SAT Writing: Research

Hamlet:
Hamlet was the Prince of Denmark who was devastated by his father's death. Hamlet
sees the ghost of his father, who tells him that his uncle, Claudius poisoned him and that
is how he died. Hamlet is enraged and seeks revenge on Claudius, who married Hamlet's
mother in order to get at the crown, which rightfully belonged to Hamlet. Hamlet
changes from a distrustful, disillusioned young man to one driven to avenge his fathers
death. To this end, Hamlet distrusts and rejects all those around him whom he believes
are spying on him for King Claudius. One night, Hamlet is talking with his mother when
he realizes someone is spying on them and stabs the person through a hanging tapestry.
He is unsettled when he finds it to be Ophelia's father, who worked for the king. One
day, he engages in a dual with Ophelia's brother Laertes.Laertes slices Hamlet's arm
with his poisoned sword, leaving Hamlet with just enough time left of his life to fulfill his
goal. He slays king Claudius, and also Laertes when he discovers the sword had poisoned
him. They all die in the end.
Othello:
Othello is a highly esteemed general in the service of Venice. Iago is Othello's ambitious
friend. Othello promotes the Michael Cassio to the position of personal lieutenant and
Iago is deadly jealous. Iago begins an evil and malicious campaign against the hero.
Othello elopes with Desdemona but Iago starts to plot against them. Othello becomes
jealous and suspicious of Desdemona. He confides in Iago that he plans to poison
Desdemona. Plots and murders ensue and Othello returns to the castle to kill his
innocent wife. He eventually smothers her to death. Emilia tells Othello the truth
about the scheming Iago. Othello wounds Iago, then kills himself. Iago kills Emilia.
Themes: Othello transforms from a respected general and loving husband to a broken
man, his insecurities regarding his outsiderness causes him to doubt in Desdemona's
infidelity. He lets Iago's corrupt his vision of reality .
Macbeth:
The themes illustrated in the play include ambition, fate, deception and treachery.
Macbeth, and another General called Banquo, happen upon the three witches. The
witches predict that he will one day become Thane of Cowder then king. He decides that
he will murder Duncan. Macbeth's wife agrees to his plan. Originally a loyal and honest
man, his descent into murder and betrayal is the tale of how ambition can tarnish even
the purest of souls.The crown passes to Macbeth. He also kills Banquo because the
witches made a prediction that Banquo's heirs will become the kings. More murders
ensue and the bloodied ghost of Banquo appears to Macbeth. Macduff kills Macbeth
and restores Malcom (King Duncan's son) to his rightful place as king.
Juliet Caesar:
Julius Caesar was a great military and political leader who achieved his goal of uniting

the country under his rule, but his selfishness and lack of insight gradually caused the
glory of his victory to dissipate. As a result, he was murdered by his fellow politicians
and countrymen, even Brutus whom he loved dearly. Though he succeeded in gaining
power and uniting the country, the power and glory of his success blinded him and lead
him down a path full of adversity.
Romeo and Juliet:
A long feud between the Montague and Capulet families disrupts the city of Verona and
causes tragic results for Romeo and Juliet who fall in love, but cannot be together. A
secret marriage force the young star-crossed lovers to grow up quickly for Juliet is to be
wed to another (Count Paris) . Juliet takes a sleeping potion that makes her appear to be
dead for 42 hours -- in this time Romeo is to be told that she is still alive, however he
was not so he illegally purchased a poison so that he could be with Juliet in death. He
goes to her tomb and takes the poison. When Juliet awakes she sees this and kills
herself with a dagger. The deaths end the family feud.
Themes: Romeo is an impulsive, immature, and emotional character, always acting on
a whim e.g killing Tybalt due to his anger as Tybalt killed Mercutio. The marriage is
another example as he does not consider the risk he is putting himself and Juliet in.
Themes: Juliet is a girl in an aristocratic family, she has none of the freedom Romeo
has to roam around the city. She is reserved and cautious as she lives in a maledominated society where she has no say in things.
Themes: Authority, individuals vs society. Romeo and Juliet defy parental authority,
engaging in forbidden love.
The Great Gatsby:
Jay Gatsby (a self made man) loves Daisy Buchanan(shallow, superficial women
obsessed with materialistic objects) who is married to Tom Buchanan. Nick becomes
acquainted with Gatsby, a neighbor. Gatsby throws lavish parties in his huge mansion
just to try to impress Daisy and woo her back. He begins an affair with her. However in
the end Daisy clings onto Tom and chose Tom's security over Gatsby's love because of
Tom's more stable source of wealth. Gatsby has spent his adult life doing illegal
activities to get more and more money to impress Daisy. Daisy is impressed until she
learns about the bootlegging and illegal gambling that Gatsby did to gain the many
riches he has. Nick became disenchanted with the extravagant lifestyle he observed
from Gatsby and his crowd.
Themes: Gatsby has made Daisy into a symbol of perfection, an idealized vision. He is
an idealist who believes that money can achieve anything as long as Daisy is concerned,
reality is Daisy will never leave Tom.
1984 by George Orwell Plot: Totalitarian government, a party member named
Winston Smith wants to overthrow it; government controls all thoughts, actions, etc. He
is sickened by the drabness of his life, but soon finds love and learns to think back to the
past, when the world was a different, happier place. He leads a secret life with his lover,
consuming rare products from the old days and living in a small room above a shop.
They try to be indoctrinated into the Brotherhood, a legendary society that wants to

