Title: Pride and Prejudice Characters: Elizabeth Bennet: She is the second oldest daughter of the Bennets. She has lively spirit and speaks her opinions freely which often surprises some and shocks others. But Mr. Darcy is attracted to this personality of hers and her "fine eyes." She is prejudiced against Darcy at first, but slowly comes to realize his true side and how prejudiced she was.
Jane Bennet: She is the oldest daughter of the Bennets. She is beautiful and has a gentle character which makes her see good in everyone. She is courted by Mr. Bingley.
Mr. Darcy: The people who do not know him see him as proud and arrogant (like Elizabeth first did), but the ones who know him like his sister Ms. Darcy and the house maid know that he is kind-hearted. He is infatuated with Elizabeth and he struggles with his pride and his love for Elizabeth.
Mr. Bingley: He is Darcy's best friend. Mr. Bingley falls in love with Jane Bennet when he meets her for the first time at the ball. He buys the estate of Netherfield.
Two-sentence summary:Pride and Prejudice focuses on Elizabeth Bennet and her dealings with the "wealthy people" she associates with at the ball (like Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley, and Mr. Bingley's sisters) and her process of getting over her prejudice against Mr. Darcy.
2-3 major themes:
1. feminism - Elizabeth refuses to marry Mr. Colin despite the fact that he can offer her the comforts of a home. Different from her best friend, Lucas, she refuses to marry someone for money or for things that are not for love. She even rejects Mr. Darcy at first even though any other woman would have married him in a second for his 10,000 pounds a year fortune because she does not love him. Her cheerful spirit and outspokenness shocks many people, but she refuses to be controlled by the common conception of women (at the time) which was that women should not be so bold and be quiet and just look beautiful.
2. pride - The major conflict in the book is between Mr. Darcy's pride and Elizabeth's prejudice. Mr. Darcy who was spoiled as a young kid from the wealth of the family only was taught "what's right" but not how to
The Bible as Literature: The Book of Job AP English How do you cite a quotation from the Bible? Please don’t forget that OWL Purdue is the preferred grammar source for KIS.
In your first parenthetical citation, you want to make clear which Bible you're using (and underline or italicize the title), as each version varies in its translation, followed by book (do not italicize or underline), chapter and verse. For example:
Ezekiel saw "what seemed to be four living creatures," each with faces of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle (New Jerusalem Bible, Ezek. 1.5-10).
If future references employ the same edition of the Bible you’re using, list only the book, chapter, and verse in the parenthetical citation.
When is the word bible capitalized and when is it not?
you capitalize the word when you are referring to the actual, sacred text. When you use the word to mean "handbook" or "manual," you do not capitalize the word.
Write the MLA citation for the Bible.
The Bible
Give the name of the specific edition you are using, any editor(s) associated with it, followed by the publication information. Remember that your in-text (parenthetical citation) should include the name of the specific edition of the Bible, followed by an abbreviation of the book, the chapter and verse(s). (See Citing the Bible on the In-Text Citations – The Basics page, which you can access by following the appropriate link at the bottom of this page.) The New Jerusalem Bible. Ed. Susan Jones. New York: Doubleday, 1985. Print.
Copy and paste 5 of the most important lines from Job. Cite the locations correctly.
CHAPTER 1
12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
CHAPTER 2
9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. 10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips What does iniquity mean? Why is this word important? iniquity means wickedness or sinfulness. It is defined as immoral or grossly unfair behavior. List one other word that people who read Job should know. Find 2-3 figures of speech. Copy and paste the lines and identify what figure of speech is used. Is the Book of Job a tragedy, romance, history, or comedy? Who is Elihu and why is he important? Who might he compare to in Oedipus?
Half the class needs to compare Job to Oedipus. The other needs to contrast. Please create a chart or diagram. If you compare consider the characters, chorus, themes, setting, the role of the gods. If you contrast, please do the previous, but consider your deeper knowledge of the Bible and the deep differences in salvation between Greek theology (as represented in Oedipus) and Christian theology. Additionally, both groups should consider the role of rulers as stated in both works of literature. Each group needs 10-15 comparisons or contrasts.
Evaluation on my own poem video 1. Analysis -- what specifically does the person do well in analyzing?
I think I analyzed the rhyme and meter pretty well. I analyzed in great detail and took the time to look up the name of the rhyming scheme and use that to make an interpretation about the poem. I also broke the analysis down into three parts to talk about what I thought was the three most important things to analyze about the poem. And I like how I analyzed the poem in an organized manner. I also think I did a pretty good interpretation of the poem.
