Preview

Life and American Literature Essay Example

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
978 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Life and American Literature Essay Example
Ana Sarabando
AML2000-American Literature
Professor Gibson
Individual Work-Week #12
At this point, you have read works in five genres: speeches, essays, poetry, short stories, and drama, plus you have explored the additional genre of science fiction. You have also discussed the works of nearly twenty authors and have examined the historical eras and events that influenced their works. 1. Write a reflective essay of 250 words (one page) about your experience studying American literature this term. 2. Important: Your paper must have a well-developed introduction, body, and conclusion. * Include at least two of the works from the entire term. * Which works have had the greatest impact upon you? * Which of the readings did you relate to personally because of your own life experiences? * If there was a character with whom you identified, which one was it? * Why do you think you felt a connection with that character?

In regards to my experience studying American Literature this term, was an enjoyable one. I enjoyed reading all of the short stories and poems. Be able to learn the background of each writer, feel what they wrote about, be able to explore your mind and be able to think what each character went through, and personally experienced the similar events that we read in the stories.
In Emerson's essay "Self-Reliance", I found one particular paragraph that; I believe that gives any human being their true state of mind, and way of thinking about life and morals.
Fortune. Most men gamble with her, and gain it all, and lose it all, as her wheels rolls. But do thou leave as unlawful these winnings, and deal with Cause and effect, the chancellors of God. In the Will work and acquire, and thou hast chained the wheel of Chance, and shalt sit hereafter out of fear from her rotations. A political victory, a rise of rents, the recovery of your sick, or the return of your absent friend, or some other favorable event, raises your

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In an essay published in 1841, Emerson addressed one of the central characteristics of the American sensibility: individualism. Before you read, take a moment to think about the term “self-reliance” and what it means to you as a teenager and a student. As you read, determine what “self-reliance” meant to Emerson and how your meaning and his overlap.…

    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Emerson vs Swimme

    • 2156 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Cited: Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Self-Reliance.” The Human Experience: Who Am I?. Ed. Winthrop University. 8th ed. Littleton, MA: Tapestry, 2012. 88-93. Print.…

    • 2156 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    When reading some of the vast list of stories and poems dubbed American literature, it seems as though every genre and style of writing is represented, from science fiction to romance, adventure to tragedy. What sets these books apart from those written in other countries? When considering the degree of “Americanness” of a piece of writing is, one must consider how well it describes the intended era and how well it portrays American values such as freedom and equality.…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Emerson see’s the integrity of one’s own mind, which means, one’s own way of thinging, and being able to be themselves and not what others want.…

    • 374 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Quote #1: "I remember about the rabbits, George.""The hell with the rabbits. That’s all you can ever remember is them rabbits." (1.18-19)…

    • 1373 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Writing and Mrs. Gonzalez

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages

    As a culmination of our study of Colonial American Literature, you will be given an opportunity to show your understanding of the themes, characters, settings, plot, and points of view. You will also demonstrate your understanding of the principles of essay writing that we have been practicing in class by creating an original four-paragraph essay. Remember, essay writing is a process, and here is the process I have designed for you on this essay:…

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Change is an inevitable part of life. With new ideas, opinions, and morals came a new way of life. No time period in American history felt a more drastic change than the 1920s. The Roaring Twenties embraced a new culture that focused on enjoyment, art and innovations.…

    • 1012 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Chanda's Secret Essay

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Over three class periods, write a formal essay in response to ONE of the topics below. Support your analysis with at least six quotations from the novel. Your essay should be a minimum of 500 words.…

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    I think that through all of the revolutions it was something like a chain reaction. One country had problems and the people decided to take action and do something about it. They revolted and made things better or worse for themselves. Through this other countries heard about it or saw it first hand, giving them the same ideas to so the same when it times became hard. I think when wars between competing European countries took place and the end result was something that the people in that area of the change didn't like is what cause many revolts.…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Emerson's Quote Analysis

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages

    This quote speaks to and through me in so many ways. Just reading self-reliance was very eye opening. What Emerson is saying in this quote is that you must not worry about how other people think nor feel. This distinctive fact will affect you physically, emotionally, and intellectually. However, through this understanding of yourself others may view you as great or unkind. Emerson is really digging deep within your own knowledge of self and helping to open your mind up to what is already there. I do believe that we, as people possess everything from within. In Emerson’s case he’s talking to the more intellectual state of your mind. “Common sense” is what I believe. But this quote is real for me I’ve always been the person to always to please…

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    A Small, Good Thing

    • 2015 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Essays on American Literature Since 1970. Ed. Graham Clarke. New York: St. Martin 's, 1990. 99-122.…

    • 2015 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    On October 18th, 1929, Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Henrietta Edwards, and Irene Parlby, known as the Famous Five, celebrated the ruling of the Privy Council in Britain declaring women as legal persons. Prior to this decision, Emily Murphy fought for the rights of all women for twelve years, never allowing her losses to bring her down. Emily became the first woman police magistrate in the entire British Empire and had her position challenged numerous times on the grounds that a woman is not a “person under the British North America Act of 1867. Murphy fumed at the injustice and she knew the law had to be changed and she was going to be the one to do it (Historica). Murphy first brought the case to the Supreme Court of Canada in March of 1928 and the courts ruled against it. Following this rejection, Murphy carried the case to the Privy Council in Britain where women were declared legal people. This legal milestone came to be known as the Persons Case. Giving women legal recognition as people and illuminating the female potential made the Persons Case one of the most important steps in the battle for women’s rights in Canada. Since the uprising of the Famous Five, there have been countless achievements changing the female role in the workplace, the home, and the law. Women are no longer seen as property, but as successors. Without the Famous Five, women’s rights would not have come this far.…

    • 1597 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Emerson's individualism ---- that every individual should be self-reliant ---- finds a forceful & well reasoned expression in the essay " Self - reliance " . "Self-Reliance," published in 1841, is an essay that urges readers to trust in their own intuition and common sense-rather than automatically following popular opinion and conforming to the will of the majority-when…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Emerson's Self Reliance

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages

    After reading the opening paragraph of Emerson’s essay “Self Reliance”, I was very moved and impressed. I have always been told that Emerson was an amazing writer, but I had no idea how great he really was. I can take so many quotes from this essay to talk about so being limited to just picking one or two was the most difficult part for me. After careful consideration I have found two that I was moved by, the first is with in the first couple of sentences, and it says “To believe your own thought, to believe at what is true for you in your private heart, is true for all men,-that is genius. “ The other passage that stood out for me was the one in which he wrote: “There is a time in every man’s educations when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion.” I think that Emerson’s tone throughout his essay is that serious, and formal. He believes in what he is writing, and so he writes it in a very formal and serious manner. I think he does that so that his readers will take what he is writing to heart and not just brush it off.…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Response Personality

    • 266 Words
    • 2 Pages

    This is important because in your essay you will have to talk about YOUR understanding of ideas and issues in the text. Write about a paragraph for each question…unless you feel compelled to write more!…

    • 266 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays