ap english portfolio
DESCRIPTION
Collection of literature by Michael FriesTRANSCRIPT
Mike Fries
AP English Portfolio
Table of Contents
Page 3,4-The Things They Carried
Page 4,5,and 6-The Metamorphosis
Page 6,7,and 8-Frankenstein Essay
Page 8,9,and 10-Helen Essay
Page 10 and 11-Othello Literary Criticism
Page 11 and 12-The Pawnbroker
Page 12 and 13-College Essay
Page 13,14,and 15-Prose Response
Page 15 and 16-Forward
TTC and SH5 Comparison
Throughout the history of literature countless nonfiction stories have been brought
forth to us and have caught our attention. However, in these two novels, the authors
manage to tie fictional stories into nonfiction events that actually occurred in the history
of our great nation. The Things They Carried focuses more on multiple events and
accounts during the Vietnam War. Slaughterhouse-Five focuses on one specific event
which happened to be the famous bombing of Dresden. Both of these novels contain
some aspect of truth whether it is a factual or emotional experience.
The Things They Carried gives the audience a deeper meaning than just simply
reading entertaining stories about a company in the Vietnam War. Even though O’Brien
tells us that the accounts were not real and never took place, he comes back and
immediately states about how the experiences and feelings were real. The deeper
meaning is that young men did put their lives on the line for us and went through
countless physical and emotional challenges along the way. The truth portrayed in
Slaughterhouse-Five becomes much simpler. Vonnegut’s story was completely made up.
All of the characters did not exist in his novel. However, Vonnegut gives his audience
the knowledge and feeling that war brings about pointless deaths and many losses to all.
The audience then discovers for a fact that their was a beautiful town that went by the
name of Dresden and that it was the setting for a bombing by the Allies that took
thousands of lives.
The two novels seem to contain two types of truth. They have “story truth” and
“happening truth”. Both of these do not hold a great amount of story truth to them. The
authors inform us that all accounts have been completely made up. The more important
part of the novels is the accounts that actually happened. Happening truth tends to appear
more frequently than story truth. As stated before, the audience does become more aware
about the fire bombings that took place in Dresden. In O’Brien’s novel, the audience
does experience and notice the difficulties and feelings that the soldiers of Vietnam had
to go through. The truth that The Things They Carried and Slaughterhouse-Five contain
tends to differ. They are different because each author chose to focus on different topics.
Even though they are both about war, the author’s take two completely different styles of
writing when making these novels. O’Brien focused on the more emotional aspects of
war. None of his events actually happened. Vonnegut on the other hand gives his
audience facts and descriptions on an event that changed the course of World War II.
All in all, interpreting fact from fiction becomes a crucial element to the reader
when looking at these two novels. The author comes in contact with what is true and
what is not however, understanding the real truth behind these novels is what makes them
factual. The reader must discover the deeper meaning to know that some of these events
and experiences did take place during some period of time.
Short Story Position Paper
In “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, one can argue that the main conflict and
dilemma in the novel deals with change. The fact that the different characters in the
novel could not accept change results in the tragic and fatal ending to Gregor’s life. “One
morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in
bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug.” The transformation in “The
Metamorphosis” was very sudden not only for Gregor, but for all of the characters that
have interaction with Gregor in the story. The main principle the author tries to establish
to the audience in this short story is how a simple occurrence of change can have a
considerable amount of impact on the main person and the individuals around them.
The initial strategy Kafka applies to “The Metamorphosis” is the point of view
that he presents to his audience. Franz Kafka gives his readers a third person omniscient
point of view. Through this, the readers are able to witness the different actions that the
characters take, but they are not able to become involved in any thoughts that they may
possess. The family of Gregor tends to ignore him throughout his whole life. When they
are exposed to his dramatic transformation, they continue to ignore him, but they also feel
embarrassed by his presence. The family starts out being fine with his initial presence,
but then towards the conclusion of the story the family feels that all of their lives would
be better if Gregor were not around.
The second strategy used to show the author’s principle is the different characters
that Franz Kafka displays. As stated before, Gregor’s family has been noticed of
ignoring Gregor even through the times when he was in the shape of a normal human
being. The family does indeed continue to do this when he is a monstrous bug.
However, the feelings the family have for Gregor in each parts of the story are quite
diverse. The family has no problem with Gregor while he is in human form because he
works hard and brings in money to the family. While he is a bug, the family is greatly
troubled by what has happened and they all incline that they do not want him around due
to the fact that it is causing the family great pain and putting them all through an
immense amount of hardship. Sadly, the overall conversion of the family’s attitude
results in the unfortunate end to Gregor.
