“Ellis Island” p. 9 Discussion Questions
1. What are some of the dreams people coming to America had, as depicted in the poem?
2. What are some of the disappointments some people in America had, as depicted in the poem?
3. What do you know about your ancestors, and how and when they came to America?
4. What are some aspects of your personal American Dream? What do you hope to
accomplish/experience in your lifetime?
5. What challenges do you face when it comes to achieving your own American Dream, and how to
you plan to overcome those challenges?
6. In your opinion, does America still offer the American Dream to immigrants from other
countries? Explain your answer.
7. What literary movement does “Ellis Island” fit into? Support your answer with the text.
“Europe and America” Questions
1. According to page 11 of the SpringBoard book, what is the difference between the denotation of
a word and the connotation of a word?
2. What does Ignatow mean when he says, “...I am bedded upon soft green money?”
3. What does he mean when he describes his father as living on “...a bed of anguish...”?
4. Why does he describe America as “...a vast continent of breezes” to himself, but “storms to him
[his father]?”
5. Create a Venn Diagram that compares and contrasts the past and present generations’ ideas
and dreams about America, as depicted in the poem. Include at least five
similarities/differences.
6. If the line “bedded upon soft green money” were replaced with “funded by filthy bills,” how
would the connotation of the phrase change, and how would this affect the tone of the poem?
The New England Primer Discussion Questions
1. Is The New England Primer a primary or secondary source, and how can you tell?
2. How is the Puritan concept of Original Sin reflected in how they taught their children the
alphabet?
3. What did the Puritans believe about God, as depicted in The New England Primer?
4. How were the Puritans similar to modern Christians? How were they different? Support your
answers with the text.
5. Public education was invented by the Puritans for the expressed purpose of teaching students
how to read the Bible. Today public schools are restricted from using the Bible to teach
morality, because doing so might infringe on the rights of students who are not Christians. Is
this evidence of progress, or evidence that we have strayed from our foundations as a country,
or both? Explain your position.
The Trial of Martha Carrier Questions
1. What, specifically, is Martha Carrier accused of doing?
2. What is the evidence against Martha Carrier?
3. Give an example of subjective language (bias) from Cotton Mather’s account of Martha
Carrier’s trial.
4. Martha Carrier pleaded innocent, but was found guilty of witchcraft and executed by
hanging. How have the rules of evidence in American courts changed since the trial of
Martha Carrier?
5. Martha Carrier’s own children testified that she was a witch, and confessed themselves to
be witches, as well. Historians say that her children were tortured by members of the court
by being “tied neck to heels until blood was ready to come out of their noses” before they
confessed. Senator John McCain, who was himself tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam,
has spoken out against the use of water boarding by the United States. He says that, when
he was tortured, he gave false information in order to escape the torture, and therefore,
torture is an unreliable method for gaining information. Others insist that water boarding
terrorist prisoners produced the information that led to the killing of Osama Bin Laden, and
is a useful tool for gaining military intelligence. What is your position on the issue of water
boarding, and why?
“Moral Perfection”
1. How does Benjamin Franklin view the nature of man at the beginning of his essay? Use the
text to support your answer.
2. How would Franklin define “moral perfection?”
3. How does Franklin decide which virtues he should include in his list?
4. In the part of the essay that is not included in your book, Franklin goes on to say that he was
ultimately unable to achieve moral perfection. Once he had mastered one virtue, he would
move on to the next one, but he found that, while working on industry, for example, he would
begin to slip in areas, such as order, which he thought he had already mastered. What do you
think he learned about human nature?
5. How would you personally define “moral perfection?”
6. Based on your definition, do you believe it is possible to obtain moral perfection? Explain
your answer.
7. What literary movement does this essay fit into? How do you know?
“Self-Reliance”
1. What is Emerson’s view of traditional faith and religion? Support your answer using the text.
2. What is Emerson’s view of logic? Support your answer using the text.
3. According to Emerson, how can a person discover truth? Support your answer using the text.
4. What criticism does Emerson have against society?
5. If someone running for political office in the United States changes his or her position on an
issue, he or she is often called a “flip-flopper.” How would Emerson react to the accusation
that he contradicts himself? Explain his reasoning.
