American Literature

Midterm Exam:

Instructions: Choose four (4) of the following five (5) questions and provide complete written answers within the established word limit. Answers that fail to adhere to the word count (long or short) will not be graded! Read both the question and the instructions that follow. Your answer should seek to meet the established criteria and must contain the listed topics or elements. Please refer to the Exam Formatting Template (posted on ANGEL) for specific instructions concerning how your finished exam should look.

*A Note on References:

In the instructions below you will note that I have listed a set of references pertaining to each question. I expect that each of those texts will find their way into your answer. You may quote or paraphrase from them if necessary; you may also simply refer to or talk about them. When you do so, be sure to completely name the work and be specific about the meaning you are seeking to ascribe to it. If you do directly quote from the text, do so concisely and with purpose. Excessive quotation will constitute grounds for a significant reduction in the grade!

1. Given our readings and discussion of the writings of James Fenimore Cooper and William Cullen Bryant, discuss how these texts describe a common American attitude concerning the price of individual and social progress – i.e. the consequences of the narrative of individual success?

• Length: 450-550 words

• References: James Fenimore Cooper: The Last of the Mohicans (excerpt)

William Cullen Bryant: “The Prairies”

• Topics to be Addressed:

 James Fenimore Cooper’s presentation of Native Americans and Natty Bumpo’s relationship with them

 William Cullen Bryant’s depiction of the Great Plains and his prediction for their future development

 The Deep Narrative of American progress and the consequences of individual success for both people and the environment

2. Given our readings and discussion of the writings of Rebecca Harding Davis and Edgar Allan Poe, how does each author highlight problems within American social systems and our conceptions of American life?

• Length: 450-550

• References: Rebecca Harding Davis: Life in the Iron Mills

Edgar Allan Poe: “The Black Cat”

• Topics to be Addressed:

 Poe and Davis’s illumination of problems in America

 Rebecca Harding Davis’s lasting message concerning our ability to correct social injustice

 Edgar Allan Poe’s vision of human nature

 The Deep Narrative of early nineteenth century criticism of American progress and rationality

3. Given what we have learned and read concerning the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, how might we describe the relationship between the Puritan settlers and the Wampanoag tribe over the first twenty years of the colony’s history?

• Length: 450-550 words

• References: William Bradford: Of Plymouth Plantation

Mary Rowlandson: A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson

Film: “After the Mayflower”

• Topics to be Addressed:

 How Native and Puritan perceptions of each other changed through time

 The problems/mechanisms that caused the relationship to change

 The Deep Narrative (the costs of success) this episode establishes in American culture

4. Given your viewing of the first two episodes of American Experience & Frontline’s series God in America “A New Adam” and “A New Eden,” how does the story of America’s religious history reflect and accentuate basic American values, ideals, or principles.

• Length: 450-550 words

• References: God in America Episode 1 “A New Adam”

God in America Episode 2 “A New Eden”

• Topics to be Addressed:

 The Early Puritans and their vision of America as a new “promised land”

 Challenges to state sponsored religion and the development of religious freedom

 Evangelism and the Great Awakening as a mechanism for social betterment

 Any additional correlations that you might think of and support

5. Given your viewing of the first three episodes of the American Experience Series We Shall Remain, “After the Mayflower,” “Tecumseh’s Vision,” and “Trail of Tears,” how might we describe the general narrative of Native American experience with European colonists and the nation of the United States.

• Length: 450-550 words

• References: We Shall Remain Episode 1 “After the Mayflower”

We Shall Remain Episode 2 “Tecumseh’s Vision”

We Shall Remain Episode 3 “Trail of Tears”

• Topics to be Addressed:

 Points of cooperation and tolerance

 Importance of assimilation and how Native Americans reacted to it

 The outcome of Native disputes and eventual fate of most Native American tribes

 American reactions concerning Native resistance and efforts of self-preservation

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