Unit+One+American+Literature

American Literature Unit One Discussion Questions “The Walum Olum” (p. 8) 1. Why do you think the Delaware Indians wrote this myth? What purpose might it have served in their society? 2. Do you think this myth is true or not? Does its usefulness depend on its being true? Can you think of any stories that are valuable or useful but not true? (How are they valuable?) 3. What kind of relationship is depicted between the manitos, or spiritual forces, and the mortals? (p. 11)

__“Listen! Rain Approaches!” and “Calling One’s Own” (p. 12 and 13)__

__4. How are these two poems very different in their subject matter and purposes?__ __5. How are these two poems very similar in what they reveal about the values and culture of the authors?__

“To My Dear and Loving Husband” (p. 31)

6. What lines or ideas in this poem remind you that Anne Bradstreet is a Puritan? 7. What lines or ideas in this poem seem non-Puritanical (or even anti-Puritanical)?

__“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” (p. 41)__

__8. What influences of Puritanism do you see in this sermon and how would these influences be effective for Edwards’ audience?__

__9. What do you think of Edwards’ beliefs? What about them do you find positive or negative?__

American Literature   Discussion Questions for Arthur Miller’s // The Crucible // __ First set of page numbers is in the old book. Second set is for the new book. __ Act One __ 1. Describe the personality of Reverend Parris. What do you think of him? How might his personality affect the story later? (pp 3-5 / same) __ __ 2. Explain this passage: “They believed, in short, that they held in their steady hands the candle that would light the world. We have inherited this belief, and it has helped and hurt us” (p. 5 bottom / same). Miller is comparing seventeenth-century Puritan culture to mid-twentieth-century American culture. What is he saying about both cultures? Do you agree or disagree and why? Is the comparison applicable to American culture today? __ __ 3. What do you think Miller means when he says: “But all organization is and must be grounded on the idea of exclusion and prohibition, just as two objects cannot occupy the same space. Evidently the time came in New England when the repressions of order were heavier than seemed warranted by the dangers against which the order was organized. The witch-hunt was a perverse manifestation of the panic which set in among all classes when the balance began to turn toward greater individual freedom.” (p. 7/ same)? This is an important statement about why the witch hunt happened. __

__ 4. On page 10 / 10, Parris says: “What shall I tell them? That my daughter and my niece I discovered dancing like heathen in the forest?” What does this statement show us about Puritan culture and about Parris himself. What is Parris’ greatest concern (also see p. 11 bottom / p. 11). __

__ 5. What is Miller saying about Puritan society and about ours when he says: “These people had no ritual for the washing away of sins. It is another trait we inherited from them, and it has helped to discipline us as well as to breed hypocrisy among us” (p. 20 / 21)? __ __ 6. What criticism is Abigail making about Salem when she says: “I never knew what pretense Salem was, I never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all those Christian women and their covenanted men” (p. 24 top / 25 top)? __ __ 7. Look at the words of Parris on pages 30-31 / 31-32. What do they show about his personality and priorities? Why do you think he’s so worried about people opposing him? What effect might Parris’ priorities have on the story as a whole? __

__ 8. Why does Miller spend time telling us about land disputes on p. 32 / 33-34 and about Putnam’s grievances on p. 14 and 15? How might these conflicts affect the story later? __

__ 9. Why do you think Miller might be spending so much time talking about humans’ views on good and evil? How is this relevant to the witch trials? (p. 32 bottom – 36 / 34-38) __ __ 10. Do you see any sarcasm or irony in the statement that Reverend Hale hears “a hundred rumors that make him smile at the ignorance of the yeomanry in this most precise science”? Explain. __

__ 11. In the middle of page 40 / 42, Giles says to Hale: “Martha, my wife, I have waked at night many a time and found her in a corner, readin’ of a book. Now what do you make of that?” Why might we find this question funny today? Why would the Puritans not find this funny? Can you make any predictions about how/why this question might be important later in the play? __ __ 12. Why do you think we see the sudden accusations on pages 43-48 / 45-51? What causes Abigail to accuse Tituba? What causes Tituba to accuse four other women? What causes Betty to make her accusations? Why does Abigail “confess” after she seems to be “off the hook”? __ Act Two __ 13. What do you think of the relationship between John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth? Are they a happy couple? Do they get along well? Do their attitudes toward each other differ? Look at pages 49-53 / 52-57 to support your ideas (and don’t forget the stage directions). __

__ 14. Do you have any theories about why Elizabeth is “perplexed” and why Mary Warren’s voice trembles and decays at the top of page 56 / page 59? What could be going on here? __

__ 15. How is Mary Warren acting differently toward her employers on pages 59-60 / 62-63? Why do you think she is doing this? __

__ 16. What is the “promise” Elizabeth speaks of on page 61 / 64? Do you agree with her? Why doesn’t Proctor seem to know about this? __ __ 17. On pages 60 and 61 / 64 and 65, are John and Elizabeth getting along differently (compare to question #13)? Does this give you any additional insight into their relationship? __

__ 18. On page 65 /69, why does Proctor complain about the candlesticks? You should think about why he says he is mentioning them as well as any possible unspoken reasons (based on earlier information about Proctor). __

__ 19. On page 65 /69, Hale is supporting one theological idea and Proctor is supporting another? What are the two ideas, and do you agree with one over the other and why? __

__ 20. On page 67 /71, why does Miller show us this particular mistake on Proctor’s part? What is the irony in his omission? What is the significance of his repetition? __

__ 21. On page 67 /71, Hale calls theology a fortress. Explain this metaphor (he’s comparing two threats). Why might this image be particularly effective for New England Puritans? __ __ 22. At the top of page 69 /73, the stage direction tells us Hale “resists” “his own suspicion.” Why might he be doing this? What may he be concerned about (other than the job he’s doing in Salem right now)? __ __ 23. On page 72 /76-77, why does Cheever repeatedly emphasize that he __must __take Elizabeth away? Does Cheever have a choice? What life lesson might Miller be trying to teach us with this example?__

__ 24. Why does Proctor call Hale “Pontius Pilate” on page 77 / 82? Explain what Proctor means and what literary device Miller is using. Why might this be an effective rhetorical device in this situation? __ __ 25. On page 77 /81-82, why do you think Hale has so much confidence in the justice of the court? Is it just based on his experience with the court, or are there other motives here? __ __ 26. Why does John Proctor say “Good” in the middle of page 80 / top of page 85? What is he glad of and what does this reveal about his character? __

__ 27. On page 81 / 85, what does Proctor mean when he says, “We are only what we always were, but naked now”? What literary device is used here? Do you agree with Proctor’s statement? Explain. __

Act Three __ 28. Why do you think the court is so hesitant to hear the evidence that Proctor and Giles bring? (pp 87-88 /89-90) __ __ 29. What does Danforth mean when he says: “We burn a hot fire here; it melts down all concealment”? Why is this line particularly important to the play as a whole? (p. 89 / 93) __

__ 30. On page 93 / 97, Danforth says the “pure in heart need no lawyers”? Later, on page 97 / 102, he says “Oh, it is a proper lawyer” about Giles. Why does Danforth make these statements, and what do they reveal about him? __ __ 31. Why does Parris think Proctor’s signatories should be summoned for questioning? Why is Parris sweating? (p. 93 bottom / 98) __ __ 32. On page 94 / 98, Parris says, “All innocent and Christian people are happy for the courts in Salem!” and on page 98 / 103, Danforth says, “There is fear in the country because there is a moving plot to topple Christ in the country.” What do these two statements mean and why do you think Parris and Danforth make them? __ __ 33. On page 100 / 105, what do Danforth’s words about the nature of witchcraft reveal about the trials? __

