Choose one of the following topics and write a complete, considered answer. Be sure to support your statements with evidence from the text, and be sure to document correctly. Required length: 2-5 pages (500-1250 words). Use correct MLA format and citation techniques in your essay and your Works Cited list.

This assignment is due Friday, April 22nd.

1. By the time Thomas Jefferson lived and wrote, the world was a very different place from that of the early Puritans. What would John Winthrop have thought of Jefferson’s ideas?

2. Olaudah Equiano, Harriet Jacobs, and Frederick Douglass present powerful indictments of slavery in their narratives. Choose one, and explain how s/he creates emotional involvement on the part of the reader.

3. Why is “Rip Van Winkle,” like so much satirical fiction, popular as a children’s story?

4. At first glance, Poe’s tales of horror and his detective stories seem to have little in common. Upon closer inspection, do you find they share any of the same themes or techniques?

5. Irving and Poe both wrote stories in which there was a good deal of suspense. What were some of the techniques they used to create suspense? How were their techniques similar or different?