A2 A3 - LITERATURA ESTADUNIDENSE - EAD Veiga de Almeida UVA

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1: ​In ​Song of Myself​, Walt Whitman resorts to the simple and democratic style that made him famous. Check the 
excerpt below:​I celebrate myself, and sing myself,And what I assume you shall assume,For every atom belonging 
to me as good belongs to you ​(1856, n/d). 
This poem can be classified as: 
● a) Romantic, due to its observed focus on individualism. 
● b) Puritan, due to its strict representation of discipline values. 
● c) Postmodernist, due to its innovative structure and theme. 
● d) Realist, due to its portray of the poet's social condition. 
● e) Naturalist, due to its animalized approach to humans. 
 
Justificativa:​ Romantic, due to its observed focus on individualism. The excerpt celebrates the self and the 
author's personas, placing a focus on subjectivity and individualism, both characteristics of Romanticism. 
 
2: ​Chicano Literature thematizes identity issues of the Mexican people, including protests against exploitation and 
adaptation issues, similar to those approached by other immigrant literatures. The following excerpt, taken from the 
autobiographical novel The Distance Between Us (2012), illustrates that: 
In 1980, when I was four years old, I didn’t know yet where the United States was or why everyone in my hometown 
of Iguala, Guerrero, referred to it as El Otro Lado, the Other Side.What I knew back then was that El Otro Lado had 
already taken my father away.What I knew was that prayers didn’t work, because if they did, El Otro Lado wouldn’t 
be taking my mother away, too (GRANDE, 2012, a/d). 
Criticize the author's use of code-switching (English/Spanish) in the excerpt, considering the literary principles of 
Chicano Literature. 
● a) Spanish is used to embellish the text and it is not directly connected to its narrative and/or thematic 
construction. 
● b) Spanish enables the author to approach Mexican readers as learners of a second language that need to 
be helped. 
● c) Spanish use refers to the author's lack of fluency in the English language, which demands native 
language inserts. 
● d) Spanish invokes a particular emotional setting, introducing a Mexican bicultural metaphor for the 
"American dream." 
● e) Spanish is used as a commercial strategy to approximate Mexican readers and discourage American 
audiences. 
 
Justificativa:​ Correct answer:Spanish invokes a particular emotional setting, introducing a Mexican bicultural 
metaphor for the "American dream". Correct: the use of El Otro Lado, coupled with its translation, invokes the 
emotions involved in being a child and hearing about the U.S. as a mysterious place and helps readers from other 
nationalities to understand how this country was interpreted from a Mexican perspective. 
 
3: ​Amy Tan is one of the most famous Chinese American authors. In her first novel, The Joy Luck Club (1989), a 
first generation character talks about her version of the American dream. Lindo Jong discusses adaptation problems 
while questioning gender and family issues:I wanted my children to have the best combination: American 
circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things do not mix?I taught her how American 
circumstances work. If you are born poor here, it's no lasting shame. You are first in line for a scholarship. If the roof 
crashes on your head, no need to cry over this bad luck. You can sue anybody, make the landlord fix it. You do not 
have to sit like a Buddha under a tree letting pigeons drop their dirty business on your head. You can buy an 
umbrella. Or go inside a Catholic church. In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody 
else gives you.She learned these things, but I couldn't teach her about Chinese character. How to obey parents and 
listen to your mother's mind. How not to show your own thoughts... (TAN, 1989, p. 289).Can you use this excerpt in 
your English class as a means of discussing migrancy issues? 
● a) Yes, it is a relevant issue and may be a part of students' lives. 
● b) Yes, but only if my students present generational clash issues. 
● c) No, because migrancy is not directly discussed in this excerpt. 
● d) Yes, but only if I have some Chinese students in my classroom. 
● e) No, because migrancy issues are distant from Brazilian realities. 
 
Justificativa:​ Correct answer:Yes, it is a relevant issue and may be a part of students' lives. Migrancy affects the 
Brazilian reality in many different ways, considering the internal migratory movements existing in our country that 
may separate families and originate various levels of success expectations among family generations, as well as 
prejudice and invisibilization. Therefore, it is a relevant issue and some students share experiences that identify with 
this topic. 
 
4: ​Within the classical periodization of North-American Literature, many authors work with their characters' inner 
worlds. However, their objectives are very different. As an exponent of Psychological Realism, Charlotte Perkins 
Gilman wrote The Yellow Wallpaper (1952), depicting the life of a middle-class woman suffering from some form of 
mental distress after giving birth. Considering the realistic perspective of the cited author, one can affirm that her 
goal in writing this story was: 
● a) To reconstruct poetic and honoring feelings of motherhood. 
● b) To create an imaginary world to which the reader could escape. 
● c) To expose the connection of women to nature as a sacred characteristic. 
● d) To explain the importance of following the principles of rational life. 
● e) To critically expose the reality in which the women of the time lived. 
 
Justificativa:​ Correct answer:To critically expose the reality in which the women of the time lived. As any 
representative of the realist movement, Charlotte Perkins Gilman used the psychological approach to expose the 
level of suffering and the many constraints under which women had to live in the 50s. 
 
