American Literature

(Based on material from Week 1)          Readings from this week include Bradford, Morton, Bradstreet, and Taylor:  historical accounts and poems.  Reflect on these selections and choose one that you find interesting and/or relevant today and write a well-developed paragraph (at least 12-15 sentences) about what it is that you find interesting or relevant today.  Use strong supporting details to support your claims (opinions/assertions).  Can you relate to something in one of the selections on a personal level that you don’t mind sharing with the class?  Is there something in the story of the Pilgrims that seems relevant?  What about the conflict between Bradford and Morton?  Be specific, use good grammar and spelling, and proofread before submitting.  This is NOT timed.

Your second full-length essay (1,000 words minimum, typed, double-spaced, WORD Count included at end, submitted through Blackboard) will be over the following topic:   Assume you are the Producer/Designer for a planned revival of Royall Tyler’s The Contrast, as either stage play or film. How would go about adapting the piece for a 21st century audience? Social types and manners have changed since 1787, but some are still with us in evolved ways. What sort of characters from the contemporary gallery of types and stereotypes would you have play the different roles? What actors would you cast? How would you costume and design the piece?   Think about the issues the play of dealing with and how these have come down to us: imitation vs. originality/authenticity; the serious/gravitas vs. the frivolous/trivial; natural vs. artificial; hierarchies of rank vs. the ideal of a “level” playing field, an equal opportunity, etc.   Remember, while Tyler and other writers of the Early Republic were concerned with sharpening and defining the contrast between the United States and Great Britain, they were also exploring divisions, stresses, factions, within the young country. And while we no longer measure ourselves against Great Britain, those factions/divisions within the United States have grown exponentially over the last 232 years. So, you have a much more diversified cultural landscape from which to draw.

Film/Book: Atonement by Ian McEwan You are looking for similarities and differences.   Also, why were changes made from book to film?   You must include four sources, book reviews and film reviews (secondary sources) that helped you form your opinions, plus the novel and the film (primary sources) for a total of six sources.   YOU MUST FIND PROFESSIONAL CRITICS’ REVIEWS, NOT JUST FANS AND BLOGGERS. Try to relate the works to the themes we will be covering this semester:  youth, gender, genre, etc. The books and films themselves do not count toward the four sources, but should also be included in your Works Cited, which must be done in MLA style. The finished paper should be approximately 1500 words (that is five pages with double spacing, Times New Romans 12-point font) and is due two days before our last class meeting.  Works Cited should be done as such in the example I provided in the pdf.

Be sure that you follow the standards of academic writing. Your paper will require a brief introduction, a concise and focused claim (or thesis statement), two to three main points you will address, solid reasoning, and textual evidence along with an explanation of its significance. See the criteria sheet for more information. Grading Criteria This is both a reading and a writing course, designed to sharpen your skills of textual analysis, argumentative writing, and critical thinking. To that end, your essays will be graded using the following criteria: Presentation. Proofreading; style and readability; proper documentation of any research if necessary (Modern Language Association Style); a clear and specific title; clear context for someone who hasn’t read the work; effective introduction and conclusion.  Organization. Thesis; topic and closing sentences; relevant, focused, organized and developed paragraphs; effective sentence and paragraph transitions; clear and understandable overall organization. Evidence/support. Specific, accurate, convincing details; effective and relevant quotations. (See appendix B for documentation information.) Analysis. Clear interpretation; added insight into the literary work; overall coherence of argument.

