Sample Open Response Prompts
- Choose a novel or play in which cultural, physical or geographical surroundings shape psychological or moral traits in a character. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how surroundings affect this character and illuminate the meaning of the book as a whole
In Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea, she uses Rochester’s moral decline to showcase the effects that one’s physical surroundings can have on their virtues.
- Select a novel or a play and, focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the work and what that symbol reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole.