American Literature (Teacher) [Teacher ed.] 0890516723, 9780890516720

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First printing: November 2012 Copyright © 2012 by James P. Stobaugh. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. For information write: Master Books®, P.O. Box 726, Green Forest, AR 72638 Master Books® is a division of the New Leaf Publishing Group, Inc.

ISBN: 978-0-89051-672-0 ISBN: 978-1-61458-267-0 (ebook) Cover design by Diana Bogardus. Interior design by Terry White. Unless otherwise noted, all images are from shutterstock.com, Library of Congress (LOC-image), and Wikimedia Commons. All images used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license (CC-BY-SA-3.0) are noted; license details available at creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-sa/3.0/. Other photos are public domain (PD-US) and (PD-Art). Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.TM Used by permission of Zondervan, All rights reserved worldwide. Permission is granted for copies of reproducible pages from this text to be made for use within your own homeschooling family activities or for small classrooms of 10 or less students. Material may not be posted online, distributed digitally, or made available as a download. Permission for any other use of the material needs to be made prior to use by email to the publisher at [email protected]. Please consider requesting that a copy of this volume be purchased by your local library system. Printed in the United States of America Please visit our website for other great titles: www.masterbooks.net For information regarding author interviews, please contact the publicity department at (870) 438-5288 Dedication This Book is gratefully dedicated to Karen and our four children: Rachel, Jessica, Timothy, and Peter. He has given us a ministry of reconciliation . . . (2 Corinthians 5:18).

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Contents Using Your Teacher Guide.............................................................................................................................6 Grading Record Options................................................................................................................................7 Preface ...............................................................................................................................................................9



1. Worldview Formation...................................................................................................................................10 2. The New Land to 1750: Puritanism and Native American Voices.......................................................18

 he History of Plimoth Plantation, William Bradford. The Navajo Origin Legend; Navajo Tribe, from T The Iroquois Constitution Iroquois Tribe

3. The New Land to 1750: Puritanism...........................................................................................................26  Religious Affections, Jonathan Edwards; “Diary Entries,” Esther Edwards; Poems by Anne Bradstreet 4. The Revolutionary Period, 1750-1800 (Part 1).......................................................................................35 The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin



5. The Revolutionary Period, 1750-1800 (Part 2).......................................................................................42 Poems by Phillis Wheatley; Speech in the Virginia Convention, Patrick Henry; The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson; Letter to Her Daughter from the New White House, Abigail Adams 6. A Growing Nation, 1800-1840: National Period (Part 1)......................................................................49

“Thanatopsis,” William Cullen Bryant; “The Devil and Tom Walker,” Washington Irving 7. A Growing Nation, 1800-1840: National Period (Part 2)......................................................................57



“The Fall of the House of Usher,”and “The Tell Tale Heart,” Edgar Allan Poe

8. Romanticism: New England Renaissance, 1840-1855 (Part 1).............................................................65 . The Scarlet Letter and “Birthmark,”* Nathaniel Hawthorne 9. Romanticism: New England Renaissance, 1840-1855 (Part 2).............................................................73 Poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russell Lowell, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Emily Dickinson 10. Romanticism: New England Renaissance, 1840-1855 (Part 3).............................................................80

Selected Poems, Ralph Waldo Emerson

11. Romanticism: New England Renaissance, 1840-1855 (Part 4).............................................................88

Walden, Henry David Thoreau

12. Romanticism: New England Renaissance, 1840-1855 (Part 5).............................................................95

Billy Budd, Herman Melville

13. Division, War, and Reconciliation, 1855-1865 (Part 1)....................................................................... 104 “O Captain, My Captain!” Walt Whitman; “Go Down Moses,” “Deep River,” “Roll Jordan, Roll,”

“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot;” Negro Spirituals; “The Gettysburg Address,” Abraham Lincoln;



“I will Fight No More Forever,” Chief Joseph

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14. Division, War, and Reconciliation, 1855-1865 (Part 2)....................................................................... 111

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass

15. Realism, Naturalism, and the Frontier, 1865-1915 (Part 1)................................................................ 119

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain

16. Realism, Naturalism, and the Frontier, 1865-1915 (Part 2)................................................................ 129

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain

17. Realism, Naturalism, and the Frontier, 1865-1915 (Part 3)................................................................ 138

Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane

18. Realism, Naturalism, and the Frontier, 1865-1915 (Part 4)................................................................ 146. Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane 19. Realism, Naturalism, and the Frontier, 1865-1915 (Part 5)................................................................ 154 “The Outcasts of Poker Flat,” Bret Harte; “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin; “Richard Cory,” Edwin Arlington Robinson; “Lucinda Matlock,” Edgar Lee Masters 20. The Modern Age, 1915-1946: Late Romanticism/ Naturalism (Part 1)............................................ 161

Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton

21. The Modern Age, 1915-1946: Late Romanticism/ Naturalism (Part 2)............................................ 170

20th Century Poetry

22. The Modern Age, 1915-1946: Late Romanticism/ Naturalism (Part 3)............................................ 178

A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway

23. The Modern Age, 1915-1946: Late Romanticism/ Naturalism (Part 4)............................................ 185. Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston 24. The Modern Age, 1915-1946: Late Romanticism/ Naturalism (Part 5)............................................ 192

The Unvanquished, William Faulkner

25. The Modern Age, 1915-1946: Late Romanticism/ Naturalism (Part 6)............................................ 200

The Pearl, John Steinbeck

26. The Modern Age, 1946-1960: Realism/ Naturalism (Part 1).............................................................. 207

20th Century Drama: The Emperor Jones, Eugene Gladstone O’Neill

27. The Modern Age, 1946-1960: Realism/ Naturalism (Part 2).............................................................. 215

20th Century Drama: The Little Foxes, Lillian Hellman

28. The Modern Age, 1946-1960: Realism/ Naturalism (Part 3).............................................................. 223

20th Century Drama: The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams

29. The Modern Age, 1946-1960: Realism/ Naturalism (Part 4).............................................................. 230

20th Century Drama: The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams

30. The Modern Age, 1946-1960: Realism/ Naturalism (Part 5).............................................................. 238

The Crucible, Arthur Miller

31. Contemporary Writers, 1960-Present (Part 1)...................................................................................... 245

A Separate Peace, John Knowles

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32. Contemporary Writers, 1960-Present (Part 2)...................................................................................... 252 “Everything That Rises Must Converge” Flannery O’Connor; “A Worn Path” Eudora Welty; “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” Katherine Anne Porter 33. Contemporary Writers, 1960-Present (Part 3)...................................................................................... 260

Cold Sassy Tree, Olive Ann Burns

34. Contemporary Writers, 1960-Present (Part 4)...................................................................................... 267

The Chosen, Chaim Potok

Essay Options...................................................................................................................................................... 274 Chapter Tests....................................................................................................................................................... 286

READING LIST: The following is a list of additional books and texts not included within the study that are needed for this course. It is strongly suggested that students read most, if not all these titles during the summer before taking this course. Most will be available at local libraries or as free downloads at The Online Books Page (onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/lists.html), Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org/wiki/ Main_Page), or Bartleby (www.bartleby.com/). Of Plimoth Plantations by William Bradford Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane The Unvanquished by William Faulkner The Pearl by John Steinbeck Walden by Henry David Thoreau Billy Budd by Herman Melville The Emperor Jones by Eugene Gladstone O’Neill The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams The Crucible by Arthur Miller Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Anne Burns Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston The Chosen by Chaim Potok

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Using Your Teacher Guide How this course has been developed: 1. Chapters: This course has 34 chapters (representing 34 weeks of study) to earn two full credits; writing and literature. 2. Lessons: Each chapter has five lessons, taking approximately 45 to 60 minutes each. 3. Student responsibility: Responsibility to complete this course is on the student. Students must read ahead in order to stay on schedule with the readings. Independence is strongly encouraged in this course, which was designed for the student to practice independent learning. 4. Grading: Depending on the grading option chosen, the parent/educator will grade the daily concept builders, and the weekly tests and essays. (See pages 7 and 8.) 5. Additional books and texts: A list of outside reading is provided after the table of contents. Students should try and read ahead whenever possible. Most readings are available free online or at a local library.

Throughout this book you will find the following: 1. Chapter Learning Objectives: Always read the “First Thoughts” and “Chapter Learning Objectives” in order to comprehend the scope of the material to be covered in a particular week. 2. Daily warm-ups: You should write or give oral responses for the daily warm-ups to your educator/ parent. These are not necessarily meant to be evaluated, but should stimulate discussion. 3. Concept builders: You should complete a daily concept builder. These activities take 15 minutes or less and emphasize a particular concept that is vital to that particular chapter topic. These will relate to a subject covered in the chapter, though not necessarily in that days lesson. 4. Assigned readings: Remember to read ahead on the required literary material for this course. Students should plan to read some of the required literature the summer before the course. 5. Weekly essays: You will be writing at least one essay per week, depending on the level of accomplishment you and your parent/educator decide upon. These are available in the teacher guide and online. 6. Weekly tests: These are available in the teacher guide and online.

Earn a bonus credit! Easily integrate related history curriculum for an additional credit, a combination study done in less than two hours daily! History Connections are shown on the chapter introduction page in order to help a student study these texts consecutively, exploring literature and history in unison. (The American, British, and World History curriculum is also written by James Stobaugh and published by Master Books®.)

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What the student will need each day: 1. Notepad/computer: for writing assignments. 2. Pen/pencil: for taking notes and for essays. 3. A prayer journal. As often as you can — hopefully daily — keep a prayer journal. 4. Daily concept builders, weekly essay options, and weekly tests are available in the teacher guide and as free downloads at: nlpg.com/AmericanLitAids

Increasing your vocabulary: Part of the reason for reading so many challenging literary works is for one to increase his or her functional vocabulary. The best means of increasing vocabulary is through reading a vast amount of classical, well-written literary works. While reading these works, one should harvest as many unknown words as possible, and try to use five new words in each essay written. Create 3x5 Vocabulary Cards

Front

Adversity

Back Harmful, Evil Adversity is a Noun The adverse effects of smoking are great.

When one meets a strange word for the first time: •

Do your best to figure out the word in context,

•

Check your guess by looking in the dictionary,

•

Write a sentence with the word in it.

Use the illustration above to formulate vocabulary cards of new words.

Grading Record Options (See chart on following page.) This course has been developed to allow three grading options for a parent/educator. This allows one the flexibility to adjust the usage of the course content to individual situations and varying requirements. For ease of grading, Option A (essays/exams) and Option B (essays/exams/concept builders [CB]) both provide a total weekly score of 100 points for a course total of 3,400 possible points. Dividing the total score at the end of the course by 34 will provide a percentage grade for the student. You may use the standard system (90-100 = A, 80-89 = B, 70-79 = C, 60-69 = D, below 60 = F), or you may use your own personal grading system. The third grading option simply allows for additional work (warm-ups [WU], additional essays, etc.) to be counted toward each week’s final grade. This can be done at the educator’s discretion and be added into the overall score of Option A or Option B.

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week

Option a

Option B

Essays = 50/Exams = 50

Essays = 40/Exams = 40/CB = 20

Essay

Exam

Essay

Exam

Option C Add Additional 10/20

CB

WU

Additional Essay

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

total

34

Total Essays and Exams: Divide by 34 for grade

Final Grade _______

Total Essays, Exams and CBs: Divide by 34 for grade

Total WU and Additional Essays Add in score to Option A or B

Final Grade _______

* See Grading Record Options on the prior page for record-keeping guidance.

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Preface American Literature is a rhetoric-level course. Two things are distinctive about rhetoric-level courses: they are content-driven and they presume higher-level thinking. In most cases, a student is going to have to read in excess of 200 pages per chapter. Therefore, it is highly advisable that he or she begin reading the material during the summer prior to beginning this course. In any event, a student must read the whole book/literary work before the lesson begins. Sometimes this is no big deal (e.g., reading Phillis Wheatley’s poetry). In other cases it will take more than a week to read the assigned text (e.g., The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne). By now one should already know how to do elementary literary criticism. If you are worried, don’t be. Students will review how to do literary analysis as the course progresses. Literary analysis questions are the most often asked questions and they fall under the three main types of questions in the text: critical thinking, biblical application, and enrichment. Literature is defined in Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (10th ed., 1993) as “writings in prose or verse: especially having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest.” The person who examines, interprets, and analyzes literature is a critic. That is the student’s job. A critic is a guide to the reader, not a prophet or a therapist. While it is the critic’s right to express his or her preferences, and even a privilege to influence others, it is not his or her job to tell the reader what to like or not like. However, the critic is a helper, a guide helping the reader to better understand the author’s intention and art. In fact, the critic is concerned about the structure, sound, and meaning of the literary piece. These structures are described as genres: narrative prose, essays, poetry, and drama. God is raising a mighty generation! Students of today will be the culture-creators of the next century. They are a special generation, a special people. My prayer for each student who reads this course is: I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen (Eph. 3:14–21).

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Chapter 1

Worldview Formation

First Thoughts From the beginning, America was an evangelical Christian nation — it built its universities to train a Christian leadership cadre, for it earnestly sought to be governed by and to have its culture created by evangelical Christians. The now rapid retreat from that sacred beginning is perhaps the key to understanding the American experience.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Compare several worldviews. 2. Compare the worldviews of John Smith and William Bradford. 3. Discuss if Old Testament law should have literal application to today’s society. 4. Discern the worldviews of several television commercials.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections, by Jonathan Edwards, and poems by Anne Bradstreet.

History connections: American History chapter 1, “Natives of the New World.”

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LESSON 1

Everyone Has a Worldview Assignments •

Warm-up: Who is your favorite author and what do you think formed his or her worldview?

•

Student should complete Concept Builder 1-A

•

Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

My Worldview

CONCEPT BUILDER 1-A

Outline a worldview for yourself. Authority — Is the Bible important to you? Do you obey God and other authorities — your parents — even when doing so is uncomfortable?

Answers will vary.

Pleasure — What do you really enjoy doing? Does it please God?

Answers will vary.

Fate — What/who really determines your life? Chance? Circumstances? God?

Answers will vary.

Justice — What are the consequences of our actions? Is there some sort of judgment? Do bad people suffer? Why do good people suffer?

Answers will vary.

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LESSON 2

Worldviews Review

Family Worldview

CONCEPT BUILDER 1-B

Assignments •

Warm-up: Pretend a four-year-old family member has just watched a cartoon with too much violence. He/she is very sad. What do you say to him/her?

•

Student should complete Concept Builder 1-B

•

Student should review reading(s) from next chapter.

•

Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Encourage your family to write a joint worldview statement. My Family Worldview Statement

Answers will vary.

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LESSON 3

Culture Wars: Part One

Assignments Warm-up: Some artists claim that obscenity is necessary to the “artistic effect.” Is there such a thing as “necessary obscenity”?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 1-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Values

CONCEPT BUILDER 1-C

•

Worldviews are about values. Rate the following items: 1 equals “do not value at all”; 5 equals “value a whole lot.” (See student text.)

Answers will vary.

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LESSON 4

Culture Wars: Part Two Assignments •

Warm-up: Is it possible for Christians to lose the culture war? How?

•

Student should complete Concept Builder 1-D.

•

Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

CONCEPT BUILDER 1-D: Movies

America obtains most of its worldviews from movies. Check the worldviews represented in the following popular movies. There will be multiple correct answers. Movie

Theism

Deism

Romanticism

Bambi

X

Titantic

X

Toy Story

Naturalism

Realism

ExtentIalism

Absurdism

X

Lion King

X

The Sound of Music

X

The Incredibles

X

X

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LESSON 5

Worldview Review Assignments •

Warm-up: Besides Christian theism, what is the most appealing worldview to you?

•

Student should complete Concept Builder 1-E.

•

Essay is due. Students should take the chapter 1 test.

Books

CONCEPT BUILDER 1-E

The following books are very popular in American high schools. Check the worldviews represented in the following popular titles. There will be multiple correct answers. Movie

Theism

Romeo and Juliet

X

Johnny Tremain

X

Walden

Deism

Romanticism

Naturalism

ExtentIalism

Absurdism

X

Call of the Wild

X

Poems by Robert Frost

X

The Book of Job (Bible)

Realism

X

X

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. What was William Bradford’s view of nature? SUMMARY: To William Bradford, nature was only an extension of God’s creation. It was not alive; it was not even ubiquitous. It was not friendly or unfriendly. God was alive. God is in control. And God loved Bradford very much — a fact of which Bradford was acutely aware. It is from this secure base that Bradford created his history. William Bradford, an English separatist, was forced to reckon with awful conditions — half of his Plymouth Pilgrims died the first winter. Nevertheless, Bradford continued to affirm God’s basic goodness in the face of horrible conditions. William Bradford’s state of mind was not dependent upon circumstances. B. Edward Taylor’s poetry displays the influence of English metaphysical poets. Research the metaphysical poets in England and compare and contrast their writings with Taylor’s. SUMMARY: “The metaphysical poets” is a term coined by the English poet and critic Samuel Johnson to describe a loose group of British lyric poets of the 17th century, who shared an interest in metaphysical concerns and whose work was characterized by rich metaphors. Most metaphysical poets were Christians, but none expressed the same depth of feeling toward God as Taylor did. C. Read J.I. Packer, A Quest For Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life. Packer argues that the depth and breadth of Puritan spiritual life stands in stark contrast to the facileness and deadness of modern Western Christianity. He concludes that the main difference between the Puritans and us is spiritual maturity — the Puritans had it and we simply do not. The Puritans believed in an omnipotent God. They most certainly were not grouchy, legalistic, colorless settlers. They wore bright colors and enjoyed life. They had a passion for righteousness; they had a passion for God. “They were great souls,” J.L. Packer writes, “serving a great God.” In a one-page essay, agree or disagree with Packer’s thesis. SUMMARY: This reader enthusiastically agrees with Packer. This reader’s favorite quote is: Puritans were not wild men, fierce and freaky, religious fanatics and social extremists, but sober, conscientious, and cultured citizens: persons of principle, devoted, determined, and disciplined, excelling in the domestic virtues, and with no obvious shortcomings save a tendency to run to words when saying anything important, whether to God or to man. . . . They were great souls serving a great God. In them clear-headed passion and warm-hearted compassion combined.

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CHAPTER 1 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Objective Questions (15 points – 3 points each) Answer each question true or false. ANSWER: T — The Boston Puritans loved the Church of England and only wished to “purify” it. The Separatist Puritans at Plymouth, Massachusetts, sought to separate from the Church of England; the Puritans who settled in Boston wished merely to purify the Church of England. F — The Pilgrims were a special type of Puritan. The Pilgrims included Separatist Puritans and secular settlers who immigrated to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. F — The Pilgrims lived in Northern Ireland before they traveled to America. They stayed in Holland. T — The Pilgrim landing in Cape Cod was really a mistake. They meant to settle in Virginia. F — The Puritans’ main motivation to traveling to America was to make money.

Discussion Questions (30 Points – 10 points each) Explain what these quotes from The History of Plymouth Plantation mean and give their historical context: A. ANSWER: Bradford is attacking the Church of England’s “petences” and “tyranous power to persecute.” B. ANSWER:  This passage illustrates in broad relief the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, Massachusetts, and how completely they conceptualized it as an act of God. C. ANSWER: This is the story of the first Thanksgiving.

Short Answer (55 points) Answer these questions in 75 words or less. A. ANSWER: Answers will vary. Bradford was a very godly man who walked his talk! (10 points) B. ANSWER: The Puritans were the intellectual and spiritual epicenter of the American civilization for 150 years. (15 points) C. ANSWER: The trip over on the Mayflower certainly piqued the reader’s interest (rising action). The climax would be the first winter when over half died. The falling action would be Thanksgiving. Of course answers will vary. (10 points) D. ANSWER: It is insightful that nature is not the enemy (naturalism) nor are the Native Americans. The enemy is the devil. In that sense, he is the antagonist. However, this is nonfiction piece as contrasted with a fictional novel. (10 points) E. ANSWER:  The Bible was the inerrant, inspired Word of God. It was the basis for everything that the Puritans did. It was the guidebook for life itself. (10 points)

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Chapter 2 The New Land to 1750:

Puritanism & Native American Voices First Thoughts Puritanism was a religious reform movement in the late 16th and 17th centuries that sought to “purify” the Church of England of remnants of the Roman Catholicism that the Puritans claimed had been retained in the Church of England. A radical form of Puritanism was Separatism, embraced by the Pilgrims. Puritans became noted in the 17th century for a spirit of moral and religious earnestness that affected their whole way of life, and they sought to make their lifestyle the pattern for the whole new world. Their culture, art and literature, then, reflect this earnestness and the reader will experience anew the vitality and pathos of a people mostly misunderstood. They were, in short, the very antithesis of the modern penchant toward facileness and duplicity. They were on, as historian Perry Miller explains, “an errand in the wilderness.” (Perry Miller, Errand in the Wilderness, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1956.). But this was not a vacant wilderness. It was full of rich people groups and civilizations. We will examine both streams in this chapter on Puritan and Native American literature.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Understand what William Bradford’s view of nature was. 2. Compare and contrast Edward Taylor’s poetry with British metaphysical poetry. 3. Define and discover allusions in William Bradford’s . 4. Compare and contrast Native American views of mankind with biblical views. 5. Analyze J.I. Packer’s views of Puritanism. 6. Speculate upon ways that Europeans and Native Americans could have coexisted better.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: No readings are necessary for chapter 2. Students should review Jonathan Edwards, A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections (Philadelphia, PA: Printed for Mathew Carey, 1794) for chapter 3.

History connections: American History chapter 2, “Slavery and Religious Freedom.”

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LESSON 1

Background Assignments •

Warm-up: When you hear the word “Puritan” what do you think?

•

Student should complete Concept Builder 2-A.

•

Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

 eachers shall assign the required essays. They may choose two or three essays. The rest of T the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 2.

CONCEPT BUILDER 2-A

Read the excerpt of History of Plimoth Plantation by William Bradford, then answer the following questions.

1

 hat is the narrative technique? What are advantages and disadvantages of using this W narrative technique? T he narration is first person, although Bradford often refers to himself, and his community, in third person. This allows Bradford to share his insightful impressions of the New World without the screen of another interpreter.

2

Who is the speaker and what can you surmise about his character? William Bradford is a Puritan Separatist (i.e., Pilgrim) leader of a group of English settlers on the coast of North America, near present day Cape Cod. Clearly Bradford is a very pious, religious man who defines his life through metaphorical references to the Bible.

3

Predict what will happen when the Pilgrims land on Cape Cod. It would not be outside the realm of possibility that these Pilgrims will all die at the hands of hostile Native Americans and/or inclement weather. In point of fact, many of them did die during the first winter in New England, 1620–1621!

4

What is the setting and is the setting important? Bradford refers to his setting as the “wilderness,” which indeed it is. Bradford’s entire world extended only a few miles inland from the Atlantic seaboard.

5

How does Bradford present the Native Americans? L ike most Europeans, Bradford sees the Native Americans as hostile groups who should be avoided if possible and killed if necessary. There is no hint, yet, that Bradford wants to convert them.

6

How reliable or credible is this narrator? Defend your answer. B  radford is, without a doubt, a credible narrator. While he clearly is a committed Christian, he does not hide this fact, and makes every effort to record, faithfully, his impressions of Plimouth Plantation.

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LESSON 2

The History of Plimoth Plantation William Bradford Assignments •

Warm-up: Pretend that you are part of an expedition to Mars. What similarities do you find to Bradford’s diary?

•

Student should complete Concept Builder 2-B.

•

Student should review reading(s) from next chapter.

•

Student should outline essays due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as the formal essay.

Allusions

CONCEPT BUILDER 2-B

An allusion is a brief, often indirect reference to a person, place, event, or artistic work which the author assumes the reader will recognize. Find two allusions in Of Plimoth Plantation and give its description. It is recorded in Scripture as a mercy to the Apostle and his shipwrecked company, that the barbarians showed them no small kindness in refreshing them, but these savage barbarians, when they met with them (as after will appear) were readier to fill their sides full of arrows than otherwise. This is a comparison of the Pilgrim landing at Cape Cod and first encounter with Native Amerians to Paul’s shipwreck on Malta.

In Book I, iv, Bradford mentions the “hardness of the place and contry,” the “great labour and hard fare,” and the “bondage” which they endured. He compares their leaving their loved ones in England and Holland, saying, “Yet they left them as it were weeping.” This is a paraphrase of Ruth 1: 14 where Orpah left her mother-in-law Naomi.

In this case, these poor people may say “When the Lord brougt againe the captivite of Zion, we were like them that dreame. Psa: 126. 1, 5-6. The Lord hath done greate things for us, wherof we rejoyce. v. 3. They that sow in teares, shall reap in joye. They wente weeping, and carried precious seed, but they shall return with joy, and bring their sheaves. Bradford is referring to the Jewish return from captivity in Babylon to the Promised Land.

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LESSON 3

In Love with God Assignments •

Warm-up: Write a letter to God.

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Student should complete Concept Builder 2-C.

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Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough draft.

Making Generalizations

CONCEPT BUILDER 2-C

Generalizations are broad statements about a subject that are inferred from a number of facts and observations. For example “Snowfall will generate many auto accidents” is a generalization that will have to be supported by facts and observations. Give two other facts/observations that lead you to these generalizations.

Of Plimoth Plantation Fact/ Observation

The weather is harsh and bitter.

Fact/ Observation

Food is difficult to obtain.

Fact/ Observation

Already weary Pilgrims are catching colds and worse diseases.

Generalization: The Pilgrims are facing a terrible winter in the new land.

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LESSON 4

Native American Voices

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Warm-up: Compare the above creation legend with Genesis 1–2.

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Student should complete Concept Builder 2-D.

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Student will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Rhyme Scheme

CONCEPT BUILDER 2-D

Assignments

Circle the words that jump out at you. Give the rhyme scheme (this is a repeated sound at the end of each verse) for the first four lines of the second poem. What sounds are repeated?

Rhyme scheme: a, b, a, c Starting with his left fore-foot, Stamping, turns the frightened deer = personification metaphor.

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LESSON 5

The First Constitution in North America Assignments Warm-up: Compare the Iroquois Constitution with the U.S. Constitution.

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Student should complete Concept Builder 2-E.

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Essay is due. Students should take the chapter 2 test.

Native American Views

CONCEPT BUILDER 2-E

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Based on the assigned readings, rate how Native Americans would feel about a statement and then rate how you would feel: 1 is not true at all; 5 is true all the time.

Answers will vary.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. The Puritans based their society on Old Testament law. For instance, the Connecticut Code, 1650, stated: “If any man have a stubborn and rebellious son of sufficient years and understanding . . . which will not obey the voice of his father of mother . . . but lives in sundry notorious crimes, such a son shall be put to death.” Should Old Testament law have literal application to today’s society? SUMMARY: The Word of God has immutable, universal application; however, certain laws (e.g., stoning children for disobeying their parents) should no doubt be mitigated by grace. The law was fulfilled by Christ in the New Testament. This does not, however, forgive blatant disregard for laws. People must not sin so that grace will abound (Romans 4 and 6) B. Most Americans obtain their worldview from the television. What ideas and thoughts are represented that express the worldviews held by most media outlets? SUMMARY: Answers will vary. C. Watch the Star Wars trilogy and write out its worldview. SUMMARY: Answers will vary.

CHAPTER 2 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Overview Chart (80 Points) Write responses to these statements according to each worldview below. World View Jesus Christ is Lord.

Christian Theism Yes, He is

Romanticism/ Transcendentalism

Naturalism/ Realism

Absurdism/ Existentialism

Yes, and so are Buddha and the others.

He is not.

That statement has no meaning.

No, that is religion. Science tells us that the world was created in a big bang.

Who cares?

Absolutely! Let it all hang out!

Yes and if it feels bad, do it too — who really cares what you do anyway? Leave me alone!

The world was created by God in six literal 24-hour days.

Absolutely!

I guess so — and didn’t He do a great job. Nature is so beautiful!

If it feels good, do it.

Whether it feels good or not, the wages of sin is death. Obedience to God and His Word is life.

Yes, and the more natural the feeling, the more spontaneous the response, the better.

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World View

Christian Theism

People would just be better off if society left them alone.

People will never be better off until they are in right relationship with God.

Everyone will be saved as long as they are good people.

No, they will be saved only if they commit their lives to Jesus Christ.

I am not going to worry about the future; when my time is up, it is up.

Romanticism/ Transcendentalism

Naturalism/ Realism

Absurdism/ Existentialism

Surely that is true.

Yes, they may be better off for a while but sooner or later some rock will fall on their head or something bad will happen.

They will be better off if they stop pretending there is any reason to live.

Salvation occurs when people are in complete concert with nature.

There is no salvation; we all are doomed.

There is no future but nothingness.

If I don’t worry about the future it is because my future is in the hands of the Lord.

Death is only a natural extension of life.

You got it right! There is nothing we can do about the future except duck when it comes our way!

Our future is not even planned yet. It merely happens in a disorganized fashion.

An animal is merely a person in animal garb.

No, mankind is created in the image of God. Nothing else is.

No, that is not true. Although, I wish mankind acted more like animals — innocent and free.

Yes, makes sense to me.

Who really cares?

All I want to do is help people.

Nice idea; through God’s love a person can help another person.

Nice idea.

Why?

What will you get out of it?

God has a plan for us.

Absolutely and everything works for good for those called by His name to His purposes.

Absolutely. He wants you to return to nature.

Absolutely. He means for you to be miserable.

If there was a God, and there really isn’t, what makes you think He cares one iota about you?

Discussion Question (20 Points) Imagine that you have finished playing in a soccer game. You are walking across the field. Create conversations among players, parents, and spectators that exhibit at least four different worldviews. Answer:

“Good game!” I say to an opposing team member.



“Who really cares.” He answers (absurdism)



“God does — and He loves you!” I answer (Christian theism)



“If there is a God, He must hate me,” a bystander replies (naturalism)

“How can He hate you? Just feel this grass, look at that sun!” another bystander retorts (romanticism)

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Chapter 3 The New Land to 1750:

Puritanism First Thoughts When I was 12 years old I received a diary for Christmas and for the next two years I recorded my most private thoughts. I already suspected that I was a “nerd” and had slim or no hope of having beautiful Jamie Frasier as my girlfriend. At the age of 12 I was sure that I would die of unrequited love! It seemed that almost every day I was hunting squirrels at Four Mile Creek or catching black bass at Possum Fork. It is amusing to me today to think about what I thought was important 47 years ago and what I think is important today. We will glimpse into the mind of the great evangelist Jonathan Edwards and his daughter, Esther. We will also explore the private thoughts of Anne Bradstreet, homeschool mom extraordinaire who was arguably the greatest poet of the 17th century.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Compare and contrast the image we see of Jonathan Edwards through his sermon and the way Esther his daughter saw him. 2. Describe Edwards’ religious affections and explain how they are evidences of true religion. Describe your dad (or another parent or guardian) the same way Esther describes her dad. 3. Find scriptural evidence that commands you to forgive those who have wronged you. 4. Compare Eleanor Rigby with the woman caught in adultery (John 8:2–11). 5. Summarize what Edwards says about the youth of his town in this passage from “A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God.” 6. Research recent church history and speculate upon the form and nature of future revivalism. Write a worldview for yourself.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin.

History connections: American History chapter 3, “Pilgrims and Puritans.”

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LESSON 1

A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections

Jonathan Edwards

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 3-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: John Winthrop, first governor of the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony, in his book A Modell of Christian Charity (1630) wrote: The Lord will make our name a praise and glory, so that men shall say of succeeding plantations: The Lord make it like that of New England. For we must consider that we shall be like a City upon a Hill; the eyes of all people are on us. What does Winthrop mean “a City upon a Hill?” Does this statement seem a little presumptuous on his part?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 3-A.

•

Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 3.

1 Peter 1:8

1. What does Edwards mean when he says “religious affections?” Christian ethics, or behavior, in response to Scripture. 2. How do trials benefit true religion? Trials purify and increase true religion. 3. Do you know someone who is like Jonathan Edwards? The author knows a few — Edwards was both a dedicated saint and an inspired scholar and educator.

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LESSON 2

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God Assignments •

Warm-up: Puritans effectively combined sound scholarship and profound spirituality. They led American society in education and science for a century. They founded most of the universities in New England. Some modern evangelical scholars lament that this combination has been lost. Professor Mark Noll, former professor at Wheaton College, now a professor at Harvard University, argues that “the scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind.” Noll is speaking of a comprehensive ability to think theologically across a broad spectrum of life (e.g., politics, arts, culture, and economics). Evangelicals, he argues, have a propensity for shallow analysis of complex cultural issues (Mark A. Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994). This is a view held by other scholars as well. David F. Wells says, “Surely the God who is rendered ‘weightless’ by modern culture (especially evangelical Christians) is quite different from the living God” (David F. Wells, God in the Wasteland: The Reality of Truth in a World of Fading Dreams, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994). Do you agree with Noll and Wells? Is there hope that born-again Christians again will regain the high ground in culture and thought?

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Student should complete Concept Builder 3-B.

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Student should review reading(s) from next chapter.

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Student should outline essays due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

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Though father is usually taciturn or preoccupied, my mother will call these large words, even when he takes one of us children with him, today he discoursed to me of the awful sweetness of walking with God in Nature. He seems to feel God in the woods, the sky, and the grand sweep of the river which winds so majestically through the woody silences here. Written in Northhampton, MA, 1741 (www.archive.org/stream/estherburrsjourn00rankiala/ estherburrsjourn00rankiala_djvu.txt). What can you infer from this passage about Jonathan Edwards?

Usually taciturn or preoccupied — a thoughtful man

A Diary

CONCEPT BUILDER 3-B

Read the following diary entry from Jonathan Edward’s daughter Esther.

He had a profound walk with God.

Johnathan Edwards

When he takes one of us children with him — he spends time with his children.

He loved to walk in nature.

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LESSON 3

Upon the Burning of Our House

Anne Bradstreet

My Diary

CONCEPT BUILDER 3-C

Assignments •

Warm-up: Compare “Eleanor Rigby” by Paul McCartney and John Lennon with Anne Bradstreet’s “Upon the Burning of Our House.” Identify differences in theme, tone, plot, and use of figurative language.

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Student should complete Concept Builder 3-C.

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Student should write rough draft of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough draft.

Keep a diary of what happens to you today. My devotional passage: Answers will vary. My favorite activity today: Answers will vary. What God taught me today: Answers will vary. What is a mistake I made today: Answers will vary. What is the best thing that happened today: Answers will vary. What goals do I have for tomorrow: Answers will vary.

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LESSON 4

No Book to Ban Assignments •

Warm-up: Modern Americans accuse the Puritans of being colorless and legalistic. Typically, to be “Puritan” means “to hide one’s feelings.” Yet, to read Anne Bradstreet, one is struck by the power of Puritan emotion! She never hesitated to share her heart with her reader. To My Dear And Loving Husband If ever two were one, then surely we. If ever man were lov’d by wife, then thee. If ever wife was happy in a man, Compare with me, ye women, if you can. I prize thy love more than whole Mines of gold Or all the riches that the East doth hold. My love is such that Rivers cannot quench, Nor ought but love from thee give recompense. Thy love is such I can no way repay. The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray. Then while we live, in love let’s so persevere That when we live no more, we may live ever.

A Diary

CONCEPT BUILDER 3-D

Do you think the Puritans were stiff, tyrannical, unfeeling people? •

Student should complete Concept Builder 3-D

•

Student will re-write corrected copies of essays due tomorrow.

Get involved with the poem. Mark it up!

Students should mark up Bradstreet’s poem using the criteria in the question. Answers will vary.

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LESSON 5

“A Good School”

Cotton Mather

Writing Poetry

CONCEPT BUILDER 3-E

Assignments •

Warm-up: Do you agree or disagree with Puritan Cotton Mather’s rendition of what a good school is?

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Student should complete Concept Builder 3-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 3 test.

Write a prose (writing in its normal continuous form, without the rhythmic or visual line structure of poetry) description of a sunset.  Like a recalcitrant Sumo Wrestler, the sun wrestled with the twilight, but clearly the darkness would win. Down, down, down, went the sun. Inexorably, unstoppable, the sun would have to dip below the horizon. Write a poetry description of a sunset. The Rosy Azure of the twilight kissed the welcome horizon As I held my wife’s hand. Another day has ended. Bless this sunset Oh God and those who see it.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Read the following passage from Esther Edwards’ diary entitled “The Awful Sweetness of Walking With God.” Though father is usually taciturn or preoccupied — my mother will call these large words — even when he takes one of us children with him, today he discoursed to me of the awful sweetness of walking with God in Nature. He seems to feel God in the woods, the sky, and the grand sweep of the river which winds so majestically through the woody silences here. (Written in Northhampton, MA, 1741.) Compare and contrast the image we see of Jonathan Edwards through his sermon and the way his daughter Esther saw him. SUMMARY: Jonathan Edwards was a man of prayer and a very stern preacher. Ironically, he did not like people much — he much preferred to study the Word alone in his library. In fact, to many, he appeared cold. But to his family he was a warm, compassionate, vulnerable man — in an 18th century sort of way. He managed to be a great scholar, accomplished preacher, and devoted father and husband. Perhaps that is why he was so effective for God’s kingdom. Unfortunately, those attributes were not valued by his congregation — who wished for Edwards to do more visitation — and Edwards was dismissed from his position. B. Describe Edwards’ religious affections and explain how they are evidences of true religion. SUMMARY: There are two kinds of true religion (p. 16): love for Christ and joy in Christ. Both grow out of suffering. Holy affections are evidence of a deeper piety and, to Edwards, personal piety is never so personal that it is not open to scrutiny by larger society. Edwards would be horrified with modern notions (i.e., existentialism) that emphasizes privatism and the notion that “it is acceptable to do whatever pleases a person as long as it does not harm others.” C. Describe your dad (or another parent or guardian) the same way Esther describes her dad. In what ways has the Lord used your father (or another adult) in your life? Compare your dad with King David, Joseph, or another dad in the Bible. SUMMARY: Answers will vary.

CHAPTER 3 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Discussion Questions A. Define “religious affection” and discuss the religious affection Edwards highlights in this passage from A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections (25 points): ANSWER: The religious affection Edwards described is humility. “True religion” is to be like Christ — to be humble like Christ. To Edwards, the distinction between the natural mind and the evangelical or redeemed mind is great. He was not ready, however, to denigrate the natural mind.

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B. Outline a sermon that Edwards might preach. Include his favorite text, a title, and three points he would make (25 points). ANSWER: Romans 8

I. More than conquerors



II. We are predestined



III. But we need to respond in faith to God’s grace.

C. ANSWER:

Analyze this poem



What is its rhyme scheme in lines 1–20? (10 points)



See below. It is aa, bb, cc, dd, and so on.



Identify four examples of figurative language. (10 points)



See below.



To what animal(s) does she compare her children? (10 points)

Birds.

Explain what lines 75–77 mean (10 points)



75 And from the top bough take my flight



76 Into a country beyond sight



77 Where old ones instantly grow young

Answer: Someday the mother will be going to heaven.

What did Anne try to do for her children? (lines 88–90) (10 points)



88 She shew’d you joy and misery,



89 Taught what was good, and what was ill,



90 What would save life, and what would kill.

Answer: To prepare them for all of life — good and bad.

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Chapter 4 1750–1800 (Part 1):

The Revolutionary Period First Thoughts Benjamin

Franklin is one of the enigmatic figures in American colonial history. He lived through two kings and saw two American governments formed. He lived through one world war and one revolution. He helped write the U.S. Constitution. He was a statesman, but was he a Christian believer? His personal behavior would suggest otherwise but what does his Autobiography say?

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Evaluate Ben Franklin’s faith journey. 2. Discuss if the autobiography was a “rags to riches” story or was it a self-serving, egotistical story of a man’s self-absorption.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: poems by Phillis Wheatley; Speech in the Virginia Convention, Patrick Henry; The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson; Letter to Her Daughter from the New White House, Abigail Adams.

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History connections: American History chapter 4, “Colonial Life.”

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LESSON 1

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 4-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: Did Benjamin Franklin create his era or did his era create Benjamin Franklin?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 4-A.

•

Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 4.

1. Did Franklin write this autobiography only for his son? How do you know?  He discusses situations and offers wisdom that would have universal appeal. 2. What does Franklin say about growing old?  Hereby, too, I shall indulge the inclination so natural in old men, to be talking of themselves and their own past actions; and I shall indulge it without being tiresome to others, who, through respect to age, might conceive themselves obliged to give me a hearing, since this may be read or not as any one pleases. 3. If this was the only reference you possessed about Franklin’s faith, would you say that he was a believer?  Probably not. I would think he is religious, but I see no evidence that he is born again.

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LESSON 2

The Pennsylvania Gazette

Benjamin Franklin Assignments •

Warm-up: Write an editorial to your local newspaper explaining how you feel about an issue.

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Student should complete Concept Builder 4-B.

•

Student should review reading(s) from next chapter.

•

Student should outline essays due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as the formal essay.

Style

CONCEPT BUILDER 4-B

Benjamin Franklin writes his autobiography in a colloquial style that is quite unusual for his time. Style includes sentence structure, diction, and tone. Describe each element in the autobiography.

Sentence Structure: Simple sentences Diction:

Tone: Humorous at times; paternalistic

Colloquial

STYLE

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LESSON 3

Political Cartoons

My Autobiography

CONCEPT BUILDER 4-C

Assignments •

Warm-up: What message is Franklin conveying in this political cartoon?

•

Student should complete Concept Builder 4-C.

•

Student should write rough drafts of all assigned essays.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

If you were writing your autobiography, who would be the five most influential people in your life? Why? My Autobiography Person(s)

Why

Answers will vary.

Answers will vary.

Answers will vary.

Answers will vary.

Answers will vary.

Answers will vary.

Answers will vary.

Answers will vary.

Answers will vary.

Answers will vary.

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LESSON 4

Collected Edition of Experiments and Observations on Electricity Made at Philadelphia in America Assignments •

Warm-up: Describe in detail how your parent/guardian cooks spaghetti.

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Student should complete Concept Builder 4-D.

•

Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Franklin’s Genealogy

CONCEPT BUILDER 4-D

Based on the text, trace part of Benjamin Franklin’s family tree.

Thomas Franklin

Thomas

Benjamin

John

Josiah

Benjamin Franklin

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LESSON 5

Poor Richard’s Almanac

Assignments •

Warm-up: In a short essay give five wise things that life has taught you.

•

Student should complete Concept Builder 4-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 4 test.

Draw your genealogy — you may need to remove some of the boxes or add others.

My Genealogy

CONCEPT BUILDER 4-E

My grandfather Robert Stobaugh

My mother and father Billy and Marjorie Stobaugh

My sibling Billy Jr.

My name James

My sibling John Hugh

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. What is the writing style that Franklin employs? SUMMARY: Franklin wrote in a simple style for his age, even though what he said was profound. He used subtle humor to give the reader insights into himself and 18th-century contemporaries. B. Based on his writings, describe Franklin’s faith journey. SUMMARY: While Franklin was not an active church member, nor did he ever indicate that he was a Christian believer, he nonetheless exhibited strong moral fiber. By his own admission he was a deist (someone who does not believe that God is active in human affairs). Of course, this book only discusses Franklin’s life until 1752. There is evidence that he became far more religious later. C. Was the autobiography a “rags to riches” story or was it a self-serving, egotistical story of a man’s self-absorption? SUMMARY: Answers will vary, but this reader feels that it is unfair to suggest that Franklin had any hidden agenda. He was an intensely secure, confident man, but it is probably not fair to say that he was egotistical.

CHAPTER 4 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Objective Test (50 Points — 10 points each) 1. ___B___, 2. ___C___, 3. ___A___, 4. ___B___, 5. ___B___

Essay (50 Points) In what ways does Franklin change over his life? ANSWER: Franklin grows more pensive and religious as the book progresses. Answers will vary as to this growth.

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Chapter 5 1750–1800 (Part 2):

The Revolutionary Period First Thoughts In 1994 my neighbor, Joe Black, held a family-centered rally to celebrate Christian values and American patriotism. This rally included family friendly picnics, craft exhibits, and patriotic lectures. To top the evening off, there was a bonfire — a cross burning. Joe Black was the Grand Wizard of the Somerset County, Pennsylvania, Ku Klux Klan. An ad posted on a local restaurant, Jim and Jimmies, stated, “(The Ku Klux Klan is here) . . . to protect the weak, the innocent, and the defenseless from the indignities . . . of the lawless; to relieve the injured and oppressed; to succor the suffering and unfortunate, and especially the widows and orphans of Confederate soldiers. Second, to protect and to defend the Constitution of the United States. . . . Third, to aid and assist in the execution of all constitutional laws. . . . We . . . reverentially acknowledge the supremacy of the Diving Being . . . we are dedicated to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.” How did we get to this point? How could such a misguided group of people possibly think that they are representing the Christian vision and the American ethos? How could we digress so far from the godly vision of the Puritans and founding fathers? For the next year, in this course, we will examine the answer to that question.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Write a descriptive essay about colonial women. 2. Evaluate when rebellion is appropriate.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: Students should read 18th- and 19th-century poetry and the 19th-century short story “The Devil and Tom Walker,” by Washington Irving. History connections: American History chapter 5, “Causes of the American Revolution.”

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LESSON 1

Phillis Wheatley Part One

Paraphrase

CONCEPT BUILDER 5-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: How do differences tend to divide people rather than unite them? How might this be changed in order to show God’s grace to everyone?

•

Student should complete Concept Builder 5-A.

•

Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 5.

A paraphrase is a prose rewriting of a poem in your own words. Paraphrase the following poem by Phillis Wheatley.

On Being Brought from Africa to America

God Himself, through His mercy, has brought me to this New Land. In this New Land, I made a commitment to Jesus Christ. However, after redemption, I discovered that many think ill of my race. But remember, Christians, African-Americans, too, might be saved!

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LESSON 2

Phillis Wheatley Part Two

CONCEPT BUILDER 5-B

Analyzing Emotional Appeal

Assignments •

Warm-up: Some critics — especially of African–American descent — have been critical of Phillis Wheatley. While they respect her achievements and writing ability, they wish that she had used her talents to lead a slave revolt or to perform a Harriet Tubman-like role, at least not to extol the whites. She seemed too willing to accept her station in life. Do you agree?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 5-B.

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Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Student should outline essay due at the end of the week

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays. Students will review all readings for chapter 5.

Word

Dissolve

Denotation

Connotation

To cause to disappear

To completely remove with malice

Destructive

To destroy completely

The idea is that Britain has removed all the rights of Americans. That was not the case.

Dissolve

Total authority held by a leader

The British monarch nor parliament ever had total control over any Englishmen.

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LESSON 3

Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death Assignments •

Warm-up: What rhetorical devices does Henry employ to persuade his audience?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 5-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays. Students will review all readings for chapter 5.

CONCEPT BUILDER 5-C

Identifying Persuasive Techniques

Speech makers can resort to several techniques in order to persuade a reader to accept his position. Identify several of the following in Patrick Henry’s speech, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death.” Persuasive Technique

Textual Example

Either-or Fallacy Henry suggests an either-or situation when the whole situation is more complicated.

They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing.

Overgeneralization and Stereotype Henry evokes stereotypes, or preconceived impressions about people, places, or things.

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

Loaded Words Henry uses words loaded with emotional connotations.

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land.

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LESSON 4

The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies Assignments •

Warm-up: Did the Americans exaggerate a tad bit in this “declaration of independence”?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 5-D.

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Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 5-D

Read the “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech in the text by Patrick Henry then answer the following questions.

1

Why did the British government send their navy to the American colonies? To punish Boston for destroying British products in Boston Harbor.

2

Why does Henry use rhetorical questions (questions with no expectation of a response, whose answers are often obvious?) Rhetorical questions are very effective ways to draw the reader into the discussion as well as move the argument along.

3

Based on this speech, what sort of man would you say Patrick Henry is? Would you like to be debating an opposite position? A forthright, opinionated, very capable orator who no doubt has a temper.

4

Would you like to be debating an opposite position? No, Patrick Henry was a very capable orator.

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LESSON 5

Letter to Her Daughter

Abigail Adams

CONCEPT BUILDER 5-E

Assignments •

Warm-up: Describe a friend or acquaintance who is free–spirited and describes how he/she feels without any apologies.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 5-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 5 test.

Read Abigail Adams’ Letter To Her Daughter in the textbook, answer the following questions.

1

 ow would you describe Abigail Adam’s feelings toward her new house (the White H House) in Washington DC?  She is glad to be in Washington DC, but at the same time she misses the refinements of New England, and, in particular, is having difficulty obtaining firewood.

2

What tongue-in-check comment is Abigail Adams saying about Congress?  Congress poured in, but shiver, shiver. No wood-cutters nor carters to be had at any rate.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. To a Christian, revolution is a very knotty issue. At what point, if ever, should a Christian rebel against authority? Does Thomas Jefferson offer sufficient arguments to justify a revolution? SUMMARY: Certainly in the context of that time period, rebellion seemed logical. I wonder, however, if the American Revolution was entirely necessary. In light of other examples of British colonial rule — e.g., Canada and Australia — the issue probably could have been resolved peacefully. B. Men and women — like Phillis Wheatley, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and Abigail Adams — were critical to this Revolutionary period. But does history make people, or do people make history? In other words, were these famous Americans the product of their age, or did they actually create the events that unfolded in their age? SUMMARY: Answers will vary. C. Students should watch several movies about the Puritan and Jamestown settlements and compare them to the actual historical occurrences. SUMMARY: Answers will vary.

CHAPTER 5 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Short Answers (30 Points — 10 points each) Answer in two or three sentences: A. Did the Church support chattel slavery? Why? ANSWER: Unfortunately, yes. Only the Mennonites and Quakers systematically opposed slavery. Many felt it was defensible by Scripture. B. Did slaves resist their masters? Why or why not? How did they resist? ANSWER: Yes, they resisted in every way that they could: work slowdowns and by sabotaging the crops. Most of all, they resisted by forming their own culture. C. Why did Phillis Wheatley so willingly accept her servitude? ANSWER: She saw it as being God’s will for her life. That does not necessarily mean that she enjoyed being a slave.

Critical Thinking (70 Points) Summarize Wheatley’s advice to Harvard College students. ANSWER:  Wheatley advised college students to humble themselves before God and to learn knowledge to advance His kingdom. All other knowledge is useless. Students, to you ‘tis giv’n to scan the heights / Above, to traverse the ethereal space, / And mark the systems of revolving worlds. / Still more, ye sons of science ye receive / The blissful news by messengers from heav’n, / How Jesus’ blood for your redemption flows. / See him with hands out-stretcht upon the cross; / Immense compassion in his bosom glows; / He hears revilers, nor resents their scorn: / What matchless mercy in the Son of God!

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Chapter 6 1800–1840: National Period (Part 1):

A Growing Nation First Thoughts The first 50 years of our nation’s social history were some of the most volatile in our entire history. Transportation, industry, education, social reform — all took leaps forward. As radical as these changes were, the changes in worldview were doubly radical. In one generation, America moved from orthodox Christian theism to pagan romanticism/transcendentalism. But our worldview journey was just beginning!

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Offer several examples of figurative language and discuss how Bryant uses them to advance the purposes of his poem. 2. Offer evidence of irony in the conclusion of “The Devil and Tom Walker.” 3. Define hyperbole and discuss its use in “The Devil and Tom Walker.” 4. Examine themes in “The Devil and Tom Walker.” 5. Create a modern version of “The Devil and Tom Walker.” Your short story should be about five to ten pages.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Students should review the poem “The Raven” and the short stories “Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Tell Tale Heart” both by Edgar Allan Poe.

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History connections: American History chapter 6, “Patriots and Revolution.”

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LESSON 1

Real Change

Writing Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 6-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: In your lifetime, describe an election where the people elected someone much different from the incumbent.

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Student should complete Concept Builder 6-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 6.

Read excerpt from The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving

1

Why does Irving begin his short story by discussing the setting rather than introducing any characters?  The initial setting — a dreary, foreboding forest — is critical to character, plot, and tone develop in this short story.

2

Both Tom Walker and his wife are “type characters” or archetypes. What sort of archetypes are they?  Tom Walker is a typical, selfish, conniving, greedy man. His wife is a typical shrewish, mean, dominating woman. Their archetype characters make them prime candidates for this moral tale.

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LESSON 2

William Cullen Bryant Assignments •

Warm-up: Bryant was worried that some of his Christian readers would be offended by “Thanatopsis.” Did he have reason to worry?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 6-B.

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Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Imagery

CONCEPT BUILDER 6-B

Imagery is a literary technique where an author creates sensory impressions that advance the theme, plot, or tone of the literary work. In this story, for instance, Irving is creating a foreboding mood of decay and evil. How does he do that? Find examples of imagery that create this tone.

It was full of pits and quagmires, partly covered with weeds and mosses; where the green surface often betrayed the traveler into a gulf of black smothering mud.

The swamp was thickly grown with great gloomy pines and hemlocks, some of them ninety feet high; which made it dark at noonday, and a retreat for all the owls of the neighborhood.

There were also dark and stagnant pools, the abodes of the tadpole, the bullfrog, and the water snake, and where trunks of pines and hemlocks lay half drowned, half rotting, looking like alligators, sleeping in the mire.

Decay & Evil

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LESSON 3

Washington Irving

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Warm-up: Some Christian critics are offended by Washington Irving. They claim he trivializes the supernatural. What do you think?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 6-C.

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Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts. A symbol is a literary technique where the author represents something with something entirely different. For instance, explain what the great tree scored (carved) with the name of Deacon Peabody “rotten at the core” means.

Symbolism

CONCEPT BUILDER 6-C

Assignments

The tree is fair and flourishing without, but rotten to the core.

=

It represents Deacon Peabody’s ultimate destiny — hell. It also shows that Peabody is a hypocrite — holy and moral on the outside but on the inside he is wicked.

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LESSON 4

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Assignments •

Warm-up: Compare “Sleepy Hollow” with “The Devil and Tom Walker.”

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Students should complete Concept Builder 6-D.

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Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Tone

CONCEPT BUILDER 6-D

Tone or mood is the attitude that the author is projecting into his short story. In fact, in this short story, it is both humorous and serious. How do these two passages capture both tones?

Humorous

Serious

One would think that to meet with such a singular personage in this wild lonely place, would have shaken any man’s nerves: but Tom was a hardminded fellow, not easily daunted, and he had lived so long with a termagant wife, that he did not even fear the devil.

Tom waited and waited for her, but in vain: midnight came, but she did not make her appearance; morning, noon, night returned, but still she did not come. Tom now grew uneasy for her safety; especially as he found she had carried off in her apron the silver teapot and spoons and every portable article of value.

The devil is nothing compared to Walker’s mean, shrewish wife!

This is serious/comic. He doesn’t care about his wife, but he does care about the gold and silver.

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LESSON 5

Moral Man and Immoral Society Assignments •

Warm up: Critic Harold Bloom in The Western Canon laments the propensity for other critics to discuss worldview in literary works. He argues that suggesting that literary works have a worldview cheapens their artistic value (Harold Bloom, The Western Canon, New York: Harcourt Brace, 1994). Is it possible to read literature as if it does not have a worldview?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 6-E.

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Essay is due. Students should take the chapter 6 test.

Limited Omniscient Narration

Narration

CONCEPT BUILDER 6-E

Washington mostly employs limited omniscient narration, where he tells the story from the perspective of Tom Walker. Why was this a great advantage for Washington as he told the story?

Washington effectively shows the bankrupt morality of Tom Walker. Narration is an effective way for the reader to experience, firsthand, the wickness of this despicable character!

Tom consoled himself for the loss of his property with the loss of his wife; for he was a man of fortitude. He even felt something like gratitude towards the black woodsman, who he considered had done him a kindness. He sought, therefore, to cultivate a farther acquaintance with him, but for some time without success. . . .

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Offer several examples of figurative language and discuss how Bryant uses them to advance the purposes of his poem. SUMMARY: This example of personification — “She has a voice of gladness, and a smile” — brings nature alive to the reader—an important goal for Bryant. The final simile “Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch / About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams” invites the reader to embrace death as if it were a long, restful nap. B. Find the sentence in the conclusion of the short story where Tom makes an ironic statement. In what way is it ironical? As Tom ages, he becomes “a violent churchgoer.” Is Tom’s conversion genuine? Offer evidence to support your answer. SUMMARY: “The devil take me if I have made a farthing.” That is, of course, exactly what happened. His conversion is probably not genuine as evidenced by his eventual departure to hell! C. Write an expository essay describing two or three biblical characters who compromised their faith for fame, fortune, or other reasons. SUMMARY: Possible choices include Samson, Saul, and Solomon.

CHAPTER 6 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Discussion Questions (100 Points — 20 points each) A. Discuss the way Americans view themselves in transcendentalism and contrast it to puritanism. Cite several poems to argue your case. ANSWERS: Transcendentalists are humanists — man centered. They worship intuition and subjectivity. They are in stark contrast to the Puritans who worship and glorify God. One could choose any poems by Emerson to compare with Bradstreet (or Taylor). B. Transcendentalism became, by and large, a northeastern phenomenon centered in the Boston area. It was very much an elitist movement. There were many critics of this movement. “I was given to understand that whatever was unintelligible would be certainly transcendental,” Charles Dickens wrote. Define transcendentalism and then evaluate its credibility as a worldview. ANSWER: Transcendentalists are very subjective and then somewhat vague in their pursuit of truth. This reader agrees with Dickens. The reader feels that it was an esoteric, illogical, movement with no substance in fact. C. In the 17th century, the best histories were written by Puritan ministers who saw history as the working out of God’s will. Based on the concept of the chosen people of God, America was presented as a Promised Land for God’s faithful people. Later, historians ridiculed this view of history. However, in a real sense, at least in Puritan New England, this was a fairly accurate appraisal of the motivations of an entire generation of early settlers. Why was it so difficult for later historians to believe that people can be motivated strictly by their faith?

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ANSWER: In the modern era, it is virtually impossible for secular historians to believe that people would go any where, or do anything, because of something as abstract as faith. They looked for motivation in other more measurable directions: economic, political, and other reasons. D. By their own admission, New England Puritans saw themselves as being intolerant. They felt no obligation to accept in their midst worldviews that they perceived as heretical. Was this a correct way to establish an English colony? ANSWER: Answers will vary, but students should be careful not to put a 21st-century world view on 17th-century society. The whole notion of toleration has changed significantly since the Puritans settled New England. E. Have we evangelicals lost the fire and passion of our Puritan ancestors? ANSWER: Answers will be opinions. Students should carefully defend their arguments.

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Chapter 7 1800–1840: National Period (Part 2):

A Growing Nation First Thoughts Christian teacher

Thomas Merton, in an essay entitled “A Devout Meditation in Memory of Adolf Eichmann (a Nazi Leader Who Implemented the Holocaust),” challenges modern man to rethink sanity. “One of the most disturbing facts,” Merton begins, “that came out in the Eichmann trial was that a psychiatrist examined him and pronounced him perfectly sane.” The fact is, given our world, we can no longer assume that because a person is “sane” or “adjusted” he/she is okay. Merton reminds us that such people can be well adjusted even in hell itself! Merton says, “The whole concept of sanity in a society where spiritual values have lost their meaning is itself meaningless” (Thomas Merton, “A Devout Meditation in Memory of Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi Leader Who Implemented the Holocaust,” Raids On The Unspeakable, 1966 The Abbey of Gethsemani, Inc.). Poe is not insane. He is not writing horror stories. He is writing reality, but reality colored by romanticism, a new, very appealing, but very wrong worldview that emerges and then dominates American literature for the first half of the 19th century. Edgar Allan Poe was a romantic eccentric. He was a disturbed man, but his short stories were some of the best ever written. Poe wrote four types of short stories:

A. Strange: use of the supernatural; symbolic fantasies of the human condition (e. g., “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “Tell–Tale Heart”) B. Exaggerated: heightening of one aspect of a character (e.g., “The Man Who Was Used Up”) C. Detective fiction: (e. g., “The Purloined Letter”) D. Descriptive: (e.g., “The Landscape Garden”)

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Explore the way Poe uses figurative language. 2. Write a characterization of Roderick Usher. 3. Discuss how Poe uses the setting to create the tone and to develop the theme of “The Fall of the House of Usher.” 4. Find the narrator’s description of Roderick’s picture. Define foreshadowing and show how this scene foreshadows future events. 5. Compare the tone, structure, setting, and narration of “The Tell–Tale Heart” to “The Fall of the House of Usher.”

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: The Scarlet Letter and “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

57 History connections: American History chapter 7, “U.S. Constitution.”

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LESSON 1

Edgar Allan Poe •

Warm-up: Considering the dreary tone and non-Christian content of his writings, why should Christians read anything by Edgar Allan Poe?

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Student should complete Concept Builder 7-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 7. Clearly the setting is critical to any literary work. It sets the tone, develops the plot, and reinforces the theme. What elements would you include if creating a poem a story like Poe himself?

Setting

CONCEPT BUILDER 7-A

Assignments

Deteriotating Gothic mansion

Gloomy autumn

Sickly proprietor

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LESSON 2

THE RAVEN Edgar Allan Poe Assignments •

Warm-up: How would you describe the tone of “The Raven”?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 7-B.

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Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Student should outline essays due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 7-B

Read the first four stanzas of “The Raven” and answer the following questions:

1

Find two examples of alliteration (repetition of consonant sounds). What effect does this have on readers?  Weak and weary, Lost Lonore

2

What can you surmise about the speaker’s state of mind by the raven’s entrance into the room? He is depressed and thinking about death.

3

What effect does this have on readers?  Creates a tone of foreboding

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LESSON 3

An Essay, “Edgar Allan Poe” by James Russell Lowell

CONCEPT BUILDER 7-C

Assignments •

Warm-up: Compare “Sleepy Hollow” with “The Devil and Tom Walker.”

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Students should complete Concept Builder 7-C.

•

Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Respond to the essay about Edgar Allan Poe by James Russell Lowell. Discuss points of agreement and thoughts you disagree with.

agree

Answers will vary.

disagree

Answers will vary.

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LESSON 4

The Fall of the House of Usher Edgar Allan Poe Assignments •

Warm-up: Is this story a horror story or a romantic (as in “worldview”) story?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 7-D.

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Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 7-D

Read “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe in the text then answer the following questions.

1

The narrative technique is limited omniscient. Poe chooses to tell the story from a neutral observer — someone not involved in the story. Why is this a good idea? A neutral observer adds some credibility to what is obviously an incredible story.

2

Even from the first few words of this short story, what would you say the tone is?  Obviously dreary, foreboding, evil

3

What will happen at the end of this short story? Why do you feel that way?  Certainly this reader would not anticipate a happy ending!

4

Foreshadowing is a warning of something to follow. What does the phrase “barely perceptible fissure” foreshadow?  One can predict that the house of Usher and the Usher clan are decayed and ready to collapse.

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LESSON 5

The Tell Tale Heart Edgar Allan Poe Assignments •

Warm-up: Can you believe the narrator of this short story? Why or why not?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 7-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 7 test.

How did Usher’s sister get out of her sealed coffin?

Inference

CONCEPT BUILDER 7-E

The reader must infer several things to draw several conclusions. What can you infer from these events? There are no wrong answers — just logically speculate on how these events could have occurred.

Perhaps it was not properly sealed. Or perhaps something supernatural was involved.

Why didn’t Usher release his sister from her coffin when he knew she was alive?

Perhaps he wanted her to die. Perhaps the thought was too terrible to bear.

Why did the house collapse when Usher was confronted by his sister?

Perhaps the house was ready to collapse anyway. Perhaps the evil was too much for any house to bear, and it collapsed.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Part of Poe’s genius is his ability to create mood by the use of connotative language (language that suggests more than the words explicitly express). Write an essay describing how this literary technique is employed by Poe in “The Raven” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” SUMMARY: There are innumerable examples. One is “dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year.” B. The problem of evil for Christians is a real one. Explore the biblical understanding of evil and create a theology. SUMMARY: Evil enters the world in the second chapter of Genesis. It stays around. In fact, by the time of Noah, God regrets creating the world altogether (Genesis 6, 8). Evil separates a person from God. As the author Scott Peck says, evil is l-i-v-e spelled backward. It takes life away from people. Evil was very much part of the New Testament. In fact, Jesus tells His followers to pray, “Deliver us from evil.” The problem is that romanticism rejects the notion of evil, or at least original sin. Evil is something external to man, not a fissured nature or endemic to the human condition. This is problematic, of course, to an orthodox Christian. C. Compare the tone, structure, setting, and narration of “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” SUMMARY: Both short stories are well written, with the narrator being critical to the story. However, the narrator in “The Tell-Tale Heart” is also the protagonist. He is not reliable. The narrator in “The Fall of the House of Usher” is reliable, but he is not the protagonist. Both short stories exhibit the same tone: melancholy. “The Tell-Tale Heart” is much shorter with fewer characters. The plots are similar: the climax occurs at the end of the short story (with relatively no prose devoted to falling action). This is a typical mystery-tale approach. The tone is melancholy in both.

CHAPTER 7 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Discussion Questions (100 Points) A. Poe believed in what he called “unity of effect.” “Unity of effect,” to Poe, meant that the short story could be read at a single sitting. To Poe, tone was everything. He would deliberately subordinate everything in the story to tone. As a result, the short story became “poetic.” Give examples of this effect in “Usher” and “Tell-Tale.” (20 Points) ANSWER: “Usher” has symmetry — the decaying owner lives in the decaying house. “During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher.” “The Tell-Tale Heart” also has a unity of effect: “Presently, I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror. It was not a groan of pain or of grief — oh, no! It was the low stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe. I knew the sound well.”

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B. Poe was accused of being a detective and horror story writer. However, in fact, he was a romantic writer. Explain and give examples of romanticism in these two short stories. (20 Points) ANSWER: 1. Appeals to imagination; use of the “willing suspension of disbelief.” 2. Stress on emotion and imagination rather than reason; optimism, geniality. 3. Subjectivity in form and meaning. 4. Prefers the remote setting in time and space. 5. Prefers the exotic and improbable plots. 6. Prefers aberrant characterization. 7. Form rises out of content, non-formal. 8. Prefers individualized, subjective writing. C. Poe was fond of creating paradoxes in his short stories. Explain and give examples from these two short stories. (20 Points) ANSWER: His life was basically insecure and highly emotional, but his writing is structured. Poe was a romantic writer, but he emphasized rationality. He presented realistic details in romantic/horror settings. D. Describe Roderick. Why does he both repel and attract the reader? (20 Points) ANSWER: Roderick is erudite (well-educated), but also very disturbed. His physical appearance, both fascinating and repulsive, declines as the story progresses. E. Compare and contrast “Usher” to “Tell-Tale Heart.” (10 Points) ANSWER: Both employ romantic writing principles. Both build suspense. Both protagonists seem to be insane. “Tell-Tale,” however, employs first-person narration. “Usher” also is first-person, but he functions as a neutral observer. F. Which passage is from Poe? How do you know? (10 Points) ANSWER: The first is from “Pit and Pendulum.” The second is Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Hounds of the Baskerville.” The language and images in Poe are significantly more developed than in “Hounds.” Poe, a vastly better writer than Doyle, uses well-developed characters to propel his plot forward and to influence the reader’s mood. Doyle uses coincidence to propel the plot and setting to influence the reader’s mood. Poe is a much more economical writer. Every word is important.

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Chapter 8 1840–1855 (Part 1):

Romanticism: New England Renaissance First Thoughts Romanticism is a literary and artistic movement that arose in the middle of the 19th century. Romanticism as a worldview was a reaction to the perceived rigidity of Puritanism on one hand, and to the chauvinistic elements of rationalism on the other. Romanticism, and the American version called transcendentalism, placed the individual center stage and celebrated human emotion, intuition, subjectivity, and freedom. Romanticism naturally, then, preferred an unsoiled nature to human civilization.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Analyze the basic differences between Aylmer’s worldview and transcendentalism. 2. Describe the moral qualities each character in The Scarlet Letter represent. 3. Discuss the dangers of being married to an unbelieving spouse. 4. Contrast the way Hester’s community handles her adultery and the way Jesus dealt with the adulterous woman who was brought to Him. 5. Compare and contrast Aylmer and Chillingworth (The Scarlet Letter). 6. Parallel Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter and Phoebe Pyncheon in House of the Seven Gables.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russell Lowell, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Emily Dickinson.

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History connections: American History chapter 8, “Nationalism.”

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LESSON 1

“The Birthmark”

Nathaniel Hawthorne Assignments •

Warm-up: Hawthorne flirted with transcendentalism / romanticism, but never left his theistic romanticism. Can you find examples of theistic romanticism in “The Birthmark”?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 8-A.

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Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Foils

CONCEPT BUILDER 8-A

Foils are characters whose primary, if not sole purpose, is to develop the protagonist (main character), in this case Hester Prynne. Discuss how each foil develops Hester Prynne.

Chillingsworth Hawthorne is contrasting the romantic; theistic Hester with the cold, calculating, unforgiving Chillingsworth.

Pearl Pearl shows that Hester is a sacrificial principled mother

Dimmesdale Hawthorne is contrasting the romantic Hester with the old, religious Dimmesdale.

Hester Prynne

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LESSON 2

Romanticism/Transcendentalism Assignments •

Warm-up: When you see the word “romanticism” what comes to mind?

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Student should complete Concept Builder 8-B.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 8.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 8-B

Read “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the text, then answer the following questions.

1

T he narrative technique is limited omniscient. What advantages does this offer the author?  We see the action unfolding through the eyes of Alymer and, as a result, we see the terrible consequences of his actions. The reader, because of the limited omniscient narration, is not inclined to feel any sympathy toward Alymer.

2

Contrast Georgiana and Alymer. Georgiana is a simple, loving woman, whose only desire is to please others. Alymer is a prideful scientist whose obsession with perfection and science will destroy everything dear to him.

3

How do you predict this story will end?  It does not appear to have a happy ending.

4

Why does the author capitalize Nature?  Nature, to Hawthorne, is inviolable and sacred. It is alive and, if not God, His most perfect manifestation.

5

Georgiana warns her husband that it may be a big mistake to remove her birthmark. Why?  “Perhaps its removal may cause cureless deformity. Or, it may be, the stain goes as deep as life itself. Again, do we know that there is a possibility, on any terms, of unclasping the firm gripe of this little Hand, which was laid upon me before I came into the world?”

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LESSON 3

The Scarlett Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne Assignments •

Warm-up: A recent television commercial argued, “Doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance?” Do you agree with this statement? Does this book offend your sense of justice?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 8-C.

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Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Student should outline essays due at the end of the week

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 8-C

Read The Scarlet Letter (chapter two) by Nathaniel Hawthorne then answer the following questions.

1

 ave you made a bad choice and been publicly punished? How did it feel? H  Answers will vary. As a pastor, I have been confronted for minor things that I have done wrongly (usually by my wife).

2

What contemporary actress would best fit the role of Hester Prynne?  This reader does not have a clue.

3

How do the people react to Hester Prynne? What does that tell you about what they think about her?  The men seem somewhat sympathetic; the women are very angry and judgmental.

4

Hawthorne employs an omniscient point of view. What is that and why does he use it?  The interior lives of all the characters are a major part of this novel. Therefore, Hawthorne has to go into the mind of each character fully to develop his plot.

5

Based upon the way that this community is handling Hester’s crime, how do you think they would react to a businessman who wanted to open a bar? They would oppose opening a bar.

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LESSON 4

What Critics Said about Hawthorne Assignments •

Warm-up: The Scarlet Letter was a critical success but not a best seller. In American society today, so structured around entertainment, one wonders if Hawthorne could find a publisher. In his book Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman argues that television is transforming our culture into one vast arena for show business. TV is the highest order of abstract thinking and consistently undermines critical thinking (Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death, p. 80, 41). The message has become the medium. What do you think?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 8-D.

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Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

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The teacher or a peer evaluator may correct rough drafts.

Romanticism

CONCEPT BUILDER 8-D

Find at least four of the writing styles found in The Scarlet Letter.

1

Hawthorne uses the imagination with symbolism (e.g., the rose) and on the scaffold in the evening that Dimmesdale secretly stands with Hester and Pearl.

2

I t is in the forest, the remote setting, that Dimmesdale and Hester have clear intentions, and make plans to escape.

3

The plot — a lady wearing a scarlet “A” is certainly improbable and unusual.

4

Hawthorne constantly explores the interior, subjective lives of his characters. There are a lot of examples of stream of consciousness (where a character thinks about a probable course of action).

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LESSON 5

Essay Assignments •

Warm-up: Share how a hard time in your life has made you a better person.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 8-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 8 test.

A. Contrast the way Hester’s community handles her adultery and the way Jesus dealt with the adulterous woman who was brought to Him (John 8).

Theme: Sin

CONCEPT BUILDER 8-E

B. Also, contrast the way Hester handled her sin and the way the adulterous woman handled her sin.

Hester Prynne

The Woman Caught in Adultery

A. H  ester’s community was

A. The  community of the

unable to forgive her. Nonetheless, Hester found forgiveness and wholeness through her contrite heart.

B. H  ester openly confessed and admitted her sin from the beginning.

woman caught in adultury let go of their hate because Jesus pointed out their sinfullness, and showed grace to her.

B. T he adulterous woman tried to hide her sin from Jesus.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A.  The Scarlet Letter was one of the last books in American literature that had a theistic moral vision. Although Hawthorne never hinted that Prynne’s punishment was unjust, he seemed far more disturbed by Dimmesdale’s deception and Chillingway’s evil ways. Using this book as a metaphor for the tensions existing in American society circa 1850, in a two-page essay, discuss these tensions and evidence them from the text. Who is the victim in this book? SUMMARY: Surely the setting of The Scarlet Letter — the stern, joyless world of Puritan New England — appears to have very little potential for joy. Hawthorne reached back to Salem in the 1600s to find men and women who would speak directly to his creative imagination. In the pages of The Scarlet Letter, the Puritans emerge from the shadows of an earlier time, direct of speech and full of integrity. For a writer like Hawthorne, intrigued with the subject of conscience, here were people with conscience to spare. Hawthorne made no apologies for Hester’s punishment. Likewise, Hawthorne clearly thought that Dimmesdale deserved his punishment, too. In the life of Hawthorne, a theist, the reader observes the movement of America’s cultural worldview from Puritanism to transcendentalism. Prynne committed adultery, repented, and was forgiven. In summary, what bothered Hawthorne was that Dr. Chillingsworth and Pastor Dimmesdale were unrepentant hypocrites. Chillingsworth, the realist, and Dimmesdale, the coward/hypocrite, would not stand with Hester on the scaffold (until the end when Dimmesdale owned his sin). Hawthorne’s characters knew no redemption until they understood and accepted the antidote to sin — the sacrifice of Jesus Christ at Calvary, which is only accessible to a repentant heart. Hawthorne would say we all are standing on the scaffold with Hester. . . . All have sinned and fallen short. Hawthorne, for the last time in American literature, promoted a theistic/Puritan vision. Hawthorne was making one last literary effort to make a stand for morality in the face of situation ethics (realism), an unfeeling angry God (naturalism), an impersonal God (deism), a nature-powered world (romanticism), and a world that emphasizes human intuition (transcendentalism). For the last time in American literature for two generations, a character stood up and took responsibility for her moral choices. The world of which Hawthorne was a part invited him to step away from his Christian beliefs. He chose not to do so. That is the genius of his book. There were no victims — only men and women making decisions that have eternal consequences! B. Contrast the way Hester’s community handles her adultery and the way Jesus dealt with the adulterous woman who was brought to Him (John 8). SUMMARY: Hester’s community was unable to forgive her. Nonetheless, Hester found forgiveness and wholeness through her contrite heart. Jesus announced the adulterous woman’s forgiveness and invited others to forgive her, too. Whether they did or not, the woman at the well, and Hester Prynne, found forgiveness. Undeserved, unconditional love invited both heroines to be His disciples. C. Compare the theme(s) of this “The Birthmark” with the theme(s) of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. SUMMARY: Dr. Frankenstein sought to create perfect life and he created a monster. Alymer could not accept limits on his science and he killed the person he most loved. Both were betrayed by their modern tendencies to worship science/rationalism — a typical romantic theme of both Shelley and Hawthorne.

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CHAPTER 8 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Objective Questions. (25 points) ___c___ 1. ___a___ 2. ___b___ 3. ___d___ 4.___a___ 5. Identification (25 Points) Which themes appeared in what writings?

The Scarlet Letter

Birthmark

Alienation

Yes

No

Science vs. Romanticism

Yes

Yes

Allegory

Yes

Yes

Unforgivingness

Yes

No

Individual vs. society

Yes

No

Problem of Guilt

Yes

No

Fate vs. free will

Yes

Yes

Pride

Yes

Yes

Hypocrisy

Yes

Yes

Theme

Discussion Questions (50 Points) A. What is the purpose of the introductory chapter “The Custom House” in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter? ANSWER: There is some debate about that. Some critics argue that it is supercilious. Others insist that it is a vital door through with the reader must walk. On the surface, it is the place where the author discovers the story that is related in The Scarlet Letter. B. Discuss Pearl’s role in The Scarlet Letter. ANSWER: This is also much debated. Is she Hester’s alter-ego? Is she the “wild side” of Hester kept under control by Puritan laws? In any event, Pearl is the quintessential foil. C. The Scarlet Letter is a battleground between two worldviews: Christian theism (Puritanism) and romanticism. Give examples of both worldviews in this novel. ANSWER: The community is a place of laws, order, and safety (Puritanism). Nature, while it is appealing and beautiful, is dangerous because it is outside the laws of man (romanticism). Stylistically it is a romantic novel — Hawthorne describes an aberration vs. ordinary events (realism). The worldview, however, is clearly Christian theism.

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Chapter 9 1840–1855 (Part 2):

Romanticism: New England Renaissance First Thoughts American poetry by many estimations was inferior to European poetry, especially English poetry. America had no Wordsworth, Byron, Shelley, or Keats. But then there was Dickinson. She was something different. She lived during the Second Great Awakening (Charles Finney, et al.). Many of her family members and friends were converted. They shared Christ with Dickinson. She resisted their advances. Either her deep religious skepticism, or her own curiosity, drove her to flirt with new metaphysics, precursors of what would be called modernism. Dickinson, at the end of her life, pulled completely away from the safe motifs and myths of Christianity, and embraced a sort of agnosticism. Her poetry expressed both her ambiguity about Christianity and her guilt over her inability to join in the religious revivalism that gripped her family and friends. This tension was to color almost all the fabric of antebellum America.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Find examples of romanticism in poems by Longfellow, Bryant, Lowell, and Whittier. 2. Explain what is so modern about Dickinson’s poetry.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

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History connections: American History chapter 9, “Democracy and New Government.”

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LESSON 1

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 9-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: Longfellow was popular among ordinary people, but mostly criticized by scholars. People loved the very thing that critics disliked: the predictable narrative enclosed in tiresome rhymes. Agree or disagree with the critics.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 9-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 9.

“A Psalm of Life” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

1

L ongfellow writes this poem in first person. Who is the speaker? Who is the audience?  Nature. Nature is the “architect” who creates the “sculpture of life.” The audience is humankind.

2

Paraphrase the stanza. Enjoyment, sadness, they are both irrelevant. What is important is our actions!

3

What is the central metaphor that Longfellow employs? What is his point? A snowstorm — something that we did not create and cannot stop or destroy.

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LESSON 2

Oliver Wendell Holmes Assignments •

Warm-up: Who is “ The Last Leaf ” describing?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 9-B.

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Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Assumptions

CONCEPT BUILDER 9-B

In “A Psalm of Life” Longfellow makes assumptions about Christianity that are untrue. Examine these quotes and discuss what assumptions he is making. Quotes

Assumptions

Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream!

David and other authors of the Psalms wrote negative, “mournful” religious dirges.

Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; Dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul.

Christianity was more concerned about death than life.

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant! Let the dead Past bury its dead! Act, act in the living Present! Heart within, and God o’erhead!

Christianity was concerned too much about the past.

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LESSON 3

James Russell Lowell Assignments •

Warm-up: Give an example of satire in “The Biglow Papers” and discuss its purpose.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 9-C.

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Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Theme

CONCEPT BUILDER 9-C

In “The Chambered Nautilus” Oliver Wendell Holmes uses the image of a sea urchin to talk about life. Year after year beheld the silent toil That spread his lustrous coil; Still, as the spiral grew, He left the past year’s dwelling for the new, Stole with soft step its shining archway through, Built up its idle door, Stretched in his last-found home, and knew the old no more. Re-read the end of the poem and reflect on what theme (core meaning) Holmes is trying to communicate.

Leave thy low-vaulted past! Let each new temple, nobler than the last, Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, Till thou at length art free,

Life is built one layer at a time, like a sea shell, until life outgrows its shell and returns to God (or somewhere, according to Holmes)

Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea!

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LESSON 4

John Greenleaf Whittier Assignments •

Warm-up: There is a theme of mutability in “The Barefoot Boy.” Define what mutability is and find an example.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 9-D.

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Student will re-write corrected copies of essays due tomorrow.

1

Style

CONCEPT BUILDER 9-D

Quatrains 1. 2. 3. 4.

I’m nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too? Then there ‘s a pair of us — don’t tell! They ‘d banish us, you know.

1. 2. 3. 4.

How dreary to be somebody! How public, like a frog To tell your name the livelong day To an admiring bog!

2

Free verse None of the lines rhyme.

3

Violated grammar rules There are no complete, punctuated sentences.

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LESSON 5

Emily Dickinson Assignments •

Warm-up: Dickinson was a very private person. Do you think she would have written on different subjects if she knew that you — the public — would be reading her poetry?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 9-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 9 test.

Writing Poetry

CONCEPT BUILDER 9-E

Now it is your turn! Using Dickenson’s style, write four-line poems describing these topics: Answers will vary. Here is one example: Fun Grandchildren. A walk. A swing. A hug.

Love Answers will vary.

Family Answers will vary.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Find examples of romanticism in poems by Longfellow, Bryant, Lowell, and Whittier. SUMMARY: All the poems, in one way or another, celebrate nature. Every one of them has metaphors and images that celebrate nature. An exception would be the poem by Lowell, which is more political satire than anything else. B. What is Holmes’ view of heaven? SUMMARY: A higher consciousness — “Leave thy low-vaulted past! / Let each new temple, nobler than the last, / Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, / Till thou at length art free, / Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea!” C. What is so modern about Dickinson’s poetry? SUMMARY: In form it is free verse. It explores the interior life — like most romantic poetry — but she also treats her subjects as individuals and she is always concerned about the present — not the future. These are decidedly modern approaches.

CHAPTER 9 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Discussion Questions (100 Points) Paraphrase “A Psalm of Life” and explain why you agree or disagree with its worldview. What are Longfellow’s favorite words and metaphors? ANSWER: This poem is a typical romantic response to life. It invites the reader to make the most of time — carpe diem — without adequately addressing the consequences nor the afterlife. Certainly the poem has merit — but ultimately it falls short in its quest for eternal meaning to life. Longfellow’s favorite metaphor is sand on a beach washed by the ocean of time.

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Chapter 10 1840–1855 (Part 3):

Romanticism: New England Renaissance First Thoughts Born in 1803, Ralph Waldo Emerson began his working life as a Unitarian preacher. Early widowhood plunged him into a crisis of faith (already weakened by Unitarian universalism), and he resigned his ministry in 1832. He abandoned any semblance of theism. In nature alone he found his comfort and direction. But Emerson had an ambivalent viewpoint toward nature. He loved and respected nature, but to Emerson, nature was all-powerful and reverent. Emerson’s faith ultimately strayed into pantheistic nature worship. Pantheism argues that God is alive everywhere — in animate and inanimate objects alike. There is nothing new under the sun! Likenesses of Emerson’s pantheism were very common in the Bible. In the Old Testament, worship of Baal (attacked by Elijah) was very similar to Emerson’s transcendentalism. Such a thing was coming again to America in the 1830s.

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Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Identify the worldview in “The Snowstorm.” 2. Find instances in the Bible where nature is controlled by God. 3. Give several evidences of transcendentalism from these poems. Compare the poetry of Ralph Waldo Emerson with that of another New England poet, Anne Bradstreet.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Walden, by Henry David Thoreau

History connections: American History chapter 10, “Age of Reform.”

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LESSON 1

Ralph Waldo Emerson Assignments •

Warm-up: : Research transcendentalism and the effect it had on American thought.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 10-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 10.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 10-A

“The Snowstorm” Ralph Waldo Emerson

1

 ho/what is coming? W  A snowstorm.

2

What sort of things will the snowstorm do? Come see the north wind’s masonry. Out of an unseen quarry evermore Furnished with tile, the fierce artificer Curves his white bastions with projected roof Round every windware stake, or tree, or door. Speeding, the myriad_handed, his wild work So fanciful, so savage, nought cares he For number or proportion. Mockingly, On coop or kennel he hangs Parian wreaths;

3

Who is the architect of the snow? Nature

4

What sort of creature is he? An alive, omniscient, personable creature

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LESSON 2

“Day” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Metaphor Comparisons

CONCEPT BUILDER 10-B

Assignments •

Warm-up: In Emerson’s poem “Day,” why is the day scornful? Write an essay explaining at whom the scorn is directed.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 10-B.

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Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays. Emerson makes frequent use of figurative language. He compares one idea and another that is quite different. He, and other poets, use four degrees or stages of subtlety in putting image/comparisons together: Match the above descriptions with the following examples. A

1

B

4

C

2

D

3

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LESSON 3

“The Rhodora” Ralph Waldo Emerson Assignments Warm-up: Based on “The Rhodora,” what is Emerson’s idea of a god? Emerson could not accept the idea of a God separate from man and nature; in other words, Emerson was not a Christian believer. Yet, in his own way, he was a deeply religious person. How is this revealed in the last four lines of the poem? Using the poems above, and other Emerson writings, show how Emerson was “religious.”

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 10-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of all assigned essays.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Making Comparisons

CONCEPT BUILDER 10-C

•

Effective comparisons: • Are fresh, new comparisons, not clichés! • Are specific — not vague comparisons • Are within the experience of your reader Now it is your turn. Using these guidelines, write some phrases that compare to how the following words feel.

Loneliness

Loneliness is a cold, icy morning in the middle of December. A day full of bleak, sterile cold — unadorned by pleasant, hopeful snowfall.

Hope

Answers will vary.

Tentativeness

Answers will vary.

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LESSON 4

What Critics Say Assignments •

Warm-up: In what way is this statement by the transcendentalist/romantic Emerson about Jesus inconsistent with a Christian theistic worldview? “An immense progress in natural and religious knowledge has been made since his death. Even his genius cannot quicken all that stark nonsense about the blessed and the damned. Yet in the ‘Life of Christ’ I have thought him a Christian Plato; so rich and great was his philosophy. Is it possible the intellect should be so inconsistent with itself? It is singular also that the bishop’s morality should sometimes trip, as in his explanation of false witness.”

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 10-D.

•

Students will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Worldview

CONCEPT BUILDER 10-D

The last six lines of “The Snowstorm” contain a description of the events of the next morning. What is Emerson trying to say? What is his worldview? Which does the author consider the true artist? Support your conclusions with references from the poem.

The snowstorm is over. All creation is at rest. This scene evokes the same sobriety of the creation scene in Genesis 1. As God rested in Genesis 1, nature rests at the end of “The Snowstorm.”

And when his hours are numbered, and the world Is all his own, retiring, as he were not, Leaves, when the sun appears, astonished Art To mimic in slow structures, stone by stone, Built in an age, the mad wind’s night-work, The frolic architecture of the snow. Therefore, Nature is god! This is the essence of romanticisim taken to extreme.

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LESSON 5

Spiritual War Assignments Warm-up: At the same time that Emerson was writing his poetry, the well-attended revivals led by Charles Finney were being held in upstate New York. In fact, this revival had a greater impact than Emerson’s essays and poetry on American society. Literature books rarely print a sermon by Charles Finney, even though many more people read his sermons and attended his revivals. Why?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 10-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 10 test.

