Some Pre-Writing

I did some informal pre-writing as I started reacquainting myself with East of Eden. I started by talking with a good friend about her opinions on the book. It's one of her favorites but she hasn't read it in a while. Then I skimmed through the book and picked out a few key quotes. I was going to draw out some key elements of plot and setting, but I ended up drawing some of characters who, in my opinion, are the key characters (either for being interesting or influential).
I might use some of the other pre-writing techniques later in the writing process, like the idea cluster chart or the post-it notes.

Poetry Incarnate

With a bit more time, I really want to flesh out the ideas of this essay because they've got quite a bit of support that I could work in.  However, the time constraints have let me off the hook for now:)

Here's what we've got:

One of the most effective ways to learn is to take a concept about which you know nothing and compare it to something you understand well.  In Margaret Edson’s play, W;t, the protagonist, Dr. Vivian Bearing, is a hardened scholar who has devoted her life to studying the poetry of John Donne. Her world is upended after learning that she has cancer, and Vivian agrees to be studied and scrutinized in order to better understand the disease—just as she once picked apart Donne’s Holy Sonnets.  Throughout the story, Vivian recites lines from one poem in particular: Holy Sonnet X.  Edson ingeniously portrays Vivian herself as a form of metaphysical conceit—a physical representation for the meaning of the poem.