Question Bank On American Literature 5 marks, 10 marks, 20 marks

American Literature
The essence of Transcendentalism in Emerson's "The American Scholar."
The image of Ice cream in Wallace Steven's "The Emperor of Ice Cream."
Corrupt mankind in The Invisible Man.
Pearl in The Scarlet Letter
Manolin in The Old Man and the Sea.
Happy Loman in Death of a Salesman
Comment on the significance of the title The Scarlet letter.
Discuss the significance of Ishmael as a narrator in Moby Dick
Comment on the narrative structure of the novel Huckleberry Finn.
Discuss the relationship between Santiago and Mandin in The Old Man and the Sea.
Discuss the symbolic significance of the Walden Pond.
Bring out the essence of pathos and irony in Whitman's "O Captain, My Captain".
Attempt critical appreciation of any two poems of Emily Dickinson prescribed for study.
Consider Robert Frost as a nature poet with reference to the poems prescribed for study.
Comment on the significance of the title Death of a Salesman.
Discuss the theme of illusion and reality in A Street Car Named Desire.
Emerson's views on "American Scholar".
"Emperor of Ice-cream".
The theme of racism in The Invisible Man.
Transcendentalism.
Ishmael in Moby Dick.
Blanche Dubois.
Critically analyse the structure of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.
How does the theme of conflict between Nature and man represented in Moby Dick? Discuss.
"Huckleberry Finn explores the theme of freedom, slavery and hypocrisy". Discuss.
Critically analyse Santiago and Manolin relationship in The Oldman and the Sea.
Thoreau's Walden is a Treatise on "Simple Living and High Thinking". Elucidate.
Attempt a critical analysis of any one of Walt Whitman's poems prescribed.
Comment on the images of death in Emily Dickinson's poems.
Critically analyse Robert Frost's poem "Birches" or "Mending Wall".
Consider Death of a Salesman as a typical American Middle Class.
Comment upon the significance of the title A Street Car Named Desire.
In what sense us The Scarlet Letter a Puritan novel? Discuss.
Examine journey as a central metaphor in Moby Dick.
Comment Huck's role as the protagonist and the narrator of the novel, Finn.Huckleberry
Analyse Santiago's introspection and inner conflict while at sea.
Consider Walden as a novel that celebrates Transcendental values.
Write an essay on the significant features of Walt Whitman's poetry with illustrations.
Critically examine the theme of Death and Time in Emily Dickinson's poetry.
Discuss how Frost uses imagery from rural life to examine social and philosophic themes.
Discuss Death of a Salesman as an indictment on American capitalist society.
A Street Car Named Desire deals with the theme of loneliness and quest for selffulment.Elucidate.
Comment on Emerson's views on American Culture.
Examine the relevance of the title, "Emperor of Ice-cream".
Attempt a brief note on the theme of identity in Invisible Man.
Di-maggio in The oldman and the sea.
Boston Tea party.
Describe the meaning and definition of 'American Drean'.
Do you think Walden celebrates the concepts of ''simple living and high thinking? Illustrate.
Write an essay on the significance of Walden Pond.
Critically examine emerson's view of transcendentalism.
Attempt a critique of Emerson's essays prescribed for your study.
Consider ''When Lilacs last in the Dooryard Bloomed ''as an Elegy.
Critically examine Emily Dickinson's preoccupation with Death and Immortality in her poems prescribed for your study.
How does Wallace Stevens describe the ephemeral nature of life in his poetry prescribed for your study? Substantiate.
Comment on pastoral element in the poetry of Robert Frost.
Attempt a critical study of any two of the poems:
a) 'Because I could not stop for death'
b) ''Out of the cradle endlessly rocking''
c) '' The Road Not Taken''
d) '' A Jar in Tennesee''
Examine the importance of the symbol 'A' in Scarlet Lether.
Do you consider Mody Dick as Herman Melville's ''Magnum Opus? Give reasons.
Analyse the theme of journey in Huckleberey Finn.
Comment on the significance of the title Invisible Man.
Discuss The Old Man and the Sea as an 'American' novel.
Examine Death of a Salesman as a modern Tradgedy.
Describe willy Lonan's obsession with the worship of mammon God of covetousness in Death of a Salesman.
