Rossi, 1
Michael Rossi
September 15, 2009
Advanced Placement English Language
Huckleberry Finn Notes: How is Huckleberry Finn a social critique
Notes
Escaping society’s demands and punishments allows Huck to develop pure social critiques pertaining to the bigotry of the south. He makes an astounding growth away from the prejudice that the widow taught to him. When Huck and Jim escaped on the raft Huck was deeply vexed by the guilt of contributing to the freedom of an African American. He realizes he did not directly steal and liberate Jim from his owner, however he feels the guilt the one would
feel if he went on vacation and found that his neighbor’s pet cat slipped to into his luggage and he continued on vacation without bothering to notify the neighbors. It’s the sort of guilt that isn’t
serious enough to control your actions unless one ponders over it for extensive periods of time. Huck was aided in distracting himself from guilt by getting to know Jim as time passes. Huck feels torn between turning Jim in because he believes it is the right thing to do, when it is society telling him what to do. On the other hand, Huck believes delivering Jim to his freedom originated from a self serving motivation while in reality he is following Christianity. Without a modern Christian education, Huck is forced to make the decision that his nagging conscience and Christianity are one and the same. Huck believes that choosing Jim’s freedom means heading straight for hell. The sheer intensity of Huck’s decision is best represented in the following quote: “I was a trembling, because I’d got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: ‘All right, then, I’ll go to hell’ (228). Accepting the worst fate know to man is a bold step against the southern racial repression and because it shows how it is wrong through the eyes of a child.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Monte Cristo Notes- Religion
Rossi, 1
Michael Rossi
September 9, 2009
Advanced Placement English Language
Prepare a page of notes on The Count of Monte Cristo:1 page of notes on Dantes playing the role of God. Post to blogs and have a typed sheet to hand in. Have quotes for support.
Notes
Throughout much of the text Edmond Dantes had believed that the riches given to him by Abbe Faria was actually a weapon given to him from in God in order for Dantes to extract vengeance upon those who had harmed him and to bless those who were true to him before his days in the Chateau D’if. Dantes’ mindset began with him taking his vow of vengeance: “This treasure […] doubled its value in his eyes; daily would he expatiate on the amount, holding forth to Dantes’ face would darken, for the oath of vengeance he had taken would come into his mind, and he was occupied with the thought of how much harm a man could do to his enemies in modern times with a fortune of thirteen or fourteen million (115).This vow led Dantes to believe that his life roll as an avenger was chosen by God.
Dantes became the Count of Monte Cristo and carried out all of what he believed to be his divine tasks. The Count emanated an aura of perfection and eloquence. The Count made a firm effort to squash any signs of his imperfection, however dealing with his long, lost love proved to be too overbearing for Dantes and his knees buckled under the weight: “Then his plans were frustrated at the eleventh hour through no action on his part; now, just as his schemes for revenge were materializing, he must relinquish them for ever, solely because he had no reckoned with one factor-his love for Mercedes” (567). Mercedes proved to be the single crack in Dantes’ armor, forcing the pain of humanity back into Dantes life. Other schemes of vengeance were foiled by Mercedes influence. Very soon it was not only those whom Edmond loved that pulled him back to humanity, but his enemies whom the Count had set out to destroy. This is best
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demonstrated when the count reached a realization of his cruelty when he was wreaking havoc on the house of Noirtier: “Realizing that he had passed beyond the bounds of vengeance, he felt he could no longer say: ‘God is for me and with me.’ With an expression of indescribable anguish, he threw himself on the child’s body, opened his eyes, felt his pulse, and, rushing with him into valentine’s room, locked the door” (475). It took the count a moment to step back to rise above himself and view the situation as the count should have viewed it, as the humble Edmond Dantes.
Michael Rossi
September 9, 2009
Advanced Placement English Language
Prepare a page of notes on The Count of Monte Cristo:1 page of notes on Dantes playing the role of God. Post to blogs and have a typed sheet to hand in. Have quotes for support.
Notes
Throughout much of the text Edmond Dantes had believed that the riches given to him by Abbe Faria was actually a weapon given to him from in God in order for Dantes to extract vengeance upon those who had harmed him and to bless those who were true to him before his days in the Chateau D’if. Dantes’ mindset began with him taking his vow of vengeance: “This treasure […] doubled its value in his eyes; daily would he expatiate on the amount, holding forth to Dantes’ face would darken, for the oath of vengeance he had taken would come into his mind, and he was occupied with the thought of how much harm a man could do to his enemies in modern times with a fortune of thirteen or fourteen million (115).This vow led Dantes to believe that his life roll as an avenger was chosen by God.
Dantes became the Count of Monte Cristo and carried out all of what he believed to be his divine tasks. The Count emanated an aura of perfection and eloquence. The Count made a firm effort to squash any signs of his imperfection, however dealing with his long, lost love proved to be too overbearing for Dantes and his knees buckled under the weight: “Then his plans were frustrated at the eleventh hour through no action on his part; now, just as his schemes for revenge were materializing, he must relinquish them for ever, solely because he had no reckoned with one factor-his love for Mercedes” (567). Mercedes proved to be the single crack in Dantes’ armor, forcing the pain of humanity back into Dantes life. Other schemes of vengeance were foiled by Mercedes influence. Very soon it was not only those whom Edmond loved that pulled him back to humanity, but his enemies whom the Count had set out to destroy. This is best
Rossi, 2
demonstrated when the count reached a realization of his cruelty when he was wreaking havoc on the house of Noirtier: “Realizing that he had passed beyond the bounds of vengeance, he felt he could no longer say: ‘God is for me and with me.’ With an expression of indescribable anguish, he threw himself on the child’s body, opened his eyes, felt his pulse, and, rushing with him into valentine’s room, locked the door” (475). It took the count a moment to step back to rise above himself and view the situation as the count should have viewed it, as the humble Edmond Dantes.
