By this point in the course, we have studied two major “periods of time” (if we want to refer to them as such) in American Literature. We have studied the Puritans and the age of Enlightenment. Both of these “eras” are very important in identifying the American Identity. Choose one of the the topics below and address in extended essay form.

1. The essential difference between the writers of Puritan New England and those of the American Enlightenment is that the former believed that man was irrational and basically corrupt and the latter believed man rational and basically good.” Discuss. In your discussion, consider the works that you have read. How do we see these ideas reflected in the works of each period?

2. Americans are very proud to say that this country was founded on Christian principles. What’s interesting, however, is that many of the thinkers of the time of the formation of this United States as we know it were Deist, not Christian. In what five ways is Deism different from religions like Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, or Islam?

3. Discuss the following statement with reference and relevance to specific literary works: the Puritans were typological (remember your notes from the Puritan unit), the eighteenth-century writers were logical, but the early-nineteenth-century writers were analogical in their way of knowing and expressing what it means to be an American. What does this mean and how do we see it in the literature?