American Literature 246                                 Name:_________________

 

 

Writing Assignment #2—Web-Based—20 points

 

Due: The beginning of class, Thursday, October 5, 2006.

 

Henry Adams

 

The Dynamo and the Virgin (pp. 543-552)

 

(For an on-line version, please click here)

 

Henry Adams’ essay The Dynamo and the Virgin chronicles his discovery at the 1900 Paris World’s Fair.

 

ü      First, quickly read Adams’ The Dynamo and the Virgin for general content.  Skip sentences and sections that seem tedious; ignore Adams’ references to people with whom you are unfamiliar.  Read only to get a general sense of Adams’ discovery about a looming shift in history.

 

ü      Next, answer this question:  Adams begins the second paragraph by claiming, “Nothing in education is so astonishing as the amount of ignorance it accumulates in the form of inert facts.”

 

o       Find and write a clear definition of inert facts.  Then, briefly explain how the educational experience (school) encourages students to accumulate “inert facts.”

 

ü      Then wrestle with the following:

 

o       First, find out what a dynamo is? 

 

o       Then consider this:  In the third paragraph, as Adams absorbs the historical significance of the great hall of dynamos, he writes, “To Adams [Adams refers to himself in the third person] the dynamo became a symbol of infinity. As he grew accustomed to the great gallery of machines, he began to feel the forty-foot dynamos as a moral force, much as the early Christians felt the Cross.”

 

o       After considering this, write a short explanation of what Adams sees as the difference between the Virgin and the Dynamo.  Use the following questions to write your explanation:

 

§         According the Adams, what did the Virgin represent to humankind?

 

§         According to Adams, what will the Dynamo represent to humankind in the future?

 

§         How are these two forces (the Virgin and the Dynamo) different and what might that difference mean for the future of humanity?

 

 

Note: Please remember that since this is a ‘W’ course, the quality of your writing will in part determine the points you earn.  Please turn in a thoughtful, edited draft.