American Literature. Teacher: Stephanie Joyce

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1 American Literature Teacher: Stephanie Joyce Course Description This course covers the study, analysis, and comparison of American Literature from the time of the Puritan settlements to the 1920s. In addition, this class will emphasize writing skills with a focus on personal essays, response to texts, narratives, and persuasive essays. Students will be provided with the opportunity to gain experience in reading, writing, speaking, and critical thinking while studying a range of literary works representative of our multicultural society. American Literature is a one credit, year-long course. It is offered to all sophomores, juniors and seniors. The Salem Witch Trials - A Time of Great Faith, Great Authority and Great Destruction Enduring Understanding: The foundation of life in Salem, MA in the 1600s was the Puritan religion, but as Arthur Miller s The Crucible shows, many Puritans were lacking in personal ethics. What was Salem, Massachusetts like in the late 1600 s? What are the basic beliefs the Puritan religion? What were the roles for men, women and children during this time period? How did the Puritans view Native Americans? What are the Puritan values as seen through Anne Bradstreet s poetry? What vivid images do writers Michael Wigglesworth (poem Day of Doom ) and Jonathan Edward (sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God ) use to persuade parishioners to stay loyal to God? What were the causes of the witch trials, and what were the lasting effects of the witch trials? What was Arthur Miller s purpose in writing his play The Crucible? What role does the common man play in Miller s Crucible? What does the term paradox mean and how does it relate to the Salem community? Writing Response: Students will write a persuasive essay on the issues that caused the witch trials according to Arthur Miller s The Crucible. (The witch trials has very little to do with witches.)

2 Feuding and Fighting - A War of Words - The Revolutionary War Period Enduring Understanding: Words are powerful tools and they can persuade people of change. How has the English language evolved since the Puritan time period? What forefathers wrote and published their work? How did their life experiences affect what they wrote about? How did speeches and pamphlets change the course of history during this time? What writing techniques did the political writers of this time use to persuade people? How was propaganda used by both sides to sway people beliefs? Besides war, what other issues of the time influenced people s writing? Writing Response: Students will write a personal essay based on a belief they firmly believe in and present it to the class. This Land is My Land - The Settling and Development of the West Enduring Understanding: Ownership of land is an important issue in our national identity. How do artists of the Hudson Valley School of art view nature? View humankind? How do writers of this time period view the environment compared to writers from previous time periods? What writing techniques/styles/freedom of expression make the writers of this age unique? Who was Willa Cather and how does her writing reflect the person she was? How does Cather convey the theme of loneliness in the novel O Pioneers!? What does O Pioneers! say about the human spirit? How did Edgar Allen Poe s writing style differ from other writers of this time period? Writing Response: Students will write a response to text essay analyzing the role of loneliness in the novel O Pioneers! New Ideas and Movements in Ante-bellum America Enduring Understanding: Change takes time, but cultural change can be ignited by only one determined voice. Why was this age called, The Age of Reform? What causes did people write about and why were these causes important at this time? What are the beliefs of Transcendentalism and who were the Transcendentalists? What lasting impact did Transcendentalists have on society?

3 What did Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau have in common? How did they differ? What examples of Transcendentalism can be found in the play The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail? Where do we see the influence of the Transcendentalist still today? Even though the play The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail is set in the 1850s, how is it a product of the 1970s? What issues pushed the United States into a war against Mexico? Why did Henry David Thoreau protest this war and end up in jail? Writing Response: Students will write a personal essay reflecting on a belief of Transcendentalism. A House Divided and Restored - The Civil War Enduring Understanding: Beliefs can lead to war. War can change a nation. From reading the books, Jubilee or Narrative the Life of Frederick Douglass, what was daily life like for a field slave? A house slave? A skilled slave? After the Civil War? How was a plantation organized and run. What does Frederick Douglass compare slavery to and how does he show us this throughout his autobiography? How does the Underground Railroad work according to Douglass or the main character from Jubilee, Vyry? How did Northerners view Southerners and this time and vice versa? How did writers react to the Civil War in their writing? What is Ambrose Bierce s view of war and how does he show this in his short stories? Writing Response: Students will create a character with a specific view from this time period and show the new knowledge learned during this unit in a collection of letters. Writing Response - Mid-term Assignment: Students will review the first semester by writing a story through the perspective of an inanimate object. This object (narrator) will tell the story of the history of the United States from the 1690s to the mid-1800s.

4 The Turn of the Century - The Good Ol Days, or Were They? Enduring Understanding: One s destiny in life is determined by many factors, some that are controllable and others that are not. What was life like in the city at this time and how does Upton Sinclair show us this in The Jungle? According to journalists today, what changes have occurred in the meat packing industry since this time period? What hasn t changed about the meat packing industry? How did the quality of life of the working class differ from the wealthy? How did the wealthy of this time period acquire their wealth? What did they do with their wealth? What was rural New England like in the early 1900s? What is a frame device and how does Wharton use it in her novel Ethan Frome? How does a character s environment (outside and inside) influence the way he/she acts? What societal pressures/expectations existed at this time, are present today and will still exist in the future? Are societal expectations always realistic? Why? Why not? What effect does having three or more narrators in a story have on a reader? Is the story of Ethan Frome a tragic tale? Writing Response: Students will be given a quote to reflect on and make connections to the novel Ethan Frome. Students will respond to the quote by using the writing voice of Ethan Frome. A World War - A Man s Struggle to Break Free Enduring Understanding: According to Joe Bonham the narrator of Johnny Got His Gun, World War I could have been the war to end all wars. What does the term stream of consciousness mean and what purpose does it serve in literature? Where do we see evidence of stream of conscious writing in Dalton Trumbo s novel Johnny Got His Gun? How did writers responding to World War I write about this war? How were words used in propaganda to persuade people to support this war? Has propaganda for the purpose of war changed throughout our American history? Why? Why not? What was Dalton Trumbo s intent in writing Johnny got His Gun? How does he convey his intent? What do Dalton Trumbo and Arthur Miller have in common? How do our memories make up who we are? Based on the memories of the main character, who is Joe Bonham? According to Joe Bonham, what were the fighting conditions like during World War I?

5 According to Joe Bonham, who are the makers of war? Who leads the fight in wars? How did poets of this time period express their views of war? Writing Response: Students will write a response to Johnny Got His Gun format T.B.A. The Jazz Age - The Roaring Twenties Enduring Understanding: The Jazz Age roared for some, but certainly not for everyone. What does the term Jazz Age and the roaring Twenties mean? Who participated? Who did not? How did the United States transition from World War I to the Jazz Age? How does the novel The Great Gatsby represent the Jazz Age? How did Fitzgerald s life contribute to the novel and reflect the values of the Jazz Age? What writing devices does Fitzgerald use in his novel? What does the term lost generation mean? Why were the 1920s considered to be a time of modern American poetic revival? What did the Harlem Renaissance represent? Who contributed to this renaissance? How do the playwrights depict the setting for the play Inherit the Wind? What were the key issues debated in the Scopes monkey trial? What is truth and what is fiction concerning the events of the Scopes monkey trial and the play Inherit the Wind? Compare and contrast the speaking and thinking styles of Matthew Harrison Brady and Henry Drummond. Writing Response: Students are assigned a famous person from the 1920s based on personal interests. They must research the life story of this person and deliver a speech to the class answering the question: Did the 1920s roar for your individual? Written Response - Final Exam Students will review the content of the school year by writing a story where the narrator possesses the powers to travel back in time to three of the settings of the books read this year. The narrator needs to engage in conversation with a main character (and review the piece of literature) and grant this person a wish that will change his/her destiny and the outcome of the story.