APLit2010

Argument: Fitzgerald used characterization to uphold his view on the American culture during the Jazz Age. Claim: Fitzgerald is able to establish a clear reflection of a large society through one or two characters. His approach to writing a culturally reflective novel is shown through brightest by character interactions. Evidence: "Echoes of the American Dream pervade the novel, which contrasts the supposed innocence and moral sense of the "Western" characters with the sophistication and materialism of the "Eastern" characters" (Palvovski).

Argument: The fact that Steinbeck is a romantic naturalist appears vividly throughout his novels. Claims: His views affect literary devices such as diction, plot, and character development. Evidence: "The Darwinism of 'The Red Pony' is brought from conflict of animals to the conflict between men in 'Of Mice and Men'...As engaging to our own sense of romantic and sentiment as Lennie's and George's dream of a small ranch may be, the facts are that they do not have the power within the scheme of things to make this dream come true" (1). http://go.galegroup.com.lib.chandleraz.gov/ps/i.do?action=interpret&id=GALE%7CH1100000795&v=2.1&u=chandler_main&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w&authCount=1

Argument: Fitzgeralds use of certain items in the novel are inferred as symbolic from past times to portray the social ranks aswell as trying to illustrate other psychological human qualities. Claim: Mentioning the eggs and the fowls at these Saturday night parties have some kind of resemblence to "The Feast of Trimalchio" in Petronius's The Satyricon. Evidence: "Fitzgerald first pays homage to his classical indebtedness by writing that "his career as Trimalchio was over" when Gatsby stops his Saturday night parties (119). He then adds a satiric bite to the egg and fowl allusions with the aid of the idiomatic meanings of "chicken" when he describes Nick's glimpse of Tom and Daisy "sitting opposite each other at the kitchen table with a plate of cold fried chicken between them and two bottles of ale [...] conspiring together" (152-53). "

Argument: Dexter Filkins, of the New York Times Book Review, delivers a tough critique of Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer. Filkins believes that "This would have been a better book had it been a hundred pages shorter." Claim: Much of the background about Pat Tillman's life is unnecessary. Also, the tiny details that Krakauer recounts are "banal and inconsequential." Evidence: "Tillman doesn't arrive in Afghanistan until Page 230." The book is supposed to be about the death of Pat Tillman, and the ensuing cover-up, but Krakauer talks too much about Tillman's early life and the NFL. However, once Tillman reaches Afghanistan and Krakauer starts telling the story he promised, the book takes a turn for the better. Filkins writes "The death of Tillman is handled deftly" and that "Krakauer performs a valuable service by bringing them [facts] all together". http://go.galegroup.com.lib.chandleraz.gov/ps/i.do?id=GALE|A207732676&v=2.1&u=chandler_main&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w

article on why Orwell is actually considered to be a leftist

Argument: An overarching theme in Douglas Coupland's books is depressing and the tones are extremely dark. Claim: Coupland's own disappointment of the world is seen in his books. He writes about the failures and apathy of society. Evidence: "With each new book, his vision darkens further, his tone becoming ever more nostalgic. His characters mourn not only the lost idealism of their youth but also something more important-purpose, meaning."

Argument: Thomas Hardy often wrote novels set in locations familiar to himself, allowing him to know their true culture and thus write more true, compelling, profound plots. Claim: Thomas Hardy based the locations in his novels off real locations. He channeled the reputations of the real cities in order to write his novels. The locations not only correspond with real places, but with distinct portions of the plot. Evidence: "Hardy freely constructs a partly real and partly fictional locale to accommodate a series of 'local' novels." "This village [Marygreen] is based on Great Fawley, Berkshire, where some of Hardy's ancestors are buried and where his grandmother lived." "This town [Christminster] is modeled on Oxford with its many colleges and exclusive intellectual atmosphere." "Christminster represents a typical university institution." "Village [Shaston] modeled after Shaftesbury in Dorset that Hardy uses as the backdrop for Jude and Sue's troubled reunion." http://search.ebscohost.com.lib.chandleraz.gov/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=MOL0300100593&site=lrc-live

Argument: Shakespeare's characters struggle with the conflict in human nature between reason and emotions. Claim: - Shakespeare's characters used overindulgence in pleasre and self indulgence to attack the Puritans.- He influences the moral value of freedom vs. restraint. Evidence: "Of the two extremes, the course of life that would banish all indulgence is emphasized as more objectionable." "Shakespeare composed in praise of the much - needed, well balanced nature, to extoll that happy union of judgement and of feeling which is the basis of higher sanity."

