ENGL495 - Portfolio

THE POWER OF LITERATURE AND ITS EFFECT ON THE HUMAN CONDITION
By
Lynnsie McClellan
A Portfolio Submitted to the Faculty of the English Department, University of Maryland
University College, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of English
University of Maryland University College
Adelphi, Maryland
2015

McClellan 2
Table of Contents
Title Page 1
Table of Contents 2
Program Outcomes 4
List of English and Writing Courses 5
List of English Papers 6
Acknowledgements 8
Introduction 9
Summaries of Eight Papers 10
Brief Explanation 1 15
P1: “Covetousness in English Morality Plays” 16
P2: “Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun and Amiri Baraka’s Dutchman: Different
Character Development Techniques to Portray the Same Theme of Racial Inequality” 23
P3: “Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’: A Portrayal of How Cruelness Develops in Society” 33
Brief Explanation 4.1 38
P4.1: “Why the English Major is Still an Important Degree for Students to Pursue in the Modern
World” 39
Brief Explanation 4.2 45
P4.2: “Personal Goals: Higher Education and High School English Teacher” 46

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P5 Original Draft: “Lessons Modern Society Can Learn from Romantic and Victorian Era
Values Depicted in Dickens’ and Wordsworth’s Characters” 51
P5 Peer Review: “Lessons Modern Society Can Learn from Romantic and Victorian Era Values
Depicted in Dickens’ and Wordsworth’s Characters” 58
P5 Final Draft: “Lessons Modern Society Can Learn from Romantic and Victorian Era Values
Depicted in Dickens’ and Wordsworth’s Characters” 65
Appendix A: English Major Inventory 72

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Program Outcomes
P1: Identify and analyze student work applying critical theory to literary texts in order to reflect
on the interaction between the English major and the human condition
P2: Identify and analyze student work applying critical theory to literary texts that reflects
diversity and cultural competence to promote fair and inclusive interactions in the workplace and
the larger society
P3: Identify and analyze student work applying critical theory to literary texts that reflect upon
ethical leadership and strategic management decisions for profit and not-for-profit organizations
P4: Review previous research as well as access, research, and analyze information using current
technologies and library resources in order to reflect on the condition of the English major in
academia
P5: Create professional-caliber written communications to demonstrate collaboration,
communication, and editing skills conventions

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List of English and Writing Courses
AMU ENGL 101: Proficiency in Writing
UMUC WRTG 101: Introduction to Writing
UMUC ENGL 240: Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama
UMUC WRTG 293: Introduction to Professional Writing
UMUC ENGL 303: Critical Approaches to Literature
UMUC ENGL 310: Renaissance Literature
UMUC ENGL 311: 17th and 18th Century British Literature
UMUC ENGL 312: Romantic to Modern British Literature
UMUC ENGL 363: African American Authors from the Colonial Era to 1900
UMUC ENGL 364: African American Authors from 1900 to Present
UMUC WRTG 387: Theories and Methods of Teaching Writing
UMUC WRTG 394: Advanced Business Writing
UMUC ENGL 406: Seminar in Shakespeare Studies
UMUC ENGL 430: American Literature: Discovery to 1914
UMUC ENGL 495: Advanced Seminar in English Language, Literature, and Writing

McClellan 6
List of English Papers
“Antagonism and Hatred: The Real Theme for William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet”
“Contradictions in Robert Frost’s ‘Mending Wall’”
“Covetousness in English Morality Plays”
“Dryden’s Use of Emotions to Enhance Value and Understanding in ‘Alexander’s Feast’”
“England Society’s Oppression of Women: An Influence on Mary Leapor’s Poetry”
“Equiano and Douglass: Different Slavery Experiences Leading to a Central Theme of Family
Life and the Effects of its Loss”
“Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’: How Oppression can Cause a Mental Breakdown”
“Glaspell’s Use of Setting, Dialogue and Symbolization in Trifles to Portray the Oppression of
Women”
“Hurston’s and Johnson’s Varying Use of Characterization in ‘Lawing and Jawing’ and
‘Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man’ to Enhance Theme”
“James Weldon Johnson’s ‘Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man’: Relating the Tragic Mulatto
to the Tragic Hero Character”
“Jane Austen’s Portrayal of Women in Persuasion in relation to Nineteenth Century English
Laws and Traditional Gender Roles”
“Lessons Modern Society Can Learn from Romantic and Victorian Era Values Depicted in
Dickens’ and Wordsworth’s Characters”
“Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun and Amiri Baraka’s Dutchman: Different Character
Development Techniques to Portray the Same Theme of Racial Inequality”
“Marge Pierce’s ‘Barbie Doll’: A New Critical Approach Examining the Breaking of the
Traditional Female Gender Role”

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“Personal Goals: Higher Education and High School English Teacher”
“Personality Characteristics in Shakespeare’s Hamlet Still Prove True in Contemporary
Literature and Film”
“Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’: Portrayal of How Cruelness Develops in Society”
“The Importance of English Renaissance Literature”
“‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ and ‘The Story of an Hour’: A Feminist Criticism Examining the
Devastating Effects of Female Oppression”
“Valuable Lessons from Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and King Lear”
“Whitfield, Harper and Dunbar: Poems on African American Soldiers Fighting for Freedom and
Racial Equality in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars”
“Why the English Major is Still an Important Degree for Students to Pursue in the Modern
World”
“Women’s Struggles in Slavery”

