The Visit
Who wrote The Visit? (First and last name, spelling matters!)
Friedrich Dürrenmatt
He wrote this novel (No one really uses his first name, so just give me first initial, middle, and last, spelled correctly)
F. Scott Fitzgerald
What genius wrote this novel? (first and last names, spelled correctly)
Colson Whitehead
What two men wrote Freakonomics? (first and last names, spelled correctly)
For double points, tell me who was the economist and who was the journalist -- if you attempt this and are wrong, you will lose points!
Stephen Dubner (journalist) & Steven Levitt (economist)
I would certainly hope you can name the person who wrote this play, first and last names, spelled correctly!
When writing the title of a single essay, this is how you ought to punctuate that title
Use quotation marks
It is not enough to compare the two texts you choose. You must also do this.
What is "contrast"?
Is Claire a tragic hero or an anti-hero? Pick one, and very briefly defend your choice.
Answers:
Tragic hero - Claire is a wronged woman seeking justice, but her victory is a Pyrrhic one.
Anti-hero - In her mad effort at revenge, Claire destroys not only what is left of her own humanity, but the humanity of an entire town as well
Gatsby and Nick are contrasts, and Fitzgerald's technique in comparing them to each other in order to reveal more insight makes them this kind of characters.
What are foil characters?
Whitehead was inspired to write this novel by real-life incidents that took place at what actual school?
The Dozier School (for Boys)
Dubner and Levitt claim that the entire book is really just a study of one word. What is it?
Incentives.
What is the genre of this play?
It's a comedy! (Because it ends with happy marriage)
Montaigne is now known as the "Father of..." what?
While criterion A requires you to demonstrate your understanding of the story itself, criterion B asks you to consider what?
How the story is told. (Techniques and choices of the writer)
Ill is ultimately killed by the town for Claire's money. He had friends, prospects, a wife, and children before all this happened. After, he is buried. Who buries him?
Claire.
Name the man who took in Gatsby (onto his yacht!) when he was a kid, and taught him to be a man.
Dan Cody
What did Elwood always dream of seeing in the dining room of the hotel where his mother worked?
A Black man eating dinner.
This is the reason crime rates fell in the '90s, according to the authors.
Abortion was legalized.
Provide both names (spelled correctly) of either of the two couples who become romantically entangled in this play.
Who are (either) Benedick and Beatrice OR Claudio and Hero?
One of Montaigne's key essays ("To Philosophize is to Learn to Die") dealt with death. Why does he recommend that people spend a good amount of time thinking about death?
In order to stop fearing it.
This is the one way you should specifically not organize your Paper 2 response.
What is in text order? (Chronologically by the text)
The mayor tells Ill that he should just go ahead and kill himself, but Ill refuses. What reason does Ill give for his refusal?
Ill demands that the mayor (and town) take ownership of his death. He says, "You can kill me, I won't complain, I won't protest, I won't defend myself, but your action is yours, and I can't relieve you of it" (90).
Gatsby often calls our attention to carelessness, of people and how they live. What is one example of a character being called careless?
Jordan is described as a careless driver...
...and later described Nick as metaphorically the same, saying "Well, I met another bad driver, didn't I? I mean it was careless of me to make such a wrong guess" (177)
"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made..." (179)
Elwood values knowledge as a young kid. What symbol/foreshadowing did Whitehead add that implies his knowledge is ultimately worthless?
The blank encyclopedias!
This man embedded himself in a gang in Chicago in order to understand how their business model worked (at least his last name, spelled correctly).
Who is Sudhir Venkatesh?
A few very important events happen "offstage" in this play. What is one event you would agree is significant that we only hear about, rather than see?
Borachio's seduction of Margaret, Don Pedro's wooing of Hero (for Claudio), Don John's capture at the end, etc.
We noted a few consistent techniques that Montaigne employs (and that you imitated in your own writing). Name two.
Any two of: Use of personal anecdotes, use of quotations, digression, skepticism, etc.
People often default to organizing Paper 2 by tackling each text, one at a time. A better way to organize is to focus on what?
What is, organize the response effectively by choosing a few techniques both writers use and then discussing each technique (comparing how it is used by each writer).
This play makes many, many references to mythology and the Bible. Offer one example of each of those two kinds of reference
Mythology: Claire as one of the fates, as a fury (avenging goddess), Lais, and Medea.
Bible: Ill as Jesus, Claire as temptress, denial of paternity, redemption, sacrifice, Biblical punishment for Koby and Loby (tracked to the ends of the Earth and punished brutally), eunuchs, etc.
"'God sees everything,' repeated Wilson" (160). Wilson points at a certain pair of eyes when he says this. Name the owner of those eyes.
Doctor T. J. Eckleburg (billboard sign)
Boxing is a concept that appears repeatedly in this novel. Offer a very brief response to a way it could be seen as a symbol, a motif, or an allegory. (Pick just one)
Boxing shows the boys being literally beaten down
It reinforces that knowledge and empathy have no value
It is an allegory for the way the boys (especially the black boys) are used for their bodies to entertain wealthy white folks
...et al
The authors set up a list of things that parents do. Some things matter. Some things don't. Of this list of six items, pick two that do make a difference in a kid's educational achievement:
A. A child had low birthweight
B. A child attended Head Start
C. A child is regularly taken to museums
D. A child is adopted
E. A child is regularly spanked
F. A child has many books in the home
These are the ones that matter: A, D, and F
B, C, and E are things that people tend to think matter, but actually don't
"Beards are a symbol of traditional masculinity." Offer two examples from this play that support this claim.
Benedick has a beard initially, until he embraces his softer side and shaves after falling for Beatrice.
Beatrice wants a husband with a beard...but also without a beard...
Claudio is clean-shaven (he's a kid)
Claudio is referred to (derisively) as "Lord Lackbeard" (5.1.197)
Leonato is a "white-bearded fellow" (2.3.126)
While Montaigne wrote about a huge variety of topics (death, drunkenness, sleep, lying, bravery, etc), his essays were driven by a set of central beliefs. Offer one central thematic motif that appears in most of his work.
Any of: Be skeptical about "common knowledge," our bodies affect the way we think, trust your own judgment, it's important to explore things for yourself, change is inevitable, etc.
This is the key difference between the SL and HL versions of Paper 2.
What is nothing?