2. Analysis -- if the person had to do this again, what would you recommend in analysis?
Maybe I could have talked more about the sounds in the poem. I had a hard time finding some, and if I did, I personally couldn't find enough of a pattern to make something out of it. But I wish I could have talked more about how the sounds of the specific words added to the meaning.
5. Comment on the visual portion of this video.
I think I did a very good job on the visual portion of the video. The pictures fit perfectly with the poem, and I tried very hard to make it creative so that people don't get bored watching my video. I don't know if that was successful, but I did try to use a lot of pictures and special effects.
6. Other?
Unlike other people, I read the poem before going into the analysis. It's a little different, but I like that it's different from the normal format. I hope I don't get points off for that. :(
Grade: I think my poem video deserves at least a 93%. I really worked hard on the video, and I don't think I've ever spent this much time to edit an imovie video in my life... A lot of effort and time was put into this, and I think I did a pretty fair job with the analysis and the reading of the poem, and also with the visual portion of the video..
Process: Finding a poem took about 30 minutes. Analyzing and studying the poem took about an hour. Preparing to make the video (outline/script/storyboard) took about 3 hours. Recording voice took about an hour. Editing/making the video creative took about at least 5 hours.
Clair Kang
Block B
POEM VIDEO PROJECT: SCRIPT/outline
INTRODUCTION: My poem is called “Acquainted With the Night” written by Robert Frost. Robert Frost is acclaimed for his realistic depictions of rural life, probably influenced by his own life as a farmer. But he also often wrote about deeper things like about his own suffering and grief. “Acquainted With the Night” is an example. READ THE POEM:
Acquainted With the Night by Robert Frost
I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain --and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.
I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.
I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,
But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height
One luminary clock against the sky
Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.
DISCUSS THE MOOD AND ANALYZE THE WHAT THE POEM IS ABOUT: There are many interpretations of this poem like all poems, about my interpretation is that this poem is about depression. Robert Frost’s father died of tuberculosis when he was just 11 years old, leaving his family in poverty. He had to commit his younger sister to a mental hospital, and both Frosts’ parents and himself suffered from depression throughout his life. He also lost 4 of his children. Frost’s poems often have a dark and gloomy tone to it most likely influenced by this sad life. So if we analyze this poem “Acquainted with the Night” with the theme of depression in mind, the poem becomes something that is totally different from a poem that is just talking about walking in the night. The “night” is the symbol for depression. And he’s saying that it’s a cycle. “Out in rain” and “back in rain” shows a cycle. The contrast between “night” and light” in the first stanza is another cycle, because after night comes the light, and after light comes the night. So just alone in the first stanza, Frost has clearly stated that depression for him is a never-ending cycle that he cannot get out of. In the second stanza, he tells us that he is ashamed of it. When there are people around him, (“the watchman on his beat” for example), he drops his eyes, as if he is ashamed and he doesn’t want to show him to other people. And the “watchman” is probably people close to him. He could have said a “passerby” or a “begger” or any other typical person that you often seen on streets at night, but instead, he specifically chooses the “watchman:” a person who looks after something. And yet, he avoids contact with him, indicating how his depression and made him shy away from people that are even close to him and care about him. In the third stanza, he shows that despite his depression, he tries to be as normal as possible. He stops on his way down the “saddest city lane” because of an interrupted cry, that according to the fourth stanza, does not get him completely out of depression, but as the line directly says, is just an interruption. It does not “call him back” out of depression or make him say “goodbye” to depression. And the “clock” is “against” the sky, and it is neither “right nor wrong” indicating that time is insignificant to Frost. It’s just an entity that keeps him in his cycle of depression. This cycle is also reminded in the last stanza, when he repeats his first line.
DISCUSS RHYME SCHEME AND METER: The poem is written in the same meter as a sonnet -- iambic pentameter. Also like a sonnet, it has 14 lines. The rhyme scheme is terza rima, or ABABCBCDCDADAA. Thetraditional terza rima has the rhyme schme of aba bcb cdc ded ee , but “acquainted with the night” is slightly different, on purpose. “ababcbcdcdedee” rhyme scheme shows the continuation and moving forward of the poem. The rhyme scheme of “abacbcdcdadaa” however is a cycle. By going back to “a” again, this rhyme scheme strengthens Frost’s point of his depression being a never-ending cycle. It has an iambic pattern in each line.
