Assignments

English 2130 American Literature, Spring 2024

Section 02: MWF 10:00-10:50 a.m., Arts & Sciences 342

Section 01: MWF 11:00-11:50 a.m., Arts & Sciences 336

Section 3: MWF 1:00-1:50 p.m., Arts & Sciences 239

In Class Activities

1. Selecting and Analyzing a Significant Passage

Today, let's break into small groups in order to get to know other students in the class, practice selecting an important passage from a prose text, and practicing analyzing the core conflict, literary elements, and overall theme of the passage. Each group should select a secretary to record and share the results of the group's discussion, select a passage, and interpret the passage.

2. Henry David Thoreau's Worldview

Today, let's break into small groups in order to explore different aspects of Henry David Thoreau's worldview and his philosophy of life. Each group should select a secretary to record and share the results of the group's discussion. Identify a passage from the text that illustrates your interpretation.

  1. Society and Culture: What criticisms does Thoreau advance toward society, civilization, and/or culture? Think about what he says about fashion and news, for instance.
  2. Work and Money: What is Thoreau's attitude toward work and money? Think about how he talks about his neighbors work for money to pay off debt in comparison to how he discusses his own labor on Walden Pond.
  3. Nature: How does Thoreau regard nature? What does nature provide that society does not?
  4. Truth and Imagination: What does Thoreau think about truth, about imagination, and about the relationship between truth and the imagination?
  5. Life: How does Thoreau think people should live, in other words, what is his philosophy of living life?

3. Narrative of the Life of an Enslaved Transcendentalist

Today, let's both recognize the amazing job of Frederick Douglass and practice the kind of comparative analysis required in the midterm exam. Break into small groups, discuss the assigned discussion questions, and report the highlights of your conversation to the class:

  1. Literary Form: Describe Douglass's literary form of autobiography, the slave narrative. Does the form and/or message of Douglass's genre (autobiography, slave narrative) share any characteristcs with the nonfiction of some of the Transcendentialists we've read, such as Emerson and Thoreau? How and why might the form of these works follow their message/content?
  2. Education: Describe Douglass's beliefs regarding education. How might Douglass's views on education correspond with Emerson's "Man Thinking" in Nature?
  3. Social Criticism: Describe Douglass's attitude toward and critique of slaveholding society. How might Douglass's attitude toward and critique of slaveholding society relate to Thoreau's ideas in "Resistance to Civil Government"?
  4. Religion: Describe Douglass's attitude toward Christians and his belief in religion. How might Douglass's attitude toward Christians and his belief in religion compare to Hawthorne's ideas in "Young Goodman Brown," "The Minister's Black Veil," and/or Emerson's views in Nature?
  5. Freedom: Describe Douglass's views regarding freedom. How might Douglass's views regarding freedom compare and contrast with Emerson's views on individuality and self-reliance and Thoreau's reasons for going into the woods?

4. Crossing Brooklyn Ferry with Walt Whitman

Today, let's conclude our discussion of Walt Whitman's poetry by collaboratively explicating "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry." First, break into nine groups, and then discuss your group's assigned numbered section of the poem by

  1. explaining, narratively, what is happening in the section
  2. interpreting, literarily, what is meaningful and significant in the section

5. Huck's (and America's) Moral Journey

For our first day of discussion of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, let's focus on Huck's identity quest and moral development. First, let's count off; your number is the chapter number. Next, spend 5-10 minutes writing down your thoughts to the following questions:

  1. Do a general character sketch of Huck Finn, including his key characteristics, attitudes, and conflicts.
  2. Next, how does Huck act around the characters in your assigned chapter, and why does he act the way he does around those characters?
  3. What is the main conflict or plot issue in your assigned chapter? Does it have an ethical or moral component? What is Huck's role in the conflict; or, how does he respond to the conflict?
  4. Bonus: Does Huck assume an alternate identity in your chapter? If so, why does he do it and what is the connection between the character he's playing and his real identity?

