Ji+Yoon+Hyun's+Summer+Reading

**//Ji Yoon Hyun//'s Summer Reading Assignment 1. The Tales of Edgar Allan Poe 2. How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster 3. On the Road by Jack Kerouac  APPROVED **

**Essay #1** ////

Weather is never a minor factor in literature that can be ignored or be literally seen as an “oh, it’s raining.” In fact, just as Thomas C. Foster explains in his book, //How to Read Literature Like a Professor//, “there’s much more to it… weather is never just weather” (75). In Jack Kerouac’s //On the Road//, a terrible amount of rain interrupts Sal Paradise’s plan of heading towards the West Coast. When one could view Sal simply as an unlucky character, one can view the rain as a motivation to move on, which the author intentionally gives to the character.

In the month of July 1947, Sal Paradise, the narrator of the book and a young writer in the story, takes fifty dollars to his trip to the West. His friend, Remi Boncoeur, who lives in San Francisco, requests Sal to come and ship out with him. Predicting to arrive to the West in ten days, Sal decides to take a long red line called Route 6, a way from Cape Cod all the way to Los Angeles. But his journey does not start off as greatly as he expects it to be. The dreadful rain starts to take control over Sal and he starts to lose track of where he’s heading.

“Not only was there no traffic but the rain came down in buckets and I had no shelter” portrays weather making Sal’s journey much more difficult while rain also forces Sal to overcome the exhausting circumstances (Kerouac, 11). The rain is not plainly causing difficulties to the character but in this case rain also works as a wake up call and as an allowance of “a brand-new start” (Foster, 75). As soon as Sal finds out from a couple who gives Sal a ride to Newburgh that there are no traffics in Route 6 and should choose a different way to get to the West, Sal gives up on his original plan. Yet he sets an altered way to at least get to Chicago as soon as possible and plans out how he should get to the west in a much sufficient way that fits his weary conditions.

As described in //How To Read Literature Like a Professor//, rain can be destructive and be more isolating than any other weather conditions. However, rain can bring back life and encourage a character to start off new with different set of directions in life.

**Essay #2** ////

Just by looking at the title of the book, it is easy to predict that there are many trips and movements of characters happening in Jack Kerouac’s //On the Road//. These movements are not merely walks people have in the park but are movements that create and establish the whole plot and theme of the book. Sal Paradise, who was in the beginning living in the East, does not realize his desire and action of hitting the road to travel to the West as a quest, which purposely becomes a guide and an experience to Sal’s own growth of self-knowledge.

Sal’s journey of the West starts off abruptly due to the harsh weather. However, as time passes, his explanations of the places and the people he interacts with are filled up with energy and excitement. No matter what kind of challenges Sal faces, the closer he gets to the West Coast there is a clear reason to why Sal opens up his dreams and emotions to the readers. The East Coast can be interpreted more as old, critical, motionless, conceptual, and theoretical while the West is more passionate, buoyant, cheerful, and youthful than the East. It is easier to realize why Sal seeks for the wild, openness, and freedom; it sets a genuine reason why he should get to his destination.

As stated in //How to Read Literature Like a Professor//, “quest is educational… the real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge” (Foster, 3). Sal Paradise is desperate about getting to the West however, the author does not smoothly allow him to. “I had broken up the purity of my entire trip, not saving every dime… fooling around with this sullen girl and spending all my money” not only shows the quester failing at the stated task, but also conveys Sal starting to learn about what the quest he is encountered in truly means in his life (Kerouac, 32).

Whenever a trip becomes a quest, it is vital for the character to individually find his or her way to the self-knowledge department. That would develop the character and moreover, teach readers the falseness of our established assumptions in life.

 COMMENTS.

Jiyoon! How was your summer~? I still can't believe that we never met this summer.. I miss you sooo much :( Sooo, I'm here to write a COMMENT about your essay! So excited to finally criticize you :D hahaha joking... anywayss here I go! I totally agree with the fact that I am able to guess how the story would go like, and the fact that there would be MANY trips happening in this book. I think you did a good job of explaining how the character ( Sal, is it?) felt and went through so that even the person who didn't read the book would understand. The usage of the quotes were great, I felt like it was the "point" that can work as an evidencc to connect the book with the "How to Read Literature Like a Professor." But I think it could have been better if you used more of your words to make sure that the connection between two quotes were lucid, because as a reader who didn't read the book ( sorry!), it is pretty hard to understand. Yet, I love the way you ended your essay. I think you used your two sentences very well to finish & explain your idea. So...in conclusion....this is tremendous and I love you :) hahaha, that sounds wrong.... anyways.. see you on the first day of school :D Jenny Lee

**Essay #3** ////

<span style="color: rgb(19, 19, 88); font-family: Georgia;">Most of the time, everyone tend to eat with people they feel comfortable with. However, whenever drinking and eating happens between people who are unfamiliar with each other, it can also be a chance to share one’s thoughts and interests. Jack Kerouac’s //<span style="color: rgb(19, 19, 88); font-family: Georgia;">On the Road //<span style="color: rgb(19, 19, 88); font-family: Georgia;"> is one extreme example of many characters being set in restaurants and bars. While Sal Paradise decides to stretch towards L.A. from San Francisco he meets an attractive Mexican woman, Terry. Their breakfast together and a drink of whisky not only bring affection between one another, but also indicate how the characters will be getting along.

