Wednesday, November 14, 2007

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AP Language and Composition
Ceremony Essay Outline
Ms. Stofocik

Thesis Statement: Throughout Leslie Marmon Silko's novel The Awakening, a number of things are presented in a way that are meant to be perceived as knots of information, and other times as patterns. Not only the story itself, but Silko's style of writing showcase this conflict.

Assertion # 1: The Awakening is a tale in which the main character, Tayo, must find the patterns in what seem to him knots of information that lack meaning.
Evidence which proves assertion # 1: "There was no end to it; it knew no boundaries; and he had arrived at the point of convergence where the fate of all living things, and even the earth, had been laid. (Silko 246)"
Commentary or evidence which relates assertion #1, and Evidence back to thesis: Tayo eventually find his way to the realization of how everything he has experienced relates to each other when he remembers his grandmother's tale of the blinding flash of light. Before that point, he had always wondered why he had seen Josiah's face and voice in those of the Japanese he killed. However, "from that time on, human beings were one clan again, united by the fate the destroyers planned for all of them. (Silko 246)" here, he realizes that it is because they died in the same way in the infinite cycle of death brought upon by the "destroyers". Rather than a knot of voices and death, he sees it as a clear pattern and finally understands.



Transition from first assertion to second assertion: through finding these patterns in former knots, Tayo gains a greater insight to the world around him.


Assertion # 2: Tayo discovers that it is not only his own knotted thoughts that are actually patterns, but that all of existence can be found in this pattern.
Evidence which proves assertion # 2: "The lines of cultures and worlds were drawn in flat dark lines on fine light sand, converging in the middle of witchery's final ceremonial sand painting. (Silko 246)
Commentary or evidence which relates assertion # 2, and Evidence back to thesis: That is to say that regardless of who someone is, where they are, or their culture, all were equally victims to the witchery. Rather than being that each suffering was an isolated event, it was all effected by witchery equally. Tayo is realizing that it is no coincidence or knot of unrelated happenings which has led him to his strange and seemingly disjointed thoughts, but a definite universal happening that connected directly together and, in fact, made perfect sense.



Transition from second assertion to third assertion: While it is only outright said in this place on this page, Silko shows Tayo's progress from believing everything to be a knot of information to a pattern of progression all throughout the story.



Assertion # 1: The style of writing used throughout reflects the way Tayo feels at the time toward his own thoughts.
Evidence which proves assertion # 3: Early on in the story, little of any one time frame is shown- there are constant skips through Tayo's past and state of mind, rarely settling on one point for more than a small amount of time. As the story progresses, though, the writing becomes more and more straightforward until there is little to no focus on Tayo's remembering and more on the present.
Commentary or evidence which relates assertion #3, and Evidence back to thesis: This way is used to strengthen the story's focus and it's meaning on the subject of this conflict between knots and patterns. Just like Tayo, one might see the images of his past as random pieces which only equate to Tayo's memories and lead to him being crazy as he himself believes these thoughts have made him. Just as Tayo becomes more aware of the pattern, though, the reader does and it isn't until Tayo realizes the exact connection between these events that the reader is given this information.



Transition from third assertion to conclusion: Silko's retainment of knotted storytelling strengthens the force of the message that it was, in fact, a pattern, when i is revealed as one.


Conclusion: Tayo's journey as well as the reader's end in the sight of everything with the realization of it's nature as a pattern rather than a knot, and that only with this realization can the true importance of the story be recognized.




(Please note that the space for the commentary is the largest. This means that your ability to make sense of what you read and to think about it critically is the most essential part of your paper).