__ 34. Look at the way Danforth questions the girls on page 102 / 107. What do his words reveal about his motives? What is his bias? Why might he have this bias? __ __ 35. On p. 107 / 112-113, why did Mary Warren //think// she saw spirits, and why can’t she see any when she’s not part of the group? __ __ 36. Why does Proctor reveal his secret on page 109 / 115? What does this show us about his character? Do you think he did the right thing here? __ __ 37. How is Hale’s testimony on page 114(top) / 119 a change from what he has been saying previously? Also, look at what Hale does at the very end of the act (p. 120 / 125-126). What do you think caused this change? Why hasn’t Hale said anything like this before? __ __ 38. Why is there a sudden change in Mary Warren’s behavior on page 118 / 124? __ __ 39. Why won’t Danforth listen to Hale now (on page 119 / 125)? What does this say about the trials in general? (You might want to relate your response to question #28.) __ __ 40. What does Proctor mean in his long speech on page 119-120 / 125 (after laughing insanely)? Do you think he’s insane, or is he making sense? __ Act 4 __ 41. Why do you think Sarah Good and Tituba are waiting for the devil? Is there anything ironic about this? (p. 122 / 128) __ __ 42. Hale and Parris are both praying with condemned people. Explain the motives of each person; why is each doing this? What does this show about the personalities of the two men? (p. 123 / 129 and 128 / 134-135) __ __ 43. On the top of p. 128 / 134, Parris is trying to convince Danforth to postpone some of the executions. Why do you think he is doing this and what does this show you about his character? Why does the reason Parris gives here make Danforth stop and think? What does this show about Danforth’s character? __ __ 44. Why does Hale say they don’t need him in Andover? Does this give you any clues about what Hale is really doing here in Salem? (p. 131 / 137) __ __ 45. Explain Hale’s long speech on page 132 / 138-139. How is this a commentary on the trials as a whole and the people of Salem in general? How might Miller have intended this message for people in the 1950’s and today? __ __ 46. What do the method and circumstances of Giles Corey’s death show you about the trials and the people running them, participating in them and supporting them? What do Corey’s own reactions show you about his character? (p. 135 / 141-142) __ __ 47. Why does Proctor believe that he might as well lie? Why does he think he should lie while others should not? Do you agree with his reasoning here? (p. 136 / 143) __ __ 48. How are Proctor’s answers to Danforth ironic? How might he mean his answers in a way that Danforth and Parris don’t understand? (p. 139 / 146) __

__ 49. Why does Proctor finally decide not to confess? What does he finally realize about himself? (p. 144 / 149) What does Elizabeth realize about him? (p. 145 / 152) __ 50. Rebecca tells Proctor to fear nothing. What keeps Rebecca Nurse strong throughout this ordeal? How is this ironic? (p. 144 / 151) (You might want to compare this to question #39.)

__ Character List: __

__ John Proctor – __ __ Abigail Williams – __ __ Reverend John Hale - __ __ Elizabeth Proctor - __ __ Reverend Parris - __ __ Rebecca Nurse - __

__ Francis Nurse - __ __ Deputy Governor Danforth - __ __ Giles Corey – __

__ Thomas Putnam – __

__ Ann Putnam - __

__ Ruth Putnam - __

__ Tituba - __

__ Mary Warren – __

__ Betty Parris - __ __ Susanna Walcott – __ __ Martha Corey – __ __ Ezekiel Cheever – __

__ Judge Hathorne – __ __ Herrick – __

__ Mercy Lewis – __

// The Crucible // Lawyer Presentation __ Congratulations! You have just been appointed to the Salem bar association (you’re a lawyer, not a bartender). You can choose whether you are a defense attorney or a prosecuting attorney. You can also choose one of the following characters: Abigail Williams, John Proctor, Judge Danforth, Elizabeth Proctor, Rev. Samuel Parris, Rev. John Hale. __

__ You need to assume charge against the character. It should be a reasonable but debatable charge. In other words, there must be a possibility that the character is guilty, but there also must be some defense against the charge (don’t make the task impossible or too easy). The charge can be something that would only be illegal in Puritan times, or it could be a contemporary charge. Here is a list of possible charges: witchcraft, bearing false witness, perjury, obstruction of justice, conspiracy, fraud, murder, attempted murder, negligence, theft, prostitution, adultery, rape, statutory rape, seduction, lust, idolatry, greed, pride. If you think of a different charge you’d like to use, see me before you start for approval. You may combine similar charges into the same case. For example, perjury and bearing false witness go well together, as do adultery and rape. __

__ For evidence, you can use anything in Arthur Miller’s play, //The Crucible//. This includes not only dialogue, but also stage directions and the author’s notes in the book. You are allowed to selectively and strategically sift and filter the evidence you present. You can leave certain events out and emphasize others to do a good job of representing your client’s interests. You can even quote people out of context and distort the truth as presented in the play, but you cannot make up events that didn’t happen in the play. Your case must be based on the play. __

__ Your speech must be __at least three minutes long__. Shorter speeches will lose points. It is also expected that your speech will refer to the play often, including at least five direct quotations. Quotations must be in quotation marks with the citation “(Miller X)” after the quote (and X equals the page number on which you found that quotation). You will be graded not only on the quality of evidence you choose, but the quantity of evidence and how well you present it. You should practice your presentation at least ten times before you actually present it to the class. Below is the rubric I will use to grade this presentation.__

__ This presentation will be due 2 class days after we finish reading //The Crucible// in class. I anticipate that this will be approximately __Monday, October 7th__, and I guarantee that this presentation will not be due before this date. As per the late work policy in the syllabus, late presentations will lose 10% per calendar day, so please be punctual.

