Lit Circle Essay Prompt

Often times the reader often discovers that the first chapter of a novel
or the opening scene of a drama introduces some of the major themes of the
work. Write an essay about the opening scene of a drama or the first
chapter of a novel in which you explain how it functions in this way. Your essay should not be the plot of the work you are discussing.

AP Practice Test Multiple Choice

1. E
2. A
3. E
4. C
5. A
6. A
7. D
8. D
9. B
10. B
11. A
12. E
13. B
14. D
15. D
16. C
17. A
18. E
19. D
20. C
21. B
22. C
23. B
24. B
25. C
26. C
27. A
28. C
29. E
30. C
31. D
32. D
33. B
34. D
35. C
36. D
37. E
38. C
39. D
40. D
41. B
42. C
43. A
44. C
45. D
46. E
47. B
48. A
49. A
50. D
51. B
52. C
53. C
54. D

Literature Analysis: Kafka on the Shore

1. Kafka on the Shore (Umibe no Kafka,in Japanese) by Haruki Murakami is about two different narrators switching off throughout the novel who are somehow interrelated. The odd chapters are narrated by a fifteen year old boy, Kafka Tamura's story. He runs away from his father's house to escape an Oedipal curse and to embark upon a quest to find his mother and sister. After a series of adventures, he finds shelter in a quiet, private library in Takamatsu, run by the distant and aloof Miss Saeki and the intelligent and more welcoming Oshima. There he spends his days reading the unabridged Richard Francis Burton translation of A Thousand and One Night and the collected works of Natsume Sōseki until the police begin inquiring after him in connection with a brutal murder.The even chapters are told from Satoru Nakata's point of view. Due to his uncanny abilities, he has found part-time work in his old age as a finder of lost cats (notably, Murakami's earlier work The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle also involves searching for a lost cat ). The case of one particular lost cat puts him on a path that ultimately takes him far away from his home, ending up on the road for the first time in his life. He befriends a truck driver named Hoshino, who takes him on as a passenger in his truck and soon becomes very attached to the old man. Nakata and Kafka are on a collision course throughout the novel, but their convergence takes place as much on a metaphysical plane as it does in reality and, in fact, that can be said of the novel itself. Due to the Oedipal theme running through much of the novel, Kafka on the Shore has been called a modern Greek tragedy.

2. The power and beauty of music as a communicative medium is a central theme of the novel, the very title comes from a pop song Kafka is given on a record in the library.The music of Beethoven, specifically the Archduke Trio is also used as a redemptive metaphor. Among other prominent themes are: the virtues of self-sufficiency and efficiency, the relation of dreams and reality, the specter of the heritage of World War II, the threat of fate, the uncertain grip of prophecy, and the power of nature.

3. The tone of the novel is somewhat mysterious, you are always wondering the connections and the lingering feelings and emotions. The novel seems to have not so much of a dark tone but still in a way sad, and there are tones of unsureness.

•"The pain Hoshino felt at that instant was awful, unreasonably so. A huge flash of light went off in his brain and everything went white. He stopped breathing. It felt like he'd been thrown from the top of a tall tower into the depths of hell. He couldn't even manage a scream, so hideous was the pain. All thoughts had burned up and shot away. It was like his body had been shattered to pieces. Even death couldn't be this awful, he felt. He tried to open his eyes but couldn't. He just lay there, helpless, face down on the tatami, drooling, tears streaming down his face."

•"I know I'm a little different from everyone else, but I'm still a human being. .... Sometimes, though, that small difference feels like an abyss."

• "But I'm scared, and my teeth won't stop chattering. Try as I might I can't get them to stop."

4.  Kafka's alter ego "Crow" who gave him advice was an interesting literary technique used, along with the motif about destiny, symbolism, insight to the character's thoughts and observations, paradox, and foreshadowing.

• Motif: "But the whole thing's fixed already. I can't just suddenly say I quit and stop what I'm doing. And taking my own life isn't an option. That's already been decided too."

• Motif: "If there's a curse in all this, you mean to grab it by the horns and fulfill the program that's been laid out for you."

• Symbolism: "Your hands are sticky with something- human blood, by the look of it. You hold them out in front of you, but there's not enough light to see. It's far too dark. Both inside, and out."

•Foreshadowing: "On my fifteenth birthday I'll run away from home, journey off to a far-off town, and live in a corner of a small library."
• Paradox " “Memories are what warm you up from the inside. But they're also what tear you apart.” 

