The Machine in the Garden; Technology and the Pastoral Ideal in America Papers & Assignment Topics

Essay Topics/Writing Assignments

These 20 essay questions can be used as essay questions on a test, or as stand-alone essay topics for a take-home or in-class writing assignment. Students should have a full understanding of the text in order to answer these questions. They ask for a thorough analysis of the text.

1. How does Marx define the term pastoral ideology, and how does he describe the terms' uses? What uses does the term have, if it can be used for everything from social activities to government policies to literary themes? Is pastoralism always the same phenomena, or is it different depending on its application?

2. Read the dialogue between Tityrus and Meliboeus in Virgil's Eclogues, and describe what makes American pastoralism uniquely American. Is pastoralism really an eternal theme in civilized culture, or is there a uniquely American strain to it?

3. Utopia means...
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