McNeil AP Lit

Since Christmas is approaching, I am struggling with what to get my family this year.  I hope that I could get some feedback and ideas about gifts.  I will give you guys a brief description of the interests of my family.  My mom likes to be organized.  She also is always stressed.  She likes flowers, tea, warm places, and likes to complain. I always have a hard time shopping for my dad, so I am extremely open to any ideas.  He likes TV shows like How It's Made, Aerial America, and documentaries ranging from nature to war to biographies.  He also likes books, for example in the past he has read books about the history of salt and Atlantic Salmon...  He wears flannels and warm pullovers.  My brother is twenty-nine and like the Ravens.  He just bought himself a pet cactus.  He likes iced coffee in the mornings and his favorite TV shows are Game of Thrones and The Bachelor/Bachelorette.   He likes trendy button-downs and sweaters along with the trendiest shoes.  I'm really

The strong British presence and control in Nigeria presented a cultural clash between two vastly different societies with different values and beliefs.  With the power and popularity of Britain, people like the Pilkings had a difficult time understanding and respecting the culture and traditions of the Oyo residents.  The Pilkings saw their culture as superior since Britain was one of the top powers in the world at the time.  When faced with confrontation about the Oyo traditions after the King died.  This created a bit of a cultural clash between the natives of the Nigerian village and the British intruders. After the King died, Pilking and his wife, Jane, are confused as to the rumors behind the King's horsemen, Elesin.  In hearing that Elesin was going to commit suicide that night, the Pilkings were shocked.  The found out that it was tradition for the highest ranking and secondhand man to the King was to die the night before the King's funeral in order to follow him in t

Throughout The Tempest , Shakespeare hinted towards the colonization of the New World.  The island that housed Prospero and Miranda is representative to the unexplored and foreign lands of the New World.  When Prospero first landed on the island and befriended Sycorax and Caliban, he used them to gain knowledge of the island before imprisoning them.  This is similar to how explorers befriended and enslaved natives of the New World.  Caliban is bitter and reluctant to following Prospero's orders as his slave, which is parallel to how slaves felt the same under colonial control and submitted to the fear of the colonists' ability and power. Characters such as Antonio, Alonso, Gonzalo, and Sebastian are examples of wealthy monarchs and high status patrons in Europe who funded many exploration trips in regards to increase their status and wealth.  The way they approach the island were similar to how colonists presented themselves. Overall, there are many similarities between The T

From the moment she first laid eyes on Ferdinand, she thought he was the most perfect thing she had ever seen.  She became infatuated and obsessed over him, but her feelings were reciprocated by Ferdinand.  Her life became revolved around him and they planned on marrying each other after just a few days.  My question is whether Miranda is an idiot for trusting a stranger or if she genuinely in love with Ferdinand.  After being alone on an island all her life, the only man Miranda had ever seen were her father and Caliban.  Before meeting Ferdinand, she had little knowledge of the way other humans lived or the complexity of society.  Ferdinand was a new experience that she was curious about, so I question her decision to marry him after their first encounter.  Is she just an idiot for throwing herself into a relationship with a man she doesn't know?  If she isn't an idiot, then was she truly in love with Ferdinand? Was their love genuine? It was difficult to comprehend the

In the Tempest , I think that Shakespeare uses the character, Ariel, as a tool of vengeance.  Ariel has magic abilities and was enslaved in a tree by Sycorax, but after she died, Prospero released him and made him a servant.  He is a loyal subject to Prospero in return for his freedom.  Prospero's revenge on the ship of nobles who shipwrecked him was primarily fueled by Ariel's magic.  Ariel conjures up the storm and puts men to sleep in order to get into their heads and begin to turn them against each other.  Ariel became a tool for Prospero's revenge.  Prospero keeps him enslaved for as long as he needs his abilities and then promises to set him free.  As a tool of vengeance, Ariel is forced to answer to Prospero as his master and carry out any of his desires.  He is a slave to Prospero and will never be treated as an equal even after his freedom.

When Prospero first landed on the island, he befriended Sycorax who ruled the island.  He ended up imprisoning her until she died and made her child grow up enslaved under his control.  I found Prospero's actions to reflect the hierarchy and lifestyle he came from in Milan.  His expectations of becoming King of Milan rolled over in his castaway.  He assumed his role as king by enslaving Sycorax and Caliban. As Ferdinand becomes stranded on the island, his actions mimic Prospero's when he first landed.  He continued his role of being apart of a higher social class by asserting his dominance on Prospero.  Although Prospero planned his enslavement by Ferdinand, Ferdinand's actions still reflect a hierarchy that was established in Europe at the time. I found that the similarities between Prospero and Ferdinand's reactions to being stranded on an island with natives that appeared to be below them in the hierarchy.  It seemed that Prospero and Ferdinand placed themselves