Transcendentalism

CONCEPT BUILDER 10-E

•

Transcendentalism was an American version of European romanticism, but transcendentalism had a decidedly religious tone. The following were elements of transcendentalism: Match the above elements of transcendentalism with the following passages:

A

1

B

1

C

3

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. The last six lines of “The Snowstorm” contain a description of the events of the next morning. What is Emerson trying to say? What is his worldview? Which does the author consider the true artist? Support your conclusions with references from the poem. SUMMARY: The last six lines are: “And when his hours are numbered, and the world / Is all his own, retiring, as he were not, / Leaves, when the sun appears, astonished Art / To mimic in slow structures, stone by stone, / Built in an age, the mad wind’s night-work, / The frolic architecture of the snow.” The snowstorm is over. All creation is at rest. This scene evokes the same sobriety of the creation scene in Genesis 1. As God rested in Genesis 1, nature rests at the end of “The Snowstorm.” Likewise, it was good — “The frolic architecture of the snow.” Emerson is saying that the world is good, that God is good, and that man is good (so long as he behaves himself and does not intrude on nature’s handiwork). The true artist is a mindless, benevolent deity called nature. Gone are the central tenants of theism: an omnipotent, loving God, who created man in His own image. In theism, mankind is not an anemic version of creation, to be placed next to, or behind, the perfection of nature. Man is the ruler of, and separate from, nature. Nature to the romantic is beautiful and inviting. To the theist, God’s order, His Word, and His Son Jesus Christ are beautiful and inviting. To Emerson, nature is the true artist. To the theist, God of the Old and New Testament is the artist. B. Find instances in the Bible where nature is controlled by God. SUMMARY: Clearly, God is not controlled by His creation as evidenced in the following stories: creation, The Red Sea, Elijah on Mt. Carmel, among others. God is very much in control of all elements of His creation. C. Give several evidences of transcendentalism from these poems. Defend your answer in a two-page essay. SUMMARY: The image of nature having a powerful presence and the celebration of the human spirit. The celebration of human subjectivity is advanced in every poem. Truth is uncovered by observing a snowstorm — not by reading the Word of God. Finally, man is equal — not superior — to nature. Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose! / I never thought to ask, I never knew: But, in my simple ignorance, suppose / The self-same Power that brought me there brought you.

CHAPTER 10 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Discussion Questions. (100 Points — 20 points each) A. Discuss the way Americans view themselves in transcendentalism and contrast it to Puritanism. Cite several poems to argue your case. ANSWER: Transcendentalists are humanists — man centered. They worship intuition and subjectivity. They are in stark contrast to the Puritans who worship and glorify God. One could choose any poems by Emerson to compare with Bradstreet (or Taylor).

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B. Transcendentalism became, by and large, a northeastern phenomenon centered in the Boston area. It was very much an elitist movement. There were many critics of this movement. “I was given to understand that whatever was unintelligible would be certainly transcendental,” Charles Dickens wrote. Define transcendentalism and then evaluate its credibility as a worldview. ANSWER: Transcendentalists are very subjective and then somewhat vague in their pursuit of truth. This reader agrees with Dickens. The reader feels that it was an esoteric, illogical, movement with no substance in fact. C. In the 17th century, the best histories were written by Puritan ministers, who saw history as the working out of God’s will. Based on the concept of the chosen people of God, America was presented as a Promised Land for God’s faithful people. Later historians ridiculed this view of history. However, in a real sense, at least in Puritan New England, this was a fairly accurate appraisal of the motivations of an entire generation of early settlers. Why was it so difficult for later historians to believe that people can be motivated strictly by their faith? ANSWER: In the modern era, it is virtually impossible for secular historians to believe that people would go anywhere, or do anything, because of something as abstract as faith. They looked for motivation in other more measurable directions: economic, political, and other reasons. D. By their own admission, New England Puritans saw themselves as being intolerant. They felt no obligation to accept in their midst worldviews that they perceived as heretical. Was this a correct way to establish an English colony? ANSWER: Answers will vary, but students should be careful about putting a 21st-century worldview on 17th-century society. The whole notion of toleration has changed significantly since the Puritans settled New England. E. Have we evangelicals lost the fire and passion of our Puritan ancestors? ANSWER: Answers will be opinions. Students should carefully defend their arguments.

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Chapter 1 1 1840–1855 (Part 4):

Romanticism: New England Renaissance First Thoughts America

experienced an unprecedented reform movement from 1840–1855. At the center of this movement were New Englanders, notably Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Walden, in particular, captured the imagination of an age, and along the way encouraged quite a lot of chicanery!

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Analyze the quote by Ezra Pound. 2. Evaluate Thoreau’s views on death. 3. Explain why this book was so popular in the 1960s.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: Billy Budd, by Herman Melville.

History connections: American History chapter 11, “Antebellum Slavery.”

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LESSON 1

Age of Reform

Assignments Warm-up: If you could join a reform movement, what would it be?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 11-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 11.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 11-A

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Read Walden (Chapter Two) by Henry David Thoreau then answer the following questions.

1

What is Thoreau’s remedy for the hustle and bustle of life? Simplify, simplify, simplify!

2

Why did Thoreau move into the woods? To live simply; to experience the basic essence of life.

3

Thoreau loves hyperbole, or exaggeration. What is he exaggerating here? The influence of newspaper stories on people.

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LESSON 2

Henry David Thoreau

Observation

CONCEPT BUILDER 11-B

Assignments •

Warm-up: Thoreau extols hard work while doing very little of it. Is he a sensitive observer of nature or a lazy over-educated snob hanging out doing nothing for a year?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 11-B.

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Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Examine the picture.

1

Of what is it a picture? A close-up picture of a leaf

2

Look more closely. Compare it to a dissimilar object. Compare it to a dissimilar object. It looks like the end or beginning of a river delta.

3

Contrast the lines/veins of the leaf with the external texture. The veins are solid; the leafy part is porous.

4

What is its purpose? The life gathers life for the plant. But, annually, it dies and is reborn.

5

How is this picture like life? Like a leaf, life has seasons of life and death, sadness and happiness.

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LESSON 3

Student Essay Assignments Warm-up: : Do you agree with this essay?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 11-C.

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Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Solitude

CONCEPT BUILDER 11-C

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1

Of what is Thoreau a part? Nature

2

Why doesn’t Thoreau feel lonely? N  o particular reason. His time there was over. He was not going to “worship” any experience.

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LESSON 4

Poems on Thoreau Assignments •

Warm-up: Write a short poem to Thoreau.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 11-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Conclusion

CONCEPT BUILDER 11-D

I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one. It is remarkable how easily and insensibly we fall into a particular route, and make a beaten track for ourselves. I had not lived there a week before my feet wore a path from my door to the pond-side; and though it is five or six years since I trod it, it is still quite distinct. It is true, I fear, that others may have fallen into it, and so helped to keep it open. The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity! I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for there I could best see the moonlight amid the mountains. I do not wish to go below now. I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them (Ibid).



Why did Thoreau leave Walden Pond and re-enter society? No particular reason. His time there was over. He was not going to “worship” any experience.

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LESSON 5

Critics and Quotes Assignments Warm-up: Which quote most captures your feelings toward Walden? Why?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 11-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 11 test.

Conclusion

CONCEPT BUILDER 11-E

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Pretend that you are H.D. Thoreau and you have spent a six months on Walden Pond. Your parents, however, miss you and want you to return home. Write a letter explaining why you want to live alone on Walden Pond.

Dear Mom and Dad, Answers will vary, but the student should talk about the importance of solitude and nature. Perhaps he will mention that his decision is not related to rebellion, but more of a desire to build his/her character alone.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. In Thoreau’s concluding chapter he reflects on death. What does he conclude and does it line up with biblical teachings? SUMMARY: There is a sort of ending to his sojourn on Walden Pond that reflects the end of life. There is both life and death with the coming of spring. Wild geese fly overhead, reminding Thoreau that change is in the air. Thoreau feels that old arguments should be forgotten and old sins forgiven because of springtime. Finally, Thoreau believes that death in such an atmosphere could not be so bad. Redemption, unfortunately, cannot be bought by the advent of a season. Death, too, with all its mystery, will not be escaped or blunted by a romantic experience next to a pond. However, it is fair to say, in Thoreau’s defense, that he had no intention of making a theological statement. B. Why was this book so popular in the 1960s? SUMMARY: Forced to simplify his life, he concludes that it is best “as long as possible” to “live free and uncommitted.” Thoreau sought to live free of obligations and full of leisure. He happily lived far from the post office and all the constraining social relationships the mail system represented. He lived away from people and enjoyed the solitude. “I am monarch of all I survey,” he stated. This spirit was a central theme in the highly individualistic 1960s. C. Students should read Walden Two by B.F. Skinner, and compare it to Thoreau’s book. SUMMARY: Answers will vary.

CHAPTER 11 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Objective Questions (50 Points – 10 points each) 1. ___A___ 2. ___B___ 3. ___D___ 4. ___C___ 5. ___C___

Discussion Question (50 Points) “Economy” to Thoreau is not only an economic term. What does it mean to him? ANSWER: Thoreau follows Emerson in exploring the higher dimensions of individualism. In transcendentalist thought, the self is the absolute center of reality. Therefore, subjectivity is more important than reason. Everything external, including the entire universe, is an expression of the self that gets its reality from our inner selves. “Economizing,” then, to Thoreau, is removing the external things that hinder the development of one’s inner self or “soul.”

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Chapter 1 2 1840–1855 (Part 5):

Romanticism: New England Renaissance First Thoughts Perhaps the best

characterization of Melville is found in the writings of his good friend Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne describes Melville in this way: We took a pretty long walk together, and sat down in a hollow among the sand hills. . . . Melville, as he always does, began to reason of Providence and futurity, and of everything that lies beyond human ken, and informed me that he had “pretty much made up his mind to be annihilated”; but still he does not seem to rest in that anticipation; and, I think, will never rest until he gets hold of a definite belief. . . . He can neither believe, nor be comfortable in his unbelief; and he is too honest and courageous not to try to do one or the other. . . . (Bartleby” and “The Customhouse” Joseph J. Moldenhauer, web. ku.edu/~zeke/bartleby/moldenha.htm). He can neither believe, nor be comfortable in his unbelief. What a marvelous description of modern man. David F. Wells, in his book God in the Wasteland: The Reality of Truth in a World of Fading Dreams, is convinced that since the

middle of the last century human society has embraced “an ironic recapitulation of the first dislocation in which God’s creatures replaced their Creator and exiled Him from His own world” (David F. Wells, God in the Wasteland: The Reality of Truth in a World of Fading Dreams, Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Erdmans, 1994, p. 14). Find examples of this development in Billy Budd.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Discuss a modern tragedy. 2. Give at least two examples of symbolism in this book. 3. Analyze Melville’s view toward sin and depravity. 4. Understand how Melville creates his characters. 5. Compare Billy Budd to Christ. 6. Discuss Melville’s views of salvation.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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History connections: American History chapter 12, “Revivalism.”

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LESSON 1

Billy Budd Herman Melville Assignments •

Warm-up: : In Billy Budd there are no women. Would it be a different story if all the main characters were women instead of men?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 12-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 12.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 12-A

Read Billy Budd Chapter 25 by Herman Melville then answer the following questions.

1

Is the Chaplain able to minister to the condemned prisoner? No. Billy did not respond to what Melville would consider to be “platitudes.”

2

Why does Melville call Billy Budd the Handsome Sailor?  Billy is an archetype (representing a typical example) character. Namely, he is an innocent, likeable, if simple young man.

3

What sort of young man is Billy Budd? He is a simple, hardworking, innocent young man.

4

In the final paragraph the author speaks directly to the reader (omniscient narration). Why?  Melville, and other romantic authors often “preach” to their audience. That is what Melville is doing here.

5

 hat does the quote mean? W Melville sees Billy as a “barbarian” in the good sense of the word — as a “noble savage” uncorrupted by human civilization. Captain Cook was an English explorer who discovered Hawaii, Tahiti, and other Pacific Islands. Wherever he went, according to the romantic Melville, he brought corruption and disease.

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LESSON 2

Poetry by Melville Assignments •

Warm-up: Melville (who was a transitional romantic) and contemporary romantic writers tried to embrace the best of both cosmological worlds. They believed in God, although they dilute His person and substance with natural science, but they also believe in human ingenuity and subjectivity. It was very hard to keep both of these worldview balls in the air at the same time. Compare Melville to Ahab (1 Kings), who also struggled to be a theist and a pagan — both at the same time.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 12-B.

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Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

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Most readers see Billy Budd as a Christ-like figure. Compare the life of Christ to the life of Billy Budd.

Symbolism

CONCEPT BUILDER 12-B

Jesus Christ

Billy Budd

His enemies thought he was Illegitimate .

Billy was the illegitimate son of an English lord.

He was innocent in all things.

Billy was innocent and naive.

He was unjustly accused of a crime.

Billy was not planning a mutiny and he killed Claggart by accident.

He labored into the night in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The last night of his life Billy struggled to understand what was happening to him.

He was crucified for a crime he did not commit.

Billy Budd did not deserve to die for his accident.



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LESSON 3

Critics and Quotes Assignments •

Warm-up:: What contemporary actors would you have play the characters in Billy Budd?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 12-C.

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Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Captain Vere: A Dilemma

CONCEPT BUILDER 12-C

In Billy Budd, Captain Vere is judge and jury in the Billy Budd case. The following are two different interpretations of his character. Argue a case for one of the interpretations. No one likes the fact that Billy hangs for killing Claggart, but many feel that Vere made the only decision possible. As the captain of the Bellipotent, he must look out for the welfare of the whole ship, not just the fate of one man, and his decision to execute Billy takes this priority into account. You know how much Vere suffers because the more he sees of Billy, the more he loves him. By the end, he feels almost like Billy’s father. He knows Billy is innocent in the ultimate sense, but his duty concerns the here and now. The law demands that Billy must hang, and Vere knows he must uphold the law. Others counter and say Vere talked himself into the death penalty for Billy out of cowardice and naked fear. He might easily have pardoned Billy, but he convinces himself that to do so would cause the crew to mutiny, and he uses this lame argument to convince the other judges to go along with him. It’s the typical second-guessing of a nervous coward. Vere might read a lot of books, but all they do is fossilize his already-settled opinions. Like so many intellectuals, he totally separates his feelings from his thoughts, and assumes that his gut reaction is wrong, because it comes from his gut. Would you want a man like this to be your judge? Vere’s total lack of imagination wouldn’t be so bad if he were only a private gentleman, reading and smoking his pipe in the seclusion of his own library. But since he’s a captain in the navy, in a position of key responsibility, it’s an unforgivable flaw with fatal consequences for Billy (Barronsbooknotes.com). What do you think?

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LESSON 4

Setting Assignments •

Warm-up: In Billy Budd the setting helps to reveal character and to shape events. Give evidence for this statement.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 12-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Ironic Tragedy

CONCEPT BUILDER 12-D

Irony is something that no one expects will happen. It is a literary event that presumes that the event is unnecessary, and surprising. Tragedy is a literary theme that develops an unhappy ending to the life of a character, usually the protagonist. In what way is Billy Budd an ironic tragedy?

Ironic Tragedy

Vere’s decision to execute Billy is totally legal and yet totally unnatural. Billy accepts his fate, but does not understand the forces that brought about his doom. The narrator hints at many possibilities of meaning and many possible responses  to underscore the ambiguity of the case. Far from accepting evil at the end of his career, Melville draws a chilling portrait of it and asks the question: Why must we have this force in our world?  This is the ironic tragedy that is Billy Budd (Barronsbooknotes.com).



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LESSON 5

I and My Chimney Assignments •

Warm-up: Discuss how Melville is poking fun at his friend Ralph Waldo Emerson and other romantics in his essay “I and My Chimney.”

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Students should complete Concept Builder 12-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 12 test.

CONCEPT BUILDER 12-E

Billy Budd is a study of evil. As evil takes away life, Melville defines it in the personhood of Claggart. How is Claggart evil? Give three reasons.

An intelligent, malevolent villian Natural depravity

Evil

A completely amoral man

Claggart



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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Melville intentionally rejects Judeo-Christian notions of sin and depravity. Thus, Claggart is described as being depraved in a Platonic way. Plato defined depravity as “a depravity according to nature.” What does the Bible say about sin? Why would Melville reject a biblical understanding of sin and go to a classical definition? SUMMARY: Like Emerson, Melville felt more comfortable with a Platonic concept of “form” rather than the Christian concept of “sanctification.” He needed some form of perfection, but found Christian/Puritan/theistic views to be dogmatic. He therefore embraced Greek philosophy — a very popular romantic tendency. Plato stressed the intellectual basis of virtue, identifying virtue with wisdom. Plato believed that the world was made of forms (such as a rock) and ideas (such as virtue). The ability of human beings to appreciate forms made a person virtuous. Knowledge came from the gods; opinion was from man. Virtuous activity, then, was dependent upon knowledge of the forms. This was made to order for the romantic-in-transition-to-naturalism Melville. B. Billy Budd is obviously a Christ-like figure. Find evidence to support this idea from the book. Compare and contrast Melville’s view with the New Testament account of Christ’s crucifixion. SUMMARY: Innocent Billy dies for another’s sin. He struggles a night before he dies. An unnatural event occurs at his burial. Billy cries, “God bless Captain Vere” at his death. This is similar to Christ’s cry on the cross (Luke 23:34). C. Billy is “saved” the night before he dies — but not through Christ. In fact, the chaplain, who presumably represents the Christian view of salvation, listens to Billy and finds his strength through this event — much like the disciples listened to Christ at the Last Supper. This time, however, Billy saves the pastor! The romantic saves the theist! This is the first time in American literature that this happens and it does not bode well for future literature. Find evidence to support this view and find Scripture to show the correct way to discuss salvation with an unbeliever. SUMMARY: The pastor presages an ominous development in American literature. Instead of the hardy, principled Dimmesdale (The Scarlet Letter), the American reader will feast on a hardy diet of weak, unprincipled pastors and parsons for a generation. Gone are the Cotton Mathers and other lights who guide society in the way of Truth. At least they are absent in literature. Salvation comes as a person accepts his sin, believes in his heart, and confesses with his mouth, that Jesus Christ is Lord.

CHAPTER 12 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Objective Questions. (50 Points — 10 points each) __B___ 1.__B___ 2. __B___ 3. __C___ 4.__A___ 5.

Discussion Questions (50 Points — 10 points each) A. Like so much of romantic literature, Billy Budd examines in great detail the problem of good and evil. Explain.

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ANSWER: A young man is unjustly accused of a crime he did not commit (evil). He is executed because of a greater good — the need for wartime discipline. Ultimately, though, the implication is that good overcomes evil in the person of Billy Budd. B. Hawthorne undertook a similar quest in his books. Compare and contrast the views of Hawthorne and Melville on this important problem of good and evil. ANSWER: Hawthorne’s Billy Budd figure would be Hester Prynne — but Hawthorne, who is essentially a theist, accepts that Hester is really guilty. There can be no redemption without a willing admission of guilt, Hawthorne argues. Melville, on the other hand, is a truer romantic: good is the absence of intrusive human moral structure. C. Several of the characters have biblical parallels. Compare at least three characters to biblical characters. ANSWER: Billy Budd = Jesus Christ, Captain Vere = Pilate, and Captain Vere = Abraham, sacrificing his favorite son Isaac. D. Likewise, the plot itself parallels several biblical references/stories. Identify at least three. ANSWER: Billy would be Adam before the fall; Saul (Claggart) and David (Billy Budd) story about jealousy; the story of Ananias (conspiracy). E. The protagonist Billy Budd is a quintessential romantic man. Explain. ANSWER: Billy is the natural, naive man, unpolluted by human machination and intrigue. He is much to be admired. He is much like the Native Americans, free and unpolluted by civilization, in the popular romantic Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper.

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Chapter 1 3 1855–1865 (Part 1):

Division, War, and Reconciliation First Thoughts The Civil war was neither the fault of the North nor the South. Or rather, it was the fault of both! The combination of an expanding economy, a flood of immigrants, the second Great Awakening, Manifest Destiny, and the failure of the American political system brought the young republic to the brink of Civil War. Ultimately, though, the failure of nerve manifested by American political leaders thrust the nation into its bloodiest war in American history. No war quite captured the minds and hearts of Americans as this war did, and this is reflected in the literature of this nation.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Describe the metaphors that Whitman uses in “O Captain, My Captain.” 2. Explain in what sense Whitman’s poetry is modern and romantic. 3. Analyze in what ways Negro spirituals were a form of resistance to chattel slavery. 4. Analyze Geronimo’s views on Americans.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass.

History connections: American History chapter 13, “Causes of the American Civil War.”

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LESSON 1

The American Civil War

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 13-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: If you lived during the Civil War, on which side would you fight?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 13-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 13.

“I Hear America Sing” Walt Whitman

Draw a picture that captures the essence of the United States of America in the beginning of the 21st century. Answers will vary. Suggestions: a church congregation, a flag-burning event, small children

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LESSON 2

Walt Whitman

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 13-B

Assignments •

Warm-up: Write a poem about someone you were very close to who died.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 13-B.

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Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Read “O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman in the text then answer the following questions.

1

 hat is the central metaphor that Whitman is offering? W A captain of a ship bringing his vessel home

2

What is the crisis? The ship is arriving at home, but the captain is dead

3

What effect does Whitman create by repeating this refrain throughout the poem? It feels like a funeral dirge

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LESSON 3

Negro Spirituals Assignments •

Warm-up: Why were African American slaves so attracted to Christianity?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 13-C.

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Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Go Down Moses

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 13-C

Explain why each of the highlighted stanzas are examples of slave resistance. When Israel was in Egypt’s land Let my people go Oppressed so hard they could not stand Let my people go

The image of Egyptian bondage is similar to chattel slavery in the USA.

Go down Moses Way down in Egypt land Tell old Pharaoh Let my people go Thus spoke the Lord bold Moses said Let my people go If not I’ll smite your first born dead Let my people go No more in bondage shall they toil Let my people go

This is a veiled threat to slaveholders.

Let them come out with Egypt’s spoil Let my people go

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LESSON 4

Abraham Lincoln

I Celebrate Myself

CONCEPT BUILDER 13-D

Assignments •

Warm-up: Why is this simple, short speech so effective

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 13-D.

•

Students will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

If you were writing a poem celebrating yourself, or your family, what would you celebrate?

Answers will vary.

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LESSON 5

Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce

Poetic Style of Chief Joseph

CONCEPT BUILDER 13-E

Assignments •

Warm-up: Write a letter to Chief Joseph explaining to him what has happened.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 13-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 13 test.

Chief Joseph wrote that Whitman likes to use repetition and parallelism (related ideas). From “Oh Captain! My Captain!” and “I Hear America Sing.” Find examples of repetition and parallelism in his poem, “I Will Fight No More Forever.” Repetition

Parallelism

Fallen cold and dead

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still; My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will; The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;

The carpenter singing as he measures his plank or beam, The mason singing as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,

The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing, Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. In “Oh Captain! My Captain!” what metaphor does Whitman use to communicate his grief at the death of Abraham Lincoln? SUMMARY: Lincoln is a captain of a ship trying to get the ship into port. The ship makes it; the captain does not. B. In what sense is this poetry modern? In what sense is this poetry romantic? SUMMARY: The poem is modern in form, romantic in theme. He avoids traditional structures because he wants to show that his is truly American, not indebted to previous poets from other countries. The notion of transcendent beauty, of the immutability of the soul, is a romantic theme. While Whitman consciously chose ordinary subjects in most of his poetry, there is something in Lincoln’s life that goes beyond present circumstances. At his death, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton proclaimed, “Now he belongs to the Ages.” C. In what ways were Negro spirituals a form of resistance to chattel slavery? SUMMARY: African-American slaves were originally converted by the witnessing of their white captors. They then took the Old Testament stories and employed them as a subtle way to proclaim their freedom.

CHAPTER 13 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Discussion Question (100 Points) Compare “Pioneers! O Pioneers!” written early in Whitman’s life, and “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d,” written later in his life. ANSWER: The Civil War diminished Whitman’s faith in democratic America and in human nature in general. The casualties during the Civil War were greater than anyone expected. Whitman was a volunteer nurse in the Union Army and saw the carnage firsthand. Reconstruction, which began to fail almost immediately after it was begun, further disappointed Whitman. Thus, the images in the poem “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” was written, Whitman had given up on humanity altogether.

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Chapter 1 4 1855–1865 (Part 2):

Division, War, and Reconciliation First Thoughts Frederick Douglass, an ex-slave, through his biography gives an insightful narrative of what was the abominable institution of slavery, which itself was ended by the most deadly of American conflicts, the American Civil War. Douglass wrote, “Slavery does away with fathers, as it does away with families. Slavery has no use for either fathers or families, and its laws do not recognize their existence in the social arrangements of the plantation. . . . I assert most unhesitatingly, that the religion of the South — as I have observed it and proved it — is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes; a justifier of the most appalling barbarity; a sanctifier of the most hateful frauds; and a dark shelter, under which the darkest, foulest, grossest, and most infernal abominations fester and flourish. Were I again to be reduced to the condition of a slave, next to that calamity, I should regard the fact of being the slave of a religious slaveholder, the greatest that could befall me” (Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, chapters 3 and 18).

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Discuss the style and form of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. 2. Discuss Douglass’s faith journey. 3. Consider if there are biblical reasons why two believers of different races should not be married. 4. Compare Phillis Wheatley and Frederick Douglass.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain.

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History connections: American History chapter 14, “The American Civil War.”

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LESSON 1

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 14-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: What does Douglass learn that is the key to freedom?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 14-A.

•

Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 14.

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass

1

Is Douglass a credible witness? Can we rely on his remembrances as being accurate portrayals of slave life? Not really. Obviously he has an agenda.

2

What will happen to Frederick Douglass when Mr. Cove discovers Douglass has wrecked his cart? We can infer that he will be in terrible trouble.

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LESSON 2

Civil War Poetry

Factual vs. Subjective

CONCEPT BUILDER 14-B

Assignments •

Warm-up: What is your favorite Civil War poem and why?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 14-B.

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Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

•

Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Facts are uncontestable events that can be reliably related to the reader. Subjective statements are opinion, with room for interpretation. List at least one of the facts and subjective statements of the passage on 14-A, or use other passages in Douglass’ autobiography.



Fact

Subjective Statement

I had left Master Thomas’s house, and went to live with Mr. Covey, on the 1st of January, 1833.

Mr. Covey’s forte consisted in his power to deceive. His life was devoted to planning and perpetrating the grossest deceptions. Everything he possessed in the shape of learning or religion, he made conform to his disposition to deceive. He seemed to think himself equal to deceiving the Almighty. He would make a short prayer in the morning, and a long prayer at night; and, strange as it may seem, few men would at times appear more devotional.

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LESSON 3

Civil War Songs

The Protagonist Changes

CONCEPT BUILDER 14-C

Assignments •

Warm-up: Living a part of my life north of Vicksburg, Mississippi, less than 100 years after the American Civil War, I never heard the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” except on the radio and on television. Why? Was such a thing petty or patriotic?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 14-C.

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Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

What does the protagonist learn about himself and Mr. Covey and how does this change him forever? He learns that he can resist injustice with laudable consequences.

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LESSON 4

The Civil War Shelby Foote Assignments Warm-up: What does Foote mean when he calls the American Civil War the last romantic and first modern war”?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 14-D.

•

Student will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Character Profile

CONCEPT BUILDER 14-D

•

Circle words on the following figure that describe Frederick Douglass from your reading earlier in the week. Under what character heading (choleric, melancholic, sanguine, phlegmatic) does he lie? How does he change?

Phlegmatic  to sanguine

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LESSON 5

The Battle of Antietam

Harper’s Weekly, October 4, 1862 •

Warm-up: Young men, hardly more than boys, would attack impregnable positions with the expectation that they would die. Could you do that?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 14-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 14 test. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a story of a real man in a real time in history when mankind enslaved each other. The picture below is a famous picture found in a North Carolina attic in 2010 of two slave children. Write a story describing what life is like for these two children.

Literature and History

CONCEPT BUILDER 14-E

Assignments

Each story will be different.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Douglass writes in a very eloquent style and this contributes to the effectiveness of this work. Many people who thought African Americans were inferior in intelligence were shown to be grossly mistaken with the writings of Frederick Douglass. Discuss the form that Douglass employs in his masterpiece. SUMMARY: Douglass offers both his own life stories and a strong statement against slavery. His syntax and diction are superb and very erudite. He writes with great credibility and his arguments are well-considered. Almost all his works, however, are framed by comments against slavery. B. Discuss Douglass’s faith journey. SUMMARY: In a later autobiography My Bondage and My Freedom (1855) — which is more or less an updated version of Narratives (1845) — Douglass wrote, ‘‘Previous to my contemplation of the anti-slavery movement, and its probable results, my mind had been seriously awakened to the subject of religion. I was not more than thirteen years old, when I felt the need of God, as a father and protector. My religious nature was awakened by the preaching of a white Methodist minister named Hanson. He thought that all men, great and small, bond and free, were sinners in the sight of God; that they were, by nature, rebels against His government; and that they must repent of their sins, and be reconciled to God, through Christ. I cannot say that I had a very distinct notion of what was required of me; but one thing I knew very well — I was wretched, and had no means of making myself otherwise. Moreover, I knew that I could pray for light. I consulted a good colored man, named Charles Johnson; and, in tones of holy affection, he told me to pray, and what to pray for. I was, for weeks, a poor, brokenhearted mourner, traveling through the darkness and misery of doubts and fears. I finally found that change of heart which comes by casting all one’s care upon God, and by having faith in Jesus Christ, as the Redeemer, Friend, and Savior of those who diligently seek Him. After this, I saw the world in a new light. I seemed to live in a new world, surrounded by new objects, and to be animated by new hopes and desires. I loved all mankind — slaveholders not excepted; though I abhorred slavery more than ever. My great concern was, now, to have the world converted. The desire for knowledge increased, and especially did I want a thorough acquaintance with the contents of the Bible. I have gathered scattered pages from this holy book, from the filthy street gutters of Baltimore, and washed and dried them, that in the moments of my leisure, I might get a word or two of wisdom from them. While thus religiously seeking knowledge, I became acquainted with a good old colored man, named Lawson. A more devout man than he, I never saw. He drove a dray for Mr. James Ramsey, the owner of a rope-walk on Fell’s Point, Baltimore. This man not only prayed three time a day, but he prayed as he walked through the streets, at his work — on his dray everywhere. His life was a life of prayer, and his words (when he spoke to his friends) were about a better world. Uncle Lawson lived near Master Hugh’s house; and, becoming deeply attached to the old man, I went often with him to prayer-meeting, and spent much of my leisure time with him on Sunday. The old man could read a little, and I was a great help to him, in making out the hard words, for I was a better reader than he. I could teach him “the letter,” but he could teach me “the spirit”; and high, refreshing times we had together, in singing, praying and glorifying God. (My Bondage and My Freedom, chapter 12).

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C. Is there any biblical reason two believers of different races should not be married? SUMMARY: The Bible is clear that unbelievers should not marry, but Scripture affirms marriage between two believers of any race. The marriage celebrated in the Song of Solomon was a marriage between two members of different ethnic groups, perhaps even two races (Song of Sol. 1:5–6). This was not uncommon (Num. 12:1; Ruth 1:4). Most people think that Moses was interracially married (and this bothered Miriam his sister).

CHAPTER 14 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Objective Test (True or False) (50 Points – 10 points each) 1. ___F___ 2. ___T___ 3. ___T___ 4. ___F___5. ___T___

Essay (100 Points) Answer this question in a one-page essay. Is this book strictly an autobiography? ANSWER: An autobiography is the history of a person written by that person. Douglass’s Narrative is strictly an autobiography at certain points, but it exhibits conventions of other narrative genres as well. For example, at times Douglass intends his life story to stand as a typical slave life. He also takes every opportunity to argue for abolitionism.

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Chapter 1 5 1865–1915 (Part 1):

Realism, Naturalism, and the Frontier First Thoughts “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.”

— Ernest Hemingway (classiclit.about. com/od/.../a/huckfinn_writer.htm)

He didn’t mean that no Americans before Mark Twain had written anything worthy of being called literature. What he meant was that Twain had written the first truly American piece of literature. Twain was responsible for defining what would make American literature different from everybody else’s literature. Twain was the first major writer to use real American speech to deal with themes and topics that were important to Americans, and to assume that the concerns of Americans were as worthy of serious treatment as European motifs. Twain, then, in a real way, was the 19th-century Durante degli Alighieri, who was bold enough to write the first major literary piece in his own, native language. Both books, by the way, were scandalous among their first audiences.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Compare Huckleberry Finn to the young Samuel of the Old Testament (1 Sam.1–3). 2. Explain how Twain develops the character Jim. 3. Contrast Huck in the beginning of the novel with the Huck who emerges at the end. 4. Explain what advantages and disadvantages does first-person narration present Twain. 5. Imagine the realist Huck joining the romantic/transcendalist Henry David Thoreau for a year on the edge of Walden Pond. What would be their points of agreement? Disagreement?

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

119 History connections: American History chapter 15, “Reconstruction.”

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LESSON 1

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain Assignments •

Warm-up: Jim and Huck are ironically trying to escape from slavery by floating down the Mississippi River. Why is this escape ironic?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 15-A.

•

Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 15.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 15-A

Read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, chapter one, by Mark Twain then answer the following questions.

1

T wain is writing to an audience that does not have televisions or computers. Twain has to use language to paint a picture for his audience. Notice the descriptions that Twain uses. Write two here. “ The widow she cried over me, and called me a poor lost lamb, and she called me a lot of other names, too, but she never meant no harm by it. She put me in them new clothes again, and I couldn’t do nothing but sweat and sweat, and feel all cramped up. Well, then, the old thing commenced again” and “Her sister, Miss Watson, a tolerable slim old maid, with goggles on, had just come to live with her, and took a set at me now with a spelling-book. She worked me middling hard for about an hour, and then the widow made her ease up.”

2

How does Twain create humor in this passage?  Using slang and situational irony (where the character experiences humorous events).

3

What is the narrative point of view? Why does Twain choose this narrative point of view? First person

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LESSON 2

Realism Assignments Warm-up: Give examples of realism in Huckleberry Finn.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 15-B.

•

Students should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

•

Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 15-B

•

Read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, chapter two, by Mark Twain then answer the following questions.

1

How does Twain introduce Jim to the reader? This forces Huck to deal with a moral dilemma immediately.

2

Tom Sawyer is a foil. How does Twain use Tom Sawyer to develop Huck?  Tom is the romantic whose friend is the realist Huck. Tom pretends and enjoys the unusual event; Huck is always dealing with present reality.

3

How necessary is the vulgarity in this story?  One could argue that it is. It is the primary way that Twain creates humor, and, besides, it is appropriate for this character anyway.

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LESSON 3

Point of View Assignments •

Warm-up: What is your first impression of Huck? Why?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 15-C.

•

Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Characters

CONCEPT BUILDER 15-C

Place the correct letter in the blank. 1

F

2

K

3

G

4

B

5

C

6

H

7

J

8

D

9

I

10

E

11

A

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LESSON 4

Characterization Assignments •

Warm-up: Huck is not a static character. As the novel progresses, he matures. What additional knowledge about the problems of life has Huck acquired by the time he gets to the Phelps’ farm?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 15-D.

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Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

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10

J im is recaptured and Tom and Huck have to explain what they’ve done. Tom, it turns out, knew all along that Miss Watson had set Jim free in her will, so everyone can now return home together. Huck, however, thinks he’s had enough of civilization, and hints that he might take off for the Indian Territory instead of going back home.

2

He tells us about Miss Watson, the widow’s sister, who is bent on teaching him manners and religion, and about Tom Sawyer, a boy Huck looks up to because of his wide reading and vivid imagination. He’s also friendly with Jim, Miss Watson’s black slave.

4

Jim is also hiding on the island, since he has run away from Miss Watson, who was about to sell him and separate him from his wife and children. They decide to escape together, and when they find a large raft, their journey along the Mississippi River begins.

1

Huck introduces himself as someone who appeared in an earlier book by Mark Twain, reminding us of what happened at the end of that story.

3

Huck’s father returns and takes him away from the widow. When his father begins beating him too often, Huck runs away and makes it look as though he’s been murdered. He hides out on a nearby island, intending to take off after his neighbors stop searching for his body.

6

By this time Jim has repaired the raft, and Huck rejoins him. They’re soon joined by two men who are escaping the law and who claim to be a duke and the son of the king of France. Huck knows they’re actually small-time con men, but he pretends to believe them.

5

 fter a couple of adventures on the river, their raft is hit by a steamboat, and Huck A and Jim are separated. Huck goes ashore and finds himself at the home of the Grangerfords, who allow him to come and live with them. At first he admires these people for what he thinks is their class and good taste. But when he learns about the deaths caused by a feud with another family, he becomes disgusted with them.

9

True to his imaginative style, Tom devises a plan that is infinitely more complicated than it has to be. Eventually they actually pull it off and reach the raft without being caught. Tom, however, has been shot in the leg, and Jim refuses to leave until the wound has been treated.

8

The two crooks sell Jim to a farmer in one of the towns they’re visiting. Huck learns about this and decides to free his friend. The farmer turns out to be Tom Sawyer’s uncle, and through a misunderstanding he and his wife think Huck is Tom. When Tom himself arrives, Huck brings him up to date on what’s happening. Tom pretends to be his own brother Sid, and the two boys set about to rescue Jim.

7

After watching these frauds bilk people of their money in two towns, Huck is forced to help them try to swindle an inheritance out of three girls who were recently orphaned. He goes along at first because he doesn’t want them to turn Jim in, but eventually he decides that the thieves have gone too far. He invents a complicated plan to escape and to have them arrested.

Plot

CONCEPT BUILDER 15-D

Place these events in the right order:

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LESSON 5

Criticisms Assignments •

Warm-up: Why does Huck put a dead snake on Jim’s blanket? What harm comes to Jim as a result of the incident? Huck feels regret. Have you done something that you regret?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 15-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 15 test.

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Twain tells his story in informal/slang English. Rewrite these passages in more formal English.

Slang/Informal English

CONCEPT BUILDER 15-E

YOU don’t know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain’t no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth. That is nothing. I never seen anybody but lied one time or another, without it was Aunt Polly, or the widow, or maybe Mary. Aunt Polly — Tom’s Aunt Polly, she is — and Mary, and the Widow Douglas is all told about in that book, which is mostly a true book, with some stretchers, as I said before. I am Huck Finn but the reader would not know me unless he read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. That was a fairly truthful book, with a few exaggerations, which would be expected given the genre of literature that this book is. The truth is, almost everyone lies, except Aunt Polly, the Widow Douglas, or Mary. How Jim speaking. “Say, who is you? Whar is you? Dog my cats ef I didn’ hear sumf’n. Well, I know what I’s gwyne to do: I’s gwyne to set down here and listen tell I hears it agin.” So he set down on the ground betwixt me and Tom. He leaned his back up against a tree, and stretched his legs out till one of them most touched one of mine. My nose begun to itch. It itched till the tears come into my eyes. But I dasn’t scratch. Then it begun to itch on the inside. Next I got to itching underneath. I didn’t know how I was going to set still. This miserableness went on as much as six or seven minutes; but it seemed a sight longer than that. I was itching in eleven different places now. I reckoned I couldn’t stand it more’n a minute longer, but I set my teeth hard and got ready to try. Just then Jim begun to breathe heavy; next he begun to snore — and then I was pretty soon comfortable again. Jim speaking: Who are you? What are you? I know I heard something. I am going to sit down here and listen again. So Jim sat down between Tom and me. Meanwhile, I found it very difficult to sit still. I was so itchy! But, eventually, Jim fell asleep.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. As Huck Finn progresses, we learn to love Jim. Loyal to a fault, trusting, and hardworking, the reader is drawn to this pillar of fecundity. Describe in detail the way that Twain develops this character. SUMMARY: Jim is one of the few 19th-century African-American characters in American literature who has a well-developed personality. While Jim (whose last name remains unknown) still exhibits residual “Sambo” qualities, Twain nonetheless creates Jim as an excellent foil. He is used to develop Huck and several other characters in this novel (e.g., Tom Sawyer and the Duke). Mainly, Twain uses Jim’s conversations with Huck to show how Huck develops. Jim is not a static character. He matures as a man/character. For example, by the end of the novel, he exhibits hurt when Huck lets him down. B. Huck is not a static character. As the novel progresses, he matures. What additional knowledge about the problems of life has Huck acquired by the time he gets to the Phelps’ farm? In an essay, explain how Huck changes to this point. SUMMARY: Huck develops from a self-centered, selfish boy to an insightful — not yet pensive — thinking young man. Huck is now concerned about the outcome of his actions, and the actions of others. He is suspicious of unnecessary violence. This change occurs as he floats down the Mississippi River. At the end of the novel, Huck abdicates leadership to Tom. However, Huck’s more mature grasp of the realities of this situation is still quite evident. C. Compare Huckleberry Finn to the young Samuel of the Old Testament. (1 Sam.1–3) SUMMARY: Huck Finn was a moralistic young man. Samuel was a man who followed God’s laws. There is a significant difference. Huck did what seemed right to him. He does good works, but he is amoral, but not immoral. Everything is relative to Huck. He is good-natured and kind. Inevitably, though, the end justifies the means. On the other hand, Samuel obeyed God’s Word. He was moral and just. Huck’s vision was a realistic vision; Samuel has a theistic vision. Huck basically responded to each situation and made his choices; Samuel obeyed God at all costs. There is a sort of nostalgia about Huck — who is the quintessential, good-natured, modern character — that does not exist in Samuel.

CHAPTER 15 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Objective Questions. (50 Points — 10 points each) ___a___ 1. __c___ 2. ___b___ 3.___b___ 4.___c___ 5.

Discussion Questions (50 Points — 5 points each) A. Most critics agree that The Adventures of Huck Finn is one of the best, if not the best, American novel ever written. Yet, at the same time, it is a deceptively easy book to read. In fact, the same critics argue that it is one of the most difficult books really to understand and to analyze effectively. Why?

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ANSWER: There are so many layers of meaning in this novel. On one hand, it appears to be a children’s story — the continuation of the Tom Sawyer saga — which is a children’s story. On the other hand, it is the first major realistic (worldview) novel written in America. While Melville is a transition writer, there is no doubt that Twain is breaking new ground with this novel. B. One must be skeptical about most of what Huck says in order to hear what Twain is saying. Why? ANSWER: Twain teases his reader by understatement, hyperbole, and irony. These literary elements all conspire to warn the reader to read between the lines to hear really what Twain is saying. C. Is Twain speaking through Huck or Jim? ANSWER: This reader believes that Twain is speaking through Huck because Huck is the main character and we see the story unfold through Huck’s mind. D. “All right, then, I’ll go to hell,” Huck says when he decides not to return Jim to slavery. Huck is convinced that his reward for defying the moral norms of his society will be eternal damnation. What is the right thing for Huck to do? ANSWER: When man’s laws (e.g., abortion) violate God’s laws, man should obey God’s laws. E. The Adventures of Huck Finn really is a different kind of book from what we have read so far this year. Explain. ANSWER: Romanticism — both as a worldview and as a literary technique — is dead in this novel. Especially in the scene where Huck is in Arkansas, we see the consequences of romanticism — a crazy feud murders a generation. The characterizations are real; the setting is real, too — not an aberration. F. Most readers assume that Huck is the hero and center of the story and consider Jim to be a foil. Is it possible they are wrong, and Jim is the main character with Huck as a foil? ANSWER: As I said above, I believe Huck is the protagonist. Frankly, I do not think that Twain was an anti-slavery person, nor do I see evidence that he was any different from other 19th-century Americans — he also exhibited some racism. Jim was merely there to develop Huck. G. One of the major criticisms of Huck Finn has been that Jim is a racist stereotype and that the implication is that African-Americans are stupid, superstitious, and passive. To what extent is Jim a stereotype? Does he break out of this role? ANSWER: He breaks out of his role at the end while he is in prison. Twain is no different than his contemporaries in his views of African Americans. H. What do you think is the climax of the novel? Why? ANSWER: The whole novel is about a journey, an escape, and the climax occurs when Jim is released at the end. I. Why do you think the author chose a carefree but uneducated character as the voice through which to tell this story? ANSWER: This is a brilliant way to poke fun at romanticism and to take the focus off Huck and onto the matter at hand. His lack of sophistication is disarming and charming! J. Do you think it was necessary for Twain to use the word “nigger?” Why or why not? ANSWER: This novel is a realistic novel; therefore, it requires the use of this pejorative expression.