Monte Cristo Notes- Honor
Rossi, 1
Michael Rossi
September 10, 2009
Advanced Placement English Language
Prep (2/3rds of a page of ) notes on the role of honor in the Count of Monte Cristo. Focus on Morrel
Notes
The theme of honor arises throughout the novel and has a heavy impact upon many of the characters and their behavior. An excellent example of an honorable character that lives by his word and exhibits incredible generosity is Monsieur. Morrel. Morrel was being assailed by debt due his cargo ships sinking. A group of surviving sailors from the Pharaon confronted the Morrel and spoke of the tragedy that had befallen them at sea and reported that they desired no such payment from their financially crippled employer “If you have no money, you surely shall not pay us; like the Pharaon, we can go under bare poles” (177). Not allowing himself to wallow in his sadness Morrel responded, “’Enough, enough, my friends!’ said Morrel, choking with emotion. ‘Leave me, I beg you’(177). Monsieur Morrel remained true to his word and showed the sailors out of his home so that he would not be tempted to stray from his code of honor.
The remarkable aspect about Morrel is that his desire to stand by his honor is so strict that it can only be the result of Christian purity , not the result of him simply trying to look like society’s perfect man in order to impress his peers. Morrel holds dear to his virtue of honor even in the face of death: “’you will be paid or else I shall be dead’ (178). Morrel was extremely close to taking his life when Edmond Dantes’ stepped in and alleviated Morrel’s debt much like God had sparred the child of Abraham.
Michael Rossi
September 10, 2009
Advanced Placement English Language
Prep (2/3rds of a page of ) notes on the role of honor in the Count of Monte Cristo. Focus on Morrel
Notes
The theme of honor arises throughout the novel and has a heavy impact upon many of the characters and their behavior. An excellent example of an honorable character that lives by his word and exhibits incredible generosity is Monsieur. Morrel. Morrel was being assailed by debt due his cargo ships sinking. A group of surviving sailors from the Pharaon confronted the Morrel and spoke of the tragedy that had befallen them at sea and reported that they desired no such payment from their financially crippled employer “If you have no money, you surely shall not pay us; like the Pharaon, we can go under bare poles” (177). Not allowing himself to wallow in his sadness Morrel responded, “’Enough, enough, my friends!’ said Morrel, choking with emotion. ‘Leave me, I beg you’(177). Monsieur Morrel remained true to his word and showed the sailors out of his home so that he would not be tempted to stray from his code of honor.
The remarkable aspect about Morrel is that his desire to stand by his honor is so strict that it can only be the result of Christian purity , not the result of him simply trying to look like society’s perfect man in order to impress his peers. Morrel holds dear to his virtue of honor even in the face of death: “’you will be paid or else I shall be dead’ (178). Morrel was extremely close to taking his life when Edmond Dantes’ stepped in and alleviated Morrel’s debt much like God had sparred the child of Abraham.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Huckleberry Finn Essay
Rossi, 1
Michael Rossi
August 12, 2009
Advanced Placement Language and Composition
Huckleberry Finn essay prompt two: How is Huck’s journey down the river a journey to a greater human understanding? How is Huck enabled to live outside of the confines of society, and in doing so, disinherit the bigotry that enveloped the south?
Intricacy at its Simplest
When an individual is raised within a society he inherits that society’s beliefs, values, and practices. Huck’s interesting condition of being taken from society and placed back into it allows him to issue pure judgment on society and its laws without any influence. Huck is able to witness and partake in the lives of others and partake in them while having the ability to move on to a new adventure any time he chooses. Huck escapes a handful of sticky situations by assimilating to multiple stereotypes. He is able to use this ability as magic and slip from society grasp continue his adventures. Throughout the novel, Huck attains a greater human understanding, is enabled to live outside the confines of society, and disinherits the bigotry of the south.
Huck gains a greater human understanding of relationships as the text progresses. Throughout Huck’s existence, he fluctuates between two extreme domestic environments. Huck’s father was an oppressive alcoholic who tried to force Huck to become like him and the widow imposed her strict Christian values and southern traditions upon Huck: “The Widow Douglas, she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal and regular and decent the widow was in all her ways; and so when I couldn’t stand it no longer, I lit out” (9). When Huck was not with the widow, he lived with his father who only offered human interaction at its simplest form: submit or be forced to submit. Huck was a growing boy and his father’s lifestyle offered very little growing room, so it became natural that Huck broke his father’s hold on him. The next level of
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Huck’s human understanding that Huck achieved was being convinced to submit (not forced). Huck obeyed his father out of fear. Tom Sawyer, on the other hand was held in Huck’s highest regard. Huck obeyed Tom because Huck’s relationship with Tom has always been working under and trusting Tom: “Tom Sawyer he hunted me up and said he was going to start a band of robbers, and I might join if I would go back to the widow and be respectable” (9). Huck associated Tom with freedom and latched onto him like an iron clasp. Huck would include the fact that Tom would be able to complete the given task with the same efficiency and a greater style. It was only towards the end of the novel when Huck was able to achieve the courage to question those who he had become accustomed to obeying. Huck had an advanced level of human understanding. He taught himself to question authority. He was able to question and disobey the orders of his father and the widow. Huck challenged Tom Sawyer’s motives to place animals in Jim’s cell and the practicality of Tom’s plan. Previously Huck would have accepted his inadequacy.
