Choose ONE of the following prompts and write a well-organized essay. Prompt 1:

In “Young Goodman Brown,” Hawthorne reveals what he sees as the corruptibility that

results from Puritan society’s emphasis on public morality, which often weakens private

religious faith. Although Goodman Brown has decided to come into the forest and meet

with the devil, he still hides when he sees Goody Cloyse and hears the minister and

Deacon Gookin. He seems more concerned with how his faith appears to other people

than with the fact that he has decided to meet with the devil.

In a short essay (700-800 words), discuss the theme of inherent corruptibility and the

weakness of public morality. Use adequate and sufficient details from the story.

Prompt 2:

Dee in “Everyday Use” is angered by what she views as a history of oppression in her

family, so she constructs a new heritage for herself and rejects her real heritage. She fails

to see the family legacy of her given name and takes on a new name, Wangero, which she

believes more accurately represents her African heritage. However, the new name, like

the “African” clothes and jewelry she wears to make a statement, is meaningless. She has

little true understanding of Africa, so what she considers her true heritage is actually

empty and false. Her mother, on the other hand, has a very different view of what

heritage is. She believes that the objects she inherited from her family, such as the quilt, are

infused with the presence of the people who made and used them. That’s why the mother

understands that Maggie, not Dee, should have the quilts, because Maggie will respect

them by using them in the way they were intended to be used.

In a short essay (700-800 words), discuss the theme of heritage (African-American), with

more details and examples, as represented by Dee, her mother and sister.