Blog #30: Final Reflection

Looking at the concrete aspect of my project, I utilized various pictures throughout my PowerPoint presentation. I thought this was an important aspect to include because it allowed the audience to be more engaged in my presentation. I also did this because I included various images of Big Brother or eyes because this was a very major aspect of 1984 with posters of Big Brother everywhere. I believe my performance in my presentation was very engaging, especially with my inclusion of the cupcakes with little eyes, which reinforces the essence of 1984 as Big Brother watches everything. This was a major aspect of my novel, and I believe that in my extra credit explanation I did a very nice job relating the cupcakes back to the novel with various quotes to back it up. I believe the design of my PowerPoint was also effective as I implemented many pictures and dark colors to enforce the darkness of the dystopian society in the novel. Something else I believed I did well in this project was the research paper. I was able to utilize almost all of the literary criticisms that I found and implement them into my research paper. I also believe I had a strong introduction and thesis that was creative and engaging. Something I could've done better would definitely be using more eye contact in the presentation because I tended to read off the screen. If doing this project again, I would’ve spent more time revising my poetry essay, as this was my lowest scored aspect of the presentation. I really liked that we had to do reflections for others as well as ourselves because l was able to further analyze other students work to see how they went about analyzing their author’s writing as well as the stylistic choices they included. I also believe this project was good preparation for the AP Literature exam because the book and author we chose to research could definitely come in handy for an open question prompt, as I feel as though I would be able to compose a well written essay over 1984 with knowledge of George Orwell’s writing style and its effect on the work as a whole.

Blog #29: Final Project Blog Link

1984 Final Project Blog Link:
http://1984phillipsmelissaapenglishlit2016.blogspot.com/

Blog #28: Final Drama Project

Blog #27: Hamlet Essay

Completed in class

Blog #26: Hamlet AP Test Prep Materials

Essay: “Reading Ophelia’s Madness” by Gabrielle Dane

Argument: Ophelia's mad ramblings reflect the schism between appearance and reality, between what "seems" versus what "is, (Dane). The author quotes an author of another literary criticism, Ranjini Phillip, when she writes, “In her madness [Ophelia] mimics the corruption of the state of Denmark,”. As Ophelia does not have a motherly figure in her life, she finds it difficult to decipher the contradictory expectations of her father (to stay away from Hamlet) and to follow her heart (as she believed she truly loved Hamlet). Ophelia’s desperation sends her into madness as she cannot please her father, brother, and Hamlet as they all long for different things from her.

Clues to author’s position: The author touches on the subject that Ophelia has no mother figure in her life, which is used to help justify a reason as to why she descended into madness.

Ethos: Dane quotes an author of another criticism when she says, The young woman Jacques Lacan calls "that piece of bait named Ophelia"5 is used, abused, confused--utterly manipulated by the men in her life: father, lover, brother, king. Scoffed at, ignored, suspected, disbelieved, commanded to distrust her own feelings, thoughts and desires, Ophelia is fragmented by contradictory messages.

Logos: “Male voices fill her head, guiding her very thoughts. When the voices' directions become increasingly muddied, she grows more and more confused, more sundered from any sense of personal identity, until she finally admits to Hamlet, "I think nothing, my lord" (3.2.116-emphasis added). Then suddenly--with her brother in France, and her lover banished to England for the murder of her father--the voices stop. Confronted with such a thunderous silence, Ophelia becomes mad,” (Dane).

Pathos:

Is the essay Persuasive: Yes, I would say the essay is persuasive because the author not only uses various quotes from Hamlet to support her thesis, but also quotes other authors as well.

Blog #25: Hamlet Act 5 Social Media Post

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Blog #24: Hamlet Act 4 Social Media Post

This is a selfie taken by Claudius, showing his flaws as it is taken at his brother's funeral. He stands arm in arm with Gertrude as they take a selfie announcing their engagement on Instagram that they will soon be married. This reinforces the fact that Claudius took the throne as well as his brother's wife so soon after his death, as they're advertising it at his funeral, as in the play, Hamlet says, "The funeral bak'd meats/Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables," (1.2.180), meaning not only was their marriage incestuous, but way too soon. In the background, people of Denmark are attending the King's funeral and Hamlet can bee seen kneeling on the ground in despair and dressed in all black as he mourn's his father's death. Not only does this selfie flaunt Claudius' vanity of his new power, but it also shows his sin of lust for Gertrude as his eyes are heart emojis. It also portrays the sin of pride, as he wears his new crown and brags to his Instagram followers of his soon to be wife, despite his dead brother's funeral going on in the background, definitely reinforcing the idea that, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark,"(1.2.90), but all Claudius sees is how many likes his engagement photo is getting. Claudius uses an iPhone with a Hamlet case that reads, "To Be or Not to Be" which is actually Hamlet's phone, and the fact that Claudius is using Hamlet's phone to take the disgraceful selfie reiterates that Claudius could care less what Hamlet thinks of the situation and is not sensitive to his feelings as he mourns the loss of his father.