First of all, these response periods are getting really short, which kind of cuts down on the stuff to reflect upon, but oh well...
The elephant in the room these past few weeks has definitely been Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which I have to say is probably my favorite book that we have read all year. Especially after reading and annotating it, the issue of the role of art in life has become apparent and leads into the other issue that has dominated our class discussion: where does reality end and art begin? One of things that I have noticed in my class's discussions is the need to separate the play and reality, but every time we try to do so, I begin to doubt whether that is the idea of the play; it's almost like the circular nature of Absurdism has entered my brain... Anyways, this play really amazes me because it is so short and yet it calls the entire realm of art into question. It reminded me of Oscar Wilde and the aestheticist movement (I read The Picture of Dorian Gray last year), but as opposed to proposing a firm answer to that question of art's role, it simply adds more weight to the question itself.
The Stoppard lecture was also really interesting to read because it touched on a lot of the ideas that we had already proposed. Even more so than with other works, I think outside perspectives are really helpful in my analysis of R & G because the work itself is a little difficult to work with because of Stoppard's clever, but definitely confusing style.
And then there was that Open Prompt practice! I actually liked it because I haven't had that strong, pressurized environment to work in, which is pretty important since that is basically what the AP Exam is. I was able to finish the work (no doubt because of the preparatory tips from previous hours' frustration). With the essays in this class in particular, I am always a bit nervous in putting down my ideas because I feel like my thesis needs to be even more insightful than anything I have ever written. With previous APs, you could get away with restating the prompt, but not so much in APE lit, but I really liked Holmes' structure for a thesis because I like having some sort of format to go off of.
Well, that's all I can think of, so yeah. Bye. Stop reading. If you're still reading, you're probably my peer reviewer. Enjoy!
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Open Prompt, Part II
I chose the 2009 prompt about symbols:
In Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the narrator, Chief Bromden, continually refers to "the Combine" as a central symbol throughout his experience in the mental asylum. This metaphor extends beyond the institution to effectively portray society as a cold machine willing to toss aside anything that does not fill its requirements. This also serves to deepen the characterization of Bromden, as he reveals his despair in the face of the unstoppable machine.
One of Kesey's main themes is the destruction of individuality in the face of society's strong standards, which have taken hold of almost all people. The combine in the novel serves to symbolize this trend, as a machine which discards that which does not fulfill the farmer's purpose. It characterizes societal ideals as mechanical and devoid of true personality, while criticizing the hypocrisy inherent in the search for perfect conformity. This is exemplified in Bromden's characterization of Nurse Ratched and the mental institution, which he describes in mechanical terms. These people, who are actually supposed to be allowing the patients to recover, are in fact hindering their progress by reining them into a strict, uniform state, where they lack the ability to think for themselves. Furthermore, the cold, mechanical nature of Ratched and her colleagues leads Billy Bibbit to commit suicide. Thus, the combine furthers the plot as the continuous suppression that it attempts to force upon the patients generates the central conflict of the story upon the arrival McMurphy, the protagonist.
This symbol is also highly relevant to the development of Chief Bromden throughout the story, alongside his symbolism of the oppressed or tossed-aside individuals of any society. Bromden is Native American, wherein the symbol of the combine reveals his sense of loss that stems from the loss of his culture and lands to the white men. This historical allusion allows Kesey to specify an example, which brings the reader to better understand the overall idea of oppression at the hands of mainstream society. In addition, Bromden lives in fear of the combine for most of the novel, which stems from his mistreatment at the hands of the institution staff and society as a whole. Bromden is an outlier who fails to occupy one of the normal niches in the mainstream society. Society's failure to understand him as a human being has caused him to doubt his own abilities and stripped him of any functional sanity.
The novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, reflects many of Kesey's own feelings of alienation at the hands of his seemingly rebellious involvement in the Beat movement. His novel points out the destructive habit of society to single out and quash those who do not seem to conform to its values, and this idea is reflected in the combine.
In Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the narrator, Chief Bromden, continually refers to "the Combine" as a central symbol throughout his experience in the mental asylum. This metaphor extends beyond the institution to effectively portray society as a cold machine willing to toss aside anything that does not fill its requirements. This also serves to deepen the characterization of Bromden, as he reveals his despair in the face of the unstoppable machine.
One of Kesey's main themes is the destruction of individuality in the face of society's strong standards, which have taken hold of almost all people. The combine in the novel serves to symbolize this trend, as a machine which discards that which does not fulfill the farmer's purpose. It characterizes societal ideals as mechanical and devoid of true personality, while criticizing the hypocrisy inherent in the search for perfect conformity. This is exemplified in Bromden's characterization of Nurse Ratched and the mental institution, which he describes in mechanical terms. These people, who are actually supposed to be allowing the patients to recover, are in fact hindering their progress by reining them into a strict, uniform state, where they lack the ability to think for themselves. Furthermore, the cold, mechanical nature of Ratched and her colleagues leads Billy Bibbit to commit suicide. Thus, the combine furthers the plot as the continuous suppression that it attempts to force upon the patients generates the central conflict of the story upon the arrival McMurphy, the protagonist.
This symbol is also highly relevant to the development of Chief Bromden throughout the story, alongside his symbolism of the oppressed or tossed-aside individuals of any society. Bromden is Native American, wherein the symbol of the combine reveals his sense of loss that stems from the loss of his culture and lands to the white men. This historical allusion allows Kesey to specify an example, which brings the reader to better understand the overall idea of oppression at the hands of mainstream society. In addition, Bromden lives in fear of the combine for most of the novel, which stems from his mistreatment at the hands of the institution staff and society as a whole. Bromden is an outlier who fails to occupy one of the normal niches in the mainstream society. Society's failure to understand him as a human being has caused him to doubt his own abilities and stripped him of any functional sanity.
The novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, reflects many of Kesey's own feelings of alienation at the hands of his seemingly rebellious involvement in the Beat movement. His novel points out the destructive habit of society to single out and quash those who do not seem to conform to its values, and this idea is reflected in the combine.
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