1.Who was John Brown? What did he do to foment the Civil War? How did he die?
2. What puns does Melville make in "The Portent"?
3. How does "A Utilitarian View of the Monitor's Fight" characterize "modern" warfare? What is Utilitarianism?
"Bartleby the Scrivener"
1. What is the significance of "Bartleby the Scrivener's" setting being Wall Street in New York City? Where in Taipei might the story be set? Would this setting have the same "meaning" as in Melville's story?
2. One typical character in Melville's fiction has been called the "isolato," an alien, estranged character. Using the character of Bartleby as your source, try to build a description of an "isolato."
3. What characteristics of your description of Bartleby as "isolato" also apply to other characters in the story? (Work with each character separately.)
4. Compare Bartleby and Thoreau. Is your comparison flattering to Thoreau?
5. In what ways does Melville imply criticism of the narrator? Who or what does the narrator represent or symbolize?
6. How do you interpret the narrator's final words, "Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity!"
Civil War poems