Huck’s resourcefulness and worldly knowledge allows him to evade society’s grasp and enter society only when Huck deems it to be necessary. Huck’s raft is the physical sanctuary where Huck can escape from society: “ We said there warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft” (128). Aside from running and hiding from society Huck was able to move freely in society while letting trouble slide off him like melted butter. Huck’s age and
intelligence are greatly masked by his poor grammar and youth. His incredible wit allows him to flee his father’s house and create a likely scenario that would explain his disappearance. Huck’s youthful and ignorant exterior was his fail safe method of shedding suspicion. He is able to
Rossi, 3
portray himself differently depending upon how he wishes to be viewed. Tom Sawyer knew how to convince Huck of anything. Huck always presented himself as a brain dead lackey who was stupefied by Tom’s every move. In actuality Huck internally questioned the efficiency of Tom’s plan. Tom also relied on multiple stereotypes to provide excuses in his favor. After Huck and Tom attempted to free Jim the adults learned of their plan and commented on its intricacy. Huck explained the failure to Aunt Sally and she forgave them on the account that they were simply boys who sought adventure, ignorant of their boundaries and hazards. Huck commented on Aunt Sally’s leniency and attributed the cause to his gender: “and then she said she’d forgive us, and maybe it was all right enough anyway and about what a body might expect of boys, for all boys was a pretty harum-scarum lot, as fur as she could see; and so, as long as no harm hadn’t come of it, she judged she better put in her time being grateful we was alive” (296). In this quote Huck added the phrase, as far as she could see, which reveals that Aunt Sally could not distinguish Huck’s actual intentions. Aunt Sally simply regarded Huck’s mishap as a game, not as a stance against society and it’s values. Huck wanted to liberate Jim and to give him freedom, not to play hero or simulate a jail break. Huck challenges society while relying on society for protection.
Escaping society’s demands and punishments allows Huck to develop his own beliefs and disinherit the bigotry of the south. He makes an astounding growth away from the
prejudice that the widow taught to him. When Huck and Jim escaped on the raft Huck was deeply vexed by the guilt of contributing to the freedom of an African American. He realizes he did not directly steal and liberate Jim from his owner, however he feels the guilt the one would
feel if he went on vacation and found that his neighbor’s pet cat slipped to into his luggage and he continued on vacation without bothering to notify the neighbors. It’s the sort of guilt that isn’t
Rossi, 4
serious enough to control your actions unless one ponders over it for extensive periods of time. Huck was aided in distracting himself from guilt by getting to know Jim as time passes. Huck feels torn between turning Jim in because he believes it is the right thing to do, when it is society telling him what to do. On the other hand, Huck believes delivering Jim to his freedom originated from a self serving motivation while in reality he is following Christianity. Without a modern Christian education, Huck is forced to make the decision that his nagging conscience and Christianity are one and the same. Huck believes that choosing Jim’s freedom means heading straight for hell. The sheer intensity of Huck’s decision is best represented in the following quote: “I was a trembling, because I’d got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: ‘All right, then, I’ll go to hell’ (228). Accepting the worst fate know to man is a bold step against the southern racial repression and because it shows how it is wrong through the eyes of a child. Huck simply believes he has agreed to burn in hell in order to save his friend which he eventually learns is just as humane as he is and whose life truly is worth saving.
Throughout the novel Huck attains a greater human understanding, is enabled to live outside the confines of society, and is able to disinherit the bigotry of the south. Huck relies on
the stereotypes that he fits to endure the main brunt of the blame that would reveal a grown man to be a criminal. Huck is able to cast blame away from him and escape from society with the expertise of a magician. He does not fully understand the complex forms of his speech structure that emphasizes his apparent inability to comprehend the main point of conversations and ignorance of the world around him: “And when it was late in the day, the people all went then I come in and told her the noise and shooting waked up me and ‘Sid,’ and the door was locked,
Rossi, 5
and we wanted to see the fun, so we went down the lightning-rod, and both of us got hurt a little, and we didn’t never want to try that no more” (295-296). Huck’s emphasis of his remorse of grappling the pole is a small but significant statement that demonstrates that he doesn’t appear to understand what is truly being asked of him. Huck’s skilled and manipulative speech masks his true intellect to others and quells their suspicion even though Huck is not conscious of him doing so (he does it instinctively). That is the thing about magic. A great magician never reveals his secrets, in Huck’s case, not even to himself.
Michael Rossi
August 12, 2009
Advanced Placement Language and Composition
Huckleberry Finn essay prompt two: How is Huck’s journey down the river a journey to a greater human understanding? How is Huck enabled to live outside of the confines of society, and in doing so, disinherit the bigotry that enveloped the south?
Intricacy at its Simplest
When an individual is raised within a society he inherits that society’s beliefs, values, and practices. Huck’s interesting condition of being taken from society and placed back into it allows him to issue pure judgment on society and its laws without any influence. Huck is able to witness and partake in the lives of others and partake in them while having the ability to move on to a new adventure any time he chooses. Huck escapes a handful of sticky situations by assimilating to multiple stereotypes. He is able to use this ability as magic and slip from society grasp continue his adventures. Throughout the novel, Huck attains a greater human understanding, is enabled to live outside the confines of society, and disinherits the bigotry of the south.
