Graphic Novel Paper

Will Klumpenhower
Humanities
1-20-15
John, a savage from the reservation in New Mexico, is an extremely conflicted
person. He comes from the reservation, where he is an outsider because he is different.
Then he goes to Brave New World, where he is treated poorly because he is different than
everyone there, too. When in trouble, he turns to his only source of companionship, the
Complete Works of William Shakespeare. He bases most, if not all, of his decisions on
morals of the characters in his plays. While John gets most of his ideas from Shakespeare,
and has even memorized most of it, I argue that he is actually misinterpreting the ideas of
characters such as Hamlet to think that he should always live miserably, rather than actually
trying to be happy.
John has been an outsider his entire life. Since his mother was from Brave New
World, he is seen as member of that society. However, he grew up on the reservation, so he
is always seen as different; he is mistreated by everyone there. His only comfort is in
Shakespeare. He reads of the many plights of the characters within, and so assumes that
this is the normal way for people to live. He doesnt realize that the internal struggle of
Hamlet is just a play, not a good and pious way to live. I dont think that he knows that this
isnt real life, its only a play. I think John might even think that Shakespeares works are
historical documents, and that everything actually happened.
John exiles himself from Brave New World, and he never wants to enjoy anything
about it. He feels that his duty is to be utterly dutiful and humble to his gods. He doesnt think
he can enjoy anything, an idea completely contrary to many of Shakespeares plays. He
seems like he has only read Hamlet and Othello and not Midsummer Nights Dream. He
thinks the only way he can be good is to be the most pitiful person on Earth; Shakespeare
doesnt emphasize that at all. When Hamlet utters the famous line, To be, or not to be,
Shakespeare isnt saying this is the standard for life. John seems to think that when people
are unhappy, they kill themselves. Yes, this happens in Romeo and Juliet, Antony and
Cleopatra, and Othello, but in plays such as A Midsummer NIghts Dream, no one dies or
even comes close, save Pyramus and Thisbe. Yet there are many confused and sad people
within it as well. He shouldnt think that the ways of Othello are the norm if the theme is
inconsistent with other plays. Death is a recurring theme in Shakespeare; however, John
takes the words beyond the pages to assume in a good society, this is the norm. This is
entirely not the case.
I have shown that John misinterpreted the works of Shakespeare. He thought that it
was necessary to be utterly miserable, to suffer constantly, and to end his own life because
of his incorrect interpretation. All three of these ideas are neither endorsed nor stated in
Shakespeares masterpieces. John, despite his love and knowledge of the subject, cannot
fully grasp what the plays are about, and relies solely on the lesser meanings closer to the
surface.
To be or not to be, that is the question.-Hamlet
This is the silliest stuff that ever I heard.-A Midsummer Nights Dream
Self-assessment

The best part of my paper is my NPA. An NPA, or Noun-Phrase-Apposite, is exactly

what its acronym suggests. There is a Noun, a describing Phrase, and then the rest of the
sentence. I start out my paper with an NPA: John, a Savage from the reservation in New
Mexico, is an extremely conflicted person. The noun is John, The phrase is telling you who
he is and where hes from, and the apposite is giving you a little more information. It is both
a good example of an NPA and a good hook for my paper, so that is why I think it is the best
part of my paper.
I think the most beautifully worded sentence I wrote was this one: He thinks the only
way he can be good is to be the most pitiful person on Earth; Shakespeare doesnt
emphasize that at all. This sentence includes a semicolon, and also expresses a key idea
in my paper.
Without the grammar lessons we learned in class, I could not have used a semicolon
as effectively in my paper. This was an important element, as shown in my previous
paragraph. The sentence I consider to be the best would not have been the same without
these helpful lessons. Also, I would not have utilized any NPAs, which would have detracted
from my writing as well.
For my introduction, I think I should receive an A. It was one of the strongest parts of
my paper and very well written, I think. My body paragraphs were also well written, and I
think I should receive an A- for them, as they were a little short, while containing good
content. My conclusion also deserves an A, I think, because it is precisely worded and well
written.
Overall I think my paper deserves an A- to a B+. It was well written and well thought
out. The only failing I can think of is that is was a little short. I could have possibly put in
more content that reflected the overall theme, but I felt that I had concisely articulated my
ideas into a readable form. There were no comma splices, nor any other grammatical
issues that I could see. It was a more or less enjoyable paper to write and I believe
espressed my knowledge of both Brave New World and Shakespeare.