American Lit Before 1875

Discussion Question #1

Which one of these two African American authors, Frederick Douglass, in Narrative of the Life, or Harriet Jacobs, in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, most clearly, most definitively, most movingly portrays the experience of a former slave? It is up to you to decide, so please defend your answer well.

Discussion Question #2

The poetry of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman has been described as being emotionally opposite to each other. Dickinson’s poetry seems at times colder and more ciritical; whereas Whitman’s poetry conversely seems warm and expansive. First of all, do you agree? If so, then, develop for me a case that one of them or both are representative of American literature. Make your case and defend it.