Final exam

The exam will be open book and open notes--but of course that means that I expect more from your answers than on the mid-term exam!

You will write one essay in response to a question on Invisible Man. This essay will be similar to the ones you wrote for your mid-term.

You will write a second essay on what it means to call someone a major American author. This will be an argumentative essay in which you provide evidence to support your claims. Some questions you may want to consider: What are the criteria for applying that label? Who gets to decide who is and who isn't major? Other than an accident of geography, is there some quality or attitude that makes someone a specifically "American" author? Should we still have a "Major American Authors" course at UNC? What do we gain from reading major American authors? Do their texts give us something that other authors don't?

You must cite and analyze at least 3 examples from our readings this semester: one of those examples may be a counterexample (e.g., "this scene illustrates that X is NOT a major American author because..."); the other 2 should be examples that support your definition. When you're providing your evidence, be specific and detailed. Your examples should be specific passages, scenes, or characters, not the entire text. In other words, these would be poor answers: "Emily Dickinson is a major American author because she wrote beautiful poetry" or "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym proves that Poe is a major American author because it's an important and interesting novel."

Thoughtful, creative, and/or original answers will be rewarded. Snarky answers may or may not be, depending on my mood. Don't forget your blue book.