Prose Essay "Animal Farm"

Prose Essay #2: George Orwell’s Animal Farm Throughout George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the employment of allegory and satire criticize promoted socialist principles under an oppressive government, which consequently, results in dystopia. The animals’ envisioned future of “a society of animals set free from hunger and the whip” became “a time where no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after confessing to shocking crimes” (Orwell 64). Suppressing the opinion of the public domain, the pigs validate their prominence through intimidation. So, the animals remain tentative to speak out against the government, which invited more corruption in the process. When these atrocities become habitual, all hope for change is lost. It is concealed beneath an obstruction of language, undermining the pursuit of perseverance. Providing historical context to Animal Farm, Orwell employs an allegory in order to satirize Joseph Stalin’s management of the Soviet Union. Napoleon, the unquestioned ruler of Animal Farm, suppresses revolutions once the animals learn to experience “terror of the dogs, and of the habit, developed through long years, of never complaining, never criticizing, no matter what happened” (Orwell 97). Of course, the explored methods of secret police, interrogations, public executions, and body guards were used by Stalin when changing the infrastructure of Russia. And, yes, this change promised the Soviet Union’s economic development. This change even promised an improved standard of living. Because no one is truly immune against temptation. When given the opportunity, man and animals will descend into darkness, an inescapable chasm. And although the pigs “declared contemptuously that [the] stories about Sugarcandy Mountain were lies,” the animals held the expectation that an improved world existed outside Animal Farm (Orwell 85). Yes, they were correct. While living on Animal Farm, however, the animals were concealed in darkness, believing the lies fabricated by the malevolent pigs. Church, an unrelenting faith in a heaven and a life beyond perception, excuses the pigs, allowing them to continue ruling over the animals. Through using an allegory to compare the explored actions of Stalin and the pigs, Orwell crafts Animal Farm as a censure of the Soviet Union, and, by extension, any totalitarian dictatorship that impedes natural rights. Of course, through ruling over the animals, the imagined golden future is impossible, a fabricated story designed to conceal the pigs’ ascension to power. Employing propaganda to emphasize their successes, the manipulation of the truth remains obscured beneath ignorance. The unquestioned leaders of Animal Farm, the pigs convince the animals that “the Commandment had not been violated; for clearly there was good reason for killing the traitors who had leagued themselves with Snowball” (Orwell 66). This observation, however, is an expression of denial. For so long, the animals believed in Animal Farm and the preconceived notion that individuals should be equal under the commandments. Unfortunately, the animals have inadvertently recreated Manor Farm. What was the difference between Manor Farm and Animal Farm? The government that represented the public domain. Of course, the hardships endured under the management of Mr. Jones were only perceived to be worse because of the slogan “Four legs good, two legs better!” (Orwell 133). Time and time again, an objective truth is concealed beneath ignorance. Under the false pretense that the standard of living would improve, the animals supported an oppressive government under the leadership of the pigs. While animals considered themselves to be immunized against “man’s vices,” the pigs eventually become indistinguishable from man (Orwell 4). What could have happened that allowed the pigs to implement such an oppressive government? An unrelenting faith in the future and a willingness to accept the consequences of changing the future. Unfortunately, this conception of a utopian society is undermined by the vice of power. The pigs that once represented Animal Farm are gone. Now, Manor Farm exists under the pseudonym Animal Farm. That is, the guaranteed freedoms of utopian societies are concealed beneath the manipulative government, which creates dystopic societies.

Prose Essay "Nineteen Eighty-Four"

