First Six Weeks

I think the past six weeks have gone by very quickly. I'm surprised by the amount of work we've done so far in AP Literature. I have never written four essays in that short amount of time before, and having done so makes me feel accomplished as a student. So far, the workload that has been given to me is much better than that of last year's, and I feel I can manage myself accordingly. I definitely enjoy being in my AP Literature class. I find it interesting and challenging, which I think suits me. As for senior year, I think it's great so far. I love most of my classes, and find this year to be refreshing, yet a long journey to accomplish. I'm just nervous for college applications, because I haven't really done anything to get started yet. I think it's great being a senior, because I can almost taste the freedom, but I'm not yet ready to leave home for college. I just hope the year will continue to flow as smoothly as it does now. I just have to wait and see!

Oedipus -- Tragic or Not?

Week 4 (9/7-9/10)


When I first read "Oedipus the King", a few skeptical questions occurred in my mind. First of all, I felt bad for Oedipus, because he had no way of escaping his fate, no matter how hard he tried to avoid the gods' prophecy. He was born to a doomed father, and also born with a curse that he had no control over. Therefore, I thought it was unfair for Oedipus to suffer so much, especially after earning the throne.
Next, I wondered why Oedipus never expressed any guilt for killing the men (whose identities he did not know) in the crossroads. In the story, Oedipus is viewed as a great man and ruler, and every one in his kingdom lionizes him and see him as their father figure. Oedipus did not appear tainted by murders he committed, and that appeared strange to me.
But in spite of all this, I think the series of events that occurred, because Sophocles wanted to convey that man is mortal, and can be bound for downfall at any time. If Oedipus had any flaws despite the great respect he is given in the opening of the play, his flaws may be his confidence, slight arrogance and ignorance of the situation around him.

Bartleby, The Scrivener

Week 3 Blog: (8/30-9/3)

This week, I learned by reading "Bartleby, The Scrivener" by Herman Melville that characters can influence each other in a story. In class, we examined both the characters of Bartleby and the boss. Bartleby was considered isolated, strange, perhaps mentally ill, and depressed. Because he acts strange and refuses to comply with his boss, the boss undergoes a change in his own character. Unsure of what to think of his strange, hard-working employee, the boss settles on a compassionate side for Bartleby and learns to become patient through understanding and consideration for the vagrant. In order to understand a story, I realize that a reader must first study the characters and acknowledge how they change, then identity the causes of the change. A story is written because an author intends to tell about his or her characters and show how their morality evolves as other characters and events encounter them.

"Lot's Wife" by Anna Akhmatova Critical Response

The poem "Lot's Wife" retells a story in the Bible about a man and his wife and family, all of whom must flee their disintegrating home town to escape God's wrath. However, when Akhmatova wrote her poem, instead of focusing on the plot, she paid special attention to Lot's wife. The wife's emotional state is examined, which enables readers to see the story in a different light. For example, we learn how much it pains Lot's wife to run from her town when "a wild grief in [his wife's] bosom cried, Look back, it is not too late for a last sight..." As the woman struggles with deciding whether to look back at her home or keep running, she is troubled as "her eyes were welded shut by mortal pain". Sadly, when the wife looks back, contradicting God's instructions, her body turns into salt and she is destroyed with the city. Finally, in the last stanza, Akhmatova prompts the reader to consider the significance of the wife's death when she writes, "Who would waste tears upon her? Is she not/ The least of our losses, this unhappy wife?/ Yet in my heart she will not be forgot/ Who, for a single glance, gave up her life." Thus, in questioning the woman's death, Akhmatova asks the reader whether the wife's actions were acceptable or reasonable. Although she disobeyed her husband and God by looking back at her home town, she still did so because she could not accept that she had to leave her life behind. Therefore, Akhmatova sympathizes with the wife, and says that she will never forgot her.