American Literature Final Exam

J.D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye

When and where did his writing tend to take place?
Salinger's writing generally takes place in mid-20th century America, especially in New York City. His most famous work, The Catcher in the Rye, is set in the 1950s and reflects post-World War II American society.

What topics did he tend to write about?
Salinger often explored themes such as:

• Teenage alienation and angst

• Loss of innocence

• Phoniness of the adult world

• Mental health and trauma

• Spiritual searching and identity

How did he feel about these topics?
Salinger often sympathized with outsiders, particularly young people struggling with the hypocrisy of the adult world. His tone is critical of society’s superficiality, and he tends to idealize innocence, especially in children. He also showed a deep concern for authenticity, mental health, and personal meaning.

John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men

When and where did his writing tend to take place?
Steinbeck's writing typically takes place during the Great Depression era (1930s) in California, particularly in rural or agricultural settings. Of Mice and Men is set in the Salinas Valley, reflecting the experiences of migrant workers.

What topics did he tend to write about?
Steinbeck focused on:

• Poverty and economic hardship

• The American Dream

• Loneliness and isolation

• Friendship and human connection

• Social injustice and inequality (especially class and disability)

How did he feel about these topics?
Steinbeck wrote with sympathy and realism, often giving voice to the working class and marginalized groups. He was critical of the economic system that failed people during the Depression and showed deep compassion for human struggles. His tone is often tragic but empathetic, highlighting both the dignity and vulnerability of ordinary people.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

The Yellow Wallpaper

When and where did her writing tend to take place?
Gilman wrote in the late 19th to early 20th century, during a time when women had very limited rights. The Yellow Wallpaper is set in a Victorian-era home, likely in the United States, though the exact location is not specified. The setting reflects the domestic confinement of women at the time.

What topics did she tend to write about?
Gilman focused on:

• Women’s mental health

• Gender roles and domestic oppression

• The dangers of the “rest cure”

• Patriarchy and control

• Feminism and female autonomy

How did she feel about these topics?
Gilman was a feminist and social reformer who wrote critically about the oppression of women, especially in marriage and medicine. She believed that society’s treatment of women—particularly regarding mental health—was damaging and dehumanizing. In The Yellow Wallpaper, she uses a symbolic and psychological approach to show how isolation and lack of agency can lead to mental deterioration. Her tone is critical, ironic, and ultimately haunting.

Kate Chopin

The Story of an Hour

When and where did her writing tend to take place?
Chopin wrote in the late 19th century, mainly in the American South, particularly Louisiana, where she lived. Her stories often reflect Victorian-era gender roles and the social expectations placed on women during that time.

What topics did she tend to write about?
Chopin explored:

• Female identity and independence

• Marriage and its constraints

• Emotional repression

• Desire and freedom

• Gender roles in society

How did she feel about these topics?
Chopin had a progressive and critical view of traditional gender roles. In The Story of an Hour, she presents marriage as potentially restrictive, even when it's not overtly abusive. Her tone is sympathetic to women's inner lives and challenges the idea that all women are fulfilled by domestic roles. She subtly suggests that freedom and selfhood are essential to a woman's well-being, even if that view was controversial at the time.

Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman

The Crucible

When and where did his writing tend to take place?
Miller wrote during the mid-20th century, mostly in post–World War II America.

• Death of a Salesman is set in 1940s Brooklyn, New York, and reflects the struggles of a modern American family.

• The Crucible is set in 1692 Salem, Massachusetts, during the Salem witch trials, but it was written in the 1950s as an allegory for McCarthyism (the anti-Communist hysteria of that time).

What topics did he tend to write about?
Miller’s works focus on:

• The American Dream and its failures

• Individual vs. society

• Guilt, integrity, and personal responsibility

• Mass hysteria and scapegoating

• Family, reputation, and self-worth

How did he feel about these topics?
Miller was deeply critical of societal pressures and how they affect individuals.

• In Death of a Salesman, he shows how the unrealistic pursuit of the American Dream can destroy a person, especially when self-worth is tied to success and popularity.