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Acknowledgements
I would like to express my warmest gratitude to all those who helped me in the
completion of my English degree and those who became a big part of my college experience.
To all of my professors, for their guidance, encouragement, and constructive feedback,
motivating me to develop and become an effective English major student, and for their support
and words of wisdom guiding me in the right direction.
I especially want to thank Doctor Anthony Lee, who took extra time and care to mentor
me, and who brought out my best work by demanding the highest expectations. His guidance and
expertise greatly influenced my work, and made me a better analytical thinker, student, and
writer.
Grateful acknowledgement is expressed to my beloved parents, Mr. Charles L. Ewell and
Mrs. Jorja L. Ewell, for being my inspiration to always do my best in everything I do, and
standing by me through any decision I make; for their patience, love, and undying support; and
for their teachings and guidance which made me who I am today.
To my children, Kristian Ewell-Berry and Cameron McClellan, for giving me the
strength and courage to work hard at everything I do, inspiring me to keep reaching for my
dreams, and always brightening my day with their love and pride they show for me.
Special thanks to my husband, Mr. Christopher McClellan, who motivated me every day
by encouraging me to keep pushing forward when times were hard, and to never give up on my
goals and aspirations; for his patience, love, and undying support; and for always being there for
me when I needed him.

McClellan 9
Introduction
Literature is powerful. It has the ability to express opinions of unheard voices, convey
emotions and feelings through words, allow readers to escape to another world in their mind,
reach vast audiences to spread important messages, or simply provide enjoyment. All of these
have one element in common: the effect literature has on people. The following essays in this
portfolio examine different forms of literature, and writers’ varying uses of literary elements to
enhance a multitude of themes, including slavery, feminism, religion, and social status. All of
these reflect the program outcomes of relating English to the human condition, addressing
diversity and cultural competence, considering ethical decisions, understanding the condition of
the English major, and performing editing skills.

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Summaries of Eight Papers
P1.1: “Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’: How Oppression can Cause a Mental Breakdown.”
This paper explores Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s use of symbolism and first-person point
of view in her short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, to portray the mental breakdown of the
female protagonist, due to continued oppression. First, the essay explains how and why the
protagonist feels oppressed, due to her husband, as well as, her brother and the doctor, all
physicians and all males, continued belittling of her physical and mental state. Second, the paper
discusses Gilman’s use of first-person in her story, in order to relate the character to her own,
similar experiences. Third, the essay describes how the color and the design of the wallpaper
symbolizes the sickness the narrator feels, and how she is trapped in her oppression. Last, the
paper ends by explaining how the narrator eventually loses her sanity, but in the process, frees
herself from the oppression.
P1.2: “Covetousness in English Morality Plays.”
This paper discusses William Shakespeare’s and Christopher Marlowe’s creation of
morality plays in English Renaissance and Medieval times, like King Lear and Doctor Faustus,
to show how the sin of covetousness affects the characters. The paper begins by describing the
Christian belief in that era of Purgatory, and how the seven deadly sins, specifically
covetousness, led them there; explaining why writers created morality plays to appeal to the
Christian population in England. It then follows with a discussion of Shakespeare’s play, King
Lear, explaining how several of the evil characters felt covetous towards each other, ultimately
leading them to make horrible decisions, resulting in tragedy and death. Following this, the essay
continues with a description of Marlowe’s play, Doctor Faustus, specifically how three of the
characters displayed covetousness in various forms throughout the play. The paper ends by

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summarizing how Shakespeare and Marlowe created morality plays during Medieval England,
with covetous characters, which Christian English society could relate to.
P2.1: “‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ and ‘The Story of an Hour’: A Feminist Criticism Examining the
Devastating Effects of Female Oppression.”
This paper discusses Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”,
and Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour”, from a feminist perspective. It explains
how Gilman shows the dangerous effects from the oppression of women in the nineteenth
century. Men considered all women as weak, physically, mentally and emotionally; and
therefore, tried to stifle all creative thought and action by restricting their natural talents and
abilities, causing women to suffer immeasurably from confinement in their own minds and
bodies. The paper continues with a discussion of how Chopin shows devastation caused to
women through oppressive marriages in the nineteenth century. Her protagonist finally feels free
from the confinement of marriage, upon learning of her husband’s death, but dies quickly when
she realizes he is still alive. The overexcitement of obtaining her freedom, followed by the
sudden realization that she will remain trapped in her marriage, caused her heart to stop. The
essay finally compares and contrasts the two stories, concluding that while both husbands in each
story dearly loved their wives, the women still suffered from the oppression of their
independence and free will.
P2.2: “Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun and Amiri Baraka’s Dutchman: Different
Character Development Techniques to Portray the Same Theme of Racial Inequality.”
This paper compares and contrasts how Hansberry and Baraka portrayed racism in
America, through their use of protagonist characters, character representation and conclusions.
The paper begins by providing a summary of each play. Next, Baraka’s use of very few

McClellan 12
characters, with one clear protagonist, and one clear antagonist, is contrasted with Hansberry’s
use of two protagonist characters, and several important main characters, whose roles all depend
on one another to portray her vision. Following, the essay explains how Baraka’s protagonist
represents Adam from the Biblical story of the fall of man, while Hansberry created her main
characters to symbolize the entire poor African American race. In continuance, the conclusions
for the protagonists in each story are contrasted, by showing how Baraka’s character dies in the
end, and Hansberry’s characters, while not having a perfect ending, had a bright, hopeful future.
The paper finishes by stating that even though the Hansberry and Baraka used the literary
element of characters differently, they both successfully portrayed the struggle of African
Americans in society.
P3.1: “Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’: Portrayal of How Cruelness Develops in Society.”
This paper addresses how Jackson uses literary elements, such as setting, characters and
imagery, to show how cruel people can become when placed in violent situations. First, the paper
explains how Jackson makes the story feel more personal and realistic, by providing clues to hint
to the reader that it occurred in a recent time and familiar place. Second, it discusses Jackson’s
use of hypocritical characters, reflected by their names, attitudes and actions, and how this
emphasizes the impact of the unfortunate violence in the story. Third, the paper explores how the
ritual changed over time from one of spiritual necessity, to one of savage cruelty. Finally, the
paper concludes to summarize how Jackson portrays the realistic possibility of how cruel and
violent society can become.
P3.2: “Antagonism and Hatred: The Real Theme for William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.”
This paper explores how William Shakespeare uses literary elements to portray how the
themes of antagonism and hatred overpower the theme of love, and coincide with one another, in

