Early American Lit
What did you learn from reading The Great Gatsby?
That fate does not have to be set and stone, and the circumstances you are surrounded by do not have to control you, or become your identity.
How do the beliefs and societal expectations of the Romanticism movement shape our society today?
Romanticism has heavily shaped modern society with many beliefs still present today. Some of the biggest being the trust in inner intuition and the placing of emotions over reason and logic. On top of that there is also still the belief that everyone has some knowledge inside of them without learning them. There also a greater prevalence in nature for many people today just like romantics.
How was An-Mei coming of age affected by culture and intergenerationality?
An-Mei, who grew up in Chinese pressures, told her daughter to not get divorced. An-Mei didn't want her daughter to divorce her husband, despite her daughter's unhappiness inside her marriage because the Chinese culture she grew up with drilled the idea that divorce is not an option and a woman should stay by their husband no matter what.
How did culture affect Aristotle's coming-of-age process?
Ari did not feel like he was Mexican enough and had a lack of connection to their culture. This made him exclude his race from his identity.
What did you learn about the dilemmas of conformity and the challenges of coming of age through Richard Wright’s Black Boy?
Has to act a certain way just to stay safe and avoid trouble even if it means to hide his true self. This shows the struggle to conform to a society that won’t accept you due to his race.
Challenges: like dealing with poverty, family issues, and discrimination
Leads to him mature at a very early for his age
How did family affect the characters coming-of-age process?
Because of the lack of connections with his siblings and the secrets within the family, Aristotle would constantly label himself as lonely which affected both his self-esteem and identity formation. For Dante, since his family is loving and accepting, it reflected on him and his personality. Family impacted who he is as a person.
How do money and social class affect one's dreams?
Monetary value can impact people’s perception on you, which leads to the social determination of how attainable your dreams will be.
Using The Joy Luck Club as a reference, how do culture and intergenerationality impact identity formation and the coming of age process?
Each culture and generation has different expectations of marriage. In Joy luck club old Chinese culture told women that their duty is to be an obedient and good wife to their husbands.
how does the intersectionality of environmental factors impact characters in contemporary coming-of-age novels?
intersectionality of environmental factors impact the character's experiences and identity formation.