it had to be chosen. There are many arguments that Mr. Collins is supposed to be the character that the audience hates in this novel. The audience should abhor him for his self-centeredness and belittling nature. However, Mr. Collins is nowhere near as faulted as Wickham. Wickham lies to everyone he meets about Mr. Darcy. Uses his charismatic personality to win over all the ladies around him such that no one expects his cunning, nasty nature. No one knows of his impropriety or his impertinence. Then, he has the gall to run away with Lydia, one of the Bennet girls, and have no regard for proper marital customs. Collins may be self-centered and pompous, but at least he abides by society’s constructs. He is not running his mouth, collecting debts, and stealing women. Collins tries to take the conventional route and properly meets the Bennet family before giving a formal request of marriage to Elizabeth. Elizabeth does not accept the proposal, but there is still the most basic sense of respect between Elizabeth and Collins. In Wickham’s case, this is far from true. Elizabeth accosts Wickham’s character, saying that he has “neither integrity nor honour. That he is as false and deceitful as he is insinuating” (240). Elizabeth never speaks with as much distaste as she does here towards any other character. If there is one truly evil character to remember from this novel, Wickham is unanimously that character.

P&P #8-9

           Elizabeth embarks on a vacation with her uncle and aunt, but what she sees is nothing that she could have imagined. In running into Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth sees feelings within herself that she never know existed. Everyone in Darcy’s hometown has nothing but good things to say about him. They hold him in the highest regard. Moreover, Darcy treats Elizabeth and her family amiably and with the utmost respect upon meeting them even though Elizabeth has rejected him. Elizabeth’s eyes are opened, and she realizes slowly the mistake she has made: “She respected, she esteemed, she was grateful to him, she felt a real interest in his welfare” (224). The disdain that she once felt for Darcy has disappeared, and she is shocked with the true feelings she has for him. Elizabeth dismissed Darcy’s initial proposal, but now she is beginning to hope that she has not lost her chance. Darcy is a misunderstood character. That he is prideful is without a doubt, but thanks to characters like Wickham purporting stories, Darcy is made to seem as much more reprehensible than he actually is. Elizabeth has slowly seen through this façade that is built and is finally appreciating Darcy for the honest, noble man that he is.

P&P #1-5

            The novel Pride and Prejudice incorporates many characters with many different personalities. As the story progresses, these personalities clash, creating a whirlwind of events. The Bennet women are not rich, but they still have very strong opinions. Elizabeth, in particular, is very proud; Mr. Darcy vexes her. She does not like Bingley’s sisters. She has a deep disdain for Mr. Collins. It seems that everyone she comes across she has a problem with. She is very quick to judge. The whole society in general judges with celerity. It is from their proud dispositions that prejudice is born. Elizabeth believes that Mr. Collins is revolting and thus refuses to associate with him. Mrs. Bennet thinks of herself as far above the Lucas family and thus resents them greatly when Charlotte is offered Mr. Collins’ hand in marriage. Mr. Darcy cannot even lower himself to engage in conversation with the Bennet’s when he first arrives because of his haughty disposition. It seems as if a majority of the characters have a chip on their shoulder, and that prevents them from being authentic with anyone. They constantly have their guards up and are deciding who is suitable enough to even be associated with them. Jealousy courses through them as they covet what others have while turning away the offers they are given.

                One of the best examples of pride appears in the proposal between Mr. Collins and Elizabeth. Mr. Collins begins the request by listing all of his reasons for why he wants to be married. He basically brags about how great he is in the hope of swaying Elizabeth. He says that of fortune he will “make no demand” (92). He is making a very enticing offer, but the manner in which he goes about making it is poorly chosen.  He places himself at a higher level than Elizabeth, and that clearly does not appeal to her. Naturally, she rejects the proposal, for though she may not be rich, she is also extremely proud. She claims that it would be impossible for her to ever be happy with Mr. Collins and thus dismisses him. Mr. Collins does not even accept her initial refusal. In his head it is just a game she is playing, and eventually, she will accept. However, he is mistaken. Mr. Collins and Elizabeth are two of the proudest characters in the novel, so it is only natural that their encounters would not end well. Their prejudices are too great to be joined in a union.

