APLit2012

Argument: Matthew Wynn Sivils argues that William Faulkner, in his novel "Sound and the Fury", uses ecological disturbances in his books from real life events. Claim: "The convict was bearing again that sound which he had heard twice before and would never forget-that sound of deliberate and irresistible and monstrously disturbed water." Sivils uses this quote from one of Faulkner's books, "If I Forget Thee, Jersualem", to mimic the forthcoming of a tsunami. Evidence: "The flourishing of Faulkner's literary career coincided with perhaps the worst period of environmental abuse the South has ever known, and it is unsurprising that he incorporates such desolation into his writing." "Faulkner's literary symbiosis between African Americans and the land helps reveal his environmental consciousness-his view of the South as a place of complicated racial and natural conflict." "Anyone who understands the effect of seasonal changes on the land and the relationships between animals, or knows the best place to hunt or fish is thinking not only environmentally but ecologically. This way of knowing the natural world is based upon an understanding of community, and few writers understood community, human or non human, as well as Faulkner"

Argument: Death is defined not only by what is causing it but how the individual handles the strides of it. Claim: The disease pales in comparison to how the person chooses to live their life. If a person is encouraged and allowed to act negatively, they will be so. Finding the passion in something to throw oneself in is more valuable then giving up or submitting. Evidence: "The real question, though, is whether any lasting strength can be gained from an account like this one--strength that derives from knowing ourselves (as Morrie and Mitch do not) to be the legatees of inviolable traditions, cultural and professional alike, as well as members of a vast and enduring human community that stretches back into history and forward into the experience of those yet to come."

Exploring the more violent side of the segregation between Jack's group and Ralph's tribes, a more ritualistic behavior breaks out in desperation to seek reasoning and in a sense a religion to be guided through in a situation in which order is lacking. The tribe Jack belongs to adopts a "God" figure in which a sacrifice must be offered to maintain peace and fortune to the tribe. Jack evolves and leads an elite group of warriors which are called pig- hunters who chant graphic and murderous statements and present themsleves as barbaric hunters. Gordon compares Goldings ideas to Homers workings using similarities such as disguise and the chant Jack's pig hunters use to Homer's soldiers' war scream. "Electra in Orestes: Murder! Butcher! Kill! Thrust your twin swords home! Slash, now slash again! foreshadows the brutish, imperative yell of Jack's pig-hunters: "Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Do him in!"" The idea of law and morality are replaced with the savage instinct of a berseker that Jacks tribe of followers live by.

Argument- This article basically discusses the treatment of children in fiction works such as Charles Dickens. It also compares the treatment to how children are treated today and how they are different, both in good and bad ways. Claims- This article focuses on the treatment of children, their welfare condition, psychological problems, and role as money earner for the family. It uses examples from authors from the 1830 on to the mid-19th Century including Dickens. It also discusses how the abuse stories written in the news could have been simply chapter headings in the books about the conditions in the past. Evidence- "Headlines and accounts of custody and foster care cases in newspapers read like episodes in fiction: "Escaping Abuse But Not Neglect: Languishing in Foster Care"; "Mom Would Pick Jail Over Giving Up Son"; "Mom Wins Long Fight for 2 Kids; Woman Regains Custody After Children's Services Gives Up 3-Year Battle"; "Mother, 24, Arrested After 6 Children Are Found Alone." Better funding and more vigorous implementation of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 would probably help, but it is hard to believe that the stories will have happy endings as long as family poverty is compounded by lack of education, hopelessness, and drug and/or alcohol abuse, and the children's environment at home, school, and play is violent and unwholesome"(Bremmer 1). "Novels and stories depicting the social condition of children and exploring their psychological problems played an important role in arousing concern for children at a time when childhood was virtually without rights or protection. The works discussed are worth recalling because they reflected prevailing attitudes and practices in child care, inspired sympathy for and understanding of children, and contributed to a hostile stereotype of adult child welfare workers. The authors' favorite remedy for children's problems--keeping them with or getting them back to their own parents or, if that w

Argument: Flashbacks, if utilized efficiently, can be a revealing part of a story. Claim: Flashbacks have to have a proper transition in and out of the story. They connect with the story and give more exposure however cannot deter from the main story itself so much that events are overshadowed. Make sure flashbacks are motivated Evidence: "By all means use flashbacks, but for good reason: not because you want to use them, but because your story demands them. Ask: Does the flashback deepen our understanding of a character or a relationship? Does it provide needed background? In the end, it comes down to what a story needs."

