Revisit: Open Prompt 4.

2009. A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Select a novel or play and, focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

    Unfaithful men are often stereotyped to spend lavishly on their mistresses, buying items such as expensive jewelry and lingerie. In Death of a Salesman, however, the stockings Willy Loman purchases represent more than just a gesture of kindness. Arthur Miler uses the symbol of stockings to represent Willy's financial failings as well as unfaithfulness, significantly contributing to Arthur Miller's general critique of the American Dream. 

     Arthur Miller first brings the symbol into the play when Linda is patching up her old battered stockings. Upon seeing this, Willy is completely outraged and insulted by her actions. He insists that he can buy her new stockings, forcefully implying that he is completely able to buy her new stockings. From the beginning though, we know that Willy hasn't been losing sales and that there is financial insecurity. Therefore, we as an audience can easily draw some connections, that their financial standing is battered just like the stockings. Willy has not been a prosperous salesman, and consequently cannot purchase new stockings for his wife like he once could. Thus, Willy's incapability to produce stockings and income expose how faulty the American Dream truly is.

     Furthermore, these stockings show his failure as a family man. Instead of buying new stockings for his wife, we see in a dramatic encounter where he hands his mistress two boxes of stockings as Biff awkwardly watches. Biff then accuses Willy not of cheating on Linda, but simply that Willy gave Linda's stockings to the mistress. Miller uses the stockings to convey that Willy is not focusing his love and sexual attention towards his wife, the rightful recipient of the stockings. Using the stockings to illustrate sexual desire, we see the failure of the stereotyped family in the American Dream especially since Biff was there to watch as Willy's affair unfolded.

     In conclusion, Death of a Salesman is powerful in it's criticisms of the American Dream as it utilizes the symbol of stockings to undermine the dream. The symbolism of the stockings has two meanings, representing both Willy's incapability to provide income and also his adulterous activities. Overall, the stockings help the audience really grasp specific details of the play that expose how false the American Dream is. 

Revisit: Open Prompt 3

Literature often incorporates physical journeys not as a method of getting from point A to B, but rather as a symbol of emotional development. Likewise, Vergil’s epic poem the Aeneid uses a physical journey to test the character of the main character Aeneas through the entire plot. With imagery and details, Vergil uses the aspects of a physical journey to embody the great leadership attributes of the main character Aeneas and also to provide a driving force for plot development.

The physical journey in the Aeneid tests Aeneas’ leadership as it throws many challenges at him, which prove to demonstrate his capabilities as the leader of the Trojan men. From the start, we learn that Aeneas’ destination is Italy, where he is fated to find a great powerful race. However, the founding of this nation is no easy job for the Trojans. They’re constantly thwarted by the wrath of Juno, as she tries to toy with fate by throwing the Trojans off course. Despite feeling  discouraged, he provides motivation by exhibiting strength in times of adversity. Even after Aeolus’ deadly storm that reduces his fleet by more than half, he still finds the courage deep within to offer some words of encouragement and inspiration. He kindly reminds them of how they’ve overcome past endeavors far more strenuous than a storm, and that they must continue on their journey.

However, his determination and drive forward are not just the result of courage. He gets much of his courage from faith in the gods. We see that one of his attributes as a great leader is his strong unwavering piety. He, unlike Juno, knows that he cannot toy with fate and must trust in the gods to guide over him and his men. Though at times he seemingly is punished by the divine powers, his relentless face ultimately leads the Trojans to success.

As well as exposing Aeneas’ many characteristics, the physical journey keeps the long strenuous journey interesting and moving forward. Without the journey, we as readers have difficulty following along. The journey provides a nice linear method of organizing the events in the story. We can associate important events and people like Dido with specific places that the Trojans travel to. The very dense plot of the Aeneid would otherwise be heavily jumbled, leaving the readers to piece together the scattered elements of the plot.

In conclusion, the physical journey in the Aeneid nicely lays out the plot and exhibits Aeneas' character. It significantly adds to this epic poem by enhancing its effects through organizing all the important elements of the poem, while also providing an easy way for readers to follow along. 

