Welcome to American Literature! I look forward to exploring several exciting pieces of literature with you this semester, looking especially at the American dream and its changing definition of prosperity. Some of the key questions we will consider this semester are:

Dreams

• What does the “American dream” mean to the people of each period?
• How is a goal accomplished or derailed?
• Personal Question: What is your “American/ Dominican dream?”

Prosperity

• How is prosperity defined? In terms of material prosperity or spiritual prosperity?
• How does one’s view of prosperity affect his lifestyle and choices?
• How does God define prosperity? (Is there a difference between God’s economy and man’s economy?)

Worldview

• Who is God?
• Who is man?
• What is the nature of the universe?
• What happens at death?
• What is the meaning of human history?
• What is knowledge?
• What is morality?

Story

• Why read and write stories?
• How does the structure of a story impact its message?
• What does the author want the reader to understand (theme)?
• What can a Christian take away from a non-Christian piece of literature?

Literature

• Assorted poetry, short stories, and non-fiction
• The Crucible by Arthur Miller
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry