Honors American Literature

House Divided and Restored Unit

Group presentations---Each group is to teach to the following question related to their reading listed below.

You can approach this as a mini-research unit in that you should cover the following information:

  1. Author Background
  2. Historical Significance (most works will have this to some degree---some more than others)
  3. Examination of the text(s)
  4. Specific answering of the question(s) below in your lesson.
  5. Some kind of hand out for the class (notes, worksheet, etc)
  6. Submit 25 questions that could be used on the final assessment for this unit. These could be based on things you cover in the discussion of the reading or questions directly related to the reading.
  7. Answer key for your test questions.

1. Negro Spirituals. What words would have duplicate meanings and what is the double meaning? Why would a slave be singing this in a sort of code? (Readings: Go Down, Moses & Swing Low, Sweet Chariot)
2. What does Douglas say about HEARING spirituals as opposed to just READING them? What did Douglas think about the spirituals only after he was not a slave?
(My Bondage My Freedom)

3. How do Lee’s views of the Union differ from Lincoln's views about the Union? Not just talking about taking sides here, but that is part of it. (The Gettysburg Address and Lee's Letter to His Son)
4. What are some common themes in Native American literature despite the diversity in tribes? Provide evidence of this by examining your text. According to Blackfeet Genesis, who is responsible for death and its permanence? Why? (Song of the Sky Loom & The Blackfeet Genesis)
5. In what way is Black Hawk's surrender similar to Chief Joseph's surrender? In what way is it dissimilar? (Black Hawk's Farwell and The Surrender of Chief Joseph)
6. Discuss white man's views on Native Americans as presented by Chief Joseph. How does Chief Joseph attempt to correct white man's views of Native Americans? (3 ways) (Indian Views on Indian Affairs)
7. Timrod's "Ode on the Confederate Dead" performs the same function at MagnoliaCemetery as Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. What is that function? How is it different than Lincoln's address? Which was more effective? How does this poem specifically fit the criteria of an ode? (Ode on the Confederate Dead and Gettysburg Address)
8. Provide some specific example of key musical elements (ie: movement, action verbs, personification) in the language of the poem by Lanier "Song of the Chattahoochee."
9. Overall, what 4 major contributions did Twain make to American literature? How does Twain use vernacular to establish character traits in his stories? What traits does he establish? What effect does vernacular have on literature? Provide specific examples from the readings. (The Notorious Jumping Frog of CalaverasCounty and Baker's Bluejay Yarn)
10. Despite being cast from society for being immoral, some of the characters in "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" prove themselves to be perhaps more moral than the citizens who threw them out of town. How so? Examine the characterization of each character.(The Outcasts of Poker Flat).

11. Bierce explores the psychological traits of a condemned man in "An Occurrence at OwlCreekBridge." What does he suggest about men facing death? Is this true for all condemned men? Considering the fact that Bierce is cynical and bitter in his many of his writings, what comment on life and death do you think the last sentence of the story makes? (An Occurrence at OwlCreekBridge)