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English 2130
Reading and Discussion Questions
J. Hector St. John Crèvecoeur, Letters from an American Farmer
1. What, according to Crèvecoeur, are the unique features of America, as
opposed to Europe? (make a list or chart!)
2. What are the reasons/causes for this difference?
3. How does Crèvecoeur define “the American” (or American identity)?
4. Which cultural and national traits in particular does America bear for Crèvecoeur?
Does he champion any particular origins?
5. What seems to be the significance of agriculture and the size of the land?
6. Evaluate the relative “newness” of the American as a being/race in Crèvecoeur’s
letter! What is new, what is not? Did America abandon everything European?
7. Who or what is missing from the picture and why?
8. What role of the American people in relation to the world does he imagine or
anticipate?
9. Crèvecoeur, almost in a nutshell, seems to define a still prevalent understanding
of what it means to be American. List these traits!
10. Of course, it is easy to see—over 200 years later—how Crèvecoeur’s sanguine
assessment of the American character were either fulfilled or disappointed. But if
we could suspend our knowledge of history for a moment, can we locate in his
own words and ideas the seedbed for conflict? In other words, what does or
doesn’t Crèvecoeur understand about
a. The American confrontation with ethnic/racial difference
b. Debates over immigration
c. Class conflict
d. Urbanization
e. Limitations of the land and natural resources
f. Self-interest vs. greed
Semester Theme:
12. Think about the tension between hope and desire on the one hand and confrontation
with reality on the other hand in Letters from an American Farmer and in American
literature in general!
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Description of Charleston/visit to the South
How does his first-hand encounter with slavery affect his views of the potential of
America? Cite specific examples?