DISCUSS POETIC DEVICES:
Repetition -- the use of "I have" to begin lines 1-5, 7, and 14 to emphasize the personal nature of this poem to the speaker
Repetition -- the use of "in rain" twice on line 2, to emphasize that the speaker seeks out the night to the point where he would endure discomfort, or that the discomfort might match his current mood
Personification -- the clock "proclaiming" the time being neither wrong nor right
Metaphor -- referring to figurative time rather than literal, pointing out that even the clock has had its moorings thrown off by the way things are on this night
Theme -- The speaker is clearly in the throes of depression: his mood informs his interpretation of everything that he sees as he walks through these dreary streets, avoiding even the human contact of the night watchman, and taking a sad offense at the fact that the anonymous crier does not recognize his presence.
AUTHOR CRITICISM PAPER THESIS/OUTLINE
THESIS:
The social or political opinion of H.G. Wells can be seen by comparing two scenes from two of his works, The Invisible Man and The Time Machine.
Outline
I. Introduction
· H.G. Wells – “Father of Science Fiction” · Strong political, economical, social beliefs/and views and often incorporate them in his novels · Thesis
II. Body Paragraph 1/2 · The Invisible Man – capitalism/economic aspect of H.G. Wells demonstrated · Example: Griffin first represents capitalism, and later monopoly. The police represent the government’s role in economy. · Critic – Paul Cantor
III. Body Paragraph 3/4 · The Time Machine – communism/social hierarchy and its relation to economy. · Explain what H.G. Wells is trying to say about the theories – anarchy/ and a little different form of monopoly and its effect on the society (social division) · What does the Time Traveler represent in the story… · Critic and example
IV. Body Paragraph 5 · Comparison between the Time Machine and the Invisible Man specifically
o Both are related to higher versus lower… ..
V. Conclusion
Clair Kang
Block B
AP literature
No Title Yet
He was known as the “The Father of Science Fiction.” He was also known to have strong social and economic views. If you combine those two things H.G. Wells was so renowned for, we get two of his most discussed novels, The Time Machine and The Invisible Man. Wells had successfully incorporated his views into his science fictional novels to convey some strong beliefs he had to the readers, probably in hopes of changing the society through his books. What exactly was his economical view, however, is still unclear and heavily debated by critics. Comparing his two previously mentioned books, however, we can figure out his social opinion.
In the Invisible Man, it is at first difficult to figure out what economical point H.G. Wells is trying to prove. But some clues in the book indicate that he is trying to denounce capitalism. The Invisible Man, or Griffon, is the main character of the novel, but he also represents the antagonist in the book who gets into constant conflicts with the townspeople and later tries to terrorize the whole world with his power of invisibility. In many parts of the book, Wells equalizes Griffin’s literal invisible hand to the “invisible hand” of Smith’s theory about capitalism (Smith had claimed that in competitive markets, the invisible hand guides market so that each product has reasonable price equivalent to demand.) And coincidentally, Wells mentions the hand of the Invisible Man, many times. The novel starts out with the sentence “ … walking as it seemed from Bramblehurst railway station and carrying a little black portmanteau in his thickly gloved hand.” Wells later mentions “his gloved hand” multiple times: “His gloved hands were clasped behind him, and he seemed to be lost in thought,” and “stranger raised his gloved hands.” His literal invisible hand is representative of the symbolic invisible hand.
Wells continuously mentions Griffon’s invisible hand to make a point that Griffon is representative of the people who are in competitive market. A critic, Paul Cantor also gives a completely economically and socially based explanations to describe what Griffin symbolizes. He also compares Griffin’s invisible hand to the Smith’s theoretical “invisible hand.” However, he then talks about how this metaphor fails since Griffin is the only person in the novel with the invisible hand, but capitalism is supposed to be composed of many, many people (that is the point of capitalism). Griffin in the beginning of the novel actually blends in with the other people in the town. Though he seems strange, he covers his invisibility by “[wrapping] up from head to foot, and the brim of his soft felt hat hid every inch of his face but the shiny tip of his nose.” And in the beginning, he is in fact part of the “competitive market.” But then he later becomes monopoly. We actually get the hint of the invisible man turning into monopoly when we see him toying with all the scientific materials like bottles and glasses that contain with these different liquids in it and powders. Here, he is like Frankenstein, trying to create no one has ever created. And that’s the characteristic of monopoly. Monopoly is able to be only producer of the product because they have come up with something unique.