AP Prose Essay #1: George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four Personal convictions. A moral compass that perpetuates an ideal conception of a conscience. A conscience that is incapable of change, no matter the impending consequences. Throughout George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four the employment of satire and degradation of language operates to criticize socialist principles that result in dystopia, preserving the relativism of truth by using propaganda. Revealing the detraction from moral convictions, Orwell satirizes an ideal conception of the future conceived through revolution. Admitting to O’Brien that he and Julia will do “Anything that [they] are capable of” to undermine the totalitarian regime of the Party, Winston induces his mental degradation, sacrificing morality with the intended purpose of changing the future for the following generations of human beings (Orwell 199). Of course, Orwell explicates how no one is immunized against vice. When given the opportunity, individuals will descend into darkness and recreate dystopia. Unfortunately, this is an unavoidable truth of life and the “complete truthfulness” promoted by the Party is concealed beneath ignorance (Orwell 40). Truth is relative. What determines an objective truth? Individual perception, but, more importantly, whoever remains in power. Immunizing conscience against carnal emotions and impulsive nature, Orwell highlights that detraction from morality can be prevented through the perception of an objective truth. Time, a natural progression of our character through learning experiences, is controlled by the Party in order to manipulate the truth. Although Winston believes to have held “unmistakable evidence of an act of falsification” at one instance in time, O’Brien convinces him that this was a fabricated thought to preserve his conception of Emmanuel Goldstein and the Brotherhood, which would undermine the actions of the Party and change the outcome of the future (Orwell 86). Coming to the realization that the ascendance of the Party corresponded with the disparaging failures of the totalitarian dictatorships preceding it, Winston acknowledges the hopelessness of the pursuit of the truth and chooses to abandon his moral convictions and assimilate into the causes of the Party. Demonstrating the concealment of truth from the public during a time of warfare, Orwell foreshadows the future, a future where the deplorable actions of the government are validated by an invasion of privacy. Conceding that “the middle sixties” were “the period of the great purges in which the original leaders of the Revolution were wiped out once and for all,” Winston becomes an existentialist, questioning the meaning of his existence and becoming disillusioned from the Party’s manipulation of the truth (Orwell 86). This exposure to the deplorable actions of the Party eventually serves as an excuse for Winston to abandon the moral convictions which made him unique in the first place. The creation of Newspeak, and, consequently, “the destruction of words” and colloquial language operates to remove public opinion and the prospect of a revolution (Orwell 59). The Party is an oppressive government, manipulating language to suppress individual conceptions of the future. In this way, the social hierarchy is maintained and the world is devoid of hope. Truth is relative. Truth is determined by the government in power at an instance in time. With the truth obscured beneath ignorance and the destruction of colloquial language, however, there is nothing to promote change. Nothing to influence the future. The world will remain the same, concealed with a darkness created by an oppressive government.

Poetry Essay #1 "Conscience"

AP Poetry Essay #1: Henry David Thoreau’s Conscience What is conscience? Yes, conscience is an instinctive response And yes, conscience is a series of moral convictions that operate to supersede impulsive desire. However, when exposed to individual perception and unrestrained emotion, the conscience is capable of change. In Conscience, Henry David Thoreau employs apostrophe, anaphora, and an alternating rhyme scheme and meter to communicate how the virtuous conscience is undermined by the complexities of the truth. Through the promotion of his ideal conception of conscience, Thoreau acknowledges how our instinctive nature is corrupted by carnal emotions. Asserting that “Conscience is instinct bred in the house,” Thoreau recognizes that “Feeling and Thinking propagate the sin[s]” that undermine the intrinsic principles of morality (Thoreau 1-2). And through censuring emotion, Thoreau explicates how this detraction from morality is an inevitable experience that humans must endure in order to gain perspective, learning from the consequences of their actions. Using parallel structure to emphasize the need for a conscience which is unalterable, Thoreau associates a virtuous conscience with simplicity. Commenting that “A conscience worth keeping” is “A conscience wise and steady” and “A conscience exercised about/Large things,” Thoreau demonstrates the pertinence of using moral convictions to as a guidance to achieve success (Thoreau 16, 18, 22-23). Under the assumption that an unrelenting moral conscience will contribute to eternal salvation, Thoreau communicates his perception of the world, a time where conscience was not convoluted by the complexities of life. Employing an alternating rhyme scheme and meter throughout this poem, Thoreau portrays how the conscience is not immunized against corruption. The conscience can be changed. When criticizing the Calvinist doctrine of predestination, Thoreau contrasts the desire to be “predestinated to be good” with the virtue of honesty, which allows individuals to be “false to none” (Thoreau 25, 28). Of course, the disillusionment endured when exposing moral conscience to incriminating allegations is self-induced. Exploring the pervasive contradictions in a perception of good and evil, Thoreau writes “If not good, why then evil,/If not good god, good devil” (Thoreau 35-36). Without the infrastructure of a conscience undeterred by perceptions of the truth, Thoreau astutely observes that you will concede to temptation, sacrificing your integrity. While a conscience will function for individual perception of an objective truth, it is not unalterable. Encountering the vices and darkness of the world is a disheartening experience, and, consequently, individuals will change their perception. And their conscience. Truly, in the end, nothing can be immunized against corruption. Not even the conscience.

