American Lit. Exam Technique

Question 1

AO1

Answer 1

Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated concepts and terminology, and coherent, accurate written expression.

Question 2

AO2

Answer 2

Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts.

Question 3

AO3

Answer 3

Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received.

Question 4

AO4

Answer 4

Explore connections across literary texts.

Question 5

AO5

Answer 5

Explore literary texts informed by different interpretations.

Question 6

What are the key themes of American Literature?

Answer 6

The American Dream
Land and The Frontier
Community
The Hero
Journey

Question 7

What are the additional themes of American Literature?

Answer 7

Dreams
Freedom
Class/money/wealth
Prejudice
Violence
Masculinity/gender
Race
Generational conflict

Question 8

The theme of The American Dream

Answer 8

New place, new you
Puritain work ethic
Hollow illusion

Question 9

The theme of Land and The Frontier

Answer 9

Eden on opportunity
Promise of paradise
Claim for survival
Manifest Destiny
Dangerous wilderness- mysterious evil

Question 10

The theme of Community

Answer 10

Serves individual
Security
Hero is rejected but finds their place
Immigration

Question 11

The theme of The Hero

Answer 11

You can be anything
Celebration of the individual
Hero is different from everyone else

Question 12

The theme of Journey

Answer 12

Disillusionment
Changes character
Reunions and rewarding journey

Question 13

How does the Oxford English Dictionary define The American Dream?

Answer 13

The ideal that every citizen of the United States should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination and initiative.

Question 14

When was the Declaration of Independance written?

Answer 14

1776

Question 15

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

Answer 15

Thomas Jefferson

Question 16

What are the key ideas from the Declaration of Independence?

Answer 16

‘All men are created equal’
‘All men have basic human rights given to them by God’
The only reason to have a government is to protect these basic human rights
‘Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’
Government must have consent of the governed
Move away from aristocracy
Move to meritocracy and democracy
Nuance of context
People have a right to rebel if their rights are not met

Question 17

Quotes from the Declaration of Independence

Answer 17

‘All men are created equal’
‘All men have basic human rights given to them by God’
‘Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’

Question 18

A Brief History of the American Dream

Answer 18

Sarah Churchwell
‘The phrase represented the idealism of the great American experiment’
‘Some version of upward social mobility’
‘The symbolic house with a white picket fence that suggests economic self- sufficiency and security’
‘Land of opportunity for immigrants’
‘Socioeconomic promise of material success’
‘America had lost its way by prizing material success above all other values’
‘Worshipping material success’
‘The idea that the American Dream is of material success’
‘Discontented multimillionaires’
‘An immigrant who made good, a self- made man who bootstrapped his way from poverty to power, or the iconic house with a white picket fence’