American Literature Summer Reading Essay Topics:
In order to demonstrate your reading and analyses of your summer reading texts, you’ll be
asked to write an essay in response to one of the following topics (there are 3 below, and on
the day of the test you’ll be given 2 of them to choose from):
1. In his 1941 State of the Union Address to Congress, President Franklin D. Roosevelt argued that:
The basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. They are:
Equality of opportunity for youth and for others.
Jobs for those who can work.
Security for those who need it.
The ending of special privilege for the few.
The preservation of civil liberties for all.
The enjoyment -- The enjoyment of the fruits of scientific progress in a wider and constantly rising
standard of living.
Use BOTH of the texts you read this summer to discuss whether or not we have “lost sight of” AT
LEAST 2 of these expectations, “in the turmoil and unbelievable complexity of our modern world.”
If you choose to respond to this topic, your thesis statement should look something like this:
The texts ___________ by __________ and __________ by _______ prove that we have “lost
sight of” the expectations for _________ and __________ “in the turmoil and unbelievable
complexity of the modern world.”
You should make sure that all of the body paragraphs you write after that explain how your books
show that we have (or have not) lost sight of those expectations. You may choose to write a solid
body paragraph about the ways each text shows this, or you may choose to write a solid body
paragraph about each of the expectations we have (or have not) lost sight of, including evidence
from both books in each paragraph.
2. In the Declaration of Independence, the founding fathers outlined 5 American Ideals:

Equality

Individual Rights

Liberty

Opportunity

Democracy
Use BOTH of the texts you read this summer to discuss whether or not America lives up to AT LEAST
2 of these ideals.
If you choose to respond to this topic, your thesis statement should look something like this:
The texts ___________ by __________ and __________ by _______ prove that America lives up to
the ideals _________ and __________ .
You should make sure that all of the body paragraphs you write after that explain how your books
show that we do (or do not) live up to those ideals. You may choose to write a solid body paragraph
about the ways each text shows this, or you may choose to write a solid body paragraph about each
of the ideals we do (or do not) live up to, including evidence from both books in each paragraph.
3. This course seeks to study the ways in which American literature both reflects and creates
American culture. Through a close and careful examination of BOTH of your chosen texts, what can
you argue are the fundamental ideals of contemporary American culture? How do your chosen texts
depict these ideals? What do your texts have to say about them?
If you choose to respond to this topic, your thesis statement should look something like this:
The texts ___________ by __________ and __________ by _______ demonstrate that the
fundamental ideals of contemporary American culture are __________, __________ and _______.
You should make sure that all of the body paragraphs you write after that explain how your books
show that these ideals are fundamental to contemporary American culture as well as how the texts
depict these ideals and what they have to say about them. The best way to organize this essay is to
write a body paragraph to discuss each ideal and to refer to both texts in each body paragraph.
Good luck with your planning! Don’t forget to bring it to class early next week along with your
chosen texts and any notes you prepared this summer.