You must complete the required textbook readings in preparation for the Research Paper. This will equip you to objectively respond to the readings by compiling information from a variety of sources in order to compose a persuasive analysis of a literary work. You will also learn to follow standard usage in English grammar and sentence structure; proceed independently through the various stages of research and integrate sources accurately and effectively; identify the theme and structure of each literary selection as well as the significant characteristics or elements of each genre studied; and evaluate the literary merit of a work (Syllabus MLOs: A, B, C, D, E, F, G and Module/Week 8 LOs: 1, 2).   In Module/Week 7, you will write a 1,500-word (approximately 5 pages) paper that addresses 1 of the plays from the Drama Unit. At least 6 citations, including the primary source and at least 5 secondary, scholarly sources, are required for this assignment. Before you begin writing the paper, carefully read the below guidelines for developing your paper topic. Review the Research Paper Grading Rubric to see how your submission will be graded. Gather all of your information, plan the direction of your paper, organize your ideas by developing a 1-page thesis statement and outline, draft your paper, and compile sources used. Format the thesis/outline, draft, and works cited/references/bibliography using current MLA, APA, or Turabian style, (whichever corresponds to your degree program); check your Harbrace Essentials Handbook pp. 106–158 (MLA); pp. 159–192 (APA); pp. 193–220 (Turabian), and/or the link contained in the Assignment Instructions Folder, to ensure the correct citation format is used. The final paper must include a title page, thesis statement, and outline, followed by the research paper, and your correctly documented sources page.   You must submit your thesis, outline, rough draft, and works cited/references/bibliography by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of Module/Week 6 for instructor feedback.   You must submit the Research Paper by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of Module/Week 7.   Guidelines for Developing Your Paper Topic The “Writing about Literature” section of your Perrine’s Literature textbook (pp. 1–54) and the “Writing” section of Harbrace Essentials (pp. 1–12, 15–16, 18–21, 22–28) provide helpful pointers for writing your literary essay and for academic writing in general. Be sure that you have read this section before doing any further work for this assignment. Take particular notice of the examples of drama essays on pp. 48–54 of your Perrine’s Literature textbook.

This paper needs to focus on the theme of economic opportunity and growth due to the rapid urbanization of larger US Cities such as NYC and Chicago. DO NOT use any outside information or sources. You are only to use the books as sources. YOU MUST use at least 3 quotes from “Sister Carrie” and 2 quotes from Chapter 9 of “The Jungle” (Please not that you are only supposed to use Chapter 9 from “The Jungle” and no other chapters) When quoting Sister Carrie, please state what Chapter the quote is from. The 3 main characters from Sister Carrie I would like for you to discuss is Carrie, Drouet, and Hurstwood. When it comes to Carrie, I would like for you to write about how she is from a smaller town and how she moved to Chicago and then NYC and became an actress. When discussing Chapter 9 from “The Jungle” you can talk about anything you seem fit that relates to the theme but you must make this connection to the theme as well as draw similarities to Sister Carrie. I will attach my professors instructions to make this a little more clear. Also, Chapter 9 of The Jungle can easily be found online.

Discuss how the setting, symbols, and figurative language used in Volar and A Wall of Fire Rising contributed to how the characters were shaped by their environment and/or scenes from the stories. Please do not summarize the stories. Provide a literary analysis of the settings, symbols, and figurative language used in both stories. Writing well-developed paragraphs relevant to the prompt(s) (minimum 300 words). Be sure that your thesis is explicit and supported with one to two quotations from the literature. Do not write in first or second person. When you include a quotation from the literature in your mini-essay, please place an in-text citation (also called a parenthetical citation) immediately after you close the quotation marks and before you place a period at the end of your sentence. That way, anyone in the class (including me!) can easily find the quotation in the literature if necessary. If you’re not sure what to place inside the parentheses, there is instruction in the textbook in Chapter 34- Quotation, Citation, and Documentation.  When you include in-text citations, there must be a Works Cited listing at the bottom of your post. Be sure to follow the “Quote Sandwich” when you insert quotations.

Discuss how the setting, symbols, and figurative language used in Volar and A Wall of Fire Rising contributed to how the characters were shaped by their environment and/or scenes from the stories. Please do not summarize the stories. Provide a literary analysis of the settings, symbols, and figurative language used in both stories. Writing well-developed paragraphs relevant to the prompt(s) (minimum 300 words). Be sure that your thesis is explicit and supported with one to two quotations from the literature. Do not write in first or second person. When you include a quotation from the literature in your mini-essay, please place an in-text citation (also called a parenthetical citation) immediately after you close the quotation marks and before you place a period at the end of your sentence. That way, anyone in the class (including me!) can easily find the quotation in the literature if necessary. If you’re not sure what to place inside the parentheses, there is instruction in the textbook in Chapter 34- Quotation, Citation, and Documentation.  When you include in-text citations, there must be a Works Cited listing at the bottom of your post. Be sure to follow the “Quote Sandwich” when you insert quotations.

