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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. Who does the narrator say was the only American ever to see General Washington in a towering rage?
2. What does Williams say that Lincoln should be depicted as when a sculpture is made to memorialize him?
3. What kind of position is Jones' squadron in when the battle begins?
4. What happens to Pere Rasles?
5. How does Jones say he reacted to the damage incurred by the Bon Homme Richard?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Consider In the American Grain as a whole. What do you think William Carlos Williams is trying to tell his readers about the American national character? Do you think Williams believes there is just one national character, or several? How was the national character shaped? What do most Americans believe about their own identities as Americans? Write a strong thesis and develop it by relating examples from the book and responding to them.
Essay Topic 2
Compare Williams' essay on Abraham Lincoln with his essay on George Washington. How are these two famous presidents similar? How are they different? Is there a difference in the way that Williams approaches writing about each of them? Draw on evidence from In the American Grain to support your answer.
Essay Topic 3
Aaron Burr appears in two of Williams' essays, "Jacataqua," and "The Virtue of History." Consider Aaron Burr's character in light of all that Williams says in "Jacataqua" about the American tendency to avoid touch, to be spiritually impoverished, and to keep women locked up by creating a culture in which women fear the loss of their virginity. Write an essay in which you judge Burr by the standards set forth in "Jacataqua." Support your thesis with evidence from both essays.
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This section contains 420 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) |
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