Argument: The meaning of the word equal within Orwell's two texts allow different readings due to the exploitable ambiguities of its meaning Claim: If "equal" can mean something desirable and good, it can also in a primary sense mean no more than "identical" or "same." Evidence: "The concept of political equality no longer existed, and this secondary meaning had accordingly been purged out of the word equal.(6)" "Whereby "equal" starts to lose its libertarian meaning and comes to mean no more than "identical." The term "equal" may, at the beginning of Animal Farm, hold its revolutionary connotation intact, but by the end of the book it carries a drastically reduced and sinister meaning."

Argument: Although Orwell's dystopian vision has not been born out by Soviet-style communism, the author's fears about the ability of the state to control people is still a danger in modern society Claim: The all-seeing manifestation in 1984 of the Party's power has come to stand as a warning of the insidious nature of government-centralized power, and the way that personal freedoms, once encroached upon, are easily destroyed altogether Evidence: "Winston maintains two avenues of hope for a life outside the confines of the party" "One of these possibilities is conscious, spoken: the proles. One of these possibilities is conscious, spoken: the proles. Just as Marx foresaw, in the nineteenth century, that the Revolution would come from a spontaneous uprising of the proletariat as they shook off the chains of their oppressors, so Winston writes in his diary that if there is hope, it lies in this 85 percent of Oceania's population that exists outside the confines of the Party" "The second possibility remains mostly unspoken and unconscious: desire. It is this possibility, the momentary destruction of the Party through intimate union with another person, which solidifies Winston's relationship with Julia"

Argument: Salinger's greatest struggle has been his search for right living and how to define the right path through his art. Claim: Salinger's characters have a great dissastisfaction with those around them. Evidence: "Salinger's art, especially the later fiction, is an attempt to dramatize his own version of right living. Ultimately his 'silence' becomes the culminating gesture when his life becomes the message, a testament of the values his art hitherto professed. "

Argument: Animal Farm is a modern satire. Claim: -The novel satires Russia's perversion of socialism -The animal's revolt is a symbol for any modern revolution -Any revolution is ultimately self-defeating Evidence: -"The use of multiple historical references gives a universal quality to this work." -"The rise of a ruling class of intellectual workers, the development of a leader figure, the use of scapegoats, and, above all, the rewriting of history and the misuse of language for party purposes, all figure in this satire" http://search.ebscohost.com.lib.chandleraz.gov/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=MOL0089900020&site=lrc-live

Argument:As Clark started developing more mystery novels in the 1970's, she became more successful and found her strength in writing.  Claim:Edward D. Hoch states that Clark's form of mystery is not simple murder or crime cases, but rather suspenseful plot lines that keep the tone of the book like something that cannot be put down. Hoch also claims that Clark's use of characters and victims that are somewhat related to real life people bring a different atmosphere to the novel. Clark's use of a heroine throughout her characters brings in an audience of women, and allows her books to be more successful with this specific audience.  Evidence: "But it is the suspense rather than the mystery that makes the book so compulsively readable."  "The idea of children in jeopardy strikes a responsive chord with women readers.." "The plot and its motivation are somewhat reminiscent of the sort of hospital thrillers Robin Cook excels at, but clark produces a few new twists of her own." "The story of a young woman who marries a man without really knowing him, and then goes off to live in an isolated house, is one of the classic themes of fiction." 

