View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the "Poor Richard" narrator say is a common misconception that Europeans have about America?

2. Why does John Paul Jones write to Benjamin Franklin in "Battle Between the Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis"?

3. What does Williams admire about Poe's choice of words?

4. What does Williams say is the one thing that Americans fear more than anything else in the world?

5. Who does the narrator say was the only American ever to see General Washington in a towering rage?

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

At the end of "Poor Richard," Williams states, "...almost nothing remains of the great American New World but a memory of the Indian." What do you think Williams means by this? Write an essay explaining the connection of the Indian to the American Grain. Support your answer with evidence from the book.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you analyze the structure that William uses to relate the story of Columbus and his voyages. Why does Williams alternate between his own point of view and that of Columbus? Why does he alternate between Columbus' experiences in the New World and his experiences in the Old? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 413 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample