You will write two essays total. Each essay should be approximately 3 pages long, double-spaced, with a standard font and margins. You will be graded on how well you use specific evidence to address the prompt as well as your originality and creativity. Your essays should be clearly written and free of any spelling or grammar mistakes.
Number your pages. Staple your two essays together and turn them in during class on
Choose one prompt from each section.
Section one:
1. Write an essay comparing and contrasting attitudes about gender in the colonial era with those of the industrial era. Use the Salem Witch Trials, The Jungle, and the experiences of Progressive era activists for your examples. How are attitudes about maleness and femaleness different in the two eras? How are they similar? Ultimately, which is more significant: the similarities or differences?
2. How did the nature of work in American life change from the colonial era (1600-1700s) into the industrial era (1800-1900s)? How did workers respond to these changes? Use examples from class lectures, Sexual Revolution in Early America, and The Jungle to illustrate your points.
Section two:
1. Write an essay describing and analyzing the impact of industrial labor on Jurgis's family in The Jungle.
2. What are the three most significant obstacles Jurgis faces in his efforts to achieve the American Dream in The Jungle? How successfully does he deal with these obstacles? Of these three, which is the most significant, and why?