American Literature “Babylon Revisited”

Choose 2 responses from the first 3 questions and 1 from the last 2 to answer (3 responses total, 33 pts each). Responses should be a minimum of one page, single spaced, 12pt font. Incorporate direct quotes in support of your claims. No outside/secondary sources, the responses should be your own original ideas. Due to turnitin on Blackboard before the end of your scheduled final exam time.

Choose 2:

1. Discuss the theme of “regret” and its historical importance expressed by Fitzgerald in “Babylon Revisited” and Hemmingway’s “Snows of Kilimanjaro”. How do money and time play a role? Explain.
2. Discuss the anguish present in the poetry of Plath and Ginsberg. How does it operate on a personal level? Social level? Explain.
3. Discuss how the central characters define being “good” in Baldwin’s “Going to Meet the Man” and O’Connor’s “Good Country People”. How are they similar in their thinking? How do they differ? Explain.

Choose 1:

1. Compare & contrast the concept of the “American Dream” and how it is portrayed in Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” and Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
2. Compare & contrast the theme of conflict with tradition as seen in both Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” and Frost’s “Mending Wall” .