Close Reading #2

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/17/how-not-to-choose-a-president/

       As we approach the election of 2012, the decision of who to vote for becomes increasingly eminent. How Not to Choose a President by Gary Gutting explains how people make this decision based on the wrong criteria every election. Firstly, Gutting's timing for his article fits perfectly, with the 2012 presidential election just around the corner. The election is already on everyone's mind, thus makes the article relevant to more people. Gutting begins his article by not taking any type of political opinion, so that those voters already devoted to one political party are not deterred by his article. Gutting considers his audience, knowing that politics can be a touchy topic for most. This lack of details helps the article stay applicable to a wider audience. In addition to a lack of details in some areas, the author also uses specifics to help emphasize his point--a presidency is influenced mostly by fate. He uses the example of bin Laden's death under Obama's term in office: "was it the president's careful judgement and planning, or just luck that things worked out for the SEAL unit raid?" 
     At the start of the article, it mentions how, unlike us, the Greeks acknowledge fate when choosing a leader. Both Achilles and Hector exhibited flaws in their leadership, but nonetheless are known as some of the greatest leaders of all time. Gutting explains how we "are more inclined to speak of luck or chance... but too seldom invoke either to explain why things go wrong for politicians." 
     In addition to relating the campaign to Greek mythology, the author relates the presidential race to "a faulty analogy between politics and competitive sports." Gutting uses figurative language to help the readers understand what Gutting believes is wrong in the way we vote. He continues to say "A team or player gets credit for a win even if their opponent was clearly superior and lost only from terrible luck... In a society that regards training in sports as training for life, it is easy to start thinking of any competitive situation as a sporting event" similarly to how president Obama is associated with the fluctuating economic situation: any decline in employment is the president's fault, and any increase is his doing, even though in actuality, it may have very little to do with him.  
     Lastly, Gutting employs the use of questions in his article, often asking the reader why? or what alternatives are there? This use of syntax helps engage the reader in the article, and make the article leave a more memorable impact. 

     
     

     

Open Prompt Response #2

2007, Form B. Works of literature often depict acts of betrayal. Friends and even family may betray a protagonist; main characters may likewise be guilty of treachery or may betray their own values. Select a novel or play that includes such acts of betrayal. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze the nature of the betrayal and show how it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld is a novel set 300 years in the future after the society we know today collapses. A new society forms where kids must undergo an operation to make them pretty at the age of sixteen. It is an operation that biologically enhances the features of these people to meet a certain standard of beautiful. After the operation, the kids are relocated to a new city where they are free to mingle with new pretties just like them. From a young age, these kids are told that they are inadequate until they receive this operation, thus they all dream of being "pretty." Though the majority do undergo the operation and live in the city, a rebel group forms, and plots to overthrow the government that forces the operation upon people. The protagonist, Tally, contemplates joining her suite mates in the pretty city, or following her friend Shay to the rebel group up in the mountains. Unbeknownst to Tally, the government has been trying to locate and exterminate this rebel group for many years now. After discovering that Shay has already started the journey to the mountains, the government jumps on the opportunity to use Tally as a rebel group scout. Although Tally does not want to endanger to friend Shay, the government threatens Tally with never receiving the operation, and having to stay ugly forever. Tally begins her journey to the mountains with a government tracker in hand. Once she makes it to the rebel group, she befriends them, and finds herself unable to turn them over to the government. However, she tosses the tracker into a fire and unintentionally sets off the signal. 

Tally only wants to do what is right; the only problem is that she is unsure of who is right. The Uglies society, a new set of morals and standards about society is set; what is considered beautiful? How much power should government have? What is right or wrong? Tally finds herself conflicted between her own morals and the ones society sets for her. Tally has grown up in a world that tries to defy nature that says that it is wrong to appreciate the way you were made, and that nobody is born beautiful. She sees her quest of betrayal as just her duty to her government.  Once she meets the members of the rebel group, she sees a new perspective on life, and starts to make her own judgments instead of the ones the government forces onto people. Although Tally's betrayal was not intentional, it was a fight against everything she had ever known. It was only Tally's moral compass that brought her to the conclusion of what is right. 

Response to Course Material #2

Since the last course material post, we have been getting a lot of handouts. There have been several readings about the different literary movements, writing styles and techniques, and literary terms. Although I have already learned about a lot of the concepts we are covering in class, such as aspects of comedy, or Greek archetypes and allusions, the class discussions and have helped me study these in more depth. For example, everyone knows what comedy is, but in class, we learned how comedy is created, and what is important to include in comedy to help it appeal to large audiences. Not only that, but there are so many different levels of comedy, adding to ways that humor can be conveyed in writing. Also in class we learned about the Theater of the Absurd. The American Dream, one of the most famous works of Theater of the Absurd, at first seemed completely nonsensical. After dissecting the play in class, different underlying meaning became clearer to me. The AP lit class has really helped me analyze what ideas different works of literature are trying to project. Meanings in literature are often subtle, and subjective to readers, so that more people can take away from readings in ways that relate to them. However, when reading different works, it is important to not bring false preconceptions with you, because it can cloud from the true ideas of the work or ideas of the author. The different literary eras in class have helped me organize literature. By learning the characteristics of each era, I find it easier to see patterns in literary material.