MIDTERM REVIEW

Essay Question:

Compare and contrast the concept of the “identified soul” in Whitman’s “Song of Myself”
(sections 41, 43)of “Democratic Vistas”(964-65) with Dickinson’ antinomian Christianity seen in
her poems, Zitkala Sa’s definition of “spirit” (1088) (1106-1108) and W.E. Dubois’ notion of
“double consciousness”(886-891). Begin with a thesis paragraph that defines the terms of your
comparison and demonstrate your position throughout by giving examples from the texts. Follow
MLA style for quotations, 750-1000 words. The essay will be due Thursday, October 26th.

In Class Midterm: Tuesday, October 24th

The objective portion of the midterm will test your knowledge of all the poems, essays, and short
stories we have read this semester. You will be asked to identify the author, title, and context of
quoted passages.

You’ll also be tested on the terms, historical and literary, that we have learned in the first half of
the semester. To study for the test, review all of the following terms and find passages from the
material to demonstrate your understanding of the terms. Review the notes and Powerpoint
presentations to refresh your memory.

TEXTS

Walt Whitman:
“The Death of Abraham Lincoln”

“Eighteen Sixty One”

“The Wound Dresser”

“When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Blooom’d”

“I Sing the Body Electric”

“Song of Myself”

“Democratic Vistas”

“Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking”

“Song of the Redwood Tree”

Emily Dickinson:

Poems on pp. 93-109

“These Flames and Generosities of the Heart” (Susan Howe)

“Vesuvius at Home” Adrienne Rich

NATIVE AMERICAN TEXTS:

Oratory: Smoholla and Chalor

Smoholla: Comments to Major MacMurry
-MacMurry was sent to “assist the natives into finding a permanent home” since the Homestead
Act was a thing
-they hear that Smoholla was responsible for the Indians resisting “civilization”
-Smoholla explains the origin story of his people (how they initially killed each other and fought
over land until God took their wings away and told them to calm the fuck down)
-that is how Smoholla knows that his people will be saved because the white people are
operating outside of God’s will

Charlot: He has filled graves with our bones

-government decided that Indians should have to pay taxes on their land
-translated and printed in the newspapers on the eve of the anniversary of American
independence
-critique of the white man's behavior and lack of respect after the indians helped them so much

Sarah Winnemucca Life Among the Paiutes

-traveled with her white husband to raise awareness of the Paiutes situation
-her father believed the white people were long lost brothers-was confused by their behavior
-buried alive to avoid the white folk
-flower ceremony/festival (women)
-men have hunting rituals
-women are loyal and supportive to husbands, suggests that women be allowed in Congress

Zitkala Sa
-lived in transitional period, “detribalization,” “Kill the Indian, save the man”, many writings
featured in Atlantic Monthly, sec for Society of the American Indian
Impressions of an Indian Childhood,
-writes of her mother, death of her sister
-legends, tattoo
-brother went away, she wanted to too
-apples
The School Days of an Indian Girl,
-immediately regretted leaving,
-had to cut her hair
-bells, girl dying
-angry at the Indian Bible
-won a prize at school, wanted to go to college
“The Soft Hearted Sioux,
-from the POV of a man
-bible thumper
-killed the whiteman, dad died, gave himself over to die
“Why I am a Pagan.”
-lots of nature
-cousin talking about going to church

W.E. Du Bois
“The Souls of Black Folk,”
-the problem of the color line
-i have stepped within the veil
-double consciousness
-emancipation
-the meaning of progress
-power of the ballot

“Of Mr. Booker T. Washington”

-reconstruction ended, troops removed from the south and black power was lost
-education of the youth
-talking about different leaders
-demands of a people

HISTORICAL OR LITERARY TERMS

Pantheism
-constructed from the Greek roots pan (all) and theos(God)
-pantheism may be understood positively as the view that God is identical with the cosmos,
the view that there exists nothing which is outside of God, or else negatively as the rejection
of any view that considers God as distinct from the universe.
-https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pantheism/#Pers

Pastoral Elegy- Lilacs

Phrenology- bumps on your head

Manifest Destiny
-John O’Sullivan, Democrat, Editor of MOrning Post
-“It is our manifest destiny to over spread and to possess the whole of the continent which
Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty.”
-god-given right to occupy the entire North American Continent (at least TX to OK)
-used by Jackson democrats after 1845 to promote annexation of the west
-1840s- North opposed the annexation because it would increase the area and political struggle
of the slave power and lead to war with Mexico (it did, 1845-8, Treaty of Guadalupe)
-term was used widely in newspapers, debates, paintings/advertisements; leading light for
Westward Expansion

Epic catalog- An epic catalogue is a long, detailed list of objects, places or people that is
a characteristic of epic poetry.
Fugitive Slave Act, or Compromise of 1850
-abolitionists were afraid of slavery spreading west
-gained CA as a free state and prohibition of slave trading in D.C.
-slavery party received concessions in TX
-spurred continuation of the underground railroad
Ars Poetica

Antinomian- Emily (Antinomianism-relating to the view that Christians are released by grace
from the obligation of observing the moral law.)

Hymn Meter- Emily (Poems mimicking hymns rhythm)

Homestead Act
-Lincoln opposed U.S. expansion outside of N. America, but passed it anyway
-Act included:
-people could purchase 160 acres of Plains land for a very small price
-passed in 1862, divided 2.5 million acres of Plains land
-there was a small admin fee and you had to live on the land for at least 5 years
-land obviously taken from the natives

Dawes Act- Supposed to dissolve Native’s governments and “assimilate” them into American
society. The objective was to split tribal lands into plots to give to Natives. Ended up screwing
the Natives “During the ensuing decades, the Five Civilized Tribes lost 90 million acres of former
communal lands, which were sold to non-Natives. In addition, many individuals, unfamiliar with land
ownership, became the target of speculators and criminals, were stuck with allotments that were too
small for profitable farming, and lost their household lands. Tribe members also suffered from the
breakdown of the social structure of the tribes.”

The Indian Removal Act- Relocation of Natives to land west of Mississippi. Resulted in trail of
tears.

Ghost Dance- Native American religious ceremony started by Paiute “proper practice of the
dance would reunite the living with spirits of the dead, bring the spirits of the dead to fight on their
behalf, make the white colonists leave, and bring peace, prosperity, and unity to Indian peoples
throughout the region”.

Pagan- Belief that isn’t Christianity, Judaism, or Islam. Polytheistic.

Wounded Knee Massacre- 1890 US cavalry tried to disarm the Lakota tribe. A gun was
accidentally fired which led to the massacre

Double Consciousness- Dubois

“Double consciousness is a concept that Du Bois first explores in 1903 publication, “The
Souls of Black Folk”. Double consciousness describes the individual sensation of
feeling as though your identity is divided into several parts, making it difficult or
impossible to have one unified identity.”

Emancipation Proclamation- Lincoln freed the slaves 1863

The Atlanta Compromise- (From wiki) The Atlanta compromise was an agreement struck in
1895 between Booker T. Washington, president of the Tuskegee Institute, other African-American
[1][2]
leaders, and Southern white leaders. It was first supported, and later opposed by W. E. B. Du
Bois and other African-American leaders.
The agreement was that Southern blacks would work and submit to white political rule, while
[3][4]
Southern whites guaranteed that blacks would receive basic education and due process in law.
Blacks would not agitate for equality, integration, or justice, and Northern whites would fund black
educational charities.

Jim Crow Laws- Laws that enforced racial segregation in the US south. 1890s - 1960s