Do you consider Blanche Du Bois as a pathetic character in A Street Car Named Desire? Substantiate.
Critically examine the conflict between the old wave Immigrants and the new wave immigrants in A Street Car Named Desire.
Write an essay on the major themes in American Fiction with reference to any two prescribed texts.
Critically comment on Thoreau's thoughts in WALDEN ?
Consider Walden as a spiritual autobiography.
How does Emerson define the American Scholar?
Critically evaluate Emerson's Essays prescribed for study.
Comment on the use of symbolism in 'When Lilacs last in the Dooryard Bloom'd'.
Consider Emily Dickenson's attitude to Death in ''Because I could not stop for death'' and ''The last Night she lived''.
Attempt a close study of ''Sunday Morning''.
Discuss Frost's provincialism with reference to any two of his poems prescribed for study.
Critically analyse any two of the following:
a) ''O, Captian! My Captain''
b) ''Emperor of Icecream''
c) ''The Road Not Taken''
d) '' My Life Closed Twice Before I Closed''
Comment on the significance of the Scaffold scenes in The Scarlet Letter.
Discuss the Ishmael- Queequeg relationship in Moby Dick.
Comment on the ending of Huckleberry Finn.
What is the major theme of Ellison's Invisible Man? Discuss
Discuss the Santiago - Manolin relationship in The Old Man and the Sea.
Discuss how Death of a Salesman is an ironic comment on American Materialism
Consider Willy Loman as a tragic hero in Death of a Salesman.
How does Tennesse Williams depict the clash of 'moralities' through Blanche Duboi's and Stanley Kowalski in A Street Car Named Desire?
In A Street Car named Desire, '' each scene is constructed like a one-act play''. Discuss.
What is the 'Americanness' in American Literature ? [llustrate with reference to some of the works prescribed for your study.
"American Literature is essentially a product of the tension between society and solitude". Discuss.
"Walden is a curious blend of description, reflection, social comment and self-revelation". Illustrate.
Examine critically the conception of Economy presented in Thorean's Walden.
Discuss the views of Emerson on self reliance.
Make a critical analysis of Emerson's "The American Scholar".
Bring out the distinctive features of the poetry of Walt Whitman.
Consider Emily Dickinson as a poet of mortality and love.
Discuss Wallace Stevens' treatment of illusion and reality with reference to any two poems prescribed for your study.
"Robert Frost's central theme is not nature but man". Discuss.
Briefly analyse any two of the following poems:
a) " Captain, O, my captain"
b) "Because I could not stop for Death"
c) "Birches"
d) "Sunday Morning".
Comment on the three scaffold scenes The Scarlet Letter.
Ahab, Ishmael, the white whale :-who is the substantive protagonist in Moby Dick ? Give reasons.
With reference to some of the individual scenes dealing with Huck-Jim friendship comment on Twain's ingenuity as a novelist.
What qualities of the Heming way Hero do you find in the protagonist in The Old Man and The sea ?
Discuss Ellison's thematic preoccupations in The Invisible Man.
Bring out the significance of the title Death of a Salesman.
Attempt a character sketch of Happy and Biff.
Whom do you sympathize with in A Street Car Named Desire-the self deluded heroine or her well accommodated sister ? Give reasons.
How does A_Street Car Named Desire dramatize the disintegration of personality ?
How has the American frontier shaped the emergence of American literature ? Discuss.
Discuss Walden as a pastoral work.
Make an analysis of the symbolism of Walden pond.
Would you describe "The American Scholar" as Emerson's manifesto of liberty ? Discuss.
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds". Discuss with reference to Emerson's theory of self-reliance.
Comment upon Whitman's use of symbols in any two poems you have studied.
Examine the theme of 'death' in
i) The soul selects her own society, and
ii) The last night she lived.
Attempt a close analysis of "A Jar in Tennessee".
What are the major themes in Frest's poetry ? Discuss with reference to any two poems prescribed for your study.
Critically analyse any two of the following
i) Because I could not stop for Death
ii) Stopping by woods on a Snowy Evening
iii) O Captain ! My Captain !
iv) Sunday Morning.
Bring out the theme of suffering in The Scarlet Letter.
