Chaya's AP Lang Blog

In “The Modern Prometheus,” JJ uses irony, contrast and imagery with a relaxed, blissful tone to emphasize the joy in making others happy. He uses contrast to show the parents instructions compared to the actual scene in the house, conveying that although nothing they said is being enforced, the children are having fun. His use of vivid imagery like “soft pajamas lying idle in the closet” and “hard sour chewies dangling from their mouths” shows how the babysitter hasn’t made the children follow any of the rules, and gives off a relaxed, stress free environment where the children could be free to enjoy themselves. The irony comes in because the parents’ specific instructions were completely ignored and everything that they said not to do was happening. JJ uses these techniques to convey the satisfaction and contentment that comes with giving into the desires of others, and benefiting from their enjoyment.

In “A Man I Knew,” Margaret Levine uses a detached, distant tone together with syntax and symbolism to describe a person who has a sad unfulfilled life. The poem starts off with the symbolism of “a condo,” showing that this man that she used to know owns his own fancy home, implying that he cares about materialism, but not necessarily other more important things in life. He seems rich and detached, as he has a “maid who comes every other week,” showing how he does not have a spouse and pays someone else to deal with his mess. This is symbolic for the fact that he probably has many issues in his life, but he does not like to deal with his emotional problems and has other people deal with it for him. The poem continues and says how he has “kids who don’t” come to visit him, and they only “float on the dresser” like in a picture frame, and are not in his life. He is totally detached from his family and doesn’t seem to try to reach out, as it says they “float forever, like a boat” symbol...

"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth." -Buddha This quote really stood out to me and I really love it because of how true it is. The truth can never be hidden forever, and will always eventually be revealed. The sun and the moon might hide behind the clouds or the darkness, but they will never be hidden forever. Truth is exactly the same. I think this relates especially to people's personalities and character. Many times people are very good at hiding their bad traits and hide their true self by acting so nice and pleasant. However, the truth always comes out and once you get to know them, their true self will be revealed. This quote made me think about people in relationships, because you could be in a relationship with someone and think that they are amazing and such great people. But when you get to know someone really well, and you need to share your true emotions and feelings with one another, you are able to see who they really are ...