American Lit. Exam Technique Flashcards
AO1
Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated concepts and terminology, and coherent, accurate written expression.
AO2
Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts.
AO3
Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received.
AO4
Explore connections across literary texts.
AO5
Explore literary texts informed by different interpretations.
What are the key themes of American Literature?
The American Dream
Land and The Frontier
Community
The Hero
Journey
What are the additional themes of American Literature?
Dreams
Freedom
Class/money/wealth
Prejudice
Violence
Masculinity/gender
Race
Generational conflict
The theme of The American Dream
New place, new you
Puritain work ethic
Hollow illusion
The theme of Land and The Frontier
Eden on opportunity
Promise of paradise
Claim for survival
Manifest Destiny
Dangerous wilderness- mysterious evil
The theme of Community
Serves individual
Security
Hero is rejected but finds their place
Immigration
The theme of The Hero
You can be anything
Celebration of the individual
Hero is different from everyone else
The theme of Journey
Disillusionment
Changes character
Reunions and rewarding journey
How does the Oxford English Dictionary define The American Dream?
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.
When was the Declaration of Independance written?
1776
Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Jefferson
What are the key ideas from the Declaration of Independence?
‘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
Quotes from the Declaration of Independence
‘All men are created equal’
‘All men have basic human rights given to them by God’
‘Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’
A Brief History of the American Dream
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’