On the bus that was heading to Main Street, since Sal was tired of always being with he brings up his courage to have a talk with Terry. After arriving at Main Street and when decided to eat breakfast together, one another starts to feel slightly comfortable with each other. They move to a hotel with a bottle of whisky to make love, as “two tired angels” (76). Even being suspicious of feeling disbelief and despondency between each other, the honesty and truthfulness Sal and Terry try to give one another helps them acquire some kind of human closeness. Through this relationship Sal has been longing for, he as a narrator of the story grows into a more insightful man than he was before.

In this section of the book, having breakfast has ultimately a bond to sexuality. In fact, this might be one of the best examples of portraying a form of communion. Sal discovers that he is somewhat similar with Terry and, “she chewed slowly… I was like a haggard ghost, suspicioning every move she made…” he begins to build in a new respect and relationship for Terry (Kerouac, 75). Although Sal’s correlation with the Mexican lady happened within a few pages out of 281 pages in total, the breakfast and the alcohol the two characters interface must have been a “moment of even greater trust” (Foster, 11).

<span style="color: rgb(19, 19, 88); font-family: Georgia;">**Essay #4** <span style="color: rgb(19, 19, 88); font-family: Georgia,serif;">//<He’s Blind for a Reason, You Know>//

Is it necessary to be blinded mentally and not physically? In //How to Read Literature Like a Professor//, the word ‘blind’ is described: “the significance of that adjective isn’t immediately evident or relevant in itself” (Foster, 204). In terms of what Foster had to say about blindness, Sal Paradise, in Jack Kerouac’s //On the Road//, was blinded by his commonness with his friend Dean Moriarty. Sal’s devotion and kinship he has towards Dean binds both of them together closely than any other characters in the story. However, this relationship blinds Sal about what he truly believes in and sets his mind to think only and understand the mind of Dean’s not his own.

In the second part of the book, Dean asks a shocking request to Sal; he wanted Sal to sleep with Marylou, Dean's wife, while he was watching. It was quite outrageous how both of them agreed to do so together because no matter how much Dean considered Sal as his alter ego, and no matter how much both believed in each other, their relationship of trust was going over the line.

This is the main point that needs to be discussed, “what I wanted was to take one more magnificent trip to the West Coast… see what else Dean was going to do…” (Kerouac, 116). Throughout the book, the story clearly states that Sal is obsessed with his friend Dean. When they start to travel to the West together again, the two realize that they are mentally leaving out pressures and confusions of the East out onto the side and are seeking for happiness through the urge to be in move on the road. In other words, the road Sal travels and walks through is somewhat more than just a road.

The road blinds Sal from his own perspectives and views of the world and in fact, forces Sal to believe that the road is the only flawless and painless place to rely on in his life. The road also draws in Dean and even though one could judge Sal as a character with no self-esteem, the blindness Sal serves also partially becomes the matter in his life and a new growth, experience for Sal Paradise.

<span style="color: rgb(19, 19, 88); font-family: Georgia;">**Essay #5** <span style="color: rgb(19, 19, 88); font-family: Georgia,serif;">//<Concerning Violence>//

Whenever violence happens in literature, never think of it as an accident. All violence has its reasons and in //How to Read Literature Like a Professor//, violence is “on the outside planned, plotted, and executed by somebody, with malice aforethought” (Foster 95). In Jack Kerouac’s //On the Road//, violence is examined as latent violence which Ray Rawlins, a friend of Sal, tries to portray by describing the captivity and strictness of restrictions in a society.

Major, Rawlinses, Tim Gray, and Sal Paradise decides to travel over to Central City. After watching the opera “Fidelio,” the fellows move to a place where a huge party happens. Even though there are many scenes of drinking in bars in the book, this particular scene suddenly brings up a question of, “Why so randomly use violence all of a sudden?” Ray Rawlin, because of an Argentinian tourist at the bar snarling at Rawlins just since he asked to make room, abruptly uses brutality to express his kind of anger mentioned in the story. Moreover, Rawlins gets into another fight right after insulting a waitress; this concludes the journey of visiting bars and they eventually get kicked out.