Brave New World Chapter 6

-Lenina convinces Bernard to attend a wrestling match
-Lenina spots that Bernard isn't happy or acting "normal"
-She tells Bernard to take soma
-During the return trip, he stops his helicopter and hovers over the Channel
- She begs him to take her away from the rushing emptiness of the water after he tells her that the silence makes him feel like an individual
-Eventually he takes a large dose of soma, and has sex with her
-The next day, Bernard tells Lenina that he did not really want to have sex with her the first night
-Then he goes to get the Director’s permission to visit the Reservation. He braces himself for the Director’s disapproval of his unusual behavior
-When the Director presents the permit, he mentions that he took a trip there with a woman twenty years before. She was lost during a storm and has not been seen since
-When Bernard says that he must have suffered a terrible shock, the Director immediately realizes that he has been revealing too much of his personal life
-He criticizes Bernard for his antisocial behavior and threatens to exile him to Iceland if his impropriety persists
-Bernard leaves the office feeling proud of being considered a rebel

Brave New World Chapter 5

-After a game of Obstacle Golf, Henry and Lenina fly in a helicopter over a crematorium where phosphorous is collected from burning bodies for fertilizer
-They drink coffee with soma before heading off to the Westminster Abbey Cabaret
-They take another dose of soma at Henry's apartment
-They are both very oblivious to their surroundings at this point
-"Orgy-porgy, Ford and fun,
Kiss the girls and make them One.
Boys at one with girls at peace;
Orgy-porgy gives release."
-Every other Thursday, Bernard has to take part in Solidarity Service at the Fordson Community Singery
-They pass around a cup filled with strawberry ice cream soma
-Symbol of a united group? Orgy... One nation sort of thing... One for all, all for one? I think so...

Brave New World Chapter 4

-Lenina accepts Bernard's offer to go see the savage reservation in front of everyone, which Bernard's reaction is embarassment
-Lenina and Henry go off on their date on a helicopter
-TOO MUCH IMAGE...
-Bernard talks to Helmholtz Watson, a lecturer at the College of Emotional Engineering
-Helmholtz is an extremely intelligent, attractive, and properly sized Alpha Plus who works in propaganda
-Some of Helmholtz’s superiors think he is a little too smart for his own good
-The friendship between Bernard and Helmholtz springs from their mutual dissatisfaction with the status quo and their shared inclination to view themselves as individuals
-Bernard brags about Lenina taking his offer to go to the reservation
-Helmholtz doesn't really take much interest in what Bernard says about Lenina

Literature Analysis: Animal Farm

1. The novel focuses around farm animals who have been given a human voice to express their perspective on life on the farm. All the animals are clearly unhappy under the control of the farm’s current owner, Mr. Jones. Old Major, a commanding boar in the barn, gives a charismatic, inspiration speech that encouraged all the animals to rebel against Mr. Jones so they could take control of the barn and run it the way they want to. The animals manage to complete such task and soon Old Major is seen as a hero that saved them. All this power and appreciation soon goes to Old Major’s head and he becomes more and more like a dictator every day. Old Major passes his ideals of how the barn should run to his little minions: Snowball, Napoleon and Squealer. They then turn to the rest of the animals and teach them Old Major’s philosophy. Once Old Major dies, the barn is left in the hands of the three pigs. It’s obvious that either Snowball or Napoleon will lead the barn and while Snowball is charming and just, Napoleon uses underhand tactics to run him off the barn. Napoleon soon becomes a tyrant, killing anybody that doesn’t believe in his leadership. All the animals believe he is doing this for the good of the farm, or that’s what Napoleon keeps saying. The barn life for the animals keeps decreasing as they are put to work and are fed little. Napoleon takes control of every aspect of the animals lives, become more “human” with every passing day. The end of the book shows the misery of the animals while the “pigs” are dining with their human neighbors, and the animals can no longer tell the difference between the two.

 

2. The theme of the novel is that power can corrupt if not given to the right person. While power can lead to success and wealth, it can also tear away any humanity one might have had. It was represented by the pigs that had good intentions, but once they had the taste of power, and what they could do with it, it soon poisoned their good will.

 

3. The tone of the book is somber and oppressive. Every day the lives of the farm animals get worse and worse due to the ideals of Old Major. The novel demonstrates the evil that comes about from power.

 

4. Symbolism – The entire novel is a symbol for the bloody Russian Revolution. The pigs represent the USSR, Napoleon being Stalin and Snowball representing Lenin. Everything that occurred in the novel, pretty much happened in Russia. Propaganda was used by Squealer whenever he tried to justify Napoleon evil doings. Much like Stalin and his propaganda, his people believed every word he said. To us, it’s common sense that you wouldn’t believe a word they said, but they didn’t know any better.

 

Personification – All the animals in the novel could speak to one another and to human being. Even though they didn’t want to be like the cruel humans they were given a voice to express their emotions. The pigs eventually “turn into” humans through the eyes of the animals.

 

Diction – He used strong words for the pigs so that they seemed powerful, while he choice simple, almost foolish vocabulary for the animals that followed the pigs. This just goes to show the relationship that the pigs and other animals had with one another.

 

Anaphora – Boxer always used the phrase “Napoleon is always right” to show the reader the brainwashing that the pigs had done to the animals. It also represented the control Napoleon had over the animals even though he treated them cruelly.