overthrow the government. Unfortunately, the shopkeeper turns out to be one of the
undercover Thought Police. Winston and his lover are caught, and mercilessly tortured.
Winston acted in his own interests, such as leading a double life to keep from becoming
depressed by the harsh realities of his world. They are captured, Winston finally cracks
and tells them to hurt Julia instead of him; at the end he learns to love Big Brother (the
supposed leader of the party) and accepts the government system. Themes: Dangers
of totalitarianism; government controls everything, even disloyal thoughts are
punishable, the most extreme realization imaginable of a modern-day government with
absolute power. Orwell was deeply disturbed by the widespread cruelties and
oppressions he observed in communist countries, and seems to have been particularly
concerned by the role of technology in enabling oppressive governments to monitor and
control their citizens. Themes: Opposition to authority figures, the timidly rebellious
Winston Smith sets out to challenge the limits of the Partys power, only to discover that
its ability to control and enslave its subjects dwarfs even his most paranoid conceptions
of its reach. Themes: Psychological manipulation; government has telescreens and
signs promoting Big Brother is watching you. Mikes blasting propaganda all the time,
overwhelming the mind's capacity for independent though. Brainwash
Death of the Salesman by Arthur Miller:
The tragic hero, Willy Lohman, is overwhelmed by the lack of success his family
achieved. This leads him to an extreme form of depression. During the play, it is clear to
the audience that he uses old memories and former happiness to hide himself from the
world, unable to face the reality of his failures. His dreams of material success and
freedom ultimately dwarf the other aspects of his mentality to the point that he
becomes completely unable to distinguish his wild hopes from rational realities in the
present. Thus, instead of facing his troubles, he hides behind this self created barrier.
Unfortunately, for the Lohman family, this only exacerbates his mental problem and he
is led to the act of suicide.
Themes: Willy believes wholeheartedly in what he considers the promise of the
American Dreamthat a well liked and personally attractive man in business will
indubitably and deservedly acquire the material comforts offered by modern American
life. Oddly, his fixation with the superficial qualities of attractiveness and like-ability is at
odds with a more gritty, more rewarding understanding of the American Dream that
identifies hard work without complaint as the key to success. Willys blind faith in his
stunted version of the American Dream leads to his rapid psychological decline when he
is unable to accept the disparity between the Dream and his own life.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding:
A group of boys are marooned on an island after their plane crashes. With no adult
survivors, they create their own "micro-society". Ralph is elected "chief", and he
organises shelter and fire. Jack, the head of the choir takes his boys hunting for food
(wild pigs). A bitter rivalry develops between Jack and Ralph as both want to be in
charge. The "hunters" become savage and primal, under Jack's rule, while Ralph tries to
keep his group civilized. The growing hostility between them leads to a bloody and