Argument In this article, author Susan Tarrow, contrary to the common belief that Meursault maintains the same passive attitude throughout the book, argues that he is instead a dynamic character who evolves through the course of the novel. She explains that Camus's clever use of language establishes a tone that forces many readers to be frustrated with Meursault. Claim Tarrow explains that Meursault is introduced as passive character whose attitude allows him to act with total disregard for others. By the end of the second part, he develops into a  staunch defender of his individuality; he maintains his right to not admit to believing in concepts that do not seem logical to him. Camus's use of passe compose, or compound past tense, maintains a passive tone and establishes the theme of absurdism. Meurasult does not make emotional connections to events which frustrates many people. His lack of language, or rationale for his action, seems insane but he simply does not feel the need for it. Evidence "If the hero Meursault has a moral message-and the reference to him as a Christ figure would suggest that he has-it is one that plays a constant role in Camus's thought; there are no absolutes to which one can adhere, only limits, and the vital nuances are played out within those limits. Total indifference and apathy allow others to act without limits. Meursault develops from an acquiescent figure who admits no limits to a combatant who claims the right to be different" (Tarrow). "When The Stranger was first published in 1942 the aspect that evoked the most interest among critics was the use of the passé composé, the compound past tense, since the traditional tense used in literary narrative is the passé simple. Sartre, in his review of the book, comments that the effect of the passé composé is to isolate each sentence, to avoid giving any impression of cause and effect" (Tarrow). "Meursault, who places no reliance on language, throws down

Argument: Novels can be classifies as dystopian if it contains certain factors that reveal language and discourse as a fundamental device of power. Claim: The society portrayed in Fahrenheit 451, shows that ignorance is shared amongst all the people in order to make sure that happiness is attainable for all. The use of language and power and discourse portrays the society's flaws and the need for change. In addition, the difference of power and language between each character displays the need to rebel against society Evidence: "The government of this society has perverted the meaning of happiness into basic hedonism so that happiness is attainable for anyone who is willing to buy into the array of commercial products" (valentine). "...discourse on commercial happiness feeds into the narcissism of people by depriving them of emotions and awareness beyond their own needs"(Valentine).

Argument: Marion Dalvai argues that a Utopia--the perfect society--is a fantasy due to the lack of perfection in the world. The idea to satisfy everyone equally in a society seems impossible and is ridiculed by Orwell. Since Winston is not satisfied, the idea of Emanuel Goldstein seems very appealing to Winston as he wishes to dissent from the party as much as possible. Claim: Orwell explains how a Utopian government fails to appease everyone. The narrator, Winston, is tired of long years of working and the lack of adequate care by the government. Due to this dissatisfaction, Winston relates to Emanuel Goldstein and the Brotherhood and their beliefs and wants to join the resistance. In essence, dissatisfaction in the government will eventually lead to the fall of the government, as seen throughout history, and Utopianism accelerates the process. Evidence: "He finds Goldstein to be an intelligent man with insight and vision; capable of analyzing the historical and social factors that led to the creation of the totalitarian state of Oceania" (Dalvai, 391). "Utopias reflect this inherent ambiguity: they are vision of good and possibly attainable social systems as well as fantasies of desirable but inaccessible perfection" (Dalvai, 388)

Argument- Peters adequately portrays a teenager dealing with all the problems that come along with high school and family...Claim- holland is a teenager that struggles with identity. Evidence- "A lesbian? Is that what I was? I hadn't thought about a new self-identity. A label. All I knew was, I loved her." "telling the truth about yourself, to yourself and to others."

Argument: The Giver is not just a 'controversial' and 'banned' book, but it also has much more depth in it that meets the eye; set within a distopic setting, Lowry uses the setting to construct a way to see into today's morality code as well as the reader's. Claims: *Irony over the censorship of the book *different views on what the book's meaning(s) are Evidence: *Lowry foreshadows this perplexing but hopeful ending when she describes Jonas as Keeper of the "memories of the whole world." Her message, finally, is that one cannot ignore uncomfortable memories; one must embrace a "whole" vision, which contains joy as well as pain, if one (or one's children) is/are ever to feel "at home" in the world. *Through Jonas, Lowry argues for the preservation of a kind of creative vision, a vision which every community needs if it is to benefit from its citizens' differences and input. *The irony of censorship attacks on the novel is that The Giver dramatizes the plight of an individual living in a society that censors its peoples' language, emotions, and behaviors. This irony is compounded by the fact that most who would like to see The Giver censored confess that they have never read the novel in its entirety.