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Chapter 1 6 1865–1915 (Part 2):

Realism, Naturalism, and the Frontier First Thoughts One of the reasons we classify some writers as great is that they permanently change the world in which they live. They alter the consciousness of the people they write for. They create a prototype for all writers who come after them. Mark Twain was such an author. He made Americans proud of their unique surroundings and their special heritage. Twain made it respectable to feature a hero who could barely read and write, whose language was peppered with vulgarity and figures of speech. Huck would be out of place in the living rooms of most of the readers of the novel but he lives on in all our hearts — anyone who has wanted to build a raft and escape on the river. Literary critic Frank Baldanza writes, “Huck Finn is an allegory about God and man. The Mississippi River is a god that provides both beauty and terror. Huck represents mankind’s need to retreat (at least from time to time) from the real world and to take solace in the pleasures of religion” (Frank Baldanza, Mark Twain, 1961).

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Evaluate the effectiveness of the end of the novel. 2. Analyze Twain’s handling of Christianity. 3. Describe what the goal of Huck’s journey is. 4. Give at least one example of Twain’s cynicism. 5. Describe when, if ever, civil disobedience is appropriate.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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History connections: American History chapter 16, “Reconstruction: Primary Sources.”

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LESSON 1

Jim Assignments •

Warm-up: Is Jim a credible, reliable character?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 16-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 16.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 16-A

Read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn chapter three by Mark Twain then answer the following questions.

1

Discuss Twain’s views about religion.  He is not malevolent, as later authors, but he is certainly satirical and on the edge of being disrespectful.

2

Huck is a realist; Tom is a romantic. Give an example to illustrate both worldviews.  Huck realistically assesses the dangers of escaping with Jim. He is realistic about the dangers of remaining with Pap. He discerns the evil involved with the feuding families in Arkansas. Tom Sawyer, on the other hand, lives in a dream world and is constantly creating imaginary scenarios to satisfy his ego.

3

Why does Huck refer to a people group as the A-rabs? Does he mean any disrespect?  No, this is really a term of endearment and respect. To Huck, all Middle Eastern people are “A-rabs.”

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LESSON 2

Tom Sawyer Assignments Warm-up: Why is Tom Sawyer an antagonist, or close to it, in this novel?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 16-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 16-B

•

Read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, chapters four and five, by Mark Twain then answer the following questions.

1

Why does Huck give away his money?  It is unimportant to the simple, fun-loving realist, Huck. He already has all that he needs.

2

Why does Twain introduce Huck’s father at this time? What do you think will happen? Answers will vary. The reader knows he is going to have an adventure with Huck!

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LESSON 3

Form and Structure Assignments •

Warm-up: Pretend you are Mark Twain’s editor and you are going to publish a second edition. What changes in structure would you suggest?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 16-C.

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Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Exaggerations/Similes

CONCEPT BUILDER 16-C

Create similes (exaggerations): I am as hungry as a horse. I am as tall as a house. I am as quiet as a mouse. I am sleeping like a baby. The mountain is as wide as a ocean. My school work is as difficult as a 1,000-piece puzzle. Time is moving as slowly as a snail. Morning comes as quickly as race car. Vacation seems as far away as San Diego. The cool water felt like apple butter.

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LESSON 4

Cynicism in Huckleberry Finn Assignments Warm-up: Give at least one definition of cynicism in Mark Twain’s novel Huckleberry Finn.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 16-D.

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Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Vernacular

CONCEPT BUILDER 16-D

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Vernacular language is neither slang nor informal. It is merely the way people would normally speak (but not write). Write these phrases in your own words:

Examples will vary per student.

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LESSON 5

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

Mark Twain Assignments •

Warm-up: Compare the tone of the following short story with the tone in Huck Finn.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 16-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 16 test.

Perspective and Irony

CONCEPT BUILDER 16-E

The story presents a dichotomy between the cultural expressions of the east and west coasts of the United States back in 1865. How can an author create humor by presenting a story from two or more differing viewpoints or perspectives, such as age, economic status, or regional vocabulary?

Answers will vary

Irony is a humorous aspect of the story of the jumping frog, with a gambler having the tables turned on him. Write a short synopsis for a story where irony plays a major role in how the main character’s life is impacted.

Answers will vary

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Twain’s handling of Christianity wavers between outright scorn and mockery (chapter 1) to veiled superstition. Describe Twain’s attitudes toward Christianity in Huckleberry Finn. Defend your answer with specific passages from the book. SUMMARY: Obviously, Huck did not have a vital, living faith. “After supper she (Widow Douglas) learned me about Moses . . . but when I discovered he had been dead a considerable long time . . . I don’t take no stock in dead people” (p. 2). The whole novel, in effect, is the story of a boy in conflict with and fleeing from ever-increasing deadly forms of sin. Perhaps the one significant change in Huck Finn during the course of the book is his duty to Jim, a morality loosely based on New Testament ethic. B. Every journey must have a goal. What is the goal of Huck’s journey? SUMMARY: Throughout the book there is an escalating engagement between the world of the raft and the world on shore. As the book progresses, there is less and less notice taken of the raft and more and more of the riverbank world. The world on shore — the real world — is singularly unsatisfactory, disingenuous, and immoral. The world on the raft — exhibited by the friendship of Huck and Jim — is genuine and wholesome. C. Huck’s decision to run away with Jim — a slave — is an unlawful act. Huck, though, decides to commit a civil disobedient act. When, if ever, is civil disobedience appropriate? In your answer reference writings from Thoreau. SUMMARY: When man’s laws violate God’s laws, Christians are obligated to follow God’s laws no matter what the consequences. Thus, since chattel slavery, I believe, is against God’s laws, Huck has every right to violate that law; however, once an act of civil disobedience is committed, the perpetrator of the act is obligated to accept the punishment for the crime. Civil disobedience never justifies an act of violence.

CHAPTER 16 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Discussion Questions (50 Points — 5 points each) State what worldview — romanticism or realism —is exhibited in each passage below. Defend your answer. A. ANSWER:  Realism (and naturalism). Notice the everyday details, the unadorned writing, and the ordinary setting. B. ANSWER:  Romanticism. Shelley chooses the extraordinary setting to develop her protagonist. In fact, Dr. Frankenstein is a sort of Alymer (in The Birthmark). C. ANSWER:  Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. Realism. The realistic, cold, unappetizing setting is a metaphor for the empty lives we shall soon observe unfold in this novel. D. ANSWER:  Realism. Steinbeck is one of the most famous American realism writers. Notice the earthy details. E. ANSWER:  Romanticism. To Cooper, nature is ubiquitous. In fact, Native Americans are “noble,” and nature in its pure form (i.e., untouched by human civilization) is pristine.

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F. ANSWER: Romanticism — nature has a powerful effect on the setting. G. ANSWER: Romanticism. The characters and setting conspire to celebrate the extraordinary — the family is extraordinary, the setting is extraordinary. H. ANSWER:  This is a tough call. Melville is a romantic writer, but this book is a transition from romanticism to naturalism. I. ANSWER:  While Wells wrote science fiction, in fact, the images are ordinary and the main characters are ordinary. J. ANSWER: While this is a theistic novel, Doestoevsky writes in a realistic style.

Discussion Questions A. Agree or disagree with these critics. (30 Points) All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn. If you read it you must stop where the Nigger Jim is stolen from the boys. That is the real end. The rest is just cheating. But it’s the best book we’ve had. All American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since. — Ernest Hemingway (1959) ANSWER: Realism, social Darwinism (i.e., the feud in Arkansas), and racism were all a part of the cultural scene of post-Civil War America. This reader categorically disagrees. At this point the climax has not occurred — Jim’s struggle from freedom in the prison is a great opportunity for Twain to develop Jim and Huck. Huck Finn is alone: there is no more solitary character in fiction. The fact that he has a father only emphasizes his loneliness, and he views his father with a terrifying detachment. So we come to see Huck himself in the end as one of the permanent symbolic figures of fiction; not unworthy to take a place with Ulysses, Faust, Don Quixote, Don Juan, Hamlet, and other great discoveries that man has made about himself. — T.S. Eliot (1959) ANSWER: Realism, social Darwinism (i.e., the feud in Arkansas), and racism were all a part of the cultural scene of post-Civil War America. I agree. Huck, in spite of his proximity to other characters, is actually very alone. Twain creates Huck this way so that his journey, so to speak, belongs to the reader and Huck and to no one else. In one sense, Huckleberry Finn seems a circular book, ending as it began with a refused adoption and a projected flight; and certainly it has the effect of refusing the reader’s imagination passage into the future. But there is a breakthrough in the last pages, especially in the terrible sentence which begins, “But I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest.” In these words, the end of childhood is clearly signaled, and we are forced to ask the question, which, duplicitously, the book refuses to answer: what will become of Huck if he persists in his refusal to return to the place where he has been before? — Leslie A. Fiedler (1982) ANSWER: This is a critical question whose answer is pure speculation. The sense is that Huck is a changed young man and cannot return to the racism and duplicity that was the antebellum South. B. The following was quoted in an 1885 newspaper, “The Concord Public Library committee has decided to exclude Mark Twain’s latest book from the library. One member of the committee says that, while he does not wish to call it immoral, he thinks it contains but little humor, and that of a very coarse type. He

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regards it as the veriest trash. The librarian and the other members of the committee entertain similar views, characterizing it as rough, coarse, and inelegant, dealing with a series of experiences not elevating, the whole book being more suited to the slums that to intelligent, respectable people.” Agree or disagree with the Concord Public Library. (10 Points) ANSWER: We must be careful about placing present moral standards on 1885 America. At that time, according to their standards, it probably was obscene. However, I found the novel to mild compared to a Hemingway, Steinbeck, or Salinger. C. One newspaper editor observed in an obituary that “in ages to come, if historians and archaeologists would know the thoughts, the temper, the characteristic psychology of the American of the latter half of the nineteenth century, he will need only to read Innocents Abroad, Tom Sawyer, and Huckleberry Finn.” What is the “characteristic psychology” to which he is referring? (10 Points) ANSWER: Realism, social Darwinism. (i.e., the feud in Arkansas), and racism were all a part of the cultural scene of post-Civil War America.

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Chapter 1 7 1865–1915 (Part 3):

Realism, Naturalism, and the Frontier First Thoughts “Let a thing

become a tradition and it becomes half a lie,” Crane said. He never created a Hester Prynne who gave her life to absolute truth or to a Huck Finn who had affectionate tolerance toward differing opinions. Crane’s world was cynical and very dangerous. His world was full of opportunistic “demons” who sought to do him in. He was “A man adrift on a slim spar / A horizon smaller than the rim of a bottle / Tented waves rearing lashy dark points/The near whine of froth in circles. / God is cold” (from the poem “Adrift on a Spar”). In a short story entitled “The Open Boat,” Crane hauntingly described the frustration of being in an open boat near enough to see the shore but unable to reach the shore and safety: If I am going to be drowned — if I am going to be drowned — if I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and trees? Was I brought here merely to have my nose dragged away as I was about to nibble the sacred cheese of life?

The moribundity expressed by Crane becomes a recurring theme in American literature. Gone is the God of the Puritans and even the God whom Hester Prynne so faithfully served. The great-great-grandchildren of Anne Bradstreet doubted God really loved them at all. “Fate” was the true power that determined their future.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Define maturity. How was Henry more mature at the end of the novel than he was at the beginning? 2. Find examples of hopelessness in modern movies, television programs, and music and explain why, as Christian believers, we should reject this pessimism. 3. Discuss why we can know Crane personally had never been in a battle.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: Students should review “Outcasts of Poker Flat” by Bret Harte; “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin; “Luke Havergal” and “Credo” by Edwin Arlington Robinson; and “Lucinda Matlock” by Edgar Lee Masters (chapter 19).

History connections: American History chapter 17, “Immigration.”

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LESSON 1

The Red Badge of Courage Stephen Crane Assignments •

Warm-up: What is your first response to Henry Fleming?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 17-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 17. Read Red Badge of Courage, chapter one, by Stephen Crane, answer the following questions.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 17-A

1 2

Why would the naturalistic Crane start with a picture of a foggy morning?  To a naturalist, the setting is ubiquitous. It is more important than anything. Beginning with fog vs. sunshine is even more effective. What is the narrative point of view? Why does Crane choose this approach?  Omniscient, although the story is told almost exclusively through the mind of Henry Fleming.

3

Describe Henry Fleming at the beginning of the book. Is he more like Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn? Tom Sawyer — he is a romantic.

4

Why does Fleming enlist? Out of a desire to have adventure.

5

What is the emerging central internal conflict in Fleming’s life?  Will he be a coward and run?

6

What is an example of foreshadowing?  Fleming dreamed he ran from the enemy.

7

Clearly Fleming is the protagonist. Discuss how Crane uses a couple of foils.  The loud and tattered soldiers are all foils.

8

Do you think the Youth will run from the battle?  It seemed possible — since Fleming was so conflicted before the battle.

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LESSON 2

America 1860–1900 Assignments •

Warm-up: What would it be like to be a young person in post-Civil War America?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 17-B.

•

Students should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

•

Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

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Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 17-B

Read Red Badge of Courage, chapter two,t by Stephen Crane, answer the following questions.

1

 araphrase (put into your own words) this paragraph. P Fleming wonders if he is the only one who had doubts about his courage.

2

Given the author’s naturalistic worldview, why is cowardice an irrelevant human motivation?  Running is the most natural thing in the world. It assures survival. On the other hand, in the naturalist worldview “bravery” is merely realizing that one has no control over his fate. None whatsoever. So attacking the enemy is no more dangerous than running from the enemy! When the malevolent “naturalist god” chose to take the poor man, he was doomed.

3

 s Fleming debates whether or not he is a coward, within the mind of Henry A Fleming the author develops one theme. What is this theme? Maturation

4

Why does Crane continue to refer to Fleming as the youth (and not by his proper name)?  Fleming is a “type” character — the naïve romantic who changes to a fatalistic naturalist.

5

Metaphors are comparisons between two dissimilar objects. Circle two metaphors. 1. But the long serpents crawled slowly from hill to hill without bluster of smoke. 2. They jeered the piratical private, and called attention to various defects in his personal appearance; and they were wildly enthusiastic in support of the young girl.

6 7

8

What allure does home have to Henry Fleming?  Early in his maturation process, the allure of returning to the safety of a worldview that offered theism and morality is overwhelming. What attitude does the author have toward the loud soldier?  At first it is mocking; later it is a grudging admiration that the loud soldier has found peace in his place in the universe. The Red Badge of Courage is a story of how Henry Fleming changes. The questions before the reader are “How does he change?” or “He changes from what to what?”  It is the opinion of this reader that Fleming has a “religious” conversion from romanticism/theism to naturalism.

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LESSON 3

More Background Assignments •

Warm-up: Craft an argument against slavery.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 17-C.

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Student should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

Characters

CONCEPT BUILDER 17-C

Match the following characters with their descriptions. 1

C

2

B

3

A

4

D

5

F

6

E

7

G

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LESSON 4

Literary Moves Assignments •

Warm-up: Some critics have called the The Red Badge of Courage a nearly plotless novel. Many of the most important events occur inside Henry’s head. In addition, the action does not rise steadily to a climax. Fleming has a series of crises and then reflection periods after the crises. This is not a normal plot: rising action, climax, resolution. Do you like books like this?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 17-D.

•

Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Northern Virginia or southern Maryland

Setting

CONCEPT BUILDER 17-D

No doubt the setting is critical to Stephen Crane’s Red Badge of Courage. What is the setting? Move from general to specific details.

American Civil War

A battle (Chancellorsville? Antietam?)

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LESSON 5

To Build a Fire by Jack London

My Life Setting

CONCEPT BUILDER 17-E

Assignments •

Warm-up: Compare and contrast Stephen Crane’s view of death with Jack London’s view of death in this short story. They are both naturalist writers.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 17-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 17 test. What about your life? Describe a place (where you live/lived) that greatly impacted your life. Perhaps, living in an urban setting, for instance, determined who you are now. How did this place affect your life? How would you be different without this influence?

Answers will vary. Next, describe where you want to live when you finish your education. What job are you pursuing? Where will you live? Why do you choose this job and this setting? Answers will vary.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Define maturity. How was Henry more mature at the end of the novel than he was at the beginning? SUMMARY: This reader defines maturity partly as “delaying pleasure.” I find Henry to be more mature or, is he just a modern, unfeeling American? I am not sure. I find Hester Prynne to be a far more mature character. Nonetheless, at the beginning of the novel Fleming is incorrigibly a romantic. By the end of the novel he is a naturalist. He no longer cares what happens to him — he is a fatalist. He figures that he has no control over his fate — so why worry, or be brave? At the end of the novel he has not matured to a brave man; he has been transformed into a cynical naturalist. B. Find examples of this hopelessness in modern movies, television programs, and music. Why, as Christian believers, should we reject this pessimism? SUMMARY: This reader is not familiar with too many modern movies (because I carefully avoid them), but even a cursory examination of modern movies exhibits the following characteristics: the protagonists are inevitably divorced, single, or involved in some sort of dysfunctional relationship. There is excessive violence (naturalism) and sexuality (realism) in most movies. There is a sort of maudlin, moralizing in some moves, but by and large this is only a digression from the hopeless plot. Inevitably an unhappy occurrence or doomed relationship ultimately prevails. Why, as Christian believers, should we reject this pessimism? Because it is patently untrue. We are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus (Romans 8). Besides, we are wonderfully and fearfully made, precious in the eyes of God (Psalm 119). We have a wonderful destiny ahead of us (1 Corinthians 15). O, death where is thy sting? Christians have nothing to fear in the world because of what our God has done in and outside this world. C. When he wrote this book, Crane had never shot a gun in anger or seen a battle. Can you tell? SUMMARY: The charge scenes are more like American soldiers storming San Juan Hill in the Spanish American War than a hill in Northern Virginia during the American Civil War. The characters in the novel are far more modern than American Civil War soldiers, who, to a man, were theists. The struggles that Fleming experienced were mostly foreign to Civil War Americans. Not for a moment can I imagine an American in 1861 wondering if there was a God.

CHAPTER 17 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Objective Questions (50 Points — 20 points each) ANSWER: __A___ 1. __B___ 2. __A___ 3. __D___ 4. __D___ 5.

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Chapter 1 8 1865–1915 (Part 4):

Realism, Naturalism, and the Frontier First Thoughts Einstein was

horrified that social scientists took his theory about the quantum nature of light, a description of molecular motion, and the special theory of relativity and created a social theory called relativism (www.bartleby.com/Albert Einstein, Relativity: The Special and General Theory, New York, 2000 Chapter VII). Relativism argued that persons should make decisions based upon the “relative worth” of that decision based on circumstances. In other words, a person was free to do what was relatively beneficial to one’s situation, regardless of the consequences to others. This self-centeredness engenders desperate sadness in protagonists. Henry Fleming belongs more to the 21st century than to the middle of the 19th. He is a man who has become disconnected from his ethical moorings. He is totally, completely, alone. He worships in a forest chapel that is nothing that Emerson would recognize. Nor would William Bradford. Fleming, although he did not know it, had moved beyond Hemingway, beyond Faulkner, all the way to Albert Camus (existentialism) and he finds himself numb to any metaphysical joy that other characters once knew. He is no Hester Prynne who enjoys the company of her

town and her lover. She has the joy of experiencing repentance and therefore redemption. Poor Fleming, like most protagonists in American literature post-1875, is lost, lonely, and desperately sad.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Discuss the plot. 2. Analyze Crane’s tone and writing style. 3. Contrast the naturalist view with some of the earlier romantic writers (e.g., Hawthorne). 4. Discuss what evidence of naturalism can be found in American culture today.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: “Outcasts of Poker Flat” by Bret Harte; “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin; “Luke Havergal” and “Credo” by Edwin Arlington Robinson; “Lucinda Matlock” by Edgar Lee Masters. History connections: American History chapter 18, “The Gilded Age.”

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LESSON 1

Imagery from

The Red Badge of Courage Assignments •

Warm-up: The style is closely related point of view. In passage after passage, we experience Henry’s impressions of his surroundings. For example, to Henry, the campfires of the enemy across the river look like the “red eyes” of a “row of dragons.” In other cases, the images suggest the author’s attitude. For example, as Henry’s regiment marches through the woods and fields, the narrator says, “They were going to look at war, the red animal — war, the blood-swollen god.” At times the novel almost seems surreal! Find one other instance of this writing style.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 18-A.

•

Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 18.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 18-A

Read Red Badge of Courage, chapter three, by Stephen Crane, answer the following questions.

1

The author continues to present the army itself as a living creature — earlier in chapter I he referred to it as a sleeping serpent. In this section he continues to personify the army. “The army sat down to think.” Why does he do this?  To the naturalist, individuals fight fate alone, but in a group they move inexorably into the future. The larger creature has a fate and life of its own.

2

What is the setting? Is it hostile? Friendly?  Most definitely neutral to malevolent. Certainly not friendly.

3

Find examples of religious language. In what way is this battle scene a religious scene?  The youth had been taught that a man became another thing in battle. He saw his salvation in such a change. Hence this waiting was an ordeal to him.

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LESSON 2

Religious Imagery Assignments •

Warm-up: “The red sun was pasted in the sky like a wafer.” This sentence, which appears at the end of chapter 9, contains probably the most famous image in The Red Badge of Courage. The image is a topic of much debate. Some critics believe that Crane is making a comparison between the red sun and a communion wafer. In the Christian sacrament of communion, participants recognize the death and sacrifice of Christ by receiving both bread and wine as symbols of Christ’s body. Readers who accept this interpretation of Crane’s image also see Jim Conklin as a Christ-like figure who helps to redeem, or save, Henry. They point to his initials and to other elements of Christian imagery that occur in chapter 9 as justification for this interpretation. What effect does Jim Conklin have on Henry Fleming?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 18-B.

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Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Style

CONCEPT BUILDER 18-B

The style of a literary work is the way that an author writes. Consider the writing style that Stephen Crane uses. Find examples of the following writing styles. Approximate page references are provided (caution: page numbers will vary according to editions). Style technique

Passage (examples will vary)

Sound and color effects

T he shells, which had ceased to trouble the regiment for a time, came swirling again, and exploded in the grass or among the leaves. They looked to be strange war flowers bursting into fierce bloom.

Use of dialect in the dialoque

“Gawd! Saunders’s got crushed!”

Unusual word combinations

T he composite monster which had caused the other troops to flee had not yet appeared. He resolved to get a view of it, and then, he thought, he might very likely run better than the best of them.

Imagery

“shell screaming like a storm banshee”

Variety of sentence length

Using stream of consciousness and narrative description, Crane noticeably increases the tempo of the action.

Development of irony

Henry’s treatment of Wilson.

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LESSON 3

Violence in Literature Assignments •

Warm-up: The descriptions of the deaths of Jim Conklin and Jimmie Rogers seem tame to us. We see worse every time we watch the news on TV. But death had never before been described this realistically in an American novel. Not ever! Readers were shocked and disturbed by this chapter.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 18-C.

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Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Theme: Maturity

CONCEPT BUILDER 18-C

Pre-eminently, the major theme of this novel is maturity. The author chooses to develop this theme through the character. Using internal conflict, the author uses the protagonist internal conflict to develop his theme. Trace the development of this theme through the following plot incidences.

Dreams of glory: naivete

Army camp life: learning to wait

Flight and contact with Conklin: He faces his fears and realizes that it doesn’t matter. That nothing really matters.

Wild charge against the enemy: In a wild religious frenzy he attackes the enemy. Why not? if nothing matters, if one has no control over his future, why not?

Maturity: victory in battle

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LESSON 4

The Final Chapter Assignments •

Warm-up: In chapter 9 Henry encounters the tattered man when, fleeing from his regiment, he falls in with a group of wounded soldiers. The tattered man appears to be simple and innocent. When we first meet him he is listening to a sergeant with such awe that the sergeant begins to laugh at him. The tattered man is almost pathetically eager to make friends with Henry. We meet him again in this final chapter. What is his purpose?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 18-D.

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Student will re-write corrected copies of essays due tomorrow.

Romanticism vs. Naturalism

CONCEPT BUILDER 18-D

Many critics, including this reader, believe that Fleming changes from a romantic to a naturalist. Trace that development.

Naturalist:

Crisis:

Romantic:

Patriotic; believes in a cause; worried about being a coward

Runs away. This is the time that he changes from a romantic to a naturalist.

Fleming realizes that courage/ cowardice are irrelevant categories. He feels no one is in control of the world. He loses all faith. He is not brave; he just doesn’t care.

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LESSON 5

Blue Hotel Assignments •

Warm-up: Read the following short story by Crane entitled “Blue Hotel” (1898) and find naturalistic themes.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 18-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 18 test.

Compare/Contrast

CONCEPT BUILDER 18-E

The style of a literary work is the way that an author writes. Consider the writing style that Stephen Crane uses. Find examples of the following writing styles. Literary Element

The Red Badge of Courage

Fact

Character development

The protagonist changes from a romantic to a naturalist.

The protagonist is killed. His romanticism was killed by the naturalism of the Wild West.

Internal conflict

The author uses internal conflict to develop his character.

The author uses internal conflict to develop his character.

External conflict

External conflict prompts internal conflict that creates a new character.

External conflict destroys the protagonist before he can change.

Uses of foils

The author uses numerous foils to develop his protagonist.

The author uses one primary foil, who is also an antagonist, to develop his protagonist.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. The plot of Red Badge of Courage, to some critics, has major flaws. For instance, after running farther and faster than anyone else, Henry Fleming proves to be one of the bravest soldiers in the regiment. Some critics feel that this is unbelievable. Do you agree? If you feel that the transformation is believable, explain why you do with reasons from the book SUMMARY: There is a certain episodic feature in his organization. At the same time, we watch Henry discard his idealism for realism. So there are two levels in the plot: the metaphysical realm and the actual plot. Most readers confusingly see this novel as a Civil War novel. In fact, when one examines the worldview war that is occurring, one sees that this is a novel about naturalism vs. romanticism — in other words, a worldview conflict. Still, it is difficult to imagine most 18th-century Americans rejecting metaphysics like Henry Fleming does. B. To Crane, nature has lost all contact with humanity. “It was surprising that Nature had gone tranquilly on with her golden process in the midst of so much devilment.” Contrast this view with some of the earlier romantic writers (e.g., Hawthorne). SUMMARY: Hawthorne’s nature is merely a reflection of God. It is not a separate entity. To Crane, a naturalist, nature is not omniscient nor omnipotent, but it is malevolent. To Hawthorne, Emerson, and Cooper, nature is omniscient and it is benevolent. To the Puritans, God is benevolent, personal, and omnipotent. Nature is under God’s control and merely another one of His creations. C. How was Crane affected by social Darwinism? Social Darwinism was a social theory popular at the end of the 19th century. It argued that a social structure and a human organism both survive according to natural laws, that is, survival of the fittest. SUMMARY: The strongest survive. The weak do not. Charles Darwin published in 1859 On The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. Darwin in 1858 had co-authored (with Alfred Russell Wallace) the theory of natural selection, which says that superior biological variations tend to be preserved. In the struggle for existence, the fit are not those who survive but those who reproduce. Natural selection also leads to diversification as different organisms adapt to particular ecological circumstances. Darwin said all biological similarities and differences are caused by descent with modification. He concluded that all organisms are descended from only one ancestor. Evolution is the name for this biological process that goes back to one common ancestor 3-1/2 billion years ago. Charles Darwin, then, was the father of the theory of evolution. “We have reason to believe, as stated in the first chapter, that a change in the conditions of life, by specially acting on the reproductive system, causes or increases variability; and in the foregoing case the conditions of life are supposed to have undergone a change, and this would manifestly be favourable to natural selection, by giving a better chance of profitable variations occurring; and unless profitable variations do occur, natural selection can do nothing. Not that, as I believe, any extreme amount of variability is necessary; as man can certainly produce great results by adding up in any given direction mere individual differences, so could Nature, but far more easily, from having incomparably longer time at her disposal. Nor do I believe that any great physical change, as of climate, or any unusual degree of isolation to check immigration, is actually necessary to produce new and

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unoccupied places for natural selection to fill up by modifying and improving some of the varying inhabitants. For as all the inhabitants of each country are struggling together with nicely balanced forces, extremely slight modifications in the structure or habits of one inhabitant would often give it an advantage over others; and still further modifications of the same kind would often still further increase the advantage.” — The Origin of Species

CHAPTER 18 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Essay (100 Points) While participating in an American literature community college course discussion, you courageously mention that The Red Badge of Courage is not about the Civil War. The instructor and his students are shocked. To reward you for your insightful comments, the instructor asks you to write a 150-word essay defending your argument. On a separate piece of paper, argue that The Red Badge of Courage is really not about the Civil War. SUMMARY: First, Crane was not old enough to participate in the American Civil War; however, he was a correspondent in Cuba during the Spanish American War. Secondly, Henry Fleming is too “modern” to be a real Civil War hero. His speculation about the cosmos and about God and His sovereignty, imply a worldview far beyond 1865. Red Badge exhibits a worldview — naturalism — that belongs in the late 19th century.

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Chapter 1 9 1865–1915 (Part 5):

Realism, Naturalism, and the Frontier First Thoughts Crane was not

the only naturalist author. Not by a long shot. In fact, naturalism became the worldview of choice of most high culture. The term “high culture” was coined by English essayist Matthew Arnold. Arnold defined culture as “the disinterested endeavour after man’s perfection” and most famously wrote that having culture meant to “know the best that has been said and thought in the world” (Matthew Arnold 1869 of Culture and Anarchy, preface). Arnold saw high culture as a force for moral and political good. The term is contrasted with popular culture or mass culture and also with traditional cultures. High culture, that culture that is producing most American thought and literature, since at least 1875, has captured American culture. Sholem Stein stated, “Both high and low culture have produced masterpieces and works of mediocrity. It is our task to find beauty in unexpected places” (www.artandpopularculture.com/ High_culture).

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Understand how Bret Harte creates humor. 2. Describe the joy that killed Mrs. Mallard. 3. Explain what Lucinda Matlock means when she says, “It takes life to love Life.” 4. Explain what Robinson means by these lines “God slays Himself with every leaf that flies / And hell is more than half of paradise.” 5. Compare Mrs. Mallard to Lucinda Matlock.

High culture is a term referring to the “best of breed” cultural products. What falls in this category is defined by the most powerful sections of society, i.e., its social, political, economic, and intellectual elite. In other words, since 1875, American Christianity lost its place at the table of producing high culture. Let us hope that era is soon to end!

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Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton History connections: American History chapter 19, “The Gilded Age: Problems.”

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LESSON 1

Bret Harte Assignments •

Warm-up: Define local color literature.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 19-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 19. The setting in the short story Outcasts of Poker Flat is the most important element. It shapes each element (plot, theme, characters). Discuss how the setting develops all of these elements.

CONCEPT BUILDER 19-A

The plot: The plot:

The theme: Man vs. nature and the theme of survival dominates the story.

Setting

As the lonely characters develop friendships, it is too late. The weather kills them all!

The story evolves from a harmless outing to a deadly rendezvous with death.

Setting

Contrast Bret Harte’s view of nature with Emerson’s view (chapter 10). Nature to Emerson is friendly. Nature to Hart is something that kills and destroys.

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LESSON 2

Kate Chopin Assignments •

Warm-up: Predict the end of this story after you read the first page. Write it down.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 19-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Dramatic Irony

CONCEPT BUILDER 19-B

Dramatic Irony is when the words and actions of the characters of a work of literature have a different meaning for the reader than they do for the characters. Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” includes two examples of dramatic irony. What are they?

The doctors thought that Mrs. Mallard died from happiness when she saw her husband was alive, but not from happiness, from disappointment and shock!

Josephine worries about Mrs. Mallard. She thinks Mrs. Mallard is sad about her husband dying. Mrs. Mallard is secretly happy to be free!

Dramatic Irony

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LESSON 3

Edwin Arlington Robinson (Part One) Assignments Warm-up: Paraphrase your favorite E.A. Robinson poem.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 19-C.

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Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 19-C

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Read “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson and answer the following questions.

1

Who is Richard Cory and what is his problem?  On the surface, Cory appears to be a well-adjusted, wealthy, if somewhat eccentric gentleman. Inside, though, he is desperately lonely and unhappy — a man who wishes he lived during a different age.

2

The author creates a dialectic. He contrasts Richard Cory with whom?  The ordinary audience and the apparently fabulously wealthy and successful Richard Cory. So on we worked and waited for the light, And went without the meat and cursed the bread, And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, Went home and put a bullet in his head.

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LESSON 4

Edwin Arlington Robinson (Part Two) •

Warm-up: In chapter 9 Henry encounters the tattered man when, fleeing from his regiment, he falls in with a group of wounded soldiers. The tattered man appears to be simple and innocent. When we first meet him he is listening to a sergeant with such awe that the sergeant begins to laugh at him. The tattered man is almost pathetically eager to make friends with Henry. We meet him again in this final chapter. What is his purpose?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 19-D.

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Student will re-write corrected copies of essays due tomorrow.

Tone is the mood of a literary piece. Describe the mood in E. A. Robinson’s “Credo,” and what words stand out that signify the light or darkness of this piece.

Tone

CONCEPT BUILDER 19-D

Assignments

Answers will vary.

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LESSON 5

Edgar Lee Masters

Spoon River Anthology Assignments Warm-up: Write a short poem describing someone who has meant a lot to you.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 19-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 19 test.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 19-E

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Read “Lucinda Matlock” by Edgar Lee Masters and answer the following questions.

1

Identify the speaker. An elderly, deceased woman named Lucinda Matlock.

2

What are sources of joy and pain for Lucinda Matlock?  The joy of being married to a good man and raising so many children. But, then again, many of those children died.

3

What is the speaker’s present location? Presumably heaven

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. How does Bret Harte create humor in his short story “Outcasts of Poker Flat?” SUMMARY: Harte uses dramatic irony. “Some months before he had chanced upon a stray copy of Mr. Pope’s ingenious translation of the Iliad. He now proposed to narrate the principal incidents of that poem — having thoroughly mastered the argument and fairly forgotten the words — in the current vernacular of Sandy Bar.” He also gives great insights into the characters. His insights are so candid that the reader is disarmed and then pleasured by the spontaneity and freshness of his prose. B. What was the joy that killed Mrs. Mallard? SUMMARY: In this short story, Chopin is discussing women’s private, submerged lives. In her novel The Awakening the protagonist “was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her.” The great sadness of losing her husband was shocking but she was also free to explore new vistas in her life. This was the discovery that Mrs. Mallard made. C. What does Lucinda Matlock mean when she says, “It takes life to love Life?” SUMMARY: Her life was hard but it was life and it takes life to love life! This celebration of life, for its own sake, is unusual for late 19th-century naturalistic America! Lucinda Matlock’s ordinary life ended at the age of 96, never having done anything famous. She nonetheless threw a scornful challenge to younger generations, accusing them of not loving life enough. For what has any famous person done that Lucinda did not match? She loved her husband and was loved by him. She gave birth to 12 children and outlived at least 8 of them. She shouted to the forested hills and sang to the green valleys. Best of all, she died as she had lived, willingly, without a sense of loss or of the unreachable dream just across the next hill, round the next corner, beyond the horizon. She found life in her life. It takes life to love life!

CHAPTER 19 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Discussion Question (75 Points) A. Analyze the following poem in a 75 to 150-word essay. In your essay discuss the theme, setting, rhyme scheme, literary techniques (e.g., alliteration, metaphor), and other literary elements (e.g., symbolism). ANSWER: On the surface, this poem offers the reader an image of leaves falling and blowing in the wind. It is both beautiful and sad. The image reminds the old man that his life is ending, too. The poem has an underlying current of death. There is also an agnostic conclusion — the speaker does not know what is in store for him after death. B. Compare with Ralph Waldo Emerson’s The Snow Storm. ANSWER: The romantic Emerson expresses nothing but positive things about nature. The naturalist Robinson is less generous with nature. In fact, nature is malevolent.

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Chapter 2 0 1915–1946 (Part 1):

The Modern Age: Late Romanticism/Naturalism First Thoughts It’s hard to

imagine a less likely author for Ethan Frome than Edith Wharton, for this story of a poor, lonely, taciturn farmer was written by a wealthy, young member of New York City’s high society. Edith Wharton never spent a day of her life inside the sort of poor New England farmhouse occupied by Ethan, his wife Zeena, and their boarder Mattie Silver. It’s a world she visited only in her imagination. But, on the other hand, struggling with depression and a failed marriage, perhaps Wharton knew more about Frome’s world than we understand. She draws a realistic picture of the dark, cramped, cheerless rooms of the Fromes’ living quarters and she applies this setting to life itself.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Analyze the narrative technique. 2. Discuss stream of consciousness in this novel. 3. Find examples of imagery in this book. 4. Tell what the Bible says about divorce. 5. Analyze how the author’s personal life is exhibited in the text. 6. Evaluate the effect of unforgivingness on a person. 7. Explore the biblical understanding of suicide. 8. Define natural selection and explain why this scientific theory is anti-Christian.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: 20th-century poetry.

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History connections: American History chapter 20, “The Wild West”

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LESSON 1

Ethan Frome Edith Wharton Assignments •

Warm-up: The setting of Ethan Frome is vital to all aspects of the novel. It develops the plot, tone, theme(s), and characters. In fact, some critics have said that the setting is a character. The very name of the town, “Starkfield,” suggests barrenness and harshness. What is the setting of this novel?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 20-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 20.

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Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 20-A

Read Ethan Frome, chapter one, by Edith Wharton then answer the following questions.

1

What did education do for Ethan Frome?  It brought frustration and irony. It showed him what he did not have, could not have.

2

 hile this is not the true beginning of the novel — it begins with an introduction W of the narrator — it is the first narrative chapter. Why would the naturalistic author Edith Wharton begin her book with an image of nature? The snow is uninviting and cold, like the relationship between Ethan and Mattie.

3

This passage is an example of stream of consciousness (where the reader is invited to observe the landscape from the viewpoint of one of the characters). Describe this scene through the eyes of Ethan Frome. The dancers are whirling and enjoying themselves! Ethan feels he is not a part, cannot be a part. He sees Mattie, and, in a way, falls in love with her — or what she represents — youth and opportunity — both of which he lost — but hopes to regain through Mattie.

4

 ive two examples of imagery (vivid descriptions). G 1. Frome’s heart was beating fast. 2. The older spectators slipped back to their chairs, and the lively young man, after diving about here and there in the throng, drew forth a girl who had already wound a cherry-coloured “fascinator” about her head, and, leading her up to the end of the floor, whirled her down its length to the bounding tune of a Virginia reel.

5

Mattie is more than a person to Ethan. What does she represent to him? She is the life Ethan thought he lost, and now thinks he might have again.

6

This is the first time that the reader meets Mattie. Describe her. She is young and an ordinary girl, really. To Ethan, she is beautiful!

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LESSON 2

Setting Assignments •

Warm-up: How is interest increased by the conversation between Mattie and Denis Eady?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 20-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Suspense

CONCEPT BUILDER 20-B

Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions, most often referring to an audience’s perceptions in a dramatic work. How does the author develop suspense in this novel?

Stream of Conciousness External

Setting

Conflict

Internal Conflict

Suspense

Dialogue

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LESSON 3

Stream of Consciousness Assignments •

Warm-up: This tragic book is marked by irony. Irony is defined as a contradiction between what is said and what is expected, and is often amusing as a result. Mattie ironically becomes the opposite of what she was as a youth. How do Zeena and Ethan change by the end of the novel? What other instances of irony do you find in Mrs. Hale’s conversation?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 20-C.

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Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Cold

Setting

CONCEPT BUILDER 20-C

The setting of Ethan Frome is as important as the characters. The very name of the village, “Starkfield,” suggests barrenness and harshness. As you read the opening chapters, pay attention to the author’s descriptions of the setting. What words do Wharton use to describe her setting?

Sterile

Starkfield

Barren

Harsh land

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LESSON 4

Irony Assignments •

Warm-up: Theme: a belief about life expressed in a prose / poetry / dramatic piece. A theme is usually subtly presented in the literary piece. A theme should not be confused with a moral. A moral is principle to apply to actual life. A theme is a comment on life. What is at least one theme in this enclosed passage?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 20-D.

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Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

CONCEPT BUILDER 20-D

Drawing the Reader into the Story

How does the narrator draw the reader into this story? There are several correct answers.

Suspenseful Relationships Internal conflict in Ethan

Arresting dialogue

Draws reader into the story

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LESSON 5

Themes Assignments •

Warm-up: What is the emotional mood created by the dialogue in this scene?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 20-E.

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Essay is due. Students should take the chapter 20 test.

Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 20-E

What themes emerge in Ethan Frome? There are several. Offer at least three.

Alienation Confinement

Despair

Themes

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Wharton herself was struggling in a difficult marriage. Do you think this helped her make this novel more credible? How much does the personal lives of authors affect their writing style? SUMMARY: Wharton knew much too well the frustration of a failed marriage — such as Ethan and Zeena’s. Teddy Wharton was 13 years older than his wife and a totally unsuitable mate for her. She bored him, and he scoffed at her literary and intellectual pursuits. When Teddy’s health began to fail, the marriage became still more strained. He crabbed and complained much of the time. In fits of temper he verbally abused his wife. Twice he suffered nervous breakdowns. For the record, Edith Wharton told the story of her marriage in various writings, including her literary autobiography A Backward Glance (1934). If Edith’s version is accurate, though, she wins our sympathy as the wronged partner in the marriage, just as most readers sympathize with Ethan Frome for being stuck with Zeena, his sickly, ill-tempered wife. But Ethan’s is also a one-sided story. Ethan Frome is a product of Edith Wharton’s long and serious contemplation of the mutual obligations of marriage partners. B. At the end of the novel we observe three people captured by unforgiveness. They are, in effect, in a “living hell.” What does the Bible say about unforgiveness? How can you forgive someone who has grievously wronged you? In fact, Ethan Frome has a similar theme to the existential play “No Exit,” by the French writer Jean-Paul Sartre. Read this short play and compare it to Ethan Frome in an essay. SUMMARY: Answers will vary. We must forgive others or we are not forgiven. C. Define natural selection and explain why this scientific theory is anti-Christian? SUMMARY: Natural selection assumes that species are evolving from a lower complexity and utilitarian structure to a more complicated complexity and advantageous structure. This theory argues that scientific forces — not God — are at work in the world. In fact, God is dead altogether. If this is the case, then man is not created in the image of God and onerous, evil practices like abortion and euthanasia make a lot of sense.

CHAPTER 20 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Objective Questions (50 Points – 10 points each) ___D __1. ___C__ 2. __A___ 3. __B___ 4. __B___ 5.

Discussion Questions (50 Points — 5 points each) A. The nameless narrator only appears in the prologue and in the epilogue of the novel. Some critics argue that he is a young engineer with time to kill in Starkfield. With the instinct of a scientist, he investigates Ethan, and with the skill of an experienced writer he tells Ethan’s story. Why does Wharton choose this particular narrator and why doesn’t she have him be a part of the story? ANSWER: The naturalistic Wharton values a neutral, uninterested, uninvolved narrator. Contrast this with the narrator in Poe’s short story “The Fall of the House of Usher.” He likewise is a reliable narrator but he is not an engineer. B. It is interesting that the scientist or engineer is scorned by Hawthorne (e.g., Chillingsworth and Alymer) but extolled by Wharton. Why?

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ANSWER: Continuing the previous discussion, Chillingsworth and Alymer would be useful to the empiricist/naturalist Wharton. Romanticist Hawthorne prefers the poet (see “Old Stone Face”) to the scientist. C. What are two possible themes of Ethan Frome? ANSWER: Alienation and loneliness or moribundity (i.e., death). D. How does Wharton use the setting to advance her themes? ANSWER: When Ethan is gloomy the weather is gloomy; when he is happy there is sunshine. The harsh New England winters suit Wharton just fine. E. Why, in Wharton’s world, are Ethan and Maggie doomed? ANSWER: They harbor romantic hopes in a naturalistic world. They actually think that they can be happy! Just as Henry Fleming must lose his romantic worldview in Red Badge or be killed, likewise Ethan and Maggie need to discard morality and do the “naturalistic thing” — which presumably is to do what is right in their own eyes. F. What role does Mrs. Andrew Hale play in this novel? ANSWER: She is Ethan’s conscience — he can’t possibly pressure or cheat Mr. Hale when Mrs. Hale is obviously so fine a woman. This forces Ethan to stay the course with his moral position. G. The use of darkness and light is an important motif for romantic writers. Likewise, Wharton uses darkness and light to make a point. The contrast between the brilliant light inside the church and the darkness outside is drawn vividly. She does it several other times, too. Why? What is her point? ANSWER: To Hawthorne, darkness is evil and light is openness and goodness. To Wharton, darkness is ignorance and secrecy — both anathema to the empiricist/naturalist. Likewise, to Wharton, light implies beauty and, to her, false hope. Maggie, for instance, lights up Ethan’s face. H. Several of the novels we have read this year have characters who are isolated. Hester Prynne is isolated from her community; Huck Finn is isolated and living alone; Henry Fleming is isolated and alone when he flees from the battlefield; now Ethan is isolated from all others by his shyness and social inadequacies. Yet, there is a considerable difference between Hester’s isolation and all the rest. Why? ANSWER: Within her isolated repentance Hester finds new life and hope. Ethan’s isolation ultimately leads to disaster. I. Mattie has virtually no personality at all. She is critical to the plot but remains completely undeveloped. Why? ANSWER: Her only purpose is to develop Ethan and to help Wharton make a naturalistic statement about the cosmos. J. Because Edith Wharton came from high society, some scholars doubted that Wharton had the insight to write about ordinary country people. On scholar wrote that Ethan Frome “was not a New England story and certainly not the granite ‘folk tale’ of New England its admirers have claimed it to be. (Mrs. Wharton) knew little of the New England common world and perhaps cared even less. She never knew how the poor lived in Paris or London; she knew even less of how they lived in the New England villages where she spent an occasional summer.” Agree or disagree with this critic and defend your answer. ANSWER: Wharton’s novel is far more than a social statement about New England — it is a statement about the cosmos — it advances the naturalist worldview. Thus, her firsthand knowledge about the New England rural lower middle class is irrelevant.

