Week+1

=Week 1= =American Literature=

Reading Assignments:

 * Monday || pages 554-559 || Introduction & Background ||
 * Tuesday || pages 562-573 || Slave Narrative ||
 * Wednesday || //Free Read// || //Free Read// ||
 * Thursday || pages 574-579 || Poetry ||
 * Friday || pages 580-589 || Short Story ||

You will write about an event in your life that you think is significant in some way. You need to not only describe the experience but also explain why it was a turning point in some way for you. This paper should be at least 3 pages and is due Friday.
 * Assignment:** Autobiographical Sketch

__Discussion Questions:__ These are the questions that we will be covering in class. Take a look at them before/after you read and try to come up with responses. //Remember: If you post in the online discussion board, you can earn extra credit!//

__Monday Discussion:__ How realistic does Thoreau's challege seem to you? What can you infer about Robert E Lee's feelings toward secession and Civil War from his letter to his son? What does Mary B. Chesnut mean when she states that the situation is life or death? How does Lincoln's statement reveal which side of the Civil War he was on? How does Clara Barton's statement echo that of General Sherman and Walt Whitman?

__Tuesday Discussion:__ How did Douglass's inexperience in the fields cause him trouble? Was it a good idea for Douglass to complain to Thomas about Covey? How did Master Thomas respond when Douglass asked for protection from Covey? What does Douglass's seven mile walk reveal about him? How did Douglass keep Covey from beating him again? What are your overall impress of Frederick Douglass?

__Thursday Discussion:__ Lowell poem: What does Lowell call those who are afraid to speak? How do you think Lowell would define freedom and slavery? What kind of people do you believe Lowell is speaking to in this poem? What does he want those people to do?

Describe the images that the poem "Free Labor" creates in your mind. What kind of garment won't the speaker wear? Whose voice would rise from this garment? What did the voice say to God?

__Friday Discussion:__ What point of view is this story being told from? Whose thoughts and feelings does the narrator relate? What does the captain's nod mean? When do these events occur and what do they explain? Would these be the thoughts of a man on the brink of death? Can you account for the changes in the surroundings? What kills Farquhar?