Choose one of the following topics and prepare an extended (500-word, multi-paragraph essay that expands on the chosen topic. Please use all of the steps in the writing process (pre-writing, proof-reading, revising and editing, etc.). In the conclusion of your essay, describe your personal preferences in listening to or watching fiction and drama.

Suggested topics from the separate Reading Supplements for this course.

A. Compare and contrast the characters of Ichabod Crane and Brom Van Brunt. Think about their job/social class position. Think about the different ways that they behave in general, and also toward Katrina Van Tassel. Think about how they experience each other.

B. What was life like for Frederick Douglass as a young American slave boy in Maryland? Think about his family, his childhood experiences, and his slave master father Captain Anthony. If you read Harriet Jacobs in our Introduction to Literature course, compare his life as a slave to her's.

C. Discuss the life of Yank in The Hairy Ape. What was his childhood like and when did he leave home. What is his job/social class position? How does his lack of education trap him? What happens when he encounters Mildred, and how does it change his life? Where does he belong?