How does Washington Irving use vocabulary terms to dramatize the legend of Tom Walker?

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5. " The Devil and Tom Walker " is the story of Tom Walker, who is tempted by the Devil, who goes by the name of Old Scratch. The story has been compared to the Faust tales by various famous authors. Take a look at these questions for study and discussion.

What is important about the title?

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What are the conflicts in " The Devil and Tom Walker "? What types of conflict (physical, moral, intellectual, or emotional) do you see?

The type of conflict	Your proves
physical
moral
intellectual
emotional

How does Irving reveal character in " The Devil and Tom Walker "?

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Who was Faust (in literary history)? How could Tom Walker be said to have made a Faustian bargain?

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What are some themes in the story? How do they relate to the plot and characters?

Theme	Connection with the plot and characters

 

Is Tom Walker consistent in his actions? Is he a fully developed character? How? Why?

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Do you find the characters likable? Are the characters persons you would want to meet?

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Discuss some of the symbols in " The Devil and Tom Walker ":

 

Symbol	Meaning	Context (sentence from the text)

 

Does the story end the way you expected? How? Why?

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What is the central/primary purpose of the story? Is the purpose important or meaningful?

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How essential is the setting to the story? Could the story have taken place anywhere else?

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What supernatural or surprising events are employed by Washington Irving? Are these happenings believable?

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7. Summarize W. Irving’s merits as a writer:

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James Fennimore Cooper

1. Fill in the table concerning the periods of literary career of J.F. Cooper:

Period	Literary works	Genres
The 1^st period (1820-1826)
The 2^nd period (1826-1834)
The 3^rd period (1834-1851)

2. The Last of the Mohicans is one of the most famous American novels by James Fenimore Cooper. The book has been controversial (and widely criticized) for a Romanticized view of the Native-American experience. This work of historical fiction is often recognized as representative of Colonial Realism. Read J.F. Cooper’s “ The Last of the Mohicans ” and fulfill the suggested tasks.

 

† General understanding

 

What is important about the title?

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What are the conflicts in The Last of the Mohicans? What types of conflict (physical, moral, intellectual, or emotional)?

Type of the conflict	Your proves

 

How does James Fenimore Cooper reveal character in The Last of the Mohicans?

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What are some themes in the story? How do they relate to the plot and characters?

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Is Hawkeye consistent in his actions? Is he a fully developed character? How? Why?

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Do you find the characters likable? Are the characters persons you would want to meet?

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Discuss some of the symbols in The Last of the Mohicans.

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Does the novel end the way you expected? How? Why?

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What is the central / primary purpose of the story? Is the purpose important or meaningful?

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How essential is the setting to the novel? Could the story have taken place anywhere else?

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What is the role of women in the novel?

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Why has the novel been so controversial?

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MODULE 6

ROMANTICISM

Nathaniel Hawthorne

 

† Read the following story, which encapsulates one of the themes of The Scarlet Letter by N. Hawthorne, and complete it in no more than three lines.

 

Shaun Horlock had reached the top. He had joined the company as a cleaner and now, twenty years on, he was Chief Executive Officer of what had become one of the world's leading multinationals. His success, however, had been paid for at a terrible price. When his main rival for the top job had died in a car crash a year earlier, his colleagues had mourned the loss of one of the company's rising stars. Nobody in their wildest dreams could have suspected that it was Shaun who had engineered the accident. Now, at the pinnacle of his career, his conscience demanded that he reveal what he had done, but he was afraid of the consequences that such a revelation would have on himself and on his family. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

† Nathaniel Hawthorne was descended directly from America's first Puritan settlers. In his work he examines the strict moral code that formed the cornerstone of Puritan life. In The Scarlet Letter, one of the first great American novels, the characters have lo come to terms with this code.

The Scarlet Letter

† The story. The novel is set in the Puritan world of 17^th-century Boston. Hester Prynne's husband disappears for two years and, in the meantime, she has an affair with a young and highly respected minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. She has a daughter by him called Pearl. For her sin of giving birth outside marriage she has to wear a scarlet letter 'A' on her breast. The letter identifies her as an adulteress and leaves her open to insult and derision as she walks around the town. Her husband returns incognito and settles in the town under the name of Richard Chillingworth, a physician. He only reveals his true identity to Hester as he tries to find out who her lover is. When he does, he hounds Dimmesdale day and night and subjects him to psychological torture. Dimmesdale cracks under the pressure and tries to make amends for his sin. Arthur and Hester plan to escape to Europe but Arlhui backs out at the last minute. He makes a public confession on the scaffold in the centre of the town, where he dies in Hester's arms.

 

† The characters:

· Hester Prynne;

· Arthur Dimmesdale, a young minister and Hester’s lover;

· Pearl, Hester and Arthur’s daughter;

· Richard Chillingworth, Hester’s husband.