Poetry Essay #2 "All Is Vanity, Saieth the Preacher"

AP Poetry Essay #2: Lord Byron’s All Is Vanity, Saieth the Preacher Vanity is a deplorable but unavoidable truth of life. When given the chance, individuals will take advantage of the opportunities they are given and will descend into darkness. Although the past remains unalterable, the key to eternal salvation is to show remorse. Through demonstrating remorse, individuals can continue living while improving themselves. In All Is Vanity, Saieth the Preacher, Lord Byron employs paradoxes and personification in order to acknowledge how the vice of power consumes the human race, undermining their sacred moral principles. Delivering this oration through the perspective of a preacher, Byron demonstrates how the prevalence of temptations plagues the moral character of the individual. Epitomized as the messengers of God’s eternal words, preachers are perceived to be infallible, incapable of relenting to the temptations of the world. Exposing the concealed truth beneath this assumption, Byron recognizes how the insatiable desire of the preachers validate their deplorable standard of living, asserting how “There rose no day, there roll’d no hour/Of pleasure unembittered” (Byron 13-14). Yes, the civil obligation of the preachers is to deliver the timeless messages communicated by the Holy Bible. What happens to this valiant cause? The preacher is consumed by a pursuit of material commodities, which, consequently, prevents them from experiencing true pleasure. Although at one instance in time “Fame, wisdom, love and power” were possessions of the preacher, the temptation of accentuating their status through the acquisition of “mortal prize” clouded their judgment, leaving them to ruminate over the consequences of their actions (Byron 1, 7). Through a remembrance of their previous mistakes, the preachers initiate a repentance of their sins, modeling the virtue of forgiveness. With an unburdened conscience, preachers are able to demonstrate how achieving eternal salvation is an enviable option for the entire human race. Through personifying intrinsic qualities of the human race, Byron communicates how an indulgence in vices is an inexplicable truth of life. Constrained by the grievous mistakes endured during the past, the preacher strives to account for the days “Remembrance can discover/Which all that life or earth displays/Would lure me to live over” (Byron 10-12). Expressing a willingness to change, the preacher comes to the evident realization that the capability to change is achieved through an acceptance of your past. Although the solution to the preacher’s detraction from morality is unclear, Byron expresses how this resolution will not “list to wisdom’s lore” and will perpetuate the number of “souls that must endure it” (Byron 21, 24). An unavoidable and unfortunate truth of life, the preacher resolves to improve the content of his character to set an example for the human race. The preacher is indistinguishable from the members of the human race. The only difference is the preacher’s emotional capacity. The internal desire to change. Now, the triumph of the human spirit becomes individual perseverance against the obstacles. With a recognition of the past and an unrelenting quest for self-improvement, the preacher validates his status as a messenger of God.

A Fitting Epitaph Powerpoint

Analysis of Lord Byron's "All Is Vanity, Saieth the Preacher"

Lord Byron All is Vanity, Saieth the Preacher

Analysis of Close Reading

Fame, wisdom, love, and power were mine, And health and youth possess’d me; My goblets blush’d from every vine, And lovely forms carress’d me; (4) I sunn’d my heart in beauty’s eyes, And felt my soul grow tender; All earth can give, or mortal prize, Was mine of regal splendour. (8)   I strive to number o’er what days Remembrance can discover, Which all that life or earth displays Would lure me to live over. (12) There rose no day, there roll’d no hour Of pleasure unembitter’d; And not a trapping deck’d my power That gall’d not while it glitter’d. (16)   The serpent of the field, by art And spells, is won from harming; But that which coils around the heart, Oh! Who hath the power of charming? (20) It will not list to wisdom’s lore, Nor music’s voice can lure it; But there it stings for evermore The soul that must endure it. (24)

