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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. Who did Ponce de Leon's pilot previously work for?
2. What author does Gregory say is never accused of being insincere?
3. Williams, referring to the King's and Queen's promises to Columbus, remarks, "What power had such ridiculous little promises to stay a man against that terrific downpour on the brink of which they were all floating?". What promises is Williams referring to?
4. What happens when Ponce de Leon and his men first land among the Caribs?
5. Which of the following is one of the goals, listed by Cotton Mather, that the Puritans have in mind when they found their colonies?
Short Essay Questions
1. What does the narrator say that the Puritans would see if they looked inside their hearts?
2. Why does Houston leave the Cherokees after they have raised him? Why does he return to them?
3. How does Eric the Red feel about living in Greenland?
4. What was Aaron Burr like, according to Williams?
5. What happens to Columbus' sailors when the weather is bad and the ships go through violent storms?
6. What kind of person does Williams say that Daniel Boone is?
7. Why does the narrator hold Raleigh responsible for Raleigh's son's death?
8. What did William Carlos Williams think was most admirable about the Puritans?
9. Why does Gregory think that history is important?
10. Gregory says that In the American Grain is not a historical textbook or book of essays. What is it?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
In the Introduction, Horace Gregory writes that "History is a humiliating subject for any man to think of knowing...The desire to know history is a near relative of the desire to know truth, and that is where, for most of us, a pit lies waiting." Does William Carlos Williams avoid the pit, or fall into it? Why or why not?
Essay Topic 2
Write an essay in which you compare "The Voyage of the Mayflower" with "Cotton Mather's Wonders of the Invisible World." In "The Voyage of the Mayflower," Williams implies that Puritan values gave rise to the Salem witch trials. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? Support your answer with examples from In the American Grain.
Essay Topic 3
What does Williams mean when he says that fear drove Benjamin Franklin's curiosity, that he built a nation based on the desire to huddle and protect? Write an essay explaining why you think Williams might feel this way. Support your answer with evidence from the book.
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This section contains 910 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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