English 10-3 Final

COMPLETE American Literature Final Study Guide

10th Grade American Literature – Ms. Byrne

UNIT 1: Literary Movements

Romanticism / Transcendentalism

Main Ideas

• Individuality

• Nature is spiritual

• Trust yourself

• Emotions over logic

• Nonconformity

• Self-reliance

Key Authors

• Ralph Waldo Emerson

• Henry David Thoreau

• Emily Dickinson

• Walt Whitman

Important Ideas

• Nature helps people discover truth.

• People should think independently.

• Society pressures people to conform.

Realism

Main Ideas

• Everyday life

• Ordinary people

• Accurate details

• Realistic struggles

• Rejects fantasy and idealism

Authors

• Mark Twain

• Kate Chopin

Regionalism

Main Ideas

• Focus on specific regions

• Dialect/local speech

• Geography and customs

• Local culture

Naturalism

Main Ideas

• Nature controls humans

• Survival

• Fate/environment

• Humans are powerless

• Instinct vs intellect

Author

• Jack London

Modernism

Main Ideas

• Disillusionment

• Isolation

• Failure of the American Dream

• Materialism

• Social criticism

Authors

• F. Scott Fitzgerald

• Lorraine Hansberry

UNIT 2: The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter

Author

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Characters

• Hester Prynne

• Pearl

• Arthur Dimmesdale

• Roger Chillingworth

Major Themes

• Sin

• Guilt

• Public shame

• Revenge

• Judgment

• Hypocrisy

Symbols

Scarlet “A”

Represents adultery and later strength.

Scaffold

Represents public judgment and shame.

Pearl

Living symbol of Hester’s sin.

Important Facts

• Hester committed adultery.

• Dimmesdale is Pearl’s father.

• Chillingworth secretly seeks revenge.

• Hester becomes stronger over time.

UNIT 3: Transcendentalism

Self-Reliance

Main Idea

Trust yourself and reject conformity.

Important Quote

“Trust thyself.”

Key Term

Individualism

Walden

Main Idea

Simple living helps people focus on what matters.

Important Quote

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately.”

Meaning

Live carefully and meaningfully.

Civil Disobedience

Main Idea

People should resist unjust laws.

Important Quote

“That government is best which governs least.”

UNIT 4: Emily Dickinson

Features of Her Poetry

• Dashes

• Weird punctuation

• Slant rhyme

• Short poems

• Isolation/death themes

Literary Terms

Slant Rhyme

Words almost rhyme.

Example:

• soul / all

Exact Rhyme

Perfect rhyme.

Example:

• cat / hat

Themes

• Death

• Nature

• Isolation

• Hope

Important Poems

• Because I could not stop for Death

• Hope is the thing with feathers

• I heard a Fly buzz—when I died

UNIT 5: Walt Whitman

Important Works

• Leaves of Grass

• Song of Myself

• I Hear America Singing

Literary Techniques

Free Verse

Poetry without regular rhyme or meter.

Cataloguing

Long lists showing diversity.

Parallelism

Repeating grammatical structure.

Themes

• Democracy

• America

• Individuality

• Unity

Important Quote

“I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.”

UNIT 6: Realism & Naturalism

The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

Important Facts

• Example of Regionalism

• Uses dialect

• Jim Smiley loses because the frog is filled with quail shot.

To Build a Fire

Main Ideas

• Nature is powerful.

• Humans are vulnerable.

• Instinct vs intellect.

• Survival.

Character Flaw

Overconfidence

Symbol

Dog = instinct and survival.

Important Lesson

The man dies because he ignores nature.

The Story of an Hour

Main Ideas

• Freedom

• Marriage

• Women’s independence

Symbol

Open window = freedom and opportunity.

Important Irony

Louise dies after learning her husband is alive.

“The joy that kills” = situational irony.

The Yellow Wallpaper

Main Ideas

• Oppression of women

• Mental health

• Loss of identity

Symbols

Yellow Wallpaper

Imprisonment/oppression.

