Create Your Own Writing Prompt #2

GULLIVER'S TRAVELS


Some authors use things like satires to show the humor in how society acts. Sometimes even these satires are used to poke fun of government/establishment. Write an essay using Gulliver's Travels to show how satires are used to show the corruption of the government. Relate this to the meaning of the work as a whole.


Satirical humor is used throughout the novel Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. This novel is one huge satire about how the government is when it comes to relating to the people that the government serves for. Throughout history authors of all sorts have used satires to make people realize how corrupt the government is or to make people see how they are getting screwed over or to bash on an opponent like in presidential elections. In Gulliver's Travels, Swift uses satires to show how the government controls it's people.

The main character of this novel ends up shipwrecked on an island of significantly smaller people, these people represent the government. Although Lemuel Gulliver is the largest person on the island the Lillputians hold a huge power over him. These people are able to lock him up and keep him as a captor even though Lemuel is obviously larger than they are and could easily over power them. In real government today it is a lot like this; the people in thought are larger than the government however the government seems to completely over power the people in every signal way. There is also a connection between the way that the Lilliputians raise their children and other novels such as Brave New World. They have a sort of caste system that they use to brainwash the children.

Swift uses satire to educate people on how their government really is. The problems that he tries to show people in this novel are the same kinds of problems that we are having with our government today. This novel is still trying to show us what the problems are so that society today can fix them. The solutions/problems were not exactly pointed out making it so today's people actually would have to look for the answers.

Jonathan Swift's novel Gulliver's Travels uses satires to accentuate the problematic government of his time. These problems are problems that still exist today. Humor also helps make people learn about these problems quickly and easily making solutions come to the people sooner.

Create Your Own Writing Prompt #1

THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD


Some novels use female hystericsto show how society has become prone to believing a stereotype about the common day woman. Use Their Eyes Were Watching God and show how the author does this in this novel make sure to relate this thought to the meaning of the work as a whole.


In Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston uses the bad characteristics of her main character, Janie, to show how the common lifestyles are corrupt. Janie is depicted as an attractive, confident, middle-aged woman that returns to her home town of Eatonville with a mysterious background that has the whole town talking. As Janie unfolds her life to her friend Pheoby the reasons why women throughout history have been looked down upon by men as the softer gender becomes clear to the reader.

Janie being raised by her grandmother, who's mind was corroded by slavery and her own daughter, was forced in to the first marriage of her's that shows how women in society have been made to look bad. Her marriage was bad and she should not have married that man in the first place however running away with another man made her look even worse. After Janie and Jody leave for Eatonville and Jody becomes a "big voice" in the city Janie really starts to discover again that this is not the life that she really wants either. It seemed in the novel that Janie's life was ok while she was with Jody the only thing missing was really the love. This shows how women have become what they are seen as; by Janie running from a marriage that she knew there was no love to another marriage where there was no love shows the stupidity of some women and how many of them doing this around the same time creates an epidemic for women. Janie's marriage to Tea Cake is also something worth highlighting. It was an event that seemed rushed and also if Janie had not have shot him she could have found herself wrapped up in yet another loveless marriage where her stupidity would have had to taken control of her situation.

Janie is one of those stereotypical women that are seen as hysterical. Women like this seem to blow most situations way out of control and are very dramatic. Hurston's depiction of Janie was to show how women were ruining the way that they were seen in the public eye. Janie would do many things that were seen as societal no no's that would go on to hurt the following generations of women. Because of women like Janie most women are seen as dramatic creatures that blow things way out of proportion. This novel is explaining how women are viewed. The community in Eatonville that was discussing Janie's return represents how society now-a-days views women as a whole.

Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God had the dramatic Janie Crawford as the main Character, that show how women as their own society, have made themselves look foolish. The women of society over the years have made it so that the less foolish women of today have already started their lives off with crappy reputations.

"Dead Poets Society" Response

I would rate this movie a 8 or 9.

I like this movie a lot I actually think that if I were ever bored or even if I weren't I'd watch it over again. I think that the theme of the movie many people could relate to, the whole new teacher inspiring the students. I also think that this movie had a strong message about speaking out against the "authorities" and about conformity. It says something about how poetry is a way to not conform and how poetry is like an art that breaks away from what society really acts like.

I think it is very relevant to poetry because it shows how people can get sucked in to poetry. It helps to show students that poetry is not just something that they had to learn it could actually be enjoyable. I think that if you can get students to really want to study poetry like Robin Williams' character did for the students that the impact on the students actually learning the materials and they could od better on the tests on it that they have to take.

I think that this movie should be shown in future AP classes. First this movie shows how much a student could learn if they actually got into the poetry subject. If students see how poetry made the characters in the movie react they may want to learn more about it also. Another reason is that to me this movie is almost like a poem in itself. For instance, the characters end up having to deal with suicide and love and conformity which is what many poems are themed around. Students can learn things like that from watching this movie.