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Chapter 2 1 1915–1946 (Part 2):

The Modern Age: Late Romanticism/Naturalism First Thoughts The famous

beginning of Eliot’s “Prufrock” invites the reader into tawdry alleys: “Let us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherized upon a table; Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets, The muttering retreats Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells: Streets that follow like a tedious argument Of insidious intent To lead you to an overwhelming question . . . Oh, do not ask, “What is it?” Let us go and make our visit.” Likewise, courageous readers, 20th-century poets invite you to real places and you will ask, “What is it?”

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Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Understand use of irony in poetry. 2. Find examples of anger in Langston Hughes’ poetry. 3. Judge if Edna St. Vincent Millay is a second-rate poet. 4. Analyze Robert Frost’s poem “Fire and Ice.” 5. Decide which five American poets and poems you would use in a new anthology.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway

History connections: American History chapter 21, “African American History: The Great Migration”

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LESSON 1

20th-century Poetry Assignments •

Warm-up: Agree or disagree with each critic below: At his best, of course, Frost does not philosophize. The anecdote is absorbed into symbol. The method of indirection operates fully: the senses of realistic detail, the air of casual comment, are employed to build up and intensify a serious effect. (Cleanth Brooks, Modern Poetry, Univ. of North Carolina Pr., 1979, p. 113) Despite his great virtues, you cannot read a great deal of Frost without this effect of the deja vu. Sententiousness and a relative absence of formal daring are his main defects. Even in his finest work, the conventionality of rhythm and rhyme contributes a certain tedium, temporarily relegated to a dim corner of the reader’s consciousness. (M.L. Rosenthal, The Modern Poets, Oxford University Press, 1969, p. 112–113.)

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Students should complete Concept Builder 21-A.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 20.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 21-A

Read “The Death of the Hired Hand” by Robert Frost in the text then answer the following questions.

1

From the first twelve lines, why did Silas leave Warren and Mary?  Because Silas knew he was too old to be a productive worker and he was too proud to say anything.

2

If you were Warren or Mary, would you let Silas work for you? Probably not, because he left on his own free will and is undependable.

3

 hat is it that Mary knows that Warren doesn’t? W Silas has come home to die.

4

 hat does the foil Harold Wilson show the reader about Silas? W He was proud of being good at what he did.

5

Predict the ending of this poem. It doesn’t look good for poor Silas.

6

Using these images, what is the author telling the reader about Mary? She is a thoughtful, pensive, reflective person.

7

Why won’t Silas visit his brother? No doubt his brother is ashamed of Silas.

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LESSON 2

Ezra Pound (1885-1972)

Home

CONCEPT BUILDER 21-B

Assignments •

Warm-up: Ezra Pound was a notorious racist and supporter of the Nazi party in Germany. Do you see evidence of his racism in his poems? Should we avoid reading his poetry because he is a racist?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 21-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

What images, sounds, smells, and other things come to mind when you think of home?

Answers will vary.

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LESSON 3

T.S. Eliot and Langston Hughes Assignments Warm-up: T.S. Eliot met the Lord late in life and wrote some of the most inspiring prose and poetry in the English language.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 21-C.

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Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 21-C

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Read “The Weary Blues” and “Harlem (Dream Deferred)” by Langston Hughes on the previous page and then answer the following questions.

1

In “The Weary Blues,” do you sense the way the poem replicates the rhythm of the blues? Do you feel it? Yes! The piano moans with melody. . . .

2

In “The Weary Blues,” why does the blues singer sleep so soundly? Peacefulness of the music

3

In “Harlem (Dream Deferred),” Hughes compares a dream deferred to: A dried grape, that is a raisin, in the sun

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LESSON 4

e.e. cummings

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 21-D

Read “anyone lived in a pretty how town” by e.e. cummings, then answer the following questions. anyone lived in a pretty how town (with up so floating many bells down) spring summer autumn winter he sang his didn’t he danced his did Women and men(both little and small) cared for anyone not at all they sowed their isn’t they reaped their same sun moon stars rain children guessed(but only a few and down they forgot as up they grew autumn winter spring summer) that no one loved him more by more when by now and tree by leaf she laughed his joy she cried his grief bird by snow and stir by still anyone’s any was all to her

someones married their everyones laughed their cryings and did their dance (sleep wake hope and then)they said their nevers they slept their dream stars rain sun moon (and only the snow can begin to explain how children are apt to forget to remember with up so floating many bells down) one day anyone died i guess (and no one stooped to kiss his face) busy folk buried them side by side little by little and was by was all by all and deep by deep and more by more they dream their sleep www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15403

1

What happens to the children as they grow older? Their imagination and joy wanes.

2

Why does cummings repeat this phrase? For effect

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LESSON 5

Miscellaneous Poets Assignments Warm-up: Choose one of the poets discussed in the lesson and copy his/her style of writing in a poem of your own.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 21-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 21 test.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 21-E

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Read “Poetry” by Marianne Moore, then answer the following questions.

1

Moore is sympathetic with the reader who dislikes poetry but suggests there are some redeeming qualities. What are these? Poetry increases knowledge — not just empathy.

2

Do you like these free verse poems? Why does Moore write this way? To keep the reader focused on her content

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Read “Home Burial” and “Death of a Hired Hand” by Robert Frost — another New England writer — and compare the themes of these poems with Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. Identify elements of naturalism and realism in these literary works. How does nature function in these two writer’s prose/ poetry? How does each author use irony? Why is irony a particularly effective literary device for naturalistic writers to use? SUMMARY: Frost and Wharton use nature to emphasize the absence of God and neutrality or malevolence of nature. Robert Frost’s poems “Home Burial” and “Death of a Hired Hand” have similar themes to Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome. These themes are conflict, loneliness, and isolation. Both works focus on rocky, painful relations, and the inability of the individuals involved to be friends. They display a naturalistic worldview, which is evidenced by the use of irony, which is particularly suited to expressing the naturalistic worldview. B. Read as many of Langston Hughes’ poems as you can. Do you find examples of anger in his poetry? Explain. SUMMARY: This reader finds no evidence of anger. His rhetoric is rich and generous. His metaphors are powerful. He seems to have no axe to grind. C. In Robert Frost’s poem “Fire and Ice,” what’s the speaker’s tone of voice in the first two lines? Is it surprising? How does his tone suit or contrast with the content of what he’s saying? It hardly sounds “like poetry” at all, just like casual speech. What gives it power? SUMMARY: Frost is evoking common images — fire and ice — to express an apocalyptic vision that is the heart of all naturalism.

CHAPTER 21 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Identification (90 Points — 10 points each ) Identify the author of the following passages and explain why you made your choice. Choose from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Bradford, Mark Twain, Stephen Crane, Edgar Allan Poe, and Edith Wharton. A. ANSWER: “Anabel Lee” by E.A. Poe. Notice the rhyme and style of this poem and the romantic images (i.e., immutability and death). B. ANSWER: In “Self-Reliance,” Ralph Waldo Emerson invites the reader to a subjective understanding of reality in line with transcendentalism. C. ANSWER: In “Of Plimoth Plantation,” William Bradford speaks as a Christian theist. D. ANSWER:  In The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton exhibits her penchant to aristocratic images that exhibit presumption and superficiality.

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E. ANSWER:  Typically “The Black Cat,” by E.A. Poe, uses first-person narration and images of horror to advance a romantic agenda. F. ANSWER:  In The House of Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne continues to explore his Puritan, Christian theistic past. G. ANSWER: Typically, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” exhibits Mark Twain’s colloquialism and humor. H. ANSWER: In “Men in the Storm,” Stephen Crane describes nature in malevolent terms. I. ANSWER:  “The Minister in the Black Veil,” Nathaniel Hawthorne… Answers will vary.

Creative Writing (10 Points) Write your own poem. Write your name down the page. Use adjectives or nouns that describe you that also begin with each of the letters. For example: ANSWER: Malicious Angry Red Yelling

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Chapter 2 2 1915–1946 (Part 3):

The Modern Age: Late Romanticism/Naturalism First Thoughts A Farewell to

Arms is a powerful story. Wrought with naturalism, the vision of Ernest Hemingway is a bleak one. This is from the end of A Farewell to Arms: Once in camp I put a log on top of the fire and it was full of ants. As it commenced to burn, the ants swarmed out and went first toward the centre where the fire was; then turned back and ran toward the end. When there were enough on the end they fell off into the fire. Some got out, their bodies burnt and flattened, and went off not knowing where they were going. But most of them went toward the fire and then back toward the end and swarmed on the cool end and finally fell off into the fire. I remember thinking at the time that it was the end of the world. . . . That was what you did. You died. You did not now what it was about. You never had time to learn. They threw you in and told you the rules and the first time they caught you off base they killed you. . . . You could count on that. Stay around and they would kill you.

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Americans have journeyed a long way from the Christian theism of Jonathan Edwards. Unfortunately, the naturalism of Ernest Hemingway is closest to the contemporary American vision.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Find examples of social Darwinism in this book. 2. Compare and contrast Frederick Henry and Henry Fleming. 3. Evaluate Hemingway’s view of truth. 4. Describe the foils in A Farewell to Arms. 5. Analyze a quote by Paul Johnson. 6. Judge the morality of Frederick Henry and Catherine Barkley. 7. Write an alternative ending to this book. 8. What effect does the power of sin have on these characters.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Review Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

History connections: American History chapter 22, “America Becomes a World Power”

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LESSON 1

Background Assignments •

Warm-up: How did the “new, liberated world” help shape Hemingway’s writing?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 22-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 22.

Setting

CONCEPT BUILDER 22-A

The setting is the time and place in which the novel occurs. It is particularly important to A Farewell to Arms. Discuss how the setting affects the different elements of the novel.

Setting: World War I Italy

Characters: World War I and Italy shape the development of all the major characters, including Henry and Barkley Themes: Disillusionment — The gap between humanity’s noble words and its ignoble actions was never more evident than during World War I. Plot: Italy is a setting that demonstrates the ironies of war. To most of the world, France was where the real war was taking place. Italy was, as Henry says, “the picturesque front.” Yet in this picturesque land men are being slaughtered by the tens of thousands.

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LESSON 2

A Farewell to Arms Ernest Hemingway Assignments •

Warm-up: What would a world in economic turmoil most likely produce in the lives and works of writers?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 22-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

The similarities between Frederick Henry and Henry Fleming (in Red Badge of Courage) are remarkable. Trace the development of each character.

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 22-B

Incident

Fredrick Henry

Henry Fleming

Decision to join the army.

Henry joins the army with patriotic ardor.

Fleming joined with patriotic ardor.

The first few battles.

Henry distinguishes himself with great valor. He really was wounded. However, in his recovery he grows increasingly cynical and disillusioned. He becomes a naturalist.

Fleming first runs from combat but later realizes that there is no reason to run — when there is a neutral, uncaring Force in control of the universe. He becomes a naturalist.

The end of the book.

Henry is further disillusioned when his girlfriend Barkley dies. The conversion to cynical naturalism is complete.

Fleming on the surface is a “hero.” In fact, that category has no meaning to him. He is at peace with the universe simply knowing that there is nothing he can do to change his fate.

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LESSON 3

The Real Story Assignments •

Warm-up: Based on what you have studied this year, in what ways does Western and American literature mirror the same stages?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 22-C.

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Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

What are advantages and disadvantages of this point of view? Give an example of both.

Point of View

CONCEPT BUILDER 22-C

Advantage Perhaps the greatest advantage of this narrative method is that it gives readers a tremendous sense of involvement with the story. Seeing everything through the eyes of an active narrator lets readers participate in the events as they occur, real time, real effect.

Disadvantage

The reader has every right to question Henry’s credibility. He is judgmental, moody, and jaded in his views. He disrespects authority and, generally, is a typical amoral naturalist narrator.

Example

Example

“I went out the door and suddenly I felt lonely and empty. I had treated seeing Catherine very lightly. I had gotten somewhat drunk and had nearly forgotten to come but when I could not see her there I was feeling lonely and hollow” (chapter 7).

“I have noticed that doctors who fail in the practice of medicine have a tendency to seek one another’s company and aid in consultation. A doctor who cannot take out your appendix properly will recommend you to a doctor who will be unable to remove your tonsils with success. These were such doctors” (chapter 15).

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LESSON 4

A Farewell To Arms Assignments •

Warm-up: Watch one of these movie versions and compare it to the book.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 22-D.

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Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Foils

CONCEPT BUILDER 22-D

The protagonist, Frederick Henry, is developed by a plethora of different characters. Discuss how each character develops Henry.

Catherine Barkley: The priest: The priest is a likeable, if pitiful character. He is a very sociable, friendly man, but shows no indication that he is a believer at all, much less a capable pastor.

Catherine shows Henry’s amoral, selfish attitude. He is capable of emotion, but quite sloppy about morality.

Rinaldi: Rinaldi invites Henry to hedonism and recklessness. He discourages any introspection.

Frederick Henry

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LESSON 5

“The End of Something” Ernest Hemingway Assignments •

Warm-up: What aspect of a fictional character helps connect you to him or her??

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Students should complete Concept Builder 22-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 22 test.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 22-E

Read “The End of Something” by Ernest Hemingway then answer the following questions.

1

Compare this writing style to the writing style in A Farewell to Arms. The writing style is similar: terse, precise, cogent. Hemingway writes as a journalist. His sentences are simple but profound.

2

Predict the ending of this short story. Answers will vary, but this reader does not see a happy ending occurring.

3

 ow does the history of Hortons Bay parallel the relationship of Marge and Nick? H Their relationship is strained.

4

 hat is wrong with Nick? W The reader does not know. Perhaps he was wounded in World War I (like Hemingway). Or he is fighting depression. Or both.

5

Ask Nick and Marge a question.  Why are you so unhappy, Nick? What can I do to help you? Marge, don’t give up on him!

6

Why is Nick irritated at Marjorie? Apparently Marge wants to renew, or to rekindle, an old romantic relationship that apparently is not something that Nick wants.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Hemingway writes in a journalistic style. Give examples of this style and contrast it to the style that we read in The Scarlet Letter. SUMMARY: Hemingway writes in an active voice, straightforward style. He uses very few adjectives and modifiers. This is a typical naturalistic but more a realistic writing style. Form, therefore, follows function. Hawthorne, on the other hand, deliberately wrote with rich metaphors and language. He was trying to reach for reality beyond the sensual setting. Form, to Hawthorne, had nothing to do with function. B. Catherine and Henry openly, without apology, sin. What does the Bible say about fornication? Is there any justification for their actions? SUMMARY: The wages of sin is death. There is no justification for sin that excuses the infraction. Sin breaks us, ultimately. We do not break it. Many years ago my childhood friend and I, using an umbrella to soften our fall, decided to jump off a barn. However, when my friend jumped off the barn he broke his ankle. Sin breaks us no matter how sincere it is or how harmless it seems. C. Write an alternative ending to this book. SUMMARY: Answers will have to be opinions.

CHAPTER 22 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Objective Questions. (25 Points – 5 points each) __B___ 1. __A___ 2. __D___ 3. __A___ 4. __B___ 5

Discussion Questions (75 Points — 15 points each) A. What does Hemingway mean when he says, “Abstract words such as glory, honor, courage, or hallow were obscene beside the concrete names of villages, the numbers of roads, the names of rivers, the number of regiments and the dates?” ANSWER: To the realist writer Hemingway, hyperbole implies hypocrisy; to the taciturn naturalist writer Hemingway, verbosity is a camouflage for the horror that is life. B. It is raining constantly in A Farewell to Arms. What effect does this have in the novel? ANSWER: Nature, like life, is malevolent. Notice how often naturalist writers use dreary landscapes and weather. C. What narrative technique does Hemingway employ? Why? ANSWER: First person omniscient allows Hemingway to participate in the action without being obligated to tell what anything else thinks (not that it really matters to the self-centered Frederick Henry) D. Frederick Henry is not a hero, he is an anti-hero. Explain. ANSWER: Valor, courage, and nobility are insulting to Henry. He makes decisions out of his own need and subjectivity. E. A foil is a character that resembles the main character in all respects except one — the one trait that the writer wants to highlight. Give an example of a foil. ANSWER: Rinaldi (foil to Henry) and Ferguson (foil to Catherine) are two.

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Chapter 2 3 1915–1946 (Part 4):

The Modern Age: Late Romanticism/Naturalism First Thoughts Literary critic

Sterling Brown in The Nation, October 16, 1937 wrote: Janie’s grandmother, remembering how in slavery she was used “for a work-ox and a brood sow,” and remembering her daughter’s shame, seeks Janie’s security above all else. But to Janie, her husband, for all his sixty acres, looks like “some old skull-head in de graveyard,” and she goes off down the road with slick-talking Jody Sparks. In Eatonville, an all-colored town, Jody becomes the “big voice,” but Janie is first neglected and then browbeaten. When Jody dies, Tea Cake, with his contagious high spirits, whirls Janie into a marriage, idyllic until Tea Cake’s tragic end. Janie returns home, grief-stricken but fulfilled. Better than her grandmother’s security, she had found out about living for herself (people.virginia.edu/~sfr/enam854/ summer/hurston.html).

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Discuss the form that Hurston employs to tell her story. 2. Discuss Hurston’s narrative technique. 3. Exhibit two themes in this book. 4. Draw parallels between Janie’s life and Hannah’s life. 5. Understand what is paternalism and what is wrong with this view of race relations.

We find in this novel by Thurston something new — or rather, something old, but new again. Thurston reminds us again that something more than the ravages of naturalism will sell novels after all.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: The Unvanquished by William Faulkner.

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History connections: American History chapter 23, “World War I and the Roaring ’20s”

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LESSON 1

Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston (1937) Assignments •

Warm-up: Zora Neale Hurston’s protagonist and her family had very little to do with the white community. In fact, Hurston says very little about interactions between the race (the main source of prejudice is exhibited by another African American, Mrs. Turner). How have other American authors handled race-mixing in American culture?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 23-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 23.

A Frame Story

CONCEPT BUILDER 23-A

A frame story is a story within a story. What are the two stories in this novel? What advantage does that offer the author? Hurston tells her story in a frame. The whole story is a conversation/flashback between the same two people sitting on a porch. This strategy/form allows the author to suspend time and tell the reader the entire story in a relatively short period of time. It takes Janie about two hours to tell 40 years of history to her friend Phoebe. One disadvantage is that the reader might forget the “frame story.” This was easily solved by Hurston keeping the flashback as the main story and offering very few details about the frame story.

40 years in the life of Janie

A conversation between Janie and Phoebe

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LESSON 2

Characters Assignments •

Warm-up: Identify the role of these characters: protagonist, antagonist, foil.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 23-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays. A frame story is a story within a story. What are the two stories in this novel? What advantage does that offer the author?

Narration

CONCEPT BUILDER 23-B

Insights into character through commentary:

Insights into character through

Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men. Now, women forget all those things they don’t want to remember, and remember everything they don’t want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly

dialogue: “Listen, Sam, if it was nature, nobody wouldn’t have tuh look out for babies touchin’ stoves, would they? ’Cause dey just naturally wouldn’t touch it. But dey sho will. So it’s caution.” “Naw it ain’t, it’s nature, cause nature makes caution. It’s de strongest thing dat God ever made, now. Fact is it’s de onliest thing God every made. He made nature and nature made everything else.”

Narrative Technique Limited Omniscient

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LESSON 3

Harlem Renaissance Assignments •

Warm-up: Which author has influenced you more than any other?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 23-C.

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Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 23-C

This novel is really about Janie’s self-development as a woman/character. How does the author use Janie’s three husbands to do this?

Jody:

Logan:

Jody, in his own cruel way, helps Janie develop. She asserts her independence.

Logan shows Janie what life is without love.

Tea Cake: Through his creative love, Tea Cake helps Janie mature.

Janie

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LESSON 4

Criticism Assignments Warm-up: Agree or disagree with each critic

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Students should complete Concept Builder 23-D.

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Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Motifs

CONCEPT BUILDER 23-D

•

Motifs are recurring themes that can develop the text’s major themes. Discuss how the author develops these motifs.

Community

Janie generally tries to connect with her community. Given the dysfunctional relationships that she encounters, it is difficult. This creates a constant tension.

Race Relations

Most of the social interaction is within and between African Americans; however, in the background is the ubiquitous problems of racism. Hurston (the author) normally does not consider race to be a legitimate category.

Husband/Wife Relationship

Janie can’t seem to live with a husband nor to live without one! Husbands help her grow as a character, but they also cause great heartache.

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LESSON 5

Black Dialect Assignments •

Warm-up: Which author has influenced you more than any other?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 23-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 23 test.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 23-E

Read How it Feels to Be Colored Me by Zora Neale Hurston in the text then answer the following questions.

1

What changes occurred when the author moved to Jacksonville? She experienced racism for the first time. She also discovered the blues and jazz.

2

The author opens this essay with a satirical statement. Satire is the use of wit to criticize behavior: the use of wit, especially irony, sarcasm, and ridicule, to criticize faults. In other words, the author is poking fun at himself! Explain.  She is delighted to be alive and is not ashamed of being black. “I am colored but I offer nothing in the way of extenuating circumstances except the fact that I am the only Negro in the United States whose grandfather on the mother’s side was not an Indian chief.”

3

What astonishes the author? Why?  “I have no separate feeling about being an American citizen and colored. I am merely a fragment of the Great Soul that surges within the boundaries. My country, right or wrong. Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me.”

4

 What does the author mean, “Slavery is the price I paid for civilization, and the choice was not with me.” Answers will vary.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. What are two themes in this book? How does Hurston develop them? SUMMARY: The first and by far the most pervasive theme is the search for love. We see that emerging as she moves from marriage to marriage. Next is the sustaining community theme. The community, with all its faults, is the place of refuge in Janie’s life. In fact, she returns home at the beginning of the novel to tell her story. B. Draw parallels between Janie’s life and Hannah’s life. SUMMARY: Both were married to less-than-inspiring husbands and both had to have faith in something greater than themselves. Both found what they were looking for. Hannah, of course, was a follower of God. The reader is not sure about Janie’s faith journey. C. How have other American authors handled race-mixing in American culture? SUMMARY: Race-mixing fascinated many white American writers. It has had a ubiquitous presence in American culture. For instance, it was common in American literature (written by whites) for a mixed-race person to be maladjusted, unstable, and a misfit. Many white American writers and social critics found the whole enterprise to be absurd — for example, witness the racially mixed character named Joe Christmas in William Faulkner’s Light in August. Joe was a freak. Doomed. Joe “lurked and crept among its secret places, yet he remained a foreigner to the very immutable laws which earth must obey.” Finally, Joe moved in a straight line to his destiny — death. From the unhappy Joe Christmas in William Faulkner’s Light in August to Dick Peters in Edgar Allen Poe’s The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, American literature has been ungenerous with racially mixed persons. In colonial days there were reports that “a white woman in North Carolina not only acquired a dark color, but several of the features of a Negro, by marrying and living with a black husband.” It was unhealthy for a white person to fraternize with a black person. In light of this, isn’t Hurston’s viewpoint refreshing?

CHAPTER 23 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Objective Test. (50 Points – 10 points each) 1.__B___ 2.__D___ 3.__A___ 4.__C___ 5.__C___

Discussion Questions (50 Points — 25 points each) A. Discuss the way Hurston uses Janie’s three husbands to mark her progress toward fulfillment in life. ANSWER: Logan, husband #1, offers Janie protection as she begins her differentiation process as a young woman. Joe, husband #2, allows Janie to experience prestige and power. Tea Cake, husband #3, showed Janie the love she always wanted. B. Hurston uses one particular metaphor to describe Janie’s life. What is it and how does she use it? ANSWER: Hurston compares Janie’s life to a tree. The first time is in chapter 2. In her search for true love, Janie “ had glossy leaves and bursting buds.” Later, chapter 4, Joe, her second husband, stimulates her to new, bolder adventures — Hurston compares Joe to a pollinating bee. And so forth.

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Chapter 2 4 1915–1946 (Part 5):

The Modern Age: Late Romanticism/Naturalism First Thoughts The Unvan-

quished is not the best book written by William Faulkner — arguably the best novelist in all of world history — but it is one of his best and one of his most readable. This story occurs in the Civil War and begins the Sartoris legends.

Chapter Learning Objectives

As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Evaluate the point of view choice in The Unvanquished. 2. Discuss Faulkner’s writing style. 3. In “The Tall Man,” compare and contrast the worldview of the state draft investigator and the marshal. 4. State whether Faulkner’s title for “The Tall Man” is correct. 5. Discuss the narrative technique in “The Tall Man.” 6. Analyze the plot in “The Tall Man.” 7. Compare and contrast this short story in style and substance with The Unvanquished. 8. Analyze the concept of family sin. 9. Discuss Faulkner’s use of colloquial language.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: The Pearl by John Steinbeck.

History connections: American History chapter 24, “American Life: 1900–1940”

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LESSON 1

The Unvanquished William Faulkner Assignments •

Warm-up: Why is the setting so important to this novel?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 24-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 24.

Granny

CONCEPT BUILDER 24-A

Compare your grandmother to Granny Millard from William Faulkner’s The Unvanquished.

Bayard’s grandmother, Granny, was a stubborn old woman who becomes the novel’s most authentic heroine. She is a literalist. A great moral person. At the same time, she sets up a mule-stealing scam against the Yankees that lasts for almost a year, which relies on her fragile, elderly appearance and her brilliant cunning. Her death is the novel’s turning point and its emotional climax.

Answers will vary. Here is how the author describes his grandmother: The doughty St. Augustine grass irritated my virgin feet too long the captive of black Keds. The uninvited crabgrass surreptitiously invading our lawn, unobserved by our 68-year-old colored yard man Aubry, vexing my feet reminded me that neither I nor the crab grass belonged here this morning. This lawn belonged to my paternal grandmother, whom I cautiously called Mammaw, for she resented being called anything that remotely betrayed her caducity. My cousins called her Granny, but this cognomen was even more unappreciated. Nonetheless, she was my grandmother and I had to call her something. Thus I tried my best to lay claim to my grandmother by calling her Mammaw but I knew that she really belonged to an era and could never really belong to one little boy, no matter how congenital and fervent his claim was. The rest of the white world called her Helen while the African-American world called her Mrs. Helen. I don’t think I ever heard her called Mrs. Stobaugh (our last name). I never knew what to call her. The fact is, sixtyeight but young far beyond her years, Helen simply never told me what to call her. She was so ubiquitous it was our duty to ascertain the finest name we could and then call her that. While she never dyed her hair--she cared little what people thought of her appearance or age — Helen was immutable. And she knew it. She loved pretentious gardens and immaculate lawns.

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LESSON 2

Nobel Prize in Literature 1949 Assignments Warm-up: I think Faulkner is the greatest novelist of all time. Do you agree?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 24-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

•

Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

CONCEPT BUILDER 24-B

Character Development

•

On the chart below, circle the words that describe Bayard as a youth. Underline the words that describe him as a young adult. Check the words that describe him as an adult.

Bayard changes from a choleric to a melancholic to a phlegmatic.

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LESSON 3

The Last Chapter Assignments •

Warm-up: The last chapter, “An Odor of Verbena,” has been criticized as being an entirely different story, or a story within a story. Some critics wonder if it really belongs. What do you think?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 24-C.

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Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

CONCEPT BUILDER 24-C

Motif — The American Civil War

The Civil War is an active presence in The Unvanquished, influencing the characters’ values and actions as well as the plot. How?

Civil War

Civil War

+

+

Characters

Plot

=

The Civil War forces all the characters to mature quickly and violently.

=

The war is involved in all events. It creates the violence that powers the plot.

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LESSON 4

A Rose For Emily William Faulkner Assignments •

Warm-up: Is Miss Emily insane? Why or why not?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 24-D.

•

Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 24-D

Read A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner in the text then answer the following questions.

1

Why did Colonel Sartoris help Miss Emily?  Out of respect for Miss Emily’s father. She represents the Old South and everything that Sartoris holds dear.

2

Why is this scene humorous? In this scene the city officials are trying to be polite, but Miss Emily does owe back taxes. Their inability to confront this issue squarely is humorous.

3

What do you think is the source of the smell? That is the great surprise of this short story.

4

How does Faulkner use other characters to develop Miss Emily? These foils all show different idiosyncrasies of Miss Emily.

5

Against regulations, why would the druggist sell Miss Emily the arsenic? Like everyone else, he was too afraid of Miss Emily to attack any of her delusions.

6

How are African Americans presented in this short story?  They are often strong characters, more intelligent and more moral than many of their white counterparts.

7

Who is in the bed? The skeleton of Miss Emily’s northern beau

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LESSON 5

Sherwood Anderson

The New Englander Assignments •

Warm-up: William Faulkner was deeply influenced by the American short story writer Sherwood Anderson. Discuss similarities between this short story and “The Tall Men.”

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 24-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 24 test.

Character Study

CONCEPT BUILDER 24-E

Briefly describe the main characters in Sherwood Anderson’s “The New Englander” and state their possible motivations.

Character Description

Answers will vary.

Motivations

Answers will vary.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. What is the point of view? Why does it make this book more effective? SUMMARY: First person — from Bayard. Does this form of narration make this book more effective? Absolutely. The whole experience of the Civil War through the eyes of a teenager is at the heart of this novel. Bayard is a remarkable interpreter and we all appreciate his candor. Also, his understatement (e.g., when his grandmother cons the union army) is especially appreciated and makes the entire novel more effective. This reader is not sure how reliable a narrator Bayard is. I would not expect his views about slavery to be too open-minded. On the other hand, he is young and unaffected by other events that unfold in this novel. In that sense he is somewhat neutral and somewhat reliable. B. Compare and contrast this short story in style and substance with The Unvanquished. SUMMARY: The style of writing is very similar. Stream of consciousness is used to develop the characters. There is very little action. The action occurs in the minds of the characters. Themes are subtly but effectively presented. The setting is in the South. There are very few differences between these two works except one is a short story and one is a novel. In a way, “The Tall Men” could fit as a chapter in The Unvanquished. C. Faulkner discusses in great detail the whole issue of “family sin.” In one novel, Absalom, Absalom, he blames the destruction of an entire family upon the sins of a father. The Snopes — an unprincipled, materialistic family — are the natural result of the sinful South (see The Hamlet, The Town, and The Mansion). Like rats in an empty house, they move in and take over as the moneyed, educated aristocracy self-destructs. In this book, Bayard and the Sartoris family are in a steady but definite decline. Compare the results of David’s sin with Bathsheba and the sin that Faulkner’s characters experience. SUMMARY: David commits adultery. One result of this sin is the heartache that Absalom brought him. In his writing, Faulkner often discussed the consequences of sin on a section of country or a community of people. He does this in all his novels, but especially in his novel Intruder in the Dust. He argues here that the South is experiencing judgment, but prefers for the South to deal with its own problems. In other novels he introduces a family called the Snopes. The Snopes are, as it were, a poor, utilitarian group of people who do not value the aristocratic South. Like a scourge of locusts, they destroy the South and the old way of life. The Snopes, like Absalom, represent a type of judgment. In this novel, Bayard watches the judgment unfold. His grandmother and father do not survive the judgment.

CHAPTER 24 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Objective Questions (50 Points – 10 points each) ___A__ 1.___B__ 2.___A_ 3.___A__ 4.___B__ 5.

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Essay (50 Points) William Faulkner has retained you to be his ghostwriter. He wants you to write a short story, 150-250 words, exhibiting the style, characterization, plot, and other literary elements that are similar to his own. Presumably the student’s story would occur in the South and would exhibit several Faulknerian themes: love, alienation, racism. In the following short story, the narrator is an expatriate southerner living in the North who visits his mother in the delta. I was not proud of the fact that I had not been home for Christmas in 22 years. I had too many kids, too many bills, and too little income to justify a two-day trip from my Pennsylvania farm to southern Arkansas. Besides, who wanted to leave the postcard, snowy Pennsylvania Laurel Highlands to spend Christmas along the dirty black railroad ties of the Delta? Who wanted to replace the pristine Mennonite farms of Western Pennsylvania with the cotton strewn roads of southern Arkansas? “I want to tell you a few things, Jimmy (my name), before I join your dad,” she said. Mom never said that she was “dying” or even “passing away.” She was always going to join dad, who had died 18 years previously. My mother told me some stories that changed my history. Not that history changed — my history changed. Those hours, those days before she died changed the way I saw my past, and therefore my present and future, forever. I began to write this novel about my mother. But, while she has a ubiquitous presence in my life, I realized I was unqualified to write about her life. I could barely talk about my own. What I discovered really was that this is a novel about both our lives. Lives that would be thrown together and torn apart in ancestral kinship, in hatred, and finally thrown together again in great love. It is also about a land, the South, that we both loved and hated. (James P. Stobaugh, unpublished novel)

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Chapter 2 5 1915–1946 (Part 6):

The Modern Age: Late Romanticism/Naturalism First Thoughts In 1940, John Steinbeck sailed along the coast of Mexico. During the trip, Steinbeck heard a legend about the misfortunes of a poor fisherman who had found a great pearl. Inspired by the legend, Steinbeck published the story in a magazine in 1945 under the title “The Pearl of the World.” The story was so successful that in 1947 it was published as a book, The Pearl, and adapted as a film.

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Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Discuss in detail how O’Neill builds suspense in this play. 2. What is the setting and how does it affect the outcome of this play? 3. Who is Smithers and what is his purpose in this play?

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: “The Emperor Jones” by Eugene O’Neill.

History connections: American History chapter 25, “World War II and Beyond”

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LESSON 1

The Pearl John Steinbeck Assignments •

Warm-up: Interview someone who lived during the Great Depression. What was it like?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 25-A.

•

Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 25.

Read The Pearl by john Steinbeck. A pearl affects all characters in the novel. How?

Kino

Characters

CONCEPT BUILDER 25-A

loses everything dear to him because of the pearl.

The Pearl

Coyotito

is completely innocent and shows how evil the world is.

Juana

loses everything, too, but she is obviously the most moral person in the novel.

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LESSON 2

About the Author Assignments •

Warm-up: In what way is this novel autobiographical?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 25-B.

•

Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

•

Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Determinism (Fate)

CONCEPT BUILDER 25-B

A central theme of this naturalist novel is the concept of fate, that human beings are never really free, because the course of their lives is determined by outside forces; in this novel, outside malevolent forces. How does Steinbeck create this theme? There are many correct answers.

Kino is born into a poor life.

The terrible things that result are predictable.

Fate

Finding the pearl is by chance.

Even the casting of the pearl into the sea is meaningless.

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LESSON 3

Quotes from The Pearl Assignments •

Warm-up: What is your favorite quote?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 25-C.

•

Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Determinism (Fate)

CONCEPT BUILDER 25-C

Find two examples of situational irony, an outcome that turns out to be very different from what was expected.

Coyotito, an innocent victim, dies.

The pearl is very valuable but brings death and destructiton.

Situational Irony

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LESSON 4

Foreshadowing Assignments •

Warm-up: How does Steinbeck use foreshadowing in his book?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 25-D.

•

Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Social Conflict

CONCEPT BUILDER 25-D

Steinbeck, the author, is trying to make a social statement. He uses his plot and characters to make that statement. There are many correct answers.

The rich take advantage of the poor. The priest is supporting his institution, not the people.

The doctor only helps rich people.

The rich take advantage of the poor.

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LESSON 5

Student Essay: Theme Assignments •

Warm-up: List several themes in The Pearl.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 25-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 25 test.

Plot Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 25-E

The plot develops from exposition, to rising action, to a climax, and then moves to a falling action, and then to a resolution. Record how this occurs.

Exposition Kino finds the pearl

Rising action The pearl brings bad things to family

Climax The crisis that leads to a major altercation

Falling action Kino and his wife return home

Resolution Kino throws the pearl into the sea

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. How does Steinbeck present the priest in The Pearl? SUMMARY: The priest is selfish, manipulative, and perhaps even dishonest. This gives the reader insight to Steinbeck’s naturalist views. Steinbeck’s priest is similar to Hemingway’s priest (A Farewell To Arms) and Melville’s priest (Billy Budd). B. What does this book tell you about the way the naturalist Steinbeck sees God? SUMMARY: Steinbeck, like most naturalists, is an agnostic. The priest is presented in very pejorative ways. Nature is very impersonal and negative. There is a strong sense of fate — a malevolent power that is up to no good. C. Respond to the Priest’s sermon, which stated “Each man and woman is like a soldier sent by God to guard some part of the castle of the Universe.” SUMMARY: Steinbeck’s priest is much worse than the priest we see in other naturalistic novels (e.g., A Farewell to Arms). He is not only ineffectual, he is malevolent. This statement betrays the selfishness of the priest: that the poor fisherman should give away the pearl — presumably to the priest — because the poor man should accept his station in life. The priest is manipulative and dishonest. The notion that “Each man and woman is like a soldier sent by God to guard some part of the castle of the Universe” invites the fisherman to accept the priest’s own selfish agenda.

CHAPTER 25 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Objective Test (50 Points – 10 points each) ANSWER: 1. __A___ 2. __C___3. __B___4. __A___5. __D___

Discussion Question (50 Points) In what sense is The Pearl a parable? ANSWER: The Pearl can be interpreted on many levels. On one hand, the book is based upon an actual historical event. A poor Mexican native did indeed find a pearl. The book, however, is also a parable — which is a type of allegory. An allegory is a story meant to reveal a hidden meaning, in which the characters symbolize something else. A parable is a short allegory. In the New Testament, the Prodigal Son is a famous parable. On one level, The Pearl, like The Grapes of Wrath, is an allegory of economic injustice. Juan Tomas is a symbol of Native American common sense; Kino is a symbol of the desire of the poor to advance themselves; and the doctor, priest, and pearl buyers are symbols of the oppression.

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Chapter 2 6 1946–1960 (Part 1):

The Modern Age: Realism/Naturalism First Thoughts American play-

wright Eugene Gladstone O’Neill revolutionized American drama. His plays made American drama a major player on the stage of Western theater. He moved American theater from flippant comedies to earthy naturalistic plays. There is perhaps no more tragic figure in American literary history than the brilliant Eugene O’Neill. His drug-addicted mother tried to commit suicide but failed, he tried and failed, and his son tried and succeeded. He struggled with depression all his life. He openly renounced his faith in God. In short, he was the quintessential modern man. All his plays concern protagonists who were naturalistic beings who lost their old harmony with nature, the harmony that they used to have as an animal and has not yet acquired in a spiritual way. Thus, not being able to find it on earth nor in heaven, they are in the middle, trying to make peace with themselves and their world. As the critic Toby Cole explained, “The subject here is the same ancient one that always was and always will be the one subject for drama, and that is man and his struggle with his own

fate. The struggle used to be with the gods, but is now with himself, his own past, his attempt ‘to belong.’ ” (Eugene O’Neill in Playwrights on Playwriting, ed. Toby Cole, 1961 kirjasto.sci.fi/ oneill.htm). As one of my professors at Harvard, Harvey Cox, explained, “Once Americans had dreams and no technology to accomplish those dreams. Now Americans have plenty of technology but no dreams left to fulfill.”

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Discuss in detail how O’Neill builds suspense in this play. 2. Analyze the setting. 3. Discuss the themes in this play. 4. Comment on the several kinds of conflict that arise in this play.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: “Little Foxes” by Lillian Hellman.

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History connections: American History chapter 26, “The Vietnam War”

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LESSON 1

The Emperor Jones Eugene O’Neill Assignments •

Warm-up: The Emperor Jones was haunted by unforgivingness that had been visited on him by others. Tragically, he was destroyed by that unforgivingness. Twenty years after World War II, a psychologist conducted a study of survivors of the Nazi concentration camps and their guards. To his horror, he discovered that the survivors had a higher divorce rate, suicide rate, and even higher rate of death by cancer than the concentration camp guards. In spite of the fact that the guards were guilty of heinous crimes, and the former inmates were innocent victims, it was the innocent victims who fared much poorer. Propose a reason for why this was so.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 26-A.

•

Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 26.

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Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 26-A

Read “The Emperor Jones” (Scene One) by Eugene O’Neill then answer the following questions.

1

What do the readers learn about the Emperor before they meet him?  Smithers notices that there is no one around and a lady is stealing things. Clearly something is amiss.

2

Why does O’Neil begin with a preface/commentary where he can speak directly to the audience?  He wants to give the background very quickly to his audience. The background is incidental but important.

3

Who is Smithers and how does O’Neill use him in this play?  Smithers is the perfect, witty, insightful foil. He is a character to whom Jones can confide.

4

 hy does Jones call himself a deprecatory name? W It was not uncommon at this time for minorities to refer to themselves in this sort of language. It would be in character for Jones to do this.

5

How will this play end?  With the naturalistic mood and setting it does not look good for the Emperor Jones.

6

What did Emperor Jones tell his subjects about a silver bullet?  He told them and apparently they believed him that this was the only way he could die.

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LESSON 2

The Life of a Play Assignments •

Warm-up: Which contemporary actor would you have play Brutus Jones?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 26-B.

•

Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

•

Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays. The author, O’Neill, effectively builds suspense (a state of uncertainty, anxiety). How?

Suspense

CONCEPT BUILDER 26-B

The palace is empty.

+ Smithers is uncharacteristically bold in his talk

Suspense

+ The sound of the drums

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LESSON 3

Movie Review Assignments •

Warm-up: What is your favorite quote?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 26-C.

•

Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

External Conflict:

Layers of Conflict

CONCEPT BUILDER 26-C

Discuss the different layers of conflict in this play.

Emperor Jones vs. his subjects

Internal Conflict 1:

Internal Conflict 2:

Emperor Jones vs. his present doubts

Emperor Jones vs. his remembered past

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LESSON 4

Brother Palmer Garner

Naturalism

CONCEPT BUILDER 26-D

Assignments •

Warm-up: Do you have someone who deeply affected your life and encouraged you in your faith? Describe him or her.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 26-D.

•

Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Identify at least two elements of naturalism in Eugene O”Neill’s The Emperor Jones.

The pervasive sense of nature and fate are powerful in this play. The forest is foreboding and evil. There is no moral structure that holds the world together. In fact, it is the abandonment of that faith structure that doomed Brutus.

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LESSON 5

Suspense in Emperor Jones

Dialogue

CONCEPT BUILDER 26-E

Assignments •

Warm-up: How does O’Neill build suspense in this play?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 26-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 26 test. Through dialogue, readers can know each character’s thoughts and feelings. Likewise, the author can advance the plot. There are three types of dialogue: monologue, soliloquy, and an aside. A monologue is a long speech that is spoken by a single character to himself or herself, or to the audience. A soliloquy is a monologue where the character speaks private thoughts aloud. An aside is a comment that is delivered by a character to the audience, who are on stage. Identify the following dialogue examples. Type of Dialogue

Dialogue

Sililoquy

Oh, Lawd, what I gwine do now?

Monologue

JONES — (gloomily) You kin bet yo’ whole roll on one thing, white man.