This assignment will be submitted to Turnitin®. Instructions Read the following selections from Norton Anthology of Literature Volume A:  – Thomas Paine, pp. 639-647 (8th ed.); 681-689 (9th ed.) – Thomas Jefferson, pp. 659-677 (8th ed.); 702-720 (9th ed.) – Olaudah Equiano, pp. 687-699 (8th ed.); 731-744 (9th ed.) – Judith Sargent Murray, pp. 737-743 (8th ed.); 770-776 (9th ed.) – Philip Freneau, pp. 756-762 (8th ed.); 780-787 (9th ed.) – Phillis Wheatley, pp. 763-771 (8th ed.); 787-795 (9th ed.) Answer five of the six following questions, using quotes from the readings for support. 1. In the headnote to Thomas Paine’s section of readings, it’s noted that his “attempt to define his beliefs was viewed as an attack on Christianity and, by extension, on conventional society” (Baym 640).  Using any of the selections in Paine’s section, defend or refute this belief.  2. How is Thomas Jefferson’s “Declaration of Independence” similar in form to Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God?”  Compare the language used in each, as well as the impact both works are meant to have on their readers.  3. Why might Olaudah Equiano’s narrative be an important addition to a collection of early American works, such as the one used in this course?  What makes it interesting as “American” literature, considering the scholarly debate surrounding his origin of birth (Africa or South Carolina)? 4. Why are Murray’s letters given such eloquence?  In reading these fictional, intimate letters now, what pleasures or frustrations might readers have?  Do the letters allow us, the audience, to truly experience how people during her time lived, or do we only see them as we wish they lived?  Does Murray seem to be capturing absolute realism, or do you think she has something else in mind?  5. What seems to be limiting Philip Freneau’s writing?  Does his chosen form (poetry) have anything to do with this reason?  For many people, he’s not as well known an author as his contemporaries (Franklin, Paine, and Jefferson, for example), but why might that be?  How did he address political and social conditions of his time, and why should modern-day readers care more about his work? 6. Like Anne Bradstreet, Phillis Wheatley also used her poetry to address public subjects.  How does her work compare to Bradstreet’s in voice and topic?  What do you think explains the absence of a personal voice in Wheatley’s writing, and does this affect its overall power?

Shakespeare Essay/Does Shakespeare Still Matter? Argumentative Essay  Write or present a convincing argument with supporting textual evidence from the texts in the course (SEE LINKS BELOW), as well as others of your own choosing, as to why Shakespeare still matters or does not matter. Explain whether his writing reflects the human condition or not. Is Shakespearean literature still relatable today? Explain with reasons and textual evidence. If writing: In an essay, convince your audience as to why Shakespeare still matters or does not matter. Does his writing reflect the human condition today? Explain your ideas clearly with two to three reasons why Shakespeare still is or is not important today. https://courses.portal2learn.com/content/enforced/12030-EN042_22_1/Lesson%201%20Subtopic%206.html?d2lSessionVal=f8s7WkZ5z6EM5MhMXyHCdjJMI&ou=12030&d2l_body_type=3 https://courses.portal2learn.com/content/enforced/12030-EN042_22_1/Read%20Hamlet.html?d2lSessionVal=f8s7WkZ5z6EM5MhMXyHCdjJMI&ou=12030&d2l_body_type=3 https://courses.portal2learn.com/content/enforced/12030-EN042_22_1/Shakespeare%20More%20than%20a%20Playwright.html?d2lSessionVal=f8s7WkZ5z6EM5MhMXyHCdjJMI&ou=12030&d2l_body_type=3 https://courses.portal2learn.com/content/enforced/12030-EN042_22_1/Shakespeare%20The%20World%20As%20A%20Stage.html?d2lSessionVal=f8s7WkZ5z6EM5MhMXyHCdjJMI&ou=12030&d2l_body_type=3