5: ​In classical North-American Literature, the realist movement abandons grandiose and transcendent themes, 
while trying to accurately represent the everyday lives of common citizens. In doing so, they criticized the 
idealization present in Romantic texts. Therefore, mark the alternative that correctly shows how the realists 
approached the mission referenced. 
● a) They included the voices of minority groups, influenced by the Civil Rights movement. 
● b) They welcomed subjectivity, bringing each character’s inner world to the fore. 
● c) They portrayed the lives of an insurgent middle class in order to promote social change. 
● d) They were extremely experimental, developing the stream of consciousness technique. 
● e) They described the providential plan that was at work during their characters' journeys. 
 
Justificativa:​ Correct answer:They portrayed the lives of an insurgent middle class in order to promote social 
change. Realists were the first to include characters representing U.S. middle classes, since the industrialization 
process had led to a higher awareness of social stratification. They also meant to uncover the true conditions under 
which U.S. citizens were living as a means of fostering social justice. 
 
6: ​While studying the classical periods of North-American Literature, we can see how mainstream texts resignify the 
image of America as a nation where any man can achieve their goals as long as they work hard and persevere 
since opportunities abound. This image is also known as the "American dream", influencing many foreigners who 
choose to immigrate to the U.S. in search for better living conditions.Based on the foregoing, it may be stated that 
the "American dream" can be summarized as follows: 
● a) Adaptation, dislocation and identity. 
● b) Self-respect, self-reliance and nature. 
● c) Escapism, subjectivity and imagination. 
● d) The quest for literacy and freedom. 
● e) Freedom, individuality and innovation. 
 
Justificativa:​ Correct answer:Freedom, individuality and innovation.These three values represent aspects of the 
"American dream" that permeate the classical approach to U.S. Literature. From a white, high/middle class 
standpoint, Americans are free to choose whatever they want to pursue as individuals and individuality overcomes 
any communal sense of belonging. Innovation is understood as an American trait that leads to success. 
 
 
 
 
7: ​Postmodernism was a broad philosophical movement that influenced arts, architecture, linguistics, education, 
and criticism. It introduced relativism: every piece of human work is constrained by social, cultural, economic, 
ethical, and psychological contexts; therefore, final analyses, proposing “the truth”, become impossible. It also 
considered historical constraints and developments: no work of art can be new.Because of this, describe three 
characteristics of postmodernism that have affected American literature. 
Expected answer: 
- Postmodernist views led to a higher sense of responsibility towards the U.S. foreign policy strategies – the 
country’s impacts in the world, opening the path to critical, satirical, and politically-motivated works. 
 
- After 1945, the Civil Rights Movement, culminating with the Civil Rights Act (1964), influenced the inclusion of 
minority group authors (such as African Americans, Latinos, and the LGBTQIA+ population), leading to an increase 
in diversity when it came to canon representation. 
 
- Postmodernist views led to deep experimentation with style, structure, and themes that were not considered by 
authors of previous periods. 
 
- Postmodernist theories welcomed a revision of the classical North-American canon that led to the study of a 
specific periodization for minority literature such as African American Literature.- Postmodernist relativism opened 
the path for many minority writers to become recognized by prestigious literary awards and publishing houses. 
 
 
8: ​The Color Purple (1982), by Alice Walker, is a novel composed exclusively by letters — an epistolary novel. It 
brings the quest for freedom and literacy to a contemporary context in the story of Celie, a gravely abused Black 
girl, who, by the age of 14, has already been raped and pregnant more than once. Read the following excerpt: 
DEAR GOD,He act like he can’t stand me no more. Say I’m evil an always up to no good. He took my other little 
baby, a boy this time.But I don’t think he kilt it. I think he sold it to a man an his wife over Monticello. I got breasts 
full of milk running down myself. He say Why don’t you look decent? Put on something. But what I’m sposed to put 
on? I don’t have nothing.I keep hoping he fine somebody to marry. I see him looking at my little sister. She scared. 
But I say I’ll take care of you.With God help (WALKER, 1982, p.10). 
Create a high-school English teaching activity based on The Color Purple, considering its literary and 
linguistic/stylistic analysis. Use the pre-reading, reading and post-reading format. 
Expected answer:​ ​Students are expected to use the provided excerpt in the construction of activity following the 
pre-reading, reading, and post-reading format. The activity should consider aspects of the African-American 
contemporary production in Literature, the quest for freedom and literacy, and linguistic/stylistic items available in 
the poem, as presented below: 
 
Pre-reading: Teachers present students an audiovisual newsflash, simple in vocabulary, introducing the topic of 
domestic violence. If possible, it should include statistic on the most affected social groups according to age, 
ethnicity, and family income. After helping with vocabulary issues, teachers promote a debate on the topic, around 
the question: “How can being abused affect a person’s destiny?” 
Reading: Teachers present the excerpt from ​The Color Purple​. They ask students to identify non-standard 
vocabulary and syntax constructions, as well as their standard counterparts. After that, they introduce the notion of 
an African-American Vernacular English and its importance. The class discusses the main character’s position and 
the effects of being subjected to this kind of violence around the question: “Even if she is not a slave, how can the 
Black population past still be affecting her access to literacy and freedom?” 
Post-reading: Teachers ask students to reflect and share their thoughts on how this theme applies to Brazilian 
reality. After that, the class searches online, in groups, for support projects and initiatives in Brazil. As a follow-up 
activity, they can organize a school campaign against domestic violence and racism.