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his drama Romeo and Juliet. The paper begins by explaining how Shakespeare revolves love and
hate around each other, by starting the play with scenes of hatred, including both in the same
sentence, and continually connecting them to each other throughout the play. It then goes on to
describe how Romeo and Juliet’s love is surrounded by hatred, from the time they meet, to the
time they both die. Next, the essay argues that the extreme act of Romeo and Juliet committing
suicide is, on the surface, an act of extreme love, since they realize they cannot be with one
another; but that Shakespeare’s real intention was to show how the overpowering hatred of the
families caused teenagers to kill themselves, rather than allow them to be happy together. In
conclusion, the paper ends with a summary of how Shakespeare did not create a play about
young love, rather he wrote a play about how hatred and antagonism ruins the possibility of love.
P5.1: “Lessons Modern Society Can Learn from Romantic and Victorian Era Values Depicted in
Dickens’ and Wordsworth’s Characters.”
This paper discusses how Charles Dickens and William Wordsworth portrayed Victorian
and Romantic era values in their literature, specifically Dickens’ novel, Great Expectations, and
Wordsworth’s poem “The World is too much with us”. It explores how these values are
displayed in the protagonist characters, and how they can help modern society with the
technological, secular and materialistic world they live in. First, Wordsworth’s poem, “The
World is too much with us”, is discussed by addressing how the words from the speaker in the
poem could serve as advice for the modern world; encouraging society to use green energy
technology and natural resources, stop focusing on money and material wealth, and find
something to believe in that brings one happiness. Second, the essay discusses how Dickens’
character, Pip, in his novel, Great Expectations, can serve as a helpful guide for modern society
to follow on looking past one’s material wealth to their true character, appreciating educational

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technology, and to pursue a life that will make one happy. Last, the paper finishes by stating that
even though the authors wrote from the Romantic and Victorian ages, those values, portrayed by
their protagonist characters, could encourage modern society to care about the truly important
things in life, like nature, personal character, relationships, and true happiness; instead of money
and material wealth.
P5.2: “Hurston’s and Johnson’s Varying Use of Characterization in ‘Lawing and Jawing’ and
‘Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man’ to Enhance Theme.”
This paper compares and contrasts Zora Neal Hurston’s short drama, “Lawing and
awing”, and James Weldon Johnson’s story, “Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man”, through
their use of characters, and their intended audiences. The paper begins by providing a summary
of each story. Following the respective summaries, is a description of how Hurston created the
usually likable protagonist character, as one who the audience despises for his womanizing ways,
and his abuse of power in his position as a judge; contrasting to Johnson’s protagonist, who is a
good, hardworking man which the audience relates to and appreciates. Afterwards, the paper
contrasts the authors’ characters’ relatability, in that Hurston’s story is easily relatable due to her
simple, everyday characters and customary dialect; while Johnson’s story is less relatable, due to
the narrator’s uncommon circumstances as a mulatto passing for a white man in American
society, the complexity of the main characters in the story, and Johnson’s genteel style of
writing. A final comparison shows that Hurston’s characters portray issues within the realm of
African American daily struggles, whereas Johnson uses his tragic mulatto character to address
issues outside that realm, on to society’s views on racism in America. The paper concludes by
stating that although both authors used different approaches to writing their characters, both
successfully portrayed their respective issues to the reader.

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Brief Explanation P1
The essay “Covetousness in English Morality Plays” was written in 2014 for ENGL310 –
Renaissance Literature. This paper discusses William Shakespeare’s and Christopher Marlowe’s
creation of morality plays in English Renaissance and Medieval times, like King Lear and
Doctor Faustus, to show how the sin of covetousness affects the characters. England consisted of
a majority of Christians in that time, who believed that those who committed the seven deadly
sins would remain in Purgatory until their redemption. Covetousness was one of the sins
displayed in many morality plays to show the This paper begins by explaining how writers
created these morality plays to appeal to the Christian population in England. It then follows with
a discussion of Shakespeare’s play, King Lear, explaining how several of the evil characters felt
covetous towards each other, ultimately leading them to make horrible decisions, resulting in
tragedy and death. Following this, the essay continues with a description of Marlowe’s play,
Doctor Faustus, specifically how three of the characters displayed covetousness in various forms
throughout the play. The paper ends by summarizing how Shakespeare and Marlowe created
morality plays during Medieval England, with covetous characters, which Christian English
society could relate to. This paper fulfills the requirement of P1, by examining the literary
elements of morality plays, and how Shakespeare’s and Marlowe’s characters’ actions and
decisions reflect the effect on the human condition.

