Lingering Puritan ideals
American Literature I
Final Paper Topics
Examine the differences between the two versions of Douglas’ autobiography.
Analyze the relationship between Hawthorne and Melville, using our readings or through research.
The relationship between Emerson’s Transcendentalist ideas and Fuller’s feminism
Closely examine the development of any theme in Emily Dickinson’s poetry
The depiction or role of women in any relevant work, any number of works, or the American Renaissance as a whole
Providence in Melville’s “Benito Cereno”
The view of Spaniards exhibited by Delano and its significance in “Benito Cereno”
Slavery and / or racism in “Benito Cereno.”
Abolition and women’s rights (Jacobs, Fuller, Murray)
The emerging sense of Americanism in American writers
Lingering Puritan ideals in Hawthorne and Melville
Sympathetic imagination in Rebecca Harding Davis’s “Iron Mills”
Who is the narrator in “Iron Mills”?
Science (understanding) versus intuition (imagination) in Poe, Emerson, and Thoreau (or any single one of these authors).
Individualism or nature in American writers.
The lingering Calvinism in the American Renaissance, or any specific author or work
You may also choose a topic that you did not use on your first paper from the earlier list. And, you may, of course, devise a topic of your own
American Literature I
Final Paper Topics
Examine the differences between the two versions of Douglas’ autobiography.
Analyze the relationship between Hawthorne and Melville, using our readings or through research.
The relationship between Emerson’s Transcendentalist ideas and Fuller’s feminism
Closely examine the development of any theme in Emily Dickinson’s poetry
The depiction or role of women in any relevant work, any number of works, or the American Renaissance as a whole
Providence in Melville’s “Benito Cereno”
The view of Spaniards exhibited by Delano and its significance in “Benito Cereno”
Slavery and / or racism in “Benito Cereno.”
Abolition and women’s rights (Jacobs, Fuller, Murray)
The emerging sense of Americanism in American writers
Lingering Puritan ideals in Hawthorne and Melville
Sympathetic imagination in Rebecca Harding Davis’s “Iron Mills”
Who is the narrator in “Iron Mills”?
Science (understanding) versus intuition (imagination) in Poe, Emerson, and Thoreau (or any single one of these authors).
Individualism or nature in American writers.
The lingering Calvinism in the American Renaissance, or any specific author or work
You may also choose a topic that you did not use on your first paper from the earlier list. And, you may, of course, devise a topic of your own
