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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. Who is the narrator for the second half of "Poor Richard"?
2. Who does the narrator say was the only American ever to see General Washington in a towering rage?
3. What does the narrator's interlocutor, Valyry Larbaud, admire about the Puritans?
4. Who is the only person in America who can live a life of leisure, like a gentleman, according to an early American saying that Franklin mentions?
5. What do you think that Williams means when he says that Lincoln's assassination shows the "brutalizing desolation of life in America up to that time"?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Do you think Williams blames Cortez for the destruction of Tenochtitlan? Why or why not? Use evidence from the chapter to support your answer.
Essay Topic 2
Williams writes about three historical figures who admired Indians and who preferred living with Indians to living with white settlers. Who are those three figures? Write an essay in which you draw on details from each of their stories to explain why Williams so idolizes men who made this kind of choice.
Essay Topic 3
William Carlos Williams includes, as part of In the American Grain, several essays about historical figures who served in the military: George Washington, John Paul Jones, Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton. How does military life fit into the American Grain? Does military life only affect those who serve in the military, or is it also a part of being American for those who never do any military service? Write an essay responding to this question in which you cite the experiences of these four men as they are depicted in Williams' essays, and also draw upon your own experiences and values in contemporary America.
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This section contains 377 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) |
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