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Lynnsie McClellan
Professor MaryBeth Matthews
English 310
23 September 2014
Covetousness in English Morality Plays
English Medieval and Renaissance beliefs about sin were very strong. The population
was majority Christian, and they believed that those who have not purified themselves enough to
go straight to Heaven upon death, but have not sinned enough to deserve Hell, would wind up in
Purgatory, a place in between where they could cleanse themselves of their sins so they could
eventually go to Heaven. In order to lessen their time in Purgatory, people would try to remain as
pure as possible by straying from the seven deadly sins: pride, wrath, covetousness, envy,
gluttony, sloth, and lechery. They believed that these sins were the root to all acts of evil, like
theft, murder and adultery, for instance. Because of these strong beliefs in that time period, many
writers centered their literary works on the seven deadly sins and morals; and some specifically
included main characters’ struggles with covetousness. The characters in morality plays, to
include William Shakespeare’s King Lear and Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, all
display the sin of covetousness as it is portrayed in the Medieval and Renaissance time period in
England.
God mentions covetousness in the Bible, which can be defined as strongly desiring
something one does not have, especially when it belongs to someone else. He forbids this sin in
His Ten Commandments stating, “You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not
covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that
belongs to your neighbor” (New International Version Bible, Exodus 20.17). Christians of the

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Medieval and Renaissance time in England followed the Bible closely so as to avoid committing
sins that would land them in Hell or Purgatory. Since the Christian religion was so prevalent in
that time, morality plays became popular as writers wanted to appeal to the Christian population
in England. Morality plays can be defined as, “designed to instruct audiences in the Christian
way of life and the Christian attitude toward death. The general theme of the morality play is the
conflict between good and evil for the human soul; the play always ends with the saving of the
soul” (“Miracle, Mystery, And Morality Plays”). Lorna Hutson, in her article about Purgatory in
Renaissance dramas, writes about the characters in morality plays, stating, “The dead are no
longer immanent among the living, while the living are forced to re-imagine their own sin-
encumbered mortality and its consequences in newly individualized ways, deprived of the
reassuring efficacy of intergenerational intercession” (295). Dramatists created characters
relatable to Christians suffering from their inner struggles with sin. They liked to incorporate the
seven deadly sins in the plays, including different forms of covetousness in their characters.
While not necessarily defined as a morality play, Shakespeare’s King Lear resembles one
closely with his good and evil characters’ struggles with sin. Cordelia, Edgar and Kent represent
the good characters. Cordelia was even portrayed as some sort of holy figure as someone
describes her crying, “There she shook the holy water from her heavenly eyes” (Shakespeare,
King Lear, 4.3. 28-29). Goneril, Regan, and Edmund represent the evil characters, while Lear
and Gloucester represent characters who are not necessarily evil, but have made mistakes and
eventually repent and change their ways by the end of the play. All three of these characters
show covetous behavior throughout the play. Goneril and Regan covet the love their sister,
Cordelia, receives from their father, as well as, their father’s kingdom and the power that comes
along with it. They rejoice in their sister’s exile, and treat their father cruelly, finally exiling him

McClellan 18
as well, in order to take over his kingdom. Eventually, they begin to covet the relationship that
each one has with Edmund, and the possibility of becoming his mistress. In the end, Goneril kills
her own sister because of her jealousy, and then commits suicide due to her guilt. Edmund covets
his father’s love of his half-brother, Edgar, as he is the bastard child. He devises a plan to
alienate Edgar from their father, and betrays his father into exile, as well. These characters’
sinful, covetous behavior causes them to commit various acts of lying, theft, adultery, and
murder. One can see the relation to the English Christian belief in how one of the seven deadly
sins, covetousness, leads to the horrible acts of evil in these characters.
Another drama that could be considered a morality play is Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor
Faustus. The play is about a man who struggles to find his destiny, and battles with the good and
evil within himself to find the right path. He chooses the dark path of selling his soul to the devil
in order to learn dark, powerful magic, but constantly goes back and forth about his decision
because he knows he has committed a horrible sin and will go to Hell. Many times throughout
the play he starts to repent and beg God for forgiveness; but Satan always lures him back in with
the promise of the power the magic will give him. One of the tactics the devil uses is to show
Faustus the seven deadly sins each in the form of a creature from Hell. He parades them in front
of him, and they each describe who they are and what they do. Marlowe’s life-like descriptions
portray sin as disgraceful, shameful behavior that clearly goes against God’s wishes.
Covetousness is one of the seven deadly sins listed in the play, and the devil creature
portraying him introduces himself as, “I am covetousness, begotten of an old churl in an old
leathern bag; and might I have my wish I would desire that this house and all the people in it
were turned to gold, that I might lock you up in my good chest. O, my sweet gold!” (Marlowe,
Doctor Faustus, 1.6). The creature is willing to trade everything, his house and all the people

McClellan 19
around him so he can have gold. This is similar to how Faustus is willing to trade his soul to the
devil and lose everything when he goes to Hell, just so he can perform magic and obtain power.
Another character that displays covetousness is Mephistopheles. After being cast out of Heaven,
he is forced to live in Hell, and when Faustus asks him how he is allowed to come to Earth he
tells him, “Why this is Hell, nor am I out of it. Think’st thou that I, who saw the face of God, and
tasted the eternal joys of heaven, am not tormented with ten thousand hells in being deprived of
everlasting bliss?” (Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, 1.3. 76-80). Mephistopheles covets the life he
used to have when he was living with God in Heaven and is tormented knowing that he will no
longer experience that. A final character also shows covetousness in the play. When Faustus asks
Mephistopheles why the devil wants his soul he tells him that Lucifer wants to, “Enlarge his
kingdom” in order to make everyone suffer as he has (Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, 1.5). The devil
covets others’ souls that will go to Heaven, because that was taken from him. All three characters
want something they do not have, to the point where they go to the extreme to acquire it; Faustus
covets the power of magic and sells his soul to the devil to get it, Mephistopheles covets his old
life of eternal bliss in Heaven, and the devil covets everyone’s pure souls.
In Medieval and Renaissance England, the majority population of Christians believed that
sinning would lead to suffering in Hell, or prolong the eventual ascension to Heaven, stuck in
Purgatory to pay the debt of their sin. They also believed that the seven deadly sins of pride,
wrath, covetousness, envy, gluttony, sloth, and lechery were the gateway to all evil acts. Due to
these beliefs, dramatists of that time wrote morality plays to reflect the average person’s
individual struggle with those sins, and choosing good over evil. William Shakespeare and
Christopher Marlowe, among others of that time, incorporate the sin of covetousness into their
plays, King Lear and Doctor Faustus. Several of the characters in each play display covetousness

