AP Literature

Elesin seems to be a very ironic character in the sense that he is very confident and self-centered, yet he is completing a very selfless act by sacrificing himself for the better of his tribe. Perhaps this is because his suicide has been set into his culture and because to Elesin killing himself is not his choice because it is something he must do: his duty to his tribe. Elesin demands to have another beautiful wife before he commits suicide, despite the fact that she is already promised to Iyaloja's son. This shows that Elesin cares little about other people and how his actions affect other people, but him committing suicide shows that he does care for other people (his tribe). Elesin is known to be very noble in his tribe and the praise-singer refers to him as an honorable man, perhaps because of how well people refer to him, he has gotten overly confident. It seems as though Elesin is mainly selfish, with the exception of one, very large selfless act he is meant to commit. The ...

I never knew what a key and revolutionary figure Wole Soyinka has been in Nigeria until I watched the documentary in class. In the documentary, many Nigerian revolutionary figures were mentioned that I had never learned at school. I like to think that I have a pretty good perspective on past world events and history, but this documentary made me realize that I do not have a deep understanding of the world events that have occurred. I had only learned specifically of English colonialism and the effects, but have never learned (in depth) about the cultures, and what exactly happened before the colonialism in the country that was colonized. I know how English colonialism impacted Nigeria on a religious, economic, political, and social scale, but I do not have an emotional understanding of the colonialism, nor do I know specific historical figures. I think that the history courses I have taken do not focus on the deeper understanding that I have found through my English classes an...

Ever since I read the poem "Daddy" by Sylvia Plath I have always had a strong interest in Sylvia Plath as a person. I started to read more of her poetry, my favorites that I have read so far have been "Lady Lazarus," "Ariel," and "The Moon and the Yew Tree." I find her poetry so meaningful and full of emotion. I became so intrigued after reading some of her most depressing work that I decided to research her to try to understand the background of the poems. After researching, I realized that in her life she did face many difficulties, which worsened with her mental illness. It does not take a long time to read a poem, although my reflection on the work usually takes longer. I have always wanted to read The Bell Jar  by Sylvia Plath but have never gotten to it because I have never had time to read a full book, so I have filled that curiosity by reading her poems instead.

While reading The Tempest  in class, I envisioned an island that was very small and with lush green forests. I did not envision the weather to be sunny or windy, but I imagined that it was always cloudy with gray skies. Also, I did not think that Prospero and Miranda lived in a home with such well-built infrastructure. Perhaps it was magic that Prospero and Ariel used to create their living space, but the elaborate staircase in the movie does not seem like it could be made through the use of magic, especially since Ariel and Prospero use natural types of magic by using the elements of nature. Also, in my mind, I thought that most of the characters were younger than they are portrayed as in the movie, like Trinculo, Sebastian, Alonso, and Antonio. The one character that matched with my personal image in my mind was Miranda. It would be pretty difficult to miscast her as she is a young, beautiful girl, which is a pretty generic image. Overall, I am glad that I was able to create...

In the Disney movie adaptation of The Tempest , Prospero is replaced by a woman, Prospera. For my school of literary criticism, I studied the feminist approach and examined Prospero, the most powerful character in the play, and his relationship with the other characters in the play, specifically Ariel and Miranda. Prospero becoming Prospera changes my approach and lense of the movie through the feminist approach. First, the argument of a patriarchal society being reflected within the Prospero's manipulative and controlling position between Ariel, Caliban, and Miranda is not valid. A patriarchal society is when men are predominately in power positions, but in the movie a woman, for once, is finally put in the ultimate power position. However, Prospera's actions do not suddenly become ethical just because of her gender. For example, putting Miranda to sleep, manipulating her marriage to Ferdinand, and the enslavement of Caliban and Ariel. The actual story and plot...