AP Lit Practice Essay-1973

Prompt: AP Literature 1973 Open-ended Question  

In order for the ending of a literary work to be effective, it must come to some sort of conclusion. Whether it is that everyone dies or everyone lives happily ever after, it must have some type of closure. Hamlet, a Shakespearean tragedy, ends with a scene of many deaths and the passing on of a kingdom. In the deaths of nearly all of the main characters, the tragedy of Hamlet has a very appropriate ending except for the uncertainty that lies for the kingdom of Denmark ahead.

            Claudius and Laertes are both killed by their own wrongdoings. Claudius kills Hamlet’s father and then quickly marries Hamlet’s mother. He ascends the throne with no regard for Hamlet or law. His scheming does not stop there though. Throughout the play, he keeps close tabs on Hamlet and eventually tries to murder him, being finally successful on the second try. Laertes, after his father is wrongly killed by Hamlet, plots with Claudius to destroy Hamlet by stabbing him with a poisonous sword. Both Laertes and Claudius end up dying because the poison they use on Hamlet is also inflicted on themselves. It is a rightful end to the play because it shows the repercussions of scheming and trying to take the lives of others. If they had not hatched such a violent plan against Hamlet, they would have ended up saving their own lives.

            Gertrude also falls as collateral damage in this intricate ploy of Claudius’s and Laertes’s. Gertrude is Hamlet’s mother and the current wife of Claudius. She was initially married to Hamlet’s father, and only weeks after his death, she marries Claudius. Though Hamlet is told that he is not to harm his mother, it seems like proper closure for her to die with the rest of them because she is not innocent in the whole situation. She should never have married Claudius so hastily and therefore, meets her fate. Moreover, this is even more of an appropriate ending since the killing did not come at the hands of Hamlet, so Hamlet still keeps his promise to the ghost of his father.

            Hamlet is also, unfortunately, poisoned in this final scene, giving a rightful end to the tragedy of Hamlet. Hamlet has not physically done anything so egregious that he deserves death, but rather, it is what he has not done that sets his fate. His inability to take revenge after his father’s death and stand up to his uncle allows for his demise to occur. Hamlet is ordered by the ghost of his father to act upon Claudius since Claudius murdered old Hamlet. Hamlet, however, is too wrapped up in his own mind to take this action and get rid of Claudius once and for all. Thus, this leaves the gap of time in which Claudius and Laertes devise a plan for Hamlet’s murder, and it ends up being successful. Hamlet’s inability to act leads to his death, showing that one must think and act quickly and avoid this passivity, a logical conclusion for Hamlet.

            The one questionable conclusion for Hamlet  is the succession of the kingdom. Hamlet states that the kingdom is to be given to Fortinbras, the aggressive prince of Norway. This decision seems to be an odd choice. Hamlet’s father had been at odds with Norway and would not have wanted his kingdom in their hands. Moreover, the reader is left wondering what is to come of Denmark. Will Fortinbras rule justly? Will he take out his revenge on the Danish people? These questions are left up in the air. To have a changing of the guard in the very final scene of the play leaves much to question, and the reader can only speculate what will be of Denmark.

            Hamlet has a very appropriate ending for the fates of the main characters yet a cliffhanger ending for the kingdom of Denmark. Claudius and Laertes die for their scheming and cruel acts. Hamlet dies for his lack of action, and Gertrude dies for making very questionable life choices. Those who have failed to act valiantly die. The ending serves as a life lesson that one must act with honor in order to prosper. Fortinbras, who is probably one of the most honorable characters, lives and inherits Denmark. Now, the only question left to be determined is what will become of this small nation.

Poetry Slam: 3 Poems

They Told Me Write a Poem

They told me write a poem

They said it was easy 

I told them, what even is a poem?

But a collection of words

With some sort of rhythm, or a meter, or a pattern, or a theme

I told them life is a poem

Why don’t I just write my life?

It has a rhythm, a meter, a pattern, a theme

But it’s not easy

They said it was easy

They told me write a poem

They said it was easy

They told me write a poem

They said just write about the world

I told them, the world’s a mess

Countries are fighting

Governments are crashing

Natural disasters striking everywhere

You want my poem to be a mess?