Later, the Invisible Man exposes him to a normal human being, Marvel. When he sees him, he tells him that he is a normal man with the power of invisibility and to make sure it is real, Marvel says, “Let’s have a hand of you.” “Let’s have a hand of you” is actually quite a weird thing to say to a person. But that’s the exact words that H.G. Wells chooses for Marvel to say to Griffon. And the reason is to get the readers to focus on the Invisible Man’s hand again. This tells us that Griffon is still part of the competitive market. He’s still very vulnerable. Even he calls himself “impotent” at this point. In economical terms, he is like a man with a brilliant idea but who has no capital or labor force to start his “company.” This is why Griffon needs Marvel. Marvel does serve as sort of a “servant” to the Griffon. Although Marvel does betray Griffon in the end, he carries out some of the missions that Invisible Man request of him. “Pull yourself together,” said the voice, “for you have to do the job I’ve chosen for you.”
Towards the end, the Invisible Man becomes more dangerous to the society. He grows hatred towards the people and the world, a part of the reason is because he hates what he has done himself: create invisibility that he cannot escape. The situation can be comparable to the situation of Victor Frankenstein in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Victor Frankenstein creates a monster and after he sees the consequence, he regrets ever having created it. Griffon was excited about his creation of the power of invisibility at first, but after he created it, he grows to hate it, especially when he cannot figure out how to reverse his power and become normal again. So he wants to go on a “reign of terror” and dominate the world with his creation. This is a similar characteristic to monopoly. Monopoly is defined as “exclusive possession, control, or exercise of something.” And often, it has so much power and control to the point that it hurts the people around it. And that’s what Griffon exactly wants to do in the end.
However, in the end, Griffon is taken down by the naval officers. The naval officers represent the government which sometimes tries to limit or control the power of the monopoly when it hurts the economy, or the welfare of the townspeople in this case. In fact, throughout the whole novel, the policemen and the combined power of the people are the only fears of Griffon. When he is facing someone one-to-one, he has no fear. However, in real economy, the policemen do not actually try to hurt intentionally or take down a monopoly on purpose. But in this book, they obviously try to take down Griffin. So this could overcut my argument that Griffin represents a monopoly. But then again, H.G. Wells might be saying that the government should go against monopoly.
After the Invisible Man is gone, Kemp yells “My god! The game’s up! He’s gone!” He is saying that now the Invisible Man or the monopoly is gone, the “game is up” which in relation to my argument, could mean that there is fair competition again within the competitive market without a dominating force now that Griffon is gone. So now the game is up for the people (or the townspeople) to compete against themselves “fairly” again. This novel rather ends in a mysterious note. “[Kemp] relaxes and leans back, and blinks through his smoke across the room at things invisible to other eyes.” And he yells “Full of secrets. Wonderful secrets! Once I get the haul of them- Lord! I wouldn’t do what he did; I’d just - - well!” and that is how the book ends. Now that Kemp has the possession of the power that the Invisible Man had, he is debating with himself on what he should do with the “new product.”
After Griffin dies, the other people are now exposed to his “secrets” of becoming the monopoly. And now we do not know what they will do with the new secrets. However, when people are exposed to power or money, it is their nature to become selfish. So Wells demonstrates this selfish nature of people through his last page of the novel.
To sum up, H.G. Wells first seems like he might be criticizing capitalism, but actually he shows the progress of appearance of monopoly from something that was a competitive market, and he shows the effects of monopoly. So basically he is criticizing monopoly in the end. He believed in equal social division, and equality for all, so it is obvious that he was against one person or a group of people to hold all power. Another novel that demonstrates this belief of his is The Time Machine. Though it seems as The Time Machine seems like a simple science fiction novel that in which Wells tells his prediction of the novel, it is so much more than that. The main theme of the book is actually social division.
When the time traveler travels to the future, he first meets the Eloi. There are only two groups of people in the future: the Eloi and the Morlocks. The Eloi are the people who are fragile, but peaceful. They are rather childlike and lose interest in things very quickly because they are spoiled. They have everything they need. They never need to work for anything they have like clothes or food. Because Morlocks, the ones who live underground in filth and pain provide all of the necessities for the Eloi. The relationship between the Eloi and the Morlocks breaks the fundamental balance that needs to be present in any economy: the balance between the producers and consumers. The consumers pay for the things they need, and with the payment, the producers keep producing the goods and provide for themselves so that they can enjoy their life as well. In the Time Machine, however, this fundamental relationship between the consumers and the producers are nonexistent. Morlocks, the “producers,” do their work, but they get nothing in return by the Eloi. It is not fair, and there is no equality. And in the end, the whole structure of their world breaks down as the Morlocks plan a revolution against the Eloi. I think this is what H.G. Wells predicted for his society, but extremitized it of course in order to make the novel more dramatic. In his own society, he saw a strong division between the poor and the wealthy. The poor were the laborers and they worked constantly. But the wealthy did not really have to work (at the time, wealth was usually brought down to the descendants), and Wells probably felt bitter about this and he wanted to criticize this huge gap between the two social classes.