=Here are the essay questions for the Unit 1 Test. Please bring your prewriting to the test with you.=

American Literature Unit 1 Test Essay Section

Directions: Pick **only one** of the following three essay options and write a clear, concise, developed and supported essay on the topic. Make sure you back up your theory or interpretation(s) with **evidence** from the literature. You may use your journals, notes, and textbooks. Try to make your essay about **350 to 500** words long. Please write legibly in ink and **indicate which option** you chose.

1. Choose one work of literature we have read during this unit and write a short essay (1-2 pages) about the ways it reflects the concerns, values, or priorities of its author (and the group of people the author belonged to).

2. Choose one work of literature we have read during this unit and write a short essay (1-2 pages) about its style and tone. What do the style and tone reveal about the feelings of the author toward his or her subject matter and about his or her priorities or values?

3. Choose one work of literature we have read during this unit and write a short essay (1-2 pages) about gender issues in the piece. You might want to deal with how the author treats or writes about women and women’s issues or you might want to deal with how the piece makes a statement about gender issues.

If you are finished and have extra time, you should go back and check your essay. See if you can add extra evidence to back up your theories or clarify your ideas to make them easier to understand.

American Literature

Unit One Test Review

Please Bring: A number two pencil, a pen, your essay prewriting, your notes and your books (textbook and //The Crucible//).

Format of the test:

There will be 50 multiple-choice questions, each with 5 options.

Questions 1-4 deal with Native American literature in general

Questions 5-6 deal with “The Walum Olum”

Questions 7-8 deal with “Listen, Rain Approaches!”

Questions 9-10 deal with “Calling One’s Own”

Questions 11-16 deal with Puritan culture in general

Questions 17-18 deal with “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”

Questions 19-20 deal with a passage from “To My Dear and Loving Husband”

Questions 21-22 deal with Puritan beliefs and writing

Question 23 deals with //The Crucible// in general

Questions 24-50 deal with specific passages from //The Crucible// which I will give you on the test

Unit 1 Test Example Multiple-Choice Questions

from "The Walum Olum":

Truly the manitos were active and kindly

To those very first men, and to those first mothers; fetched them wives

And fetched them food, when they first desired it.

All had cheerful knowledge, all had leisure, all thought in gladness.

But very secretly an evil being, a mighty magician, came on earth,

And with him brought badness, quarreling, unhappiness,

Brought bad weather, brought sickness, brought death.

All this took place of old on the earth, beyond the great tide water, at

the first.

1. What function might this poem serve in the Delaware society? MARK ALL THAT APPLY

a. it explains the source of good and evil in the world

b. it is a tool for religious conversion

c. it is strictly for entertainment

d. it unified the society by showing a common creator

e. it teaches children to hunt and gather food

from "Listen! Rain Approaches!":

Truly in the East

The white bean

And the great corn plant

Are tied with the white lightning.

Listen! It approaches!

The voice of the bluebird is heard.

2. The idea that the corn and bean plants are tied with lightning is a good example of a(n):

a. symbol b. juxtaposition c. metaphor d. social criticism e. religious doctrine

from "Calling One's Own":

Myself! Behold me! Blood of my beating heart.

Earth smiles -- the waters smile -- even the sky of clouds smiles -- but I,

I lose the way of smiling when you are not near.

Awake! Awake! My beloved.

3. This passage expresses love for:

a. the tribe b. water c. the spouse or lover of the speaker d. a fawn e. both a and d

from Anne Bradstreet's "To My Dear and Loving Husband":

My love is such that rivers cannot quench,

Nor aught [anything] but love from thee, give recompense.

Thy love is such I can no way repay,

The heavens reward thee manifold [abundantly], I pray.

Then while we live, in love let's so persevere

That when we live no more, we may live ever.

