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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. According to the narrator, which of the following is a logical outgrowth of the Puritan spirit?

2. After Champlain picks out the site for the city and the men start working, what new complication arises to delay the progress of the building?

3. Who does Cotton Mather say that New England belonged to before the New Englanders lived there?

4. Why does Columbus count fewer leagues than he knows he has traveled?

5. Does Columbus profit from his trips to the New World?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was Eric the Red exiled from Iceland?

2. Why does George Washington not especially want to be President?

3. How did Cortez feel about burning Tenochtitlan?

4. How did Freydis trick her husband? What happened as a result?

5. What does the narrator say that the Puritans would see if they looked inside their hearts?

6. Why do the Puritan leaders think that Thomas Morton should not barter in guns or liquor?

7. Why does the narrator hold Raleigh responsible for Raleigh's son's death?

8. Why did De Soto's men try to keep the Indians from finding out about his death?

9. How does Williams think the rest of the world reacts when the United States sends aid overseas?

10. What role does Williams say that Edgar Allen Poe plays in American literature?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In "Descent," Williams remarks, "There is nothing for a man but genius or despair." At the time, Williams was writing about Sam Houston. However, he makes the remark more generally. Consider the other historical figures who are included in this book. Can it be said of each of them that there was nothing for them but genius or despair? Pick three historical figures from In the American Grain. Write an essay reflecting on whether or not Williams' statement about genius and despair is true for each of the people you choose. Support your arguments with evidence from In the American Grain.

Essay Topic 2

Consider Williams' statement, "History, history! We fools, what do we know or care? History begins for us with murder and enslavement, not with discovery. No, we are not Indians but we are men of their world. The blood means nothing; the spirit, the ghost of the land moves in the blood, moves the blood." What does Williams mean? Do you agree with him or disagree? Write an essay in which you react to his statements.

Essay Topic 3

Are the American Grain and the character of the New World identical, or are they different? Write an essay in which you explain how William Carlos Williams might answer this question. Support your answer with evidence from In the American Grain.

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