English Literature

Choose five (5) of the following nine (9) passages and perform these operations. 1. Identify the author and title of the text in which the passage appears (one point each, two points total). 2. Briefly discuss (in a substantive paragraph) some of the salient features of the passage. Bear in mind that these features may be formal, linguistic, conceptual, and/or historical—and that you are free to talk about how the passage relates to the work in which it appears as well as how it fits in with the broader cultural stuff that we talked about in class (10 points).  1.          [Mr. Plummer] was a cruel man, hardened by a long life of slaveholding. He would at times seem to take great pleasure in whipping a slave. I have often been awakened at the dawn of day by the most heart-rending shrieks of an own aunt of mine, whom he used to tie up to a joist, and whip upon her naked back till she was literally covered with blood. No words, no tears, no prayers, from his gory victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its bloody purpose. The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest. He would whip to make her scream, and whip to make her hush; and not until overcome by fatigue, would he cease to swing the blood clotted cowskin. I remember the first time I ever witnessed this horrible exhibition. I was quite a child, but I well remember it. 2.           If a thousand men were not to pay their tax-bills this year, that would not be a violent and blood measure, as it would be to pay them, and enable the State to commit violence and shed innocent blood. This is, in fact, the definition of a peaceable revolution, if any such is possible. If the tax-gatherer, or any other public officer, asks me, as one has done, ‘But what shall I do?’ my answer is, ‘If you really wish to do any thing, resign your office.’ When the subject has refused allegiance, and the officer has resigned his office, then the revolution is accomplished. 3.           Ye say they all have passed away, That noble race and brave, That their light canoes have vanished From off the crested wave; That ‘mid the forests where they roamed There rings no hunter shout, But their name is on the waters, Ye may not wash it out. 4.           Poor fellow, thought Captain Delano, so nervous he can’t even bear the sight of barber’s blood; and this unstrung, sick man, is it credible that I should have imagined he meant to spill all my blood, who can’t endure the sight of one little drop of his own? Surely, Amasa Delano, you have been beside yourself this day. Tell it not when you get home, sappy Amasa. Well, well, he looks like a murderer, doesn’t he? More like as if himself were to be done for. Well, well, this day’s experience shall be a good lesson. 5.           “Indeed, Lucy, he has an admirable talent for contributing to vary, and increase amusement. We have few hours unimproved. Some new plan of pleasure, and sociability is constantly courting our adoption. He lives in all the magnificence of a prince; and why should I, who can doubtless share that magnificence if I please, forego the advantages and indulgences it offers, merely to gratify those friends who pretend to be better judges of my happiness than I am myself?” 6.           Now let me ask you, white man, if it is a disgrace for to eat, drink, and sleep with the image of God, or sit, or walk and talk with them. Or have you the folly to think that the white man, being one in fifteen or sixteen, are the only beloved images of God? Assemble all nations together in your imagination, and then let the whites be seated among them, and the let us look for the whites, and I doubt not it would be hard finding them: for to the rest of the nations they are but a handful. Now suppose those skins were put together, and each skin had its national crimes written upon it—which skin do you think would have the greatest? 7.           To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart, is true for all men,—that is genius. Speak your latent conviction and it shall be the universal sense; for always the inmost becomes the outmost,—and our first thought is rendered back to us by the trumpets of the Last Judgment. 8.           The question now arose as to the character of the word. Having made up my mind to a refrain, the division of the poem into stanzas, was, of course, a corollary: the refrain forming the close to each stanza. That such a close, to have force, must be sonorous and susceptible of protracted emphasis, admitted no doubt: and these considerations inevitably led me to the long o as the most sonorous vowel, in connection with r as the producible consonant. 9.           Through me forbidden voices, Voices of sexes and lusts, voices veil’d and I remove the veil, Voices indecent by me clarified and transfigured. I do not press my fingers across my mouth, I keep as delicate around the bowels as around the head and heart, Copulation is no more rank to me than death is. I believe in the flesh and the appetites, Seeing, hearing, feeling, are miracles, and each part and tag of me is a miracle. Divine I am inside and out, and I make holy whatever I touch or am touch’d from, The scent of these arm-pits aroma finer than prayer, This head more than churches, bibles, and all the creeds.   Possible Authors: • Ralph Waldo Emerson • Walt Whitman • Henry David Thoreau • Hannah Webster Foster • Edgar Allan Poe • Frederick Douglass • Herman Melville • William Apess • Lydia Huntley Sigourney Possible Texts: • “Philosophy of Composition” • “Leaves of Grass [Song of Myself]” • “Indian Names” • The Coquette • Benito Cereno • “Self-Reliance” • “An Indian’s Looking-Glass for the White Man” • “Resistance to Civil Government” • Narrative of the Life of [Name], an American Slave