4. What idea(s) in this passage would be likely to offend Puritans? (MARK ALL THAT APPLY)

a. she assumes her husband will go to heaven (not a safe assumption)

b. she implies that her husband's love is more satisfying than God's

c. the intensity of her love suggests a passion the Puritans considered sinful

d. the use of archaic words like “aught”

e. the way she values his love over hers

5. What is the rhyme scheme of this passage?

a. AABBCC b. CDCDCD c. ABABAB d. AABCCC e. ABCDEF

The following passages are from Arthur Miller's //The Crucible//:

They believed, in short, that they held in their steady hands the candle that would light the world. We have inherited this belief, and it has helped and hurt us.

6. What quality of the Puritans does this passage reveal?

a. piety b. ethnocentrism c. steadiness d. being old-fashioned e. c and d

In the countries of the Communist ideology, all resistance of any import is linked to the totally malign capitalist succubi, and in America any man who is not reactionary in his views is open the charge of alliance with the Red hell.

7. In this passage, Miller is establishing the important connection between:

a. communism and capitalism

b. ideology and politics

c. the Salem witch trials and capitalism

d. America and religious freedom

e. the Salem witch trials and the red scare of the 1950's

ABIGAIL: She made me do it! She made Betty do it!

TITUBA: //shocked and angry//: Abby!

ABIGAIL: She makes me drink blood!

8. This passage reveals the tendency for people to:

a. drink blood

b. force others to do bad things

c. blame others to protect themselves

d. become hysterical when put under stress

e. b and d

There be a thousand names; why does she call mine? There be a certain danger in calling such a name -- I am no Goody Good that sleeps in ditches, nor Osburn, drunk and half-witted. She'd dare not call out such a farmer's wife but there be monstrous profit in it.

9. What plan or plot is suspected by the speaker in this passage?

a. Parris' plot to get power by getting others to believe him

b. Hale's plot to overthrow the court

c. Miller's plot to stop the red scare

d. Abigail's plot to get Elizabeth out of the way and have John for herself

e. a and d

PROCTOR, //to Hale, ready to break him//: Will you see her taken?

HALE: Proctor, the court is just--

PROCTOR: Pontius Pilate! God will not let you wash your hands of this!

10. This passage is an example of:

a. symbolism

b. religious conversion

c. a biblical allusion

d. a Puritan curse

e. metaphor

Now Hell and Heaven grapple on our backs and all our old pretense is ripped away -- make your peace! . . . Peace. It is a providence, and no great change; we are only what we always were, but naked now. //He walks as though toward a great horror, facing the open sky//. Aye, naked! And the wind, God's icy wind, will blow!

11. In this passage, Proctor uses metaphor to illustrate: (MARK ALL THAT APPLY)

a. God's punishment for sinners

b. the revelation of secret sin

c. the conflict people feel when choosing between good and evil

d. the greediness of some Puritans

e. the hangings of the alleged “witches”

Now, Mr. Proctor, before I decide whether I shall hear you or not, it is my duty to tell you this. We burn a hot fire here; it melts down all concealment.

12. We can tell Miller considers this passage important and unique because:

a. it mentions fire which is related to hell, a Puritan's greatest fear

b. it shows Danforth's hesitation to hear both sides of the story.

c. it is expressed in simpler language than the rest of the play

d. it is a reference to the title of the play

e. Danforth addresses Proctor with the title "Mr."

13. The contrast between the intended meaning of Danforth's words and the meaning readers can see in it is an example of:

a. metaphor

b. symbol

c. humor

d. allusion

e. irony

TITUBA: We goin' to Barbados, soon the Devil gits here with the feathers and the wings. . . . Oh, it be no Hell in Barbados. Devil, him be pleasureman in Barbados, him be singin' and dancin' in Barbados. It's you folks -- you riles him up 'round here. ..

14. This passage is ironic because: (Mark ALL THAT APPLY)

a. the court has driven a God-fearing woman to worship the devil

b. the Puritans have misunderstood the devil for so long

c. Christians have treated Tituba so badly that she prefers the devil

d. Salem has "riled up" the devil through the witch trials (that is, has done the work of the devil)

e. as she says this, Tituba is in chains made of iron

DANFORTH: You misunderstand, sir; I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for the same crime. It is not just.

15. The true motivation behind the above statement is that:

a. Danforth wants to be sure he is being a fair judge

b. Danforth feels guilty for hanging twelve innocent people

c. Danforth has a strong sense of duty; it supersedes his emotions

d. Danforth fears being misunderstood most of all

e. Danforth is afraid people will think he's inconsistent if he pardons some and not others