Summary
Summary Overview of American Literature
- Course
- Institution
Overview and summaries of other texts from the OCR English Literature A level comparative and contextual exam - American Lit
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
elliewatkins
Content preview
American Lit comparative and contextual other textsHenry James: The Portrait of a Lady
Written: 1881
Main themes: female independence, money, morality, the danger of wealth
Summary: A spirited young American woman, Isabel Archer, who, is "affronting her destiny,"
finds it overwhelming. She inherits a large amount of money and subsequently becomes the
victim of Machiavellian scheming by two American expatriates.
Key points: Grandmother is kind and teaches scriptures and God.
Mark Twain: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Written: 1884
Main themes: freedom, civilisation, and prejudice
Summary: a barely literate teen who fakes his own death to escape his abusive, drunken father.
He encounters a runaway slave named Jim, and the two embark on a raft journey down the
Mississippi River.
Key points: huck helps a runaway slave, breaking racial divisions.
Theodore Dreiser: Sister Carrie
Written: 1900
Main themes: women, femininity, class, morality
Summary: a young woman who moves to the big city where she starts realizing her own
American Dream. She first becomes a mistress to men whom she perceives as superior, but later
becomes a famous actress.
Key points: Carrie symbolises burgeoning American consumer culture, money represents power,
censored for immorality until 1912 – treatment of sex and materialism.
Willa Cather: My Ántonia
Written: 1918
Main themes: immigration, friendship, innocence, and maturity
Summary: an orphaned boy from Virginia, Jim Burden, and the elder daughter in a family of
Bohemian immigrants, Ántonia Shimerda, are each brought as children to be pioneers in
Nebraska towards the end of the 19th century.
Key points: Prairie represents new life and fear of creating new life, Antonia is representative of
the Nebraska countryside beauty.
Edith Wharton: The Age of Innocence
Written: 1920
Main themes: innocence, experience, marriage, society
Summary: an upper-class couple's impending marriage, and the introduction of the bride's
cousin, plagued by scandal, whose presence threatens their happiness.
Key points: title signifies the insistence of society to be innocent and pure, the depiction of
marriage is flawed, wants to avoid scandal.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller elliewatkins. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $10.06. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
81849 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now