Characters:
Elizabeth Bennet: She is the second oldest daughter of the Bennets. She has lively spirit and speaks her opinions freely which often surprises some and shocks others. But Mr. Darcy is attracted to this personality of hers and her "fine eyes." She is prejudiced against Darcy at first, but slowly comes to realize his true side and how prejudiced she was.
Jane Bennet: She is the oldest daughter of the Bennets. She is beautiful and has a gentle character which makes her see good in everyone. She is courted by Mr. Bingley.
Mr. Darcy: The people who do not know him see him as proud and arrogant (like Elizabeth first did), but the ones who know him like his sister Ms. Darcy and the house maid know that he is kind-hearted. He is infatuated with Elizabeth and he struggles with his pride and his love for Elizabeth.
Mr. Bingley: He is Darcy's best friend. Mr. Bingley falls in love with Jane Bennet when he meets her for the first time at the ball. He buys the estate of Netherfield.
Two-sentence summary: Pride and Prejudice focuses on Elizabeth Bennet and her dealings with the "wealthy people" she associates with at the ball (like Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley, and Mr. Bingley's sisters) and her process of getting over her prejudice against Mr. Darcy.
2-3 major themes:
1. feminism - Elizabeth refuses to marry Mr. Colin despite the fact that he can offer her the comforts of a home. Different from her best friend, Lucas, she refuses to marry someone for money or for things that are not for love. She even rejects Mr. Darcy at first even though any other woman would have married him in a second for his 10,000 pounds a year fortune because she does not love him. Her cheerful spirit and outspokenness shocks many people, but she refuses to be controlled by the common conception of women (at the time) which was that women should not be so bold and be quiet and just look beautiful.
2. pride - The major conflict in the book is between Mr. Darcy's pride and Elizabeth's prejudice. Mr. Darcy who was spoiled as a young kid from the wealth of the family only was taught "what's right" but not how to
The Bible as Literature: The Book of Job AP English How do you cite a quotation from the Bible? Please don’t forget that OWL Purdue is the preferred grammar source for KIS.
In your first parenthetical citation, you want to make clear which Bible you're using (and underline or italicize the title), as each version varies in its translation, followed by book (do not italicize or underline), chapter and verse. For example:Ezekiel saw "what seemed to be four living creatures," each with faces of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle (New Jerusalem Bible, Ezek. 1.5-10).
If future references employ the same edition of the Bible you’re using, list only the book, chapter, and verse in the parenthetical citation.
When is the word bible capitalized and when is it not?
you capitalize the word when you are referring to the actual, sacred text. When you use the word to mean "handbook" or "manual," you do not capitalize the word.Write the MLA citation for the Bible.
The BibleGive the name of the specific edition you are using, any editor(s) associated with it, followed by the publication information. Remember that your in-text (parenthetical citation) should include the name of the specific edition of the Bible, followed by an abbreviation of the book, the chapter and verse(s). (See Citing the Bible on the In-Text Citations – The Basics page, which you can access by following the appropriate link at the bottom of this page.)
The New Jerusalem Bible. Ed. Susan Jones. New York: Doubleday, 1985. Print.
Copy and paste 5 of the most important lines from Job. Cite the locations correctly.
CHAPTER 1
12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.CHAPTER 2
9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. 10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips What does iniquity mean? Why is this word important? iniquity means wickedness or sinfulness. It is defined as immoral or grossly unfair behavior. List one other word that people who read Job should know. Find 2-3 figures of speech. Copy and paste the lines and identify what figure of speech is used. Is the Book of Job a tragedy, romance, history, or comedy? Who is Elihu and why is he important? Who might he compare to in Oedipus?
POEM VIDEO/ANALYSIS
Evaluation on Chaeri's poem video
http://kisapenglporter2009-10.wikispaces.com/Q3APWiki+Chaeri
Evaluation on my own poem video
1. Analysis -- what specifically does the person do well in analyzing?
I think I analyzed the rhyme and meter pretty well. I analyzed in great detail and took the time to look up the name of the rhyming scheme and use that to make an interpretation about the poem. I also broke the analysis down into three parts to talk about what I thought was the three most important things to analyze about the poem. And I like how I analyzed the poem in an organized manner. I also think I did a pretty good interpretation of the poem.