Aside

In the forest. The moon has just risen. Its beams, drifting through the canopy of leaves, make a barely perceptible, suffused, eerie glow.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Discuss in detail how O’Neill builds suspense in this play. SUMMARY: Brutus Jones is alone in his fears. Using the sound of drums and flashback, O’Neill keeps us on the edge of our seats. From the moment Brutus enters the forest, he enters a surrealistic journey back in time to his own past. B. What is the setting and how does it affect the outcome of this play? SUMMARY: The small island represents a microcosm of the world. On this canvas O’Neill is able to paint a naturalistic world of unforgivingness and hopelessness. Brutus is unable to escape his world the same way Ethan Frome is unable to escape his. There is no moral vision in this world. C. Who is Smithers and what is his purpose in this play? SUMMARY: Besides being a foil to develop Brutus, O’Neill is making a point that the “Smithers” are tailor-made for this naturalistic world. Pragmatic, amoral, self-centered, Smithers thrives while Brutus is destroyed. O’Neill makes no comment, but the fact is one is better off being completely uncaring about his world if one wishes to prosper in this world.

CHAPTER 26 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Essay (100 Points) Agree with the following essay. In your paper, state the central thesis of this essay and discuss how the author supports his argument. Then, agree or disagree with his conclusion. ANSWER: The author argues that Brutus and his contemporaries have every reason to be angry and unforgiving, although this ultimately destroys the person exhibiting the unforgiveness. This is a biblical principle. I agree with the author.

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Chapter 2 7 1946–1960 (Part 2):

The Modern Age: Realism/Naturalism First Thoughts “Cynicism is an

unpleasant way to tell the truth,” Hellman says in her play “The Little Foxes,” and this more-orless sums up her life. Lillian Hellman (1905–1984) became a writer at a time when there was no television, much less any Internet, when writers were celebrities. She more than held her own in this department. In a group that included Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, and Hammett, Lillian Hellman was an avant garde radical. Hellman maintained a lavish and controversial lifestyle that offended many Americans. She was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and her family moved back and forth from New York City, so she was also absorbed in the New York artistic scene. Later she moved to Hollywood where she spent the remainder of her life writing for MGM, but she never forgot her southern roots, and they reappeared in all her literary works.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Describe in great detail the relationship of Horace and his wife Regina. This relationship is a key element of the play. 2. Evaluate this play according to how well Mrs. Hellman presented a credible plot, setting, characterization, conflict, and resolution. 3. Compare Regina Giddens to Jezebel.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

215 History connections: American History chapter 27, “African American History: Nationalism”

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LESSON 1

Lillian Hellman

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 27-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: How can a writer’s “voice” on the page sometimes bring them pain as he or she works to honestly convey personal thoughts and feelings?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 27-A.

•

Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 27.

Read “The Little Foxes” by Lillian Hellman, then on the chart below, circle the words that describe Horace and underline the words that describe Regina. This relationship is a key element of the play.

Horace stays a sanguine and Regina stays a choleric. They are static characters.

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LESSON 2

The Life of a Play Assignments •

Warm-up: What struggles do you see in your city, state, or country that might be the impetus of a new novel?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 27-B.

•

Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

•

Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays. Describe different literary elements of this play.

Literary Elements

CONCEPT BUILDER 27-B

Plot

Resolution

The plot is basically a study of the interpersonal relatonshps between Horace and Regina Setting

Horace literarily is killed by the world that Regina represents.

The South before World War II

The Little Foxes

Conflict Regina and, to a lesser extent, Horace argue a lot.

Characterization Regina represents the crass, materialistic New South and Horace represents the Old, moneyed, traditional South.

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LESSON 3

Villains in American Literature Assignments •

Warm-up: Who is your favorite literary villain?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 27-C.

•

Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Modernism

CONCEPT BUILDER 27-C

“The Little Foxes” influenced a literary movement that dominated American culture from about 1918 to 1950. Find examples of modernism in this play. Modernism Element

Incident In Play

Alienation among even the most intimate friends

Regina and Horace are alienated. Even Regina and her children and Horace are strangers.

Theme of change

Clearly, Regina wants change that Horace does not.

Use of irony

It is ironical that Regina keeps something (i.e., medicine) that Horace needs and Horace tries to keep something away from his wife.

Opposed to tradition

Regina cares nothing about tradition.

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LESSON 4

Movie Reviews Assignments •

Warm-up: Watch The Little Foxes movie (1941) and write your own review. Did you like the movie or the written play better?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 27-D.

•

Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Style

CONCEPT BUILDER 27-D

Style is the distinctive way that literature is written. What style does Hellman use?

Tone:

Tone:

The dialogue is spartan and reveals only the essential.

Viewpoint: Hellman gives no explanation for character motivation. Readers are on their own.

Hellman betrays no partisan view. She is competely neutral

Realism

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LESSON 5

Realism Assignments •

Warm-up: Find examples of realism in “The Little Foxes.”

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Students should complete Concept Builder 27-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 27 test.

Regina Hubbard

CONCEPT BUILDER 27-E

Regina is one of the most despicable characters in modern literature. Compare her to the biblical character Jezebel. Jezebel

Regina

Relationships

Jezebel seems incapable of affection. She is a conniving, evil woman who has no close relationships.

Regina is the same as Jezebel.

Views of authority

Jezebel recognizes no authority higher than what she wants. The world revolves around Jezebel.

Regina is the same way.

Views of God

Jezebel is a Jewish believer, in theory, but she also is a Baal worshiper. In short, religion is not very important to Jezebel.

Regina is completely irreligious and amoral.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Describe in great detail the relationship of Horace and his wife, Regina. This relationship is a key element of the play. SUMMARY: Horace represents the moneyed, educated, but steadily declining South. He embraces abstract, absolute truth. Regina, on the other hand, is a Philistine, self-serving woman who represents the New South. B. Compare Regina Giddens to Jezebel. SUMMARY: Both are completely pragmatic. Both manipulate their spouses and invite them to places of unbelief and immorality. C. One of the interesting aspects of modern American drama is the absence of good fathers, or, for that matter any powerful male figures. David Blankenhorn, in Fatherless America: Confronting Our Most Urgent Social Problem, describes a good father: It would never occur to him — or to his children or to his wife — to make distinctions between “biological” and “social” fathering. For him, these two identities are tightly fused. Nor would it ever occur to him to suspect that the “male income” is more important for children than the “male image.” For him, the two fit together. Consequently, he seldom ponders issues such as child support, visitation, paternity identification, fathers’ rights, better divorce, joint custody, dating, or blended families. His priorities lie elsewhere. . . . What sort of fathers do we find in our plays? How do they measure up to the sort of father encouraged in Scripture? SUMMARY: The male protagonist in this play and other literary works would be the antithesis of a biblicalmodel father, who is the spiritual leader of the family.

CHAPTER 27 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Complete the following checklist (100 Points) Name of play: “The Little Foxes” Name of author: Lillian Hellman I. Briefly describe: (10 points)

protagonist — Horace



antagonist — Regina



Other characters used to develop protagonist — Addie, Cal, Birdie, et al.



Do any of the characters remind me of a Bible character? Who? Why? Regina = Jezebel

II. Setting: (10 points) Southern United States in the early 20th century. III. Tone: (10 points) serious

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IV. Brief summary of the plot: (20 points) R  egina represented the corrupted old south, and destroyed her gentle but alcoholic husband Horace.  hen Horace realizes that the “Reginas” of the world now control Identify the climax of the play: (10 points) W his world (at the end of the play). V. Theme (the quintessential meaning/purpose of the book in one or two sentences): (10 points) The story of the decline of a family, of a worldview, of a civilization. VI. Author’s world view: (20 points) How do you know this? What behaviors do the characters manifest that lead you to this conclusion? Both exhibit naturalism (a sense that there is no control in the universe). VII. Why did you like/dislike this play? (10 Points) Answers will vary.

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Chapter 2 8 1946–1960 (Part 3):

The Modern Age: Realism/Naturalism First Thoughts Authors like

Tennessee Williams ushered in the post-Christian age. The post-Christian age had its roots in the 1920s but really took over in the 1990s. It is dominated by anxiety, irrationality, and helplessness. In such a world, consciousness is adrift, unable to anchor itself to any universal ground of justice, truth, or reason. Consciousness itself is thus “decentered”: no longer agent of action in the world, but a function through which impersonal forces pass and intersect (Patricia Waugh in Gene Edward Veith Jr., Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1994). Enter now that place of tentativeness, of glass-fragile-figures, that glass menagerie that is so much a part of modern America. . . .

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Describe in detail the characters in this play. 2. Discuss what internal and external conflicts characters face. 3. Explain why Williams titles his play “The Glass Menagerie.” 4. Compare and contrast the way that Amanda handles disappointment with the way that the biblical character Joseph handles disappointment. 5. Describe the dreams of Laura, Amanda, Tom, and Jim.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

223 History connections: American History chapter 28, “African American History: Free at Last”

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LESSON 1

The Glass Menagerie Tennessee Williams Assignments •

Warm-up: Did you ever do very well at a sporting event or present a great musical recital and then did you wonder if this was the best you would ever be?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 28-A.

•

Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 28.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 28-A

Read “The Glass Menagerie” (Scene One) by Tennessee Williams, then answer the following questions.

1

Who is the narrator and what does he mean when he says these huge buildings are “always burning with the slow and implacable fires of human desperation? The play is about unfulfilled dreams from people who are desperately lonely.

2

Who is the fifth character? The absent father.

3

Based on these opening scenes, what sort of woman is Amanda? A caring, if overbearing mother.

4

F rom this dialogue what can we infer about Laura? She is shy and a peacemaker.

5

Who is a gentlemen caller? That dream that everyone wants but no one can have.

6

The author gives a lot of detail. What affect does this have on the play? This brings the play alive.

7

Discuss the relationship between Tom and Laura.  They are very close (as anyone can be to Tom) and they share a fatigue of living with their mom.

8

Predict the ending of this play. Answers will vary.

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LESSON 2

The Play as Autobiography Assignments Warm-up: “The Glass Menagerie” is a play about family relationships. Write about your relationship with one of your most special family members. What makes that relationship special?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 28-B.

•

Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

•

Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Archetype Characters

CONCEPT BUILDER 28-B

•

The four characters in this play are archetype characters, a typical, ideal, or classic example of a character type. Match the character with the archetype.

1

C

2

D

3

A

4

B

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LESSON 3

Narration Assignments •

Warm-up: Laura is a young lady who cannot overcome a problem. Have you struggled to overcome a problem that you simply could not overcome? What did you do?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 28-C.

•

Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Characterization

CONCEPT BUILDER 28-C

List the internal and external conflict that each character encounters in this play. Character

Internal Conflict

External Conflict

Amanda

Amanda is captured by memories and hopes that no longer exist. She wants things she cannot have.

Romantic Amanda regularly clashes with the naturalist Tom.

Laura

Laura is the most peaceful of all the characters, but she is bothered by her mother’s conflict with Tom.

Laura assiduously avoids all conflict.

Jim

Jim wants to be nice to Laura but does not want to lead her on.

None

Tom

Tom feels responsible for his family, but desperately wants to move out and to continue his life.

Tom conflicts with almost everyone — his mother, his boss, etc.

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LESSON 4

Symbolism

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Warm-up: What is one object that would symbolize your life? Why?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 28-D.

•

Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Describe the dreams of each character.

Dreams

CONCEPT BUILDER 28-D

Assignments

Character Amanda Laura

Dreams Amanda wants Tom to be a responsible adult and Laura to marry a wealthy, decent man. Laura merely wants to be left alone to enjoy her imaginary world.

Jim

Jim wants to be successful in business and to be happy.

Tom

Tom wants to be free of his family obligations and able to travel the world.

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LESSON 5

The Use of Light in the Play

Dreams

CONCEPT BUILDER 28-E

Assignments •

Warm-up: Jim says, “Everyone excels in one thing. Some in many!” (Scene VII) In what do you excel?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 28-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 28 test.

The father was absent from the entire play, yet, he had a great impact. “This is our father who left us a long time ago. He was a telephone man who fell in love with long distances; he gave up his job with the telephone company and skipped the light fantastic out of town. . . . The last we heard of him was a picture postcard from Mazatlan, on the Pacific coast of Mexico, containing a message of two words — ‘Hello — Good-bye!’ and no address.” What does he represent to the following characters? Character

Representation

Amanda

Amanda is still fond of her absent husband, but, at the same time, he represents the irresponsible adult that she does not want Tom to become.

Tom

His father represents a life that he wants. He resents, too, that his dad left him to take care of his family.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Describe in detail the characters in this play. SUMMARY: Amanda is a fading Southern Belle. Laura is the poor spinster. Tom is the harried brother/son. Jim is the “gentleman caller.” B. What internal and external conflicts do they face? SUMMARY: In Amanda’s world, to be unmarried is to be without valuable identity. Amanda wants to turn back the clock. She can’t. Tom values wealth and personal freedom from responsibility. He has neither. Laura is the most satisfied of the characters. C. Compare the way that Amanda handles disappointment with the way that Joseph handles disappointment. SUMMARY: Amanda does not believe in a benevolent, omnipotent God. She, therefore, languishes in hopelessness. Joseph, in spite of bad things happening with regularity, remains hopeful because of his faith in God.

CHAPTER 28 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Complete the following checklist (100 Points) Name of Play: “The Glass Menagerie” Name of Author: Tennessee Williams I. Briefly describe: (20 points)

Protagonist–Tom



Antagonist–Amanda Other characters used to develop protagonist–Jim, Laura



do any of the characters remind me of a Bible character? Who? Why?

II. Setting: (10 points) urban south III. Tone: (10 points) serious IV. Brief summary of the plot (20 points) Amanda, her daughter Laura, and her son Tom languish in a depression-era apartment in a southern city. Laura, who is obsessed with a glass menagerie, is content to live her days in safe reticence. Amanda, however, wants much more. She is thrilled, then, when she hears tom will be bringing to dinner a “gentleman caller.” However, again, her hopes are to be dashed.

Identify the climax of the play. When Jim shares his good news.

V. Theme (the quintessential meaning/purpose of the book in one or two sentences): (10 points) This is a story about broken promises and dreams. VI. Author’s worldview: (20 points) How do you know this? What behaviors do the characters manifest that lead you to this conclusion? Naturalism. By his abiding pessimism and fatalism, the narrator reminds us that god is absent or innocuous. VII. Why did you like/dislike this play? (10 Points) Answers will vary.

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Chapter 2 9 1946–1960 (Part 4):

The Modern Age: Realism/Naturalism First Thoughts In “The Glass Menagerie” the lives of the characters are touched by the history. But as critic Frank Durham states, time is used in a poetic way, too: Tom stands with us in the immediate present. . . . But through his consciousness we are carried back in time to his life in the drab apartment before his escape. . . . Within this train of memory there are two types of time, the generalized and the specific, and through the use of these two we are given a deeper insight into the lives and relationships of the Wingfields. The first scene in the apartment, the dinner scene, is an example of generalized time. It is not any one particular dinner but a kind of abstraction of all the dinners shared by the trio in their life of entrapment.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Compare Amanda Wingfield to Regina Giddens and Horace Giddens. 2. Analyze C.S. Lewis quote. 3. Discuss if Christians should support movies that help non-Christian persons prosper. 4. Compare several American literature authors. 5. Compare “A Glass Menagerie” to another Williams play.

—Tennessee Williams, Theater Poet in Prose, 1971 (books.google.com/books?id=EbZbDTgbYbY C&sitesec=buy&source=gbs_vpt_read)

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

230

Reading ahead: “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller.

History connections: American History chapter 29, “Culture Wars: 1950s to the Present”

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LESSON 1

Two Themes

•

Warm-up: Write a letter to Laura. What would you say to encourage her?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 29-A.

•

Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 29.

Through dialogue, readers can know each character’s thoughts and feelings. Likewise, the author can advance the plot. There are three types of dialogue: monologue, soliloquy, and an aside. A monologue is a long speech that is spoken by a single character to himself or herself, or to the audience. A soliloquy is a monologue where the character speaks private thoughts aloud. An aside is a comment that is delivered by a character to the audience, who are on stage. Identify the following dialogue examples.

Dialogue

CONCEPT BUILDER 29-A

Assignments

Type of Dialogue

Aside

Monologue

Soliloquy

Dialogue

I am the narrator of the play, and also a character in it.

AMANDA [hopelessly fingering the huge pocketbook]: So what are we going to do the rest of our lives? Stay home and watch the parades go by?

TOM: I didn’t go to the moon, I went much further — for time is the longest distance between places.

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LESSON 2

Form and Structure

Conflict

CONCEPT BUILDER 29-B

Assignments •

Warm-up: Since the play contains no formal “acts,” a director can prescribe an intermission at any time. How would you divide the play if you were directing a performance?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 29-B.

•

Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

•

Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

In general there are four kinds of conflict: man vs. man, man vs. society, man vs. nature, man vs. himself. Which conflicts fit each character? Character

Man vs. Man

Man vs. Society

Amanda

X

X

Man vs. Nature

X

Laura

Jim

Tom

Man vs. Himself

X

X

X

X

X

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LESSON 3

Critic Review Assignments •

Warm-up: Write a more satisfactory ending to this play.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 29-C.

•

Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Dramatic Dialogue

CONCEPT BUILDER 29-C

Dramatic dialogue is dialogue that advances the plot or develops a character through dramatic interpretation. Create dramatic dialogue illustrating the conflict inherent in each situation: Type of Dialogue

Dialogue

Running to your car parked at the end of the church parking lot when it is raining and finding that your younger brother is sitting in the car with locked windows and he will not unlock the doors.

Answers will vary.

Answering the telephone and finding that the phone caller is a friend whom you told you were not at home.

Answers will vary.

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LESSON 4

The Glass Menagerie Movie 1950 Assignments •

Warm-up: While the live play was a smashing success, the movie versions of The Glass Menagerie have failed miserably. Why?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 29-D.

•

Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Plot

CONCEPT BUILDER 29-D

A play can be divided into four parts: the initial situation that introduces the conflict; the rising action caused by the conflict; the climax; the denouement or final resolution. Identify each part.

The climax The rising action caused by the conflict Initial situation that introduces the conflict The principal characters are introduced.

Amanda discovers that Jim is engaged to be married.

The denouement or final resolution Tom leaves.

Everyone is frustrated. Tom offers to bring to dinner a friend named Jim.

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LESSON 5

Characterization Assignments •

Warm-up: Laura is a young lady who cannot overcome a problem. Have you struggled to overcome a problem that you simply could not overcome? What did you do?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 29-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 29 test.

The Use of Light

CONCEPT BUILDER 29-E

The playwright Tennessee Williams uses light to great effect. What effect do the following scenes have on the characters, theme, and plot of “The Glass Menagerie?” Scene

Effect

Because “The Glass Menagerie” is a memory play, the setting is dimly lighted.

The dim lights create a sense that this play is a memory of something from an earlier time. Dim lights keep details from being seen on stage because details fade from the memory first.

Light shining through little glass objects often gives off tiny spots of rainbow color.

In the Bible (Genesis 8) the rainbow is the symbol of a promise. At the same time, when one approaches a rainbow it vanishes. It’s an illusion, a false promise, like so much else in the play.

The electric company turns off the Wingfields’ power.

Then the characters must resort to candles, which softens the illumination and adds romance to Jim’s visit with Laura.

At the end of the play Tom has dreams of Laura “with candlelight.”

Tom associates images of Laura with candlelight. Tom begs Laura to “blow out your candles.”

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Is Amanda Wingfield more like Regina Giddens or Horace Giddens? Why? SUMMARY: Amanda is more like Horace. Like Horace, she is harmless but tragic. B. Chariots of Fire, a famous and popular movie, by most accounts, has a Christian message and most pastors recommend it to their congregations. However, this movie includes actors who obviously are not Christians and is owned by Hollywood studios that care nothing about Judeo-Christian values. Should Christians support movies that help non-Christian persons prosper? SUMMARY: Answers will have to be opinions. C. Read another Tennessee Williams’ play and compare it to this one. SUMMARY: One play with which to compare “The Glass Menagerie” could be “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Blanche Dubois, the protagonist in the play, is a fading southern belle. She has just lost her ancestral home, Belle Reve, and her teaching position as a result of promiscuity. In some ways, she reluctantly participated in this behavior to survive (that is not a justification for the behavior). Blanche was described by Tennessee Williams as moth-like. She is a refined, cultured, intelligent woman who is never willing to hurt someone, but she is at the mercy of the brutal, realistic, naturalistic world. Stanley Kowalski is a common, working man who is simple, straightforward and tolerates nothing but the unembellished truth and lives in a world without refinements. He is common, crude, and vulgar. He is the opposing force to Blanche’s struggles and her world of illusion. Stella Kowalski is Blanche’s younger, married sister who lives in the French Quarter of New Orleans. She has turned her back to her aristocratic upbringing to enjoy common marriage with a brute. She has abandoned any romantic notions. Stella is caught in between the two opposing worlds of Blanche and Stanley.

CHAPTER 29 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Discussion Questions (100 Points — 20 points each) A. Some critics argue that “The Glass Menagerie” is a savage attack on 20th-century American culture. Agree or disagree and support your argument from the text. ANSWER: Williams felt that our facile culture enslaved Americans to dreams that could never occur. Everyone — Tom, Jim, Amanda, and Laura (to a lesser degree) — were motivated by visions of reality that were not real at all. B. Some critics argue that Williams is no naturalist — in fact, they argue, he is a theist (not necessarily Christian) — or at least a “moralist” — in the same tradition of Hawthorne. Agree or disagree and support your argument from the text. ANSWER: Williams is a sentimental naturalist, but I see no evidence he holds to any higher moral structure.

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C. The play has seven scenes and the first four take place during the winter. The remaining scenes occur on two successive evenings during the following spring. Since there are no formal “acts,” a director can prescribe an intermission at any time. How would you divide the play if you were directing a performance? ANSWER: Answers will vary. D. Laura is one of the most pathetic figures in American literature. Is she really that physically crippled? Or is she more emotionally crippled? ANSWER: She is more emotionally than physically crippled. E. How credible is Tom as a narrator? As a character in the play? ANSWER: Both as a narrator and a character, he exhibits self-centeredness that fractures his credibility as a narrator and character.

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Chapter 3 0 1946–1960 (Part 5):

The Modern Age: Realism/Naturalism First Thoughts Arthur Miller

(1915–2005) was one of the finest American playwrights of the last century. Miller’s play “The Crucible” (1953), although concerned with the Salem witch trials, was actually aimed at the then-widespread congressional investigation of subversive activities in the United States. The drama won the 1953 Tony Award. Arthur Miller championed the worldview realism in literature and drama.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Discuss Elizabeth Proctor’s role. 2. Analyze Miller’s assessment of Danforth. 3. Evaluate if John Proctor is a 17th-century character or a 20th-century character.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: A Separate Peace by John Knowles.

History connections: American History chapter 30, “Contemporary Social History”

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LESSON 1

The Crucible Arthur Miller Assignments •

Warm-up: Did John Proctor make the right decision? Why or why not?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 30-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 30.

Setting

CONCEPT BUILDER 30-A

In “The Crucible” by Authur Miller, the setting is an important part. List different aspects of Salem, Massachusetts, during the time the witch trials occurred. There are many acceptable answers.

Puritan community that believed in the existence of witches

Salem people did not believe in “vain enjoyment.”

People were superstitious.

Salem

There was no separation of church and state.

People were involved in each other’s affairs.

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LESSON 2

The Wonders of the Invisible World Cotton Mather Assignments •

Warm-up: Were there really witches in 1692 New England?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 30-B.

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Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Accusations

CONCEPT BUILDER 30-B

Have you ever been accused of something that you did not do? How did it feel?

What Happened

How I Felt

Answers will vary.

Answers will vary.

Answers will vary.

Answers will vary.

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LESSON 3

Stage Directions Assignments •

Warm-up: Mary, Abby, and their friends were simply enjoying a childhood game but by ACT II it is no longer a game — people are being accused and arrested for witchcraft! Describe a situation when you played a joke on someone and it got out of hand. This would be a time when you were kidding around with someone who was hurt and you did not mean to hurt him/her.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 30-C.

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Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts. Identify 4 themes in “The Crucible.” There are considerably more than four!

Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 30-C

Superstition

Forgiveness

Themes

Greed

Authority

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LESSON 4

Soliloquies and Monologues

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 30-D

Assignments •

Warm-up: While the live play was a smashing success, the movie versions of “The Glass Menagerie” have failed miserably. Why?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 30-D.

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Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

On the chart to the right, circle the words that describe John Proctor at the beginning of the play and underline the words that describe Proctor at the end of the play.

Phlegmatic to melancholic

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LESSON 5

Political Agenda Assignments •

Warm-up: Clearly, Arthur Miller had a political agenda when he wrote this play. State what sort of agenda Arthur Miller has.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 30-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 30 test.

Dramatic Irony

CONCEPT BUILDER 30-E

One of the most powerful scenes of dramatic irony in American literature occurs when Elizabeth Proctor is questioned in court. Why?

If Elizabeth tells the truth, which she always does, John goes free. But, this one time, to save him she thinks, she lies. This dooms him.

=

Dramatic Irony

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. What is Elizabeth Proctor’s role? SUMMARY: Elizabeth exists to develop John Proctor. She is the perfect foil. Elizabeth is a very godly, sensitive, principled woman in a world that has gone made. B. Is John Proctor a realistic character? Does he seem more a product of the 1950s than a character living in the 17th century? SUMMARY: A strong case could be made, and indeed this reader would make it, that John Proctor is much more of a 20th-century character than a 17th-century character. For one thing, he does not appear to be the least bit religious and that would certainly take him out of the “Puritan” category altogether. C. Students should research the McCarthy Senate hearings of the 1950s and discuss the connection to the play. SUMMARY: Answers will vary.

CHAPTER 30 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Objective Test (T or F) (50 Points – 10 points each) 1. __T___ 2. __T___ 3. __T__ 4. __F__ 5. __F__

Discussion Question (50 Points) Agree or disagree with this statement: “A critic said, ‘I speak of ‘sin.’’ It is an unfashionable word nowadays and Miller rarely uses it. He is . . . sufficiently imbued with the skepticism of modern thought to shy away from the presumptions implicit in it. But that Miller is willy-nilly a moralist — one who believes he knows what sin and evil are — is inescapable.” ANSWER: This reader agrees with this statement. For one thing, I see no evidence that Miller has any problem with Proctor’s infidelity. This is not to justify Abigail’s action, nor do I sanction burning witches. But I see no evidence, like this critic, that Miller even believes there is sin or that he knows what it means anyway. In short, Miller has written a modernist, naturalistic drama, not a moral play as T.S. Eliot did about the same time (i.e., Murder in the Cathedral).

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Chapter 3 1 1960–Present (Part 1):

Contemporary Writers First Thoughts John Ellis writes,

“To read A Separate Peace is to discover a novel which is completely satisfactory and yet so provocative that the reader wishes immediately to return to it (John Ellis, www.bookrags.com/ criticisms/A_Separate_Peace). Why is the novel so popular? The theme of this novel is universally applicable and universally important. It concerns growing up, making mistakes, and forgiving oneself for those mistakes. Perhaps no American author so eloquently and thoroughly gives insight into these themes.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Analyze the narrator of the novel. 2. Assess the importance of the setting. 3. Give one or two themes of this novel. 4. Determine if Gene caused Finny to fall from the tree. 5. Predict what themes, characters, and plots will emerge in 20 years.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor, “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” by Katherine Anne Porter

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History connections: American History chapter 31, “Late 20th-Century Worldviews”

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LESSON 1

Post-World War II Literature Assignments •

Warm-up: World War II had a great impact on this novel. Is there one event that affected your life more than any other?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 31-A.

•

Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 31.

Point of View

CONCEPT BUILDER 31-A

Describe the point of view of the narration. What are the advantages of this choice? Point of View

Advantages

The narrator is Gene and he tells the story (first person narration) to the reader.

Gene Forrester is a quiet, shy, humble, intelligent person whose point of view does not overwhelm anyone. He is also very sensitive. In a real sense, this novel is the story of a young man, Gene, and his struggles with growing up. As one critic explains, the “power of A Separate Peace resides in the subtle way it conveys very emotional material. This is a book about the rise and fall of a heroic figure who happens to be all of seventeen years old — as seen through the eyes of his dearest friend, who, in a bizarre and finally inexplicable way, is responsible for the final, painful tragedy. It is a book about youth fading to premature age through exposure to death. It is a story told with measured, consistently dampened tones, no shock value, no cheap thrills — and this makes it all the more rewarding, especially in a time when we are in danger of becoming insensitive under a daily barrage of exaggerated sensations. A Separate Peace is a brief novel that gives the gift of time to breathe as we read it. This is what the leisurely, fair-minded point of view of Gene Forrester provides unwaveringly — except at those severe points of stress when his friend Finny falters, falls, suffers, rises up, admits his love, discovers their shared secret, and falls again for the final time.”

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LESSON 2

A Separate Peace John Knowles Assignments •

Warm-up: In what ways was this novel autobiographical?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 31-B.

•

Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

•

Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays. Finny is a tragic hero, on the same level as Achilles in Homer’s The Iliad. Achilles, while being a very capable man, was also very prideful. This pride led to his eventual destruction. In what way is Finny a tragic hero?

Tragic Hero

CONCEPT BUILDER 31-B

The hero is young and strong: Finny is in the prime of life.

The hero’s demise and death ultimately lie in his own flaws: Finny’s pride and recklessness ultimately end his life.

Tragic Hero: Finny

The hero is full of pride: Finny is well-aware of his athletic ability.

The hero is a natural born leader: Finny is the leader of the “gang” at the prep school.

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LESSON 3

Characters Assignments •

Warm-up: Would you rather be like Gene or Finny?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 31-C.

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Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Setting

CONCEPT BUILDER 31-C

The setting has layers, each one affecting the other one. Label these layers.

The larger world: World War II The larger community: The prep school Friends: The prep school group

The interior life of Gene

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LESSON 4

Climax

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 31-D

Assignments •

Warm-up: What if Finny lived? How would this change the story?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 31-D.

•

Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

On the chart below, circle the words that describe Gene at the beginning of the play and underline the words that describe Gene at the end of the play.

Phlegmatic to sanguine

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LESSON 5

The Final Chapter Assignments •

Warm-up: Did you like the ending of the novel? If not, what ending would you like?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 31-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 31 test.

Is Gene a credible narrator?

Credibility

CONCEPT BUILDER 31-E

Credibility

Gene

Is the narrator an intelligent, insightful person?

Yes

Does the narrator lie or exaggerate?

No, perhaps, especially when he talks about Finney.

Is the narrator unstable, prone to fits of temper?

No, not at all.

Is the narrator a participant in the event?

Yes

Does something negative in the plot happen to the narrator?

To a friend

Is the narrator responsible for this negative thing?

Probably

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Gene is the narrator of the story. He tells us what is going on; we see everything through his eyes. How reliable is Gene as a narrator? Would Finny (until his death) be a better narrator? Why not have a teacher or parent relate the story? Would it matter? SUMMARY: The reliability of the narrator, particularly in this novel, is critical. One wonders, at times, if Gene is reliable. The philosopher Kant warns us that we can create a moral imperative to do almost anything. One wonders, after the fact, if Gene has not created a reality that suits his own moral imperative. The notion that he could have injured his best friend is unthinkable! On the other hand, Gene’s winsome personality, sincerity, and intelligence disarm the reader and invite him to believe Finny. It is your call! B. Did Gene cause Finny to fall from the tree? If he did, what would have been the biblical way to handle this mistake? SUMMARY: That is the million-dollar question! In this reader’s opinion: absolutely! Did he mean to do so? Well, I am not sure . . . but he did it. The biblical response would have been to ask forgiveness from Finny (which Gene did, in a way, at the end of the novel). C. Predict what themes, characters, and plots will emerge in 20 years. SUMMARY: Answers will vary. This author believes there will be a revival of wholesome literature and theism.

CHAPTER 31 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Objective Questions (T or F) (50 Points – 10 points each) 1. ___F___ 2. ___T___ 3. ___T___ 4. ___F___ 5. ___F___

Essay (50 Points) In a 150–300 word essay create a sequel to A Separate Peace, being careful to keep the integrity of the story and characters in place. ANSWER: Answers will vary.

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Chapter 3 2 1960–Present (Part 2):

Contemporary Writers First Thoughts Henry James,

William Faulkner, and many other American writers experimented with fictional points of view (some are still doing so). James often restricted the information in the novel to what a single character would have known. Faulkner’s novel The Sound and the Fury (perhaps the greatest novel ever written) breaks up the narrative into four sections, each giving the viewpoint of a different character (including a mentally retarded boy). As I Lay Dying employs a similar approach. These three short stories employ some of the most sophisticated stream of consciousness techniques in American literature.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Compare Julian and his mother. 2. Discuss how Welty uses the journey motif in this short story to advance the action. 3. Analyze the use of foils in O’Connor’s short story. 4. Explain how Porter uses stream of consciousness and dialogue to advance the action. 5. Describe what kills Julian’s mother. 6. Explain what universal truth is revealed in “A Worn Path.”

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Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns

History connections: American History chapter 32, “War on Terrorism”

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LESSON 1

Southern Renaissance

•

Warm-up: How is the proliferation of online writing, connecting people instantly all over the world, influencing today’s society?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 32-A.

•

Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 32.

From ancient to modern, what is your favorite genre of writing, and what does this reflect about you as a reader?

Genre

CONCEPT BUILDER 32-A

Assignments

Answers will vary.

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LESSON 2

Everything That Rises Must Converge

Flannery O’Connor Assignments •

Warm-up: Compare Julian’s mother to Amanda Wingfield.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 32-B.

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Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

•

Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

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Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 32-B

Read “Everything That Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O’Connor in the text, then answer the following questions.

1

Describe Julian’s relationship with his mother.  They love each other but there is a lot of tension. He feels as if his mother is a racist; she considers him to be insensitive.

2

 hat does the hat symbolize? W The New South

3

The author is carefully crafting two characters through dialogue. Explain. We clearly see Julian and his mother.

4

I n spite of the woman’s racism, she has some wisdom. Explain. “Rolling his eyes upward, he put his tie back on. “Restored to my class,” he muttered. He thrust his face toward her and hissed, “True culture is in the mind, the mind,” he said, and tapped his head, “the mind.” “It’s in the heart,” she said, “and in how you do things, and how you do things is because of who you are.” “Nobody in the damn bus cares who you are.” “I care who I am,” she said icily.”

5

J ulian is confident. He feels that he is superior to his mother. Why? Because he is not a racist and, in general, he sees himself as superior to his mom.

6

Why is Julian’s mother so irritated with him? He is caustic, disrespectful, and provocative.

7

How will this story end? Answers will vary.

8

Why is Julian thrilled with the lady who is sitting next to him? She is black and has the same hat as his mom.

9

Why does Julian’s mother try to give the young child a penny? Why did the young child’s mother refuse to accept it? Answers will vary.

10

Was Julian’s mother bothered by the fact that the African-American lady had the same hat as she? The child’s mom saw it as a racial insult.

11

Julian was mostly right about everything he said but he feels guilty. Why?  He was so busy making a point that he forgot that his mom was his mom, a frail woman.

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LESSON 3

Theme Assignments •

Warm-up: How do you deal with issues of racial conflict? How does it affect you?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 32-C.

•

Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Conflicts

CONCEPT BUILDER 32-C

List various types of external and internal conflicts that often create a tension for the plot of a story:

External Conflict

Internal Conflict

1

1

2

2

3

3

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LESSON 4

“A Worn Path” Eudora Welty Assignments •

Warm-up: What does the title “A Worn Path” mean?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 32-D.

•

Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 32-D

Read “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty in the text, then answer the following questions.

1

Who is the protagonist? Describe her? Granny. She is an older, thin, African-American female.

2

What point is the author making with a thorny bush? “I in the thorny bush,” she said. “Thorns, you doing your appointed work. Never want to let folks pass, no sir. Old eyes thought you was a pretty little green bush.” Granny is caught in the thorns of life.

3

What affect do the physical barriers have on his story? They symbolize the many obstacles that this brave lady has overcome.

4

As the protagonist walks, we learn more and more information about her. For instance, what does the scarecrow teach her? She feels like a scarecrow now. But she still can dance!

5

Clearly the entrance of a man and his dog is an intrusion. Why?  They represent racial prejudice, the one great impediment to Granny’s development as a person.

6

Analyze this meeting between Granny and the white hunter.  She is cautious. She understands that the white man could kill her for no reason, with no consequences.

7

What happened to her grandson? He had an accident and cannot swallow well.

8

What is the state of mind of Phoenix? Her mind wanders.

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LESSON 5

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall Katherine Anne Porter Assignments •

Warm-up: What are the qualities that Granny possessed which helped her to live successfully?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 32-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 32 test.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 32-E

Read “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” by Katherine Anne Porter, then answer the following questions.

1

What sort of woman is Granny Weatherall? A strong woman who has survived many hardships

2

What bothers Granny? She is dying and everyone is bothering her.

3

Who is John and what does Granny want to tell him?  There they were, made out of her, and they couldn’t get away from that. Sometimes she wanted to see John again and point to them and say, “Well, I didn’t do so badly, did I?”

4

What causes Granny to remember the day she was jilted? The pillow was squeezing the memory out of her. The pillow was squeezing the memory out of her.

5

Has Granny forgiven George? No.

6

Granny thinks Hapsy is at her bedside. Who is really there? A nurse, or the doctor, or her daughter — someone wearing white.

7

What important truth does this short story share? Some sorrows cannot be forgotten. At death, they overshadow everything.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. In what ways are Julian and his mother similar? Different? How does O’Connor communicate these differences to the reader? SUMMARY: They are both prejudiced. Julian’s mother is prejudiced against people of another color. Julian is prejudiced against prejudiced people. Are they different? Julian claims to be open-minded; His mother makes no claim. On the other hand, Julian’s open-mindedness is a sort of tyranny — as long as his mother agrees to be like him, she is okay. The only conviction Julian has is that everyone who agrees with him is right and everyone who does not is wrong. Julian claims to be intolerant but he is also immoral — he is not committed to any corpus of authority, much less the Christian Bible, and therefore he has nothing on which to base his good works. As bigoted as Julian’s mom is, she still is more principled than Julian. In her sincerity, in her consistent worldview, she is more tolerant of differences than Julian. B. Discuss how Welty uses the journey motif in this short story to advance the action. SUMMARY: Phoenix, the protagonist, makes a regular journey into a local, small town to obtain medicine for her little grandson, who is permanently injured because he swallowed lye. Phoenix has made this journey so often that her mind is free to wander. The reader then, is treated to the delicious insights that Phoenix’s mind offers. Phoenix, then, is on a trip to town and a trip in her mind while she is on the road to the town. C. What is the purpose of Welty introducing the hunter and clinic? SUMMARY: The hunter is the perfect foil. Phoenix, who stoically responds to the hunter, reveals the strength of character that propels this short story into greatness. Inside Phoenix is a lifetime of hardship perpetrated by racism and poverty. She may be poor, but her mind and experience are rich, and enrich all around her if the participant will only notice. She is perceived as an insignificant person but the reader knows better. With her decades of endurance, she is the Rock of Gibraltar! Thus, the reader is not bothered, because Phoenix is not bothered, when the hunter patronizes Phoenix by calling her “Granny” and assuming that she, like a child, is going to town to see Santa Claus.

CHAPTER 32 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Essay (100 Points)

Compare the three short stories in this chapter. Be candid in expressing your reactions to the works. Support your arguments with specific references to the works. In your essay consider the theme, characters, plot, and other literary elements. ANSWER: This short story is superb, almost flawless. O’Connor is second only to Edgar Allan Poe in her writing of a short story. The characters are economically and precisely created. The plot is well-considered; the action flows quickly to a powerful climax. One theme — love and hate are very close emotions — is subtly developed. Welty’s short story is also great — its strength is in its protagonist whose fortitude encourages the most reticent reader. Finally, Porter, too, writes a masterpiece. She crafts the life of her protagonist through stream of consciousness, a very difficult writing technique.

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Chapter 3 3 1960–Present (Part 3):

Contemporary Writers First Thoughts The novel Cold Sassy Tree has been compared to Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because of Burns’ use of humor, figurative language, and satire. That is going too far, of course. It is not technically the same quality as Huck Finn, but Cold Sassy Tree captures the mannerisms and folklore of Georgia in the early 1900s. It is, literally, a theistic local color novel. How refreshing!

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Understand the central conflict in the novel. 2. Analyze Will Tweedy and judge his reliability as a narrator. 3. Discuss Will’s faith journey. 4. Analyze the female characters in the novel.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: The Chosen by Chaim Potok

History connections: American History chapter 33, “Contemporary Issues: Part One”

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LESSON 1

Cold Sassy Tree Olive Ann Burns Assignments •

Warm-up: If the narrator was a young lady would the story be different?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 33-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 33.

Meaning

CONCEPT BUILDER 33-A

What are the three levels of meaning in Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns. Explicit Questions Who are the characters? The setting? The narrator? Will, the narrator, is growing up in a southern town at the beginning of the 20th century. The presence of Rucker Blakslee undergirds everything. Implicit Questions The young grandson accepts the new wife before everyone. What does this tell the reader about the child? He has a keen eye for good character. He also is able to change more easily than his seniors. Deep Questions Does this novel deserve to be called a classic? While it is somewhat sentimental, this theistic novel is a refreshing alternative to other contemporary works.

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LESSON 2

Symbolism Assignments •

Warm-up: What is another example of symbolism?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 33-B.

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Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 33-B

The theme of a fiction work is the central idea, whether simply implied or clearly stated. What are three themes of Cold Sassy Tree?

Coping with Death: Rucker shows Will that God will support them in their grief. Unconditional Love: the love between Will and Rucker, his grandfather, is extraordinary.

Growing Up: in the crucible of this southern town, Will grows up.

Themes

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LESSON 3

My Diary

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 33-C

Assignments •

Warm-up: What insights would you put in your own diary?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 33-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of all assigned essays.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

On the chart below, circle the words that describe Rucker Blakeslee.

Sanguine and choleric

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LESSON 4

Reliable Narration

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 33-D

Assignments •

Warm-up: Is Will Tweedy a reliable narrator?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 33-D.

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Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

On the chart below, circle the words that describe Will Tweedy.

Sanguine

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LESSON 5

Motifs

Motif

CONCEPT BUILDER 33-E

Assignments •

Warm-up: What motifs do you find in your favorite novel?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 33-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 33 test.

Motifs are recurring structures that inform the text’s major themes. In Cold Sassy Tree, families are both a burden and an invaluable support system. How is the family both a blessing and impediment to the major themes emerging? Blessing

Impediment

Will’s family has power games in which they try to force one another to behave in certain ways. Rucker’s daughters have the power to make Miss Love miserable, but Rucker uses his position as head of the family to mitigate their bitterness. When Camp commits suicide, Rucker stoutly honors his memory, even though Rucker treated Camp badly and resented the fact that his family commitment forced Rucker to give the lazy boy special treatment.

Burns concludes that like all of life’s other obstacles, families are a source of grief and anxiety, but that they can also provide succor and foster growth. They are a sustaining presence in Will’s life. They ultimately draw Miss Love into their sphere and support and love her, too.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. What is the central conflict in this novel? SUMMARY: The central conflict is that of the rugged individualist taking to task and then breaking through small town bigotry. B. In what ways has the narrator matured? What objects does Burns use to show this? SUMMARY: The accident on the train trestle causes Will to think life and death. The photograph of Will, Rucker, and Miss Love is a token of all the lessons about love that Will learns from that relationship. The root of the sassafras tree reminds Will of old Cold Sassy. The agricultural college diploma evidences that Will has followed his dream of becoming a farmer. C. Discuss Will’s faith journey. SUMMARY: Burns uses death to refine her protagonist’s faith journey. Death is a major theme. It frames the story. It begins with Mattie Lou’s death and closes with Rucker’s death. This causes Will to question the meaning of life and the mercy of God. Will himself almost dies, a brush with mortality that intensifies his desire to understand God. He wonders but never really discovers if God is actually involved in the everyday affairs of people.

CHAPTER 33 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Objective Test (T or F) (50 points – 10 points each) 1. __F___ 2. __T___ 3. ___T__ 4. __F___ 5. __T___

Essay (50 Points) What does the Cold Sassy Tree symbolize? ANSWER: The Cold Sassy tree gives the novel its title and the town its name, and it stands for Rucker’s and Miss Love’s strength and composure in the face of adverse community opinion. One critic observed, too, that the town takes its name from the trees, and the shrinking sassafras grove parallels the town’s bittersweet progress. With the eradication of the sassafras trees over time, the town grows more modern and distances itself more from its heritage.

