So far this month, we have finished reading Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. After class discussions and explanations from Ms. Holmes, I realized that R&G actually had more depth and meaning to it than I had originally thought. I liked how this play was not only comical, but also had great themes in it, like death. After annotating, I could definitely see how R&G related closely to Hamlet.
We have also done some closed essay prompt practice. I think with each practice we have done, I have gotten better at pointing out claims and evidence within the text, but the analyzing and explaining is the hardest part. The prompts are quite tricky as well, since Ms. Holme's has pointed out that there could be more than one meaning behind a prompt and that you have to talk about both meanings to recieve a decent score. This scares me a bit because I am great at finding the obvious meaning, but it takes me a while to find the second and deeper meaning to the text.
Finally, we have just started reading Ceremony. I like how Ms. Holmes taught us history about the culture of the tribe. It definitely cleared some of my confusion about this story. I think this book is one of the harder texts we have read this year and I am looking forward to finishing the book, as it is quite interesting to read!
Hey Julie,
ReplyDeleteI agree that R&G was a lot more in-depth than I first thought. Especially after our first read in class, I didn't think that this play could really be as complex as it is. I think the comical effects in the play kept my attention throughout it. I am actually very happy to get in some closed prompt essay practice since the AP exam is actually coming up fairly soon. The background history we learned for Ceremony really intrigued me and made me look forward to finishing the book. However, annotation for this book is going to be so time consuming. Overall, good job!
What was your initial idea of Rozencrantz and Guildenstern? Was it just that 'this play is funny'? Do you think that it has any meaning, or just that it likes to talk a lot about really deep ideas? I definitely agree with you about the essays, though; it is way easier for me to find a bit of evidence and say "there this is the thing" than it is to cobble it together into an essay, especially in such a short time limit. As much as I don't want to have to do it again, extra practice will help in the long run.
ReplyDeleteI got really absorbed in Ceremony, but I agree with Aishwarya, because annotating it got repetitive and sloggy.
It was surprising how much death R&G had. It really does touch deeply on death, and I thought it was really profound. I feel the same way about the essays! I really need to work on finding those double meanings and writing everything that would relate to the prompt to cover it comprehensively.
ReplyDelete^^Same as those two about Ceremony.