• In The Crucible, he uses the witch trials as a metaphor for McCarthyism, warning against mass paranoia, false accusations, and loss of personal integrity.
  He wrote with moral seriousness, encouraging readers to reflect on truth, conscience, and justice in the face of social pressure.

Henry David Thoreau

Civil Disobedience (in yellow textbook)

When and where did his writing tend to take place?
Thoreau wrote in the mid-19th century, primarily in Concord, Massachusetts. Civil Disobedience was published in 1849, shortly after he spent time in jail for refusing to pay a poll tax that funded the Mexican-American War and supported slavery.

What topics did he tend to write about?
Thoreau focused on:

• Individual conscience vs. government laws

• Nonviolent resistance

• Moral responsibility

• Civil liberties and personal freedom

• Opposition to slavery and unjust wars

How did he feel about these topics?
Thoreau believed that people should not blindly follow the law, especially if it goes against their morals. He argued that conscience should be a higher authority than the government, and individuals have a duty to resist injustice peacefully. He felt strongly that passive compliance with wrongdoing makes citizens complicit, and he promoted nonviolent protest as a powerful tool for change. His tone is firm, principled, and idealistic.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Letter from Birmingham Jail (in yellow textbook)

Stride Towards Freedom (in yellow textbook)

When and where did his writing tend to take place?
King wrote during the 1950s and 1960s, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the American South, particularly in places like Montgomery, Alabama and Birmingham.

• Stride Toward Freedom (1958) is a memoir about the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

• Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963) was written while King was imprisoned in Birmingham for protesting segregation.

What topics did he tend to write about?
King focused on:

• Racial injustice and segregation

• Nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience

• Moral responsibility to oppose unjust laws

• Equality, justice, and human dignity

• The power of love and Christian ethics in social action

How did he feel about these topics?
King believed that justice must be actively pursued, even when it meant breaking the law—if the law was unjust. In Letter from Birmingham Jail, he powerfully defends nonviolent protest, arguing that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” In Stride Toward Freedom, he explains the strategies and spiritual foundations of the civil rights struggle.
His tone is moral, persuasive, and hopeful, combining logic, emotion, and ethical appeal to call for urgent social change and racial equality.

Malcolm X

By Any Means Necessary (in yellow textbook)

When and where did his writing tend to take place?
Malcolm X was active and wrote in the 1950s and 1960s, during the Civil Rights Movement, primarily in the United States, especially in urban Black communities like Harlem, New York. By Any Means Necessary is a collection of speeches from 1964–1965, shortly before his assassination.

What topics did he tend to write about?
Malcolm X focused on:

• Racial justice and Black empowerment

• Self-defense and human rights

• Systemic racism and white supremacy

• Black nationalism and separation

• Critique of nonviolence and mainstream civil rights strategies

How did he feel about these topics?
Malcolm X was deeply critical of the racist structures in American society. Early in his career, he advocated for Black self-reliance and separation from white society, believing that nonviolent methods were too slow and ineffective.
In By Any Means Necessary, he insists that Black people have the right to defend themselves "by any means necessary", especially in the face of violence. His tone is forceful, passionate, and uncompromising, though later in life (after his pilgrimage to Mecca), he began to adopt a more global, inclusive perspective on human rights while still demanding justice for Black Americans. (in yellow textbook)

Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird

When and where did her writing tend to take place?
Harper Lee wrote during the mid-20th century, and To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960. The novel is set in the 1930s in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, reflecting Southern U.S. culture during the Great Depression.

What topics did she tend to write about?
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee explores:

• Racism and injustice

• Moral growth and conscience

• Childhood innocence

• Social class and prejudice

• Courage and empathy

How did she feel about these topics?
Harper Lee wrote with a strong sense of moral clarity, using her characters—especially Atticus Finch—to advocate for justice, compassion, and standing up for what's right, even when it's unpopular. She was critical of racism and deeply sympathetic to the marginalized, especially through the trial of Tom Robinson. Her tone is thoughtful, reflective, and quietly powerful, often using the innocent perspective of Scout to highlight the deep flaws in adult society.