Tuesday, December 2, 2008

2006 AP Free-Response Question #3



In many works of literature, a physical journey -the literal movement from one place to another - plays a central role. Choose a novel, play, or epic poem in which a physical journey is an important element and discuss how the journey adds to the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

(Briefly sketch out an argument for addressing the prompt above by referring to a specific work of literary merit.)

14 comments:

Toni said...

In “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Huck and Jim are traveling down a river on a raft. This journey is significant because it is a way for Jim to hopefully find freedom. The ironic part is that the two are actually traveling south, deeper into the slave states. The travel is also Huck’s way to get away from the idealistic life of Tom Sawyer. Jim is also trying to keep Huck from learning about his father’s death. As the two stop along the river they have adventures that differ from one location to the next. Part of the reason why this is so important is because it is an episodal novel, which is easier to write due to the stops the characters made along the river bank.

SebbyCastro said...

Um, I'm not so sure what Mr. Cianflone was thinking when he chose that picture, I still don't get what it has to do with this question, but anyways.
In "A Man For All Seasons", a play about Thomas Moore the only man in England to object to King Henry VIII's divorce then remarriage. The journey from the tower to the dungeon to the court and then to death (by beheading) shows the commitment of one man to his God. As he moves from one stage to another, it shows the audience the injustice served to him. He was sentenced to death for pleading the fifth about King Henry's divorce and remarriage. He wouldn't make a comment about it or sign the oath. But as he was moved from the dungeon to the court, the true unjustice of that society was shown. His own friend, Rich, lied that Thomas committed high treason by speaking out. The system that was supposed to protect them, ended up serving unjustly by sentencing Thomas to death. The important part about the court was that in a place where justice should be served and the truth should be stated, a man was made a saint by the injustice, lies, and hatred of others. Thomas was not served justly in a place where justice is supposed to be served "fair". He had an unfair trial. This unfair trial proved how good of a man Thomas was and how loyal he was to his morals and his God.

Cianflone said...

Hm. What exactly does that picture have to do with the prompt? Does anyone out there get it?

amanda bollacker said...

That's Journey in the picture, right? Haha nice.
I want to talk about Lord of the Rings because I think it is a perfect example of the traditional journey. It's a physical journey from the hobbits' homeland through dangerous places in order to destroy the One Ring as well as a journey of growth and discovery. Everyone in the fellowship and even those outside of it are struck by change and discovery--the little hobbits, portraits of innocence, learn to fight, kill, and show courage in the face of evil. Strider the Ranger stops fighting his noble roots and embraces his role as leader and eventual king of Gondor. Faramir, after trying to please his father, asserts his independence when, after imprisoning Frodo and Sam, lets them continue their journey rather than take the ring for his father's sake and the sake of his country. Merry and Pippin in particular experience torture in the hands of the Uruk-kai and are seperated in their journey, for the first time in their lives. Their carefree ways are now haunted by war and destruction, a struggle that none of them expected when embarking on a journey far from their beautiful Shire.

laurenD said...

In James Joyce's “An Encounter,” the narrator and Mahony seek a retreat from routine classes at school. By traveling to the river and the liberating atmosphere of the town around it, the boys hope to find a thrilling environment similar to the Wild West of their "cowboy and Indian" battles. Instead, the narrator and Mahony discover a cruel reality in which monotony is inevitable and escape is impossible. They are insulted by judgmental Catholic boys and endure a discomforting encounter with a perverted senior man concerned with erotic novels, girlfriends, and physical abuse. The man walks in circles as well as discusses the same point several times throughout conversation, illustrating that repetition is evident in and ruins new experiences. In addition, the narrator and Mahony fail to reach the power house, a symbol of life, during their travels. This further solidifies that they fail to find the energy outside of their mundane lives. Overall, the journey in "An Encounter" is needed to prove that freedom from paralysis is highly difficult to achieve in the static Dublin society.

SebbyCastro said...

Oh, that's Journey? Haha, I might have heard of them Mr. Cianflone but I'm not old enough to recognize them, haha.

amanda bollacker said...

wow way to make me feel awkward, sebby lol

kelsey said...

