Your first essay for this class is a personal reflection on the four writers you

Your first essay for this class is a personal reflection on the four writers you’ve read in this Module: Hector St. Jean de Crevecoeur, Gloria Anzaldua, Langston Hughes, and Leslie Marmon Silko. These writers represent contributors to an ongoing, unresolved, and often conflictual conversation: what does it mean to be an American?
The fact that we are still asking this question after nearly 250 years of legal existence as a government should not be taken as a weakness. When you create a nation through debate and discussion, you make them part of your legacy and inheritance–and words part of your identity.
For this essay, consider yourself an explorer and participant in this question. You will be asked to provide a paragraph from each of the works you’ve read as you assemble your responses. This is a cardinal skill of literary study and is part of every writing assignment. But consider this first paper as an opportunity to find your own answers, not to provide correct answers about any individual author.
So here is an outline of questions to help you organize your writing:
First section (1 or 2 well developed paragraphs); Through what issue or media do you see American identity being debated and discussed today? It could be that you’re paying attention to a recent political crisis like migrants housed in New York City, which is making us all newly aware of non-Americans, undocumented people’s roles. It could be through politics and media you follow, or through your own family stories; or through your favorite movie or social media. Perhaps you haven’t followed or engaged at all. If o, feel free to write about that, and the reasons why you may avoid this. (Isn’t it terrible that a question this basic can get so toxic that you may want to even take it up?)
Second section (4 well developed paragraphs): What writers spoke to your own interest or emphasis on being American? Choose two authors who spoke to you and addressed some ideas and preferences you have in this conversation. Tell us what each writer said, and why you think he/she said it. Tell us what you gained from what she/he said. For each author, this may take two paragraphs; one paragraph to explain your choice and summarize what he or she is trying to say; one paragraph to quote from the author and comment specifically on the quotation. We’ll work on MLA citation methods in a future assignment but remember to provide quotation marks and page numbers, if provided in the source, as if you are writing an MLA paper.
Third section (2 paragraphs at least): What writer challenged your perceptions of American identity or your priorities as an American? Choose at least one author whose ideas were different or even objectionable to you. Again, take two paragraphs to explain your choice and to tell us what they said and what you found different from your own viewpoint.
Fourth section (1 paragraph: What writer would you tell people in your circle to read to figure things out? For this section, you may choose one author from those we have read but if you have another book that has helped you understand questions of belonging and identity, you can include that too.
Fifth and last section (2 paragraphs): Do you feel better or worse now? To be serious, did the exercise of sampling the various “takes” on American identity and seeing how different they are from each other make you feel that we will never resolve this question or did you feel that the diversity of concepts make you feel that this whole question has been a work in progress and maybe will remain so? Whatever your conclusion, explain what you realize you have to learn more about if you wanted to explore this issue further.
Your reflection essay should include at least 3 of the 4 authors. Use double-spacing throughout, and make sure you use quotations where indicated. Your essay should be 4 to 5 pages. If you go over, that’s fine.