McClellan 20
in some form, and the playwrights each show how this sin leads to acts of evil committed by
these characters. These two playwrights of the Renaissance wrote plays relatable to the people at
that time because of their stories about everyday characters and their internal battles with sin,
reflecting the true religious beliefs of Christians in England.

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Works Cited
Hutson, Lorna. "From Penitent To Suspect: Law, Purgatory, And Renaissance Drama."
Huntington Library Quarterly 65.3/4 (2002): 295-319. Academic Search Complete. Web.
25 Sept. 2014.
Marlowe, Christopher. “Dr. Faustus.” Elizabethan Drama. Ed. C. W. Eliot. New York: P. F.
Collier & son, 1910. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.
“Miracle, Mystery, And Morality Plays.” Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2014): 1p.
1. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Web. 25 Sept. 2014.
Shakespeare, William. “King Lear.” Elizabethan Drama. Ed. C. W. Eliot. New York: P. F.
Collier & son, 1910. 214-317. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.

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The essay “Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun and Amiri Baraka’s Dutchman:
Different Character Development Techniques to Portray the Same Theme of Racial Inequality”
was written in 2014 for ENGL364 – African American Authors from 1900-Present. This paper
compares and contrasts how Hansberry and Baraka portrayed racism in America, through their
use of protagonist characters, character representation and conclusions. The paper begins by
providing a summary of each play. Next, Baraka’s use of very few characters with one clear
protagonist and one clear antagonist, is contrasted with Hansberry’s use of two protagonist
characters and several important main characters, whose roles all depend on one another to
portray her vision. Following, the essay explains how Baraka’s protagonist represents Adam
from the Biblical story of the fall of man, while Hansberry created her main characters to
symbolize the entire poor African American race. In continuance, the conclusions for the
protagonists in each story are contrasted, by showing how Baraka’s character dies in the end, and
Hansberry’s characters, while not having a perfect ending, had a bright, hopeful future. The
paper finishes by stating that even though Hansberry and Baraka used the literary element of
characters differently, they both successfully portrayed the struggle of African Americans in
society. This essay fulfills the requirements of P2, in which the authors’ use of characterization
reflects diversity and cultural competence, and how this affects perspectives and interactions in
the workplace and throughout society.

McClellan 23
Lynnsie McClellan
Doctor Dorinda Fox
English 364
7 December 2014
Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun and Amiri Baraka’s Dutchman: Different Character
Development Techniques to Portray the Same Theme of Racial Inequality
Lorraine Hansberry and Amiri Baraka were both influential African American writers in
the twentieth century. They apply several literary elements to enhance their stories and plays,
providing their readers with powerful, moving literary works that will be remembered and
treasured throughout time. In particular, Hansberry and Baraka both develop their characters in
such a way as to allow their audience to understand the true meaning they try to portray in their
stories. Although they both address general racism in America by developing interesting, complex,
relatable characters, their approaches differed. Hansberry creates multiple protagonists
representing most poor black families in the ghetto, and had a somewhat happy ending in her play
A Raisin in the Sun; whereas, Baraka establishes a single protagonist character symbolizing Adam
from the biblical story of the fall of man, who suffers a terrible ending in his play Dutchman.
To understand each writer’s use of character, one needs to know the summary of both
stories. Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun is set in Southside Chicago after World War II in the
Younger family house. It begins with a description of how the Younger family lives cramped in
a run-down tenant house that they share with another family. Ruth and Walter struggle in their
marriage, fighting and not getting along with each other, and trying hard to raise their ten-year-
old son, Tyler. Walter hates his chauffer job and Ruth works hard cleaning houses. Beneatha,
Walter’s sister, attends college to become a doctor and Lena, their mother, works cleaning

McClellan 24
houses, as well. They expect a check to come in the mail worth $10,000 due to Walter Senior’s
death. Walter Junior wants to open a liquor store with friends using some of the money,
Beneatha wants to use some to pay for her medical school, and Ruth wants it to buy a house.
Lena is still unsure what to do with the money. Right before the check comes, Ruth finds out she
is pregnant and pays a deposit to a woman to perform an abortion, because she doesn’t think they
can afford to raise another child and does not want to subject it to the life they are currently
living. Beneatha dates two men; one, a handsome young man, George, from a rich family whose
personality she dislikes and beliefs she disagrees with; and another young man, Joseph, from
Africa whom she really connects with. When the check finally comes the family argues about
what to do with the money, and Walter becomes angry with his mother when she tells him he
cannot use it to open a liquor store; so he begins to go out several nights a week to get drunk.
Lena decides to put a deposit on a house in an all-white neighborhood, and gives the
remainder of the money to Walter to pay for Beneatha’s school and do whatever he pleases with
the rest. Ruth decides to keep the baby since they will now be able to raise it in a good
environment. A white man from the neighborhood they are supposed to move to comes to their
house to try and persuade the Younger’s not to move in because the white neighbors do not want
them there, claiming it will bring down their property value to have a black family in their
neighborhood. He offers to buy the house from them and pay them more than what it is worth so
they don’t move in, but they do not take the offer. Walter never pays for Beneatha’s school but
gives the money to a friend to invest it; however, the man steals the money and disappears. After
this, Walter calls the white man to tell him that they want to take his offer so he can make up for
the money that he lost, but decides in the end that they will move in to the new home. Beneatha
decides to marry Joseph and go with him to practice medicine in Africa.