Argument: Mary Higgins Clark's novels contain similar traits that are seen within each of her mystery books.  Claim:Lisa A. Wroble claims that throughout the four books mentioned in her critical analysis, all four of them contain almost the same literary elements. Women as heroines, dramatic irony throughout the plot line, the motif of "bad guy" vs. "good guy", and  a theme of woman determination are some examples that Wroble mentions in her analysis. In addition to identical characteristics of Clark's novels, Wroble claims the effectiveness of Clark's writing in the mystery genre. Wroble goes into a little bit of depth on how Clark utilizes the specific literary elements to draw in the reader in every single piece of literature that she creates. Clark also backs up her stories with factual information, which, in Wroble's viewpoint, allows the plot to be more believable and captivating to the audience.     Evidence: "A masterful and popular storyteller, Mary Higgins Clark intricately laces suspense through tightly woven story lines to pull readers into her stories." "Clark's victims often have a friend or relative dedicated to seeing their adversary punished. This character is usually a very strong woman who puts a great deal of pressure on herself to help her loved one." "The reader never feels cheated by Clark's economical but informative and entertaining prose."

Argument: 1984 is a bad book, but will survive because it will always have relevance to society. Claims: 1984 has moral force as an early political warning; it is the Uncle Tom's Cabin of our time. Overall though, the book is poorly written with only the parody of the political slogans being decent aspects. Evidence: -1984's biggest reason for success is because society is moving towards the society portrayed in the book. -"Uncle Tom is a more interesting martyr than Orwell's failed martyr, the drab Winston Smith" -"Wyndham Lewis sensibly compared Orwell as a writer to H.G. Wells, but Wells was consistently more inventive and entertaining" -"A great pamphleteer, like Jonathan Swift, is a master of irony and satire. Here again, Orwell plainly is deficient. His literalness defeats his wit" -"He was a moral and political essayist who had the instincts of a pamphleteer" http://search.ebscohost.com.lib.chandleraz.gov/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=16405585&site=lrc-live

Argument: The moral characters of a young couple disintegrate as they wait to inherit a vast fortune. Claims: It is ironic how Anthony and Gloria only had to expect to get money to be corrupted by it. They are selfish and self-indulgent, both of which contributed to their attachment to greed, excess, and alcohol. Fitzgerald's disapproval of their actions is clearly evident throughout the book. Evidence: "As they move through their pointless round of pleasures, they demand wilder and stronger stimulation, but this only contributes to their downward spiral." "Quite a few of the pleasure-seeking, carefree antics of Anthony and Gloria-at least in the earlier sections of the novel-are based on escapades of Fitzgerald and his wife." "The third-person narrator veers between bemused appreciation of Anthony and Gloria as unapologetic hedonists and hardly veiled disapproval of their waste of talent and lives." http://search.ebscohost.com.lib.chandleraz.gov/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=MOL9830000741&site=lrc-live

Argument: H.G. Wells writes about science fiction, more specifically, a higher power or a powerful controller in his books War of the Worlds and The Time Machine. Claim: His Socialistic views rely heavily on his thoughts about the human race Evidence: "Wells felt that the (Socialist) party should take on a morea ctive role in changing the world". " (Wells) was an inventive futurist and was deeply concerned for the human race."

Argument: H.G. Wells writes about science fiction, more specifically, a higher power or a powerful controller in his books War of the Worlds and The Time Machine. Claim: Wells was a Totalitarianist who beleived one ruler would benefit mankind. And also during the Industrial Revolution, the world was changing more than ever. Evidence: "(Wells) eagerly awaited the global catastrophe that would destroy civilization as we know it and allow...technocrats to enslace hapless humanity."

Argument: Bram Stoker's relgious and cultural customs influence the characterization of the women in his novel Dracula; there are two types of women he writes about - the New Woman and 'classical' woman - and makes clear distinctions between the two. Claim: Stoker choses to salvage the only woman pure at heart - Mina - and condems the other women because of the characteristics associated with the New Woman, reflected in the Vampire character. Evidence: "The living woman is full of 'sweetness and purity,' while the un-dead vampire is associated with voluptuousness, carnality, and wicked desire." http://search.ebscohost.com.lib.chandleraz.gov/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=48218147&site=lrc-live.