Dr. Lara Merlin                                                                                                                  

Email: lara.merlin@vaughn.edu                                                                                           

 

ENG 220

AmericanLiterature

 

PAPER #1

 

Length:            1000words

Format:           MLAformat. 

Note 1:             Papers can be submitted only in the following formats:

       Word document

       PDF

       Rich Text

Note2:             Essays will not be accepted withouta Works Cited page.

 

                       

Late assignment policy:

• Late essays must be twice as long. 

 

Academicintegrity:

• You are not required to do outside research for this essay.
• If you do consult outside sources, these must be properly documented.  This includes (but is not limited to):
• Both in-text and Works Cited documentation.
• Citations for quotes, paraphrases and ideas that you got from another source.
• Papers that are not properly documented automatically earn an F.

 

Assignment:     CHOOSEONE OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.

 

       Choose ONE of the following poems.  Each poem paints a portrait of America. Towhat extent is the portrait of your poem an accurate view of the country? Toanswer this question, you will need to establish what the portrait is and whyit is or isnt valid.

o  Phyllis Wheatley, On BeingBrought from Africa to America

o  Walt Whitman, I Hear AmericaSinging

o  Langston Hughes, Let America BeAmerica Again

o  e.e. cummings, Next to ofcourse god America I

o  Tato Riviera, AmeRcan

o  Amanda Gorman, The Hill We Climb

 

       David Mamets GlengarryGlen Ross depicts the dog-eat-dog world of the American workplace.  Evaluate this cutthroat environment.  Using the play/film as a basis for youranalysis, is the American Dream the cause of the harsh conditions faced by thesalesmen?  Why or why not?  Should we consider this a negative side ofthe American Dream?  Why or why not?

 

• In Amy Tans Two Kinds, the mother (Suyuan) and daughter (Jing-mei) have different versions of the American Dream.  What are their versions? Is ones American Dream better than the other? Why or why not?

o   NOTE 1: Your paper should have a clear argument that runsthroughout.  Each point that you makeshould be related to this argument.

o   NOTE 2: Remember to use (andexplain!) quotes from the readings/films.Engage in a dialogue with the texts.

 

 

I suggest using the Walt Whitman, I HearAmerica Singing” poem

But ill let you chose any topic