2. Analysis -- if the person had to do this again, what would you recommend in analysis?
Maybe I could have talked more about the sounds in the poem. I had a hard time finding some, and if I did, I personally couldn't find enough of a pattern to make something out of it. But I wish I could have talked more about how the sounds of the specific words added to the meaning.
5. Comment on the visual portion of this video.
I think I did a very good job on the visual portion of the video. The pictures fit perfectly with the poem, and I tried very hard to make it creative so that people don't get bored watching my video. I don't know if that was successful, but I did try to use a lot of pictures and special effects.
6. Other?
Unlike other people, I read the poem before going into the analysis. It's a little different, but I like that it's different from the normal format. I hope I don't get points off for that. :(
Grade: I think my poem video deserves at least a 93%. I really worked hard on the video, and I don't think I've ever spent this much time to edit an imovie video in my life... A lot of effort and time was put into this, and I think I did a pretty fair job with the analysis and the reading of the poem, and also with the visual portion of the video..
Process: Finding a poem took about 30 minutes. Analyzing and studying the poem took about an hour. Preparing to make the video (outline/script/storyboard) took about 3 hours. Recording voice took about an hour. Editing/making the video creative took about at least 5 hours.
Clair Kang
Block B
POEM VIDEO PROJECT: SCRIPT/outline
INTRODUCTION: My poem is called “Acquainted With the Night” written by Robert Frost. Robert Frost is acclaimed for his realistic depictions of rural life, probably influenced by his own life as a farmer. But he also often wrote about deeper things like about his own suffering and grief. “Acquainted With the Night” is an example.
READ THE POEM:
Acquainted With the Night by Robert Frost
I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain --and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.
I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.
I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,
But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height
One luminary clock against the sky
Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.
DISCUSS THE MOOD AND ANALYZE THE WHAT THE POEM IS ABOUT:
There are many interpretations of this poem like all poems, about my interpretation is that this poem is about depression. Robert Frost’s father died of tuberculosis when he was just 11 years old, leaving his family in poverty. He had to commit his younger sister to a mental hospital, and both Frosts’ parents and himself suffered from depression throughout his life. He also lost 4 of his children. Frost’s poems often have a dark and gloomy tone to it most likely influenced by this sad life. So if we analyze this poem “Acquainted with the Night” with the theme of depression in mind, the poem becomes something that is totally different from a poem that is just talking about walking in the night. The “night” is the symbol for depression. And he’s saying that it’s a cycle.
“Out in rain” and “back in rain” shows a cycle. The contrast between “night” and light” in the first stanza is another cycle, because after night comes the light, and after light comes the night. So just alone in the first stanza, Frost has clearly stated that depression for him is a never-ending cycle that he cannot get out of. In the second stanza, he tells us that he is ashamed of it. When there are people around him, (“the watchman on his beat” for example), he drops his eyes, as if he is ashamed and he doesn’t want to show him to other people. And the “watchman” is probably people close to him. He could have said a “passerby” or a “begger” or any other typical person that you often seen on streets at night, but instead, he specifically chooses the “watchman:” a person who looks after something. And yet, he avoids contact with him, indicating how his depression and made him shy away from people that are even close to him and care about him. In the third stanza, he shows that despite his depression, he tries to be as normal as possible. He stops on his way down the “saddest city lane” because of an interrupted cry, that according to the fourth stanza, does not get him completely out of depression, but as the line directly says, is just an interruption. It does not “call him back” out of depression or make him say “goodbye” to depression. And the “clock” is “against” the sky, and it is neither “right nor wrong” indicating that time is insignificant to Frost. It’s just an entity that keeps him in his cycle of depression. This cycle is also reminded in the last stanza, when he repeats his first line.
DISCUSS RHYME SCHEME AND METER:
The poem is written in the same meter as a sonnet -- iambic pentameter. Also like a sonnet, it has 14 lines. The rhyme scheme is terza rima, or ABABCBCDCDADAA. The traditional terza rima has the rhyme schme of aba bcb cdc ded ee , but “acquainted with the night” is slightly different, on purpose. “ababcbcdcdedee” rhyme scheme shows the continuation and moving forward of the poem. The rhyme scheme of “abacbcdcdadaa” however is a cycle. By going back to “a” again, this rhyme scheme strengthens Frost’s point of his depression being a never-ending cycle. It has an iambic pattern in each line.