frightening climax.
Themes: Lord of the Flies is a classic novel that explores the inherent nature of man,
when freed from civilization's rules. In Lord of the Flies, Golding makes a point that
without society to dictate morality, humans are inherently dangerous and savage. When
society's restrictions are taken away we turn to our primal and barbaric instinct,
becoming savages.
Themes: Civilizations vs. savagery. The central concern of Lord of the Flies is the
conflict between two competing impulses that exist within all human beings: the instinct
to live by rules, act peacefully, follow moral commands, and value the good of the group
against the instinct to gratify ones immediate desires, act violently to obtain supremacy
over others, and enforce ones will. Ralph, the protagonist, who represents order and
leadership; and Jack, the antagonist, who represents savagery and the desire for power.
Themes: Rules and order. It seems that rules and order are the only boundaries
keeping people from their true, violent natures. As soon as you take those people and
put them outside of a system with punishments and consequences, they will revert to
primitive attitudes and actions, and destroy themselves in the process. Man needs the
structure provided by civilization.
Themes: Power. The desire for power breaks down the boundaries set by rules and
order, causes strife and competition, and governs the actions of many of the boys on
the island. Once achieved, power has the ability to either improve or corrupt its holder.
Ralph, the more noble of the two leaders on the island, is bettered by his position as
chief; whereas Jack, the usurper, abuses his power for personal gain.
To Kill a Mockingbird:
In the novel "To Kill a Mocking bird", Atticus Finch, a small town lawyer who lives in a
southern racism white town (Maycomb), is charged for defending Tom Robinson, a
black man accused of raping a white woman. , even though he was threatened by his
member of his community, he decided to do the right but unconventional thing, he
launched a brilliant defense for his client, stood persistent didn't care what others
thought about him and said the right thing, In other word he didn't follow the crowd.
Despite the plethora of evidence supporting Robinson's innocence, the adults of the
town continue to believe their bigoted views based solely on the irrelevant matter of
race. Scout feels the pressure of the entire to join in on the racism but luckily, she
refuses to succumb to the ideas of the adults - the authority of the town. This summer
proves to be an important one in her childhood. She learns that adults are not always
right, not always the best role models. Most importantly, she gains independent
thinking through her own rationality.

Animal Farm by George Orwell:

Mr. Jones the farmer is a drunk and cruel tyrant, and one day the animals on his farm
have had enough of him, so they take over the farm and kick him out. They set up a
government of their own. It starts out as an egalitarian government, where all animals

are equal, but as time progresses it turns into a regime as repressive and totalitarian as
that of Mr. Jones. Their new motto is "All animals are equal but some are more equal
than others." In the end they become drunk tyrant just like Mr. Jones, so the revolution
was not revolution at all.
Themes: Leadership and corruption (Power) When the pigs take over they claim that
their goal is to preside over a farm of equal animals, all working together to support one
another. Yet power quickly proves to be too much for a pig. Small privileges quickly
bloom into full-scale corruption, and the pigs begin more and more to resemble those
whom they claim to replace. Communism turns to a dictatorship, overthrow of Mr Jones
gives way for the pigs to establish themselves as the superior class in the new society.
The Scarlet Letter:
Hester Prynne, perceived as an outsider in her community, is the predominant character
in Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter. We witness Hester's progression and
involvement in society throughout the novel. identified as an outcast by the Puritan
community, from her engagement in an extramarital affair, Hester is ostraczied and
clearly condemned by her peers. She is publicly shamed and forced by the people of
Boston to wear a badge of humiliation, a letter 'A' to represent 'Adulterer.' Hester is
obviously a failure to society, evidenced through her activity and her peers response.
Although she is defeated, Hester is resilient, defies her social reputation and achieves
eventual success and acceptance. Her letter 'A' undergoes a transformation from
initially meaning 'Adulterer' to 'Able.' She determinedly integrates the sin into her life
and advances her role in society. She cares for the poor and is eventually viewed as a
mother figure to the community. Initially a failure, her resilience, intelligence, capability
and extraordinary circumstances enable her to achieve success through the
community's acceptance. If she had never faced the adversity of wearing the letter, she
would have never discovered her munificent side.
Steve Jobs:
Steve Jobs, who is best known for his incredible Apple Inc., stood on all his own mistakes
. He has played a pivotal role in building up an enormous Apple and creating the smartportable devices ' generation like IPhone and IPad . Nobody nevertheless counted how
many mistakes he made before succeeding in Apple. He never graduated from any
colleges, he dropped out Reed College after enrolling only 6 months due to his lack of
money. Hence, he spent several years in the first Apple on struggling to design a
competitive product before being fired due to his unsuccessful achievements. All of
them seemed to trip up an ambitious man like Steve Jobs. However, he already proved
that nothing can prevent him from being successful. He collaborated with Pixar and
Disney, consolidated them to be the most well-known film-makers in the world. Those
took him to return Apple and made him one of the most talented CEOs today.
Mother Teresa:
Mother Teresa, a humanitarian, devoted her whole life fully devoted to helping the
poor, the sick, the needy and the helpless. She had very little support and, while trying

