QuestionThe exam will be structured in the same way that the previ

The exam will be structured in the same way that the previous one was. Assuming you’ve kept up with the reading, you have done quite a bit. I would suggest, however, that you review the following works carefully. Re-read them and take notes. I’d prefer that you not look up the works on internet sites (which is usually quite evident) but rather, be able to form independent judgments based on the text themselves:

William Faulkner, “Barn Burning”: consider the imagery by which the father is described (and is key to his character), and the protagonist, Sarty’s complicated feelings towards him. How does the conclusion portend his future? Fate versus free will.

Richard Wright: “The Man Who Was Almost A Man”: consider Dave’s relationshp to his father and to the plantation owner, and his conflict, and fate versus free will.

Louise Erdrich, “The Red Convertible”: consider the tone and point of view from which the story is told. Who is the protagonist of the story? Consider the story’s critique of war. Consider the story’s setting and how it sets the tone and frames the conflict. What is the conflict?

Yusef Komunyakaa: “Facing It” and “Missing in Action”: consider the tone and the speaker’s attitude toward what he is facing. How has his exprience shaped him and his attitude toward life/death/war. What does the imagery convey? What is the conflict?

William Carlos Williams: “The Young Housewife”‘ “The Red Wheelbarrow”; “The Widow’s Lament in Springtime”: consider the tone (speaker’s attitude towards topic), and imagery, and meanings that the images convey.

Robert Frost: “Mending Wall” (conflct between speaker and neighbor) ; “Home Burial” (a dramatic monologue: conflict concerning death, gender, grief); “After Apple-Picking; “The Road Not Taken”; “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening”: Consider the significance of nature in illustrating universal themes.

E.A. Robinson, “Minniver Cheevy”; “Mr. Flood’s Party”; “Richard Cory.” Examine the commonalities and differences among the title characters. Do circumstances make the man, or does the man create his own circumstances? Examine the theme of appearances/illusion versus reality.