The Onion: An Example of Satire

The Onion is a very good source for satirical articles about every topic. Once example can be found by following the link http://www.theonion.com/content/news/american_airlines_now_charging. This article says that American Airlines is now not only charging the people who are flying, but also people that are not flying. This is poking fun at airlines for increasing their prices, by giving a completely exaggerated account of what the airlines are doing. Since the article is written to be serious and funny at the same time, it is entertaining to read, while seriously discussing the issue of ever increasing plane tickets. Therefore this article is a good example of satire, because according to Wikipedia: "In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods, ideally with the intent to bring about improvement." As it states, the intent of satire is to bring improvement, which in this case is to ridicule the airlines.

The Mock Exam

The mock exam that we had on Saturday the 13th of December was slightly difficult, but a good exercise for the real AP English Literature exam. The most difficult part was coming up with a good thesis that answered the questions properly. This was difficult because, although one of the questions was easy, the other two essay questions were rather challenging. On the other hand, the multiple choice was not so difficult, and I scored 40 out of 55. Compared to the AP English Language exam the essays were harder, and the multiple choice was about the same in terms of difficulty. I think it was good to have the exam prior to the break, because now if we have to do a second mock, we still have time before the real exam. There is not really a way to prepare for the mock, so I think for not doing any preparing I did quite well.

What Chinua Achebe does.

After reading an excellent essay written by Chinua Achebe, also the author of Things Fall Apart, titled An Image of Africa, my essay on poetry was rather lousy. It is with deceiving ease that Achebe fills his essay with arguments and other information. The aspect that separates Achebe's essay from many others, including mine, is that while it contains lots of information, it still seems easy to read. Unlike many other works, that are also rather dense, and difficult to read, Achebe manages to convey all of this information while still producing a very readable text. Unlike my writing, which is also rather dense, he is capable of making it not only more understandable, but also more interesting. Filling writing with information is the easy part, where it gets more difficult however, is giving the reader your arguments, so that he or she still wants to listen to them. That is what seperates Achebe from countless other writers who do not manage to write so deceivingly simply as him.

The Things They Carried Tennis

The original excerpt can be found on page 40 of The Things They Carried.

In June of 1968, a month after graduating Malcester College, I was selected for the amateur tennis team that I hated. I was twenty-one years old. Young, yes, and inexperienced, but even so, I was good enough for the experienced team. Somebody picked my fate for no reason, it didn't make sense. The very facts were shrouded in mystery: Was it the coach who disliked me? Pure bad luck? Who made this decision and why? Was I just not good enough? I am divided on these and a thousand other issues, and the debate had spilled out across my whole life, and nobody could decide on the most fundamental matters of the issue. The only certainty that summer was moral confusion.

Thesis Statement

In Tim O'Brien's novel The Things They Carry, the author uses unique anecdotes wherein the narrator shows his, and essentially the author's, attitudes towards the life-changing events of the Vietnam War.

Tim O'Brien's Interview Vs. "TTTC"

There is a clear parallel to be seen when looking at O'Brien's Interview and his novel. This would of course be expected since O'Brien wrote the book from his own point of view and with his mentality. In a way it is interesting to see how the author himself talks about his novel and how he comments on what it was like to write the book. From reading these examples the reader can even better understand and realize what the author is thinking or how he feels. Therefore due to the personal nature of the book and interview, O'Briens feelings and intentions in "The Things They Carried" become very clear when compared to the interview.