Literature Analysis - The Grapes of Wrath

GENERAL
1. This book is about the Joad family who first goes through the hardship of being kicked off the land they farmed for years and being left with nothing. They didn't know what to do, but they were told that there was work for farmers in California. And so like everybody else in there position they migrate to California. Their large family packs into their car and does whatever they can to get food and simply survive.
2. I think the theme can be shown with a quote from the movie Finding Nemo, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming swimming swimming, what do we do? we swim!" The life of the Joad family was drastically altered and so the main message is to continue on, even though it's difficult.
3. The author's tone fit right in with the feeling of the family. They were down and depressed, so the author gave off the feeling of hopelessness. I think his use of the mini stories of the lives of other people really helped the story along just to show how bad things were for the people during this time.

CHARACTERIZATION
1. The author uses direct characterization when he describes what people look like and how they are as a person. He makes his writing interesting then by using indirect characterization by having the characters show who they are through their actions and words. (We learn what Tom looks like in the beginning when describing his clothes after he got out of jail and we learn what Pa thinks of Connie based on what he says after Connie runs off and leaves the family.)
2. I think the author's writing is pretty stable throughout the book. He used the language that the characters would understand which is somewhat broken English. (This is in a way irony because throughout the book nothing stays the same, things are broken and left behind, but the words are always the same.)
3. I believe Tom Joad is mostly a static, flat character. In the very beginning of the story we learn he was convicted of manslaughter due to him getting hot-headed in a bar and then towards the end of the book he avenges the death of Casy without a second glance. I can't say that this is necessarily a good or a bad thing, but throughout all their hardships Tom remained the same.
4. I feel like I read a character because I have never been anywhere close to the situation that this family went through. Also Tom is a convicted felon and I tend to stay away from those types of people...

AP Test Resources

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/Controller.jpf
http://ozpk.tripod.com/AP
http://www.apstrategies.org/
http://www.phschool.com/advanced/lesson_plans/building_success/ap_test_taking_techniques.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/28751/info/strategies.html

Brave New World (Ch.7)

During this chapter we learn some aspects of life on a savage reservation. We see the diseases the people have, the babies they produce, and their horrific way of sacrificing (slashing someone with a whip until they fall and then giving away the blood from their back). All the while Lenina is frantic and dislikes everything, whereas Bernard finds it all very interesting. They then come across a man that looks like them, not dark skin toned like the other Indians. His name is John and they learn that his mother was a woman from their world. Bernard and Lenina are shocked! They then meet her and realize that the father of John is indeed the Director! Crazy news. Also Linda speaks how much she misses her old life.

Brave New World (Ch.6)

During this chapter we see consecutive dates that Lenina and Bernard go on together on a vacation to America. Lenina doesn't really understand Bernard and finds him very odd, but she accepts to go wherever he wants to. They begin with trite stuff that every person in this new world does and Bernard didn't like this idea. He decided to take Lenina on a helicopter ride to overlook the ocean because he found it peaceful. Lenina however found it extremely frightening and wanted to leave immediately (taught to hate nature). After this little adventure, Bernard decides he's going to take Lenina to a savage reservation to see how they live. Upon getting a permit signed by the Director, it becomes known that he was similar to Bernard in the idea that he once cared for another more than he should. The Director became flustered after he spoke of this and warned Bernard that he must change his ways unless he wants to be sent away. Bernard leaves and then travels with Lenina to the reservation. Before entering they meet the Warden who is a dull character that simply states what life is like inside. An important thing he mentions is that they trained the savages so that when they do something wrong they are severely punished.

Lit. Terms Applied

Lets just say that the quiz we had in class today was ridiculously difficult and I mean that in the nicest way possible. First off, I know most of the literary terms pretty well but I am still getting used to finding them being used in a text. Therefore giving us only 20 seconds to read the text and then find them, define them, and explain why they were used was extremely hard. There was no rhyme or reason to keep the pace the same. Once I finished reading the text, it would be gone and replaced by another. When we finally got to look at it again I had to reread it to simply to remember what it said but then still leave time to find an example of a lit term. I think the idea behind the quiz was good, but taking it and then reflecting on it now, all I really remembering was being flustered that I didn't have enough time.

Brave New World (Ch.4-5)

Throughout these two chapters we learn something about the author's writing style. He very much enjoys using puns, especially ones that are sexual oriented. They are mostly easy to spot and are somewhat uncomfortable to read about, but it gets the reader to really understand the time the author writes about. Also in these chapters we see what a date is like between Lenina and Henry. It started with a helicopter ride and then went straight to dancing to the music stylings of the 'sexophones'. It ended with them in his apartment clearly hinting at what would happen next. Also we see Bernard participating in what seems like a sort of sex/happiness orgy. However he didn't get the feelings everybody else did. This goes to show that he is very different from the other people that surround him in this world. A recurring item are 'soma' tablets and I believe these are what help endive their happiness.

Brave New World (Ch.2-3)

Throughout these chapters this book has become more of a story. We learn of different characters and what the interactions are supposed to be like. Also how the infant clones are taught and how they live life. One example would be when the clones are little they are taught to love themselves and dislike anybody who is in a different 'class' than they are. They are taught this through sleep-teaching where this idea becomes engrained into their minds. Also the 'teachers' are cruel with their ways of teaching. Another example would be that they don't want the infants to like books or nature so they set them up in a room where there are books and flowers. This seems fine, until one of the clones touches either. After this occurs they are electrocuted and alarms go off. They do this to associate these items with pain. Then as they grow older they are taught that family life was horrible back in the day and that it's not something you want. They do however want the girls to be promiscuous, but to not be part of a serious relationship. Lets just say, life is strange in this new world. Information is jumbled throughout the text so the reader must really pay attention to understand it all.

Brave New World (Ch. 1)

When I first started this book I was easily confused. The language was different and obviously the things the author wrote about were very different from what I was used to. However after a discussion in class, it started to make much more sense. This story takes place in the distant future and is what the author believes will come of our world. Rather than creating mankind the normal way, the people of this time have found a way to clone embryos and then grow them from nothing. They are categorized based on the way they are brought up (basically whether they will be useful or not). We learn very little of the people in the first chapter, but are taught the way in which these clones come to be.