“Where I Lived and What I Lived For”
1. Why did Thoreau leave the town and go to live in the wilderness?
2. What is Thoreau’s view of nature? Support your answer with evidence from the text.
3. What is Thoreau’s view of traditional faith and religion? How can you tell?
4. What does Thoreau think of technology and industry? Support your answer with the text.
5. What does Thoreau believe about the pursuit of wealth? Support your answer.
6. What is Thoreau’s view of the newspaper?
7. According to Thoreau, at what stage of life is man the wisest? Why does he think this?
8. What literary movement does this essay fit into, and how can you tell?
9. What is your response to this essay? What positions do you agree with? What positions do
you disagree with? Why?
“America the Beautiful”
1. What are Bates’ feelings about America? What lines indicate this feeling?
2. Complete a TP-CASTT for this poem (title, paraphrase, connotation, attitude, shift, theme, and
title again).
3. Based on your TP-CASTT, what is the tone of this poem?
4. According to the poem, what is the source of America’s greatness?
5. Give an example of parallelism from the poem.
“America”
1. Complete a TP-CASTT for this poem.
2. What are the feelings Claude McKay has about America? Use the text to support your
answer.
3. What is the tone of this poem? List three words that he uses to help establish this tone.
4. What is your personal response to McKay’s poem? Do you agree or disagree with his
position, and why?
5. What literary movement does this poem fit into, and how can you tell?
“I Hear America Singing”
1. What are Whitman’s feelings toward America? Give examples of Whitman’s diction (word
choice) that indicates how he feels.
2. What does the fact that the characters in the poem are described as “singing” tell us about the
way they feel toward their jobs?
3. Why might the workers feel the way they do about their jobs? What is unique about American
workers?
4. The poem is considered an example of Romanticism. List and explain two aspects of the poem
that make it fit the Romantic movement.
5. Are your personal feelings about America closer to Whitman’s or to McKay’s? Explain.
“I, Too, Sing America”
1. What are Hughes’ feelings toward America? Give examples of Hughes’ diction that indicate how
he feels.
2. Explain the metaphor of “eating in the kitchen.” What does it mean, symbolically?
3. What does Hughes predict about the future of America in this poem? Support your answer with
the text.
4. What literary movement is this poem representative of, and how do you know?
5. Do you think racial discrimination remains a problem in America today, or have we progressed
since the 1920’s? Explain your answer.
“next to of course god america I”
1. What is the tone of Cummings’ poem? Give examples of diction that indicate this tone.
2. Explain how this poem is an example of parody.
3. On what basis does Cummings criticize Americans who consider themselves patriotic? Support
your answer.
4. What literary movement is this poem representative of, and how do you know?
5. How do you personally respond to the criticisms leveled by Cummings?
“They Live the Dream”
1. What do you think Rather’s reason was for writing this essay?
2. Summarize one person’s dream and how it was accomplished, as reported in the essay.
3. Give two examples of obstacles faced by the people described in the essay, and explain how the
people overcame the obstacles.
4. Pick one person whose story is described in Rather’s essay. Whom does the person credit for his
or her success, and why?
5. Which story described in Rather’s report do you most identify with, and why?
“Lifelong Dreamer: Vietnam Boat Person”
1. What was Nancy Pham’s dream?
2. How was her dream threatened?
3. How did her dream finally come into existence?
4. Use the SIFT (symbol, imagery, figure of speech, theme/tone) strategy to examine the stylistic
techniques used by the writer to convey her perspective on the American Dream.
5. Give an example of someone you know, have seen/heard about, or even yourself, who had an
American Dream, how it was threatened, and how it came (or is coming) into existence.
“Money”
1. To what extent is money part of the American Dream? When you picture yourself in the future,
do you consider making a lot of money a necessary part of being successful? Explain your
reasoning.
2. Look at the quotes on page 52 about money. Pick one you agree with, and one you disagree
with, and explain your reasons for each.
3. Give an example of personification from the poem.
4. What is Gioia’s attitude toward money? Give examples of diction that support your answer.
5. What do you think Gioia’s purpose for writing this poem was? Explain your reasoning.
A Raisin in the Sun
1. What is Mama’s attitude toward money, and how does her attitude differ from that of Walter?
Support your answer with the text.
