American Literature Test

Instructor’s directions:
Answer all 8 questions in detail – each answer must be 500 – 700 words (3 paragraphs). Use the text to support your argument.
1.One of the dominant themes in Emily Dickinson’s poetry is death. In her poem that we read in Module 1 she speaks of death as a person. Find another poem of Emily Dickinson that has death as a theme and analyze the poem to see what argument Dickinson is making about death. (The poem you will use is attached below)
2. Robert Frost’s poetry often talks about loneliness, solitude, and man’s isolation. Explain how Frost’s sense of isolation is different (or similar) to the tone of Walt Whitman. You may use the poems we read in Module 1 for reference or you may use other Whitman or Frost poetry. Remember to cite the poems you use.
3. How does T.S. Elliot represent people in his poetry? What are the characteristics that he highlights? How does he convey the problems and challenges of others through his poems?
In answering this question reference “The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock” and one other T. S. Elliot poem of your choice.
4. Compare the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” with any character in a contemporary movie that you have watched lately. How are these characters similar or different and what concerns/issues do they highlight in their narratives?
1. Fitzgerald’s “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” is extremely relevant today since it references popularity issues, peer pressure, and many other things. Pick a specific issue (problem) that college students face today and discuss how this story is a representation of this issue. In this answer, be sure to discuss a relevant issue and then connect it to how that issue is represented in “Bernice Bobs Her Hair.”
2. What is the one overarching theme of A Streetcar Named Desire? Analyze this theme using the text and how do you see it defining the central argument of the play?
3. Langton Hughes was called Shakespeare in Harlem. He wrote about the hardships and the experiences of Black America. Pick any two of Hughes poems of your choice and explain how he was able to capture and portray these challenges effectively to his audience.
4. In this final response talk about your favorite reading from this course. Why was it your favorite, what did you learn from it, and what further readings would you be interested in pursuing in American Literature? (Use any of the sources attached below)
The poems referenced above are attached below.
Dickinson: https://poets.org/poem/color-caste-denomination-970
Whitman: http://www.potw.org/archive/potw431.html
Frost: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53086/home-burial
Elliot: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/44212/the-love-song-of-j-alfred-prufrock
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47311/the-waste-land
Gilman: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1952/1952-h/1952-h.htm
Fitzgerald: https://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/engl494/bernicebobs.pdf
Wiliams: Attached as PDF
Hughes: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47559/mother-to-son
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47558/i-too

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