The Known World Essay and Reflection

Edward P. Jones reveals the character of Moses in this excerpt from his novel The Known World through selecting details that identify him as a loner and the use of imagery that represents his independence from society.

From the very first sentence, it is clear that Moses doesn’t feel the pressures of society. He worked “well after he ended the day for the other adults.” Rather than want to go home himself, he instead decides to continue working, a very noble intention. Not only that, but he finishes working after “fifteen hours,” far longer than the average work day. From the earlier point about the others already being home, it becomes clear that Moses doesn’t feel the need to be around people to. This aversion to societal norms is then seen in his “[taking] a pinch of the soil and [eating] it.” Thus, it’s rather obvious at this point in the passage that Moses is not one to follow others. Moving forward, he decides not to go home to his wife and children for “the third time that week,” an act which definitively shows him as a loner, perhaps an introvert. His wife “knew enough now to wait for him to come home.” This detail not only displays Moses’s independence, it also shows his habitual aversion of people, a trait commonly shown in introverts. But where does Moses go instead of to his family? He heads into a nearby forest to be alone and one with nature. From these details, it is very obvious that Moses is very much an introvert. He enjoys “[losing] himself completely” in the forest, falling asleep and “[not] coming home until morning.” Rather than go home to sleep with his family, he enjoys sleeping alone, away from society.

This independence of society is also shown through imagery. Moses notably “worked the dirt around in his mouth and swallowed.” Not only does he eat the dirt, but he actually tastes it. Furthermore, he actually is able to learn something from the flavor he tastes, as dirt from July, when this portion of the novel occurs, “tasted even more like sweetened metal than the dirt of June or May.” He’s not afraid to boldly go where others refuse to. The only other people who eat dirt in the story are women in bondage, but they do so “for that something that ash cakes and apples and fatback did not give their bodies.” Clearly, eating dirt is not normal, and therefore Moses actually enjoying eating it is bizarre, showing his independence of society. Moses is also shown walking away from the village to the forest, and just before he heads out, he smells rain. “Believing he was alone, he smiled.” This single line is perhaps the most telling of Moses’s character. He enjoys being alone, he takes pleasure from the fact that there is nobody around to force him to conform to anything. He can live without borders or boundaries for a little while. As Moses comes to stop on his journey into the forest and lays down, he takes his shirt and fashions it into a makeshift pillow to keep the rain flowing down his face. From this image, it is clear that Moses has done this before. Not only that, but it is extremely clear that he enjoys this lifestyle, of being alone in nature. After all, falling asleep is generally thought to be something we only do in places we are extremely comfortable.

Moses is, for all intents and purposes, depicted as the typical person who is independent of society. Much like the Lone Ranger, he enjoys being alone.


REFLECTION

My second practice prose essay was, for all intents and purposes, slightly better than my previous attempt. First off, I had a clear and concise thesis, something I tend to struggle with. Secondly, I had a conclusion, something my previous essay lacked. The points I made not only supported the thesis but each other as well, something that I typically find very difficult to do. I also made much better use of transitions, and my essay seemed to flow as a whole. Not only that, but I felt that I paced the writing somewhat better than my first attempt, leading to a stronger effort.

That being said, I clearly have spots in which I could improve. I absolutely missed the connection to Moses's enslavement, instead choosing to talk about his independence from society. Had I more closely annotated, I am positive that this would have been more evident. Moving forward, I intend to use my annotations to find patterns within the text, something that was noted as being very important in Foster's How to Read Literature like a Professor. I could certainly also create a better conclusion, as the one I created was, frankly, horrible. Granted, I intended to create a whole new paragraph with it, but still. Another thing on which I have to improve is definitely my timing of the essay. While I did improve over my last attempt, I certainly could have made more effective use of the time I was given. Granted, there was a fire drill in the middle of the ordeal, so I didn't have the full amount of time to write the essay, but I could have made better use of my time by not spending so much time reading the passage.

Moving forward, I have a few goals for myself as I write more of these essays. I want to first annotate more thoroughly while reading, so that I'm not spending a lot of time looking back at the passage when I could instead be writing. I also would like to more effectively transition from introduction to thesis and from final idea to conclusion, two transitions I commonly struggle with. Lastly, I am aiming to always address complexity with my thesis, because all though mine was adequate, it certainly could have addressed complexity more maturely. I'm not sure exactly when all of these skills will take hold, but I do know that they definitely should after a year of AP Lit, and as long as that happens, I will be content. I'm not aiming to suddenly jump from mediocre essays to "9" essays, I'm aiming to improve consistently throughout the course so that by the time May rolls around, I'm able to write mature essays for the AP exam.