Category: american literature

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Sarah Orne Jewett’s Fairy Tale: “A White Heron”

In A Jury of Her Peers, Elaine Showalter comments that Sarah Orne Jewett’s “A White Heron” is “a fairy tale about a New England princess who refuses to be rescued from her isolation by the handsome prince” (192). Showalter’s description of Jewett’s story as “a fairy tale” caught my attention, and today I want to look at how we can read “A White Heron” … Read More Sarah Orne Jewett’s Fairy Tale: “A White Heron”

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William Dean Howells’ “Editha,” Richard Lovelace, and Shakespeare

Typically, critics read William Dean Howells’ “Editha” as a story that comments on our need to proclaim our national identities through patriotism and war and how that continual proclamation does more harm than good. Others read “Editha” through a feminist lens arguing that the focus of the story lies in the ways that Editha and Mrs. Gearson work to exert power over George. Today, … Read More William Dean Howells’ “Editha,” Richard Lovelace, and Shakespeare

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Collaborative Project for Literature Classroom

Last semester, I had students construct presentations of terms and historical events in my Early American Literature survey course. I have a posts on the assignment itself and on some of the projects that students created. This semester, I am tweaking that assignment in a couple of ways. Rather than having students present on specific terms and presenting during the last week of class, … Read More Collaborative Project for Literature Classroom

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Jackie Ormes’ “Patty-Jo ‘n’ Ginger” Part 2

Last post, I wrote about a couple of Jackie Ormes’ Patty-Jo ‘n’ Ginger one panel gags that appeared in the Pittsburgh Courier from the late 1940s through the mid-1950s. Over the next couple of posts, I want to take the time and explore a few more and how teachers can incorporate these images in the classroom along with texts by authors such as Gwendolyn … Read More Jackie Ormes’ “Patty-Jo ‘n’ Ginger” Part 2

Jackie Ormes’ “Patty-Jo ‘n’ Ginger” Part 1

Over her career, Jackie Ormes produced four comics for newspapers such as the Pittsburgh Courier and the Chicago Defender. Continually hitting up the journalistic glass ceiling in the early to mid-1900s, Ormes, along with her newspaper pieces on fashion, sports, and other topics, penned comics that tackled the political issues facing African Americans, and specifically African American women, during the period: Torchy Brown (1930s), … Read More Jackie Ormes’ “Patty-Jo ‘n’ Ginger” Part 1