by | Jul 14, 2022 | American Literature
1. In a Microsoft Word or PDF-compatible document, type your rough draft.
2. You should use your outline to help you compose this first draft.
3. Format the essay following MLA guidelines and remember to include in-text citations
4. Submit the first four paragraphs of your essay: introduction, historical background, first author paragraph, and second author paragraph only.
Essay Topic #4 – Loneliness/Mental Health
The writings of early to modern American authors illustrate the concept of loneliness and its impact on mental health in America. From analyses and interpretations of their writings and from research, discuss what T.S. Eliot, William Faulkner, and Charlotte Perkin Gilman communicate about loneliness and mental health in America. Be specific to the readings in the textbook, and provide examples from those readings.
T.S. Eliot Poems
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/44212/the-love-song-of-j-alfred-prufrock
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47311/the-waste-land
https://allpoetry.com/the-hollow-men
William Faulkner Poems
https://xroads.virginia.edu/~DRBR/wf_rose.html
https://faculty.weber.edu/jyoung/english%206710/barn%20burning.pdf
Charlotte Perkin Gilman Poems
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/theliteratureofprescription/exhibitionAssets/digitalDocs/The-Yellow-Wall-Paper.pdf
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper” (1913)
Please read the instructions CAREFULLY and include as many examples as needed to tie in the themes of loneliness and mental health to the respective poems. Please also follow the rubric very carefully.
by | Jul 14, 2022 | American Literature
Critical Paper: Assignment Sheet
For this Critical Paper assignment, we will focus on the literary movement we explored in Unit 1, which is
Romanticism.
Here is your paper topic/prompt:
Using 3 Romantic texts by at least 2 different authors, explain how some important, specific Romantic
characteristics are expressed in each text. Make sure you state clearly which specific Romantic
characteristics—from the list below—you are using in the essay. Overall, which text is the best
representation of Romanticism and why?
Common Characteristics of Romanticism
[Many texts] [f]ocused on the importance of the individual.
Nature was celebrated in works.
Many people during this time called for change (with women’s rights, for example).
Political philosophers continued to focus on the inherent positive features of man.
Imagination was celebrated.
Works began to feature “Regular Joes” in society.
Children were the primary focus of some texts.
Supernatural elements were featured/celebrated in works.
Folklore was often included.
Additional paper guidelines:
The final draft of this paper must contain 700-900 words.
The paper must be written in MLA format (with double-spacing, 12-point Arial font, a creative essay
title, a works cited page, etc.).
The paper must feature well-chosen quotations from the texts to support the claims made in the
composition.
While creating your essay, you may consult the module in eLearn Content titled “How to Quote and
Cite Sources,” which provides MLA guidelines for quoting and citing from the texts.
Place your 1-sentence argumentative thesis statement at the end of the introductory paragraph.
According to the paper prompt, you must use “3 Romantic texts by at least 2 different authors,” but
these Romantic texts/authors must come from the following list of works that we have actually
covered in class:
o By Edgar Allan Poe: “The Oval Portrait,” “The Purloined Letter”
o By Walt Whitman: Song of Myself selected poems: #1, #5, #6, #52
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d #6, #15
Note: We will consider each separate Whitman poem to be 1 text. For example, Song of
Myself Poem #1 is considered 1 text; Song of Myself Poem #5 is viewed as a separate
text. Similarly, When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d Poem #6 is considered 1 text;
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d Poem #15 is viewed as a separate text.
o By Emily Dickinson: #409 “[The Soul selects her own Society—]”
#591 “[I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—]”
Page 2 of 2
#236 “[Some keep the Sabbath going to Church—]”
#620 “[Much Madness is divinest Sense—]”
There will be NO SECONDARY RESEARCH IN THE PAPER—THAT MEANS YOU WILL BE
USING ONLY THE STORIES/POEMS THEMSELVES. Thus, for example, stay away from
websites that provide analysis of the texts. Keep in mind that if a paper includes material from a
source that is not properly cited, this results in plagiarism, and a composition containing
plagiarism will receive an “F.”
Due date-
Friday, July 15— Submit your Critical Paper final draft—of 700-900 words—to the designated eLearn
dropbox before 11:59 PM. You must submit your essay in a file format that the dropbox can
“read”—.doc, .docx, or .rtf
by | Jul 13, 2022 | American Literature
Instructions: Complete the writing assignment over the following prompt. Treat this as a “mini-essay” with complete MLA formatting.
PROMPT:
You will compare one or more aspects of Judith Sargent Murray’s “Equality Between the Sexes” and the poem you chose to read by a different female author.
Think critically about comparative lliterary elements between the two works, such as:
Major themes/subject matter
Literary elements (metaphors, similies, imagery, poetic structure, etc.)
Social or political references (many of these people knew one another)
Other biographical elements that may be important to compare
*Your response should be roughly 1 page in length and should use specific textual evidence to support your analysis with citations.
SEE ATTACHMENT FOR POEMS AND CHOOSE ONE.
by | Jul 12, 2022 | American Literature
Hawthorne’s short stories “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Minister’s Black Veil” deal with both the religion of his Puritan ancestors and his own view of this religion.
Prompt:
In a well-organized FORMAL essay (meaning clear intro, body, and concluding paragraphs), address the following questions regarding BOTH of these stories:
How do these stories reflect Hawthorne’s views on Puritanism or religion in general? In other words, how much faith (no pun intended) does Hawthorne seem to have regarding organized religion or religious leaders specifically? If there is a difference in how he depicts religious leaders in these stories, what is the reason for the difference?
by | Jul 12, 2022 | American Literature
Character Study
Instructions
Character Study: Individualism and Imagination (the Romantics)
In 500-750 words, analyze one character from our authors from weeks five and six (Irving, Hawthorne, Melville, or Poe)
Questions to consider as you brainstorm the essay’s content:
What kinds of traits does this character exhibit?
How are these traits expressed within the story?
Why are these traits important to the story?
What is this character’s role within the story?
How does this character interact with/affect others in the story?
How does this character change as the story unfolds?
How does the character change others as the story unfolds?
What makes this character important to the story?
What can we learn from this character?
What does this character tell us about the world in which they live?
This essay should:
Use a formal, academic essay structure (five-paragraph model).
Present a debatable thesis statement.
Contain well-developed body paragraphs organized around a single idea that supports the thesis.
Incorporate specific (cited) examples from the author’s writing in support of the arguments.
Be formatted in MLA style.
Include a works cited page that includes source citations for any works cited in your paper.
Be written entirely in the third person.
by | Jul 11, 2022 | American Literature
Read The Creation, from The Eddas (Norse) and Genesis (Hebrew)
Then answer 2 discussion posts, 150-200 words each.
Attached you will find the reading material needed to complete the post.
1. The Norse creation myth begins with violence, murder, and dismemberment. What do you think about the idea of creation born of destruction? Why might such violence be a fitting origin story for the Vikings? And what do you think about the description of the landscape shaped from the dismembered Ymir?
2. How do these foundations affect your understanding of the creation stories? (If they do). Were you familiar with either story before?
