The last section of the course focuses both on the intersection of the personal and the political, and, particularly with respect to the authors we read this week, on the formation of American identity. For Monday, consider how the personal and political intersect around American identity in the work of one or more of the following authors: Herman Melville, Benjamin Franklin, J. Hector St. John De Crevecoeur, and Thomas Paine.

Consider the impact of Emerson's notion of "self-reliance" upon personal relationships.

If Emerson advocates self-reliance, what kind of relationship to the self does Thoreau encourage? Give that relationship a name and explain why it fits.

Examine the relationship between "I" and "you" in Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself."

Consider the question of audience with respect to Emily Dickinson. Who was she writing for? And why? (Here it would be wise not just to rely on the biographical data, but to think about this in terms of the specific poems you read.)