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Chapter 3 4 1960–Present (Part 4):

Contemporary Writers First Thoughts It is no small

pleasure for me to tell you that at least one of the great, classical pieces of American literature includes two central characters who are a Hasid and a traditional Orthodox Jew. This course moved from the theistic Puritans who embraced a metaphysical, moral worldview. The Hasidim are known for their mystical interpretation of Judaism and for their faithful devotion to their leaders. In contrast, traditional orthodoxy emphasizes a rational and intellectual approach to Judaism. But both are God-centered. Rueven are Jewish first; Americans second. That is the whole strength of our nation. Something that we forgot along the way. How encouraging that Chaim Potok reminds us again that the heart of our nation is centered on God. The novel examines Jewish identity from within these contexts by telling the parallel stories of two Jewish adolescents who are similar enough to become best friends, yet different enough to change each other’s view of the world.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Analyze the ending. 2. Assess the role of women in this book. 3. Explain why Potok tells the story from Reuven’s rather than Danny’s point of view. 4. Evaluate if Danny should become a psychotherapist even though it violated his father’s wishes.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 274; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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History connections: American History chapter 34, “Contemporary Issues: Part Two”

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LESSON 1

The Chosen Chaim Potok

Similarities

CONCEPT BUILDER 34-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: Write an imaginary letter to Rueven and Danny five years after the novel ends.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 34-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 34.

In The Chosen by Chaim Potok, Danny and Reuven view each other as being very different. In fact, they have much in common. List ways that the two boys are similar and ways that they are different. Similar

Both are very intelligent and religious (in their own way). They both love their fathers very much.

Different

Reuven is a conservative Jew; Danny is an Hasidic Jew.

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LESSON 2

Judaism Assignments •

Warm-up: Do religious rituals cause more divisiveness than they are worth?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 34-B.

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Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays. Worldviews are about values. Rate the follow items: 1 equals “do not value at all”; 5 equals “value a whole lot.”

Values

CONCEPT BUILDER 34-B

Reb Saunders

Reb Saunders

Danny Saunders

David Malter

Reuven Malter

Wants his son to be a great leader in Hasidim. He loves Danny a great deal.

While they disagree on theology and Zionism, they respect and even admire one another.

Likes Reuven and wants Danny to be friends with him.

Respects Mr. Malter but cannot accept his theology.

Danny and Reuven grow to be good friends.

Danny Saunders

Feelings: mutual respect; Danny fears his father and wishes his father would talk to him.

David Malter

Greatly respects Reb Saunders but disagrees with his theology.

Likes Danny a lot. Wants him to be friends with his son.

Reuven Malter

Admires Reb Saunders and wants his approbation. He is a mystery, however, to Reuven.

Danny and Reuven grow to be good friends.

Intensely loves his son and is so proud of him!

Reuven loves his father and wants to please him.

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LESSON 3

Two Characters

Two Views of the Plot

CONCEPT BUILDER 34-C

Assignments •

Warm-up: Who do you like better — Danny or Rueven?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 34-C.

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Students should write rough draft of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

One critic said of Chaim Potok’s novels, “As in all good fiction, Mr. Potok makes us believe that his stories are true, that they could only have been as he has told them.” In contrast, another critic said of The Chosen that “Reuven, the idealized first-person narrator, is too much a goody-goody to be true.” Which position do you agree with? Why?

This reader believes that this book is good fiction.

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LESSON 4

Review of the Movie Version

The Chosen (1981)

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 34-D

Assignments •

Warm-up: Watch the 1981 movie and compare it to the book.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 34-D.

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Student will re-write corrected copy of essay due tomorrow.

On the chart below, circle the words that describe Rueven at the beginning of the play and underline the words that describe Rueven at the end of the play.

Reuven remains a sanguine person throughout the novel. He is a static character.

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LESSON 5

Father and Sons

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 34-E

Assignments •

Warm-up: Discuss a parent or guardian and how God has used him/her to mold you into the character you are now.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 34-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 34 test.

On the chart below, circle the words that describe Danny at the beginning of the play and underline the words that describe Danny at the end of the play.

Danny changes from a choleric to a sanguine person.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Why does Potok tell the story from Reuven’s rather than Danny’s point of view? SUMMARY: It appears that Potok can identify with Rueven more than Danny. In fact, Danny is a very mysterious character in the beginning, but readers warm up to him as the novel progresses. At the same time, Danny is a very round, developed character and readers identify with many of his problems. Nonetheless, Reuven, with his orthodoxy, is a more candid, objective, reliable narrator than the confused Danny. B. Should Danny have become a psychotherapist even though it violated his father’s wishes? SUMMARY: That is a hard call. We should honor our parents, but, after college, Danny is an adult and should make his own decisions. C. Potok is a master storyteller. In some ways “what he does not write” is important as “what he does write.” Explain. SUMMARY: Potok skillfully flatters his readers by trusting them to pick up subtle signals between Reuven and Danny. He shows more than tells the reader how these two young men grow to be such close friends.

CHAPTER 34 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B)

Objective Test (T or F) (50 Points – 10 points each) 1. __T___ 2. ___F__ 3. ___T__ 4. __T___ 5. __T___

Discussion Question (50 Points) A. Discuss the way Potok develops his most fascinating character, Reb Saunders. ANSWER: Reb Saunders is a bundle of contradictions. He is a fanatic Hasidic Jew but he does not oppose Danny’s decision to become a psychotherapist. He loves Danny but practices a form of mental torture by never speaking to him. He is a man full of profundity that transcends this novel and makes him one of the most fascinating characters in American literature. B. What is the central thematic conflict that occurs between Reuven and Danny? ANSWER: Reuven and his family support the founding of the Jewish state of Israel (they are Zionists) but Danny and his family strongly oppose the founding of the Jewish state of Israel.

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Essay Options

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Chapter 1: Essay Options A. What was William Bradford’s view of nature? B. Edward Taylor’s poetry displays the influence of English metaphysical poets. Research the metaphysical poets in England and compare and contrast their writings with Taylor’s. C. Read J.I. Packer, A Quest For Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life. Packer argues that the depth and breadth of Puritan spiritual life stands in stark contrast to the facileness and deadness of modern Western Christianity. He concludes that the main difference between the Puritans and us is spiritual maturity — the Puritans had it and we simply do not. The Puritans believed in an omnipotent God. They most certainly were not grouchy, legalistic, colorless settlers. They wore bright colors and enjoyed life. They had a passion for righteousness; they had a passion for God. “They were great souls,” J.L. Packer writes, “serving a great God.” In a one-page essay, agree or disagree with Packer’s thesis.

Chapter 2: Essay Options A. The Puritans based their society on Old Testament law. For instance, the Connecticut Code, 1650, stated: “If any man have a stubborn and rebellious son of sufficient years and understanding . . . which will not obey the voice of his father of mother . . . but lives in sundry notorious crimes, such a son shall be put to death.” Should Old Testament law have literal application to today’s society? B. Most Americans obtain their worldview from the television. What ideas and thoughts are represented that express the worldviews held by most media outlets? C. Watch the “Star Wars” trilogy and write out its worldview.

Chapter 3: Essay Options A. Read the following passage from Esther Edwards’ diary entitled “The Awful Sweetness of Walking With God.” Though father is usually taciturn or preoccupied — my mother will call these large words — even when he takes one of us children with him, today he discoursed to me of the awful sweetness of walking with God in Nature. He seems to feel God in the woods, the sky, and the grand sweep of the river which winds so majestically through the woody silences here. (Written in Northhampton, MA, 1741.) Compare and contrast the image we see of Jonathan Edwards through his sermon and the way his daughter Esther saw him. B. Describe Edwards’ religious affections and explain how they are evidences of true religion. C. Describe your dad (or another parent or guardian) the same way Esther describes her dad. In what ways has the Lord used your father (or another adult) in your life? Compare your dad with King David, Joseph, or another dad in the Bible.

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Chapter 4: Essay Options A. What is the writing style that Franklin employs? B. Based on his writings, describe Franklin’s faith journey. C. Was the Autobiography a “rags to riches” story or was it a self-serving, egotistical story of a man’s self-absorption?

Chapter 5: Essay Options A. To a Christian, revolution is a very knotty issue. At what point, if ever, should a Christian rebel against authority? Does Thomas Jefferson offer sufficient arguments to justify a revolution? B. Men and women — like Phillis Wheatley, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and Abigail Adams — were critical to this Revolutionary period. But does history make people, or do people make history? In other words, were these famous Americans the product of their age, or did they actually create the events that unfolded in their age? C. Students should watch several movies about the Puritan and Jamestown settlements and compare them to the actual historical occurrences.

Chapter 6: Essay Options A. Offer several examples of figurative language and discuss how Bryant uses them to advance the purposes of his poem. B. Find the sentence in the conclusion of the short story where Tom makes an ironic statement. In what way is it ironical? As Tom ages, he becomes “a violent churchgoer.” Is Tom’s conversion genuine? Offer evidence to support your answer. C. Write an expository essay describing two or three biblical characters who compromised their faith for fame, fortune, or other reasons.

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Chapter 7: Essay Options A. Part of Poe’s genius is his ability to create mood by the use of connotative language (language that suggests more than the words explicitly express). Write an essay describing how this literary technique is employed by Poe in “The Raven” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” B. The problem of evil for Christians is a real one. Explore the biblical understanding of evil and create a theology. C. Compare the tone, structure, setting, and narration of “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.”

Chapter 8: Essay Options A.  The Scarlet Letter was one of the last books in American literature that had a theistic moral vision. Although Hawthorne never hinted that Prynne’s punishment was unjust, he seemed far more disturbed by Dimmesdale’s deception and Chillingway’s evil ways. Using this book as a metaphor for the tensions existing in American society circa 1850, in a two-page essay, discuss these tensions and evidence them from the text. Who is the victim in this book? B. Contrast the way Hester’s community handles her adultery and the way Jesus dealt with the adulterous woman who was brought to Him (John 8). C. Compare the theme(s) of “The Birthmark” with the theme(s) of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Chapter 9: Essay Options A. Find examples of romanticism in poems by Longfellow, Bryant, Lowell, and Whittier. B. What is Holmes’ view of heaven? C. What is so modern about Dickinson’s poetry?

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Chapter 10: Essay Options A. The last six lines of “The Snowstorm” contain a description of the events of the next morning. What is Emerson trying to say? What is his worldview? Which does the author consider the true artist? Support your conclusions with references from the poem. B. Find instances in the Bible where nature is controlled by God. C. Give several evidences of transcendentalism from these poems. Defend your answer in a two-page essay.

Chapter 11: Essay Options A. In Thoreau’s concluding chapter he reflects on death. What does he conclude and does it line up with biblical teachings? B. Why was this book so popular in the 1960s? C. Students should read Walden Two by B.F. Skinner, and compare it to Thoreau’s book.

Chapter 12: Essay Options A. Melville intentionally rejects Judeo-Christian notions of sin and depravity. Thus, Claggart is described as being depraved in a Platonic way. Plato defined depravity as “a depravity according to nature.” What does the Bible say about sin? Why would Melville reject a biblical understanding of sin and go to a classical definition? B. Billy Budd is obviously a Christ-like figure. Find evidence to support this idea from the book. Compare and contrast Melville’s view with the New Testament account of Christ’s crucifixion. C. Billy is “saved” the night before he dies — but not through Christ. In fact, the chaplain, who presumably represents the Christian view of salvation, listens to Billy and finds his strength through this event — much like the disciples listened to Christ at the Last Supper. This time, however, Billy saves the pastor! The romantic saves the theist! This is the first time in American literature that this happens and it does not bode well for future literature. Find evidence to support this view and find Scripture to show the correct way to discuss salvation with an unbeliever.

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Chapter 13: Essay Options A. In “Oh Captain! My Captain!” what metaphor does Whitman use to communicate his grief at the death of Abraham Lincoln? B. In what sense is this poetry modern? In what sense is this poetry romantic? C. In what ways were Negro spirituals a form of resistance to chattel slavery?

Chapter 14: Essay Options A. Douglass writes in a very eloquent style and this contributes to the effectiveness of this work. Many people who thought African Americans were inferior in intelligence were shown to be grossly mistaken with the writings of Frederick Douglass. Discuss the form that Douglass employs in his masterpiece. B. Discuss Douglass’s faith journey. C. Is there any biblical reason two believers of different races should not be married?

Chapter 15: Essay Options A. As Huck Finn progresses, we learn to love Jim. Loyal to a fault, trusting, and hardworking, the reader is drawn to this pillar of fecundity. Describe in detail the way that Twain develops this character. B. Huck is not a static character. As the novel progresses, he matures. What additional knowledge about the problems of life has Huck acquired by the time he gets to the Phelps’ farm? In an essay, explain how Huck changes to this point. C. Compare Huckleberry Finn to the young Samuel of the Old Testament. (1 Sam.1–3)

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Chapter 16: Essay Options A. Twain’s handling of Christianity wavers between outright scorn and mockery (chapter 1) to veiled superstition. Describe Twain’s attitudes toward Christianity in Huckleberry Finn. Defend your answer with specific passages from the book. B. Every journey must have a goal. What is the goal of Huck’s journey? C. Huck’s decision to run away with Jim — a slave — is an unlawful act. Huck, though, decides to commit a civil disobedient act. When, if ever, is civil disobedience appropriate? In your answer reference writings from Thoreau.

Chapter 17: Essay Options A. Define maturity. How was Henry more mature at the end of the novel than he was at the beginning? B. Find examples of this hopelessness in modern movies, television programs, and music. Why, as Christian believers, should we reject this pessimism? C. When he wrote this book, Crane had never shot a gun in anger or seen a battle. Can you tell?

Chapter 18: Essay Options A. The plot of Red Badge of Courage, to some critics, has major flaws. For instance, after running farther and faster than anyone else, Henry Fleming proves to be one of the bravest soldiers in the regiment. Some critics feel that this is unbelievable. Do you agree? If you feel that the transformation is believable, explain why you do with reasons from the book B. To Crane, nature has lost all contact with humanity. “It was surprising that Nature had gone tranquilly on with her golden process in the midst of so much devilment.” Contrast this view with some of the earlier romantic writers (e.g., Hawthorne). C. How was Crane affected by social Darwinism? Social Darwinism was a social theory popular at the end of the 19th century. It argued that a social structure and a human organism both survive according to natural laws, that is, survival of the fittest.

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Chapter 19: Essay Options A. How does Bret Harte create humor in his short story “Outcasts of Poker Flat?” B. What was the joy that killed Mrs. Mallard? C. What does Lucinda Matlock mean when she says, “It takes life to love Life?”

Chapter 20: Essay Options A. Wharton herself was struggling in a difficult marriage. Do you think this helped her make this novel more credible? How much does the personal lives of authors affect their writing style? B. At the end of the novel we observe three people captured by unforgivingness. They are, in effect, in a “living hell.” What does the Bible say about unforgivingness? How can you forgive someone who has grievously wronged you? In fact, Ethan Frome has a similar theme to the existential play “No Exit,” by the French writer Jean-Paul Sartre. Read this short play and compare it to Ethan Frome in an essay. C. Define natural selection and explain why this scientific theory is anti-Christian?

Chapter 21: Essay Options A. Read “Home Burial” and “Death of a Hired Hand” by Robert Frost — another New England writer — and compare the themes of these poems with Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. Identify elements of naturalism and realism in these literary works. How does nature function in these two writers’ prose/ poetry? How does each author use irony? Why is irony a particularly effective literary device for naturalistic writers to use? B. Read as many of Langston Hughes’ poems as you can. Do you find examples of anger in his poetry? Explain. C. In Robert Frost’s poem “Fire and Ice,” what’s the speaker’s tone of voice in the first two lines? Is it surprising? How does his tone suit or contrast with the content of what he’s saying? It hardly sounds “like poetry” at all, just like casual speech. What gives it power?

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Chapter 22: Essay Options A. Hemingway writes in a journalistic style. Give examples of this style and contrast it to the style that we read in The Scarlet Letter. B. Catherine and Henry openly, without apology, sin. What does the Bible say about fornication? Is there any justification for their actions? C. Write an alternative ending to this book.

Chapter 23: Essay Options A. What are two themes in this book? How does Hurston develop them? B. Draw parallels between Janie’s life and Hannah’s life. C. How have other American authors handled race-mixing in American culture?

Chapter 24: Essay Options A. What is the point of view? Why does it make this book more effective? B. Compare and contrast this short story in style and substance with “The Unvanquished.” C. Faulkner discusses in great detail the whole issue of “family sin.” In one novel, Absalom, Absalom, he blames the destruction of an entire family on the sins of a father. The Snopes — an unprincipled, materialistic family — are the natural result of the sinful South (see The Hamlet, The Town, and The Mansion). Like rats in an empty house, they move in and take over as the moneyed, educated aristocracy selfdestructs. In this book, Bayard and the Sartoris family are in a steady but definite decline. Compare the results of David’s sin with Bathsheba and the sin that Faulkner’s characters experience.

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Chapter 25: Essay Options A. How does Steinbeck present the priest in “The Pearl?” B. What does this book tell you about the way the naturalist Steinbeck sees God? C. Respond to the priest’s sermon, which stated “Each man and woman is like a soldier sent by God to guard some part of the castle of the Universe.”

Chapter 26: Essay Options A. Discuss in detail how O’Neill builds suspense in this play. B. What is the setting and how does it affect the outcome of this play? C. Who is Smithers and what is his purpose in this play?

Chapter 27: Essay Options A. Describe in great detail the relationship of Horace and his wife, Regina. This relationship is a key element of the play. B. Compare Regina Giddens to Jezebel. C. One of the interesting aspects of modern American drama is the absence of good fathers, or, for that matter any powerful male figures. David Blankenhorn, in Fatherless America: Confronting Our Most Urgent Social Problem, describes a good father: It would never occur to him — or to his children or to his wife — to make distinctions between “biological” and “social” fathering. For him, these two identities are tightly fused. Nor would it ever occur to him to suspect that the “male income” is more important for children than the “male image.” For him, the two fit together. Consequently, he seldom ponders issues such as child support, visitation, paternity identification, fathers’ rights, better divorce, joint custody, dating, or blended families. His priorities lie elsewhere. . . . What sort of fathers do we find in our plays? How do they measure up to the sort of father encouraged in Scripture?

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Chapter 28: Essay Options A. Describe in detail the characters in this play. B. What internal and external conflicts do they face? C. Compare the way that Amanda handles disappointment with the way that Joseph handles disappointment.

Chapter 29: Essay Options A. Is Amanda Wingfield more like Regina Giddens or Horace Giddens? Why? B. Chariots of Fire, a famous and popular movie, by most accounts, has a Christian message and most pastors recommend it to their congregations. However, this movie includes actors who obviously are not Christians and is owned by Hollywood studios that care nothing about Judeo-Christian values. Should Christians support movies that help non-Christian persons prosper? C. Read another Tennessee Williams play and compare it to this one.

Chapter 30: Essay Options A. What is Elizabeth Proctor’s role? B. Is John Proctor a realistic character? Does he seem more a product of the 1950s than a character living in the 17th century? C. Students should research the McCarthy Senate hearings of the 1950s and discuss the connection to the play.

Chapter 31: Essay Options A. Gene is the narrator of the story. He tells us what is going on; we see everything through his eyes. How reliable is Gene as a narrator? Would Finny (until his death) be a better narrator? Why not have a teacher or parent relate the story? Would it matter? B. Did Gene cause Finny to fall from the tree? If he did, what would have been the biblical way to handle this mistake? C. Predict what themes, characters, and plots will emerge in 20 years.

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Chapter 32: Essay Options A. In what ways are Julian and his mother similar? Different? How does O’Connor communicate these differences to the reader? B. Discuss how Welty uses the journey motif in this short story to advance the action. C. What is the purpose of Welty introducing the hunter and clinic?

Chapter 33: Essay Options A. What is the central conflict in this novel? B. In what ways has the narrator matured? What objects does Burns use to show this? C. Discuss Will’s faith journey.

Chapter 34: Essay Options A. Why does Potok tell the story from Reuven’s rather than Danny’s point of view? B. Should Danny have become a psychotherapist even though it violated his father’s wishes? C. Potok is a master storyteller. In some ways “what he does not write” is important as “what he does write.” Explain.

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Chapter Tests

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Chapter 1: Test Objective Test (15 Points) Answer each question true or false. _____The Boston Puritans loved the Church of England and only wished to “purify” it. _____The Pilgrims were a special type of Puritan. _____The Pilgrims lived in Northern Ireland before they traveled to America. _____The Pilgrim landing in Cape Cod was really a mistake. _____The Puritans’ main motivation in traveling to America was to make money.

Discussion Question (30 Points) Explain what these quotes from The History of Plimoth Plantation mean and give their historical context: A. The one side (the Reformers) laboured to have ye* right worship of God & discipline of Christ established in ye church, according to ye simplicitie of ye gospell, without the mixture of mens inventions, and to have & to be ruled by ye laws of Gods word, dispensed in those offices, & by those officers of Pastors, Teachers, & Elders, according to ye Scripturs. The other partie (the Church of England), though under many colours & pretences, endevored to have ye episcopall dignitie (affter ye popish maner) with their large power & jurisdiction still retained; with all those courts, cannons, & ceremonies, togeather with all such livings, revenues, & subordinate officers, with other such means as formerly upheld their antichristian greatnes, and enabled them with lordly & tyranous power to persecute ye poore servants of God. B. Being thus arived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees & blessed ye God of heaven, who had brought them over ye vast & furious ocean, and delivered them from all ye periles & miseries therof, againe to set their feete on ye firme and stable earth, their proper elemente. And no marvell if they were thus joyefull, seeing wise Seneca was so affected with sailing a few miles on ye coast of his owne Italy; as he affirmed, that he had rather remaine twentie years on his way by land, then pass by sea to any place in a short time; so tedious & dreadfull was ye same unto him. But hear I cannot but stay and make a pause, and stand half amased at this poore peoples presente condition; and so I thinke will the reader too, when he well considered ye same. Being thus passed ye vast ocean, and a sea of troubles before in their preparation (as may be remembred by yt which wente before), they had now no friends to wellcome them, nor inns to entertaine or refresh their weatherbeaten bodys, no houses or much less townes to repaire too, to seeke for succoure. . . . Let it also be considred what weake hopes of supply & succoure they left behinde them, yt might bear up their minds in this sade condition and trialls they were under; and they could not but be very smale. It is true, indeed, ye affections & love of their brethren at Leyden was cordiall & entire towards them, but they had litle power to help them, or them selves; and how ye case stode betweene them & ye marchants at their coming away, hath already been declared. What could not sustaine them but ye spirite of God & his grace? May not & ought not the children of these fathers rightly say: Our faithers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this willdernes; but they cried unto ye Lord, and he heard their voyce, and looked on their adversitie. . . .

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C. They begane now to gather in ye small harvest they had, and to fitte up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health & strenght, and had all things in good plenty; for as some were thus imployed in affairs abroad, others were excersised in fishing, aboute codd, & bass, & other fish, of which yey tooke good store, of which every family had their portion. All ye somer ther was no want. And now begane to come in store of foule, as winter approached, of which this place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees). And besids water foule, ther was great store of wild Turkies, of which they tooke many, besids venison, Besids, they had about a peck a meale a weeke to a person, or now since harvest, Indean corn to yt proportion. Which made many afterwards write so largly of their plenty hear to their freinds in England, which were not fained, but true reports. *This “y” in Old English stood for “the.”

Short Answer (55 Points) Answer these questions in 75 words or less. A. Compare William Bradford with a contemporary political or religious figure. B. Explain what the historian Perry Miller meant when he said, “Without some understanding of Puritanism . . . there is no understanding of America.” C. Even though Of Plimoth Plantation is a nonfiction work, in many ways this book has more action than fiction novels. In that vein, take this literary work and discuss its plot. In other words, identify the rising action, climax, and falling action. D. Is (are) there antagonist(s) in Of Plimoth? Who is (are) it (they) and why? E. Explain why the Bible was so important to the Puritans.

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Chapter 2: Test Overview Chart (80 Points) Write responses to these statements according to each worldview below. World View

Christian Theism

Romanticism/ Transcendentalism

Naturalism/ Realism

Absurdism/ Existentialism

Jesus Christ is Lord. The world was created by God in six literal 24-hour days. If it feels good, do it. People would be better off if society left them alone. Everyone will be saved as long as they are good people. I am not going to worry about the future; when my time is up, it is up. An animal is merely a person in animal garb. All I want to do is help people. God has a plan for us.

Discussion Question (20 Points) Imagine that you have finished playing in a soccer game. You are walking across the field. Create conversations among players, parents, and spectators that exhibit at least four different worldviews. Answer:

“Good game!” I say to an opposing team member.



“Who really cares.” He answers (absurdism)



“God does — and He loves you!” I answer (Christian theism)



“If there is a God, He must hate me,” a bystander replies (naturalism)

“How can He hate you? Just feel this grass, look at that sun!” another bystander retorts (romanticism)

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Chapter 3: Test Discussion Questions A. Define “religious affection” and discuss the religious affection Edwards highlights in this passage from A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections (25 Points): Gracious affections are attended with evangelical humiliation. Evangelical humiliation is a sense that a Christian has of his own utter insufficiency, despicableness, and odiousnesss, with an answerable frame of heart. There is a distinction to be made between a legal and evangelical humiliation. The former is what men may be the subjects of, while they are yet in a state of nature, and have no gracious affections; the latter is peculiar to true saints. The former is from the common influence of the Spirit of God, assisting natural principles, and especially natural conscience; the latter is from the special influences of the Spirit of God, implanting and exercising supernatural and divine principles. The former is from the mind’s being assisted to a greater sense of the things of religion, as to their natural properties and qualities, and particularly of the natural perfections of God, such as his greatness, terrible majesty, which were manifested to the congregation of Israel, in giving the law at mount Sinai; the latter is from a sense of the transcendent beauty of divine things in their moral qualities. In the former, a sense of the awful greatness, and natural perfections of God, and of the strictness of his law, convinces men that they are exceeding sinful, and guilty, and exposed to the wrath of God, as it will wicked men and devils at the day of judgment; but they do not see their own odiousness on the account of sin; they do not see the hateful nature of sin; a sense of this is given in evangelical humiliation, by a discovery of the beauty of God’s holiness and moral perfection. In a legal humiliation, men are made sensible that they are little and nothing before the great and terrible God, and that they are undone, and wholly insufficient to help themselves; as wicked men will be at the day of judgment: but they have not an answerable frame of heart, consisting in a disposition to abase themselves, and exalt God alone. This disposition is given only in evangelical humiliation, by overcoming the heart, and changing its inclination, by a discovery of God’s holy beauty: in a

legal humiliation, the conscience is convinced; as the consciences of all will be most perfectly at the day of judgment; but because there is no spiritual understanding, the will is not bowed, nor the inclination altered: this is done only in evangelical humiliation. In legal humiliation, men are brought to despair of helping themselves; in evangelical, they are brought voluntarily to deny and renounce themselves: in the former, they are subdued and forced to the ground; in the latter, they are brought sweetly to yield, and freely and with delight to prostrate themselves at the feet of God. Legal humiliation has in it no spiritual good, nothing of the nature of true virtue; whereas evangelical humiliation is that wherein the excellent beauty of Christian grace does very much consist. Legal humiliation is useful, as a means in order to evangelical; as a common knowledge of the things of religion is a means requisite in order to spiritual knowledge. Men may be legally humbled and have no humility: as the wicked at the day of judgment will be thoroughly convinced that they have no righteousness, but are altogether sinful, and exceedingly guilty, and justly exposed to eternal damnation, and be fully sensible of their own helplessness, without the least mortification of the pride of their hearts. But the essence of evangelical humiliation consists in such humility, as becomes a creature, in itself exceeding sinful, under a dispensation of grace; consisting in a mean esteem of himself, as in himself nothing, and altogether contemptible and odious; attended with a mortification of a disposition to exalt himself, and a free renunciation of his own glory. This is a great and most essential thing in true religion. The whole frame of the gospel, and everything appertaining to the new covenant, and all God’s dispensations towards fallen man, are calculated to bring to pass this effect in the hearts of men. They that are destitute of this, have no true religion,

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whatever profession they may make, and how high soever their religious affections may be: Hab. 2:4, “Behold, his soul which is lifted up, is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith;” i.e., he shall live by his faith on God’s righteousness and grace, and not his own goodness and excellency. God has abundantly manifested in his word, that this is what he has a peculiar respect to in his saints, and that nothing is acceptable to him without it. Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Psalm 138:6, “Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly.” Prov. 3:34, “He giveth grace unto the lowly.” Isa. 57:15, “Thus saith the high and lofty One who inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy, I dwell in the high and holy place; with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isa. 66:1, 2, “Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” Micah 6:8, “He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord thy God require of thee; but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Matt. 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of God.” Matt. 18:3, 4, “Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Mark 10:15, “Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.” The centurion, that we have an account of, Luke 7, acknowledged that he was not worthy that Christ should enter under his roof, and that he was not worthy to come to him. See the manner of the woman’s coming to Christ, that was a sinner, Luke 7:37, : “And behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head.” She did not think the

hair of her head, which is the natural crown and glory of a woman (1 Cor. 11:15), too good to wipe the feet of Christ withal. Jesus most graciously accepted her, and says to her, “thy faith hath saved thee, go in peace.” The woman of Canaan submitted to Christ, in his saying, “it is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to dogs,” and did as it were own that she was worthy to be called a dog; whereupon Christ says unto her, “O woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee, even as thou wilt,” Matt. 15:26, 27, 28. The prodigal son said, “I will arise and go to my father, and I will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants,” Luke 15:18. See also Luke 18:9: “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others, The publican, standing afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for everyone that exalteth himself, shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted.” Matt. 28:9, “And they came, and held him by the feet and worshipped him.” Col. 3:12, “Put ye on, as the elect of God, humbleness of mind.” Ezek. 20:41, 42, “I will accept you with your sweet savor, when I bring you out from the people, And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled, and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight, for all your evils that ye have committed.” Chap. 36:26, 27, 31, “A new heart also will I give unto you-and I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities, and for your abominations.” Chap. 16:63, “That thou mayest remember and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord.” Job 42:6, “I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” As we would therefore make the holy Scriptures our rule in judging of the nature of true religion, and judging of our own religious qualifications and state; it concerns us greatly to look at this humiliation, as one of the most essential things pertaining to true

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Christianity. This is the principal part of the great Christian duty of self-denial. That duty consists in two things, viz., first, in a man’s denying his worldly inclinations, and in forsaking and renouncing all worldly objects and enjoyments; and, secondly, in denying his natural self-exaltation, and renouncing his own dignity and glory and in being emptied of himself; so that he does freely and from his very heart, as it were renounce himself, and annihilate himself. Thus the Christian doth in evangelical humiliation. And this latter is the greatest and most difficult part of self-denial: although they always go together, and one never truly is, where the other is not; yet natural men can come much nearer to the former than the latter. Many Anchorites and Recluses have abandoned (though without any true mortification) the wealth, and pleasures, and common enjoyments of the world, who were far from renouncing their own dignity and righteousness; they never denied themselves for Christ, but only

sold one lust to feed another, sold a beastly lust to pamper a devilish one; and so were never the better, but their latter end was worse than their beginning; they turned out one black devil, to let in seven white ones, that were worse than the first, though of a fairer countenance. It is inexpressible, and almost inconceivable, how strong a self-righteous, self-exalting disposition is naturally in man; and what he will not do and suffer to feed and gratify it: and what lengths have been gone in a seeming self-denial in other respects, by Essenes and Pharisees among the Jews, and by Papists, many sects of heretics, and enthusiasts, among professing Christians; and by many Mahometans; and by Pythagorean philosophers, and others among the Heathen; and all to do sacrifice to this Moloch of spiritual pride or selfrighteousness; and that they may have something wherein to exalt themselves before God, and above their fellow creatures.

B. Outline a sermon that Edwards might preach. Include his favorite text, a title, and three points he would make. (25 Points) C. Analyze this poem. What is its rhyme scheme in lines 1–20? (10 Points) Identify four examples of figurative language. (10 Points) To what animal(s) does she compare her children? (10 Points) Explain what lines 75–77 mean. (10 Points)

What did Anne try to do for her children? (lines 88–90) (10 Points) In Reference to Her Children, 23 June 1659 Anne Bradstreet I had eight birds hatcht in one nest,

11 Leave not thy nest, thy Dame and Sire,

2 Four Cocks were there, and Hens the rest.

12 Fly back and sing amidst this Quire.

3 I nurst them up with pain and care,

13 My second bird did take her flight

4 No cost nor labour did I spare

14 And with her mate flew out of sight.

5 Till at the last they felt their wing,

15 Southward they both their course did bend,

6 Mounted the Trees and learned to sing.

16 And Seasons twain they there did spend,

7 Chief of the Brood then took his flight

17 Till after blown by Southern gales

8 To Regions far and left me quite.

18 They Norward steer’d with filled sails.

9 My mournful chirps I after send

19 A prettier bird was no where seen,

10 Till he return, or I do end.

20 Along the Beach, among the treen.

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21 I have a third of colour white

58 And with my wings kept off all harm.

22 On whom I plac’d no small delight,

59 My cares are more, and fears, than ever,

23 Coupled with mate loving and true,

60 My throbs such now as ‘fore were never.

24 Hath also bid her Dame adieu.

61 Alas, my birds, you wisdom want

25 And where Aurora first appears,

62 Of perils you are ignorant.

26 She now hath percht to spend her years.

63 Oft times in grass, on trees, in flight,

27 One to the Academy flew

64 Sore accidents on you may light.

28 To chat among that learned crew.

65 O to your safety have an eye,

29 Ambition moves still in his breast

66 So happy may you live and die.

30 That he might chant above the rest,

67 Mean while, my days in tunes I’ll spend

31 Striving for more than to do well,

68 Till my weak lays with me shall end.

32 That nightingales he might excell.

69 In shady woods I’ll sit and sing

33 My fifth, whose down is yet scarce gone,

70 And things that past, to mind I’ll bring.

34 Is ‘mongst the shrubs and bushes flown

71 Once young and pleasant, as are you,

35 And as his wings increase in strength

72 But former toys. (no joys) adieu!

36 On higher boughs he’ll perch at length.

73 My age I will not once lament

37 My other three still with me nest

74 But sing, my time so near is spent,

38 Until they’re grown, then as the rest,

75 And from the top bough take my flight

39 Or here or there, they’ll take their flight,

76 Into a country beyond sight

40 As is ordain’d, so shall they light.

77 Where old ones instantly grow young

41 If birds could weep, then would my tears

78 And there with seraphims set song.

42 Let others know what are my fears

79 No seasons cold, nor storms they see

43 Lest this my brood some harm should catch

80 But spring lasts to eternity.

44 And be surpris’d for want of watch

81 When each of you shall in your nest

45 Whilst pecking corn and void of care

82 Among your young ones take your rest,

46 They fall un’wares in Fowler’s snare;

83 In chirping languages oft them tell

47 Or whilst on trees they sit and sing

84 You had a Dame that lov’d you well,

48 Some untoward boy at them do fling,

85 That did what could be done for young

49 Or whilst allur’d with bell and glass

86 And nurst you up till you were strong

50 The net be spread and caught, alas;

87 And ‘fore she once would let you fly

51 Or lest by Lime-twigs they be foil’d;

88 She shew’d you joy and misery,

52 Or by some greedy hawks be spoil’d.

89 Taught what was good, and what was ill,

53 O would, my young, ye saw my breast

90 What would save life, and what would kill.

54 And knew what thoughts there sadly rest.

91 Thus gone, amongst you I may live,

55 Great was my pain when I you bred,

92 And dead, yet speak and counsel give.

56 Great was my care when I you fed.

93 Farewell, my birds, farewell, adieu,

57 Long did I keep you soft and warm

94 I happy am, if well with you.

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Chapter 4: Test Objective Test (50 Points) 1.______ Franklin was the first American (A) to express openly his discontent with England (B) to be considered an equal to European scientists (C) to send a telegraph message to England. 2.______ Franklin did not enter the ministry because (A) he did not feel called (B) he preferred to be a lawyer (C) after considering the paltry salary that ministers made, his father made him work at his shop. 3.______ At age 12, Franklin (A) was apprenticed to his brother James (B) traveled to Georgia (C) invented the Franklin Stove. 4.______ Franklin founded (A) the Philadelphia Enquirer (B) the Pennsylvania Gazette, (C) the Spectator Society. 5.______ In 1732 he published (A) his memoirs (B) Poor Richard’s Almanac (C) a book of verse.

Essay (50 Points) In what ways does Franklin change over his life?

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Chapter 5: Test Short Answer Questions (30 Points) Answer in two or three sentences: A. Did the Church support chattel slavery? Why? B. Did slaves resist their masters? Why or why not? How did they resist? C. Why did Phillis Wheatley so willingly accept her servitude?

Critical Thinking (70 Points) Read the following poem by Phillis Wheatley. To the University of Cambridge in New England (Harvard College) While an intrinsic ardor prompts to write,

What matchless mercy in the Son of God!

The muses promise to assist my pen;

When the whole human race by sin had fall’n,

‘Twas not long since I left my native shore

He deign’d to die that they might rise again,

The land of errors, and Egyptian gloom:

And share with him in the sublimest skies

Father of mercy, ‘twas thy gracious hand

Life without death, and glory without end.

Brought me in safety from those dark abodes.

Improve your privileges while they stay,

Students, to you ‘tis giv’n to scan the heights

Ye pupils, and each hour redeem, that bears

Above, to traverse the ethereal space,

Or good or bad report of you to heav’n.

And mark the systems of revolving worlds.

Let sin, that baneful evil to the soul,

Still more, ye sons of science ye receive

By you be shun’d, nor once remit your guard;

The blissful news by messengers from heav’n,

Suppress the deadly serpent in its egg.

How Jesus’ blood for your redemption flows.

Ye blooming plants of human race divine,

See him with hands out-stretcht upon the cross;

An Ethiop tells you ‘tis your greatest foe;

Immense compassion in his bosom glows;

Its transient sweetness turns to endless pain,

He hears revilers, nor resents their scorn:

And in immense perdition sinks the soul.

Summarize Wheatley’s advice to Harvard College students.

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Chapter 6: Test Discussion Questions (100 Points — 20 points each) A. Discuss the way Americans view themselves in transcendentalism and contrast it to puritanism. Cite several poems to argue your case.

B. Transcendentalism became, by and large, a northeastern phenomenon centered in the Boston area. It was very much an elitist movement. There were many critics of this movement. “I was given to understand that whatever was unintelligible would be certainly transcendental,” Charles Dickens wrote. Define transcendentalism and then evaluate its credibility as a worldview.

C. In the 17th century, the best histories were written by Puritan ministers who saw history as the working out of God’s will. Based on the concept of the chosen people of God, America was presented as a Promised Land for God’s faithful people. Later, historians ridiculed this view of history. However, in a real sense, at least in Puritan New England, this was a fairly accurate appraisal of the motivations of an entire generation of early settlers. Why was it so difficult for later historians to believe that people can be motivated strictly by their faith?

D. By their own admission, New England Puritans saw themselves as being intolerant. They felt no obligation to accept in their midst worldviews that they perceived as heretical. Was this a correct way to establish an English colony?

E. Have we evangelicals lost the fire and passion of our Puritan ancestors?

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Chapter 7: Test Discussion Questions (100 Points) A. Poe believed in what he called “unity of effect.” “Unity of effect,” to Poe, meant that the short story could be read at a single sitting. To Poe, tone was everything. He would deliberately subordinate everything in the story to tone. As a result, the short story became “poetic.” Give examples of this effect in “Usher” and “Tell-Tale.” (20 Points)

B. Poe was accused of being a detective and horror story writer. However, in fact, he was a romantic writer. Explain and give examples of romanticism in these two short stories. (20 Points)

C. Poe was fond of creating paradoxes in his short stories. Explain and give examples from these two short stories. (20 Points)

D. Describe Roderick. Why does he both repel and attract the reader? (20 Points)

E. Compare and contrast “Usher” to “Tell-Tale Heart.” (10 Points)

F. Which passage is from Poe? How do you know? (10 Points) I was sick, sick unto death, with that long agony, and when they at length unbound me, and I was permitted to sit, I felt that my senses were leaving me. The sentence, the dread sentence of death, was the last of distinct accentuation which reached my ears. After that, the sound of the inquisitorial voices seemed merged in one dreamy indeterminate hum. It conveyed to my soul the idea of Revolution, perhaps from its association in fancy with the burr of a mill-wheel. This only for a brief period, for presently I heard no more. Yet, for a while, I saw, but with how terrible an exaggeration! I saw the lips of the black-robed judges. They appeared to me white — whiter than the sheet upon which I trace these words — and thin even to grotesqueness; thin with the intensity of their expression of firmness, of immovable resolution, of stern contempt of human torture. I saw that the decrees of what to me was fate were still issuing from those lips. I saw them writhe with a deadly locution. I saw them fashion the syllables of my name, and I shuddered, because no sound succeeded. I saw, too, for a few moments of delirious horror, the soft and nearly imperceptible waving of the sable draperies which enwrapped the walls of the apartment; and then my vision fell upon the seven tall candles upon the table. At first they wore the aspect of charity, and seemed white slender angels who would save me: but then all at once there came a most deadly nausea over my spirit, and

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I felt every fibre in my frame thrill, as if I had touched the wire of a galvanic battery, while the angel forms became meaningless specters, with heads of flame, and I saw that from them there would be no help. And then there stole into my fancy, like a rich musical note, the thought of what sweet rest there must be in the grave. The thought came gently and stealthily, and it seemed long before it attained full appreciation; but just as my spirit came at length properly to feel and entertain it, the figures of the judges vanished, as if magically, from before me; the tall candles sank into nothingness; their flames went out utterly; the blackness of darkness superceded; all sensations appeared swallowed up in a mad rushing descent as of the soul into Hades. Then silence, and stillness, and night were the universe. And I would have you believe, my sons, that the same Justice which punishes sin may also most graciously forgive it, and that no ban is so heavy but that by prayer and repentance it may be removed. Learn then from this story not to fear the fruits of the past, but rather to be circumspect in the future, that those foul passions whereby our family has suffered so grievously may not again be loosed to our undoing. “Know then that in the time of the Great Rebellion (the history of which by the learned Lord Clarendon I most earnestly commend to your attention) this . . . was held by Hugo of that name, nor can it be gainsaid that he was a most wild, profane, and godless man. This, in truth, his neighbour might have pardoned, seeing that saints have never flourished in those parts, but there was in him a certain wanton and cruel humor which made his name a byword through the West. It chanced that this Hugo came to love (if, indeed, so dark a passion may be known under so bright a name) the daughter of a yeoman who held lands near the Baskerville estate. But the young maiden, being discreet and of good repute, would ever avoid him, for she feared his evil name. So it came to pass that one Michaelmas this Hugo, with five or six of his idle and wicked companions, stole down upon the farm and carried off the maiden, her father and brothers being from home, as he well knew. When they had brought her to the Hall the maiden was placed in an upper chamber, while Hugo and his friends sat down to a long carouse, as was their nightly custom. Now, the poor lass upstairs was like to have her wits turned at the singing and shouting and terrible oaths which came up to her from below. . . .”

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Chapter 8: Test Objective Questions. (25 points) _____ 1. In the first chapter, the image that suggests a moral symbol is the. (A) rusty church steeple. (B) angry dog barking at Pearl. (C) rose beside the door. (D) bearded man. _____ 2. Hester continues to live in her community after she is shunned because she. (A) wants to purge her sin by doing public penance. (B) wishes to bring revenge on Dimmesdale. (C) hopes that her husband will forgive her. (D) cannot afford to leave. ______3. Chillingsworth’s suspicion of the cause of Dimmesdale’s illness is verified by. (A) a conversation with another congregant. (B) pulling back the sleeping minister’s bed clothes. (C) a conversation he hears between Hester and the minister. (D) finding the minister’s secret diary. ______4. Hester’s feeling toward Mistress Hibbins is that of. (A) anger. (B) indifference. (C) deep love. (D) mild pity. ______5. Symbolically, the appearance of the meteor during the night Arthur Dimmesdale is on the scaffold. (A) lights his soul as well as the night sky. (B) confirms Dimmesdale’s hypocrisy and guilt. (C) vindicates Chillingsworth’s position. (D) enables Prynne to forgive herself. Identification (25 Points) Which themes appeared in what writings?

