Close Reading Assignment for Sunday, Sep. 23rd

         Seth Mullins' article, "An Argument Against Television for Children", I found to be not very convincing, not because I'm an adolescent who enjoys television, but because the article lacked examples and references to specific studies. The structure of the essay was well done, beginning with an introduction paragraph to get the reader to recognize the topic being argued, body paragraphs explaining why the author feels the way he does, and a closing paragraph to sum up the argument and offer a solution to the problem introduced in the beginning. The opening and closing paragraphs were probably the best parts of the work. It begins with, "Studies have shown that in the past few decades, a significant number of American children spent more time in front of a television set than in a classroom" (Mullins). The introduction was nice, however, he didn't really state clearly that the fact was a big issue; he could have even included right in the beginning an example of how this is a thing to be concerned with (use of statistics, for example). The ending summarized the body paragraphs and then stated a possible solution - "The more we can curb our kids’ TV watching time and replace it with active and/or creative play the more their imaginations, reasoning abilities and spontaneity will flourish" (Mullins). Nice way to finish.
      The body paragraphs were the main problem, I think. The author states both in the intro as well as in the first body paragraph that "studies have been shown..." and "much has been written about" for the negative effects that television can have on the young mind, but there are no specific examples. Mullins uses diction to convey his point instead, stating that television "demands that they [children] be passive while bombarded with imagery that they can neither respond to nor be given time to think about and assimilate"(Mullins). Then goes on to say that television provides "another reality" for children, so they are not more adapted and responsive to the environment in which they are actually living. I think the wording as well as the structure was done well, telling the audience what his opinion was and why, and then dabbling a bit into how to solve the issue. It's when he states things such as "studies have shown" and "young children learn primarily through imitation and repetition" (Mullins) that examples from outside sources would best accomplish the goal he is trying to achieve - informing, arguing his case - because it is just that, an argumentative essay. One of the best ways to persuade someone who has a differing view than you is to use real-world examples to show how something is good or bad.

http://articles.familylobby.com/287-an-argument-against-television-for-children.htm
^ link to Mullins' article

2010, Form B. “You can leave home all you want, but home will never leave you.” —Sonsyrea Tate (Open Prompt for Sept.16th)

Sonsyrea Tate’s statement suggests that “home” may be conceived of as a dwelling, a place, or a state of mind. It may have positive or negative associations, but in either case, it may have a considerable influence on an individual. Choose a novel or play in which a central character leaves home yet finds that home remains significant. Write a well-developed essay in which you analyze the importance of “home” to this character and the reasons for its continuing influence. Explain how the character’s idea of home illuminates the larger meaning of the work. Do not merely summarize the plot.


John Green's novel, Looking For Alaska, begins with a teenage boy about to move from his parent's home into a boarding school in a different state. The boy, Miles, never really had much of an emotional connection to his house or his school. He didn't have many friends, didn't go out on the weekends, wasn't very extroverted at all. His home was what Tate would probably describe as merely a 'dwelling'. Something more temporary and convenient, rather than a place that holds a deeper meaning to someone than calling it their 'house'. It was his house, not really a home.




Miles moves into a dorm with his new roommate Chip, or as he is known on campus, 'The Colonel'.
Miles himself is soon given a new name of 'Pudge' once he starts to find friends in his roommate and other classmates. What began as a move for his education became a larger picture - a journey to find himself, his companions, and what life was about. He falls in love with a young woman named Alaska Young, who introduces him to the question that follows him throughout the book - 'How will I ever get out of this labyrinth?' - a quote from Alaska's favorite last words from Simon Bolivar. Following Alaska's death, Pudge and The Colonel are struggling to find the answer to the question, to which a synonymous question for them becomes more like, "How do you deal with life's struggles?" 




For once, Pudge has found in this question and through Alaska's friendship and tragic death what appears to be a home. A place with people he truly loves and feels a connection to, who go through the same difficulties and ask the same questions. I saw the book as answering larger questions, almost not just as a story meant for entertainment, but a novel that people of all ages can relate to and find answers in. Home is where you live your life to the best of your abilities, it's where you have anyone you consider to be your family and a place where you feel like yourself. Pudge came to the school having left a 'house', not knowing that in the boarding school he would find out that a home isn't just a roof over your head, a bed to sleep in, a kitchen to eat in. Home is one of, if not the biggest, things we as humans try to find. Going through schooling living with your immediate family, going through friendships, etc. Then leaving for college, or moving to find a job, or whatever it is you're going to do with your life. That's just the thing we're looking for - what to do with our lives, and where we're going to be. Living life in your home. I think Pudge found home at the boarding school both as a place to be and as a state of mind.

Response to Course Materials

So far in AP lit, I'm getting to see that the things we're learning every day are going to be extremely helpful not only in preparation for the AP exam in May, but for college entrance essays, college work in general, and really any other time in our careers where we'll have to be dealing with writing and reading skills. It's the essays. The essays, the papers, the blog assignments...things we've already been doing all throughout high school (for example last year's essays in AP U.S. history) and things we're going to have to do throughout the rest of our lives. From proper grammar to structure, to the language and technical devices we should be using to get across a point or completely and thoroughly answer a question. It's learning ways to look for and identify symbolism in a piece of poetry. Knowing when a piece of writing is trying to persuade or inform, entertain or argue. Knowing how to make those elements come across in your own writing. Reading things such as 'The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing' and getting a better understanding of what should be included in our writing, and what is expected of us as we get into college.

Peterson's Diagnostic Test

On the Diagnostic Test, I only received an embarrassingly low score of 23/50. This could absolutely have to do with the fact that I am not particularly fantastic with picking out symbols and identifying figurative language and such. This could also have to do with the fact that I read this at 1 in the morning and my eyes were a little bit glazed over. Another reason, probably the most accurate, is another big problem I have. I love to read, it's one of my strengths. However, sometimes when I'm reading something that I'm not interested in by any means, it's extremely difficult for me to stay focused and continue to picture what's happening in the reading inside my head. It's another thing I have to work on, because obviously in college and in life generally, there are going to be things I'm going to have to read and write that I'm not going to enjoy at all whatsoever. I need to identify skills and techniques of how to keep my mind in whatever it is that I'm reading, whether it's picturing what's happening or taking notes, annotating..anything.

My goals for poetry:

-Pay attention to symbolism, such as the season in the poem
-Understand figurative language
-Make connections to other poems/works of literature

My problem with poetry is always the same. I like to and can write it for myself, but upon reading famous works of poetry, I don't always understand it. It's the words that I love. I love the way words sound...but sometimes they make me get lost in a piece of poetry and not completely catch what the theme or idea is. I also never really pay much attention to the use of symbolism. I read the poem "La Belle Dame Sans Merci". One example of where I didn't really catch the symbolism was in the third stanza, where it says "I see a lily on thy brow, with anguish moist and fever dew, and on thy cheeks a fading rose..." What I never really seem to fully grasp are things such as the meaning of the lily and the fever dew, and the fading rose on the knight's cheeks. Assuming these are not literal descriptions, I'd like to channel in on my ability to understand the symbolism. Peterson's Poetry