Heath Anthology of American Literature - Assignment Example

5 Short Answer Essay Questions Table of Contents Answer 1) 1 Answer 2) 4 Answer 3) 6 Answer 4) 6 Answer 5) 8 References 10 Answer 1) Benjamin Franklin attempted writing satire for the first with the “A Witch Trial at Mount Holly”. Benjamin Franklin used his contrasting style between the reportorial and sensational content to satirize the superstitions associated with the practice of witchcraft and uncover the sexual hypocrisy that underlies in the traditional practices of witchcraft. In his “An Edict by the King of Prussia”, Franklin used a detailed hoax to place British readers in the place of the American colonists to make them realize the amount of injustice the British have inflicted upon the Americans. The passages from “A Witch Trial Mount Holly” are used to display the scathing attack on the empty rituals and superstitions pertaining behind the practice of witchcraft. Benjamin tried to portray that in uncovering a lady for the practice of witchcraft is nothing but a mere attempt to satisfy some sexual appetites of few crooks in the society. “Charged with making their Neighbors Sheep dance in an uncommon Manner, and with causing Hogs to speak, and sing Psalms, &c. to the great Terror and Amazement of the King’s good and peaceable Subjects.” (Frankin, “A Benjamin Franklin Reader”). This passage clearly notifies the motive of Benjamin by mentioning the practice of the uncommon manner of sheep dance and the pomp and hogging and merry making associated with it in the false name of rituals. “If the Accused were weighed in Scales against a Bible, the Bible would prove too heavy for them; or that, if they were bound and put into the River, they would swim” (Frankin, “A Benjamin Franklin Reader”). This passage brings the most scathing attack and shallowness of the practices associated with the ritual. To compare the accused against the weight of the Bible or making them swim across the river is mere foolishness and in a true vain, he attacks the people who indulge in such practices is attacked in a satiric way. “The populace of the village came to the belief that the women’s clothing had helped them remain buoyant and determined “they [should] be tried again the next warm Weather, naked” (Frankin, “A Benjamin Franklin Reader”). This passage again shows Benjamin’s attempt to attack the practice of witchcraft and the shameless limit to which the society can go in the name of rituals. The hoax by Benjamin is blended with marvelous wit which is the greatest ornament for any satire and it reaches its height in the following passage: “The Accuser Man being thin and spare, with some Difficulty began to sink at last; but the rest every one of them swam very light upon the Water” (Frankin, “A Benjamin Franklin Reader”). Lastly, the ending of the satire excels any literary creation of the contemporary cannon. It not only sums up the entire reading but equally blends the wit, humor and sarcasm in its truest essence. The populace of the village concluded that the clothes of the women helped them to float and thus they should be thrown into the water naked. Here, the real shallow intention behind the practice is not only unveiled but is also scathingly attacked in its every possible way by Benjamin. Answer 2) Jonathon Edward’s sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is a beautifully woven eloquent sermon preaching the love for God to the men who are unrepentant sinner and the sermon effectively aims to disturb their heart in order to drag them in the form of surrender at the feet of the Lord. It also preaches hope by offering a way for the out of the state of “natural man”. The passages that supports the thesis statement of the Sermon is Psalm 72:18 as it states, “Surely thou didst set them in slippery places; thou castedst them down into destruction”. This passage means that one who stands in the slippery places is ought to fall as if they were always exposed to “destruction”. Psalm 73:18, 19. “Surely thou didst set them in slippery places; thou castedst them down into destruction: How are they brought into desolation as in a moment!” This sermon means that one who stands in a slippery place are unable to foresee his destruction. The destruction ought to be “sudden unexpected destruction” and one would fall at once without being warned. The third sermon is “Another thing implied is, that they are liable to fall of themselves, without being thrown down by the hand of another; as he that stands or walks on slippery ground needs nothing but his own weight to throw him down” (Edwards, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”). And the forth sermon says, “That the reason why they are not fallen already and do not fall now is only because that God's appointed time is not come. For it is said, that when that due time, or appointed time comes, their foot shall slide. Then they shall be left to fall, as they are inclined by their own weight. God will not hold them up in these slippery places any longer, but will let them go; and then, at that very instant, they shall fall into destruction; as he that stands on such slippery declining ground, on the edge of a pit, he cannot stand alone, when he is let go he immediately falls and is lost” (Edwards, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”). The third and the fourth sermon are concerned with the weight or the burden of evil that the