Rhyme scheme ABABCDCD Foreshadow "Fame, wisdom, love, and power were mine" (Byron 1) Foreshadows the loss of a standard of living Dramatic irony The preacher has induced his own demise (not being thankful for the material commodities) A preacher is a messenger of God's holiness, someone who devotes his life to living in God's image The preacher shows remorse for his past mistakes Vulnerability of humans External beauty used to be of the utmost pertinence Personification "And health and youth possess'd me" (Byron 2) Regression of the speaker An inability to stop and learn from his past mistakes "Remembrance can discover" (Byron 10) Preacher blames his conscience for a loss of memories Shows remorse for the ulalterable past Alliteration "Would lure me to live over" (Byron 12) Hastens pacing of poem Added emphasis Repentance of sins Verbal irony The preacher is supposed to be of a higher morality Paradox "That gall'd not while it glitter'd" (Byron 16) Contradicts his prominence with distcontent Ungratious Immature Human condition Is to make mistakes Learn from previous mistakes World is devoid of hope Incapable of change Gothic imagery Snakes, indicative of evil, can corrupt human nature Rhetorical question "who hath power of charming?" (Byron 20) Highlights internal struggle of preacher The preacher understands the desire for atonement An undetermined quality can lead to the salvation of the preacher

Analysis of Henry David Thoreau's "Conscience"

Henry David Thoreau Conscience

Analysis of Close Reading

Conscience is instinct bred in the house, Feeling and Thinking propagate the sin By an unnatural breeding in and in I say, Turn it out doors, Into the moors. (5) I love a life whose plot is simple, And does not thicken with every pimple, A soul so sound no sickly conscience binds it, That makes the universe no worse than’t finds it. I love an earnest soul, (10) Whose mighty joy and sorrow Are not drowned in a bowl, And brought to life to-morrow; That lives one tragedy, And not seventy; (15) A conscience worth keeping; Laughing not weeping; A conscience wise and steady, And forever ready; Not changing with events, (20) Dealing in compliments; A conscience exercised about Large things, where one may doubt. I love a soul not all of wood, Predestined to be good, (25) But true to the backbone Unto itself alone, And false to none; Born to its own affairs, Its own joys and own cares; (30) By whom the work which God begun Is finished, and not undone; Taken up where he left off, Whether to worship or to scoff; If not good, why then evil, (35) If not good god, good devil. Goodness! You hypocrite, come out of that, Live your life, do your work, then take your hat. I have no patience toward Such conscientious cowards. (40) Give me simple laboring folk, Who love their work, Whose virtue is song To cheer God along.

The conscience is unalterable (contrasted by the Party's manipulation of Winston's moral convictions in Nineteen Eighty-Four) "Conscience is instinct" (Thoreau 1) Rhyme scheme Rhyming couplets with the exclusion of several lines of the poem Alternating rhyme schemes in this poem Creates ambiguity Undermines speaker's ability to live a simple life Apostrophe "Feeling" and "Thinking" (Thoreau 2) Elevation of status of feeling and thinking Devices that allow humans to exercise their intrinsic freedoms Corruption of human nature is in individualism Anaphora "A conscience" (Thoreau 16, 18, 22) Contrasts complexities of human emotions with simplicity of your conscience Verbal irony Length of poem contradicts the valued simplicity of life Gothic imagery "drowned in a bowl" (Thoreau 12) "thicken with every pimple" (Thoreau 7) Reveals how the conscience can be corrupted by the plethora of emotions being experienced Anaphora "I love..." Internalizes virtue Shows ideal conception of how the world should operate Allusion "Predestined to be good" (Thoreau 25) To Calvinist doctrine of predestination Humans are preordained to go to heaven or hell Repetition "own" Emphasis on remaining true to yourself Implication of society's lies and deception (virtue of honesty has been lost) Anaphora "If not good" (Thoreau 35, 36) Reveals doubt clouding speaker's judgment Conscience should be undeterred by our emotions Alliteration "conscientious cowards" (Thoreau 40) Hastens pacing of poem Added emphasis toward the conscience, which is not an exercise of freedoms, but an instinctive nature Conscience equates to virtue to Thoreau

Analysis of Prose Passage #1

Passage #1 From Novel (Re-type or photo copy the passage in this column) George Orwell Nineteen Eighty-Four

Analysis of Close Reading (Essentially a prose passage or poetry essay; synthesize the texture of the passage to the left.)