DISCUSS POETIC DEVICES:
AUTHOR CRITICISM PAPER THESIS/OUTLINE
THESIS:The social or political opinion of H.G. Wells can be seen by comparing two scenes from two of his works, The Invisible Man and The Time Machine.
Outline
I. Introduction
· H.G. Wells – “Father of Science Fiction”
· Strong political, economical, social beliefs/and views and often incorporate them in his novels
· Thesis
II. Body Paragraph 1/2
· The Invisible Man – capitalism/economic aspect of H.G. Wells demonstrated
· Example: Griffin first represents capitalism, and later monopoly. The police represent the government’s role in economy.
· Critic – Paul Cantor
III. Body Paragraph 3/4
· The Time Machine – communism/social hierarchy and its relation to economy.
· Explain what H.G. Wells is trying to say about the theories – anarchy/ and a little different form of monopoly and its effect on the society (social division)
· What does the Time Traveler represent in the story…
· Critic and example
IV. Body Paragraph 5
· Comparison between the Time Machine and the Invisible Man specifically
o Both are related to higher versus lower… ..
V. Conclusion
Clair Kang
Block B
AP literature
No Title Yet
He was known as the “The Father of Science Fiction.” He was also known to have strong social and economic views. If you combine those two things H.G. Wells was so renowned for, we get two of his most discussed novels, The Time Machine and The Invisible Man. Wells had successfully incorporated his views into his science fictional novels to convey some strong beliefs he had to the readers, probably in hopes of changing the society through his books. What exactly was his economical view, however, is still unclear and heavily debated by critics. Comparing his two previously mentioned books, however, we can figure out his social opinion.
In the Invisible Man, it is at first difficult to figure out what economical point H.G. Wells is trying to prove. But some clues in the book indicate that he is trying to denounce capitalism. The Invisible Man, or Griffon, is the main character of the novel, but he also represents the antagonist in the book who gets into constant conflicts with the townspeople and later tries to terrorize the whole world with his power of invisibility. In many parts of the book, Wells equalizes Griffin’s literal invisible hand to the “invisible hand” of Smith’s theory about capitalism (Smith had claimed that in competitive markets, the invisible hand guides market so that each product has reasonable price equivalent to demand.) And coincidentally, Wells mentions the hand of the Invisible Man, many times. The novel starts out with the sentence “ … walking as it seemed from Bramblehurst railway station and carrying a little black portmanteau in his thickly gloved hand.” Wells later mentions “his gloved hand” multiple times: “His gloved hands were clasped behind him, and he seemed to be lost in thought,” and “stranger raised his gloved hands.” His literal invisible hand is representative of the symbolic invisible hand.
Wells continuously mentions Griffon’s invisible hand to make a point that Griffon is representative of the people who are in competitive market. A critic, Paul Cantor also gives a completely economically and socially based explanations to describe what Griffin symbolizes. He also compares Griffin’s invisible hand to the Smith’s theoretical “invisible hand.” However, he then talks about how this metaphor fails since Griffin is the only person in the novel with the invisible hand, but capitalism is supposed to be composed of many, many people (that is the point of capitalism). Griffin in the beginning of the novel actually blends in with the other people in the town. Though he seems strange, he covers his invisibility by “[wrapping] up from head to foot, and the brim of his soft felt hat hid every inch of his face but the shiny tip of his nose.” And in the beginning, he is in fact part of the “competitive market.” But then he later becomes monopoly. We actually get the hint of the invisible man turning into monopoly when we see him toying with all the scientific materials like bottles and glasses that contain with these different liquids in it and powders. Here, he is like Frankenstein, trying to create no one has ever created. And that’s the characteristic of monopoly. Monopoly is able to be only producer of the product because they have come up with something unique.
Later, the Invisible Man exposes him to a normal human being, Marvel. When he sees him, he tells him that he is a normal man with the power of invisibility and to make sure it is real, Marvel says, “Let’s have a hand of you.” “Let’s have a hand of you” is actually quite a weird thing to say to a person. But that’s the exact words that H.G. Wells chooses for Marvel to say to Griffon. And the reason is to get the readers to focus on the Invisible Man’s hand again. This tells us that Griffon is still part of the competitive market. He’s still very vulnerable. Even he calls himself “impotent” at this point. In economical terms, he is like a man with a brilliant idea but who has no capital or labor force to start his “company.” This is why Griffon needs Marvel. Marvel does serve as sort of a “servant” to the Griffon. Although Marvel does betray Griffon in the end, he carries out some of the missions that Invisible Man request of him. “Pull yourself together,” said the voice, “for you have to do the job I’ve chosen for you.”
