Unit+Three+American+Literature

Here is the format of the unit 3 test:

There are 50 multiple-choice questions. Six of them are “MARK ALL THAT APPLY”

Questions 1-9 deal with the unit three introduction Questions 10-15 deal with “The Devil and Tom Walker Questions 16-19 deal with //The Deerslayer// Questions 20-27 deal with “Thanatopsis” Question 28 deals with Edgar Allan Poe’s life Questions 29-38 deal with “The Raven” Questions 39-40 deal with “To Helen” Questions 41-43 deal with “Alone” Questions 44-50 deal with “The Fall of the House of Usher”

Questions 51-60 are an extra-credit matching section in which you match quotes from literature of the unit with the title/author of the work. _

Here are the unit 3 essay questions: American Literature Unit 3 Test Essay

Directions: Choose __one__ of the following topics and write a thorough, well-explained, well-supported essay on the topic. You may use your textbook for this section of the test only. Please make sure your name is on your essay paper and make sure you list the number of the topic you chose. Please do not write on this sheet.

1. Pick one work of literature we have read during this unit and explain how it reveals several characteristics of Romanticism. Think about setting, theme, characters, tone, etc. and how they might help prove it is a Romantic work of literature.

2. Compare and contrast the attitude toward death displayed in William Cullen Bryant’s “Thanatopsis” and Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.”

3. Select one poem by Edgar Allan Poe and describe the mood or atmosphere of the poem, then show as many examples as you can of ways the poet conveys this mood to the reader.

4. Pick one work of literature we have read during this unit and explain the way it deals with nature. What attitudes or opinions toward nature do the characters (or a single character) show and how does this reveal the authors attitude(s) toward nature? You also might want to compare and contrast this author’s views to those of other Romantic writers

__Here are the unit 3 discussion questions:__

American Literature  Unit 3 Discussion Questions Read “The Devil and Tom Walker” (p. 105) and respond to the following journal prompts:

1. What characteristics or influences of Romanticism do you see in this story? Explain how or why they are Romantic and how they contribute to the story’s message and/or its uniqueness.

2. Name at least three acts, ideas and/or occupations criticized in this story and explain how the criticism is achieved. What do you think this tells us about Irving’s ideas?

Read the excerpt from James Fennimore Cooper’s //The Deerslayer// (p. 115) and respond to the following journal prompts:

3. What can you tell about Deerslayer’s ideas on honor and courage? What do you think it means that he won’t take credit for being brave (based on his occupation)? What might his hesitation to kill humans show about his character?

4. Look at your response to #3 and at your notes about the “Romantic Hero.” Point out (and support with the text) some examples of how Deerslayer is a Romantic hero.

Read William Cullen Bryant’s “Thanatopsis” (pp. 120-122) and respond to the following prompts in your journal:

5. Do you think this is a positive poem or a negative poem or a mixture of both? Is this a religious poem or an atheistic poem? What beliefs of Bryant’s can you infer from this poem? [Note: you may want to split this entry into two halves – a “before” half (your response after reading but before our class discussion/activity) and an “after” half (after our class discussion/activity).

6. Paraphrase a sentence or two (at least 50 words) of this poem. Try to make it a line-by-line paraphrase.

Read Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” (pp. 127-130). Also see the “Literary Focus” section on pp. 148-149 to get more background information on “Mood.” Then respond to the following journal prompt:

7. Pick a stanza of this poem and thoroughly describe how it helps convey a certain mood. Explain how the choice of words, rhythm, alliteration, rhyme, subject matter, figurative language, etc. contribute to the mood.

8. Speculate on what may have inspired this poem. You may use biographical information about Poe in addition to evidence from the poem itself. Make sure to support your theory with the text.

Read “To Helen” and “Alone” (pp. 132 & 133) and respond to the following journal prompt:

9. Which of these two poems can you relate to more? Does either one do anything that helps you to understand the ideas of the speaker? Does the subject matter of one seem more appealing or relevant? Explain your response.

Read “The Fall of the House of Usher” (pp. 135-147) and respond to the following journal prompts:

10. Look at the song on pp. 141-142 and comment on why it might be fitting in this story. Look for similarities between it and the situation of the Usher family.

