Response To Course Material 2/16

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Over the past few weeks, the AP Lit classes have been reading Tom Stoppard's play that led to existential discussions of the play's meaning and the commentary it makes on life.  To be honest, the only thing I got from this play was perhaps the irony of its existence.

 Hamlet is considered one of the greatest plays ever written because it poses many questions about what it means to be human. Stoppard's goal (in my eyes) for writing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead was to make the point that Shakespeare is not God. He makes his point by taking the least significant characters from Hamlet and writing a play full of open questions. At first glance, the play seems merely the story of two babbling, directionless messengers for Elsinore. But this idea will not do for the intellectual crowd.Stoppard must be making a ground breaking existential discovery, right?

It is hard to say that Stoppard had no intentions of making a statement with his play, but the message does not enter anything too philosophical. He knew he could conduct the attention of an intellectual audience who would spend money to watch this play over and over, and write essays  trying to answer the "big question." I believe the point of Stoppard's play is that humans are incapable of finding that answer in actual life and his play. Yet, here we are trying to crack the code anyway.

During our last class discussion, fellow classmates began to reach similar conclusions to mine that their is no meaning to the play. Ms. Holmes said that reaching this realization meant we were making headway in our discussion, which seems so odd to me. We think their is no significance to the play, however there is still more to uncover? I am looking forward to our next discussions and what more meaning my classmates will dig up because I am fresh out of ideas.

Lecture on Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead  by Ian Johnston
Ian Johnston's essay discussed the possible categories Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead could fall under with evidence from the play and film. It is always nice to hear articulate opinions about literature you have read and I found some of Johnston's points interesting. However, most of it just reminded me of my class discussions. We hit on a lot of the points Johnston does, and end them the same too--open ended and without any conclusions. This author wrote his essay in the contradicting, non conclusive style of Stoppard's play. At first I was irritated that the essay did not wrap up nicely, but it opened my eyes too. My class could not find or agree on an overall conclusion of what this play is about, and neither could this established author and critic. So, what does this mean? "I'm not going to answer that. After all, times being what they are...."
Film
The film adaptation, directed by Tom Stoppard, was really well done. How can you argue with a film that was directed by the author of the play it is based off. I specifically loved the part where the player's all wore masks when they reenacted Old Hamlet's murder. The player's portrayed the notorious story through what seemed like a lyrical dance. There were some clear differences between the film and play as well. The one that sticks out the most is the closing scenes of the players packing up their caravan in the woods after Ros and Guil are hung. My AP Lit pals and I discussed how this ending was similar to when the character wakes up and realizes it was all just a dream.  Another interesting point in the film was how Rosencrantz would unknowingly make scientific discoveries (e.g. water displacement/volume). His child-like curiosity made me think that Stoppard was making a comment on how children are happier in life because they have no interest in understanding why they are alive. They are content with just living.
Open Prompt Assistance
Ms. Holmes thought the introductory paragraphs of out open prompts needed some serious fine tuning, so we dedicated a portion of class to revisit the basics of writing intros. I appreciate the class time we put aside to prepare for the upcoming AP Lit test and the first day of the lesson was helpful. I realized I wasted a lot of time reading the "how to write" documents instead of getting right to work like most of my classmates.

Open Prompt : 2005

In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening (1899), protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess “That outward existence which conforms, the inward life that questions.” In a novel or play that you have studied, identify a character who outwardly conforms while questioning inwardly. Then write an essay in which you analyze how this tension between outward conformity and inward questioning contributes to the meaning of the work.

George Orwell's 1984 follows a thirty year old man named Winston Smith who has been living the majority of his adult life in a harsh, oppressive society. This dystopian novel deals with many ideas and raises questions about what it means to be a civilized human. One important part the novel deals with is illustrating the dangers of questioning society due to extensive surveillance and the inability to trust other people.

The heavy surveillance in Winston's society makes him very paranoid about letting his rebellious thoughts seep into his outer appearance. One of Winston's biggest fears is being caught by the Thought Police-- watch for citizens that are "different" and "vaporize" them. To avoid being vaporized, Winston demonstrates a lot of self-control to mimic behavior of his submissive comrades while in public, knowing the Police were watching his every move. One day Winston ventures to a district near his apartment where the Police have little control and the people remember a time before Big Brother. He finds an old antique shop run by an elderly man named Mr. Charrington and finds what he thinks to be his own safe haven away from the government's watchful eye. In the antique shop, Winston and his lover Julia are swept up in subversive activities such as learning about the past, wearing make-up, and intercourse. However, toward the end of the novel, the Thought Police invades the antique shop and they discover they were being watched the whole time. The novel suggests that in a powerful government, alternative thinkers have nowhere to hide but inside themselves--which is nearly impossible to do.

In Winston's society, citizens are groomed to look homogeneous making it very difficult for Winston to differentiate between fellow free-thinkers from government spies. Winston must behave like a law abiding citizen, but he is desperately looking from someone he can share his subversive desires with. When he meets O'Brien, Winston believes his prayers have been answered and looks to him as a mentor. Despite this, O'Brien turns out to be a spy for the government and betrays him. O'Brien is one example of how it is impossible as an alternative thinker to find solace in an oppressive government because everyone is concerned with their own self-interest.

In 1984, Winston is constantly trying to conceal the fact that his is different and questions the government. The novel suggests that once one is part of a controlling government, they can never resist it or get out. This is mainly due the majority fear of being labeled an outsider. Winston thought he had found a partner in law breaking with Julia, but in the face of the government, she abandoned him. Orwell makes the point that it is impossible to conform outwardly and harbor alternative ideas while functioning like a normal human. If one tries to "look" the part, either their personal ideologies will conform, or their differences will reveal themselves. Either way, it will end tragically.