In brief, one can propose that the nature of “The Metamorphosis” was to teach all
who read it the effects a simple process of change can impose on individuals. Franz
Kafka presents this through the different strategies and methods in his initial point of
view and the characters that he preferred to utilize in his short story. Different concepts
of change occur in our world a vast number of times each day. How we answer to these
changes can greatly determine some of the more important outcomes that take place in
our lives.
Frankenstein Essay
It can be said that the actions one may take in life can have great consequences in
the future. These consequences may appear sooner or later however, they will indeed
come into view. A vast majority of the problems or dilemmas that we encounter in our
lives come from mistakes that we have made ourselves. Most of this pain and frustration
could have been avoided if we had simply chosen another alternative. In Mary Shelly’s
Frankenstein, the two main characters, Victor and the creature, inflict great deals of pain
upon not only themselves, but the people who become associated with them throughout
the course of the story.
Throughout the course of the story, the character that brings about the greatest
amount of pain to the world has to be Victor Frankenstein himself. This pain becomes
quite obvious after he has created the monster that ultimately results in the gradual
decline of Victor’s life. Victor is portrayed as having a blissful childhood where he had a
desire for knowledge. Unfortunately, this also became the Achilles heel of Victor. Due
to the fact that he desired to learn so much about the sciences of nature and what can be
considered “life”, Victor felt inclined to perform experiments until he created the monster
that destructed everything in his life that had meaning to him.
Countless examples of suffering take place in the story of Frankenstein. The
most common example of suffering usually takes place throughout the event of when
someone is murdered in the story. The creature, which Victor created, brings about
suffering by killing poor William. The suffering here revolves around Victor because he
is the only one who knows deep down the truth behind the murder of William. This
indeed results in more pain because Justine, a good friend of Victor, ends up taking the
blame and losing her life simply because the monster had been created and is now set on
inflicting pain and suffering upon Victor and everyone that he is associated with.
The tragic vision of this story is that one simple action in the course of one’s life
can have great consequences and therefore alter the remainder of that person’s life and
the people that are connected with them. Victor causes suffering mainly to his family
because the monster chose to come back and seek revenge through the act of murder. It
becomes quite obvious that the life of Victor and his relatives drastically change because
of the creation of the monster.
All in all, the figure of Victor has brought about suffering not only on himself, but
everyone who he knew and introduced in the novel. Sadly, a majority of these people
end up losing their lives because of the actions of Victor. All of the suffering and misery
comes from the simple fact that Victor became selfish with his knowledge and wisdom of
the world of science. If Victor never became obsessed with giving movement to lifeless
matter, then obviously the story would be much more different then how we know it
today. None of the pain or suffering would have taken place. The lives of the relatives of
Victor and Victor himself would have never been put into jeopardy like they were with
the monster present. As previously stated, the actions and choices that we make in life
greatly affect other events and problems that we are called to face. Victor could have
easily prevented these dilemmas and would have not had to go through the amount of
suffering if he would have not pursued his dreams of acquiring knowledge.
Helen Position Paper
In the translation of Helen by Rachel Hadas, one can argue that this work strongly
resembles all that Aristotle stood for and believed in when one should choose to write a
play with this magnitude of drama. Helen provides each person with a sense of wonder
at how fate can play such a vital role in the lives of everyone who was put on this earth.
In order to reveal this scheme, Hadas has utilized Aristotle’s different elements of drama
through the development of character and the plot.
The initial element that becomes quite apparent even through the first few scenes
of Helen is the personality of Helen that Hadas has provided. Hadas uses different
scenarios to describe the character of Helen immediately in the play so that the reader
may become capable of relating to her. The sorrow that Helen feels for herself becomes
evident when she states, “My beauty was the bait- a pretty word for what gave rise to
hate” (line 31). The spectators become informed here that Helen has initially portrayed
herself as one who does not settle for accepting faults and failures. Helen blames her
own beauty in order to give herself a sense of reassurance to inform her that she is not the
one who is at fault for all of the catastrophic events that had occurred at Troy. The
character development of Helen is set up in this fashion all throughout the play to give a
background and an emotional relation with the main character. The whole concept of
Helen’s uncontrollable beauty becomes the primary motive that drives the play and the
events that take place within it.
Each and every play must have some sort of plot that can be followed to keep the
audience involved and interested. This was one of the principal themes that Aristotle
demonstrated when working with a drama or a dramatic piece of literature. Hadas has
fulfilled the wants of Aristotle by putting together a translation of the well known story of
Helen that also builds on the previous stories of the Iliad and the Aeniad. Hadas chose to
continue these classic tales by furthering the story of Helen and trying to lighten the
amount of blame that she has been known to have received ever since this tale has been
told. The plot comes into play when Helen faces the conflict of having to marry Teucer
when her original husband Menelaus has just recently returned home from his voyage
from Troy. The plot becomes complete through the events that occur in the rising action,
the climax, and the falling action. Menelaus and Helen excite the play by preparing a
plan to bring them back into one another’s arms once again. They truly believed that fate
brought them back together and that fate would leave them with each other for the
remainder of their lives. The plot takes this path due to their faithfulness with each other
and that they would see each other again someday.
