LITR 4328: American Renaissance

Model Assignments Final Exam Essays 2017 (final exam assignment) Sample answers for A1. learning about American Renaissance

Tedra Mendoza

December 9, 2017

What American Renaissance Means

          When I enrolled for this class, my knowledge about “American Renaissance” was little to none. When I looked over the class readings, I knew a few of the authors, but some of the authors I never even knew were considered to be under the American Renaissance blanket. I was definitely surprised as well as excited to be rereading a couple of the texts such as Poe. Over the course of the semester, I have honestly come to have a better understanding of what the American Renaissance is as well as the historical side.  

          As we read the texts, I enjoyed learning about the history. I have always gone to other literature classes where we read the texts, but never discussed the historical side such as the time period it was written, the situations the authors were living in, or how much the text was based off of the experiences happening around that time. I enjoyed the links that described the author’s life and other literary texts along with the links that gave me access to the historical knowledge. These links not only provided helpful information, but it also helped me to visualize the texts through the time period they were being written in. This was definitely something I was grateful for in this class.

          As I stated before, many of the texts had historical background that we got to learn more about, but these texts were extremely powerful. They forced many people in those specific time periods to open their eyes to the things that were happening around them instead of accepting them as being the new normal. For example, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin helped transition our country into abolishing slavery. Another amazing author who helped push this country forward in changing their thinking and way was Sojourner Truth. The American Renaissance consists of many authors that used their writings to change the world.

          As these authors used their writings to help change and build momentum to get things in motion, it makes me proud to have read their works of literature. I also like that I was able to see the way they used realism and even some romanticism in their writings. They wrote about what was happening around them during that time period which relates to realism and then they would also envision what could be if things were to change which relates to romanticism. Romanticism isn’t always about love and things of that nature. Through this course, I learned that it can be what someone hopes for, the way the text is elevated, and even the way the characters are portrayed. Realism and romanticism definitely go hand in hand.

          Throughout this course, I have learned so much and cannot wait to take it to the high school classrooms. I know some of the texts that we read have been used throughout my high school experience, but I never understood them well enough since I never knew the historical background to any of them. I am also looking forward to incorporating informative links and handouts for my future students so they can always have something to refer back to as they read. I am thankful for my time in this course and so thankful that I have expanded my knowledge on the American Renaissance.