Huck gains a greater human understanding of relationships as the text progresses. Throughout Huck’s existence, he fluctuates between two extreme domestic environments. Huck’s father was an oppressive alcoholic who tried to force Huck to become like him and the widow imposed her strict Christian values and southern traditions upon Huck: “The Widow Douglas, she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal and regular and decent the widow was in all her ways; and so when I couldn’t stand it no longer, I lit out” (9). When Huck was not with the widow, he lived with his father who only offered human interaction at its simplest form: submit or be forced to submit. Huck was a growing boy and his father’s lifestyle offered very little growing room, so it became natural that Huck broke his father’s hold on him. The next level of
Rossi, 2
Huck’s human understanding that Huck achieved was being convinced to submit (not forced). Huck obeyed his father out of fear. Tom Sawyer, on the other hand was held in Huck’s highest regard. Huck obeyed Tom because Huck’s relationship with Tom has always been working under and trusting Tom: “Tom Sawyer he hunted me up and said he was going to start a band of robbers, and I might join if I would go back to the widow and be respectable” (9). Huck associated Tom with freedom and latched onto him like an iron clasp. Huck would include the fact that Tom would be able to complete the given task with the same efficiency and a greater style. It was only towards the end of the novel when Huck was able to achieve the courage to question those who he had become accustomed to obeying. Huck had an advanced level of human understanding. He taught himself to question authority. He was able to question and disobey the orders of his father and the widow. Huck challenged Tom Sawyer’s motives to place animals in Jim’s cell and the practicality of Tom’s plan. Previously Huck would have accepted his inadequacy.
Huck’s resourcefulness and worldly knowledge allows him to evade society’s grasp and enter society only when Huck deems it to be necessary. Huck’s raft is the physical sanctuary where Huck can escape from society: “ We said there warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft” (128). Aside from running and hiding from society Huck was able to move freely in society while letting trouble slide off him like melted butter. Huck’s age and
intelligence are greatly masked by his poor grammar and youth. His incredible wit allows him to flee his father’s house and create a likely scenario that would explain his disappearance. Huck’s youthful and ignorant exterior was his fail safe method of shedding suspicion. He is able to
Rossi, 3
portray himself differently depending upon how he wishes to be viewed. Tom Sawyer knew how to convince Huck of anything. Huck always presented himself as a brain dead lackey who was stupefied by Tom’s every move. In actuality Huck internally questioned the efficiency of Tom’s plan. Tom also relied on multiple stereotypes to provide excuses in his favor. After Huck and Tom attempted to free Jim the adults learned of their plan and commented on its intricacy. Huck explained the failure to Aunt Sally and she forgave them on the account that they were simply boys who sought adventure, ignorant of their boundaries and hazards. Huck commented on Aunt Sally’s leniency and attributed the cause to his gender: “and then she said she’d forgive us, and maybe it was all right enough anyway and about what a body might expect of boys, for all boys was a pretty harum-scarum lot, as fur as she could see; and so, as long as no harm hadn’t come of it, she judged she better put in her time being grateful we was alive” (296). In this quote Huck added the phrase, as far as she could see, which reveals that Aunt Sally could not distinguish Huck’s actual intentions. Aunt Sally simply regarded Huck’s mishap as a game, not as a stance against society and it’s values. Huck wanted to liberate Jim and to give him freedom, not to play hero or simulate a jail break. Huck challenges society while relying on society for protection.
Escaping society’s demands and punishments allows Huck to develop his own beliefs and disinherit the bigotry of the south. He makes an astounding growth away from the
prejudice that the widow taught to him. When Huck and Jim escaped on the raft Huck was deeply vexed by the guilt of contributing to the freedom of an African American. He realizes he did not directly steal and liberate Jim from his owner, however he feels the guilt the one would
feel if he went on vacation and found that his neighbor’s pet cat slipped to into his luggage and he continued on vacation without bothering to notify the neighbors. It’s the sort of guilt that isn’t
Rossi, 4
serious enough to control your actions unless one ponders over it for extensive periods of time. Huck was aided in distracting himself from guilt by getting to know Jim as time passes. Huck feels torn between turning Jim in because he believes it is the right thing to do, when it is society telling him what to do. On the other hand, Huck believes delivering Jim to his freedom originated from a self serving motivation while in reality he is following Christianity. Without a modern Christian education, Huck is forced to make the decision that his nagging conscience and Christianity are one and the same. Huck believes that choosing Jim’s freedom means heading straight for hell. The sheer intensity of Huck’s decision is best represented in the following quote: “I was a trembling, because I’d got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: ‘All right, then, I’ll go to hell’ (228). Accepting the worst fate know to man is a bold step against the southern racial repression and because it shows how it is wrong through the eyes of a child. Huck simply believes he has agreed to burn in hell in order to save his friend which he eventually learns is just as humane as he is and whose life truly is worth saving.
Throughout the novel Huck attains a greater human understanding, is enabled to live outside the confines of society, and is able to disinherit the bigotry of the south. Huck relies on
the stereotypes that he fits to endure the main brunt of the blame that would reveal a grown man to be a criminal. Huck is able to cast blame away from him and escape from society with the expertise of a magician. He does not fully understand the complex forms of his speech structure that emphasizes his apparent inability to comprehend the main point of conversations and ignorance of the world around him: “And when it was late in the day, the people all went then I come in and told her the noise and shooting waked up me and ‘Sid,’ and the door was locked,
Rossi, 5
and we wanted to see the fun, so we went down the lightning-rod, and both of us got hurt a little, and we didn’t never want to try that no more” (295-296). Huck’s emphasis of his remorse of grappling the pole is a small but significant statement that demonstrates that he doesn’t appear to understand what is truly being asked of him. Huck’s skilled and manipulative speech masks his true intellect to others and quells their suspicion even though Huck is not conscious of him doing so (he does it instinctively). That is the thing about magic. A great magician never reveals his secrets, in Huck’s case, not even to himself.
