Introduction: American Literature 1865-1914, 1-17
William Dean Howells (314-6), "Editha," 316-23
Study Questions:
DIRECTIONS: Throughout
our term, I will assign you study questions. These questions are due
at the beginning of class and must be typed with a proper header. You
must be prepared to hand these in at the beginning of class. In
other words, answers handwritten during class will not be accepted.
Unless I state otherwise, your answers should be about a paragraph
long. When dealing with primary texts, you should quote directly from
the text using MLA standards. Our discussions in class will stem from
your answers to these questions. See the "paraburger" model on the "How to Write a Successful Paper" link before crafting your answers.
1. As I stated in our first class, realism developed in part as a reaction to the romanticism of an earlier generation of writers. How does Howells portray Editha as a romantic figure and thus mistaken? What words or phrases signal to us that she is romantic?
2. What connections does Howells draw between literary romanticism and yellow journalism, and how does he offer his own version of literary realism as an alternative to both?
