Literary Works Flashcards
Essay encouraging readers to be self-reliant by following their own sense of right and wrong without letting the government have control.
Civil Disobedience Henry David Thoreau
Novel of Manners
Details the customs, behaviors, habits, and expectations of a certain social group at a specific time and place.
Jane Austin and Edith Warton novels.
The Lost Generation
Writers who came of age during WWI. They’re considered lost because their parent’s values were no longer relevant.
Fireside Poets
Group of New England Poets who were among the first Americans to rival the popularity of British Poets.
William Cullen Bryant Henry Wadsworth Longfellow John Greenleaf Whittier Oliver Wendell Holmes James Russell Lowell
Account of the pilgrims and early colony years by the colony leader.
Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford
Book of Poetry covering religion and family in the colonial period.
The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung up in America by Anne Bradstreet
Autobiography about slavery, travel, spirituality detailing the author’s time as a slave and his attempts at being independent by studying the Bible before gaining freedom and working in business.
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Oladah Equlano
Sermon that uses vivid imagery of hell, observations of the world and scripture citations that gives a glimpse into the first Great Awakening. In the sermon, Hell is described as a real place where people will go if they don’t follow God.
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards
A pamphlet advocating for independence from England that uses moral and political arguments to persuade people.
Common Sense by Thomas Paine
Yearly almanac that was popular for extensive wordplay Used 1732-1758
Poor Richard’s Almanack by Benjamin Franklin
Narrative poem that uses musicality, stylized language, and a supernatural atmosphere to tell of a talking raven that visits a distraught lover and traces the man’s insanity.
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
Details a murder the narrator committed. The narrator’s guilt wins out as he hears the thumping of the dead man’s heart.
The Tale Tell Heart by Edgar Allen Poe
Set during the French and Indian War, it tells of Alice and Cara’s journey to safety along with two Indians–Chingachgook and Uncas, which are used as a symbol of the budding American society and racial makeup of the new world.
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
Impromptu speech at the 1851 Women’s Convention about women having rights.
Ain’t I a Woman by Sojourner Truth
Short story about Tom Walker who finds money protected by the devil. He makes a deal–the money for his soul.
The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving
Hester Prynne has a daughter through an affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity after she is forced to wear a red “A” on her clothes and is shunned by her community.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Ishmal seeks revenge on the whale that bit his leg off. the story is influenced by epic poems.
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Extended metaphor poem about the death of Abraham Lincoln.
Oh Captain, My Captain by Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
American poet, essayist, and journalist who was part of the transition between Romanticism and Realism.
Essay stating everyone should avoid conformity and false consistency and follow their own instincts and ideas.
Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Speech about the American scholar’s relationship to nature. Included thoughts that nature is the most important influence on the mind, the past manifests in writing, and action and it’s relation to the experience of life. Essentially encouraged people to think for themselves
The American Scholar by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Detail’s the author’s experience of living simply by Walden Pond. A manual for self-reliance.
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
William Dean Howells
Editor of the Atlantic Monthly and realist writer. Wrote Christmas Every Day
Novel about a boy and a runaway slave floating down the Mississippi River. It is noted for colorful description of life along the Mississippi and a satire about racism.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.
Mark Twain
American writer known as the Father of American Literature.
Autobiography about a slave’s legal emancipation and life as a speaker.
My Bondage, My Freedom by Fredrick Douglas
Speech focusing on equality, freedom, and national unity. Reminded citizens of America’s purpose
The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln
Personal narrative about the Civil War from the Confederate perspective including impressions about the war, commentary on race, status, and power within a nation divided.
The Diary of Mary Chestnut
Jim Burden and Antonia Shimerda are brought as children to be Nebraska pioneers. The first year in the new place leaves an impression on both kids. Noted for bringing the American West to life.
My Antonia by Willa Cather
Set before, during, and after the Civil War it tells the story of three southern families’ experiences through flashbacks.
Absalom! Absalom! By William Faulkner
Set during the Great Depression, this novel follows the Woads, who have lost their home in Oklahoma, as they head to California to find work.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Tells of a woman’s struggle between her unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood and the prevailing social views of the turn of the century south.
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Short adventure novel about the Klondike Gold Rush and sled dogs. Focuses on nature vs. nurture.
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Langston Hughes
American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was the leader of the Harlem Renaissance and early inventor of Jazz poetry.
Countee Cullen
American poet, novelist, children’s writer, and playwright. Famous for his work during the Harlem Renaissance.
Influential women’s lit story follows Jaine Crawford from one bad situation to the next through abuse, becoming independent, and murdering her third husband in self-defense.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Coming of age story set during the Civil War and reconstruction detailing clawing way out of poverty and a love triangle.
Gone with the Wind by Margret Mitchell
Autobiographical play about a family where the daughter collects glass animals. The figurines are seen as a symbol of her personality.
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
This play examines the mental and moral breakdown of the lead character as she runs away from wealthy to New Orleans
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
Story about a young woman who learns about her family as she goes through her father’s belongings after his death and examines her feelings of loss and memories.
The Optimist’s Daughter by Eudora Welty
Long poem consisting of 18 separate poems grouped into two sections. The first section is the author’s autobiography and the second section introduces his struggling career and fate.
Hugh Selwyn Mauberley by Erza Pound
Collection of poems noted for use of economy of language and clarity of imagery.
Ripostes by Ezra Pound
Story of a mixed group of people sailing from Mexico to Europe on a German ship. Seen as an allegory tracing the rise of Nazism and looks metaphorically at the progress of the world on it’s “voyage to eternity.
Ship of Fools by Katherine Porter
Blend of multiple short stories about a returning WWII vet’s decision to form an anti-religious ministry in an eccentric southern city after finding his family home abandoned.
Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor
Novel of Manners detailing a love triangle between a man he’s supposed to marry and stay with and her exciting cousin.
The Age of Innocence by Edith Warton
