Post #8: Canongate Myth Series Prompted Writing

Prompt:
It has often been said that what we value can be determined only by what we sacrifice. Consider how this statement applies to a character from a novel or play. Select a character that has deliberately sacrificed, surrendered, or forfeited something in a way that highlights that characters values. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how the particular sacrifice illuminates the characters values and provides a deeper understanding of the meaning of the work as a whole.

Original Essay:
     In The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood depicts Penelopiad as someone who sacrifices her childhood and adult life for Odyssey, her husband. Penelopiads value of sacrifice and selflessness is highlighted by her first, dealing with a marriage at such a young age and then waiting for her husband that left her all alone. Margaret Atwood conveys how even though Penelopiad was not happy at first with the marriage, Penelopiad will still maintain their relationship for love.
     Penelopiad at a very young age of fifteen gets married to Odyssey because he was the winner of the race-supposedly by cheating. He takes her away to an island which is out of custom. There Penelopiad deals with the consequences of living with her mother-in-law. But she sticks through it all for Odyssey because she has fallen in love with him. She sacrifices her "childhood" to maintain a married life at the tender age of fifteen. Later she has a son.
     But there was something else in store for Penelopiad and Odyssey. Odyssey had a commitment to honor his friends wife Helen after he died by leaving for Troy and left Penleopiad all alone. She waited and waited. Their son grew up Penelopiad learned to take care of Odyssey's land. In this whole time Penelopiad sacrifices her own life by living for her son and in the wait of Odyssey. Penelopiad selflessly lives each day in the wait of Odyssey, the man so near and dear to her heart. She still has hope that he will return.
     Time has passed by and even though Penelopiad still loves Odyssey, many suitors show up and ask for her hand in marriage. She stalls them by saying she has to weave something for her husbands father and until hen she cannot give an answer. But little did they know she was unraveling it each night with the Maids to buy more time. This shows how Penelopiad was so deeply in love with Odyssey that she was sacrificing her chance at gaining love again only for Odyssey. The value of Odyssey in Penelopiad's eyes is so much that she can give up anything for him.
     Thus, Penelopiad's sacrifice throughout the whole book shows us that the bigger meaning of the book The Penelopiad is that of sacrifice and love. How Penelopiad sacrifices her youth for Odyssey, the man who leaves her alone for so long but despite that, she still waits for him because she loved him that deeply. So deeply that she forgot to live her own life in the wait of his return.
Reflection: 
Description-I was asked to select a character that has deliberately sacrificed, surrendered, or forfeited something and then analyze how the particular sacrifice illuminates the characters values and provides a deeper understanding of the meaning of the work as a whole. The sacrifice of a character is being examined.
Scores-I would give myself a 5 because I respond to the prompt by analyzing the sacrifice a character made and how that contributed to the meaning of the work as a whole. But it is a thinly developed. My teacher gave me a 5 also because she also thought I responded to the prompt but my analysis was thinly developed.
Interpretation-The scores are similar because we both saw that the analysis was underdeveloped and needed more depth. The most interesting thing about this task was I further learned how to deeply analyze how a sacrifice a character does can affect the character and the book as a whole. It can be explained with theory because it follows the prompt guidelines and addresses the prompt well. This is similar to writing the Open Question Benchmark Essay because that essay was also a open question essay.
Outcome-I learned how you can really deeply analyze a character by the sacrifices they have made. I can improve on future tasks by again developing my analysis more and having a deeper understanding of the text. My Open Question score has improved from a 4 to a 5. I think this happened because from last time my analysis was at a deeper level and it helped develop my essay further. I again need to have a deeper analysis in my essay to improve my score.