McClellan 25
Baraka’s Dutchman is set on a subway train in New York. Clay, a young African
American man, is riding on the subway when Lula, a middle-aged white woman, comes and sits
next to him. She flirts and teases him playfully getting more and more personal as the play
continues. She then starts to taunt him about his race and middle-class social status, becoming
crueler as she throws her insults at him. Clay is very defensive and starts to get angry to the point
where he becomes violent with her. She eventually stabs him and he dies. The play ends with all
the passengers leaving the train while another young black man boards onto the train with Lula,
and the train conductor walks by and tips his hat to her.
In the Dutchman play, the characters are very simple and straightforward. They consist of
Clay, Lula, the other nameless passengers on the train, the young man that enters the train at the
end, and the train conductor. Clay is the clear protagonist and Lula is the obvious antagonist.
Everyone else are minor characters in the play, although the young man and the train conductor,
while having extremely small roles, are significant for the reader to understand that this is a
repetitive cycle.
Conversely, the characters in A Raisin in the Sun are much more complex. While there is
still not a large cast, there are many more important, main characters. Yomna Saber in her article
"Lorraine Hansberry: Defining The Line Between Integration And Assimilation” writes, “The
play introduces dual protagonists since both Walter and Lena are of equal significance in the
overall plot and the subsequent actions” (457). Walter and Lena are probably the two most
important characters in the play; however, one could argue that the entire Younger family
together could serve as the role of the protagonist. Any action or decision made by one of the
family members affects all of them. They all depend and rely on one another, and are so closely

McClellan 26
knit together that if something happens to one of them, it happens to them all. Lena getting her
insurance check was like a payday for the entire family; it was never just her money.
Aside from Walter and Lena, much of the play also centers around Ruth: the very
beginning of the play is about her, her pregnancy is a significant factor, and her actions
throughout have a great effect on the family. She seriously considers getting an abortion, which
is one of the deciding factors for Lena to choose to spend the money on a down payment on a
house. Ruth did not want to bring a child into the world that had to live in the horrible conditions
they were in; so because Lena adamantly desired for Ruth to keep her grandchild, she thought a
new house would help Ruth change her mind. One cannot forget about Beneatha’s character,
either. At first it seems as though she is just the sister of the main character, and her significance
is not obvious right away; however, throughout the play one starts to notice that her role proves
crucial in helping shape Hansberry’s stance on assimilation and integration. Hansberry created
Beneatha’s two suitors, George Murchison and Joseph Asagai, to assist with that, as well. Saber
explains, “Beneatha’s two suitors, George Murchison and Asagai, are not fully individualized.
They exemplify political issues and are meant to symbolize two different approaches in regard to
the question of identity and the reaction to white oppression, and they also mirror Hansberry’s
stance towards these issues” (461). Once again, we have two characters that are equally
important in their roles in the story. Hansberry develops multiple protagonists that depend upon
other characters to be completely significant in their roles in the story, as opposed to Baraka who
creates only two very separate character identities in order to prove his theories.
In addition to their opposite use of single versus multiple protagonists, Hansberry and
Baraka also symbolize their characters differently. Baraka chooses to have his main character
represent Adam from the biblical story of the fall of man. Lula lures him in as the temptress with

McClellan 27
her flirtatious behavior. She speaks of a future encounter she wants them to have saying, “And
with my apple-eating hand I push open the door and lead you, my tender big-eyed prey”
(Dutchman, Scene 2). Clay is literally referenced to as her prey. The apple appears several times
throughout the play to symbolize the forbidden apple that Eve eats, and convinces Adam to eat,
in the biblical story. Similarly, Clay, like Adam, falls for deception and pays the price in the end.
Willene Taylor describes Baraka’s intention in her article "The Fall of Man Theme in Imamu
Amiri Baraka's [Le Roi Jones'] Dutchman" stating, “It is obvious that he has taken the metaphor
of the fall of man and has altered it to show the plight of black people in America” (128). In
Baraka’s version of the original biblical story, Clay is oblivious or simply ignores the fact that
racism was very real in America, and when Lula finally tempts him, his eyes open in realization.
This is similar to how, after eating the forbidden fruit, God opens Adam’s and Eve’s eyes so they
can see the world as it truly is; as opposed to their ignorant, blissful lives in Eden.
While Baraka chooses to have his protagonist represent Adam from the Bible, Hansberry
creates the Younger family to symbolize the entire poor African American race. Each family
member serves as a representative for the different types of personalities of African Americans
on how they handle their situation of being a poor African American. Walter represents all those
who constantly dream of having money, a nice house, a car, not having to work in lowly jobs
serving others, and remaining independent and free from the restrictions of existing as a black
person in America. Ruth represents those who feel helpless and depressed, like they have to give
up on everything and accept their way of life, because that is just the way it is for them. Beneatha
represents those who are trying to make a better life for themselves by going to college and
trying to work hard and earn her way honestly to prove people wrong. Lena represents those who
do not like the way they live, and hope for a better life for themselves and their family; but are