Research essay outline:     For the research paper , you have a choice of any piece of fictional literature (short story, poem or play) from our anthology to use as a primary source, and may choose one of the three following types of research essays, in which you will apply your research to the primary source of your choosing: 1.      Use biographical information about the author, poet, or playwright to show how events in that person’s life helps us understand some aspect or aspects of the primary source you chose. For example, you could look at the sorrowful events in Edgar Allen Poe’s life and demonstrate how they influenced the themes in his poem “The Haunted Palace” or Ernest Hemmingway’s war induced PTSD and his short story “Soldier’s Home” 2.      Use research about the historical, social, and/or gender roles at the time that a piece is set to help explain what you see as an essential aspect of the piece. For example, you could look at why Mrs. Mallard, in Kate Chopin’s “A Story of an Hour” felt imprisoned by the institution of marriage by researching marriage roles for women at the time, documents written that include women’s roles, especially wives roles, and the society’s expectations for, and limitations placed on, women of Chopin’s day. 3.      Look at a particular aspect of a piece, such as characterization, symbolism, setting, or plot in a short story or play, or imagery or figurative language in a poem or two.   Research essay guidelines:   The draft must be a minimum of four pages, typed or word-processed, double-spaced, using MLA format and MLA in-text, parenthetical citation. You must refer to (summarize, quote and/or paraphrase) a minimum four sources. Use MLA, parenthetical in-text citation in the body of the essay. Include a separate Works Cited page in MLA format. Sources used in the body must include at least three texts from our library’s databases, periodicals (newspapers, magazines, academic or scholarly journals, etc.) or three of the aforementioned and ONE valid source from your own online search (such as an article, essay, or statistics from a valid website) Sources from periodicals that you get online but that also exist in print form will not be counted as the internet source.

power point presentation topic “Children and World War 2” over 7 pages  Discuss how children got impacted by WW2, Discuss soviet children and nazi children, why they went to war? how ww2 affected their lives?

Assemble your own biographical booklet on one of three famous people in the twentieth century: Amelia Earhart, Anne Frank or Marcus Garvey.  Length: 2000 words in 12-18 pages, depending on your number of images and topics Format: Microsoft Word or PDF (no other formats will be accepted) Topics: You have a choice from among three possibilities: Amelia Earhart, Anne Frank or Marcus Garvey.  Purpose: Your job is to create a booklet covering some of the major highlights in the life of your subject. The model for your project is the Dillinger booklet for this course. Each page should have at least one photo inserted to illustrate the main topic of that page. If you have 15 topics you will have at least 15 pages and 15 pictures, and an average of 130 words a page. It is said that a picture is worth a 1000 words, but if you have 15 images, you can get by with far fewer.  Sources: Your project isn’t for publication, so you can select from a wide range of images online, knowing that they will not be reproduced for a public audience requiring copyright permission. Cite references in MLA style or any other style to indicate the source of your information if it isn’t obvious from an image inserted on the page. Quote sparingly, and use summary and paraphrase to create your ongoing commentary on the highlights of the subject’s life.  Evaluation: Your project will be graded on the quality of your topics and images, your descriptions and comments, and the overall effectiveness of your perspective on the subject’s life. Think of the project as an illustrated introduction to your subject’s life suitable for presentation as a lecture.

Accordingly, for our next assignment I want to focus on the rise of the women’s rights movement in America, which began at the Seneca Falls Convention in July of 1848. The meeting launched the women’s suffrage movement, which eventually gave women the right to vote in 1920 (7 decades later!). At this convention was read the “Declaration of Sentiments,” primarily written by Susan B. Anthony, essentially a re-writing of the original “Declaration of Independence,” with the rights of women in mind.  As you read this document, please choose one of the grievances of gender discrimination that you sometimes still see happening in today’s society.  Alternately, talk about an example of an important gain women HAVE achieved some 175 years later that they did not have in 1848. Another important figure to speak at a subsequent women’s rights convention was the former slave Sojourner Truth. Truth is considered one of the founders of both the woman’s rights movement and the Civil Rights movement.  As you listen to actor Kerry Washington recite her dramatic speech, think about the particular arguments she makes and the masterful way she works her audience to see her point of view.   First read: “Ain’t I a Women”

Reports will be typed, double-spaced, 5-6 pages NOT including title page and Bibliography. Reports must include a Bibliography. Reports to use MLA Format. Research reports should address the following: Research question; why are you interested in this topic? Be prepared to have this question change as you conduct your research. Summarize the issues or debates about your topic. What is the history of your topic? Are there long-term trends? Summarize your research findings. Who are the expert researchers on your topic?  How qualified are the authors conducting the research?  What are their findings? Do you find contradictions, and/or different interpretations about your topic? What seems to be informing the different interpretations?  Different approaches?  Different evidence?  Different biases?  Different cultural points’ of view? Postulate possible solutions to problems, along with multiple perspectives/responses to your proposed solutions. Describe what you have learned about your chose topic. What surprised you the most?  What didn’t surprise you?  How did your own understanding of the topic deepen?