They told me write a poem

They said it was easy

They told me write a poem

They said just look outside

I told them that when I look outside

All I see is tragedy

A world where you can’t marry who you love

Because of gender

A world where anyone can buy a gun

While kids are being shot

I told them I see injustice

You try to write injustice

They told me write a poem

They said it was easy

They told me write a poem

They said write what you know

I told them I don’t know much

Why does the earth orbit the sun?

Is there really a god?

What does racism stem from?

Why does my brain develop questions instead of answers?

They told me write a poem

They said it was easy

 

They told me write a poem

I told them tell that to the children starving in Africa

And the Middle East and India and all over the world

Tell that to the children who don’t even have food to eat

Let alone an education

They told me write a poem

They said it was easy

 

I told them you’re right, words are easy

Actions are hard

Especially in this messy, tragic world of ours

They told me write a poem

I told them I just did

Graduated Now

I’m standing here, In the middle of this town.
Draped in a long, black, stupid gown.
Stupid hat on my head.
Stupid words in red.
Telling me that I’m graduated now.

Now what can I see?
Who can I be?
I could go on to grad school,
Get my PhD.
Just loan some $20,403
Dollars out to me,

So I can pay for another four years,
Eight semesters,
Twenty four classes,
And another little paper,
Telling me that I’m graduated now.

So again I can stand and think to myself,
Is this for my well-being?
Is this for my health?

Can I get more money?
Can I get more jobs?
Can I pay this $500,063 dollars off?

You’d think I’d have a clue,
Of what I’m supposed to do.

After four years of college,
I thought so too.

But I’m on my own now,
All by myself.
No head-start.
No aid, no help.

So was college a good choice for me.
A good choice for me and my degree,
In Biology, Ecology, Technology, Psychology.
It doesn’t matter, does it?
We’re all still set free.
Let out to create our own destiny.

Untitled (Sorry about the highlighting. Google docs issues aka technology is dumb)

Who can deliver us

Up out of this weary world

Who can save me

From this tired and cold dark sunrise,

This shot-through bleeding sunset,

That threatens everything I see?

 

Who can answer us

This question burning in my mind

Who can tell me

Where justice has gone with all these lies

And why we’re all afraid of what

We can be

 

Will it always remain the same?

Will it always hurt this way?

Can the world keep going,

Keep spinning, turning, rolling

And drowning out my voice?

 

Who can deliver us

Is it your god or mine, or his, or hers, or theirs

Or is it time to figure it out ourselves?

To let go of our excuses, to bear it on our own shoulders?

Who can save me

From this hostile, unwelcome world

This looming crowd of angry faces

That surrounds me?

 

Can it always remain the same?

Can it always hurt this way?

Will the world keep going,

Keep spinning, turning, rolling,

Even when I’m gone?

 

 

Hamlet Act 3 Scene 4

          In Act 3, scene 4 Hamlet finally confronts his mother, Gertrude. King Hamlet’s ghost told Hamlet that he is not to kill his mother like he is to kill Claudius, but that does not mean the Gertrude is blameless and deserves no repercussions. Hamlet finally releases some of his fury in this conversation with his mother. In the scene he picks up a picture of the two brothers, King Hamlet and Claudius, together. Hamlet compares his father to a god, describing his “eye like Mars’ to threaten and command” (III.iv.67). He also compares him to Jove and Mercury. Then he transitions into speaking of Claudius and has nothing but disgust for the man. He is in utter disbelief that his mother “would step from [King Hamlet] to [Claudius]” (III.iv.81). He goes on to say that there must be something wrong with his mother’s senses, or she must have been tricked in some way. Otherwise, he sees no plausible reason why she would so quickly marry Claudius after his valiant father’s death. However, maybe that is just it. There was no reason in Gertrude’s act. She allowed her brain to shut down and simply acted rashly. She allowed emotion to take over, and now she has lost her son. Hamlet is unwilling to forgive her. He is not going to kill her, but that does not mean that Gertrude is not figuratively dead to Hamlet.