Woman Behind Wallpaper

Suppressed women.

John

• Dismissive

• Patronizing

• Thinks he knows best

UNIT 7: The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby

Characters

• Jay Gatsby

• Nick Carraway

• Daisy Buchanan

• Tom Buchanan

• Jordan Baker

Major Themes

• Failure of the American Dream

• Wealth and corruption

• Illusion vs reality

• Obsession with the past

Symbols

Green Light

Hope and the American Dream.

Valley of Ashes

Moral decay and corruption.

Important Facts

• Gatsby believes the past can return.

• Daisy kills Myrtle.

• Nick may be unreliable.

Important Quote

“So we beat on, boats against the current…”

UNIT 8: A Raisin in the Sun

A Raisin in the Sun

Setting

Southside Chicago in the 1950s.

Characters

• Walter

• Mama

• Beneatha

• Ruth

Important Facts

• Beneatha wants to become a doctor.

• Mama values family dreams.

• Big Walter believed dreams mattered.

Major Themes

• Dreams

• Racism

• Family

• American Dream

UNIT 9: Literary Terms

Free Verse

Poetry without regular rhyme or meter.

Catalog

Long list.

Parallelism

Repeated grammatical structure.

Exact Rhyme

Perfect rhyme.

Slant Rhyme

Imperfect rhyme.

Paradox

Statement that seems contradictory but reveals truth.

Dramatic Irony

Audience knows more than characters.

Situational Irony

Outcome is opposite of expectations.

UNIT 10: Author Identification

UNIT 11: Essay Section — The American Dream

You MUST:

Use:

• one Romanticism/Transcendentalism text

• one Realism/Naturalism text

• one Modernism text

Explain:

• themes

• historical context

• literary style

• how the American Dream changes

EASY ESSAY IDEAS

Romanticism/Transcendentalism

American Dream =

• freedom

• individuality

• spiritual growth

Examples:

• Emerson

• Thoreau

• Whitman

Realism/Naturalism

American Dream =

• difficult

• unrealistic

• ordinary people struggle

Examples:

• Twain

• To Build a Fire

• The Story of an Hour

Modernism

American Dream =

• corrupted by wealth

• impossible

• materialistic

Examples:

• The Great Gatsby

• A Raisin in the Sun

MOST IMPORTANT QUOTES

Emerson

“Trust thyself.”

Thoreau

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately.”

Whitman

“I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.”

Gatsby

“So we beat on, boats against the current…”

MOST IMPORTANT SYMBOLS

FAST MOVEMENT COMPARISON

FINAL REVIEW CHECKLIST

Make sure you can:

• Match authors to works

• Explain themes

• Explain symbols

• Identify irony

• Compare literary movements

• Write about the American Dream

• Explain important quotes

• Identify literary terms

UNIT 1: Literary Movements

Romanticism / Transcendentalism

Main Ideas

• Emphasis on individuality and the uniqueness of the human experience.

• Nature is considered spiritual and a source of inspiration, fueling creativity and personal insight.

• Encouragement to trust oneself and pursue one's own thoughts and beliefs.

• Valuing emotions over logic, believing that feelings can lead to deeper truths.

• Advocacy for nonconformity, where individuals reject societal norms in favor of personal values.

• Self-reliance promotes the idea that individuals must depend on their own capabilities and judgment.

Key Authors

• Ralph Waldo Emerson: A philosopher and essayist who championed individualism and the connection between humans and nature.

• Henry David Thoreau: A naturalist and author known for his work on simple living and civil disobedience, especially illustrated in "Walden."

• Emily Dickinson: Renowned for her unique poetic style, she explored themes of death and immortality through imagery and careful punctuation.

• Walt Whitman: Celebrated for his free verse and long, fluid lines in poems like "Leaves of Grass".

Important Ideas

• Nature is viewed as a teacher that helps individuals uncover universal truths.

