Midterm Study Guide pt. 4

The picture above is Douglass' home, Cedar Hill, which happens to be in Washington, DC.  Perhaps you may be able to visit it someday.    I know that I would like to!

Let's start this study guide by looking at the genre of life writing.  It exists on the boundary between history and literature.  As several of you mentioned, before taking this class, you might have considered our readings in life writing to be more historical than literary.  Life writing itself is divided into several sub-genres: memoirs, autobiographies, biographies, letters, journals and diaries, and travel writing.  Not all travel writing is autobiographical, though, and travel writing is often considered a separate genre.  Memoirs cover part of their authors' life.  Maya Angelou's I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is an example of a memoir since it is only one of her several books about her life.  Autobiographies cover all or most of their authors' life.  The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is a good example of this sub-genre.


By the way, did you know that Franklin's autobiography was first published in French?  The first three sections (in English)  were published in 1818, but they were heavily edited.  The complete autobiography was not published until 1868.

We looked at our American autobiographies & memoirs in reverse chronological order, starting with Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861).  Then we moved onto Frederick Douglass' Narrative (1845).  Finally we read The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1790, 1868).

Here is an old picture of Dr. Flint's house in Edenton, N.C., the town where Jacobs was born and grew up.


This is a picture of Dr. Flint who was nearly seventy when he was tormenting Harriet!


The ideology of True Womanhood was important to our discussion of Incidents:

http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/386/truewoman.html

Note the impact of gender (and class) on Incidents as Jacobs was a "house slave." 

We also focused on depictions of childhood and work in our discussion of each of the memoirs/autobiographies.  Note that Douglass was born on a plantation and was a field hand but also worked in Baltimore.  Note that Franklin attended school for a brief period and then was apprenticed first to his father and then to his brother James. 

We also talked about references to religion in Jacobs and Douglass.  Had we time, we might have talked about religion in Franklin. 

In discussing autobiographies and memoirs, consider self-representation and appeals to the audience.

Below is a picture of Franklin's birthplace in downtown Boston.  The house itself is no more, having been destroyed by a fire in 1811.
Below is a picture of Franklin that predates the American Revolution.  Another example of 18th century British portraiture, it was painted while he was in London. 


I'll close with a picture of Frederick Douglass from 1856.  If you would like to find out more about his life, this link will take you to his biography:

http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/douglass_f.htm

Midterm Prompts for EN 211

Below are the prompts for the take home part of the midterm.  Choose only one prompt.  The essay will be due on Monday, March 22. Note that you may choose to write about works that we have not discussed in class.

1.  What does the term American literature mean to you?  Discuss the contributions of up to three of our readings to your understanding of American literature.  Feel free to consider works from different genres as well as those from both Colonial America and the United States of America.  You may also consider works we did not discuss in class.  What does each work have in common with the others?  How does each work trouble or complicate your understanding of American literature?  Note that we have talked about some British authors (John Donne, George Herbert, Aphra Behn, Katherine Phillips, etc.) as well.  (The British works are above and beyond your three works to discuss.)

2.  What role do women play in American literature before 1865?  Consider women as characters, audiences, and authors in up to three different works.  Discuss the impact of True Womanhood on the way that women are portrayed and that women portray their world and appeal to their audiences.  Recognize that your viewpoint will be grounded in your historical perspective as a 21st century American.

3.  Should it matter whether or not a work is published during its author's life?  Why?  Why not?  Should it matter whether or not a work was popular when it was first published?  Why or why not?  Refer to up to three of the works that we've read so far this semester.  Consider how publication may change a work.  Consider the authors' race, class, and gender and these factors' impact on their work and its publication.  Note that some of the British authors we've talked about were not published in print (as opposed to manuscript circulation) either.  (The British works are above and beyond your three works to discuss.)

4.  What role does race play in American literature before 1865?  Consider not only African-American and/or Native American authors and their writing but also African-American and/or Native American characters and audiences as well as European-Americans as a race.  Also, consider how race impacts important themes in American literature such as freedom and individualism.  Feel free to use 20/20 hindsight, especially about the upcoming Civil War.  Discuss up to three works from the semester so far.

5.  What role does genre play in American literature before 1865?  Consider the genres that you have read in other literature classes (especially at the college & AP level) and those that we are reading this semester.  (By the way, have we read any novels or short stories yet?!)   Discuss the impact of gender, class, race, and historical period.  Note that we have talked about some British authors (John Donne, George Herbert, Aphra Behn, Katherine Phillips, etc.) as well.  Refer to up to three works.  (The British works are above and beyond your three works to discuss.)

6.  What role do landscape and geography play in American literature before 1865?  Consider differences in genre, historical period, gender, race, and class among authors and their works.  If you have studied later American literature and/or read the work of nature writers such as Terry Tempest Williams, Barry Lopez, or Henry David Thoreau, feel free to bring their insights into your discussion.  You may also bring in insights from your reading of British writers, especially the Romantics.


Good luck!  I'm looking forward to seeing what you have to say.