Develop a composition discussing one of the topics listed for this period. Compose and format your work in MS Word, then copy and paste it under the topic you have chosen; after pasting, confirm that your formatting has been maintained. 1 A Peak Experience (Use this as your title.) Abraham Maslow wrote a book called Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences. A peak experience is much like a religious experience but its emphasis is psychological and it includes morethe emotional high of achieving a difficult goal, winning a difficult competition, playing music, climbing a mountain, making a discovery, and many more. Explain the nature of Sylvies peak experience in A White Heron. 2 Ironic Deception (Use this as your title.) Explain the irony of deception in The Passing of Grandison. 3 Another Side of Slavery (Use this as your title.) The relation Grandison had with his owner evidently occurred occasionally: slaves worked their way into a friendly, cooperative position with an owner. Grandison eventually took advantage of the freedom his owner granted. However, some well-treated slaves may have chosen not to escape. What advantages would such a relationship provide? 4 The Environmental Component of Naturalism (Use this as your title.) A choice of a certain kind of environment (the ocean) in a particular situation (a lifeboat after a ship sinking) creates an ideal environmental setting for a realist writer. Explain this with reference to Stephen Cranes The Open Boat. 5 The Economic Component of Realism (Use this as your title.) In Under the Lions Paw, how does economics steer Garlands story in the direction of realism or naturalism? 6 Symbolic Wallpaper (Use this as your title.) Explain the various symbolic meanings for the yellow wallpaper in Gilmans story. 7 Chopins Moral Challenge (Use this as your title.) How would The Storm (or any other Chopin story) account for the severe loss of readers Kate Chopin experienced in the late 1890s? 8 Deterministic Situations (Use this as your title.) Literary naturalism treats character as determined (that is, entirely controlled) by non-rational forcesthe familial, social, economic, or natural environment. This means a character is not free to make choices. Outside forces control these choices. The choice of a particular physical environment determines the kind of story a writer will produceromantic, realistic, naturalistic. Show how To Build a Fire or The Law of Life provides a model of naturalistic philosophy. 9 Roman Fever as Symbol (Use this as your title.) Edith Whartons use of Roman Fever is the second time it has come up in this course; the first one was in Henry James Daisy Miller where it was a literal sickness. But the term takes on symbolic overtones in Edith Whartons story. Explain its meanings. 10 The Surprise Ending (Use this as your title.) Truths of a certain kind are often hidden for a very long time, or forever. In Roman Fever, why does Mrs. Ansley reveal the truth now, so many years later?