• Encouragement to think independently is crucial for personal growth and societal progress.

• Society often pressures individuals to conform, and this tension between the individual and society is a recurring theme.

Realism

Main Ideas

• Focus on everyday life and experiences that reflect the true nature of society.

• Depiction of ordinary people to highlight social issues and challenges.

• Use of accurate details to enhance authenticity in storytelling.

• Representation of realistic struggles that ordinary people face, emphasizing the harshness of life.

• Deliberate rejection of fantasy and idealism to portray life as it truly is.

Authors

• Mark Twain: Known for his humorous and critical portrayal of American society in works like "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

• Kate Chopin: Her stories often tackled themes of feminism, identity, and social norms, especially shown in "The Awakening."

Regionalism

Main Ideas

• A literary method that focuses on specific regions, capturing the unique characteristics of local cultures.

• Incorporates dialect/local speech, helping to create authentic characters and settings.

• Emphasizes the influence of geography and customs on the lives of individuals.

• Aims to preserve and reflect local culture, traditions, and social interactions.

Naturalism

Main Ideas

• Suggests that nature controls humans, influencing their fate and decisions.

• Themes of survival and the struggle against natural forces, often leading to tragic outcomes.

• Emphasizes that individuals are shaped by their environment, experiences, and instincts.

• Humans often depicted as powerless against the forces of nature or society.

• Tension between instinct and intellect plays a critical role in the characters’ outcomes.

Author

• Jack London: His stories, such as "To Build a Fire," illustrate the power of nature and the struggles of man against it.

Modernism

Main Ideas

• Characterized by disillusionment following World War I and a questioning of traditional narratives.

• Explores themes of isolation and the individual's struggle within a fragmented society.

• Critiques the failure of the American Dream, highlighting the disparity between aspiration and reality.

• Investigates themes of materialism and its impact on human relationships and values.

• Promotes social criticism, questioning the status quo and the moral fabric of society.

Authors

• F. Scott Fitzgerald: His works, especially "The Great Gatsby," dissect the glamor and pitfalls of the Roaring Twenties.

• Lorraine Hansberry: Best known for her play "A Raisin in the Sun," which examines race and identity in America.

UNIT 2: The Scarlet Letter

Author

• Nathaniel Hawthorne: Known for his exploration of moral complexity and human nature.

Characters

• Hester Prynne: Protagonist who bears the scarlet letter for her act of adultery, embodying the struggle between sin and societal judgment.

• Pearl: Hester’s daughter, symbolizing innocence but also a living reminder of Hester's sin.

• Arthur Dimmesdale: The tormented preacher who struggles with his identity and guilt as Pearl's father.

• Roger Chillingworth: Hester’s estranged husband, who seeks vengeance against Dimmesdale.

Major Themes

• Sin: Explores the consequences of sin on both the individual and society.

• Guilt: The inner turmoil of characters as they deal with admission and acknowledgment of their sins.

• Public shame: The societal repercussions of Hester’s actions that affect her whole life.

• Revenge: Chillingworth’s quest for vengeance that ultimately consumes him.

• Judgment: How societal judgment influences individual identities and fates.

• Hypocrisy: The gap between public morality and private sin, particularly in the character of Dimmesdale.

Symbols

Scarlet “A”

Represents adultery initially, but later transforms to symbolize strength and resilience.

Scaffold

A representation of public judgment and shame, marking the locations of key events in the story.

Pearl

Acts as a living symbol of Hester’s sin but also represents the possibility of redemption.

Important Facts

• Hester committed adultery, giving rise to the novel's central conflict.

• Dimmesdale is revealed to be Pearl’s father, a devastating fact that complicates his moral standing.

• Chillingworth ends up using his knowledge of Dimmesdale’s secret to seek revenge, transforming him into a figure of evil.

• Hester’s journey leads her to become empowered despite her sin, representing a complex view of morality and strength.