Finally, let's share our responses to the individual chapters with the class; and, as a class, let's interpret what the novel is suggesting about America's moral systems.

 

As you read the rest of the novel, consider the following questions:

6. I See Dead People

Today let's break down this Henry James's Gothic ghost story in terms of genre (including period and setting) and character questions. Divide into five groups to discuss your assigned topic.

  1. Genre and Period: Describe the novel's genre (Gothic, horror/ghost story) and period (realism), while paying special attention to how the setting and atmosphere are represented.
  2. The Governess: Describe the governess's character in terms of her fears and desires. What might the ghosts represent for her psyche?
  3. The Children's Uncle and Mrs. Grose: What do these two characters depictions, such as the uncle's attitude toward the children and Mrs. Grose's attitude toward Miss Jessel and Peter Quint, suggest about class issues in the Victorian age?
  4. Miles and Flora: Describe the two children and their relationships, for instance to the governess and to Miss Jessel and Peter Quint. What do you think happens to Miles at the end of the novel?
  5. Miss Jessel and Peter Quint: What does the novella mean if these two characters are ghosts? What is the theme of the novella if they are figments of the governess's imagination? Finally, what is the significance of the novella's radical, irresolvable ambiguity on the ghost question?

7. Closely Reading Eliot

Today let's closely read T. S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by breaking into groups of 2-3 members in order to explicate specific stanzas.

  1. Lines 1-12
  2. Lines 13-21
  3. Lines 22-36
  4. Lines 37-54
  5. Lines 55-69
  6. Lines 70-86
  7. Lines 87-98
  8. Lines 99-110
  9. Lines 111-121
  10. Lines 122-131

8. Reassembling Eliot

As noted in our discussion of "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," Interpreting a poem by T. S. Eliot requires tracking down allusions and symbols. Today, we'll break into four groups to examine the five sections of "The Waste Land" by explaining

  1. the narrative: reconstruct the overarching narrative thread from the various voices and situations in your assigned section
  2. allusions and theme: look up major allusions (each group member can find one allusion, for instance) and interpret what they add to your assigned section's theme

Here are the assigned sections:

  1. I. The Burial of the Dead
  2. II. A Game of Chess
  3. III. The Fire Sermon
  4. IV. Death by Water and V. What the Thunder Said

9. Love in the Time of Pandemic and War

Today, let's break into groups to talk about Katherine Anne Porter's "Pale Horse, Pale Rider." Discuss the following question, and be sure to record your response because we'll discuss it at the beginning of our next class.

10. Diagraming Dysfunction

For this activity designed to help us diagram the dysfunction of the Tyrone family, groups will write a character sketch of their assigned character and the find three quotations illustrating that asessment—one quotation said by the character, one quotation said to the character, and one quotation said about the character.

11. Diagramming Death

For this activity designed to help us diagram the family dynamics of the Loman family, groups will compose a brief character sketch of their assigned character, forecast their character's conclusion, and compare the Tyrones and Lomans.

 

Here are the groups:

  1. Willy
  2. Linda
  3. Biff
  4. Happy

Here are the questions:

  1. Compose a brief character sketch of your assigned character's psychology.
  2. Given the character actions and conflicts thus far, what do you think will happen to your assigned character in the second half of the play?
  3. How do the family dynamics of the Lomans compare to the Tyrones?

12. Deferring Dreams

Today, just as we've done with the Tyrones and the Lomans before, let's complete character analyses of the Younger family. However, instead of groupwork, sketch your assigned character on your own by answering the following questions, and bring your notes to class Wednesday for the final day of discussing Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun.

Here are the characters:

GeorgiaVIEW Attendance

Due to a professor medical issue, class will be moved to the GeorgiaVIEW discussion board for a few Mondays. To be counted as present on a day in which class has been moved to GeorgiaVIEW, you must answer one of the posted questions in a paragraph of approximately 100 words by midnight Tuesday. Questions will be posted Monday morning.

