GRADE 11
ANNOTED EXEMPLAR
Literary Response
The post World War II atmosphere in America was one of
contrast; a soaring economy plagued with a menacing foreign conflict, a
The writer chose
the perfect sentence
patterns to use to
express the
paradox of post
WWII America:
contrasting pairs in
the first and third
sentences
emphasize the
paradox.
seemingly complacent, frivolous society haunted by the relentless
possibility of atomic warfare. While Americans indulged in new
extravagances such as the TV, washing machine, and suburban housing,
the tension between the USA and the USSR mounted, incessantly looming
over their comfort. This contrast between comfort and fear, security and
vulnerability, created many paradoxes; however, many of the positive
components were only skin deep: the majority of American’s were
consumed by fear of the atomic bomb and its capacities. Writers such as
E. E. Cummings, William Stafford, and Katherine Anne Porter express
this acknowledgement of the unbalanced paradoxes of the Post-War
America in their writing. Although this era seemingly contained a paradox
between complacency and anxiety, in reality the fear and concern rooted
itself deeper in the American’s hearts than the fun-spirited pleasure of the
1950’s.
In poet E. E. Cummings’ piece, “Pity This Busy Monster,
Manunkind,” Cumming’s demonstrates the uneven paradox between
Students often
identify craft without
connecting it to the
author’s message.
This writer labels
‘manunkind” as a
malapropism, but the
discussion of that use
of writer’s craft goes
beyond the craft to
explain how
Cummings uses it to
“reveal his bitter
attitude.”
safety and panic; furthermore, he expresses animosity and resentment
towards his violent society for creating such massively harmful weapons,
a moral issue which many Americans battled with. In his poem, he uses a
malapropism by calling mankind “manunkind.” This play on words
reveals his bitter attitude towards humanity gone wrong, his
disappointment in his race that would manipulate its powers so
destructively. He uses paradoxes, claiming, “Progress is a comfortable
disease.” Here he asserts that progress, meaning the development of the
atomic bomb, is comfortable because it gives the possessor a sense of
security, and yet a disease because it will eventually cause harm. This
paradox parallels with the overall paradox of the post-war America;
Though the essay is a
complex comparison
of the paradoxes of
that era and the
literature that
expresses the fear,
the introduction is
clear and
successfully leads us
to the first body
paragraph.
however, Cummings’ piece focuses more on the fearful, negative half of
the contradiction. He again incorporates a paradox, writing that man
“plays with the bigness of his littleness”, asserting that man has surpassed
his intended capabilities though technology. At the end, he satirically
suggests, “there’s a hell of a good universe next door; let’s go”, implying
that humanity has gone too far, and that the world is on the point of
annihilation. His anxiety and resentment mirrored the feelings of many in
The writer
effective
includes and
explains specific
textual evidence
to support her
claims.
the American public; while they masked themselves under a shield of
complacency and success, they too shared Cummings’ fears and hostility.
Another poet, William Stafford, addresses the same issue in his
piece, “At the Bomb Testing Site,” in which he proves the so-called
paradox of a post-war America that is unbalanced due to an overwhelming
The writer
includes three
well-elaborated
examples.
sense of fear. He uses symbolism, representing the US public as a “panting
lizard,” in order to trivialize the population and put things in perspective.
He sets a tense mood of anticipation, explaining as the lizard watched “the
curve of a particular road as if something might happen.” His mood
parallels the national mood in America; citizens were on the edge of their
seats expecting something to happen. He also employs paradoxes,
explaining the lizard to be “waiting for history,” which paralleled the
anxiety-stricken American public. He expresses the public’s tendency to
attempt to predict the future beyond their uninformed capabilities, writing
that the lizard looks “at something farther off than people could see…at
the flute end of consequences.” This figurative language implies that
Stafford feels people aren’t seeing the big picture, only the “flute end.”
Stafford’s piece challenges the theory that post-war America was an
evenly balanced paradox between comfort and distress; he clearly
emphasizes the tense, anticipatory mood of the nation, implying that
everyday life was spent waiting and expecting the worse.
The writer offers
an interpretation
of the textual
evidence that
connects to the
central thesis.
This theme of fear overshadowing security is also addressed in
Katherine Anne Porter’s “The Future is Now.” Here she struggles with her
own personal dread of the world being instantaneously obliterated. She
uses figurative language when referring to her concern about the world’s
doom as “the lurking Foul Fiend,” a trepidation that shapes her pessimistic
outlook. She also uses paradoxes to come to terms with her own existence
on Earth, such as “the future is now.” While the future can never be now,
this paradox shed light onto the perspective of an average citizen during
this time, one that fully accepts the possibility of not seeing another day
The writer’s
reference to
the speaker’s
tone and to
allusions
again
demonstrates
her ability to
incorporate
an analysis of
author’s craft
into her
argument.
due to atomic warfare. Later she discusses the “paradoxical creature” that
“created all these dangers and sufferings,” meaning the atomic bomb, “in a
quest – we are told – for peace and security.” Her insertion of a doubtful
tone suggest that she feels the paradox to be unequal; the dangers and
sufferings have not provided for peace and security. She also uses
allusions, referring to biblical characters such as Adam and Eve, to explain
how “man has obviously outreached himself to the point where he cannot
understand his own science or control his own inventions.” Here she
delves into a similar topic as Cummings: man surpassing his intended
capabilities. By alluding to Adam and Eve she picks a popular comparison
that strikes images of risking Utopia to surpass clear boundaries. She also
implements irony when assessing America’s stunning progress in
weaponry while “no machine has been invented to purify that water so that
Well-crafted
sentences,
such as this
one, reveal
the writer’s
fluency and
insight into
the topic.
it will not spoil even the best tea or coffee.” Her ironic twist highlights
humanity’s absurd obsession with life-destroying objects as opposed to
simple, pleasure-causing inventions. Porter’s rhetoric is a prime
representation of society’s apprehensive mind-set; furthermore, by
focusing on her own dread rather than the advantages of the prosperous
economy, she proves the paradoxical post-war age to be one dominated by
fear rather than pleasure.
The writer reiterates
the thesis to establish
the connection between
this text and the topic
of the essay.
The post-war age is referred to as an era of paradoxes, a time of
The effectively
synthesizes the
claims of the
essay, remaining
specific yet
general,
rhythmical yet
serious, simple
yet compelling.
security and of danger, or prosperity and anxiety. In reality, however, the
coke sipping, TV watching fun of post-war America was overshadowed
by the impending doom of World War Three. The reality that mankind
now possessed the power to destroy the world in a relatively short period
of time was both menacing and overwhelming; furthermore, this new
reality created a backlash of anger, disappointment, disillusionment and
aimlessness expressed by writers such as Cummings, Stafford, and Porter.
Areas for Instructional Emphasis: This writer demonstrates considerable grace and eloquence; her prose is lucid,
well developed, and insightful. The use of embedded textual examples serves as a model of effective elaboration
and interpretation. An area of instructional emphasis would be for the writer to integrate the analysis of the three
poets and their poetry to avoid treating each poet/poem in isolation. One attempt to do this was made in the last
body paragraph, and more synthesis throughout would help to strengthen the writer’s claims. On a six-point rubric,
this piece rates level 6.