Revisit: Open Prompt 2

As the Great Depression demolished the family funds and the Dust Bowl destroyed the family crops, plantation owners took full advantage of the desperate situations. Knowing that everyone was desperate for work, these owners compromised a fair wage to maximize corporate profit. The Joad family in Grapes of Wrath were one of many victims to this selfishness, as they embarked on a strenuous journey to California in pursuit of better wages. Through alternating language and numerous details of their journey, John Steinback blends the social issue of greed into his novel and makes his audience realize how superficial the American dream truly is. 

The plot includes few happy moments for the Joad family. The first Joad family member we meet is someone who has been convicted for homicide. As we follow him on his way back home, Tom Joad finds his old house empty. A neighbor tells him that they were evicted, and are at his Uncle’s house. Even from the start, we as readers are exposed to greed through the ousting of the Joads out of their home. With Steinback’s numerous details about how the landowners cut costs by replacing the Joad family with a large tractor, he makes us despise large wealthy landowners and sympathize with families like the Joads who have been cheated of their American dream. 

But things only escalate in difficulty as the voyage out west starts. The Joad family encounters numerous hardships, including the deaths of both grandparents. To heighten the sense of struggle of the Joad family faces, however, the narrator of the story often strays from the main plot. The narrator changes from the neutral narrator to the lively language of a greedy car salesman, juxtaposing the poor families traveling out west with the people who are making a profit off of their struggles. By seeing both sides of the corrupter and the cheated, we feel even more pity for the families trying to gain the stereotypical American dream of a house, car, and land. 

In conclusion, John Steinback criticizes the American dream by incorporating greed into his novel. By manipulating language, he masterfully portrays salesmen, landowners, and corporations as antagonizing forces against the common people. Steinback makes us question whether or not the American dream is an achievable goal or simply a shallow facade. 

Revisit: Open Prompt 1

2007 Prompt: In many works of literature, past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present activities, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or play in which a character must contend with some aspect of the past, either personal or societal. Then write an essay in which you show how the character's relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

People often times wish to create a new image for themselves by completely severing ties with the past. However, Jay Gatsby’s social recreation in The Great Gatsby does not free him from his past that holds memories of precious lover Daisy. Fitzgerald uses numerous details to shape symbols pertaining to the past and vivid imagery to provide an overall nostalgic tone throughout this novel that heavily incorporates Jay Gatsby’s past in the whole plot development. 

Starting as the impoverished James Gatz, he falls in love with Daisy and lets her believe he holds the same social rank as her. They fall deeply in love, but ultimately part ways after he leaves America to serve in World War One. Daisy loses patience, and ends up marrying Tom Buchanan. Upon learning this, Gatz devotes his life to reconstructing his social status. He resorts to bootlegging in a desperate attempt to completely terminate his sad past life of squalor and poverty so that he might win Daisy back. By changing his name to Jay Gatsby, he literally creates a new name for himself while also figuratively producing a completely new person.

Eventually, Gatsby reconnects with Daisy through Nick Carraway. While the three of them are conversing, the clock on the mantle falls.Gatsby dramatically catches it, symbolically emphasizing how important this is by writing more than just a sentence or two about the occurrence. The clock falling is an emblem of the past, as Gatsby tries to rekindle the flame that was once there with Daisy. This also represents the ime that the two of them are losing, and Gatsby saving the clock demonstrates his effort to stop that escaping time.

Fitzgerald switches up the settings of his chapters, frequently jumping between the past and present.  His imagery, such as that to describe the past moment of Daisy and Gatsby together, makes the past seem like a much more pleasant setting and makes readers just as nostalgic as Gatsby. Fitzgerald evokes feelings such as sadness and loneliness in the present convincing readers how much more pleasant the past is. 

Throughout Fitzgerald’s timeless classic, his details and imagery make the readers of the novel look romantically on the past. But despite Gatsby’s recreation of himself as a wealthy upperclass gentleman, he does not successfully detach himself from his former life. His love for Daisy not only forces him to look backwards, but also serves as a constant reminder of how he is still an outcast of her social rank.