Friday, July 31, 2009
The Great Gatsby Esssay
Rossi, 1
Michael Rossi
July 25, 2009
Advanced Placement Language and Composition
The Great Gatsby Essay prompt two: Shelia Graham writes: “I think Scott (Fitzgerald) wanted me, through my reading, to understand and perhaps share some of his basic tenets about existence: that as he so often old me, there was no such thing as happiness. …As he explains, “…the sense that life is essentially a cheat and its conditions are those of defeat and redeeming things are not ‘happiness and pleasure’ but the deeper satisfactions of the struggle.
Failure is Success ,Selfishness is Charity, War is Peace
How does Fitzgerald, through his novel, attempt to share and impose his beliefs upon his readers? This question arises from reoccurring instances throughout the characters lives within the text. Each character has qualities about them that bring them misfortune. Fitzgerald shows that no one, not even the great Gatsby, is devoid of these poor qualities. Gatsby is tormented by jealousy and greed, Nick is unable to stay true to himself and to others, and Tom is an ignorant racist. Each of the novel’s characters were set on a trajectory towards failure instigated by their poor attributes. Achieving success and happiness is an impossible feat. It is like a child trying to keep a beach ball submerged under water. Fitzgerald demonstrates that humanity cannot be truly happy due to these two pillars of reason: happiness is nonexistent and at the core humans are driven by selfish motives.
Happiness is a relative term unique to the individual. Humanity has struggled since the beginning of its existence to order to attain success. Gatsby was in possession of wealth and friends and his goal was to settle down with Daisy. Many would consider love a necessity in one’s life. For some it is what they perceive as happiness or success. Through Fitzgerald’s eyes, success is failure. Humans base their idea of happiness upon some form of achievement. Successfully accomplishing one’s achievements will leave them with a satisfied feeling that may be perceived as happiness. If one fails to accomplish their goal, then they become subject to a
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self induced agony. The only true form of happiness is the state of wanting nothing. The character who most relates to this is Nick. Nick regards his friends as fools because they have unrealistic goals. . This is best exhibited when Nick (in the attempt to offer courage to Gatsby) said, “ ‘Thery’re a rotten crowd,’ I shouted across the lawn. ‘You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.’ I’ve always been glad I said that. It was the only compliment I ever gave him, because I disapproved of him from beginning to end (154). This quote is a great representation of Nick’s true feeling. He tells Gatsby he does not believe him to be in Tom, Daisy, and Jordan’s circle when in reality he disapproves of him from beginning to end because he is the circle’s main pursuer of happiness’s shadow. Tom wants Daisy to become subject to his ownership and Gatsby wants Daisy to abandon her husband and current life to be together with him. These high and lofty goals set Gatsby and Tom up for devastating failures. Tom was forced to realize that he can be wrong and Gatsby was forced to realize that people do change, and that the world does not revolve around him. Since Nick lived humbly and did not allow himself to be rendered head over heels for a potential lover, he did not experience such a drastic fall at the end of the novel. Nick was on the outside of the ring of great ambition created by his friends. Nick flowed through the novel and did not struggle through it. He simply socialized with his friends to witness the spectacle that was their existence.
Fitzgerald also made it possible for the readers to determine that characters within the text acted out of selfishness. Very often in life, people make friends who share similar goals and values in order to learn and grow with them. Through Gatsby, Fitzgerald was able to convey the concept of growing at the expense of others, not with them. Gatsby used Nick to grow closer to Daisy. Gatsby was portrayed as the most generous man throughout the novel. He threw parties in
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which he did not fully partake. He purchased food and alcohol for his guests that he did not consume. Fitzgerald tries to show that selfishness is part of human nature do to the elaborateness of Gatsby’s selfish rouse. Gatsby was conscious of his plan to obtain Daisy through his lavish parties. He did not try to stray from selfishness, but to disguise it from others so that meeting Daisy would seem more natural. He would simply be a guest and a generous man whose reputation and generosity were wildly renowned. To others Gatsby’s interest in Daisy would portray him as a man who simply wished to meet everyone and please everyone. Daisy would simply be the next of Gatsby’s list. If Gatsby had neglected to fortify his reputation he would simply be a heartbroken stalker who sought to steal Daisy from her husband. Through Gatsby his questionable business and obsession with a married woman seemed permissible due to his multitude of redeeming qualities. If Gatsby’s desires and occupation were to belong to another person who did not emanate an aura of perfection throughout the novel, then they would become clear as lucid selfishness, distinguishable to any reader. If Nick was involved in shady business, was still poor, had an unknown reputation, and sought after a married woman, the reader would show no sympathy towards him.
Fitzgerald believes that humanity cannot truly be happy due to these two pillars of reason: happiness is nonexistent and at the core humans are driven by selfish motives. The Great Gatsby could be read as Fitzgerald’s handbook. None of the characters within the novel were able to fulfill their dreams, however Nick had no remorse. Since Nick had no selfish dream he was able to witness the dreams of other and partake in their excitement. Nick was not happy about every aspect of his life; however he did come the closest to true happiness. He was not subject to life suppression, either by his financial status, his haphazard love life, nor the horrid
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death of his closest friend. Pristine happiness and success are impossible because life always presents new obstacles both internally and externally. Nick did not swim against life’s current, but rather coast along with its waves. Nick is like the child that continually pounces upon the beach ball and thoroughly enjoys the duration in which he is able to maintain his balance. He is used to the ball fighting with his weight and sending him in the cold ocean. He knows that it is impossible to stay atop the ball and he will fall just the same way in which Gatsby and the others did and he does not mind for he knows those who never give in come the closest.
