Proof - Ambiguity

It strikes me as appropriate that this one deal with ambiguity. The post below didn't quite lend itself to answers because I posed no question. Thank you Kailie and Randa for responding anyway.

Let's talk about ambiguity. Perhaps as it relates to the title, Proof. Or perhaps at it relates to madness. Or the ending. Address one concrete perhaps.

In Cold Blood - M'Naghten Rule

I think one of the coolest parts of this book is its structure. Capote brilliantly weaves two seemingly disjointed stories into one compact book. But the book is not airtight. There is a case to be made here that might suggest Capote deliberately structured In Cold Blood in such a way so that the reader feels sympathy, not contempt, for the killers. Look at how many times Capote mentions Perry's short legs and soft, sweet singing voice. Look at how many times Capote reminds us that poor Perry used to wet the bed. Look at how many times Capote shows us Perry's horrible childhood and dysfunctional family life.

It's like saying, yes, Jack the Ripper was terrible, but (but!) he did recycle and he never forgot his mother's birthday, so...

Closely examine the M'Naghten Rule, best described on pg. 277. Know it. Apply that law not to Dr. Jones' testimony beginning on pg. 294, but rather, to Capote's blatant and egregious inclusion of Jones' inadmissible testimony, the part negated in Kansas court rooms. How can Capote get away with sharing with his readers information the jury never learned? Why did Capote do this? Is Capote being irresponsible? Unethical, even? Just what is so dang important here that Capote would explain a law, then proceed to break it right in front of our faces?

In Cold Blood - Sources

 

Truman Capote includes several primary sources in his book in order that we may better understand Perry Smith and Dick Hickock (but especially Perry). These documents include letters from Perry's father and sister, a pseudo-psychological profile of Perry's sister written by Willie-Jay, Perry's personal diary*, and later, "autobiographies" written by both Dick and Perry.** How important are these documents? What do we learn from them? How do they illuminate the men's personalities (or personality disorders)?

*All from about pg. 125-155.

**Pgs. 273-279

In Cold Blood - Last Line(s)

Pay attention to the last lines of the sections before the narrative perspective switches from the Dick and Perry story to the Clutter story. What do you notice about them? Choose one or two different "last lines" and discuss their importance.

In Cold Blood - Best Sentence(s)

"It was ideal apple-eating weather; the whitest sunlight descended from the purest sky, and an easterly wind rustled, without ripping loose, the last of the leaves on the Chinese elms. Autumns reward western Kansas for the evils that the remaining seasons impose: winter's rough Colorado winds and hip-high, sheep-slaughtering snows; the slushes and the strange land fogs of spring; and summer, when even crows seek the puny shade, and the tawny infinitude of wheatstalks bristle, blaze" (10-11).

One of the best passages in the first half of the book, in my opinion. Find your favorite sentence or passage. What do you like about it? What makes it great?

In Cold Blood - Transitions

“A car horn honked. At last – Dick.”

“’Good grief, Kenyon! I hear you.’ As usual, the devil was in Kenyon. His shouts kept coming up the stairs: ‘Nancy! Telephone!’” 

Notice how the two sections on page 17 are linked together by sounds – the car horn honking in one section becomes the sound of Kenyon yelling in the next. Why do you think Capote links these two narratives together this way? What is the effect? Can you find another of these Capotean transitions?

Mama Day - Belief

"You have a choice, she said to me. I can tell you the truth, which you won't believe, or I can invent a lie, which you would. Which would you rather have? (266).

There are several passages in Mama Day that discuss George's inability to believe in the island's magical atmosphere. Find another such passage and unpack its meaning.

Mama Day - George

"Until you walked into my office that afternoon, I would have never called myself a superstitious man. Far from it. To believe in fate or predestination means you have to believe there's a future, and I grew up without one" (22).

 

Unpack these lines. What does George mean by "growing up without a future"? How does this compare to Cocoa's upbringing? How did she grow up? How might the differences explain the way they act?

Mama Day - Prologue

“The wild card is all this is the thousand days, and we guess if we put our heads together we'd come up with something - which ain't possible since Sapphira Wade don't live in the part of our memory we can use to form words" (4).

Naylor splits Mama Day into three distinct narrative voices. George, Cocoa, and "the collective island voice" each narrate specific sections of the book.

What does this passage say of memory? What does this say about the narrative voice? Answer these questions if you wish, or say a few lines about what you think is going on in the prologue overall. How does the island voice know a name it is impossible to know? If you've read further than the prologue at this point, say a little about this collective island voice.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold - Premonition

“There had never been a death more foretold” (50). 

Where else in literature are there “deaths foretold”? New Testament. Romeo and Juliet. Macbeth. How does the sense of premonition or fate pervade the book? What does it do to your reading of Santiago Nasar’s movements in the book?

Chronicle of a Death Foretold - Best Sentence(s)

“She only took the time necessary to say the name. She looked for it in the shadows, she found it at first sight among the many, many easily confused names from this world and the other, and she nailed it to the wall with her well-aimed dart, like a butterfly with no will whose sentence has always been written” (47).

I think this is one of the best passages in the book. What is your favorite sentence so far? What do you like about it? What makes it great?

Chronicle of a Death Foretold - Reunion

Caution: Spoilers - though not earth-shattering, in my opinion, so read on if you wish...

“He was carrying a suitcase with clothing in order to stay and another just like it with almost two thousand letters she had written him. They were arranged by date in bundles tied with colored ribbons, and they were all unopened” (95).

Why do you think Bayardo San Roman and Angela Vicario get back together after so many years? What effect does their reunion have on the story? Do we forget that this is Bayardo’s story as much as it is Santiago’s?

Chronicle of a Death Foretold - Memory

“I had a very confused memory of the festival before I decided to rescue it piece by piece from the memory of others” (43). 

We will pay a lot of attention to the reliability of narrators in all the books we read. Discuss what you think are the biggest problems with the narrator’s reliability, and how an understanding of these problem can lead to a greater understanding of the novel’s themes.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold - Weather

“Furthermore: all the many people he ran into after leaving his house at five minutes past six and until he was carved up like a pig an hour later remembered him as being a little sleepy but in a good mood, and he remarked to all of them in a casual way that it was a very beautiful day. No one was certain if he was referring to the state of the weather” (4).

Is this an example of naturalism? How do you think the attention paid to the weather in the first chapter relates to the narrative problem of the novel?

Welcome to AP English!

Hello seniors, and welcome to the new AP English blog for Tuscaloosa Academy!

I know that several of you have already started reading and responding to the books for this summer. I hope you're enjoying them; in fact, I'm reading all three of them for the first time along with you, so I especially look forward to hearing your thoughts.

You've already read Mr. Picken's excellent criteria and guidelines here, at the former blog. These still apply. Follow these suggestions (especially the one about length!) and you'll do great.

I wanted to add just a couple more suggestions:

1. Read these books in whatever order you choose - but I recommend keeping notes along the way. Keep a pen, pencil, or stylus handy, and scribble notes in the margins. It will make writing your responses SO much easier. Plus, they'll probably be more coherent . . . when you go back to write your responses, the notes will jog your memory and you'll have multiple posts on your hands. I promise.

2. When you get an idea about for a post, "word vomit" it ASAP. It doesn't have to perfect - you can clean it up later before you post. The important thing is getting your ideas on paper before they slip away and you're left mourning the loss of a brilliant idea.

For those of you I've already met, I'm looking forward to seeing you again. For those I haven't, I can't wait to meet you. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at astone@tuscaloosaacademy.org.