Essay on "American Literature Comparing and Contrasting Ideas Ralph"

Quoted Instructions for "American Literature Comparing and Contrasting Ideas Ralph" Assignment:

I need (6) six-page essay on the American Literature course.

There are six separate topics that need to be answered.

Please answer one question per page.

I*****ll include all the literature materials (instructions, short stories, poems, etc.) from the textbook.

3.1B: Comparing and Contrasting Ideas

Directions: Complete the exercise, *****"2. Emerson Applied,*****" on page 431 of your textbook. You*****'ll need to reread or at least skim over the Emerson essay, Self-Reliance before you write your own essay.

Your essay should be at least two paragraphs and should include one idea on which the two authors (Emerson and Douglass) seem to agree and one on which they differ.

3.2B: A New Ending

Directions: Complete the exercise, *****"3. The Untold Story,*****" on page 445 of your textbook. You*****'ll write one or more paragraphs providing details about the rest of Mrs. Sommers*****'s life. (*****A Pair of Silk Stockings*****)

Be sure to think about what you know about this character before you write. How does she feel about her indulgence on this day and her normal responsibilities? What language did she use when she thought about her children? Does this give you insight into that area of her life?

Does she seem likely to search for someone to help her out of her economic problems or does she seem self-sufficient enough to continue on? Your writing should be at least one paragraph long.

3.3B: Short Fiction or Poem

Directions: Stephen Crane*****'s writing about war came not from his own experiences, but his crystal clear imagination of what war might be like. In this exercise, you*****'ll use either your imagination or your actual knowledge of war to create a short prose piece or a poem.

There is a similar exercise in your textbook on page 494 (*****"3. War is...*****"), but I think using Crane*****'s themes and subjects might be limiting to your voice. You can use your own ideas about war to write your own creative piece. You can look back at Crane*****'s short story or his poem on page 494.

A poem about heroism written by a student is printed also on page 493. If you choose to write poetry, it should be at least five lines long.

3.4B: Collage Description

Directions: Create a design for a collage that represents for you one section of the Frost poem, The Death of the Hired Man. Your design can include any materials, including fabric, found objects, cut or torn paper, paint, markers, text, or images cut from other sources.

Write a clear description of how you would create your collage and describe fully the materials you*****'d use. You could also include a list of words that describe your reactions, opinions, and feelings about some lines from this poem.

Remember to use descriptive language to paint a picture of the exact tone and forms you*****'re planning. Some sections that might be of interest are lines 62 - 70, 103 - 110, 118 - 119, and 160 - 167. Please include the line numbers of the lines you*****'ve chosen to illustrate.

3.5B: Dramatic Monologue

Directions: In this exercise, you*****'ll look back over the pre-writing you*****'ve done about characters and language and then write a dramatic monologue poem. Remember that your poem can take any form, as long as it includes a character speaking to one or more listeners.

Remember also that everything the reader learns about your character, the setting, the situation, and the listener*****'s reactions must come from the speaker.

You have lots of tools in your poetic toolbox. Think about figures of speech, figurative language, rhythm, rhyme schemes, and form before you begin. Will you work in a symbolic style like T. S. Eliot or a more straightforward one like Edgar Lee Masters? Whatever form you choose, make your character believable and real for your readers.

You may want to do a little pre-writing for this exercise. One exercise that helps particularly with a character-focused piece like this is to make a character inventory. This is a short, biographical form you write for the character. You may not end up using the information you include, but it will help you to know the character and then you can write about him or her more easily. Here*****'s a list of things you might include:

*****¢ Character*****'s full name

*****¢ Date and place of birth

*****¢ Siblings*****', parents*****' names and ages

*****¢ Favorite book

*****¢ Pet

*****¢ If the character has a snow day off from school or work, how would he or she spend it?

*****¢ What was the large sum of money the character spent and what was it for?

*****¢ What is in the character*****'s medicine cabinet/bedside table/glove compartment?

You can make up any categories you like. If you choose to create a character inventory you can draw from it as you write your poem. Remember that the assignment for this exercise is to write a dramatic monologue poem -- the character inventory is just a suggested tool. Your poem should be at least ten lines long.

3.6A: Introduction for Poetry Reading

Directions: You*****'ll need to write an introduction for your poem before you begin reading. This introduction may take different forms -- it might be a description of why you chose to write about this particular character, whether the character is based on a real person, or how you thought of this person. (Similar to the short blurbs before the Edgar Lee Masters poems on pages 693 - 695.)

Or you might describe some of your experiences as you wrote the poem. Was it emotional for you? Was there something in your life that made this poem easy or hard for you? Your introduction doesn*****'t have to be long, but you should think of it as a way to *****"prime*****" the audience, get them interested in the poem and focused on it. For this writing exercise, write a draft of the introduction for your poem.

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