American literature

• How does Edwards use hyperbole, tone, and imagery to make his points in “Sinners”? • Franklin begins the Autobiography as a letter to his son. How does this explain the beginning content of the piece? Paine tells us that he has "studiously avoided everything that is personal among ourselves." Imagine the advantages and disadvantages of that strategy in 1776. • What about Freneau’s poems make him a Romantic writer? • Is the tone of "Upon Being Brought from Africa to America" rebellious or apologetic? • Rip Van Winkle avoids domesticity and women. What other characters do you know who do that same in period writings and those that are more contemporary? • Freneau and Bryant are often discussed in tandem. What connections can be made between the two poets? • How does the narrator respond to Bartleby’s passive resistance in Melville's story? • What do the scriveners’ nicknames suggest about their characters? • Why would a private individual such as Bartleby want his story told? • How does Douglass’s slave narrative reflect a search for self within the confines of slavery? • Audiences of Lincoln’s time would have expected lengthy speeches (close to two hours); in comparison, the Gettysburg Address seems like an abstract, a brief glimpse into what could have been said. What advantage does Lincoln gain with his brevity? What about the brevity makes it more difficult for Lincoln to convey his points? How does Lincoln’s first Inaugural Address compare with Jefferson’s? • • What do the three symbols in Whitman's poem "When Lilacs . . ." stand for? • What impression does the poem give you? Go back and look at the various sections and their language/style, particularly sections 2, 12, and 13? • What is the tone of the bird's song in section 14? • How does Whitman "change" poetry forever? • Why is "grass" such an important symbol to Whitman? • Why is "Song of Myself" considered to be the "most democratic poem"?