Eng. 220 – American Literature: Colonial to Romantic
Formal Paper #1 (5-8 pages, double-spaced)
For your first formal essay, you may choose from one of the topics listed below. If you wish to create a topic of your own, see me (or email me). Write a 5-8 page argument and analysis. You must write on one of the major authors we’ve studied in the class thus far (Bradford, Winthrop, Bradstreet, Rowlandson, Franklin, Jefferson, Paine, Wheatley, or Foster). You may write on one of these authors or any combination of them. However, please keep the scope of the paper in mind (I would recommend writing on one or two authors only). While this is a survey course, this is your opportunity to look closely at a given text, author, or idea. You must support your arguments with solid reasoning and textual evidence. You must use close reading of primary sources to support your claims. Define your terms when necessary.
You must use at least one secondary source in this paper. The secondary source can be historical or critical. Since the research requirement is so minimal, I expect the source to be well chosen and well implemented. Do not use weak sources from the Internet. (You can use full-text journal articles electronically accessible through online databases like the Literature Resource Center). Keep in mind that the Bible is not a secondary source; dictionaries, encyclopedias, and textbooks also will not count as legitimate scholarly, secondary sources.
Give your essay an interesting title. You must use proper MLA documentation for your parenthetical references and works cited page. Give your paper page numbers.
You may use any of your ideas/writing created for response papers one and two. Keep in mind, however, that a response paper and a formal argument are not the same! Formal papers are graded much more rigorously.
Here are some questions that should help you formulate a thesis. (You can also generate your own questions to create your thesis or manipulate the questions). The paper is due Friday, October 22nd. To submit your paper, you will need to turn a hard copy into class, and you will need to submit an electronic copy via Canvas through the “Assignments” section. (The electronic copy will be checked for plagiarism).
1. Fear is a common theme in early American literature. What were these authors afraid of and why? How do they represent their fear in their writing? Be very specific. (For example, do not write a list of ten things Anne Bradstreet is afraid of in her poetry. Rather, focus on one or two fears in one author, or take one fear found in multiple authors.) What are the consequences of this?
2. How does gender affect the style and content of any of these authors’ works?
3. How does form (genre) affect the style and content of any of these authors’ works?
4. How do colonial texts portray the natives in any of these works? What is the significance of that portrayal?
5. How do any of these authors begin to construct an American identity? What are the characteristics of that identity? Which of these characteristics are still part of this identity and/or which have fallen out of popularity?
6. How do any of these Enlightenment authors represent race and/or racial inequality? What is the significance of this?
7. What is happening to the role of religion in any of these Enlightenment texts? Is it still there? Has it changed? How so? What literary forms or language do these authors use to convey their ideas?
8. Regarding the traditional female gender role, is Hannah Webster Foster’s The Coquette a didactic text or is it subversive? How so?