McClellan 28
appreciative and grateful for everything they have regardless of how small it is. All of these
personalities clash throughout the story because each one thinks they should have a different
perspective and handle their situation differently. In the end, however, they all come together as
a strong family unit to move on and have a better life.
A final comparison of the two writers’ use of character in their plays is the way they
choose their protagonists’ endings. Baraka writes his protagonist, Clay, to end in death.
Remembering that he symbolizes Clay as Adam from the biblical story of the fall of man, one
can see that their endings are somewhat similar. Although Adam does not die in his story, God
decides to punish him for his sin of eating the forbidden fruit by banishing him from the Garden
of Eden. Taylor explains how this is similar to what happens with Clay stating, “When Clay has
exhausted his word supply and has made the mistake of permitting Lula to lure him into
accepting her forbidden fruit, he is violently ejected from Eden” (129). Clay’s violent ejection, of
course, is when Lula stabs him and then commands the passengers of the train to throw him off.
A theory as to why he is killed rather than just thrown off the train could be a relation to what
God tells Adam in the Bible after He discovers what Adam did. God tells Adam, “for dust you
are and to dust you will return” (New International Version, Gen. 3.19). God made Adam from
the earth and this is why Baraka chose his character to be named Clay, and also possibly why he
chose to have him die; as though he is returning to the dust of which he was made.
In opposition to Baraka’s horrible, suffering death for his protagonist, Hansberry chose
for her protagonists to have a somewhat happier ending. Although their ending was not perfect
(there were some definite setbacks before they were able to move on), they did find some peace
in the end. At first it seems as though everything is going smoothly and that they have a
wonderful future ahead of them: Lena puts a down payment on a nice home in a nice

McClellan 29
neighborhood, and there is still enough money to pay for Beneatha’s school and for Walter to
invest some, and Ruth is happy and decides to keep the baby. Everyone is hopeful. Then, the
heartbreaking news comes that Walter’s friend steals all the extra money and runs away; so now
there is no money for Beneatha’s school and the family has no more money to invest in a
business that would have provided their future income. In addition, the white man comes from
their new neighborhood and tells them that they are not welcome. It seems as though they are
going to have to sell the house back to earn the money that Walter lost, and remain in the same
conditions they have been dealing with. In the end, however, Lena convinces Walter that the
money is not worth him losing his pride over, and they decide to move into their new home.
Although they lost a majority of the money, and are moving into an all-white neighborhood
where they are unwelcome and will face potential violence, they remain a strong, proud people
who did not give in to weakness, get to leave their terrible living conditions to own a home to
raise their growing family in, and are closer as a family because of it. It is not the picture perfect
ending, but there is happiness and hope for the Younger family.
Lorraine Hansberry and Amiri Baraka both create meaningful stories in their plays
Dutchman and A Raisin in the Sun. They each use the literary element of character to help
develop their stories and prove their theories to readers. Hansberry chooses to create multiple
protagonists and several main characters to show how closely knit the Younger family is as a
unit. This helps show the representation of each family member to symbolize the different
personalities and characteristics of many poor African Americans. She also writes her story to
conclude with the Youngers moving on to a better life, even though not perfect. Baraka differs in
every way with his choice of how he writes his characters. He creates a single protagonist
character who represents Adam from the biblical story of the fall of man to symbolize the

McClellan 30
African American race. Clay falls for the temptation and deception, and pays the price with his
death; a strong contrast from the happier ending for the Youngers. Although their ideas for using
the character element are individual and unique from one another, Hansberry and Baraka both
successfully portray their stories and theories of the struggle of blacks in America.

McClellan 31
Works Cited
Baraka, Amiri. Dutchman. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. 486-577. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
New International Version (NIV) Bible. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
Saber, Yomna. "Lorraine Hansberry: Defining The Line Between Integration And Assimilation."
Women's Studies 39.5 (2010): 451-469. Academic Search Complete. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.
Taylor, Willene P. "The Fall of Man Theme in Imamu Amiri Baraka's [Le Roi Jones']
Dutchman." Negro American Literature Forum 1973: 127. JSTOR Journals. Web. 30
Nov. 2014.

McClellan 32
The essay “Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’: Portrayal of How Cruelness Develops in
Society” was written in 2013 for ENGL240 – Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. This
paper addresses how Jackson uses literary elements to show how cruel people can become when
placed in violent situations. First, the paper explains how Jackson makes the story feel more
personal and realistic, by providing clues to hint to the reader that it occurred in a recent time and
familiar place. Second, it discusses Jackson’s use of hypocritical characters, reflected by their
names, attitudes and actions, and how this emphasizes the impact of the unfortunate violence in
the story. Third, the paper explores how the ritual changed over time from one of spiritual
necessity, to one of savage cruelty. Finally, the paper concludes to summarize how Jackson
portrays the realistic possibility of how cruel and violent society can become. This essay fulfills
the requirements of P3, which applies critical theory to literary text and examines how ethical
decisions impact management and leadership decisions in day to day life. It reflects the ethical
dilemma of having to sacrifice loved ones for the greater good of society.

