Essay #2: How did you do?

Possible Scores:	Essay #1 Results:	Essay #2 Results:
nine/eight	4	13
seven/six	19	28
five	28	20
four/three	24	14
two/one	1	0

As you can see in a comparison of the two essay exams, there was much improvement on this second essay.

Overall, I saw many more, well-developed thesis statements. Which means many more of you were writing with a clearer plan this time, something essential to completing a timed essay.  

Here are some notable thesis statements:

Morrison utilizes the dolls to demonstrate how society has come to diminish the general idea of beauty to be associated only with white individuals who possess blue eyes, subjugating others to a refined definition of non-beauty, or ugliness, when pinned to the given standard (David Garcia).

The most prominent symbolism in the story is in regards to the doll and all of its painful meanings, which highlight the economic, gender, and racial oppression within our nation (Alyssa Caravas).

As the characters develop, they learn to deal with their inferiority complex through various coping mechanisms. One of these mechanisms is the doll, which binds the protagonists, Claudia and Pecola, together. On the surface the doll simply characterizes the protagonists; however, the doll symbolically represents the self-vindication the girls search for in their desire to live up to social standards (Henry Lopez).

Cisneros incorporates the complex and fragile symbol of the rebozo to demonstrate how, without the knowledge of life passed down by predecessors, ones life can begin to unravel like that of the silk rebozo (Jordyn Fuggins).

The unfinished rebozo is a symbol of life itself, how it can be woven together in one instant and then unwoven in another; this symbol corresponds with the novel as Lala’s family is a series of unfinished and finished events (Jakelyn Alcaraz).

In Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros a rebozo is portrayed as more than just a piece of clothing; through symbolism, the rebozo becomes a language that represents culture, a symbol of life and respect (Dulce Lucero).

The weather—as it is used—symbolizes the lack of opportunity in Limerick in order to emphasize how poverty greatly affects an individual’s chance of success (Claudia Nava).

The tragic events in Frank’s life hide behind his survivor’s humor and naïve tone. The damp and gloomy weather in his hometown, Limerick, represent Frank’s encounters with death, starvation, and poverty (Ubaldo Norzagaray).

In the passage, Frank’s spiritual questioning of his religion lead to his depiction of Limerick’s gloomy, rainy weather as an anti-Christ (Antonio Venegas).

Also, I saw an overall improvement in the integration of textual support and analysis. My guess is that our focus on thesis writing in the classroom and your weekly novel discussions are helping you to speak and write the language of literary analysis more proficiently and more comfortably. Keep it up.