In Pride and Prejudice there are two charicters who grow through great development. The first is clearly Elizabeth, Her phisical journey that she goes on with her aunt and uncle through the country signifyes her great change. she grows in many ways one of which is her execptance of mr. Darcy and her release of her prdjudice.
There is also mr. Darcy and his phisical journey to visit his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and his further travels to the city. In these travels he is able to let go of his pride and not only help Elizabeth's family and sister but profess her love for her.

dovile said...

okay so i was thinkin the exact same thing as toni, in huck finn, the journey directly affects almost all aspects of the story. the river is freedom for huck, not only jim. huck was the first one in the novel to run off to the river as an escape. he always ran back to it to escape his father, and conformity to society. stops along the river were like little mini adventures, but the main one took place on the river, and whenever anything bad happened to jim or huck, they would always run back to it.

Pauly P said...

Eww, I can't beleve people used to dress like that...like ugly trannies with beards, ugh! Music's good though. Anyways I'll have to say the harrowing trek in "As I Lay Dying". The apparent purpose of the journey (a family taking their mother's body across their state so she can be buried with her ancestors as she wished)is at odds with the entire family's (including the mother's) true motives. Addy, the mother, wanted her inept husband to suffer so she told him to take her body far away; the father wanted to go to that town for new teeth, their daughter wanted an abortion there, the youngest son wanted a toy train, and I can't really remember the motives of the other three sons.. The actual roadblocks the family faces show just how each family member is willing to be a roadblock to eachother. When the bridge that they were crossing was flooded, the father, Anse, was willing to put his entire family in danger to save time; then when their cairrage tipped over in the river, Jewel helped the most because he cared for his mother's wishes; Darl didn't help at all because he didn't want to parade his beloved mother's body across Mississippi. Anse proved to be a horrible parent when he decided to pour cement over his eldest son's(Cash's)broken leg (because he didn't want the inconvenience of finding a doctor), causing it to become permenently deformed. Then after that he forced Jewel to sell his own horse to buy a new carraige, took his daughter's abortion money to buy new teeth, and married some other woman right after their mother's funeral! But wait there's more! Darl tried to prematurely put the abominable journey to a close by setting another man's barn on fire in order to cremate his mother, and then his sister sold him out to the police! It's so terrible what these family members are willing to do to further own interests.. such an amusing read...

Allie said...

I've been reading this series, the first book is Vampire Academy and it begins with a journey. At first it is unclear why this journey is taking place, it is meant first to catch the readers attention and keep them reading. As you read on the meaning unfolds. The journey is symbolic of escape; how it is a necessary part of the characters lives. The main characters Rose and Lissa would not be the same people if they had not taken this journey; it was a changing point for them, a moment where major decisons must be made that will affect them for the rest of the book. The journey shows a conflict of morals, the characters must decide which decision to make; they want to escape but they are betraying people they care about by leaving. Once the journey has come to an end they see that they did need to leave the Acadamy to learn about themselves and to see the world as a whole. A journey is a learning experience that is important for the rest of the book.

Lauren P said...

In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden has a coming of age adventure throughout New York after he leaves his prep school. He encounters people like the prostitute, the older boy that he used to know, and his former teacher. Through these encounters, Holden realizes that he does not want the life he thought he did. The idea of the prostitue and being like the older boy was so exciting, but he soon realized that this lifestyle was not for him. His former teacher was someone he respected, but he realized that even this man was corrupted. Holden, through this encounter, knows that he does not want this kind of lifestyle. He then goes to see Phoebe, his kid sister, and through experiences with her at the museaum and the carousel, he realizes he cannot be the "catcher in the rye" because he is unable to protect her from the profanities on the wall or other corruptions of innocence. Overall, Holden's adventures in New York make him mature and help him find out more about the person he wants to be.

Ellen said...

I agree with Lauren about the Catcher in the Rye, it was the first book i thought of. The part of the book where a physical journey takes a large roll is during Holdens trip to the bar and to the carnival. another book that has a literal journey is The Other Boleyn Girl, where Anne and the king take a yearly hunt where the whole court travels across the countryside. this journey was the time where Anne tried her hardest to capture the king, and in her later journeys it is the time where Anne realizes that her time as queen is over and she is loosing all her power. everytime she travels on these hunts she learns something new and grows as a person, she always realizes something important about her life on these trips.

Kristen Stewart said...

I'm going to agree with lauren on this and take a story from Dubliners. In "Two Gallants" the idea that one man walks in circles the entire time, and ends up in the same place at the end, shows the paralysis of Ireland. The men are in the same spot when they have finished the journey as before, showing just how pointless the whole thing was. This physical circle evolves along with the mental circle that the two go through. Lenehan thinks that Corley will definitely come back and then he thinks and he won't. and when he does finally show up Lenehan says that he trusted him the whole time. There is no progress.