<p>In essay 3, I wrote about The Metamorphosis and how the transformation of Gregor into an insect was a symbol of his value to the family. I was completely lost.</p>
<p>The other two, meh. Did not like this test.</p>
<p>I think that the test went well. I wrote about the scarlet letter “A” for the third essay, and although I didn’t come up with any unique or creative ideas for one and two I know that I did well enough for a 5 :]</p>
<p>can anyone answer my question? is my analysis good? i didn’t provide a lot of good language as I usually do in class but that is because I blanked out on good verbs. oh well but I feel my analysis was ok?</p>
<p>Arrgh…now I’m worried that my analyses for Questions 1 and 2 were too rhetorically-based. Do you think I’ll get a lower score for this?</p>
<p>Usually the prompts give you specific things to discuss (for example, #1 said to analyze figurative language, tone, and allusion, and #2 said to analyze imagery, personification, selection of detail, and figurative language.)</p>
<p>As long as you discussed these devices, or others like them, I think you should be fine.</p>
<p>Never mind.</p>
<p>Q1: Talked about how Wolsey or whatever his name was simultaneously understood and mourned his loss, then extrapolated that to an innate human tendency toward ambition and achievement counterbalanced with inevitable failure; pretty sure he said “When he falls/he falls like Satan” in there somewhere. Said something about Icarus and Daedalus in my conclusion.</p>
<p>Q2: Did what most people did, talked about how the wind was menacing, desolate, how it threw the papers into people’s faces and thus mocked their human constructs [literally throwing their failure in their faces] and somehow linked that to the corrosive effects of urban life, which fit nicely with the gradually rusted sign which was “like blood”. Didn’t really know what to make from the room, though.</p>
<p>Q3: Pretty horrible, wrote about the goddamn river in Huckleberry Finn so even with some good analysis that’s like a 6 tops. Was going to do the paint bucket in Invisible Man but I could only think of one instance of that and didn’t know how to make a whole essay out of it.</p>
<p>Overall thought it went OK.</p>
<p>People have said they didn’t know what to make out of the room. My interpretation was that the prospective room fit her wants perfectly, yet her sole reaction was “reasonable,” which is emphasized by it being a sentence fragment in its own paragraph, from what I remember. This implied, in my opinion, that the large, grimy, windy city has worn on her emotional soul, more or less. </p>
<p>But as to why three rooms instead of two, I have no idea. I would think that most explanations analyzing that would be looking too hard for symbolism and such, especially since most of the other metaphors and images are blatantly obvious.</p>
<p>For question 2, I wrote about how the author used the wind as a medium from which he could relate the woman and the environment. There were certain ways the wind interacted with the city as compared to how it acted towards the girl, which established the contrast between the girl and her environment.</p>
<p>I don’t remember any specifics, but that was the general approach I took.</p>
<p>wow I think I may have been a little off with my interpretation of Lutie’s relationship with the wind. I kind of compared the way the wind blew over her to a “rape.” I said it invaded her personal space and made her feel uncomfortable. I also noted how in the beginning of the passgae it described the wind’s movement as a “violent assault.” As for the sign I said it symbolized the destructive powers of the environment over a period of time, similar to Lutie’s fears of staying in the urban location for too long.</p>
<p>^That’s what I was pretty much getting at. I don’t think it’s off. There are just other interpretations to be made. Each one has its own arguments. In the end, only one can be right, but I don’t think they’ll take many points off as long as you back up your interpretation with evidence.</p>
<p>^i can see the comparison between wind and rape being arguable, although i did not use that personally. i said lutie’s relationship with the wind was harsh and hostile, the wind was invasive and dominating. i dealt with the typical things, personification, imagery, tried to hit the details thing included in the prompt just because. the first shakespeare prompt wasnt bad either, would anyone else say that wolsey reached some form of self-actualization by the end? or did i just make that up =P</p>
<p>and how are these essays graded anyway</p>
<p>whoever said they got a ‘six tops’ for using the river in huck…thats a great symbol, i wrote about it and its freedom and representation of the south.</p>
<p>for the wind one, i looked up the actual book on sparknotes and such (The Street by Ann Petry), and the wind really isnt significant at all lol, just kind of gave her a hard time in the new city</p>
<p>^so what is significant, then?</p>
<p>For the wind I put how it makes her uncomfortable throughout and portrays her feelings of alienation and withdrawal in the urban setting. I talked about how the wind (the city) robs people of their protection (their clothes) and reduces them to a state of helplessness. I then wrote about the front of the building being the result of what happens to you in the city: decrepit, torn down, a shadow of its former self. City = dehumanzing. For the last paragraph of the selection I interpreted it as Lutie being resigned to this fact and trying to persevere in spite of it. Overall a rather depressing selection though.</p>
<p>The symbolism essay was by far my best, I used machinery in Bromdon’s narration from One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest</p>
<p>@ siemprecuriosa</p>
<p>Yeah, on second thought I realized I was probably over thinking things. I related all my rhetorical interpretations back to the themes or main purposes of the passages, so I suppose I’m fine. :)</p>
<p>“The novel begins in New York City on a cold and windy day in November of 1944. The story begins with the main character, Lutie Johnson, looking at an apartment available for rent. Lutie has two strikes against her from birth. She is black, and she is a woman. The women in the story show how their past experiences and current circumstances makes it virtually impossible for a black woman to ever achieve anything more than what they have managed to achieve.”</p>
<p>thats what i got off one site, so like i said, its not like the wind was huge, but i guess just something that makes her uncomfortable/isolated/disrupted.</p>
<p>i think as long as you pointed out the obvious personification and imagery your alright</p>
<p>My 3rd essay was horrendous. I had no idea what I was doing. I hope MC and the other two make up for it. My first essay was the best; I really elaborated on the allusion of Lucifer.</p>
<p>3rd essay - Kite Runner ftw!!!</p>