rewrite my 3-4 page on the novel Jane Eyre by charlotte bronte and reorganize it to give it a better flow. This paper should be about the main character Jane Eyre’s ambitions in life and the difficult obstacles she had growing up as a non stereotypical woman in her time. •highlight the thesis! •cite MLA sources from the novel! •NO PLAGIARISM! PROFESSOR NOTES: A successful reading response paper: ____ offers a compelling hook to engage the reader’s attention ____ gives a concise and accurate summary of the text early on to orient the reader ____ provides a clear and assertive thesis statement that gives a blueprint for the entire paper ____ effectively integrates specific textual evidence to support ideas (direct quotes) in MLA style ____ has a logical and rhetorically effective pattern of organization ____ effectively integrates quotations from additional relevant (and current!) sources, if applicable, in MLA style ____ uses third person voice to discuss the text (i.e. Don’t say “I think” or “We should examine Austen…” or “You would think that Mr. Darcy would have…”) ____ includes a concluding thought that provides a natural sense of closure ____ includes a properly formatted Works Cited page of sources referenced in the body

Choose 2-3 of the assigned readings from our Units. Write a 4-6 page final paper that illustrates a common theme and the significance of that theme as represented by the different works of literature you chose. You are free to select any prominent topic or theme and construct an instructive interpretation of how your chosen texts reflects or connects to the overarching anxieties or conversations of that theme. For example: Themes: 1. Oppression 2. Alienation 3. Sacrifice 4. Class conflict 5. Man vs. Nature or science vs. nature 6. Good vs. Evil 7. Power of corruption Readings: ? The World on the Turtle’s Back ? Navajo Creation Story ? Tricksters and the Talking Bulb ? Of Plymouth Plantation ? Letters from an American Farmer ? Common Sense ? The Masque of the Red Death ? The Birthmark ? Desiree’s Baby ? Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl ? Narrative on the Life of Frederick Douglass

Turn in 2-3 poems, totaling no more than 4 pages that deal with our environment. NO COPYING/PASTING. Non-original work will be returned for a full refund. Please ensure you do NOT use sources, this is a creative piece, no sources needed. Be creative and have fun with it! 2-3 poems, it could all be on 1-2 pages each poem. The poems need to be good and not just thrown together. Let me know if you have any questions. Please think about the woods, animals, flowers, how it smells, use all 5- senses if you want.

This paper’s only source is montoya, which is an online book that is accessed through an online website called cengage(the link below). The numbers that are listed below for part II are the sections that I pulled out from the textbook that will relate to those themes to save you time.  https://www.cengage.com/ Part I.  Civil War Era.  Using Montoya Chapters 12-13, write an essay of about five paragraphs on the history you see in the chapters.  Develop a theme discussing ideas or events you would like for Americans to understand about this era.  Include at least two pictures.  Also, use at least one primary source document from Connecting California or Cengage related to the era. Part II.  Two Theme Essays (relate to the whole course).  Write essays of about five paragraphs each on two of the themes below.  Use examples from various parts of the course to develop your main points.  Include at least two pictures in each essay.  In each essay, also use a document from Cengage or Connecting California that you have not used before.  Please put titles of documents in bold. Women.  Describe the roles of women in various times.  What major changes do you see?  What events or changes in society had the most impact on women? 1.1b, 1.2c, 1.3b, 1.5c, 1.6d 2.3b, 2.4d 3.1b, 3.2b, 3.3d, 3.4b, 3.4e, 3.5b, 3.5d 4.1c*, 4.2b, 4.3c, 4.3d*, 4.4e* 5.1a*, 5.5b, 5.5f**, 5.5g*,  6.2c, 6.2d*, 6.3d, 6.4a*,  7.1c**, 7.2c, 7.3a, 7.3b, 7.4a,  8.1c, 8.2a*, 8.3b*, 8.3c*, 8.4b*, 8.4c,  9.1a*, 9.1b*, 9.1c*, 9.3b, 9.4d* 10.1a*, 10.1b**, 10.1c**, 10.1e, 10.2a*, 10.2d, 10.4b*, 10.5b*, 10.5d*** 11.1a, 11.3a*,  12.4b,  13.2b*, 13.4d**,  Politics.  Describe how Americans have debated political issues in various periods.  Which era do you think had the liveliest political discourse?  How are we similar today? 1.2d, 1.3a, 1.6d,  3.1c, 3.1e, 3.5b,  4.1a*, 4.4b *, 4.4d,  5.3d, 5.5a, 5.5c*, 5.5d**, 5.5e*,  ***  6.1b*, 6.2a, 6.2b*, 6.2c, 6.2e, 6.3b, 6.3c*, 6.3d*** 7.1a**, 7.1c*, 7.2c*, 7.4b, 7.4c, ALL 7.5** 8.1a*, 8.2d***, 8.3a***, 8.3b**, 8.3c**, 8.4a*, 8.5c, 8.5e 9.2c, 9.2e, 9.3c*, 9.3d, ALL 9.4**, ALL 9.5** 10.1c,  11.2b**, 11.3c*,  12.2a*, 12.2c, 12.3c, 12.4a, 12.4b**, 12.4c, 12.4d, 12.5b, 12.5c,  13.4b***, 13.5b*, 13.6c* Keys to Success Explain your points simply, as you would to another student. Write in short to medium-sized paragraphs. Use specific examples from our readings and class discussion. For citations, put the lead author and page or section numbers in parentheses.  Example:  (Montoya, 4.2) Relate your answers to major concepts and trends we have covered. Tell how the pictures reinforce key points you are making in your essays. Use the essays as an opportunity to show how you have grown as a historical thinker.