AP Literature

Tempestas, Tempestatis (genitive), means "storm" in Latin. Having taken Latin for 6 years, I have always been promised that learning Latin will greatly enhance my understanding of words and other languages in general. While there are some similarities in the derivative of Latin words, I have always felt as this promise has always been such a let-down. Afterall, Latin is a dead language and has little significance compared to that of the Roman culture that is still studied. This promise might not be as empty as I had assumed, as finally, I have been able to utilize my Latin knowledge and apply to this play, especially the title. "The Tempest" begins with a storm that demolishes a ship due to the manifestation of Prospero's rage and resentment that he still holds of his stolen dukedom. The word "tempest" has greater significance to me and stuck out to me due to its Latin roots and caused me to pay close attention to the storm and its significance. Inte...

During the time of Shakespeare (late 16th century to the early 17th century), women had little to no rights as the society was patriarchal. The patriarchal society of Shakespeare's time is reflected within the relationship between Miranda and her father, Prospero. Prospero symbolizes the epitome of the patriarchal society as the most powerful man on the island who manipulates every character he comes across. Miranda, Caliban, and Ariel all represent those who were forgotten in society, whether it be a woman or a low-class citizen. In a patriarchal society, the male has power socially and politically. Prospero holds Ariel as his slave, forcing Ariel to carry out every task for the benefit of himself. Prospero manipulates Miranda and holds authority over her. Miranda does talk back to her father when he imprisons Ferdinand, the love of her life, but obviously, Prospero does not listen. Prospero, when trying to sell the idea of marrying Miranda to Ferdinand, references her virginity. ...

Throughout this novel, the true personality of each character becomes apparent. As the reader, you have the ability to know the ulterior motives of each character, as well as understand who they really are through their thoughts, but these thoughts are later made apparent to the characters in the story due to their extreme actions. For example, Jewel hates Darl, which becomes apparent in his physical actions when he audibly states that they should kill Darl. Darl is also insane, which was not as apparent until he burned the barn down, and then started speaking in the third person and laughing insanely while he was being taken away to a mental institute. Most of the family members had an ulterior motive to go to Jefferson. The Bundren family is extremely selfish with the exception of Jewel, which causes me to believe that he is a larger reflection of his biological father than of Addie. Even Addie Bundren's true personality came to show through this book, which was very surpris...

Me and Johnny walk into class. Teacher yells at me. I don't have no belt on. She yells and yells. The teacher yells at me and I am in class. She stops yelling at me and gives us our test. The test is on my desk. I look at Johnny. Johnny is my friend and we are in class. Teacher stares at me. The test is on my desk and I don't have a pencil. Teacher takes my test. Class is over and I did not have a pencil to take my test. Johnny and I go to lunch. Johnny is my friend and we are at lunch. Ma made me a peanut butter sandwich. I eat my peanut butter sandwich and I am thirsty. Johnny is my friend and he gives me some of his milk. I drink all of his milk. I finish my sandwich and drink all of Johnny's milk.

Faulkner's style of writing is extremely different in  As I Lay Dying  when comparing it to the other pieces of literature I have read. Faulkner opens up many different perspectives by using streams of consciousness from each of the characters in the novel. The reader is able to get a better understanding of internal struggles like Dewey Dell desperately searching for a way to get an abortion. The writing style changes in each of the character's chapters. The can easily pick up on the fact that Dewey Dell is not well educated while Darl is, or that Cora is conceited due to the fact that her streams of consciousness revolve around herself and not her physical surroundings. The Bundren family is very complex and do not have a healthy dynamic. I am sure as the plot unravels, more key facts will be revealed, like what Anse's incentive is for bringing Addie all the way to Jefferson, and why Jewel is such an outcast in the family. Each character has distinct traits, a...

Atwood is a not only a well-known author, but she is also an inventor. I did not know much about Atwood except that she wrote The Handmaid's Tale , so when I researched her after reading "10 Rules of Writing," by Margaret Atwood, I was not surprised that she invented the LongPen. She created a pen that can write in ink from any location worldwide. In her "10 Rules of Writing," she emphasizes the importance of a writing utensil and being well prepared for any scenario, whether it be that a pen leaks or that a pencil loses its sharp tip. Her extreme dedication to writing is revealed through these rules, especially in rule three and seven. She uses sarcasm in three to explain the desperation and dedication to writing by saying that a writer could use wood to write on if need be, which is a bizarre image in my mind. In rule seven she is blunt: " Nobody is making you do this: you chose it, so don’t whine." She states that writing is not easy and usually wri...