Choose four of the five five-point short answer questions that follow and write detailed responses to them making use of specific evidence from the text to back up your claims where appropriate. Each response should be roughly 200-300 words in length. Works cited entries are not necessary for the purposes of the exam, but you are required to use in-text (parenthetical) citations when quoting or paraphrasing from our course readings. Finally, when crafting your responses you are permitted to use only materials from the course itself (assigned primary and secondary readings, lectures, other supplementary material provided by the instructor). Outside research is neither encouraged nor permitted!
1. Langston Hughes' "Let America be America Again" is a poem suffused with contradictions. One of the most pronounced among them involves the poet's seemingly contradictory opinions regarding the United States. Using evidence from the poem itself, I would like you to try to attempt to reconcile this apparent contradiction, answering the following question: in your opinion, does the poem represent a positive, hopeful view of American social progress or does it present a generally negative assessment of the American ethos?
2. Passing is told via the perspective of Irene Redfield. Using evidence from the text, discuss the degree to which you find Irene's point of view to be that of a reliable witness. Be sure to outline the reasoning behind your response.
3. While Hemingway is often associated with his portrayal of male protagonists involved in traditionally masculine pursuits such as hunting, fishing, and bullfighting, the author's representation of women tends to get far less attention. Marshaling evidence from at least two of the assigned readings to back up your claims, write a response in which you investigate the author's portrayal of women. Are there common traits that you see among the female characters in the stories we read? Are women portrayed in a more or less flattering light than the author's male characters? Are there any generalizations you can make about the gender dynamics of the couples portrayed in the stories?
4. Both naturalists and modernists altered their styles of writing in order to address changing social realities. Naturalists were generally concerned with issues of poverty, social struggle, and humanity's fate in the face of an indifferent universe while modernists attempted to process changes wrought by urbanization, industrialization, and - especially -- global conflict and war. Using at least two examples from the assigned reading to substantiate your claims, present your opinion regarding which literary movement was best suited to achieve its goals and why.
Instructions: Choose three of the four ten-point questions that follow and write detailed responses to them making use of specific evidence from the text to back up your claims. Your response to each question should be roughly 500-600 words in length. Works cited entries are not necessary for the purposes of the exam, but you are required to use in-text (parenthetical) citations when quoting or paraphrasing from our course readings. Finally, when crafting your responses you are permitted to use only materials from the course itself (assigned primary and secondary readings, lectures, other supplementary material provided by the instructor). Outside research is neither encouraged nor permitted!
I already chose the three questions I need in each one 500 words please
1. Compare Hurston's portrayals of masculinity and femininity in "Spunk" and "Sweat." Do these stories seem more sympathetic to their male or female characters? Does each story seem to be making a similar comment on gender and the way men and women relate to one another, or are there areas where the stories seem to be making distinct or even divergent points?
2. While we read Larsen's Passing as a part of our investigation of the Harlem Renaissance, the novel can also be accurately classified as a work of modernist fiction. Using specific examples from the text, discuss how Larsen uses modernist aesthetics throughout the work.
3. Literary Naturalism is premised, in part, on the notion that individuals are direct products of their heredity and environments. Another way of expressing this is to say that a person's birth is also their destiny. Nevertheless, despite naturalism's insistence on environmental determinism, several of the works we have read by naturalist authors subtly undercut this ethos, showing the ways in which free will comes into play. Select two (or more) of the stories we read as a part of our discussion of naturalism (works by Wharton, Crane, Norris, and London) and discuss ways these story can be read "against the grain" as testaments to an individual's ability to alter or affect his or her destiny.