Reference no: EM133530045

Assignment:

A long page essay that explores how American identity, American heroes, and American ideals form the baseline of the story's aesthetics and function to achieve irony, even as he makes a point. In addition to the primary source (the story), use 2 sources:the article Models of Agency found on the D2L.

The introduction should include a BRIEF summary of the history of American slavery and how Douglass's story comes out of American slave culture. You may also discuss American ideals of liberty and freedom and how those ideals were not applied to African Americans. Then form a thesis statement that makes a claim about how Douglass uses American identity, ideals, and/or heroes to illustrate his point (name his point in your thesis).

Each topic sentence should make a claim (not a summary statement) about the aesthetics of the story or what the story teaches.

Form a concluding paragraph that emphasizes your main point.

Points to consider:

Almost all of literature is socially/politically oriented

Literature contains cultural or political arguments

Is the work competing with beliefs and values? (introduction information)

Does the work put contradicting ideas into a "conversation" or "debate" (the tension and irony - look at the interplay)?

Does the work seem explicitly political or is it more interested in portraying a social problem?

Does any character in the story consistently embody a particular American view or worldview?

Does the work seem to be responding to a major cultural crisis?

How was the work first received when it was published? In your opinion, why is it not widely included in American Literature anthologies?