Michael Rossi
July 25, 2009
Advanced Placement Language and Composition
The Great Gatsby Essay prompt two: Shelia Graham writes: “I think Scott (Fitzgerald) wanted me, through my reading, to understand and perhaps share some of his basic tenets about existence: that as he so often old me, there was no such thing as happiness. …As he explains, “…the sense that life is essentially a cheat and its conditions are those of defeat and redeeming things are not ‘happiness and pleasure’ but the deeper satisfactions of the struggle.
Failure is Success ,Selfishness is Charity, War is Peace
How does Fitzgerald, through his novel, attempt to share and impose his beliefs upon his readers? This question arises from reoccurring instances throughout the characters lives within the text. Each character has qualities about them that bring them misfortune. Fitzgerald shows that no one, not even the great Gatsby, is devoid of these poor qualities. Gatsby is tormented by jealousy and greed, Nick is unable to stay true to himself and to others, and Tom is an ignorant racist. Each of the novel’s characters were set on a trajectory towards failure instigated by their poor attributes. Achieving success and happiness is an impossible feat. It is like a child trying to keep a beach ball submerged under water. Fitzgerald demonstrates that humanity cannot be truly happy due to these two pillars of reason: happiness is nonexistent and at the core humans are driven by selfish motives.
Happiness is a relative term unique to the individual. Humanity has struggled since the beginning of its existence to order to attain success. Gatsby was in possession of wealth and friends and his goal was to settle down with Daisy. Many would consider love a necessity in one’s life. For some it is what they perceive as happiness or success. Through Fitzgerald’s eyes, success is failure. Humans base their idea of happiness upon some form of achievement. Successfully accomplishing one’s achievements will leave them with a satisfied feeling that may be perceived as happiness. If one fails to accomplish their goal, then they become subject to a
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self induced agony. The only true form of happiness is the state of wanting nothing. The character who most relates to this is Nick. Nick regards his friends as fools because they have unrealistic goals. . This is best exhibited when Nick (in the attempt to offer courage to Gatsby) said, “ ‘Thery’re a rotten crowd,’ I shouted across the lawn. ‘You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.’ I’ve always been glad I said that. It was the only compliment I ever gave him, because I disapproved of him from beginning to end (154). This quote is a great representation of Nick’s true feeling. He tells Gatsby he does not believe him to be in Tom, Daisy, and Jordan’s circle when in reality he disapproves of him from beginning to end because he is the circle’s main pursuer of happiness’s shadow. Tom wants Daisy to become subject to his ownership and Gatsby wants Daisy to abandon her husband and current life to be together with him. These high and lofty goals set Gatsby and Tom up for devastating failures. Tom was forced to realize that he can be wrong and Gatsby was forced to realize that people do change, and that the world does not revolve around him. Since Nick lived humbly and did not allow himself to be rendered head over heels for a potential lover, he did not experience such a drastic fall at the end of the novel. Nick was on the outside of the ring of great ambition created by his friends. Nick flowed through the novel and did not struggle through it. He simply socialized with his friends to witness the spectacle that was their existence.
Fitzgerald also made it possible for the readers to determine that characters within the text acted out of selfishness. Very often in life, people make friends who share similar goals and values in order to learn and grow with them. Through Gatsby, Fitzgerald was able to convey the concept of growing at the expense of others, not with them. Gatsby used Nick to grow closer to Daisy. Gatsby was portrayed as the most generous man throughout the novel. He threw parties in
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which he did not fully partake. He purchased food and alcohol for his guests that he did not consume. Fitzgerald tries to show that selfishness is part of human nature do to the elaborateness of Gatsby’s selfish rouse. Gatsby was conscious of his plan to obtain Daisy through his lavish parties. He did not try to stray from selfishness, but to disguise it from others so that meeting Daisy would seem more natural. He would simply be a guest and a generous man whose reputation and generosity were wildly renowned. To others Gatsby’s interest in Daisy would portray him as a man who simply wished to meet everyone and please everyone. Daisy would simply be the next of Gatsby’s list. If Gatsby had neglected to fortify his reputation he would simply be a heartbroken stalker who sought to steal Daisy from her husband. Through Gatsby his questionable business and obsession with a married woman seemed permissible due to his multitude of redeeming qualities. If Gatsby’s desires and occupation were to belong to another person who did not emanate an aura of perfection throughout the novel, then they would become clear as lucid selfishness, distinguishable to any reader. If Nick was involved in shady business, was still poor, had an unknown reputation, and sought after a married woman, the reader would show no sympathy towards him.
Fitzgerald believes that humanity cannot truly be happy due to these two pillars of reason: happiness is nonexistent and at the core humans are driven by selfish motives. The Great Gatsby could be read as Fitzgerald’s handbook. None of the characters within the novel were able to fulfill their dreams, however Nick had no remorse. Since Nick had no selfish dream he was able to witness the dreams of other and partake in their excitement. Nick was not happy about every aspect of his life; however he did come the closest to true happiness. He was not subject to life suppression, either by his financial status, his haphazard love life, nor the horrid
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death of his closest friend. Pristine happiness and success are impossible because life always presents new obstacles both internally and externally. Nick did not swim against life’s current, but rather coast along with its waves. Nick is like the child that continually pounces upon the beach ball and thoroughly enjoys the duration in which he is able to maintain his balance. He is used to the ball fighting with his weight and sending him in the cold ocean. He knows that it is impossible to stay atop the ball and he will fall just the same way in which Gatsby and the others did and he does not mind for he knows those who never give in come the closest.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Monte Cristo Essay
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Michael Rossi
July 10, 2009
Advanced Placement Language and Composition
Essay Topic One: “Is Edmond’s vengeance justified? Consider this question within the contexts of just retribution. Based on what he had taken from him, is what he does just?
