English 2230 - Fall 2001 Essay

Anoka Ramsey Community College
English 2230: American Literature I: Beginnings to 1865
Tracing a Theme / Critical Essay

Write an essay of 4-5 pages (word-processed, double-spaced) in which you explore a “theme” in American literature that you can trace through three (3) or more writers. Pick a theme which is interesting to you, a “connection” you noticed among some writers as you worked your way through the assigned readings, an insight you had which draws some writers together in a unique way. If you get stuck at this point, glance through the list below for some ideas. (You do not have to read any writers that were not assigned for the class.)

When you write your essay, be careful not to simply summarize what each writer “says” about your chosen theme. Explore how the writers you choose are similar and/or different in their ideas about the theme. Does one writer seem to simply repeat another writer’s ideas? Does a particular writer seem to add a very original or unique idea to the “conversation”? Does a writer seem to directly disagree with another writer? Does the theme change or evolve through different literary periods? Are there common images or arguments among the writers?

In terms of a “thesis” or central idea for your essay, you will need to draw some original “conclusions” or “interpretations” about your chosen theme and writers. You will want to present an idea, focus, or direction that other readers may not have thought about. You can begin with or include an idea mentioned in class, but of course you will want to develop that idea several steps further in your essay. Furthermore, research is not required for this essay; in fact, I’d rather you not do any research at all but instead really focus on and analyze and think about the “primary texts” we’ve read.

More information about this paper will be provided throughout the semester. If you have any questions at any time, please ask me in class or stop by my office. Remember that you will need to demonstrate “significant planning and revision” for this paper, so be sure to keep all your notes, outlines, and drafts as you work on your paper—you will hand these in along with the final draft of your essay.

Possible Themes and Suggested Writers

Portrayal of the “New World”:

Smith, The General History
Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation
Winthrop, The Journal
Byrd, History of the Dividing Line
Franklin, Information to Those, Remarks Concerning the Savages
Crevecoeur, Letter III
Jefferson, Query VI, Query XIX
Freneau, On the Emigration to America

Portrayal of Native Americans:

Smith, The General History
Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation
Winthrop, The Journal
Williams, A Key into the Language of America
Rowlandson, A Narrative of the Captivity
Franklin, Remarks Concerning the Savages
Occom, A Short Narrative
Jefferson, Query VI
Freneau, The Indian Burying Ground
Apess, An Indian’s Looking-Glass

Nature (nearly all writers, especially):

Smith, The General History, A Description of New England
Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation
Taylor, Upon a Wasp Chilled with Cold
Bartram, The Travels
Jefferson, Query V
Freneau, The Wild Honey Suckle, On the Religion of Nature
Irving, Rip Van Winkle, The Legend
Cooper, The Pioneers
Bryant, Thanatopsis, To a Waterfowl, The Prairies
Emerson, Nature
Longfellow, A Psalm of Life, My Lost Youth
Thoreau, Walden—Chapter 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18
Whitman, Poems
Dickinson, Poems

Religion:

Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation
Winthrop, A Model of Christian Charity, The Journal
Williams, The Bloody Tenet of Persecution
Bradstreet, The Flesh and the Spirit, Here Follows Some Verses
Wigglesworth, The Day of Doom
Rowlandson, A Narrative of the Captivity
Taylor, Poems
Sewall, The Diary
Mather, The Wonders of the Invisible World, Magnalia Christi Americana
Edwards, Personal Narrative, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
Franklin, Letter to Ezra Stiles, The Autobiography—Part 2
Woolman, The Journal
Occom, A Short Narrative
Crevecoeur, Letter III
Jefferson, Query XVII
Wheatley, On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield
Rowson, Charlotte
Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown
Bryant, Thanatopsis
Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Dickinson, Poems

Slavery:

Woolman, The Journal, Some Considerations
Crevecoeur, Letter IX
Equiano, The Interesting Narrative
Freneau, To Sir Toby
Wheatley, On Being Brought from Africa to America
Longfellow, The Slave’s Dream
Emerson, Last of the Anti-Slavery Lectures
Douglass, Narrative of the Life, The Meaning of July Fourth
Whittier, Massachusetts to Virginia
Lincoln, A House Divided, Gettysburg Address, Second Inaugural Address
Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Thoreau, Slavery in Massachusetts
Jacobs, Incidents in the Life

“Creating” History:

Smith, The General History
Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation
Winthrop, The Journal
Franklin, The Way to Wealth, The Autobiography—Part 2
Paine, Common Sense, The Crisis, The Age of Reason
Jefferson, The Autobiography
The Federalist Papers

Government:

Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation
Winthrop, The Journal
Sewall, The Diary
Franklin, An Edict, Rules by Which, The Sale
Adams/Adams, Letters
Paine, Common Sense, The Crisis, The Age of Reason
Jefferson, The Autobiography
The Federalist Papers
Lincoln, A House Divided, Gettysburg Address, Second Inaugural Address
Thoreau, Resistance

Education:

Franklin, The Autobiography—Part 2
Jefferson, Letter to P. Carr, Letter to J. Adams (“The Natural Aristocrat”), Letter to N. Burwell
Wheatley, To the University
Rowson, Charlotte
Emerson, The American Scholar
Thoreau, Walden—Chapter 3
Douglass, Narrative of the Life

Status of Women:

Winthrop, The Journal
Rowlandson, Narrative of the Captivity
Bradstreet, Poems
Knight, The Private Journal
Adams/Adams, Letters
Murray, On the Equality of the Sexes
Rowson, Charlotte
Fuller, The Great Lawsuit
Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Fern, Male Criticism on Ladies’ Books, Fresh Leaves, A Law More Nice than Just
Jacobs, Incidents in the Life
Dickinson, Poems

Marriage:

Bradstreet, To My Dear and Loving Husband, A Letter to Her Husband, Another Letter to Her Husband
Taylor, Upon Wedlock, and Death of Children
Sewall, The Diary
Byrd, The Secret Diary
Occom, A Short Narrative
Adams/Adams, Letters
Rowson, Charlotte
Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown
Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Jacobs, Incidents in the Life

Family:

Rowlandson, A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration
Bradstreet, Before the Birth, In Reference to Her Children
Taylor, Upon Wedlock, and Death of Children
Sewall, Diary
Knight, The Private Journal
Byrd, The Secret Diary
Occom, A Short Narrative of My Life
Adams/Adams, Letters
Equiano, The Interesting Narrative
Rowson, Charlotte
Irving, Rip Van Winkle
Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Jacobs, Incidents in the Life

Writing/Authorship:

Bradstreet, The Prologue, The Author to Her Book
Taylor, The Prologue
Freneau, The Power of Fancy
Wheatley, On Imagination
Rowson, Charlotte
Irving, Rip Van Winkle, The Legend
Emerson, The American Scholar
Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown, The Preface
Poe, The Philosophy of Composition
Thoreau, Walden—Chapter 2, 18
Melville, Bartleby
Whitman, There Was a Child, Crossing, Out of the Cradle
Dickinson, Poems

Humor/Satire

Byrd, The Secret Diary
Franklin, The Way to Wealth, An Edict, Rules by Which, The Sale of the Hessians
Irving, Rip Van Winkle
Hawthorne, My Kinsman

The “Gothic”:

Irving, The Legend
Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown
Poe, The Raven, Annabel Lee, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Purloined Letter, The Cask

Note: Other “themes” are possible – if you have an idea not listed here, please talk to me first before beginning to think, plan, and write.

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