“Everything faded into mist. The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth. Just once in his life he had possessed -- after the event: that was what counted -- concrete, unmistakable evidence of an act of falsification. He had held it between his fingers for as long as thirty seconds. In 1973, it must have been -- at any rate, it was at about the time when he and Katharine had parted. But the really relevant date was seven or eight years earlier. The story really began in the middle sixties, the period of the great purges in which the original leaders of the Revolution were wiped out once and for all. By 1970 none of them was left, except Big Brother himself. All the rest had by that time been exposed as traitors and counter-revolutionaries. Goldstein had fled and was hiding no one knew where, and of the others, a few had simply disappeared, while the majority had been executed after spectacular public trials at which they made confession of their crimes. Among the last survivors were three men named Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford. It must have been in 1965 that these three had been arrested. As often happened, they had vanished for a year or more, so that one did not know whether they were alive or dead, and then had suddenly been brought forth to incriminate themselves in the usual way. They had confessed to intelligence with the enemy (at that date, too, the enemy was Eurasia), embezzlement of public funds, the murder of various trusted Party members, intrigues against the leadership of Big Brother which had started long before the Revolution happened, and acts of sabotage causing the death of hundreds of thousands of people. After confessing to these things they had been pardoned, reinstated in the Party, and given posts which were in fact sinecures but which sounded important. All three had written long, abject articles in The Times, analysing the reasons for their defection and promising to make amends. Some time after their release Winston had actually seen all three of them in the Chestnut Tree Cafe. He remembered the sort of terrified fascination with which he had watched them out of the corner of his eye. They were men far older than himself, relics of the ancient world, almost the last great figures left over from the heroic days of the Party. The glamour of the underground struggle and the civil war still faintly clung to them. He had the feeling, though already at that time facts and dates were growing blurry, that he had known their names years earlier than he had known that of Big Brother. But also they were outlaws, enemies, untouchables, doomed with absolute certainty to extinction within a year or two. No one who had once fallen into the hands of the Thought Police ever escaped in the end. They were corpses waiting to be sent back to the grave” (Orwell 86-87).

·         Through a censorship of contemporary novels, language, advertisements, our personal thoughts and our private lives the Party is able to conceal what Winston Smith believes to be “unmistakable evidence of an act of falsification” (Orwell 86). ·         Time, usually an indicator of how we have progressed in our moral character throughout our lives, remains trivial to Winston, who confesses that “the really relevant date was seven or eight year earlier” when referencing the photograph of Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford (Orwell 86). ·         George Orwell foreshadows how the totalitarian dictatorships following World War II will inevitably fail when having Winston acknowledges that there was a “period of the great purges in which the original leaders of the Revolution were wiped out” (Orwell 86). ·         Nineteen Eighty-Four o       Publication date was 1949, four years following the conclusion of World War II ·         Opposition to the Party would be undermined through extensive interrogations, resulting in the criminals “incriminat[ing] themselves in the usual way” (Orwell 86). ·         Contrast between the actual truth and the Party’s manipulation of the truth o       Winston astutely observes that “at that date, too, the enemy was Eurasia” (Orwell 86-87). o       Winston, differentiating himself from the devout followers of the Party, is able to speculate on the pervasive hypocrisies prevalent throughout the statements being made by the members of the Party ·         The disillusionment initiated by the propagandistic devices and the Party’s unrelenting manipulation of factual evidence enhances the image of Big Brother o       Endearing sentiment that the government is identical to one of your family members, who wants to protect you o       Eventually, this investment of trust in the Party deprecates the morality of the individual who begin to analyze “the reasons for their defection and promising to make amends” (Orwell 87). ·         Existentialism becomes increasingly apparent to Winston Smith, who theorizes that once you were captured by the Thought Police, you were “doomed with absolute certainty to extinction within a year or two” (Orwell 87). ·         Consideration of the prospect of death o       Winston postulates that the only factor in his life that he can control is his mortality as a human §         Sense of empowerment that you could end your life on your own terms, immunized against the Party

Analysis of Prose Passage #2

Passage #2 From Novel (Re-type or photo copy the passage in this column) George Orwell Animal Farm

Analysis of Close Reading (Essentially a prose passage or poetry essay; synthesize the texture of the passage to the left.)

"Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself. Our labour tills the soil, our dung fertilises it, and yet there is not one of us that owns more than his bare skin. You cows that I see before me, how many thousands of gallons of milk have you given during this last year? And what has happened to that milk which should have been breeding up sturdy calves? Every drop of it has gone down the throats of our enemies. And you hens, how many eggs have you laid in this last year, and how many of those eggs ever hatched into chickens? The rest have all gone to market to bring in money for Jones and his men. And you, Clover, where are those four foals you bore, who should have been the support and pleasure of your old age? Each was sold at a year old--you will never see one of them again. In return for your four confinements and all your labour in the fields, what have you ever had except your bare rations and a stall? "And even the miserable lives we lead are not allowed to reach their natural span. For myself I do not grumble, for I am one of the lucky ones. I am twelve years old and have had over four hundred children. Such is the natural life of a pig. But no animal escapes the cruel knife in the end. You young porkers who are sitting in front of me, every one of you will scream your lives out at the block within a year. To that horror we all must come--cows, pigs, hens, sheep, everyone. Even the horses and the dogs have no better fate. You, Boxer, the very day that those great muscles of yours lose their power, Jones will sell you to the knacker, who will cut your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds. As for the dogs, when they grow old and toothless, Jones ties a brick round their necks and drowns them in the nearest pond. "Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. Almost overnight we could become rich and free. What then must we do? Why, work night and day, body and soul, for the overthrow of the human race! That is my message to you, comrades: Rebellion! I do not know when that Rebellion will come, it might be in a week or in a hundred years, but I know, as surely as I see this straw beneath my feet, that sooner or later justice will be done. Fix your eyes on that, comrades, throughout the short remainder of your lives! And above all, pass on this message of mine to those who come after you, so that future generations shall carry on the struggle until it is victorious. "And remember, comrades, your resolution must never falter. No argument must lead you astray. Never listen when they tell you that Man and the animals have a common interest, that the prosperity of the one is the prosperity of the others. It is all lies. Man serves the interests of no creature except himself. And among us animals let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship in the struggle. All men are enemies. All animals are comrades" (Orwell 4-6).

·         Cynicism expressed toward Man o       Epitomizing all of mankind as callous, incapable of producing any material commodity with the fruits of his labor ·         Evidenced by the excerpt: “Man is the only creature that consumes without producing” (Orwell 4). ·         Contrasting the useless of the human race with the indefatigable work completed by the members of the Animal Farm, the pigs undermine the status of Man as “lord of all the animals” (Orwell 4). o       On the archetypal hero’s journey, this would be considered to be a call to action ·         The pigs, the natural revolutionaries, will lead the animals in an attack against Man, who engage in conspicuous consumption, limiting the animals to “bare rations and a stall” (Orwell 5). ·          Proposition made that the standard of living could be improved o       Contrasting the present with the potential for change in the future ·         With Mr. Jones as the owner of Manor Farm “no animal escapes the cruel knife in the end” (Orwell 5). ·         A need for change is presented through Old Major’s speech, a pig who will reach his expiration date soon     ·         Comparing the animals based on their inability to escape their mortality o       Old Major acknowledges that our mortality is “horror we all must come” (Orwell 5). ·         We are capable of changing our own fate o       Although “the evils of this life…spring from the tyranny of human beings,” the animals propose that the removal of Man would ensure that “the produce of [their] labor would be [their] own” (Orwell 5). ·         The solution is to “get rid of Man” immediately in order to change the outcome for future generations of animals (Orwell 5). ·         The animals, in order to govern themselves in the name of equality, speculate that “Rebellion” is the course of action that will initiate change (Orwell 6). ·         With “the short remainder of [their] lives,” the animals would be doing a great disservice to the future generations of animals to be passive, unopposed to the oppressive leadership of Man (Orwell 6).

AP Open Question Prompts 1-3

AP Open Question Prompt: 1970. Choose a character from a novel or play of recognized literary merit and write an essay in which you (a) briefly describe the standards of the fictional society in which the character exists and (b) show how the character is affected by and responds to those standards. In your essay do not merely summarize the plot.

           

            Following World War II, the government acknowledged the prospect of a strong and centralized government to unify their purpose, using power to enforce their political regime. Although the prevalence of governmental intervention threatens to undermine the private interface of the human existence, the mind perpetuates its image as a sanctuary to preserve the truth. Throughout George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Winston Smith endures oppression, manipulation of the truth, and propagandistic devices employed by the Party until he decides to sacrifice his moral convictions and concede to the cause of conformity.

            Through an abuse of power, the Party oppresses prospective revolutions, using the impending consequence of human mortality to discourage the emergence of truth. When astutely observing that “No one who had once fallen into the hands of the Thought Police ever escaped in the end,” Winston observes an invasion of privacy (Orwell 87). Highlighting the consequence of death toward any act of defiance, the Party intimidates the public domain into an inexorable submission. Having the sensation of “stepping into the dampness of a grave” when agreeing to collaborate with O’Brien, Winston recognizes how launching a revolution to challenge the Party’s omnipotence will inevitably end with his demise (Orwell 184). Through inducing his own demise, Winston communicates how the ability to change the world for future generations outweighs facing his own mortality. Maintaining a shred of hope amongst the darkness, Winston demonstrates that individuals can make a difference in the world.

