Open Prompt #2 Revised

2005, Form B. One of the strongest human drives seems to be a desire for power. Write an essay in which you discuss how a character in a novel or a drama struggles to free himself or herself from the power of others or seeks to gain power over others. Be sure to demonstrate in your essay how the author uses this power struggle to enhance the meaning of the work.

            A power struggle is a common reoccurring event in literature, whether it is a character trying to escape someone else’s power, gain power for themselves, or both. Macbeth from Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is one such character. Macbeth’s struggle to gain power is the main focus of the play and the event that defines his character.

            The first instance when Macbeth shows his intent for power is when he and his wife plot to kill the present King of Scotland, King Duncan, so that Macbeth can be king. They invite the King to their house and Macbeth stabs him to death that night and frames the servants, who he then also kills to make sure his original bloody act of killing the King remains a secret.  Now that Macbeth is King and has gained all the power, one would think that he would stop the murderous acts. However, now that he has power, he is so paranoid about losing it, that he continues with the murdering.

            In order to maintain his power, he wants to kill everyone who could potentially take his throne away from him. The power has gone to his head so much that he orders his best friend Banquo and Banquo’s son Fleance to be killed. He doesn’t stop there, he finds out that Macduff, a Scottish noble, is against him and orders Macduff and his entire family to be killed. However, Macduff is gone when the hitmen arrive, so he survives but his entire family is killed. Now Macbeth is committing cruel acts that don’t have anything to do with maintaining power. For instance, there was no need to kill Macduff’s family, but Macbeth goes through with it anyway, to show his power over Macduff.

            This constant struggle for Macbeth’s power enhances the meaning of the work, because every time Macbeth commits an act that has to do with maintaining or increasing his power, we can see the effect it has on him and his wife. Macbeth goes through an internal struggle each time that situation comes along, battling between his conscious and his actions. Every time it comes to committing a murder, he feels guilty before and very nearly talks himself out of it; however, in the end he can’t stop himself from committing the murder, showing that his hunger for power triumphs all. The entire play is based on the how the effects of his greed lead to his downfall. The cruel acts cause his wife, Lady Macbeth, who initially was shown to be a woman of steel, to go insane with guilt and kill herself, which causes Macbeth to go insane as well and eventually be defeated and beheaded.

            Overall, Macbeth’s struggle for power is what defines his character and leads to his eventual death. Since this was the main focus of the play, it seems to show that nothing good can come of greed for power. 

Summary and Analysis of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

·         The author is this play is Tom Stoppard. He is a British playwright who left Czechoslovakia as a child refugee and then settled in Britain.

·         The setting of the story is the same as Hamlet, because this story is intertwined with that one. It’s following Ros and Guil’s perspective through the story of Hamlet. So it takes place in a forest at first, while Ros and Guil are on their way to Elsinore. Then at Elsinore, then finally ends in England.

·         Plot:

o   Ros and Guil are in the wilderness travelling, although they have forgotten why.

o    They flip coins and are questioning the laws of probability because all the coins end up heads.

o   They meet a group of actors travelling, and the actors start to put on a play for them, but Ros and Guil leave.

o   The scene changes and Ros and Guil are suddenly at Elsinore. They talk to the King and are told to spy on their friend Hamlet to see why he has gone crazy. So now, Ros and Guil are just watching scenes that we have already read in Hamlet, such Hamlet and Ophelia’s scene where she tries to return his belongings, and when Hamlet stabs Polonius.

o   After Hamlet kills Polonius, he is put on a ship to England with Ros and Guil. The two friends are supposed to turn Hamlet over to the King of England with a letter given to them by the King of Denmark. However, when they are sleeping, Hamlet switches the letter, so that instead of saying that they are turning Hamlet over, they say they are turning themselves over.

o    The Tragedians (actors from before) turn up on the ship too.

o   Pirates attack the ship and Hamlet flees.

o   The Tragedians act out different types of death, and then Ros and Guil realize they are going to die soon. They “exit” and then the final scene of this play is the final scene of Hamlet where Claudius, Gertrude, Hamlet, and Laertes are all dead and Horatio gives a final speech.

·         Main Characters:

o   Rosencrantz: the dumber one of the two, one of the friends that betrays Hamlet, has no original thoughts, dies at end, represents “everyman”

o   Guildenstern: the sharper of the two, still always confused with Ros by others, isn’t as knowledgeable as he thinks so his dialogue has a malapropism of ideas, opposite of Ros, dies at end, represents “everyman”

o   Player: surrounded by an air of mystery and uncertainty, it’s as if he knows more than Ros and Guil on what’s going on, as if he has the answers and knows what’s going to happen in the future

·         Since this is a play, there isn’t much to say about author style or narrative voice because each character has their own style of talking. Many of the actions are given in the stage directions.

·         Symbols:

o   The coins represent randomness and chance.

o   The boat represents living life, and how we can’t control it, it’s on a predetermined track.

·         Quotes:

o   “Life is a gamble, at terrible odds—if it was a bet you wouldn’t take it.” This quote is said by the Player and it’s really quite sad because he’s saying that life is a risk and there isn’t a big chance that you will win. It seems like he’s speaking from experience, like he finally got this realization of this harsh reality of the real world.

o   “Look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else.” This is yet another witty, deep thought by the Player, however this time, it’s an optimistic thought. This is the same idea as the common saying that if one door closes, another door opens. It’s similar in that the Player is saying opportunities will always come.

·         Theme: Life is unexpected and impossible to completely understand.

o   The unexpectedness is shown by the symbol of the coin and how it represents randomness and the Pirates suddenly attacking the ship when everything seemed to be winding down.  

o   It’s impossible to understand because Ros and Guil never know what’s going on.  They are always caught up in something they don’t know started. They often times forget their names and don’t know why things are happening. 

Response to Course Materials 3/10/13

            In the last few weeks, we have finished reading the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and watched the movie. I think this play was really quite interesting, because it seemed so simple initially, with the modern English and the simple activities Rosencrantz and Guildenstern went through, such as flipping a coin many times. However, analyzing further and discussing it with the class, I began to see the hidden meanings that the author, Stoppard wanted us to see, like the “play within a play within a play” idea about how everything is a play and Ros and Guil are just actors. I like having class discussions, because it clears up ideas I was confused about and lets me see the ideas of other people in the class.

            We also did some practice writing essays for prompts, like we would have to for the AP exam, and I am really glad we did! I definitely needed the practice, and am so glad we went over the basics for how to write an essay that will get a high score on the test. I hadn’t realized I was so rusty with the structure of how to write a good essay for a closed prompt. With the AP Exam coming up quickly, I think my writing is what needs the most work.