There are two categories violence in literature is divided into. It is clear that the violence explained in this section of the book is physical violence. However, the author’s intention was to show dormant violence, violence that is almost never concealed to the society these characters view as limits and restrictions to their lives. Specifically, since these characters consider their society as a place that only wishes for perfect wealth and reputation, a sudden appearance of violence depicts a rebellion Beat Generation Americans had about the community during the 1950s.

“Rawlins gave him a shove to make room; he turned and snarled… knocked him down on the brass rail with one punch… nobody could identify Rawlins” reports not only the punch was a quick form of physical violence, but also the fact that no one being able to notice who is guilty for such action gave, in actuality, a chance for Ray Rawlins to express his hidden oppression towards the unwelcoming society (Kerouac, 49).

Comment I: Jiyoon [Concerning Violence] I've actually taken my time to read this book a few years back and although it wasn't the most thrilling of books at the time, I had learned a lot about the period of this book's setting. It was the first time I had been introduced to The Beat Generation, and the things they do really astonish me. But even more than that, I feel as though they're actions are inevitable. This generation was basically born out of the corruption, whether it be government or labor forces. I think its safe to say that if not the inevitable reaction, it was actually the most predictable reaction this generation could have given in return to all the immorality. Who could really blame them for being nonchalant about politics and "what really mattered"? I really doubt anyone could truly scorn them, after all, they are the product of the world they had created. The Beat Generation "is basically a religious generation," most definitely looking for how they should go about life; not knowing what it is they had to do with themselves. They seek, so they're on the road.

P.S. Did you know that On the Road was mentioned in one of my practice SAT passages?

priscilla.

<span style="color: rgb(19, 19, 88); font-family: Georgia;">**Comment #1** //<Kristie Lee's ESSAY #2: Violence>//

Kristie! How’s your break going? Hope it’s going “great” with all the SATs and summer assignments…. Anyways! Your essay, it’s very interesting how you’ve connected the destruction of Conrad’s life to the violence explained in //How to Read Literature Like a Professor//. I wouldn’t have been able to make that kind of connection in terms of violence… very interesting. Your summary and the description of the section that connects to violence were well explained and it was easy for me to find the connections easily even when I haven’t even read the book. Your quotation and the explanation of how the quote reflects on the chapters of //How to Read Literature Like a Professor// was thoroughly done, however, I think you might need a little bit more of deep analysis because I had to look into the book after reading your essay (page 89, 90) to look at what category of violence that your story and character might belong to. It might have been better if you’ve put more interpretation of maybe the relationship between the death of Conrad’s brother and the suffering of Conrad due to his brother’s death. There are also some grammatical errors that you might want to fix and some of your sentences might be more fluent and easy to understand if you put transitions between sentences to feel the flow. But other than that, the message you are trying to portray through your essay is clear, easy to understand, and precise while still managing to keep the meaning and analysis inside the short essay. Good job and see you on Tuesday (oh no, we’re back to school)! Oh and FYI, italicize the title of the books you’ve introduced in your first paragraph! <span style="display: block; color: rgb(19, 19, 88); font-family: Georgia; text-align: center;">//- Ji Yoon Hyun//

<span style="color: rgb(19, 19, 88); font-family: Georgia;">**Comment #2** //<Sarah Cho's ESSAY #5: Blindness>//

<span style="color: rgb(19, 19, 88); font-family: Georgia,serif;">Sarah! How’s your break going? It’s terrible how we couldn’t meet up during the summer… but it’s okay, since we have English together! Anyways, I’ve always thought blindness as an important factor and symbol that’s included in literature, which is why I chose your last essay while reading through the five essays. I love how you’ve made the connection of blindness in a willful way and not in a physical way because I personally think many books express blindness in a more thematic way than literally making the characters go blind (one physical example could be Rochester in //Jane Eyre//…). It’s interesting how you’ve expressed Billy ‘blinding himself from the past’ while one could just simply say, 'he decided to only live towards the future and never the past.' This is another reason that I liked about your analysis because you were able to go deep down and find a different way to investigate your book to many themes. The description of the section in your book was easy to understand and I like how you’ve kept the flow and organization in introducing the story all the way to the analysis in the end. But there needs to be a quote from the book that you think is significant and an explanation of how it connects to //How to Read Literature Like a Professor//. If your quotation was the "how do you have such a peaceful planet?” make sure you mention the author and the page number in parenthesis next to the quote. And maybe the explanation going along with the quote, that I think is mentioned in the third paragraph, could be much easier to connect and understand if you organize and put the two middle paragraphs together. Other than some little grammatical mistakes, great connection and analysis! Love the ending and it kind of makes me want to read the book (not that I’m a big fan of reading…). Have a great remaining break and I can’t wait to see you on Tuesday! <span style="display: block; color: rgb(19, 19, 88); font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: center;">//- Ji Yoon Hyun// <span style="color: rgb(19, 19, 88); font-family: Georgia;"> <span style="color: rgb(19, 19, 88); font-family: Georgia,serif;">