Kelis Hines

1032860.01
12th Grade

American Literature Second Quarter Test

Part I: Short Answers
1. In “The Song of Hiawatha” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the Native Americans
welcome the priests by saying, “It is well, O brothers, that you come so far to see us!”
They also seated the priests on skins of bison and ermine and brought them food in bowls
of basswood.
2. In “The Chambered Nautilus” by Oliver Wendall Holmes, the nautilus works extremely
hard to continue growing and expanding his shell so that his home will be comfortable
and complete. Holmes relates the nautilus’s journey to a man’s journey for salvation. He
says that one must be constantly learning from what is around him and in order to
become better, he must forsake those sins of the past.
3. In “The Vision of Sir Launfal”, the Knight’s greeting of the leper in part II shows the
change of his attitude toward his fellow man. This shows that the Knight is no longer
repulsive toward the leper because he looks at that as if it was like Christ’s suffering. The
Knight’s words show the Christian attitude towards the suffering of Christ, being perfect
that the imperfect man’s sufferings are shared with Him.
4. In “The Convert”, by Orestes A. Brownson, Brownson converted to Catholicism because
he believes the Catholic Church to be the church of God. He also converted to
Catholicism because he believes the Church is the medium through which God dispenses
His grace to man, and that through which alone we can hope for heaven.
5. Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” ends with, “And my soul from out that shadow that lies
floating on the floor/ Shall be lifted-nevermore!” The lines expresses despair because the
man has been denied of any peace or hope by the raven. The man will be constantly
reminded of seeing or being with Lenore again.
6. The name of Bishop John England’s publication is the United States Catholic Miscellany.
This publication was important because it was the only Catholic paper between Main and
Florida and the Atlantic and the Pacific.
7. “A Noiseless, Patient Spider” reflects Walt Whitman’s uncertainly about man’s destiny
because it talks about a spider who puts all his work into his web without ceasing, not
knowing when his hard work will be done. This can compare to man’s destiny because a
man (or woman) is a hard-worker and doesn’t know how long it will take until they’re
finally satisfied and comfortable.
8. Sidney Lanier showed that poetry and music have something in common. Both appeal to
the ear and to what he calls the universal sense of rhythm. Lanier believed that love was
the sole hope of healing for the spiritual ills of this world.
9. Two Christian ideas of Sidney Lanier in “A Ballad of Trees and the Master”, were that
the trees were like angels aiding Christ and supporting Him on the cross; also that Lanier
 showed that Christ suffered just like he was suffering with his sickness. He shared his
suffering with Christ.
10. In Father John Bannister Tabb’s poem, “Father Damien”, it talks about the priest that was
a leper. A leper is usually looked upon as unclean, but Father Damien, being a priest, was
pure and had a good spirit. In “The Assumption”, the message is that Heaven wasn’t
Christ’s home if Mary wasn’t there with Him.
11. In “Tennessee’s Partner”, Tennessee’s partner shows love for his friend Tennessee. When
Tennessee runs off with his friend’s wife and then comes shortly after losing her,
Tennessee’s partner does not have any hatred towards Tennessee. Another way is when
Tennessee gets hung for committing crimes, his friend takes him down from the tree and
then buries him, he does not want any help.
12. At the end of “Jean-ah Poquelin”, the reader learns that Jean let people slander and scorn
him all because he was protecting his little brother who has leprosy. The reader sees an
example of how the townspeople treated his brother when they told the official that, “He
is a witch”, and used that as a reason for him being so stubborn.
13. Br’er Rabbit tricked Br’er fox after he was caught by telling the fox that he could do
anything to him except throw him in the briar patch. He pretends that he’s afraid of the
briar patch because he knows the fox will throw him there, the fox will do anything to
hurt him. Br’er Rabbit is not afraid of the briar patch because he was born and raised
there, that is also the best navigating place.
14. Mamzelle is sobbing at the end of “Regret” by Kate Chopin because she misses the
sounds of the neighbor’s joyful children who she had been watching. She wishes she had
children to take care of and regrets that she never married.
Part II: Essay Questions
1. In “I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed”, by Emily Dickson, Dickinson shares her loved of
nature with the readers. She compares shares how she feels when she’s around nature to
the feeling someone feels when they’re drunk. She says, “When butterflies must renounce
their dreams, / I shall but drink more!” In “He Ate and Drank the Precious Words,” she
tells about a man who was poor and had a frame that was dust. She writes about how the
man was able to get away from his problems by absorbing himself in a book. She shows
how reading gives freedom and allows a person to escape bad situations. In “I Never Saw
a Moor”, Emily Dickinson gives her reasons on why she finds it easy to believe in God.
She compares the knowledge of the ocean although she never saw the sea to the certainty
in Heaven and in God. She says, “I never saw the sea… yet I know… what a wave must
be.
2. Edgar Allen Poe’s goal in peace he wrote was to create a single powerful impression in
the reader, frequently one of horror. In “The Masque of the Reader Death”, Poe uses
creative language and suspense. One example of how Poe used language to add more to
the reader’s sense of horror is at the start of “The Masque of the Red Death”. Poe talks
about the Red Death, describing, “No pestilence had ever been so fatal or so hideous.” He
compares the Death to the most horrid diseases and lets the readers know that this doesn’t
even scratch the surface of the horror the Death causes. Poe starts his story off by giving
us an idea on what to expect, fear and more horror.
In “The Raven”, by Edgar Allen Poe, the author introduces horror to his readers through
this story. He describes the setting of the story as a “midnight dreary” and that it was a
“bleak December” night with “each separate dying ember” casting “its ghost upon the
floor”. Poe reminds the reader of the darkness, which was surrounding everything, also of
the “stillness” of the night which the slightest sound would always disrupt.
In “The Masque of the Red Death”, Edgar Allen Poe uses different techniques to create
an idea of horror in his reader. The character in this story is Red Death, Poe created this
character to inspire fear. Poe gives a description of the Red Death by saying that he is
“fatal” and “hideous” than any disease. He then describes the fate of the victims of the
Red Death. He says they are left with “scarlet stains upon the body” and how he makes
them to be so distasteful, that they’re spared from “the aid and from the sympathy of his
fellowmen.” Then, for a short time, Poe stops writing about the Red Death until midnight
when the Red Death walks among the people that were at an elaborate masquerade. He
puts fear into the happy people, and the story ends with the Red Death killing them all.
Poe ends the story saying “And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable
dominion over all.”