Exam Guidelines and Essay Analysis

All questions are not of equal value. This exam is worth 40% of the final grade for this course. You may consult the required texts and materials for this course when formulating your answers. You may NOT consult secondary sources�that means no internet or library sources. All references must be cited using parenthetical MLA in-text citations. Works cited page is not required. Students will be held responsible for any evidence of plagiarism.

Type all answers in this document, directly below the question you are responding to.

Section One: Short Answer Questions. Type your responses directly below the question. Each answer should be approximately 250 words or one page double-spaced. Failure to write in full sentences and clear, grammatically correct language will result in lost marks. Each question is worth 5 points. 15 points total for this section.

1. Discuss how the excerpt from �Broken Vessels� by Andre Dubus on page 55 of Bruce Ballenger�s Crafting Truth uses both the elements of a scene (also known as �show� techniques) and reflection to tell its story. Make sure to use full sentences and specific examples in your answer. (5 pts)
2. Discuss how tone is established in the excerpt from Joan Didion�s �Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream� on pages 37-39 of Ballenger�s Crafting Truth. Make sure to use full sentences and specific examples in your answer. (5 pts)
3. The opening and closing poems from Ilya Kaminsky�s Deaf Republic, �We Lived Happily during the War� and �In a Time of Peace� occur outside the world of Vasenka, where the main events of the two-act collection occur. Discuss what purpose these two poems serve and why Kaminsky might have chosen to frame the collection in this way. (5 pts)

Section Two: Essay Question. Essays should be roughly 750 words, or 3 pages double-spaced. Type your essay in the space provided below, using full sentences and proper essay form (introduction, thesis statement, body paragraphs with topic sentences, conclusion).

Susan Sontag�s short story �The Way We Live Now� describes the height of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and specifically how one man�s HIV positive status is handled by his group of friends. In an essay of about 750 words, choose three craft elements and analyze how Sontag uses them to explore this topic.

Certainly! Ilya Kaminsky's Deaf Republic is a collection of poems that tells the story of a fictional town where the citizens are deaf and a deaf boy is killed by soldiers. The opening and closing poems establish a tone of tension and violence, while also conveying a sense of hope and resilience.

In the opening poem, "We Lived Happily during the War," Kaminsky uses stark imagery and repetition to create a sense of unease and foreshadowing. The poem begins:

"We lived happily during the war
And when they bombed other people's houses, we
protested
But not enough, we opposed them but not
enough."

The repetition of "not enough" emphasizes the speaker's sense of guilt and powerlessness in the face of violence. The use of the first-person plural pronoun "we" also suggests a shared responsibility for the violence of war.