Theme

The Scarlet Letter

Birthmark

Alienation Science vs. Romanticism Allegory Unforgivingness Individual vs. society Problem of Guilt Fate vs. free will Pride Hypocrisy Discussion Questions (50 Points) A. What is the purpose of the introductory chapter “The Custom House” in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter? B. Discuss Pearl’s role in The Scarlet Letter? C. The Scarlet Letter is a battleground between two world views: Christian Theism. (Puritanism) and Romanticism. Give examples of both world views in this novel.

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Chapter 9: Test Discussion Questions (100 Points) Paraphrase “A Psalm of Life” and explain why you agree or disagree with its worldview. What are Longfellow’s favorite words and metaphors? The Psalm of Life Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Tell me not, in mournful numbers,

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!

Life is but an empty dream!

Let the dead Past bury its dead!

For the soul is dead that slumbers,

Act, act in the living Present!

And things are not what they seem.

Heart within, and God o’erhead!

Life is real! Life is earnest!

Lives of great men all remind us

And the grave is not its goal;

We can make our lives sublime,

Dust thou art, to dust returnest,

And, departing, leave behind us

Was not spoken of the soul.

Footprints on the sands of time;

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

Footprints, that perhaps another,

Is our destined end or way;

Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,

But to act, that each tomorrow

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

Find us farther than today.

Seeing, shall take heart again.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,

Let us, then, be up and doing,

And our hearts, though stout and brave,

With a heart for any fate;

Still, like muffled drums, are beating

Still achieving, still pursuing,

Funeral marches to the grave.

Learn to labor and to wait

In the world’s broad field of battle, In the bivouac of Life, Be not dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife!

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Chapter 10: Test Discussion Questions. (100 Points — 20 points each) A. Discuss the way Americans view themselves in transcendentalism and contrast it to puritanism. Cite several poems to argue your case.

B. Transcendentalism became, by and large, a northeastern phenomenon centered in the Boston area. It was very much an elitist movement. There were many critics of this movement. “I was given to understand that whatever was unintelligible would be certainly transcendental,” Charles Dickens wrote. Define transcendentalism and then evaluate its credibility as a worldview.

C. In the 17th century, the best histories were written by Puritan ministers, who saw history as the working out of God’s will. Based on the concept of the chosen people of God, America was presented as a Promised Land for God’s faithful people. Later historians ridiculed this view of history. However, in a real sense, at least in Puritan New England, this was a fairly accurate appraisal of the motivations of an entire generation of early settlers. Why was it so difficult for later historians to believe that people can be motivated strictly by their faith?

D. By their own admission, New England Puritans saw themselves as being intolerant. They felt no obligation to accept in their midst worldviews that they perceived as heretical. Was this a correct way to establish an English colony?

E. Have we evangelicals lost the fire and passion of our Puritan ancestors?

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Chapter 11: Test Objective Questions (50 Points) 1.______ Originally, Thoreau wanted (A) to buy a nearby farm (B) to live in Italy (C) to attend graduate school at Yale (D) to move to Alaska. 2.______ Thoreau finished his cabin (A) in the fall of 1845 (B) in the spring of 1845 (C) in the spring of 1846 (D) in the winter of 1844. 3.______ The property on which he built his cabin belonged to (A) Herman Melville (B) Abraham Lincoln (C) George Eliot (D) Ralph Waldo Emerson. 4.______ Thoreau cannot completely escape technology because (A) he hears a steamboat on the Merrimac River (B) he hears airplanes overhead (C) he hears a nearby railroad (D) his cousin visits him with a mini-cotton gin. 5.______ Thoreau received visits from (A) Melville and Emerson (B) Blair and Smith (C) Channing and Alcott (D) Davis and Hawthorne.

Discussion Question (50 Points) “Economy” to Thoreau is not only an economic term. What does it mean to him?

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Chapter 12: Test Objective Questions (50 Points) ______ 1. The only person to warn Billy of Claggart’s ill will was (A) the chaplain (B) the Dansker (C) the cook. ______ 2. Billy’s reaction to Claggart’s allegation was impeded by his (A) anger (B) speech problems (C) retardation. ______ 3. The main feeling of the court in response to Billy’s testimony before them was one of (A) repulsion (B) commiseration (C) incredulity. ______ 4. The final court verdict upon Billy was prompted by strict adherence to (A) biblical witness (B) Billy’s confession (C) the civil law. ______ 5. Billy’s burial was marked by the appearance of (A) birds (B) stormy seas (C) an earthquake.

Discussion Questions (50 Points) A. Like so much of romantic literature, Billy Budd examines in great detail the problem of good and evil. Explain.

B. Hawthorne undertook a similar quest in his books. Compare and contrast the views of Hawthorne and Melville on this important problem.

C. Several of the characters have biblical parallels. Compare at least three characters to biblical characters.

D. Likewise, the plot itself parallels several biblical references/stories. Identify at least three.

E. The protagonist Billy Budd is a quintessential romantic man. Explain.

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Chapter 13: Test Discussion Question (100 Points) Compare “Pioneers! O Pioneers!” written early in Whitman’s life and “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d,” written later in his life. Come my tan-faced children,

O moody, tearful night! O great star disappear’d —

Follow well in order, get your weapons ready,

O the black murk that hides the star! O cruel hands that hold me powerless —

Have you your pistols? have you your sharp-edged axes?

O helpless soul of me!

Pioneers! O pioneers!

O harsh surrounding cloud that will not free my soul.

For we cannot tarry here,

In the dooryard fronting an old farm-house near the white-wash’d palings,

We must march my darlings, we must bear the brunt of danger, We the youthful sinewy races, all the rest on us depend, Pioneers! O pioneers! O you youths, Western youths, So impatient, full of action, full of manly pride and friendship WHEN lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d, And the great star early droop’d in the western sky in the night, I mourn’d, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring. Ever-returning spring, trinity sure to me you bring, Lilac blooming perennial and drooping star in the west, And thought of him I love. O powerful western fallen star! O shades of night —

Stands the lilac-bush tall-growing with heart-shaped leaves of rich green, With many a pointed blossom rising delicate, with the perfume strong I love, With every leaf a miracle — and from this bush in the dooryard, With delicate-color’d blossoms and heart-shaped leaves of rich green, A sprig with its flower I break. In the swamp in secluded recesses, A shy and hidden bird is warbling a song. Solitary the thrush, The hermit withdrawn to himself, avoiding the settlements, Sings by himself a song. Song of the bleeding throat, Death’s outlet song of life (for well dear brother I know, If thou wast not granted to sing thou would’st surely die).

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Chapter 14: Test Objective Test (True or False) (50 Points) 1. ______ Douglass was captured in West Africa and made a slave. 2. ______ Douglass never knew his father and his mother was separated from him when he was very young. 3. ______ Douglass learned to read and write. 4. ______ Union soldiers freed Douglass during the American Civil War. 5. ______ Douglass’s first wife was a freed woman in Baltimore, Maryland.

Essay (50 Points) Answer this question in a one-page essay. Is this book strictly an autobiography?

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Chapter 15: Test Objective Questions (50 Points) _______ 1. Tom proved his honesty early by (A) leaving five cents for the “borrowed” candles (B) telling Aunt Polly about Jim (C) refusing to aid Jim (D) returning what Huck had stolen. _______ 2. When Huck’s father’s body was found (A) Huck felt guilty (B) Tom took Huck home to spare Huck’s feelings (C) Jim covered the body to spare Huck’s feelings (D) Huck suspected that he had been murdered by Indian Joe. _______ 3. The attempted lynching of Col. Sherburn was precipitated by (A) Jim’s disappearance (B) the death of Boggs (C) the disappearance of the silver coins (D) Tom’s false accusation. _______ 4. Tom rejected Huck’s escape plan for Jim because (A) it would not work (B) it was too simple (C) it put Jim into too much danger (D) it was discovered by Mr. Phelps. _______ 5. Jim was finally freed by (A) the Emancipation Proclamation (B) Huck’s pleading (C) a will (D) a shooting.

Discussion Questions (50 Points) A. Most critics agree that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of the best, if not the best, American novel ever written. Yet, at the same time, it is a deceptively easy book to read. In fact, the same critics argue that it is one of the most difficult books really to understand and to analyze effectively. Why? B. One must be skeptical about most of what Huck says in order to hear what Twain is saying. Why? C. Is Twain speaking through Huck or Jim? D. “All right, then, I’ll go to hell,” Huck says when he decides not to return Jim to slavery. Huck is convinced that his reward for defying the moral norms of his society will be eternal damnation. What is the right thing for Huck to do? E. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn really is a different kind of book from what we have read so far this year. Explain. F. Most readers assume that Huck is the hero and center of the story and consider Jim to be a foil. Is it possible they are wrong, and Jim is the main character with Huck as a foil? G. One of the major criticisms of Huck Finn has been that Jim is a racist stereotype and that the implication is that African Americans are stupid, superstitious, and passive. To what extent is Jim a stereotype? Does he break out of this role? H. What do you think is the climax of the novel? Why? I. Why do you think the author chose a carefree, but uneducated character as the voice through which to tell this story? J. Do you think it was necessary for Twain to use the word “nigger?” Why or why not?

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Discussion Questions (50 Points) State what worldview — romanticism or realism — is exhibited in each passage below. Defend your answer. A. It was Sunday, and, according to his custom on that day, McTeague took his dinner at two in the afternoon at the car conductors’ coffee-joint on Polk Street. He had a thick gray soup; heavy, underdone meat, very hot, on a cold plate; two kinds of vegetables; and a sort of suet pudding, full of strong butter and sugar. On his way back to his office, one block above, he stopped at Joe Frenna’s saloon and bought a pitcher of steam beer. It was his habit to leave the pitcher there on his way to dinner. (McTeague by Frank Norris) B. I am by birth a Genevese; and my family is one of the most distinguished of that republic. My ancestors had been for many years counselors and syndics; and my father had filled several public situations with honor and reputation. He was respected by all who knew him for his integrity and indefatigable attention to public business. He passed his younger days perpetually occupied by the affairs of his country; a variety of circumstances had prevented his marrying early, nor was it until the decline of life that he became a husband and the father of a family. (Frankenstein by Mary Shelley) C. The village lay under two feet of snow, with drifts at the windy corners. In a sky of iron the points of the Dipper hung like icicles and Orion flashed his cold fires. The moon had set, but the night was so transparent that the white house-fronts between the elms looked gray against the snow, clumps of bushes made black stains on it, and the basement windows of the church sent shafts of yellow light far across the endless undulations. Young Ethan Frome walked at a quick pace along the deserted street, past the bank and Michael Eady’s new brick store and Lawyer Varnum’s house with the two black Norway spruces at the gate. Opposite the Varnum gate, where the road fell away toward the Corbury valley, the church reared its slim white steeple and narrow peristyle. As the young man walked toward it the upper windows drew a black arcade along the side wall of the building, but from the lower openings, on the side where the ground sloped steeply down to the Corbury road, the light shot its long bars, illuminating many fresh furrows in the track leading to the basement door, and showing, under an adjoining shed, a line of sleighs with heavily blanketed horses. (Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton) D. The little farmers watched debt creep up on them like the tide. They sprayed the trees and sold no crop, they pruned and grafted and could not pick the crop. And the men of knowledge have worked, have considered, and the fruit is rotting on the ground, and the decaying mash in the wine vats is poisoning the air. And taste the wine — no grape flavor at all, just sulphor and tannic acid and alcohol. This little orchard will be part of a great holding next year, for the debt will have choked the owner. This vineyard will belong to the bank. Only the great owners can survive, for they won the canneries, too. And four pears peeled and cut in half, cooked and canned, still cost fifteen cents. And the canned pears do not spoil. They will last for years. The decay spreads over the State, and the sweet smell is a great sorrow on the land. Men who can graft the trees and make the seed fertile and big can find no way to let the hungry people eat their produce. Men who have created new fruits in the world cannot create a system whereby their fruits may be eaten. And the failure hangs over the State like a great sorrow. The works of the roots of the vines, of the trees, must be destroyed to keep up the price, and this is the saddest, bitterest thing of all. Carloads of oranges dumped on the ground. The people come from miles to take the fruit, but this could not be. How would they buy oranges at twenty cents a dozen if they could drive out and pick them up? And men with hoses squirt kerosine on the oranges, and they are angry at the crime, angry at the people who have come to take the fruit. A million people hungry, needing the fruit — and kerosine sprayed over the golden mountains. And the smell of rot fills the country. Burn coffee for fuel in the ships. Burn corn to keep warm, it makes a hot fire. Dump potatoes in the rivers and place guards along

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the banks to keep the hungry people from fishing them out. Slaughter the pigs and bury them, and let the putrescence drip down into the earth. (Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck) E. On the human imagination, events produce the effects of time. Thus, he who has traveled far and seen much is apt to fancy that he has lived long; and the history that most abounds in important incidents, soonest assumes the aspect of antiquity. In no other way can we account for the venerable air that is already gathering around American annals. When the mind reverts to the earliest days of colonial history, the period seems remote and obscure, the thousand changes that thicken along the links of recollections, throwing back the origin of the nation to a day so distant as seemingly to reach the mists of time; and yet four lives of ordinary duration would suffice to transmit, from mouth to mouth, in the form of tradition, all that civilized man has achieved within the limits of the republic. Although New York, alone, possesses a population materially exceeding that of either of the four smallest kingdoms of Europe, or materially exceeding that of the entire Swiss Confederation, it is little more than two centuries since the Dutch commenced their settlement, rescuing region from the savage state. Thus, what seems venerable by an accumulation of changes is reduced to familiarity when we come seriously to consider it solely in connection with time. (The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper) F. Found among the papers of the late Diedrech Knickerbocker. A pleasing land of drowsy head it was, Of dreams that wave before the half-shut eye; And of gay castles in the clouds that pass, Forever flushing round a summer sky. Castle of Indolence. In the bosom of one of those spacious coves which indent the eastern shore of the Hudson, at that broad expansion of the river denominated by the ancient Dutch navigators the Tappan Zee, and where they always prudently shortened sail and implored the protection of St. Nicholas when they crossed, there lies a small market town or rural port, which by some is called Greensburgh, but which is more generally and properly known by the name of Tarry Town. This name was given, we are told, in former days, by the good housewives of the adjacent country, from the inveterate propensity of their husbands to linger about the village tavern on market days. Be that as it may, I do not vouch for the fact, but merely advert to it, for the sake of being precise and authentic. Not far from this village, perhaps about two miles, there is a little valley or rather lap of land among high hills, which is one of the quietest places in the whole world. A small brook glides through it, with just murmur enough to lull one to repose; and the occasional whistle of a quail or tapping of a woodpecker is almost the only sound that ever breaks in upon the uniform tranquility. (The Legend of Sleep Hollow by Washington Irving) G. I’m not! And if turning up my hair makes me one, I’ll wear it in two tails till I’m twenty, cried Jo, pulling off her net, and shaking down a chestnut mane. I hate to think I’ve got to grow up, and be Miss March, and wear long gowns, and look as prim as a China Aster! It’s bad enough to be a girl, anyway, when I like boy’s games and work and manners! I can’t get over my disappointment in not being a boy. And it’s worse than ever now, for I’m dying to go and fight with Papa. And I can only stay home and knit, like a poky old woman! (Little Women by Lousia Alcott) H. Shaking off the sleet from my ice-glazed hat and jacket, I seated myself near the door, and turning sideways was surprised to see Queequeg near me. Affected by the solemnity of the scene, there was a wondering gaze of incredulous curiosity in his countenance. This savage was the only person present who seemed to notice my entrance; because he was the only one who could not read, and, therefore, was not reading those frigid inscriptions on the wall. Whether any of the relatives of the seamen whose names appeared there were now among the congregation, I knew not; but so many are the unrecorded accidents in the fishery, and so plainly did several women present wear the countenance if not the trappings of some unceasing grief, that I feel sure that here before me were assembled those, in whose unhealing hearts the sight of those bleak tablets sympathetically caused the old wounds to bleed afresh. (Moby Dick by Herman Melville) I. The Time Traveler (for so it will be convenient to speak of him) was expounding a recondite matter to

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us. His grey eyes shone and twinkled, and his usually pale face was flushed and animated. The fire burned brightly, and the soft radiance of the incandescent lights in the lilies of silver caught the bubbles that flashed and passed in our glasses. Our chairs, being his patents, embraced and caressed us rather than submitted to be sat upon, and there was that luxurious after-dinner atmosphere when thought roams gracefully free of the trammels of precision. And he put it to us in this way — marking the points with a lean forefinger — as we sat and lazily admired his earnestness over this new paradox (as we thought it) and his fecundity. (The Time Machine by H. G. Wells) J. On an exceptionally hot evening early in July a young man came out of the garret in which he lodged in S. Place and walked slowly, as though in hesitation, towards K. bridge. He had successfully avoided meeting his landlady on the staircase. His garret was under the roof of a high, five-storied house, and was more like a cupboard than a room. The landlady, who provided him with garret, dinners, and attendance, lived on the floor below, and every time he went out he was obliged to pass her kitchen, the door of which invariably stood open. And each time he passed, the young man had a sick, frightened feeling, which made him scowl and feel ashamed. He was hopelessly in debt to his landlady, and was afraid of meeting her. (Crime and Punishment by Fydor Doestoevsky)

Discussion Questions (50 Points) A. Agree or disagree with these critics. All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn . . . it’s the best book we’ve had. All American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since. — Ernest Hemingway (Joseph Claro, Barron’s Book Notes: Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, New York: Scholastic 1984, pgs. 103-104.) Huck Finn is alone: there is no more solitary character in fiction. The fact that he has a father only emphasizes his loneliness; and he views his father with a terrifying detachment. So we come to see Huck himself in the end as one of the permanent symbolic figures of fiction; not unworthy to take a place with Ulysses, Faust, Don Quixote, Don Juan, Hamlet, and other great discoveries that man has made about himself. — T.S. Eliot (Ibid) In one sense, Huckleberry Finn seems a circular book, ending as it began with a refused adoption and a projected flight; and certainly it has the effect of refusing the reader’s imagination passage into the future. But there is a breakthrough in the last pages, especially in the terrible sentence which begins, “But I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest.” In these words, the end of childhood is clearly signaled; and we are forced to ask the question, which, duplicitously, the book refuses to answer: what will become of Huck if he persists in his refusal to return to the place where he has been before? Leslie A. Fiedler (Ibid) B. The following was quoted in an 1885 newspaper, “The Concord Public Library committee has decided to exclude Mark Twain’s latest book from the library. One member of the committee says that, while he does not wish to call it immoral, he thinks it contains but little humor, and that of a very coarse type. He regards it as the veriest trash. The librarian and the other members of the committee entertain similar views, characterizing it as rough, coarse and inelegant, dealing with a series of experiences not elevating, the whole book being more suited to the slums than to intelligent, respectable people.” Agree or disagree with the Concord Public Library. C. One newspaper editor observed in an obituary that “in ages to come, if historians and archaeologists would know the thoughts, the temper, the characteristic psychology of the American of the latter half of the nineteenth century, he will need only to read Innocents Abroad, Tom Sawyer, and Huckleberry Finn.” What is the “characteristic psychology” to which he is referring?

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Chapter 17: Test Objective Questions (100 Points) ______ 1. The only person to warn Billy of Claggart’s ill will was (a) the chaplain (b) the Dansker (c) the cook. ______ 2. Billy’s reaction to Claggart’s allegation was impeded by his (a) anger (b) speech problems (c) retardation. ______ 3. The main feeling of the court in response to Billy’s testimony before them was one of (a) repulsion (b) commiseration (c) incredulity. ______ 4. The final court verdict upon Billy was prompted by strict adherence to (a) biblical witness (b) Billy’s confession (c) the civil law. ______ 5. Billy’s burial was marked by the appearance of (a) birds (b) stormy seas (c) an earthquake.

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Chapter 18: Test Essay (100 Points) While participating in an American literature community college course discussion, you courageously mention that The Red Badge of Courage is not about the Civil War. The instructor and his students are shocked. To reward you for your insightful comments, the instructor asks you to write a 150-word essay defending your argument. In the space below, and on the back of this paper, argue that The Red Badge of Courage is really not about the Civil War.

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Chapter 19: Test Creative Writing (25 Points) Write a short story or poem in the same style as Harte, Chopin, Robinson, or Masters.

Discussion Questions (75 Points) A. Analyze the following poem in a 75- to 150-word essay. In your essay, discuss the theme, setting, rhyme scheme, literary techniques (e.g., alliteration, metaphor), and other literary elements (e.g., symbolism). The Pity of the Leaves Edwin Arlington Robinson Vengeful across the cold November moors,

And then there were the leaves that plagued him so!

Loud with ancestral shame there came the bleak

The brown, thin leaves that on the stones outside

Sad wind that shrieked, and answered with a shriek,

Skipped with a freezing whisper. Now and then

Reverberant through lonely corridors.

They stopped, and stayed there — just to let him know

The old man heard it; and he heard, perforce, Words out of lips that were no more to speak — Words of the past that shook the old man’s cheek

How dead they were; but if the old man cried, They fluttered off like withered souls of men.

Like dead, remembered footsteps on old floors. B. Compare with Ralph Waldo Emerson’s The Snowstorm. The Snows torm R.W. Emerson Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,

Speeding, the myriad-handed, his wild work

Arrives the snow, and, driving o’er the fields,

So fanciful, so savage, nought cares he

Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air

For number or proportion. Mockingly,

Hides hills and woods, the river, and the heaven,

On coop or kennel he hangs Parian wreaths;

And veils the farmhouse at the garden’s end. The sled and traveller stopped, the courier’s feet Delayed, all friends shut out, the housemates sit Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed In a tumultuous privacy of storm.

A swan-like form invests the hidden thorn; Fills up the farmer’s lane from wall to wall, Maugre the farmer’s sighs; and at the gate A tapering turret overtops the work. And when his hours are numbered, and the world

Come see the north wind’s masonry.

Is all his own, retiring, as he were not,

Out of an unseen quarry evermore

Leaves, when the sun appears, astonished Art

Furnished with tile, the fierce artificer

To mimic in slow structures, stone by stone,

Curves his white bastions with projected roof

Built in an age, the mad wind’s night-work,

Round every windware stake, or tree, or door.

The frolic architecture of the snow.

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Chapter 20: Test Objective Questions (50 Points) ______ 1. Telling the story is (A) a family friend, (B) Ethan, (C) Zeena, (D) a neutral observer. ______ 2. Life is very hard for Ethan because (A) his wife Zeena has an outside job (B) his barn recently burned (C) his wife, Zeena, was an unhappy hypochondriac (D) he cannot read. ______ 3. Life improved considerably for everyone when (A) Zeena’s cousin Mattie came to help (B) the Fromes won the lottery (C) Zeena died (D) Ethan stopped worrying about Zeena. ______ 4. Mattie and Ethan took things into their own hands and (A) ran away (B) tried to commit suicide (C) secretly married (D) decided not to continue their relationship. ______ 5. At the end of the novel (A) Zeena dies and Mattie and Ethan live happily ever after (B) Zeena, wounded Mattie, and Ethan live in unhappiness (C) Mattie dies suddenly (D) everyone goes his own way.

Discussion Questions (50 Points) A. The nameless narrator only appears in the prologue and in the epilogue of the novel. Some critics argue that he is a young engineer with time to kill in Starkfield. With the instinct of a scientist, he investigates Ethan, and with the skill of an experienced writer he tells Ethan’s story. Why does Wharton choose this particular narrator and why doesn’t she have him be a part of the story? B. It is interesting that the scientist or engineer is scorned by Hawthorne (e.g., Chillingsworth and Alymer) but extolled by Wharton. Why? C. What are two possible themes of Ethan Frome? D. How does Wharton use the setting to advance her themes? E. Why, in Wharton’s world, are Ethan and Mattie doomed? F. What role does Mrs. Andrew Hale play in this novel? G. The use of darkness and light is an important motif for romantic writers. Likewise, Wharton uses darkness and light to make a point. The contrast between the brilliant light inside the church and the darkness outside is drawn vividly. She does it several other times, too. Why? What is her point? H. Several of the novels we have read this year have characters who are isolated. Hester Prynne is isolated from her community; Huck Finn is isolated and living alone; Henry Fleming is isolated and alone when he flees from the battlefield; now Ethan is isolated from all others by his shyness and social inadequacies. Yet there is a considerable difference between Hester’s isolation and all the rest. Why? I. Mattie has virtually no personality at all. She is critical to the plot but remains completely undeveloped. Why? J. Because Edith Wharton came from high society, some scholars doubted that Wharton had the insight to write about ordinary country people. One scholar wrote that Ethan Frome “was not a New England story and certainly not the granite ‘folk tale’ of New England its admirers have claimed it to be. (Mrs. Wharton) knew little of the New England common world and perhaps cared even less. She never knew how the poor lived in Paris or London; she knew even less of how they lived in the New England villages where she spent an occasional summer.” Agree or disagree with this critic and defend your answer.

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Chapter 21: Test Identification (90 Points) Identify the author of the following passages and explain why you made your choice. Choose from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Bradford, Mark Twain, Stephen Crane, Edgar Allan Poe, and Edith Wharton. A. It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,



That a maiden there lived whom you may know



By the name of Annabel Lee; And this maiden she lived with no other thought



Than to love and be loved by me.



I was a child and she was a child,



In this kingdom by the sea;



But we loved with a love that was more than love —



I and my Annabel Lee;



With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven



Coveted her and me.

B. There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried. Not for nothing one face, one character, one fact, makes much impression on him, and another none. This sculpture in the memory is not without pre-established harmony. The eye was placed where one ray should fall, that it might testify of that particular ray. We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents. It may be safely trusted as proportionate and of good issues, so it be faithfully imparted, but God will not have his work made manifest by cowards. A man is relieved and gay when he has put his heart into his work and done his best; but what he has said or done otherwise, shall give him no peace. It is a deliverance which does not deliver. In the attempt his genius deserts him; no muse befriends; no invention, no hope. C. Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heaven, who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element. And no marvel if they were thus joyful, seeing wise Seneca was so affected with sailing a few miles on the coast of his own Italy; as he affirmed, that he had rather remain twenty years on his way by land, then pass by sea to any place in a short time; so tedious and dreadful was the same unto him. D. No expense had been spared on the setting, which was acknowledged to be very beautiful even by people who shared his acquaintance with the Opera houses of Paris and Vienna. The foreground, to the footlights, was covered with emerald green cloth. In the middle distance symmetrical mounds of woolly green moss bounded by croquet hoops formed the base of shrubs shaped like orange-trees but studded

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with large pink and red roses. Gigantic pansies, considerably larger than the roses, and closely resembling the floral pen-wipers made by female parishioners for fashionable clergymen, sprang from the moss beneath the rose-trees; and here and there a daisy grafted on a rose-branch flowered with a luxuriance prophetic of Mr. Luther Burbank’s far-off prodigies. In the centre of this enchanted garden Madame Nilsson, in white cashmere slashed with pale blue satin, a reticule dangling from a blue girdle, and large yellow braids carefully disposed on each side of her muslin chemisette, listened with downcast eyes to M. Capoul’s impassioned wooing, and affected a guileless incomprehension of his designs whenever, by word or glance, he persuasively indicated the ground floor window of the neat brick villa projecting obliquely from the right wing. E. For the most wild, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief. Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. Yet, mad am I not — and very surely do I not dream. But tomorrow I die, and today I would unburthen my soul. My immediate purpose is to place before the world, plainly, succinctly, and without comment, a series of mere household events. In their consequences, these events have terrified — have tortured — have destroyed me. Yet I will not attempt to expound them. To me, they have presented little but Horror — to many they will seem less terrible than barroques. Hereafter, perhaps, some intellect may be found which will reduce my phantasm to the common-place — some intellect more calm, more logical, and far less excitable than my own, which will perceive, in the circumstances I detail with awe, nothing more than an ordinary succession of very natural causes and effects. F. The House of the Seven Gables, antique as it now looks, was not the first habitation erected by civilized man on precisely the same spot of ground. Pyncheon-street formerly bore the humbler appellation of Maule’s-lane, from the name of the original occupant of the soil, before whose cottage-door it was a cow-path. A natural spring of soft and pleasant water — a rare treasure on the sea-girt peninsula, where the Puritan settlement was made — had early induced Matthew Maule to build a hut, shaggy with thatch, at this point, although somewhat too remote from what was then the centre of the village. In the growth of the town, however, after some thirty or forty years, the site covered by this rude hovel had become exceedingly desirable in the eyes of a prominent and powerful personage, who asserted plausible claims to the proprietorship of this, and a large adjacent tract of land, on the strength of a grant from the legislature. Colonel Pyncheon, the claimant, as we gather from whatever traits of him are preserved, was characterized by an iron energy of purpose. Matthew Maule, on the other hand, though an obscure man, was stubborn in the defence of what he considered his right; and, for several years, he succeeded in protecting the acre or two of earth, which, with his own toil, he had hewn out of the primeval forest, to be his garden-ground and homestead. G. There was a feller here once by the name of Jim Smiley, in the winter of ‘49 — or maybe it was the spring of ‘50 — I don’t recollect exactly, somehow, though what makes me think it was one or the other is because I remember the big flume wasn’t finished when he first came to the camp; but any way, he was the curiosest man about always betting on any thing that turned up you ever see, if he could get any body to bet on the other side, and if he couldn’t he’d change sides — any way that suited the other man would suit him — any way just so’s he got a bet, he was satisfied. But still, he was lucky — uncommon lucky; he most always come out winner. He was always ready and laying for a chance; there couldn’t be no solitry thing mentioned but that feller’d offer to bet on it — and take any side you please, as I was just telling you. If there was a horse-race, you’d find him flush, or you’d find him busted at the end of it; if there was a dog-fight, he’d bet on it; if there was a cat-fight, he’d bet on it; if there was a chicken-fight, he’d bet on it; why, if there was two birds setting on a fence, he would bet you which one would fly first — or if there was a camp-meeting, he would be there reglar, to bet on Parson Walker, which he judged to be the best exhorter about here, and so he was, too, and a good man. If he even seen a straddle-bug start

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to go any wheres, he would bet you how long it would take him to get wherever he was going to, and if you took him up, he would foller that straddle-bug to Mexico but what he would find out where he was bound for and how long he was on the road. Lots of the boys here has seen that Smiley, and can tell you about him. Why, it never made no difference to him — he would bet on anything — the dangdest feller. Parson Walker’s wife laid very sick, once, for a good while, and it seemed as if they warn’t going to save her; but one morning he come in, and Smiley asked him how she was, and he said she was considerable better — thank the Lord for his inf ’nit mercy — and coming on so smart that, with the blessing of Providence, she’d get well yet — and Smiley, before he thought, says, “Well, I’ll resk two-and-a-half that she don’t, anyway.” H. During the afternoon of the storm, the whirling snows acted as drivers, as men with whips, and at half-past three, the walk before the closed doors of the house was covered with wanderers of the street, waiting. For some distance on either side of the place they could be seen lurking in doorways and behind projecting parts of buildings, gathering in close bunches in an effort to get warm. A covered wagon drawn up near the curb sheltered a dozen of them. Under the stairs that led to the elevated railway station, there were six or eight, their hands stuffed deep in their pockets, their shoulders stooped, jiggling their feet. Others always could be seen coming, a strange procession, some slouching along with the characteristic hopeless gait of professional strays, some coming with hesitating steps wearing the air of men to whom this sort of thing was new. It was an afternoon of incredible length. The snow, blowing in twisting clouds, sought out the men in their meagre hiding-places and skilfully beat in among them, drenching their persons with showers of fine, stinging flakes. They crowded together, muttering, and fumbling in their pockets to get their red, inflamed wrists covered by the cloth. I. The cause of so much amazement may appear sufficiently slight. Mr. Hooper, a gentlemanly person, of about thirty, though still a bachelor, was dressed with due clerical neatness, as if a careful wife had starched his band, and brushed the weekly dust from his Sunday’s garb. There was but one thing remarkable in his appearance. Swathed about his forehead, and hanging down over his face, so low as to be shaken by his breath, Mr. Hooper had on a black veil. On a nearer view it seemed to consist of two folds of crape, which entirely concealed his features, except the mouth and chin, but probably did not intercept his sight, further than to give a darkened aspect to all living and inanimate things. With this gloomy shade before him, good Mr. Hooper walked onward, at a slow and quiet pace, stooping somewhat, and looking on the ground, as is customary with abstracted men, yet nodding kindly to those of his parishioners who still waited on the meeting-house steps. But so wonder-struck were they that his greeting hardly met with a return.

Creative Writing (10 Points) Write your own poem. Write your name down the page. Use adjectives or nouns that describe you that also begin with each of the letters. For example: Jolly Athlete Maudlin Encounter Simple

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Chapter 22: Test Objective Questions (50 Points) ______ 1. Henry was wounded (A) while attacking a German machine gun nest (B) while sitting in his foxhole enjoying a meal (C) while resting in the rear (D) while he visited an old girl friend. ______ 2. Catherine was (A) a nurse (B) a teacher (C) an American journalist (D) another patient. ______ 3. Who were fighting the Italians? (A) British and French (B) Austrians and Russians (C) Serbians and Americans (D) Austrians and Germany. ______ 4. Catherine and Henry (A) escaped to a lake resort (B) decided to return to America (C) felt bad about their behavior and married (D) never left the hospital. ______ 5. At the end of the novel (A) Catherine and Henry escape to Hungary (B) Catherine dies in childbirth (C) Catherine and Henry are tragically killed in an auto accident (D) Catherine and Henry are arrested and shot for desertion.

Discussion Questions (75 Points - 15 points each) A. What does Hemingway mean when he says, “Abstract words such as glory, honor, courage, or hallow were obscene beside the concrete names of villages, the numbers of roads, the names of rivers, the number of regiments and the dates”?

B. It is raining constantly in A Farewell to Arms. What effect does this have in the novel?

C. What narrative technique does Hemingway employ? Why?

D. Frederick Henry is not a hero, he is an anti-hero. Explain.

E. A foil is a character that resembles the main character in all respects except one — the one trait that the writer wants to highlight. Give an example of a foil.

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Chapter 23: Test Objective Test (50 Points) 1._____

Janie’s first husband is (A) Tea Cake (B) Logan (C) Joe (D) James.

2._____

What kills Jamie’s third husband? (A) a tornado. (B) a flood (C) small pox. (D) a hurricane.

3._____

Janie is telling her story to (A) Pheobe (B) Nanny. (C) Joe (D) Tea Cake.

4._____

Tea Cake teaches Jamie to play (A) poker (B) chess (C) checkers (D) Monopoly.

5._____

Janie’s first husband is (A) a fisherman (B) carpenter (C) farmer (D) factory worker.

Discussion Questions (50 Points) A. Discuss the way Hurston uses Janie’s three husbands to mark her progress toward fulfillment in life.

B. Hurston uses one particular metaphor to describe Janie’s life. What is it and how does she use it?

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Chapter 24: Test Objective Questions (50 Points) ______ 1. Ringo is (A) a slave (B) a Confederate soldier (C) a horse (D) a soldier in Colonel Sartoris’ army. ______ 2. Colonel Sartoris is (A) an artillery officer in the union army (B) a Confederate calvary officer (C) a retired military friend (D) a friendly union officer. ______ 3. A classic figure who could be compared to Granny would be (A) Robin Hood (B) Ivanhoe (C) Ulysses (D) Billy Pilgrim. ______ 4. Ab Snopes is (A) an unprincipled Southern poor white man (B) a friendly Yankee lieutenant (C) a favorite house (D) a soldier in Colonel Sartoris’ calvary. ______ 5. Druscilla was (B) a fragile Southern belle (b) Ringo’s sister (C) a tomboy Southern woman (D) a wounded neighbor.

Essay (50 Points) William Faulkner has retained you to be his ghostwriter. He wants you to write a short story, 150 words, exhibiting the style, characterization, plot, and other literary elements that are similar to his own.

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Chapter 25: Test Objective Test (100 Points) 1. _____ Kino is originally prompted to pray for a great pearl because (A) his son was bitten by a scorpion and he needed money for medicine (B) he needed money for the dentist (C) he was tired of living so poorly (D) his son had a chance to attend the university and he did not have enough money to send him. 2. _____

Who suggests that the pearl be abandoned? (A) Kino (B) the son (C) Juana (D) the doctor.

3. _____ While escaping from his pursuers (A) Juana is killed (B) Coyotito is killed (C) Kino loses the pearl (D) Kino falls and drowns. 4. _____ The only friends Kino seems to have are (A) Juana and Apolonia (B) the priest and his housekeeper (C) Jose and Maria (D) the doctor and his wife. 5. _____

This story is an (A) epic (B) narrative poem (C) fable (D) parable.

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Chapter 26: Test Essay (100 Points) Read the following essay. In your paper, state the central thesis of this essay and discuss how the author supports his argument. Then, agree or disagree with his conclusion. By the time O’Neill, who was white, wrote “The Emperor Jones,” within the African-American community the marriage of race and power was secure. Equality was no longer a goal: empowerment was. Now the movement wanted more than a piece of the pie — they wanted to be in charge. After so much misery and given the failure of white America to address the needs of the African-American urban community, who can blame them? Now African-Americans wanted to be both away from whites and in charge. Brutus manifested this marriage of power and separatism. This encouraged a permanent state of rage. “Anytime you make race a source of power,” a Black Power leader wrote, “you are going to guarantee suffering, misery, and inequality . . . we are going to have power because we are black!” Many African-Americans today, influenced by black nationalism, argue that the distribution of power in American society has become the single issue of overriding importance to the upward progress of African-Americans. From 1965 to the present, every item on the black agenda has been judged by whether or not it added to the economic or political empowerment of black people. In effect, Martin Luther King’s dialogue of justice for all — whites and blacks — has been cast into the conflagration of empowerment. The triumph of black nationalism made black anger an indelible part of the racial reconciliation quest. Thus, Brutus, on his island paradise, finally felt he had it all: he was in charge and separated from whites. Black nationalism was mostly nonviolent. However, some African-American leaders were very angry. To these people, gradualism was anathema. It suggested that races could coexist together at the very time when many were suggesting that the races should remain separated. In The Fire Next Time (1962), James Baldwin wrote of the “rope, fire, torture, castration, infanticide, rape . . . fear by day and night, fear as deep as the marrow of the bone.” By 1970, many African-American thinkers, religious leaders, social workers, and politicians were outraged. In fact, hatred and unforgiveness ran so deeply in African-American culture that the struggle became the end itself — instead of a means to an end. The theme that O’Neill explored in his play is as alive today as it ever was. Today, the politics of difference has led to an establishment of “grievance identities.” The African-American community has documented the grievance of their group, testifying to its abiding alienation. While predominantly white colleges and universities now enroll a majority of the more than 1.3 million black college students, the fact is there is not much race-mixing really occurring. Racism divides and conquers still. One African-American student confessed, “We have a campus of 25,000 students and there is no mixing across cultural and racial lines . . . even during a campus rally for racial unity, all the blacks cluster together and all the whites cluster together.” No one can deny that the Civil Rights initiatives in the 1960s brought substantial improvements to the African-American community. As a result of these encouraging developments, many black Americans developed what some historians call a “black revolution in expectations.” AfricanAmericans no longer felt that they had to put up with the humiliation of second-class citizenship. This progress was short-lived and incomplete. White privilege — whose basic underpinnings are based on the myth of racial homogeneity and white supremacy — mitigated all progress. The real demon here, however, is unforgiveness. Clearly it destroyed Brutus; clearly it will destroy anyone in its path. (James P. Stobaugh)

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Chapter 27: Test Complete the following checklist (100 Points) Name of play: “The Little Foxes” Name of author: Lillian Hellman I. Briefly describe:

protagonist — antagonist —



other characters used to develop protagonist —



do any of the characters remind me of a bible character? Who? Why?

II. Setting: III. Tone: IV. Brief summary of the plot:

Identify the climax of the play.

V. Theme. (the quintessential meaning/purpose of the book in one or two sentences): VI. Author’s worldview:

How do you know this? What behaviors do the characters manifest that lead you to this conclusion?

VII. Why did you like/dislike this play?

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Chapter 28: Test Complete the following checklist: (100 Points) Name of play: “The Glass Menagerie” Name of author: Tennessee Williams I. Briefly describe:

protagonist —



antagonist —



other characters used to develop protagonist —



do any of the characters remind me of a bible character? Who? Why?

II. Setting: III. Tone: IV. Brief summary of the plot:

Identify the climax of the play.

V. Theme (the quintessential meaning/purpose of the book in one or two sentences): VI. Author’s worldview:

how do you know this? What behaviors do the characters manifest that lead you to this conclusion?

VII. Why did you like/dislike this play?

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Chapter 29: Test Discussion Questions (100 Points) A. Some critics argue that “The Glass Menagerie” is a savage attack on 20th-century American culture. Agree or disagree and support your argument from the text. B. Some critics argue that Williams is no naturalist — in fact, they argue, he is a theist. (not necessarily Christian) — or at least a “moralist” — in the same tradition of Hawthorne. Agree or disagree and support your argument from the text. C. The play has seven scenes. The first four take place over a few days’ time during the winter season. The remaining scenes occur on two successive evenings during the following spring. Since the play contains no formal “acts,” a director can prescribe an intermission at any time. How would you divide the play if you were directing a performance? D. Laura is one of the most pathetic figures in American literature. Is she really that physically crippled? Or is she more emotionally crippled? E. How credible is Tom as a narrator? As a character in the play?

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Chapter 30: Test Objective Test (T or F) (50 Points) 1. _____

The play begins with women dancing in the forest with the slave Tituba.

2. _____

The Rev. Parris sees them doing this.

3. _____

The leader of the girls is Abigail.

4. _____

John Proctor believes the girls and asks for a witch trial.

5. _____

Rev. Parris oversees a trial.

Discussion Question (50 Points) Agree or disagree with this statement: “A critic said, ‘I speak of ‘sin.’ ’ It is an unfashionable word nowadays and Miller rarely uses it. He is . . . sufficiently imbued with the skepticism of modern thought to shy away from the presumptions implicit in it. But that Miller is willy-nilly a moralist — one who believes he knows what sin and evil are — is inescapable” (Christopher Bigsby, The Portable Arthur Miller (New York: Penguin Books 1995) pg. xiv).

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Chapter 31: Test Objective Questions (T or F) (50 Points) 1. ______ Gene is a good student but a great athlete. 2. ______ This novel occurs during World War II. 3. ______ Devon is an exclusive prep school. 4. ______ Gene and Phineas fall out of the tree but Phineas alone is hurt. 5. ______ Phineas ultimately dies June 6, 1944, on the beach at Normandy.

Essay (50 Points) In a 150–300 word essay create a sequel to A Separate Peace, being careful to keep the integrity of the story and characters in place.

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Chapter 32: Test Essays (100 Points) Write an evaluation of one of the short stories in this chapter. Be candid in expressing your reactions to the work. Did you like it or not? Support your arguments with specific references to the work. In your essay consider the theme, characters, plot, and other literary elements.

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Chapter 33: Test Objective Test (T or F) 1. _____

Miss Love and Rucker marry because they deeply love each other.

2. _____

Miss Love works at Rucker’s store.

3. _____

Miss Love is perceived as a Yankee.

4. _____

Lightfoot is Will’s best friend in church.

5. _____

Rucker dies at the end of the novel.

Essay (50 Points) What does the Cold Sassy Tree symbolize?

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Chapter 34: Test Objective Test (T or F) (50 Points) 1. _____

Reuven and David are the two main characters.

2. _____

Reuven is a Hasidic Jew.

3. _____

Danny and Reuven meet when Danny hits Reuven with a baseball.

4. _____

Danny’s father wishes for Danny to take his place as leader of the Hasidim.

5. _____

Ironically, Reuven becomes a rabbi.

Discussion Question (50 Points) A. Discuss the way Potok develops his most fascinating character, Reb Saunders.

B. What is the central thematic conflict that occurs between Reuven and Danny?

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Integrate

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Daily lessons for a 34-week intensive study! The vital resource for grading all assignments from the American Literature course, including options to help personalize the coursework for the individual student to develop:

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certified secondary teacher, and a SAT coach. He from Vanderbilt and Rutgers universities, as well as Princeton and Gordon-Conwell seminaries. An experienced teacher, he is a recognized leader in homeschooling and has published numerous books for students and teachers. He and his wife, Karen, have four homeschooled adult children.

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