Song Lyrics Post

Did you expect it all to stop at the wave of your hand? Like the sun's just going to drop if it's night you demand. Well, in the dark we're just air so the house might dissolve. But once we are gone, who's gonna care if we were ever here at all? Well, summer's going to come, it's gonna cloud our eyes again. No need to focus when there's nothing that's worth seeing. So we trade liquor for blood in an attempt to tip the scales. I think you lost what you loved in that mess of details. They seemed so important at the timebut now you can't even recall any of the names, faces, or lines. It's more the feeling of it all. Well, winter is going to end, I'm going to clean these veins again. So close to dying that I finally can start living.

Essay Question # 3

In George Orwell's novel 1984, the protagonist Winston has thoughts about his past that haunt him and affect the way he lives gravely. Works of literature use past events that positively or negatively affect parts of the character. In 1984, Orwell uses past thoughts of Winston’s mother to highlight the affect she had on him.

Winston has flashbacks about not only his mother, but his wife. These thoughts seemed to haunt him through his daily life. His personal feelings about his mother make him go through life wishing that he was nicer to her. When he has the dream about being a little child and throwing temper tantrums about not having enough food for himself to eat, afterwards he would go through his day wondering where she was. The thoughts of Winston’s mother made him think about things like if she were still alive and if she was not than it would be his fault because he left her to starve. Also memories about his life would affect the way his was with Julia. The memories would be almost harmful to their relationship in that he would worry about how things would end up with her and how he liked to compare how much better Julia is than her.

Orwell uses these events to affect his characters for numerous reasons. The memories help to make the setting in 1984. Also the character’s memories help create the rebellion that Winston wanted against the government. Winston’s memories of his mother make him want to rebel so that maybe the way of life could be bettered.

Winston Smith’s haunting memories help to create his thoughts of rebelling against Big Brother. These past events with his mother negatively affect Winston to try and rebel. Authors use events like this in literature to produce actions or feelings in a character.

Album Response

i do not like the words to the third song. however i think that without the words it would not be good either. i think that words are needed for it just different words. the whole impossible germany unlikely japan thing is dumb but i also thing that it symbolizes something more important to the writer. overall i liked the message of the album. the way that most of the other words were put together really made you think and challenged the listener. one of my favorite songs was the forth one because of the way that the music and the writing flowed together. the way that poetry works with music is such an art form. the more creative that you get with it the better everything will flow together and sound better to the listener. even all the songs on this album seemed to flow with each other. for example on some cds one song will have nothing to do with another song even though the artist would say that they do. the transitions from one song to the next worked well. i do like songs that have a depressing sound to them. it think that when an artist writes out of depression that the work can be composed extremely well. however that doesnt mean that im saying to go off and get depressed or anything. there are many artists out there like kurt cobain, pete doherty, or blue october's justin furstenfeld who were depressed and into drugs that were trying to find themselves through all this stuff and they can be considered some of the most talented artists out there. tragedy seems to produce some of the most brilliant minds.

Metamorphosis Essay #2

Franz Kafka's novel The Metamorphosis uses many symbols to illuminate the role. Symbols hold a vast importance throughout the entire novel, bringing forth the special ideas that Franz Kafka wants to share with the world.

Kafka writes most of his stories as allegories. The Metamorphosis is one of his most famous novels where even the smallest, insignificant thing represents something. Many of the furniture and things that make up Gregor's bedroom are symbols for something else. For instance the window that Gregor sits and looks out of represents the outside world and Gregor's freedom. The furniture as a whole represents the past and how Gregor will never be able tot go back to the way his life was. The door is also a main symbol in this novel. The door represents freedom like the window, however the way that the family leaves it open for Gregor to watch them out of represents more than just freedom. Looking at this, makes the door possibly represents the deeper part of Gregor's feelings along the lines of how he really, deep down, resented his family. Because of them he had to work for this company that he did not like and he was not able to go off and have a life of his own because he was the only one around to take care of his family. The standing open door with him watching the family represents how although Gregor resented being with them he actually does now.

These symbols may not only stand for other things in the book. They can stand for things that were going on in a country around the world. When Gregor's family decides to let him go, get rid of him, and stop taking care of him acts like a form of betrayal. This betrayal symbolizes a much greater betrayal going on in the world. Kafka tries to use his novels to show impurities in life. The Metamorphosis was written to do something just like that; to possibly show how corrupt our families and lives can be and also show how a family may not have faith in a person once they go through a profound change.

The Metamorphosis holds strong literary merit as an allegory. The symbols that Kafka uses helps to show the reader specific ideas he has about the world and society.