11. How is this a “Romantic” story (in the literary sense of the term “Romantic”)? Find at least three pieces of specific textual support for your theory.

12. Speculate on what may have inspired this story. You may use biographical information about Poe in addition to evidence from the poem itself. Make sure to support your theory with the text.

American Literature

Unit 3 Test

Overly Generous Review Sheet

1. What literary movement is associated with this unit?

2. What factors made it harder for Americans to feel unified? (MARK ALL THAT APPLY)

3. What was unique (so far) about the famous writers of this period?

4. What earlier literary movement is Romanticism a reaction against?

5. Which of the following are characteristics of Romantic literature? (MARK ALL THAT APPLY)

6. Which of the following are characteristics of Romantic literature? (MARK ALL THAT APPLY)

7. Which statement best describes the Romantic attitude toward nature?

8. Which of these early American writers displays the strongest fascination with the gothic?

9. Washington Irving, William Cullen Bryant, James Fennimore Cooper, and Edgar Allen Poe were different from American Writers of the 1700’s in that they:

10. Why was Washington Irving’s writing popular in Europe?

11. “The Devil and Tom Walker” is based on the:

12. Who is speaking in this passage from “The Devil and Tom Walker”?

13. What is being criticized in this passage? (MARK ALL THAT APPLY)

14. Tom is prompted to become a churchgoer chiefly by:

15. The effect that Irving achieves with the repeated use of phrases like “it is said” and “according to this most authentic story” is that of:

16. What concept that James Fennimore cooper created is still influential today?

17. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the above concept (the answer to the previous question)?

18. What difference of opinion do Harry and Deerslayer have on the subject of killing deer?

19. What do the differing opinions of Harry and Deerslayer indicate about the difference in their characters?

20. What is the title frequently associated with William Cullen Bryant?

21. What does the Greek word “Thanatopsis” mean?

22. What is negative about this passage from William Cullen Bryant’s “Thanatopsis”?

23. What is the “great tomb of man” referred to in this poem?

24. What is positive about this passage from William Cullen Bryant’s “Thanatopsis”?

25. Which statement below best summarizes the advice this poem gives to the reader in this, the last stanza?

26. What chief lesson about death does “Thanatopsis” suggest nature teaches?

27. What poetic characteristic helps readers of the nineteenth century see “Thanatopsis” as poetry rather than prose?

28. Which of the following was NOT an issue in Edgar Allen Poe’s life that influenced his writing?

29. The Romantic idea that is most reflected in “The Raven” is a

30. What are some words that Poe uses in this passage to convey the tone of the poem?

31. Why is the speaker reading volumes of forgotten lore?

32. Why is it important that the speaker is weak, tired, nearly asleep and reading old stories?

33. The Romantic idea most reflected in “The Raven” is a(n)

34. The events of “The Raven” are gothic in that they

35. What is unique about this stanza (as opposed to all the others before it)?

36. Why is that (the answer to the previous question) important?

37. Why does Poe use the image of a demon’s eyes to describe the eyes of the Raven?

38. Why is it important that the speaker’s soul shall never be lifted out from under the Raven’s shadow?

39. Of what ideal is Helen an embodiment in Poe’s poem “To Helen”?

40. How can you explain the many allusions and references to classical (ancient Greek and Roman) details in “To Helen” if Poe is a Romantic?

41. What is the effect of the dashes in Poe’s “Alone”?

42. Which characteristic of Romanticism is most apparent in “Alone”?

43. The speaker in “Alone” can best be described as:

44. In “The Fall of the House of Usher” what is the tone Poe conveys through the setting?

45. The poetic device that Poe uses in beginning his story, “During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day,” is:

46. What does the above passage from “The Fall of the House of Usher” mean? (MARK ALL THAT APPLY)

47. Why is the song that Roderick sings in “The Fall of the House of Usher” significant to the story itself?

48. What terrible mistake did the narrator and Roderick make during the story?

49. What does the narrator discover, late in the story, about Madeline and Roderick that surprises him?

50. What happens at the end of “The Fall of the House of Usher”? (MARK ALL THAT APPLY