Parameters

Response

GeorgiaVIEW Post

You will write an informal response to a work of literature and post it to GeorgiaVIEW > Course Work > Assignments > Response two days before we discuss the text in class.

 

The response should

Informal Presentation

You will also be responsible for a brief, informal presentation. The response presentation should briefly summarize the work, mainly share your impressions, and finally broach questions for class discussion.

Due Dates

  1. Your written assignment will be due in GeorgiaVIEW > Course Work > Assignments > Response two days before we are scheduled to discuss the work. (Note: Summaries will be penalized one letter grade for each day, not class period, that they are turned in late. It is your responsibility to check the sign up schedule and complete the assignment on time.)
  2. Your brief, informal presentation will be due on the day we discuss the essay in class. This date is approximate for we will sometimes fall a day behind. (Note: Failing to present the article to the class without providing a valid absence excuse will result in a one letter grade penalty.)
  3. I will return your graded assignment to you in GeorgiaVIEW > Course Work > Assignments > Response approximately one week after we discuss the article in class. Due to GeorgiaVIEW limitations, I am unable to return graded assignments to you unless and until you submit them to the Assignment dropbox.
  4. For example, we are scheduled to discuss Emily Dickinson's poems on Wednesday, February 14. Therefore, someone's response to a particular Dickinson poem of her choice will be due in GeorgiaVIEW by Monday, February 12. In class on Wednesday, February 12, that student will informally present the main ideas and issues of Dickinson's poem. I will return the graded response the following week in GeorgiaVIEW > Course Work > Assignments > Response. Here's how to calculate your course grade.

Sign Up

The Response sign up is here. It is strongly recommended that you space out your Response, Annotated Bibliography, and Close Reading: one in the Weeks 3-6, one in Weeks 7-11 and one in Weeks 12-16.

Close Reading

While the response requires you to engage, informally, with a text, the close reading compels you to analyze, formally, with a text. Write a four-five page essay that examines a text assigned on the syllabus up to the date of your scheduled paper, either 1) explicates, line-by-line, a short poem or excerpt from a long poem, illuminating, through nuanced reading of figurative language, diction, connotation, and symbol, how the central tensions, ambiguities, and contradictions constitute a cohesive theme or 2) examines the most important passage in a prose texts, interpreting it sentence-by-sentence through nuanced reading of figurative language, diction, connotation, and symbol, and arguing its centrality to the core conflicts, character, and overall theme of the text. In other words, you should write a paper that interprets the universal theme of the work by explicating the fundamental conflicts within the particular lines of text. Your essay should be driven by a thesis that argues the work's theme and logically organized by close reading of the text: unpack the tension and conflict, connotation and diction, idea and theme.

  1. Pick any work on the syllabus up to the due date of your assigned paper.
  2. Do a close reading/textual analysis of the poem or key story passage that explicates particular, significant words and lines.
  3. Interpret the key conflict and overall theme/meaning/idea of the work of literature.

Parameters

Sign Up

The Close Reading sign up is here. It is strongly recommended that you space out your Response, Annotated Bibliography, and Close Reading: one in the Weeks 3-6, one in Weeks 7-11 and one in Weeks 12-16.

Annotated Bibliograpy

Whle the response paper asks you to engage a text and the close reading requires you to explicate a text, the annotated bibliography compels you to research a text. Compose an

annotated bibliography of 10 scholarly journal articles and book chapters on a selected work of American literature, the work's author, the work's period. The sources should comprise a mix of scholarly journal articles and scholarly book chapters, 6-8 sources interpreting the work of American literature, 1-2 sources surveying the literary career, themes, and world view of the work's author, and 1-2 sources literary period of which the work is part. Each annotation should be approximately 100 words long and describe 1) the topic of scholarly discussion, 2) the main idea, meaning, or conclusion as it relates to the work of literature, and 3) how the source helps your understanding of the work of literature. The OWL provides additional strategies of summarization, evaluation, and reflection as well as sample annotations. The Research Methods page provides search procedures. Additionally, you will informally present one source in class and share your formal annotation with the class via Google Slides: 10:00 Section, 11:00 Section, or 1:00 Section.