2. What character trait in Walter drives him to want to achieve his American Dream? Support your
answer with the text.
3. Which character do you think the author, Lorraine Hansberry, sides with, and why do you think
this way?
4. Which character’s view of money do you think is closer to your own view? Why is the other
character wrong?
5. What literary movement is this play an example of, and how do you know?
6. When Ruth admits that she has made a down payment on an abortion, how does Mama expect
Walter to react? Why does he fail to react the way she expects him to, and how does that affect
your view of Walter?
“Mammon and the Archer”
1. Use the SIFT (symbol, imagery, figurative language, theme/tone) strategy to analyze the short
story.
2. Pick one of the sayings about money from page 52 that Aunt Ellen would agree with and explain
why she would agree with it.
3. Pick one of the sayings about money from page 52 that Old Anthony would agree with and
explain why he would agree with it.
4. An allegory is a story that is told to make a point, and the characters are symbolic. What is the
message about money that O. Henry conveys through this story? Do you agree or disagree with
the message, and why?
5. Explain the irony of the ending to the story.
“Harlan Man” and “The Mountain”
1. The speaker in both songs is a fictional character invented by Steve Earle. What do you know
about the identity of the speaker based on the lyrics?
2. What is the speaker’s attitude toward the coal mining company for whom he works? Support
your answer with the text.
3. How old is the speaker of “Harlan Man,” and how can you tell?
4. How old is the speaker of “The Mountain,” and how can you tell?
5. What is the theme of “Harlan Man?” Support your answer.
6. What is the theme of “The Mountain? Support your answer.
7. In your opinion, does the speaker of “The Mountain” have a legitimate complaint against his
employer? Explain your position.
“Roberto Acuna Talks About Farm Workers”
1. Complete a SOAPSTone (Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, Tone) organizer for
this essay.
2. What issues motivated Acuna to become an organizer for the United Farm Workers?
3. What is Acuna’s attitude toward the farm owners? Support your answer with text.
4. What is Acuna’s attitude toward the farm laborers? Support your answer with text.
5. What other work(s) from this unit are similar to this essay in terms of theme?
6. Do you think Acuna’s portrayal of the farm owners is fair? Explain your answer.
“What Unions Do: How Labor Unions Affect Jobs and the Economy”
1. According to Sherk, unions function as “labor cartels.” What does he mean by this?
2. According to the article, unions cause businesses to have lower profits. How does Sherk say that
companies respond to lower profits?
3. What would the Employee Free Choice Act do, and why does Sherk oppose it?
4. According to the article, what two automobile manufacturers are non-union, and what effect
does that fact have on the cars they produce?
5. According to Sherk, how does being a member of a labor union affect the wages of someone
who is a hard worker? How does being in a member of a labor union affect the wages of
someone who is incompetent?
6. How do you react to Sherk’s article? You have read about the good unions do for workers, and
how unions hurt the economy. Which position seems more convincing, and why?
Keynote Address at the 2004 National Convention
1. Barack Obama is promoting the candidacy of John Kerry, but the main character of his speech is
America. How is America characterized in this speech?
2. How has America provided Barack Obama access to the American Dream?
3. What aspects of the American Dream does Obama celebrate?
4. Using the Elements of Argument listed on page 77, identify each of the following in Obama’s
speech: the hook, the claim, concessions and refutations, support, and call to action.
5. Which of the above elements of argument is strongest in Obama’s speech, and why?
6. Which element of argument is weakest in this speech, and why?
7. Do you agree or disagree with the overall vision of America or the American Dream that Obama
creates? Explain your answer.
Rick Santorum’s Speech at the Republican National Convention 2012
1. Complete a SOAPSTone analysis of this speech.
2. How does Santorum’s speech complicate, confirm, or challenge what you have learned about
the American Dream?
3. On what aspects of the American Dream would Obama and Santorum agree? On what aspects
would they disagree? Create a Venn diagram with at least five total entries to illustrate their
similarities and differences.
4. Santorum states, “The fact is that marriage is disappearing in places where government
dependency is highest.” What does he mean by this?
5. Which speech do you find more persuasive, Obama’s or Santorum’s, and why?