Why does Melville use a participant narrator in Moby Dick ? Discuss.
Discuss the journey motif in Huckleberry Finn.
How does Ellison use colour imagery in Invisible Man ? Discuss.
Would you consider The Old Man and the Sea as an allegorical novel ? Give reasons for your answer.
Discuss Death of a Salesman as an attack on American capitalism.
How does Miller negotiate between the 'past' and the 'present' in Death of a Salesman ? Discuss.
How are sex and desire used as recurrent motifs in A Streetcar Named Desire ? Discuss.
What leads to Blanche's mental trauma in A Streetcar Named Desire ? Discuss.
1. Write an essay on the major preoccupations in American Fiction with reference to any two prescribed tests.
2. a) Critically comment on Thoreau's thoughts in Walden.
b) Why did Thareau go to the Woods ? Comment on the progress and the results of the Walden experiment.
3. a) Analyse the central theme of Emerson's "The American Scholar".
b) Examine Emerson's philosophy of self-reliance.
4. a) What are the salient features of Whitman's poetry ? Discuss with reference to any two prescribed poems.
b) Consider Emily Dickinson as a poet of death and love, in any one of her poems.
¢) Write a critique of 'A Jar in Tennessee'.
5. Discuss the distinctive features of the poetry of Robert Frost with reference to any two of the prescribed poems.
6. Critically analyse any two of the following :
i) "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking".
ii) "The Soul selects her own society"
iii) "Birches"
iv) "Emperor of Ice-cream".
7. a) Comment on the significance of the Scaffold Scenes in 'The Scarlet Letter'.
b) Discuss Ishmael-Queequeg relationship in Moby Dick.
8. a) Examine Huck-Jim relationship in Huckleberry Finn.
b) What is the major theme of Ellison's Invisible Man.
¢) Examine Hemingway's conception of man as seen in The Old Man and The Sea.
9. a) Bring out the significance of the title Death of a Salesman.
b) Comment on the techniques employed by Arthur Miller in Death of a Salesman to unravel the false values of modern American society.
10. a) How does Tennesse Williams handle the theme of frustration in a sick society in A Street Car Named Desire ?
b) Attempt a reading of A Street Car Named Desire as a woman's search for compassion and understanding.
Comment on the theme of Sin and redemption in The Scarlet Letter.
Discuss Ishmael - Queequeg relationship in Moby Dick.
Examine the narrative technique in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.
Critically evaluate Santiago-Marlin relationship in The Old man and the Sea.
Elaborate on Thoreau's transcendentalist stand in Walden.
"What are the salient features of Whitman's poetry? Discuss with reference to any
two poems."
"Consider Emily Dickinson's attitude to death, as expressed in two of the prescribed
poems for your study."
"The problem of choice is central to Frost's poetry" Elucidate.
Bring out the significance of the title Death of a salesman.
"Attempt a critical reading of A Street Car Named Desire as a Woman's search for
compassion and understanding."
Write a critique of Emerson's "The American Scholar".
Attempt a close reading of "A Jar in Tennessee".
Comment on the significance of the title The Invisible Man.
Explain the role of the officers in Moby Dick.
Give your impressions of The Duke and The Dauphin in Huckleberry Finn.
Write a note on Emerson's concept of 'Man Thinking'.
Comment on the notion of order and symmetry in "Anecdote of the Jar".
Examine the character of the vet in "Invisible Man".
Comment on the journey motif in Huckleberry Finn.
Write a note on Willy Loman's conversation with Linda in the opening scene.
Discuss the character of Governor Bellingham.
Discuss the manner of Roger Chillingworth's revenge in The Scarlet Letter.
Bring out the conflict between man and nature in Moby Dick.
Examine the role of Jim in the moral development of Huckleberry Finn.
Discuss Hemingway's conception of man as embodied in Santiago.
Comment on Thoreau's philosophy of life as reflected in Walden.
Discuss the features of transcendentalism in the poetry of Walt Whitman.
Critically examine death as a "Constant associative process" in Emily Dickinson's poetry.
Examine how frost uses imagery from rural life to examine social and philosophic Themes.
Discuss how Death of a Salesman is a comment on the failure of American individualism.
Elaborate on the theme of illusion and reality in A Street Car Named Desire