This week in AP lit, we spent most of our time on the "What is Literature" project. My group consists of Simran, Haylee, and myself, and our themes are humor and fantasy. I am a part of the humor group with Simran, and I chose to read Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville, and the first time I read it, it was honestly one of the least humorous pieces of writing I had ever read. It seemed like a simple (and very depressing) story about a scrivener who probably had severe depression who was attracted to the narrator and refused to leave him alone. Throughout the story, the narrator grows more and more frustrated with Bartleby's passive refusal to do work, and in the end, he ends up ditching Bartleby and moving to a new location. Ultimately, Bartleby is arrested and he DIES in prison. He LITERALLY DIES.
I was really confused and had difficulty finding much humor, but after consulting some analysis websites and re-reading the story, I was able to find some of the more subtly humorous moments buried in the layers of sad, and with that, I was able to write my essay.
The essay still confuses me, and although I have finished writing my part of the rough draft, I'm not too certain I did it correctly. The connecting evidence chart really helped me in the writing process, and I actually really want to see all of the edits I need to make so I can improve upon my essay.
I was really confused and had difficulty finding much humor, but after consulting some analysis websites and re-reading the story, I was able to find some of the more subtly humorous moments buried in the layers of sad, and with that, I was able to write my essay.
The essay still confuses me, and although I have finished writing my part of the rough draft, I'm not too certain I did it correctly. The connecting evidence chart really helped me in the writing process, and I actually really want to see all of the edits I need to make so I can improve upon my essay.