1987 AP Exam
Question 1 Prompt: In the section below, George Eliot presents a conception of leisure that has lost its place in the society of her own time. Write an essay in which you describe her views on "old leisure" and on leisure in the society of her own time and discuss the stylistic devices she uses to convey those views.
In the passage by George Eliot, she describes old leisure as a time of innocence in a world that is now very consumed with what could be seen as evil. She discusses how most people will never know the comfort of old leisure and the great pleasure in not seeing life as one big task.
To convey her points, George used very descriptive language. She talks about old leisure as though she knew it and it was very familiar to her. Discussing a time where people did not care what caused things, they only cared about the things themselves. This is the old leisure she was talking about, the days when life was carefree and even if it was shorter, it was filled with lovely memories instead of fear and paranoia.
By describing leisure in the way that Eliot does, it paints a picture for the reader of what leisure is to them and the leisure of their own time and society. This makes the passage very relatable and makes the reader want to continue.
The old leisure that Eliot knows fondly has disappeared. She longs for a time when worries did not surround your thoughts and things were easy and simple. Through her descriptive language and diction, Eliot shows her love and longing for old leisure.
Great thoughts! I agree with all of them and I thought that you explained them very well. I like how you get right to the point with your essay so the reader (me) gets the message right away. Good job :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Jackie!!
ReplyDeleteI must agree with Jackie, your writing is very concise and conveys your ideas without being "wordy" and without extra fluff. The only thing you might need to expand upon is the part in which you say she is descriptive in her language; all it might need is an example. Otherwise, good ideas, excellent work!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you that Eliot uses very descriptive language to convey her point. Very well written as always. :) I love the powerful words that you use in your writing. You can certainly see the thought and knowledge behind your writing and your ideas. Great job on this one!
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