sinner will have to bear solely and the last sermon tells that “their foot shall slide” which means that the fall of the sinner bearing the burden of his own misdeed ought to fall on the dark pit of evil and shall be lost. This phenomenon is again inevitable and the sinner has to bear it. Answer 3) Both the authors Thomas Paine as well as Thoreau uses ample metaphors and similes to ornate their text. In “Age of Reason” Chapter I ‘Author’s Profession Of Faith’, the first astonishing metaphor used by the author is the comparison of the profession of priesthood with trade and the subscription of the professional beliefs to the things one does not accept from heart with that of prostitution and that too with demolishing the chastity of mind. On the other hand, Thoreau’s “Resistance to Civil Government” is abundant with metaphors. The mostly excellent metaphor used in the text was the comparison of the government with that of machines and it is argued that when any machine is not working properly, it is the duty of the citizen to act as a “counter friction” which is the resistance to stop that machine. Thus, in this way, he compares the citizens of a state and their revolution as a counter friction which stops a machine. Answer 4) Poe’s expertise in writing beautiful passages, woven in excellent images and deep thought within is almost unparallel in English Literature. In his beautiful story, “The Fall of the house of Usher”, the poet deals with the theme of love. The opening passage of the poem itself is very strong, woven into such passionate images that almost brings the scene before the eyes of its readers: “During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher”. This passage describes the narrator’s arrival on his horseback and his meeting with Usher in an isolated abode on a dreary evening of autumn (Poe, “The fall of the house of Usher”). Another passage which bears a very strong mark of Poe’s work is the passage that describes the entrance to the house of Usher and this description is one of the finest literary creations surpassing the creativity of all time. “A valet, of stealthy step, thence conducted me, in silence, through many dark and intricate passages in my progress to the studio of his master” (Poe, “The fall of the house of Usher”). In “The Tell - Tale Heart” the plot itself is marvelous portraying an unnamed narrator and his display of an obscure sanity after murdering a man with an eye of a vulture. The strongest passage of the story is the one that describes the eyes of the old man: “I kept quite still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not move a muscle, and in the meantime I did not hear him lie down. He was still sitting up in the bed listening; -- just as I have done, night after night, hearkening to the death watches in the wall.” (Poe, “The Tell – Tale Heart”). The last passage of the story is brilliant and excels all the emotions of horror and astonishment. It describes a kind of unique feeling which indeed is possible only for Poe to encapsulate: “--they were making a mockery of my horror!-this I thought, and this I think. But anything was better than this agony! Anything was more tolerable than this derision! I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer! I felt that I must scream or die! and now --again! --hark! louder! louder! louder! louder! “Villains!” I shrieked, “dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --tear up the planks! here, here! --It is the beating of his hideous heart!” ” (Poe, “The Tell – Tale Heart”). Answer 5) ‘Thanatopsis’ by William Cullen Bryant is a poem with the symbol, setting and tone of nature to portrays the central theme of the poem that is the theme of nature and death. Poet thematically represents that man ought to reunite with nature after they die. The entire theme of the poem can be summed up in the last stanza of the poem: “So live, that when thy summons come to join The innumerable caravan which moves To that mysterious realm, where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death, Thou go not, like the quarry – slave at night, Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.” (Byrant, “Thanatopsis”). In “To A Waterfowl”, the poet presents the theme of faith in God and nature which is the seeming spirit of Bryant’s poem and it is once again dominant here. The narrator watches God directing a waterfowl and remembers God’s guidance for his own life which he attains through his observance in nature as he writes: “WHITHER, midst falling dew, While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue Thy solitary way?” (Byrant, “To A Waterfowl”). And the thought of incorporating God’s teachings into his own life is well illustrated in the concluding lines of the poem: “He who, from zone to zone, Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, In the long way that I must tread alone Will lead my steps aright.” (Byrant, “To A Waterfowl”). References Byrant, William C., Thanatopsis. G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1817. Byrant, William C., To A Waterfowl. Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2006. Edwards, Jonathan. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Sword of the Lord Publishers, 2000. Franlin, Benhamin. A Benjamin Franklin Reader. Simon & Schuster, 2005. Poe, Edgar, A., The Tell – Tale Heart. BompaCrazy.com, 1967. Poe, Edgar, A. The fall of the house of Usher. Phonereader, 1930. Read More