Examine the language used in Mary Rowlandson’s “Captivity” to describe Native Americans. How does the way she describes the natives create an “Us vs. Them” mindset and make the natives seem less than human?

In a 700-750 word essay, you will answer one of the literary analysis prompts listed below to examine one the readings we completed in the first six weeks in more depth.

Examine the language used in Mary Rowlandson’s “Captivity” to describe Native Americans. How does the way she describes the natives create an “Us vs. Them” mindset and make the natives seem less than human? Use examples of how she describes and refers to the natives. Rowlandson’s narrative became very popular, and her negative views of Native Americans was spread all across America and even into Europe. What do you think was the impact of spreading Rowlandson’s negative descriptions and language for Native Americans? (Historical/Sociological Criticism)

Perform an analysis of Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech, either the original or the modified version. If you remember ethos, pathos, and logos, you can talk about those techniques and where she uses them. You can also discuss literary devices such as repetition, metaphor, etc. Overall, please analyze three elements/literary devices that Truth uses and explain how she uses those techniques to persuade her audience. (Formalist Criticism)

Recall the many elements of Romantic writing described in our Romanticism lecture. Then, perform a close reading of 1-2 Emily Dickinson poems in order to prove that Dickinson is an excellent example of the Romantic movement. Use examples from 1-2 of Dickinson’s poems to show how her themes and writing style closely match the many different elements of the Romantic Movement. (Formalist Criticism)

Compare Edgar Allan Poe’s writing to H. P. Lovecraft’s. Lovecraft was strongly, directly inspired by Poe. Can you see this in Lovecraft’s story? Can you see how Poe’s writing style or themes might have influenced “The Colour Out of Space”? Use examples from both Poe and Lovecraft to show how Poe influenced Lovecraft’s writing. (Formalist/Biographical Criticism)

This prompt will be much easier if you read at least one of Poe’s short stories as well. I recommend reading “The Tell-Tale Heart” or “The Black Cat,” both of which are available online.

Transcendentalism was an “offshoot” or child of the Romantic Movement, and yet the Transcendentalists also saw themselves as a distinct group, somewhat different in style and goal from Romantic writers. Compare either Ralph Waldo Emerson or Henry David Thoreau to Emily Dickinson. Besides the obvious basic differences in grammar/writing style, what are some major differences between Dickinson’s ideas and the Transcendentalist writers’ ideas? What differentiates Emerson/Thoreau from Dickinson? What is unique about the Transcendentalist writing in our textbook? Use specific examples from the readings! (Formalist/Historical Criticism)

Important Essay Guidelines

You MUST utilize quotes/paraphrasing from the reading you chose to help support your analysis. Remember, you always need evidence to prove your case. Please utilize MLA format throughout your paper and to cite your quotations/paraphrasing. A sample MLA format essay with examples of correct citations is available in our class files.

Please do NOT use any sources other than the actual story/poems from our textbook–NO material from websites! Your paper must be your own original thought, not borrowed off a summary website or sample paper. Essays that appear to be based on online sample papers or other websites will receive a 0 score for plagiarism!

As this is a 2000-level literature class, I expect that your essay to include ALL standard elements of academic essays: you must include a complete introduction, a well-developed thesis statement, clear topic sentences, body paragraphs with quotes/paraphrasing for examples, a solid conclusion paragraph, and a works cited page. If you are not confident in these elements of essay writing, please review the ENGL 1301 Recap Materials available in the class files.