The Black Hole
What are the contexts of retribution, and when is retribution just? In the novel The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, the protagonist, Edmond Dantes was faced with this question of just retribution. Edmond was wrongly imprisoned, and his life was ruined because of this imprisonment. He was unable to be with the love of his life, he lost the position of captain, and he was unable to be at his father’s side as he died. Whilst in prison Dantes thought that his life was shattered and devoid of meaning. All Edmond had to reflect upon was the horrible intensity of his suffering and the betrayal he felt against those who had forsaken him. When he meets Abbe Faria, he is given newfound hope and a chance at escape. This, along with the prospect of an enormous wealth, inspires Dantes with thoughts of revenge. He undoubtedly believes that this revenge is just. Dantes uses the knowledge and techniques taught to him by Abbe Faria to aid in his quest for revenge. The vengeance that Edmond takes is indeed justified because he is unable to regain the fourteen years lost as a result of his enemies. Although the Count’s desire for administering vengeance wavers when he begins to see those who he is harming as people and not objects of hatred. The Count is still entitled to revenge.
The Count’s enemies are depicted as crude heathens that any of Dumas’s readers would be able to identify as horrid villains. Each of Edmond’s adversaries were worthy of his
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vengeance. Through the use of characterization Dumas portrays Fernand, Danglars, and Villefort as different forms of society’s evils. Fernand represents a juvenile form of jealousy. He simply desires Dantes’ lover Mercedes. His form of jealousy simply covets objects and Mercedes is subject to this objectification. Fernand does this to achieve his own happiness. Villefort is the embodiment of corruption. Villefort’s rash and hostile judgment towards Dantes represents the strife coursing through the government due to Napoleon Bonaparte. Edmond thought he was doing the correct thing when he wished to follow his conscience and distribute Napoleon’s letter only to be convicted of high treason.
Danglars is the novel’s most pristine embodiment of evil. Danglars sought to destroy Dantes simply because he achieved the rank of captain without arduously pursuing it. His jealously is clearly unjustified because Dantes hadn’t expected his promotion, nor had he boasted about it. Using unjustified jealously as his basis for revenge, Danglars committed an act that set him apart from both Fernand and Villefort as the main antagonist. He acted upon his anger toward Dantes and had others rally to his cause.
Dantes receives hatred from the antagonists as a result of circumstances which were beyond his control. He could not control who Mercedes chose to love, who Morrel chose as captain, nor could he choose the current political situation. Dumas inspires in the reader a hatred for Dantes’ enemies by attributing to them an unjust evil.
The Count had the courage and wisdom to spare those who were related to his three main enemies out of respect for Mercedes: “’What do you ask of me?’ He said. ‘Your son’s life?’ Well then, he shall live!’” (472). He even believed that these people were destined to receive his
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revenge. The Count showed mercy to young Albert who attempted to strike the Count with his glove. This action was one of the most despicable insults one could issue against another in
Dumas’ time. Not only would the Count’s emotion grant him the permission to return the blow, but society also dictated retaliation. For the Count to not retaliate allows him to rise above societal pressure and retain his God-like qualities: “’You cannot suppose I have the least desire to live after I have been publicly insulted, before a theatre full of people, in the presence of your friends and those of your son, challenged by a mere child who will glory in my pardon as in a victory?’” (473). This line truly emphasizes the sheer magnitude of Albert’s insult. Therefore, the Count deserves revenge against the entire society who had damned him so. The case of unjust imprisonment caused by the bitterness of villains was left dormant by society.
The Count was double crossed by his so called, “friends” and fellow worker. The fact that society had no desire to investigate the mistreatment of an innocent sailor whom most people adored alone, grants the Count the right to revenge. Everything that gave Edmond joy was destroyed by his imprisonment. His father died without him, Mercedes married another man, and his occupation was revoked.
Although the Count’s desire for administering vengeance wavers when he begins to see those who he is harming as people and not objects of hatred, he is still entitled to revenge. Through revenge the novel was able to portray the reoccurring theme of man versus God. While the Count sought revenge he thought himself to be God, however by seeking revenge be became more like Satan. Through mercy for Valentine and witnessing Edward’s death the Count was able to see through a humble lens and become more like God: “’Fool that I am,’ said he, ‘that I did not tear out my heart the day I resolved to revenge myself!’ (474). The Count was subdued
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by his ever present love for Mercedes and understood his error in acting like God. This turn of events illustrates a drastic change within the Count. The Count regresses from being the Count of Monte Cristo back to Edmond Dantes. He no longer has mortal enemies and his generosity and
love were revived. He gave riches to Morrel and Valentine and set off to be with Haydee. Edmond’s once blissful happiness was absorbed by the suffering within the Count’s heart was and replaced with a black hole that he sought to fill with vengeance. Dantes most important victory was not over his physical adversaries, but over the Count whom Edmond apprehended. Edmond filled the darkness with what he originally withdrew from it, the Count of Monte Cristo.
Michael Rossi
July 10, 2009
Advanced Placement Language and Composition
Essay Topic One: “Is Edmond’s vengeance justified? Consider this question within the contexts of just retribution. Based on what he had taken from him, is what he does just?