All in all, the elements of drama that Aristotle brought forth to the world of
literature become displayed in the play of Helen through the utilization of
characterization and plot. One can safely say with the evidence given that Helen tends to
feel sorry for her due to the fact that she was born with natural beauty and that it was her
own beauty that caused the destruction upon Troy and its people. The play was produced
on this idea and the conflict of how Menelaus must stop Helen from marrying Teucer and
bring her back home to Greece with him. The different types of play structure also
become utilized in this masterpiece by Rachel Hadas. Helen has become a high-quality
example when one would discuss the different elements of drama that Aristotle himself
bestowed upon the world.
Othello Literary Criticism
1) Arthur M. Eastman, "Othello as Ironist." In In Honor of Austin Wright, edited by Joseph Baim, Ann L. Hayes, and Robert J. Gangewere, pp. 18-29. Carnegie Series in English, no. 12. Pittsburgh: Carnegie-Mellon University, 1972.
I used this literary analysis to look at different situations in the story to see how Othello is actually portrayed as an ironist. The piece goes into great detail in comparing Iago and Othello. Some key points include how Iago discovers Othello’s weaknesses and uses them against him in order to carry out his plan. The article explains how Othello has an incredible amount of power but is yet still put into a stage of ignorance by Iago. The power that he holds is put to the test.
2) Estelle W. Taylor, "The Ironic Equation in Shakespeare's Othello: Appearances Equal Reality." CLA Journal 21, no. 2 (December 1977): 202-11.
This literary device goes into great depth explaining the pattern of irony that seems to be portrayed in Shakespeare’s plays. The main focus of the analysis circles around the character of Iago. Iago appears to be honest in front of Othello but in reality is the leader in the plan to separate Othello and Desdemona. The ironic part comes into play when Othello’s power is turned against him when Iago puts him in a stage of ignorance that leads to his ultimate downfall in the play. Nobody in the play holds a true identity throughout the course of this piece.
The Pawnbroker
In Joy Kogawa’s “Obasan”, a portrayal of hardship and sadness are conveyed in the
short passage regarding the experiences of the Japanese Canadians during the Second
World War. Kogawa utilizes a short memory of the past to portray an idea of how much
of a struggle these people had gone through during this period of time. The attitude of
hardship and struggle becomes quite apparent from the point of view, the structure of the
passage, and the objects that Kogawa utilizes in the story.
The primary way that Kogawa makes her idea familiar is by the point of view that
is contained within the story. Kogawa helps relate to others by presenting a first hand
experience of the topic and idea that is trying to be brought across. When one speaks in
the first person, people have an easier time of believing that person because they were
actual witnesses and saw with their own eyes what they were talking about.
The second literary strategy that Kogawa uses to make her point is the structure in
which the passage is presented to everyone. In the first part that is presented, Kogawa
portrays more of a descriptive idea of her own people during that time. They are
descriptions of the Japanese Canadians. Kogawa uses strong words for her own people
saying that they are “the despised, rendered voiceless”. Kogawa presents the actual
feelings of these people before her actual memory is encountered. The transition from
the description to the memory is quite apparent because they are the only two paragraphs
in the passage that contain a relatively large space between them. Kogawa does this to
separate her personal ideas from the actual memory she has of the Second World War.
The final strategy that Kogawa presents to get her idea across are the different
objects that come into play in the passage. Two main ones come to mind when thinking
about the experiences of the Japanese Canadians. The first one has to be the kitten in the
box on the train. The kitten can represent the Japanese people because they feel like
prisoners themselves. The cat is in a box which represents the people being confined.
The second idea is presented when Kogawa gives the fruit to the Japanese mother. This
presents the idea that the Japanese Canadian people are on their own and that nobody is
going to help them during this time. In order to receive help, they must look to one
another for it.
The message that Kogawa portrays in “Obasan” becomes quite clear through the
literary devices of the point of view, structure of the passage, and the different symbols
and objects that are used to present different ideas. Kogawa utilized this piece to make
people more aware of the struggle and toll that the Second World War had on her people.
Her memory reflects on different experiences that portray both of these ideas.
College Essay
Their have been a countless number of people who have somehow impacted my
life. I am grateful for having the opportunity of being able to interact and learn from
them. However, I do not personally know and I have never interacted with the individual
that I will mention. Even though I have never personally been able to meet them, I have
still learned a great deal from this individual. The man goes by the name of Lance
Armstrong. He lived his life to the fullest and has taken advantage of every minute he
has been alive.