Sign Up

The Annotated Bibliography sign up is here. It is strongly recommended that you space out your Response, Annotated Bibliography, and Close Reading: one in the Weeks 3-6, one in Weeks 7-11 and one in Weeks 12-16.

Parameters

Midterm Exam

The midterm exam, which will be taken in class over two days so that you have sufficient time to think through and answer the questions, tests you on your ability to make connections and distinctions texts regarding key issues in early American literature and culture such as religion and freedom. On Monday, February 19, you will be given two comparison/contrast discussion questions and will choose one to answer. Provide a comparative thesis, make an argument that not only compares the texts but also contrasts the texts regarding the selected issues, and provide details adequate to proving your knowledge and understanding of the texts. On Wednesday, February 21, you will be given two comparison/contrast discussion questions and will choose one to answer in the same format as Monday's discussion.

Authors and Texts

Topics

Study Guide

I recommend creating a page of notes for each of our readings that includes general textual details such as plot and character for fiction, speaker and issue for poetry, and topic and issue for prose; conflicts and themes; and note regarding which exam topic(s) the text best addresses. After completing the review notes, I recommend pairing texts in response to exam topics and brainstorming comparative thesis statements and outlining potential essays. Come prepared to the exam having practiced responding to each of the exam topics with a couple of different comparative analyses. Although you cannot use your notes or your textbook during the exam, creating notes and writing practice theses and outlines before the exam should serve you well in the exam.

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Final Exam

While the in class, closed book midterm exam necessitated making connections and distinctions among texts in the literary periods of American literature in a closed book 100-minute test of knowledge of questions you had not seen before, and with no word count because you were handwriting in class and not following MLA style, the take home, open book final exam allows you more time and resources to compose comparative thesis statements and prove your analysis with appropriate textual evidence. Because it's a typewritten, take-home exam that follows MLA style, there is a page count. You will write two comparison/contrast essays selected by you from a list of 5-6 questions generated from topics suggested by the class on Monday, April 26.

Preparation and Writing

To prepare for the exam, I suggest you spend about 30 minutes choosing two questions to answer, brainstorming works to compare, and writing two working theses. If you want, do some mapping or outlining. A couple of days later, block out three hours of time to write without distractions. If you're the type of writer who becomes stalled looking for textual evidence and formatting your paper (I empathize), first write the comparative analysis first, and then go back afterward and insert pertinent passages to illustrate your points and check your MLA style. If you're the type of writer who obsesses over page counts, write in a blue book, then type your answers into an MLA formatted file. While a formal paper requires you to invent your own topic, draft, and revise over the course of one to two weeks (double that if the paper includes research), an essay exam compels you to respond to questions in a set time, and a take-home exam affords you extra time if you need it. Although I want you to follow MLA style and use textual evidence because it's a typewritten, open book exam, I neither assume nor want you to invent, draft, and revise this exam for a week. Papers craft ideas, exams reveal knowledge.

 

Do not write about a work you previously wrote about in a response or close reading paper (for example, if you responded to Eliot or closely read Eliot, then you may not write about him on the exam). Do not use an author or work in more than one essay (for example, if you discuss Eliot in one essay, you may not analyze him in another essay). Not all works are appropriate for all essays. Choose works which afford adequate material to address the question at hand. Have a controlling idea, an interpretation, a thesis that bridges the works. Organize essays by argument and analysis. Make connections and distinctions among the works and their poems; compare and contrast the works' key ideas. Support your points with textual evidence and quotations; avoid plot summary. You will be graded on your interpretive understanding of the works as well as your ability to compare and contrast meanings and issues.

Texts

Topics

Here are the topics created by the class on Monday, April 22.

Questions

Using works from the second half of the course, answer two questions from the following, being sure to not repeat authors/texts already written about in the response paper, the close reading paper, or this exam.

Parameters

 

© Alex E. Blazer 2025