Synthesis of Course Material #1

Okay. Since so many things have happened throughout the course of this class, I'm just going to write a nice little outline of each major section we've done using the books we've read as a guideline. I will begin with the very first book that we read, which was The American Dream written by Edward Albee. So here goes.

The American Dream

• A little before diving into the book, we learned of the basic concepts of writing essays and interpreting novels through DIDLS. Through Diction, Imagery, Details, Language, and Syntax, we were enabled to become more involved with the works we dealt with while also having a more in depth understanding and grasp on the concepts dealt in the pieces.
• After the introduction of DIDLS, our class began our first read of Albee's play. Through The American Dream, we learned about the idea of the "Theatre of the Absurd" and how Albee's unique creation of a plot contributed greatly towards the play. 
• Many discussions were held about the play afterwards, and many debates were sparked concerning the role of the actual "American Dream" and how it affected the lives of those who lived during that time period. We also placed a strong emphasis on how consumerism played a large part behind the way Mommy and Daddy acted.
• Following the first read, we began the annotations of the play. Through this, we were able to go even more in depth perspective of the reading and marking the book really helped provoke some more topics for debate and to reflect upon.