November Close Readings

Open the Records at Penn State
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/17/opinion/open-the-records-at-penn-state.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

This editorial from the New York Times criticizes the withholding of information from the public about the details of the sexual abuse scandal at Penn State. The author of the article demands an opening of the records to the public so that all information can be analyzed thoroughly and fairly in the case.

The author obviously has a bias against the way the school is handling the scandal. The author uses diction in order to portray the situation as unfair and secretive. In the article, the author notes that the whole situation seems like a "cover-up" and that the public's "rights" are being "severely restricted." By using words like these, the author portrays the situation as scandalous and unfair to the public. Americans hold their rights to be very dear and important, and it is absolutely unthinkable that rights of Americans should be restricted in any way. The author plays on the importance of these rights in order to strike at the hearts of readers. It is said that the university officials "ignored" warning signs and that there is an "utter lack of accountability." By using diction like this the author portrays the situation as scandalous and the university to be unaccountable and an unreliable source of information.

The author of this editorial also uses many details to support his claims. When discussing the "exemption to the 2008 state open records law," he describes it as "misguided" and mentions that people like Graham Spanier argued for the exemption. By mentioning an official that  has been dismissed from the school, the author links the exemption to scandalous activity. The author also notes that Penn State's police force has the "same authority as municipal police officers" and that their functions "cleary affect people who are not part of the faculty or student body" in order to support his argument about why the records need to be opened to the public. He also uses the detail that a quarter-of-a-billion dollars of public taxpayer money will be given to Penn State this year, and that it makes no sense then to restrict information to the public. By using details to support his claim, the author makes an effective argument and pursuades readers to be offended by the restriction of information.

November Responses to Course Material

Since the last reponse to course material, we have read and analyzed "Death of a Salesman." Again, like with "The American Dream," discussing the play in class helped open my eyes to things I didn't notice during my own close reading and helped me understand certain things much better. I liked that our "first read" was watching the play, it was very interesting and an effective way to get some understanding of the big picture and ideas in the play. I think I'm getting better at finding elements of DIDLS in works and seeing how they contribute to meaning, but more practice with this will definitely help.
In class we also wrote another essay comparing and contrasting two poems, "A Barred Owl" and "The History Teacher." I was less nervous about writing this essay and felt that I had a better understanding of the way in which the essay should be written. However, the time constraint tends to make me read the poems too quickly and I missed some of the major points in the poems. It's definitely more important to write a quality essay than a super long one, so next time I'll take more time to really read and understand the poems and not overlook anything major. If we rewrite this essay I think I'll be able to write a more effective and quality one. We also read and discussed the essays in small groups in class. It helped me a lot to get a couple different perspectives and some feedback on my work so I knew exactly what to work on.
Most recently, we have been working on and presenting our eras projects on Prezi. I really like the Prezi program but I wasn't really able to take full advantage of and learn everything the site can do. I have learned about these eras in previous literature classes, but the projects will be helpful in refreshing my memory. Having a good understanding of the characteristics and literature of each era will help with my overall knowledge and ability in this class.

November Open Prompts

1973. An effective literary work does not merely stop or cease; it concludes. In the view of some critics, a work that does not provide the pleasure of significant closure has terminated with an artistic fault. A satisfactory ending is not, however, always conclusive in every sense; significant closure may require the reader to abide with or adjust to ambiguity and uncertainty. In an essay, discuss the ending of a novel or play of acknowledged literary merit. Explain precisely how and why the ending appropriately or inappropriately concludes the work. Do not merely summarize the plot.

            No matter how well-written a piece of literature is, or how absorbed readers are in the text, there is always one thing looming in the back of the readers’ minds: the end. The end of a work is crucial in that it leaves the reader with final thoughts to ponder, or something conclusive that ties up the work. In Albee’s “The American Dream”, he uses a somewhat ambiguous and inconclusive ending in order to affect the meaning of his play. In “The American Dream” by Edward Albee, an inconclusive ending is used in order to appropriately end the work and contribute to the meaning of the play.

            The end of Albee’s play concludes in a seemingly odd place that does not leave readers with a resolution but instead some ideas to think about. The play ends with Mommy, Daddy, the Young Man, and Grandma- although now invisible to all except the audience. The play ends in an odd place because the Young Man has just been introduced as a very deep and troubled character. In the Young Man’s long monologue towards the end, he explains that he “can feel nothing” and he is only what you see and “will always be thus.”  Through this character, Albee is making a statement about the new “American Dream” and how it is shallow and superficial. Although the Young Man’s character answers some questions about the mutilated child of Mommy and Daddy, it also poses new questions that are not answered. Will Mommy and Daddy find imperfections in the Young Man and treat him as they did his twin? Have Mommy and Daddy finally achieved the satisfaction they were constantly pursuing? Grandma concludes the work by saying “Let’s leave things as they are right now...while everybody’s got what he wants…or everybody’s got what he thinks he wants.” This explains that the play will be ended at this point where it appears that everyone is happy and makes the reader wonder how long this happiness will last and what will become of the strange family.

            The inconclusive ending of Albee’s play is appropriate because it contributes to the meaning of the play. A motif throughout the work is Mommy and Daddy’s constant pursuit of satisfaction. The two often state that they just “can’t get satisfaction” these days, although are temporarily subdued by consumer purchases such as Mommy’s beige or wheat hat debacle. The syntax Albee uses in the repetition of “satisfaction” shows its importance to the meaning of the work; American society is constantly pursuing material satisfaction but can never be truly satisfied because it is so superficial. The ending of the play therefore contributes to the meaning. While Mommy and Daddy are satisfied at the moment because they’ve got something new and shiny to obsess over, Grandma’s lines make the readers think that this is only temporary and the Young Man will be replaced just like everything else. This also makes readers wonder about society and whether Americans will ever be able to find satisfaction or if they will constantly be in pursuit of such and never truly be satisfied.

            By ending the play in such a way that poses more questions to the readers than are actually answered, Albee effectively ends his play and enforces the meaning of the work. Readers are left to wonder about the family as well as their own values and the values of the American society they live in.