Towards the end, the Invisible Man becomes more dangerous to the society. He grows hatred towards the people and the world, a part of the reason is because he hates what he has done himself: create invisibility that he cannot escape. The situation can be comparable to the situation of Victor Frankenstein in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Victor Frankenstein creates a monster and after he sees the consequence, he regrets ever having created it. Griffon was excited about his creation of the power of invisibility at first, but after he created it, he grows to hate it, especially when he cannot figure out how to reverse his power and become normal again. So he wants to go on a “reign of terror” and dominate the world with his creation. This is a similar characteristic to monopoly. Monopoly is defined as “exclusive possession, control, or exercise of something.” And often, it has so much power and control to the point that it hurts the people around it. And that’s what Griffon exactly wants to do in the end.
However, in the end, Griffon is taken down by the naval officers. The naval officers represent the government which sometimes tries to limit or control the power of the monopoly when it hurts the economy, or the welfare of the townspeople in this case. In fact, throughout the whole novel, the policemen and the combined power of the people are the only fears of Griffon. When he is facing someone one-to-one, he has no fear. However, in real economy, the policemen do not actually try to hurt intentionally or take down a monopoly on purpose. But in this book, they obviously try to take down Griffin. So this could overcut my argument that Griffin represents a monopoly. But then again, H.G. Wells might be saying that the government should go against monopoly.
After the Invisible Man is gone, Kemp yells “My god! The game’s up! He’s gone!” He is saying that now the Invisible Man or the monopoly is gone, the “game is up” which in relation to my argument, could mean that there is fair competition again within the competitive market without a dominating force now that Griffon is gone. So now the game is up for the people (or the townspeople) to compete against themselves “fairly” again. This novel rather ends in a mysterious note. “[Kemp] relaxes and leans back, and blinks through his smoke across the room at things invisible to other eyes.” And he yells “Full of secrets. Wonderful secrets! Once I get the haul of them- Lord! I wouldn’t do what he did; I’d just - - well!” and that is how the book ends. Now that Kemp has the possession of the power that the Invisible Man had, he is debating with himself on what he should do with the “new product.”
After Griffin dies, the other people are now exposed to his “secrets” of becoming the monopoly. And now we do not know what they will do with the new secrets. However, when people are exposed to power or money, it is their nature to become selfish. So Wells demonstrates this selfish nature of people through his last page of the novel.
To sum up, H.G. Wells first seems like he might be criticizing capitalism, but actually he shows the progress of appearance of monopoly from something that was a competitive market, and he shows the effects of monopoly. So basically he is criticizing monopoly in the end. He believed in equal social division, and equality for all, so it is obvious that he was against one person or a group of people to hold all power. Another novel that demonstrates this belief of his is The Time Machine. Though it seems as The Time Machine seems like a simple science fiction novel that in which Wells tells his prediction of the novel, it is so much more than that. The main theme of the book is actually social division.
When the time traveler travels to the future, he first meets the Eloi. There are only two groups of people in the future: the Eloi and the Morlocks. The Eloi are the people who are fragile, but peaceful. They are rather childlike and lose interest in things very quickly because they are spoiled. They have everything they need. They never need to work for anything they have like clothes or food. Because Morlocks, the ones who live underground in filth and pain provide all of the necessities for the Eloi. The relationship between the Eloi and the Morlocks breaks the fundamental balance that needs to be present in any economy: the balance between the producers and consumers. The consumers pay for the things they need, and with the payment, the producers keep producing the goods and provide for themselves so that they can enjoy their life as well. In the Time Machine, however, this fundamental relationship between the consumers and the producers are nonexistent. Morlocks, the “producers,” do their work, but they get nothing in return by the Eloi. It is not fair, and there is no equality. And in the end, the whole structure of their world breaks down as the Morlocks plan a revolution against the Eloi. I think this is what H.G. Wells predicted for his society, but extremitized it of course in order to make the novel more dramatic. In his own society, he saw a strong division between the poor and the wealthy. The poor were the laborers and they worked constantly. But the wealthy did not really have to work (at the time, wealth was usually brought down to the descendants), and Wells probably felt bitter about this and he wanted to criticize this huge gap between the two social classes.