V. Essay

1. American romanticism begins with Rip Van Winkle. How does a short story that is based on borrowed ideas come to be one of the most widely read and loved pieces of American literature?

2. Thoreau makes it very clear at the opening of Walden that his stay in the wilderness was not a lifestyle choice but rather a temporary experiment, and that “At present I am a sojourner in civilized life again.” Does the short duration of Thoreau’s stay at Walden undercut the importance of his project?

3. Discuss the themes we constantly find in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s works. (p. 170)