       Employing propaganda to promote their political organization, the Party continues to validate their prominence over the general population. Admitting that the “process of continuous alternation was applied not only to newspapers, but to books, periodicals, pamphlets, posters, leaflets, films, sound-tracks, cartoons, photographs—every kind of literature or documentation,” Winston reveals how the Party’s ascension into power is supplemented by its censorship of the printed word (Orwell 46-47). Of course, through manipulating the truth, the Party is able to change the once unalterable past, discouraging any inkling of defiance. Although Winston confesses that “his heart went out to the lonely, derided heretic on the screen” during the Two Minutes Hate, he recognizes that Emmanuel Goldstein, the leader of the Brotherhood, is the “sole guardian of truth and sanity in a world of lies” (Orwell 17). By empathizing with Goldstein, Winston identifies his true purpose in life: to use authentic evidence to deprecate the image of the Party, initiating change.

            Eventually becoming aware of the Party’s austerity, Winston sacrifices his moral convictions in order to ease the burden on his conscience. Foreshadowing his own imprisonment, Winston’s anticipation of venturing “in the place where there is no darkness” misconstrues the pervasive irony surrounding O’Brien’s words (Orwell 111). Unfortunately, the Ministry of Love’s intentions in indoctrinating Winston are successful when exposing him to the blinding lights, physical abuse, and interrogations. Through choosing to acknowledge that “there was just one person to whom he could transfer his punishment,” Winston sacrifices his moral convictions, betraying his beloved Julia in order to save himself from facing his fear of rats (Orwell 329). Committing the ultimate act of betrayal against the woman that he once loved, Winston accepts his futility in changing the world, abandoning his perception of the truth and assimilating into the culture being created by the Party.

            Becoming disillusioned by the atrocities committed by the Party, Winston immunizes himself from the darkness of the world, sacrificing his ideal conception of the world in order to preserve his sanity. Through surrendering the will to change the world, Winston Smith conforms to the culture imposed by the Party. Unfortunately, he confesses that the past, present, and future is unalterable and that the truth is predetermined by the desire of the Party.

             

AP Open Question Prompt: 1977. Choose an implausible or strikingly unrealistic incident or character in a work of fiction or drama of recognized literary merit. Write an essay that explains how the incident or character is related to the more realistic plausible elements in the rest of the work. Avoid plot summary.

            Following World War II, Vladimir Lenin responded to the stagnant economy of Russia with a progressive gravitation toward socialism to preserve equality. Using an allegory to explicate the experiences of the Bolsheviks in the Russian Revolution, George Orwell, in Animal Farm, acknowledges a true comprehension of the vices exploited by the human race during their pursuit of virtue.

            From humble beginnings, the pigs of Manor Farm promote an ideal conception of the world, preaching the virtue of equality to engage a revolution against the oppressive Mr. Jones. When commenting that “Man is the only creature that consumes without producing,” the animals differentiate themselves from the members of the human race, contradicting their status on the social hierarchy of Manor Farm (Orwell 4). Developing their argument with the exposure of the abuses endured by the animals, Old Major, representative of Lenin, encourages the animals to launch a revolution in order to change the outcome of the future. Of course, the promotion of an improved standard of living is revered by the animals on Manor Farm who eventually follow in the footsteps of their deceased leader and force the humans into exile. Incredulous toward their apparent success in the creation of Animal Farm, the animals “could hardly believe that it was all their own” (Orwell 15). Setting an example for the future generations of animals, the inhabitants of Animal Farm use manual labor to validate their ascension into power over the humans. Without the leadership of Old Major, however, the promise of equality begins to degenerate when the animals discover the benefits of engaging in conspicuous consumption.

            Initiating changes to the Seven Commandments of Animal Farm, the pigs use their intellect to their advantage, manipulating the animals to work harder for monetary gain. Through manipulating the truth, the pigs thoroughly convince the animals that the Sixth Commandment, preaching the unforgivable act of murder against a fellow animal “had not been violated; for clearly the there was good reason for killing the traitors” (Orwell 66). Developing an extensive vocabulary through a comprehension of the English language, the pigs make modifications to the Seven Commandments to validate their decisions. This alteration to the founding principles of Animal Farm is concealed by the ignorance of the animals, who perceive the truth to be a component of the present which “should be reserved for the pigs alone” (Orwell 26). Expressing the successes of Manor Farm to surrounding communities, the pigs explicitly convey their elevated status on the social hierarchy, distinguishing themselves as capitalists in pursuit of material commodities that are not essential to sustain life.

            Convinced of their immunity to the vices of Man, the animals acknowledge the adverse truth that the pursuit of equality is marred with temptation. Having a revelation, the animals “looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again: but it was all ready impossible to say which was which” (Orwell 102). Unable to achieve the ideal conception of equality, the pigs eventually become comparable to Man when surrendering to the opportunity of advancement. Conversing with the famers about the evident successes of Manor Farm, the pigs demonstrate their incapacity to withhold their moral convictions, undermining their intended purpose in creating Animal Farm.

            Contradicting the valiant purpose of the animals with their deplorable actions, George Orwell demonstrates how imperfections corrupt intuition when using an allegory. And, without a consideration for the future, the animals unwittingly recreate the oppressive atmosphere of Manor Farm and accelerate the evolution of Man into animals.

           

AP Open Question Prompt: 2011.  In a novel by William Styron, a father tells his son that life “is a search for justice.” Choose a character from a novel or play who responds in some significant way to justice or injustice. Then write a well-developed essay in which you analyze the character’s understanding of justice, the degree to which the character’s search for justice is successful, and the significance of the search for the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

            Following World War II, the rise of totalitarian dictatorships was accentuated by an absence of economic progress. Throughout George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Winston Smith searches for the truth to preserve an ideal conception of the world, eventually conceding to perceived injustices in order to conserve his sanity. 

            Wanting the set the standard for future generations, Winston writes in order to commence a revolution and undermine the oppressive political organization of the Party. Acknowledging the impending consequences of his crimes, Winston promotes how there will be “a time when truth exists and what is done cannot be undone” (Orwell 32). And when volunteering to preserve the truth in his diary, Winston commits the deplorable action of thoughtcrime. Thoughtcrime, the crime of maintaining the private interface of life, is an evident death sentence during the twentieth century. Comprehending the pertinence of preserving the truth, Winston sacrifices his intrinsic freedoms guaranteed to all humans when wanting “to stay alive as long as possible” to deprecate the image of the Party (Orwell 33). Using the concept of existentialism to accentuate his purpose, Winston demonstrates how mortality is a motive that induces pressure and, consequently, enhances our pursuit of virtue.  

Abandoning the pursuit of truth, Winston finally acknowledges the futility plaguing his actions. Witnessing the process of manipulating the truth and directly engaged in the alteration of history, he comprehends how “the lie became truth” (Orwell 86). The motive of this valiant cause, to preserve a hope for future generations, becomes concealed beneath the fear of facing mortality. Once the Ministry of Love is revealed to be “the place without darkness,” Winston recognizes that the Brotherhood is a fabricated myth, designed to undermine any traces of opposition to the Party (Orwell 111). And without the encouragement of strangers, Winston becomes increasingly dependent on his beloved, Julia, to reinvigorate the pursuit of virtue. The extension of the invasion of privacy to personal relationships contributes to Winston’s progressive devotion to the Party.  

            Without unconditional love providing protection against the world’s sharpness, Winston sacrifices his personal integrity and moral character to preserve his welfare. Encountering invasive interrogations and enduring inexplicable pain, he confesses how “he felt no love for her, and he hardly ever wondered what was happening to her” (Orwell 263). Before the intervention of the Party, this unconditional love expressed toward his beloved, Julia, was used as an act of defiance. Sexual intercourse, highlighting the carnal instinct of physical attraction, prevents conformity from dictating the laws of human existence. Eventually, the separation of lovers is concluded with betrayal when Winston comments “All you care about is yourself” (Orwell 336). Resilience became inevitable failure. And, without resilience, the valiance of the original cause degenerates, allowing for the manipulated truth of the Party to become the documented truth. With an unquestioned submission to the Party, Winston hopes to preserve his sanity and ease the burden of the truth on his moral conscience.

             Through the removal of unconditional love, George Orwell demonstrates how the operations of the Party are concealed from the population and encouraging unity. This unity, implemented through the employment of propagandistic devices and unrelenting supervision, parallels the purposes of the human existence and maintains the imposed culture of the Party.