to feed and help the poorest of the poor, she herself was constantly hungry and even
had to beg for food. Nevertheless her conscience motivated her to form he Missionaries
of Charity, an organization with the aim of tacking care of the hungry and the crippled.
She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
Nelson Mandela:
Nelson Mandela was widely accepted as the most significant black leader in South Africa
and became a potent symbol of resistance as the anti-apartheid (segregation)
movement gathered strength. Starting out as a leader of an underground political
movement called the African National Congress (ANC). However his career in the ANC
was cut short in 1964 when he was sentenced to life in prison. In 1990, after 27 years of
imprisonment, Nelson Mandela was freed. His release marked the beginning of the end
for Apartheid. In less than five years after his release, Mr. Mandela was awarded the
Nobel Peace prize and elected president of South Africa.
Martin Luther King:
Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist in the 1950s and 1960s. He led nonviolent protests to fight for the rights of all people including African Americans. He was
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Martin Luther King helped to advocate the idea
that Blacks should vote. He was involved with the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People, an important Civil Rights group. During his great march
to Washington DC in 1963, King made his famous I have a dream speech where he
addressed the economic and civil rights for African Americans. As a response to the
arrest of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. organized the Montgomery bus boycott in
1955. Preaching equality between blacks and whites, Martin Luther King jr. made many
enemies in the deep south. His car was bombed, his windows were broken by rocks and
countless hate mail was sent to him. He did not gain money or power by preaching
equality, but was instead pushed by his conscience to do the right thing and work for
racial equality.
Mohandas Gandhi:
Gandhi led the fight for Indian independence from the British Empire. He organized nonviolent civil disobedience campaigns. Gandhi never used force. He practiced non-violent
protest. He maintained his calm and never sacrificed his ideals. Gandhi resorted to
demonstrations, even hunger strikes. He urged Indians to defy the orders of the British
and to suffer the punishments for doing so. The community adopted this plan, and
during the ensuing seven-year struggle, thousands of Indians were jailed, flogged, or
shot for striking, refusing to register, for burning their registration cards or engaging in
other forms of non-violent resistance. Eventually Gandhi was able to witness the fruit of
his labors and all because of his idealistic approach. His principals and firm belief in nonviolence has been followed by many other important civil rights leaders including Martin
Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
five times.

Rosa Parks:
It was on December 1, 1955 that Rosa made her famous stand on the bus. Rosa had
settled in her seat on the bus after a hard days work. All the seats on the bus had filled
up when a white man boarded. The bus driver told Rosa and some other AfricanAmericans to stand up. Rosa refused. Soon the police showed up and Rosa was
arrested. Rosa Parks merely refused to give up her seat on a bus she had ridden for
years, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott and subsequent increase in proponents
and fellow protesters
Mark Zuckerberg:
Mark Zuckerberg's creation of Facebook is brilliant proof that creativity is of the highest
necessity to cause technological advance. Mark Zuckerberg is a true genius in countless
aspects. Importantly, his massive creativity led him to explore revolutionary new ways
to connect people on the internet. Years of insight and "messing around" with computer
programs in undiscovered realms led him to the idea of creating a social network. In the
late 2000s, all this creative exploration came together with the launch of Facebook the
revolutionary website that connects individuals across the globe. Indeed, his creativity
led to this leap in technology and our world needs creativity to further future
technological innovations.
Adolf Hitler:
Adolf Hitler was the dictator of Nazi Germany before and during World War II (1930's ~
1945). His great charismatic proficiency meant that he could easily persuade the
average civilians of Germany to follow his orders. His exploitation of German anger and
his usage of scapegoats convinced the majority to support him, thinking that their
decision is correct. Eventually, with his rise to power, Hitler could use his SS (Secret
Police, Gestapo etc.) to suppress any negative thoughts against Hitler. This eradicated
any form of hatred thinking towards Hitler and through this did he convince that
Germany and himself were correct.
French Revolution:
The French Revolution, a tempestuous social evolution that shook the foundations of
Europes class structure, saw the unification of the peasants and the upper middle class
against the aristocracy that, for centuries, had maintained a foothold on society.
Although the Revolution achieved an ephemeral sort of success, it ultimately became a
bloody blunder as it devolved into the now infamous Reign of Terror, only to have
another tyrant ascend to the throne in its wake. Why? Because the peasants and the
upper middle class had different, irreconcilable goals. The peasants sought to
ameliorate the poverty and destitution that plagued their lives at the base of the social
pyramid. The upper middle class- doctors, lawyers, and bankers- intended to inherit the
same status that the aristocrats once held. Over time these disparate goals caused much
dispute, gave rise to much dissent, and left the country in a state of intellectual
destitution and moral bankruptcy for both classes.
American Revolution:

