Part -1:

1. Do all parts of the examination.  Each of the two parts is worth 50% , or half, of the grade.

2. Answers must be typed or computer-generated hard copy, double spaced, New Times Roman 12-point font. One-inch margins all around.

3. Staple the evaluation grid sheet to the back of your answer sheets.  You'll receive this sheet in class on Monday so that you'll know what elements of your essays will be considered in the grading.

4. You should not need to consult outside sources, but if you do, be sure to document sources with title, author, publication place and dates, and page numbers.

5. YOU DO NOT NEED TO INCLUDE biographical material, but if you do, please limit it to two lines of text.

A. Describe the learning journeys laid out for the reader in TWO or THREE of the novels we've studied in class so far. 

What trials/experiences does the main character go through? What does he or she learn from their experiences? Give at least THREE experiences and learnings for each novel, describing in each detail and citing the page numbers you draw from in parentheses after each description.

What knowledge do the authors offer to readers through the composition of the novels?  Do you see similarities and differences in the two paths Janie and the narrator of Invisible Man take?  What are they? If you write about Baldwin's novel, How does John's journey of coming of age and entering the adult world he lives in different from the other two?

B. Using TWO OR THREEof the novels we studied, describe how elements of the composition --e.g., structure, images, symbols, characterization, plot, setting, time, emotional tone, metaphor, metonym-- contribute to the reader's understanding of the main characters learning about identity.  Don't try to discuss all of these elements.

Where do the main characters ask, "Who am I?" at various points in the novels?  What scenes and relationships bring this identity theme forward?  What are some of the experiences the main characters go through in learning who they are, why people are the way they are, and who they want to be?  Do they find a way to fit into society in a new way?  If so, what is that way?

Part -2:

A.  In an essay of about 600 to 800 words, describe the relationship envisioned between the poet and ONE of the following topics. Support your view by giving quotes and/or paraphrases from the poems and by explaining your reasoning (how you get from the passages of text to your idea).  Use work from at least THREE different poets.

1.  America and/or Africa

2. other people (e.g., a loved one;a social, ethnic, or gender group; a historical figure; another writer; war or other violence; urban and/or rural life)

3. hope and/or despair

1. In a short essay of about 300 to 400 words, consider ways the vernacular music forms were incorporated into written literary art.  Give some general ways musical arts entered written art, and then examine at least THREE writers' works, showing elements and strategies that are taken from the musical arts of the vernacular tradition.

2. In a short essay of about 300 to 400 words, identify two or three ways that writers incorporated the written literary tradition into their art. Choose two or three writers to focus your discussion, giving at least three detailed examples for each to show and explain your thinking.