Kamryn Barnes Mr. Rease AP Lit 12 Death of a Salesman The social commentary behind this book at such an early timeframe (1940s) where the American Dream was still highly marketed speaks volumes about the boldness of Arthur Miller and how deeply he believed the public needed to hear the message. I greatly admire Miller’s controversiality, knowing that the play had the possibility of not being widely received by the public. This book is a literary feat that stands alone, forever timeless, as a work of art with a profound message. Death of a Salesman is a play that will tell the truth many may not want to hear, and it does so with a mix of both boldness and subtlety.
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Kamryn Barnes 12 February 2019 Reviewing the grading rubric and actually applying it to my own writing today helped me understand exactly what CollegeBoard is looking for when grading and reviewing my essays. Although it is a 5 that lands the majority with a passing grade, AP students are more than capable of scoring to a 7 or 8 at least. Usually, the essay is not graded based on minor grammatical errors or even individuality in writing, but instead is graded by content. AP graders are looking for the prompt being answered effectively, completely, and persuasively. It is also very important to pay attention to the smallest details in the process of essay writing. One must be thorough and concise in analysis of the work and effectively be able to tie in the topic with the literary work as a whole. By following the suggested template given to me, I am confident that I will make the score that I need to make in preparation for college. Journal Today was very plain and straight to t
Reflection- Letter 47 Here, Celie first reveals out loud what had happened to her in the first chapters of the book between her and Pa. She describes it in greater detail than the first page had, considering she was older and understood what happened better. Celie also made love with Shug that same night. This leads readers to believe that Shug may have taken advantage of Celie for her own personal gain. However, readers may also consider that Celie and Shug were caught in a moment of passion and emotion. Either way this event is explained, it is very apparent that Shug and Celie now share a sexual relationship. Weekend Journal: Today felt nice and free. I usually don't have my weekends free, but today I was off from work. My church van picked me up and I was able to come to church and see all my friends there as well. In addition I sung with the choir and although I know I shouldn't, I laughed a bit at how rusty they sounded. I also found it funny that I didn't know th
Reflection In this letter, Celie and others are in the club that Harpo had made while Sophia had gone. Sophia had been gone indefinitely for a long time, given that Harpo had found a new woman who did everything he said. He had even called her Squeak because of her powerlessness. This leads readers to believe that Harpo only initiated a relationship with Squeak because he was insecure about his relationship with Sophia. So in order to combat this, Harpo found Squeak and was satisfied to finally have a relationship that resembled Mr. ____ and Celie's marriage. Journal: Today was an okay day. I learned knew things in math and I think I'm getting better in this class too. I think that's a really good thing for me considering I was struggling before. It is okay to ask for help. Usually, I would think that asking for help can make you look foolish and a bit on the slow side. However, I've learned myself that asking for help give way more benefits than it does harm.
Reflection- Letter 37 In this letter, Sofia ends up in prison after "sassing" the mayor's wife. Back in this time frame, it can be inferred that black people could not just speak to white people in just any manner. They had to speak to them as if they were superiors and always stay "in their place." However, due to the structure of Sofia's character, Sofia was not so kind to the woman when she examined her children like slaves and asked her to be the maid of the house. Sofia used vulgar language, resulting in her being bloodied and bludgeoned by the police and arrested. This is the first large scaled reference to the time setting of the novel. This letter showed just how careful colored people had to be about their words, otherwise they'll end up mentally institutionalized. Journal Entry- Today was a good day. Considering my first block teacher was not present today, I had the opportunity to rest this morning and have a nice break. The next bloc
Reflection- Letter 22 Here, Celie meets Shug Avery in person for the first time in her life. She wants to care for her after seeing her all sick and discombobulated. However, Shug's reaction to Celie was regarding her rugged appearance. It is unclear whether or not Celie is affected by Shug Avery's words, however it can be concluded that those were words Celie was used to hearing. This letter is also the first time readers see Mr. ____ actually attempting to care for someone who was not himself. Journal Entry: Today was much better! At the beginning of the day, I had allowed myself to be unfair and critical to myself. However, after I had allowed myself to be upset, I got myself together and faced circumstance like a young adult would. I'm proud of myself for having the courage to walk into work after a horrible day and fix everything that had been done incorrectly. Also, I worked on my solo more. I tried my best to look up different parallel meanings in the verses a