The monumental American Revolution is a premier example of the importance of

questioning the ideas and decisions of people in positions of authority. The colonial
Americans were ruled by the British government and severely lacking fair
representatives in Parliament. In the 1770s, when the Stamp Act, a tax on cards, letters,
newspapers, and other paper goods, passed without American's consent, the colonial
Americans realized the how partisan the British government, their authority figure, was.
So, in 1776, the fathers, leading men, of colonial America drafted the Declaration of
Independence stating their grievances and reasons why America deserved to become
sovereign. A war erupted and millions of lives were lost, but, with the French aid, the
Americans eventually gained independence. So, in questioning the ideas and decisions
of the "authority figure," colonial America became the United States of America - and
eventually a world power in its own right. Had the population idly stood by and done
nothing, withholding their beliefs, democracy and the legacy of the United States of
America would have ceased to exist. Thus, it is necessary to challenge people in
authority when the authority no longer helps whatever it rules over.
Facebook Stalking:
Across the Atlantic, in England, Lorna Smith, a brown-haired 49-year-old, probably never
saw the harm of Facebook. Maybe she even had used the new term Facebook stalking
as a joke. But on one cold, February morning in 2011 the police had to force themselves
into her apartment only to find her lying in a pool of her own blood. Her throat had
been cut. Her 49-year-old ex-husband created a fake Facebook profile and began
tracking her after Smith told him that she needed a break. He soon found pictures on
Facebook of her with another man and posts on her wall from this new gentleman. It
didnt take long for the term Facebook stalking to lose its joke when he broke into her
home with a knife and slit her throat.
Rise of fast food restaurants:
These fast food restaurants are convenient sources of food for the modern busy man.
However, these restaurants are notorious for their unhealthy food. McDonald's is
constantly criticized for its food leading to obesity. In fact, these was a documentary
called "Supersize Me", in which a man only consumed McDonald's food for a month. At
the end of the month his weight increased, and the doctors explained that he had
greatly damaged his health. Our ancestors may have had to work hard to hunt and
gather food, rather than have it made quickly at a nearby fast food restaurant, but at
least they got exercise, and the food was natural and not stripped of its nutrients.
J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter author JK Rowling has spoken of her horror at discovering a letter from a
journalist inside her five-year-old daughter's schoolbag. I felt that my five-year-old
daughter's school was no longer a place of complete security from journalists."
Transport:
Because of its near-total dependence on petroleum fuels, the U.S. transportation sector

is responsible for about a third of our countrys climate-changing emissions. Globally,

about 15 percent of manmade carbon dioxide comes from cars, trucks, airplanes, ships
and other vehicles. Cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles driven by U.S. citizens are to
blame for about two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. transportation
sector. As more passenger vehicles hit the roads, this pollution will increase dramatically
unless strict emissions-reduction and fuel economy policies are in place.

SAT WRITING RESEARCH

King Lear:
The story of King Lear, an aging monarch who is headstrong old man who is blind to his
weaknesses, decides to divide his kingdom amongst his three daughters, according to
which one recites the best declaration of love. Goneril and Regan who are the selfish
daughters of Lear who pretend to love him but later treat him cruelly. Cordelia who is
the loyal and unselfish daughter of Lear. He disowns her after confusing her honesty
with insolence. Edgar is Gloucester's long lost loyal son and heir and Edmund is
Gloucester's evil bastard son. Goneril and Regan plot to murder the King after obtaining
his wealth, a battle between Cordelia and her sisters, Cordelia is defeated .
Despite their victory, the evil natures of Goneril and Regan soon destroy them. Both in
love with Gloucester's conniving son, Edmund (who gave the order for Cordelia to be
executed), Goneril poisons Regan. But when Goneril discovers that Edmund has been
fatally wounded by Edgar, Goneril kills herself as well. Mortally wounded, Edmund
becomes remorseful and countermands his order to hang Cordelia. But it is too late, and
Cordelia dies. Lear, now a broken man, falls upon Cordelia and also dies.
Othello:
Othello is a highly esteemed general in the service of Venice. Iago is Othello's ambitious
friend. Othello promotes the Michael Cassio to the position of personal lieutenant and
Iago is deadly jealous. Iago begins an evil and malicious campaign against the hero.
Othello elopes with Desdemona but Iago starts to plot against them. Othello becomes
jealous and suspicious of Desdemona. He confides in Iago that he plans to poison
Desdemona. Plots and murders ensue and Othello returns to the castle to kill his
innocent wife. He eventually smothers her to death. Emilia tells Othello the truth
about the scheming Iago. Othello wounds Iago, then kills himself. Iago kills Emilia.
Themes: Othello transforms from a respected general and loving husband to a broken
man, his insecurities regarding his outsiderness causes him to doubt in Desdemona's
infidelity. He lets Iago's corrupt his vision of reality .