Lance Armstrong has taught one of the most important actions that one person
can receive throughout the time of their life. He taught us that no matter what they odds
and what hand you are dealt, you must absolutely never give up. Mr. Armstrong was not
given much of a chance during one of the most important times of his life. During his
prime when he was in the best shape of his life, Lance got the news that he had been
diagnosed with brain, lung, and testicular cancer all at the same time. All of the doctors
that he saw told him that is was likely that he was not going to survive. Instead of giving
up, Lance decided to get back on the bike and continue on with his career. This
eventually led to the making of history. Lance eventually won seven Tour de Frances in a
row.
Lance has shown me that no matter how bad things are, you should never mail
it in and give up. I have continued to watch Lance for years and he continues to amaze
me. He has set a great example for me because he gives his best effort in every single
aspect of his life. Whenever I take the field, I have tried to mimic the doings of Lance by
giving my best effort whenever I enter a competition. I have had the great privilege of
being able to watch Lance for seven years now. I have watched him be outmatched and
against all odds and yet still he continued to fight. Lance has been against the ropes and
face to face with death. He is happily alive today and has confidently beaten cancer. To
me, that is a true warrior and a hero.
All in all, Lance has continued to not only set an example for me, but for all
people who are going through struggles either physically or mentally. People can look at
Lance and know that by not giving up and continuing to fight, good results are very likely
to occur. It is sad to know that Lance is not competing anymore. I have greatly enjoyed
watching him take every challenge he has ever had by the horns. This man gives hope to
people everywhere. It shows the simple concept of how if you put your mind to it, you
can accomplish anything.
Prose Response
In the literary works of William Shakespeare, a sense of revenge and self-
satisfaction seems to be the key components that drive each of his plays. A concrete
example of these two elements appear quite obviously in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The
primary driving force of Hamlet’s actions in the play come from a character who does not
appear a great amount, but does indeed influence Hamlet to seek revenge upon his new
father. This character would be known as the ghost of Hamlet’s original father. The
affects actions in the play through his motives, his status, and the information that he
reveals to his son.
The initial way that the ghost begins the entire reason behind the play is his
motive. The ghost appears to Hamlet because he wants to inform Hamlet that his father
was actually murdered by the king and that his entire family was betrayed. The entire
play is based on Hamlet’s plan of seeking revenge upon his father’s death. One of the
main reasons why Hamlet feels that he should seek revenge is because the ghost asks him
to do so. Hamlet feels content to do so because the ghost is his father and he must honor
him.
The status of the ghost becomes crucial in the part of the play where Hamlet is
indecisive on whether or not he should take action on what he has just been told. The
ghost appears as the father of Hamlet who was betrayed by his brother so that he could be
king. Hamlet concludes that he will avenge his father’s death because he cared a great
deal about his father. If it were anybody else asking for this favor, Hamlet would not
have been up for the task. Hamlet becomes both sad and angry when he receives news
that his father was betrayed. Hamlet was informed about certain issues that he had no
realization that they actually took place. The ghost of his father made Hamlet aware that
he was betrayed and told him to act upon it and avenge his death. One could say that this
moment started the entire play and gave Hamlet the initial suspicion of the king. The
entire play thrives off of this initial meeting between Hamlet and the ghost.
All in all, the ghost does not appear much but does contain a great deal of
importance throughout Hamlet. The ghost gives Hamlet the initial idea and reason of
why he should partake in the act of avenging the death of his father. Without the ghost,
Hamlet would have never become aware that his father was betrayed and he would have
never carried out his brilliant plan.
Forward
From looking at my collection of writings, I have noticed that there are many
different things I need to improve on in order to become a better writer at the next level.
I need to have a better choice of words with my vocabulary and I need to stop
summarizing when the prompt asks me for a specific thing to touch base on. I have
tended to not state my opinion clearly and summarization can hurt me in the long run if I
do not avoid it in the future. Not being able to expand my vocabulary will also take a big
toll on my writing in the future. I tend to use more simple words instead of finding
synonyms for them in order to make my paper better. I also need to become a better
writer when I only have a short amount of time to write. It is important that I organize
my thoughts and ideas when I am under a time limit and that I must tie them into what I
am trying to say.
I have also noticed many positive things that I do when I have written my papers
over the course of this year. I have noticed that I am good at organizing my ideas and
tying them together when transitioning from paragraph to paragraph. I am able to give a
smooth word transition to the reader so that they will not feel lost and they will be able to
clearly see what the next topic is.
Over all, I have greatly improved on my writing this year. I hope to keep up the
improvement throughout my life as I know that it will help me in the future. I would like
to thank you Mrs. Reel for all of your time and effort during the school year. I give my
credit to you for the great improvement on my pieces of work.