The Black Hole
What are the contexts of retribution, and when is retribution just? In the novel The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, the protagonist, Edmond Dantes was faced with this question of just retribution. Edmond was wrongly imprisoned, and his life was ruined because of this imprisonment. He was unable to be with the love of his life, he lost the position of captain, and he was unable to be at his father’s side as he died. Whilst in prison Dantes thought that his life was shattered and devoid of meaning. All Edmond had to reflect upon was the horrible intensity of his suffering and the betrayal he felt against those who had forsaken him. When he meets Abbe Faria, he is given newfound hope and a chance at escape. This, along with the prospect of an enormous wealth, inspires Dantes with thoughts of revenge. He undoubtedly believes that this revenge is just. Dantes uses the knowledge and techniques taught to him by Abbe Faria to aid in his quest for revenge. The vengeance that Edmond takes is indeed justified because he is unable to regain the fourteen years lost as a result of his enemies. Although the Count’s desire for administering vengeance wavers when he begins to see those who he is harming as people and not objects of hatred. The Count is still entitled to revenge.
The Count’s enemies are depicted as crude heathens that any of Dumas’s readers would be able to identify as horrid villains. Each of Edmond’s adversaries were worthy of his
Rossi, 2
vengeance. Through the use of characterization Dumas portrays Fernand, Danglars, and Villefort as different forms of society’s evils. Fernand represents a juvenile form of jealousy. He simply desires Dantes’ lover Mercedes. His form of jealousy simply covets objects and Mercedes is subject to this objectification. Fernand does this to achieve his own happiness. Villefort is the embodiment of corruption. Villefort’s rash and hostile judgment towards Dantes represents the strife coursing through the government due to Napoleon Bonaparte. Edmond thought he was doing the correct thing when he wished to follow his conscience and distribute Napoleon’s letter only to be convicted of high treason.
Danglars is the novel’s most pristine embodiment of evil. Danglars sought to destroy Dantes simply because he achieved the rank of captain without arduously pursuing it. His jealously is clearly unjustified because Dantes hadn’t expected his promotion, nor had he boasted about it. Using unjustified jealously as his basis for revenge, Danglars committed an act that set him apart from both Fernand and Villefort as the main antagonist. He acted upon his anger toward Dantes and had others rally to his cause.
Dantes receives hatred from the antagonists as a result of circumstances which were beyond his control. He could not control who Mercedes chose to love, who Morrel chose as captain, nor could he choose the current political situation. Dumas inspires in the reader a hatred for Dantes’ enemies by attributing to them an unjust evil.
The Count had the courage and wisdom to spare those who were related to his three main enemies out of respect for Mercedes: “’What do you ask of me?’ He said. ‘Your son’s life?’ Well then, he shall live!’” (472). He even believed that these people were destined to receive his
Rossi, 3
revenge. The Count showed mercy to young Albert who attempted to strike the Count with his glove. This action was one of the most despicable insults one could issue against another in
Dumas’ time. Not only would the Count’s emotion grant him the permission to return the blow, but society also dictated retaliation. For the Count to not retaliate allows him to rise above societal pressure and retain his God-like qualities: “’You cannot suppose I have the least desire to live after I have been publicly insulted, before a theatre full of people, in the presence of your friends and those of your son, challenged by a mere child who will glory in my pardon as in a victory?’” (473). This line truly emphasizes the sheer magnitude of Albert’s insult. Therefore, the Count deserves revenge against the entire society who had damned him so. The case of unjust imprisonment caused by the bitterness of villains was left dormant by society.
The Count was double crossed by his so called, “friends” and fellow worker. The fact that society had no desire to investigate the mistreatment of an innocent sailor whom most people adored alone, grants the Count the right to revenge. Everything that gave Edmond joy was destroyed by his imprisonment. His father died without him, Mercedes married another man, and his occupation was revoked.
Although the Count’s desire for administering vengeance wavers when he begins to see those who he is harming as people and not objects of hatred, he is still entitled to revenge. Through revenge the novel was able to portray the reoccurring theme of man versus God. While the Count sought revenge he thought himself to be God, however by seeking revenge be became more like Satan. Through mercy for Valentine and witnessing Edward’s death the Count was able to see through a humble lens and become more like God: “’Fool that I am,’ said he, ‘that I did not tear out my heart the day I resolved to revenge myself!’ (474). The Count was subdued
Rossi, 4
by his ever present love for Mercedes and understood his error in acting like God. This turn of events illustrates a drastic change within the Count. The Count regresses from being the Count of Monte Cristo back to Edmond Dantes. He no longer has mortal enemies and his generosity and
love were revived. He gave riches to Morrel and Valentine and set off to be with Haydee. Edmond’s once blissful happiness was absorbed by the suffering within the Count’s heart was and replaced with a black hole that he sought to fill with vengeance. Dantes most important victory was not over his physical adversaries, but over the Count whom Edmond apprehended. Edmond filled the darkness with what he originally withdrew from it, the Count of Monte Cristo.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
compose at least 1 paragraph about your life
Middle school had me drowning in my own failure, and once it was through I was quick to submerge the experience to the depths of my subconscious beyond recollection. Experiences of all kinds were the result of lethargic inactions conducted under the impression that it would all arrive together effortlessly, in such a fashion that fled my influence like the alignment of planets. I often wondered if it would be once again permissible to resume my academic prestige now that Marc had become stricken with an undefined illness. Since my abilities were not in symphony with the court of public appeal, I continued to believe that a lazy stupor was the only way to achieve a bearable social status.
None of the personalities I tried to assume truly brought about any signs of alteration; however they did successfully mask my true feelings. To allow my peers to jeer at my ignorance to such an extent that they had found difficult to believe to be stored in a single mind, was just the nudge necessary to provide me with the incentive I needed to remove the shackles of a self-induced oppression.
None of the personalities I tried to assume truly brought about any signs of alteration; however they did successfully mask my true feelings. To allow my peers to jeer at my ignorance to such an extent that they had found difficult to believe to be stored in a single mind, was just the nudge necessary to provide me with the incentive I needed to remove the shackles of a self-induced oppression.
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