McClellan 33
Lynnsie McClellan
Professor MaryBeth Matthews
English 240
13 December 2013
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”: Use of Setting and Characterization to Portray How
Cruelness Develops in Society
“The Lottery” is a widely known short story written by Shirley Jackson in 1948, after
World War II. In a small American town, the villagers perform an annual ritual that leads to the
shocking stoning of a randomly selected villager, in order to bring good fortune after the harvest
is complete. Shirley Jackson excellently uses the date and location of the lottery, hypocritical
characters, and the savageness of the ritual to show the horrifying cruelness people can inherit.
Jackson does not directly mention where or when the lottery takes place, but she gives
several hints for the reader. One can assume that the story is set in the twentieth century because
of the various clues Jackson provides; about how the people gather “between the post office and
the bank”, and the men speak of “tractors and taxes” (432). She does say, in the very first
sentence, that the date of the lottery is June 27th. Jay Yarmove in his article “Jackson's The
Lottery” believes that June 27th was specifically chosen because it falls between July 4th,
American Independence Day, representing freedom and justice, and June 21st, the summer
solstice, which has a “long, heathen, orgiastic tradition behind it” (242). Yarmove concludes that,
“June 27 bisects the two weeks between the dichotomous dates and may well embody the
contrast between superstitious paganism and rational democracy” (243). There is a definite
significance of the date, and also the location. Jackson, once again, gives the reader hints as to
where the small town is. The small size of the population, the several references to farming, the

McClellan 34
Anglo-Saxon names of the villagers, the availability of stones, and the democracy of the lottery
all signify that New England is the most likely location of where this lottery takes place
(Yarmove, 243). Although Jackson does not directly give the reader the date and location, once
he or she puts all the pieces together it gives the story more significant meaning; for the reader to
know that this takes place somewhere in a recent time and a familiar place.
The names, actions and attitudes of the characters in the story all reflect the impact the
lottery has had on the villagers. One of the first names Jackson mentions is Mr. Summers, the
conductor of the lottery. He is described as “a roundfaced, jovial man”, and has a nonchalant
attitude about the whole process of the lottery, and even laughs with the villagers as they each
come forward to pick their paper from the box (Jackson 433). Following him, however, is the
postmaster, Mr. Graves, who helps him with the lottery. His name brings the reader back to the
seriousness of the occasion, and hints what is about to come. Old Man Warner is obviously the
oldest man in the town, and is the only one who believes in the real reason why the lottery still
takes place, while others simply follow along. He makes a point to mention the old saying,
“Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon”, to try and get people to realize the original reason for the
lottery. The main evidence of a hypocrite is the protagonist, Tessie Hutchinson. She seems to
take the whole lottery process lightly, as noticed by several comments and actions she makes, as
opposed to the rest of the villagers who act nervous and scared. She runs up to the lottery
claiming in a nonchalant manner that she forgot what day it was, she laughs and jokes with her
husband and other villagers, and she jokingly tells her husband, “Get up there, Bill” when it is
his turn to draw a paper (Jackson 435). When her family is chosen, she completely changes her
attitude, once she realizes that it could be her that dies. She complains, saying that it was not fair,
that her husband did not have enough time to choose, that they should do it over again, then

McClellan 35
offers up her married children as options to give herself a better chance, and snatches her paper
out defiantly when it is her turn to draw. Tessie Hutchinson’s earlier easygoing demeanor
changes to one of selfish intent, and Yarmove states, “Her final assertion (“It isn’t fair, it isn’t
right) is neither the cry of an innocent victim, nor a martyr’s triumphant statement. It is the
peevish last complaint of a hypocrite who has been hoisted by her own petard” (244). The other
villagers are also hypocrites. Mrs. Delacroix is supposed to be Tessie’s friend, but yet she
“selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands”, and Mr. Adams, who had
previously mentioned that other villages were not participating in lotteries anymore, was in front
of everyone, ready to throw his stones (Jackson 437). Jackson shows how a violent ritual can
change people from good to evil.
The whole ritual has changed from the sole purpose of sacrificing someone to bring good
fortune for the harvest season, to one of following tradition with savage intent. The people do not
even seem to realize the purpose behind the ritual anymore. There are several references that
show the original purpose of the ritual has been forgotten. Jackson writes, “The original
paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago…so much of the ritual had been forgotten or
discarded,” and a previous part of the ritual where the official would recite a particular passage
and had to salute each person as they came up to draw was no longer conducted (433). As Amy
Griffin explains in her article explicating the story, “the villagers feel compelled to continue this
horrifying tradition. They do focus, however, on its gruesome rather than it symbolic nature”
(45). The family love is forgotten when Tessie tries to offer up her married children, and the
children actually “beamed and laughed” when they realized they would not die, not even
concerned that someone else in their family would, and someone even gives the youngest child
small rocks to throw at his own mother (Jackson 437). A. R. Coulthard (227) notes, “Jackson’s

McClellan 36
cold comment on the sacrifice itself makes it clear that the killing is a pleasurable end in itself,
not an onerous duty demanded by tradition: ‘Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and
lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.’”
Jackson wrote this story to show just how cruel and violent people can be. She gives the
reader a modern date and familiar location to portray how this violence is possible even close by,
therefore making it hit closer to home and feel more realistic. She creates hypocritical characters
to show how rituals can change even the most good-natured person into a selfish, uncaring
individual. Finally, Jackson shows the savageness of the people in the village by explaining that
even though the original traditions are forgotten, the ritual still continues because of the violent
and cruel nature of the people.

McClellan 37
Works Cited
Coulthard, A.R. "Jackson's THE LOTTERY." Explicator 48.3 (1990): 226. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.
Griffin, Amy A. "Jackson's The Lottery." Explicator 58.1 (1999): 44. Academic Search
"Jackson, Shirley." (n.d.): Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
Yarmove, Jay A. "Jackson's The Lottery." Explicator 52.4 (1994): 242. Academic Search

McClellan 38
Brief Explanation P4.1
The essay “Why the English Major is Still an Important Degree for Students to Pursue in
the Modern World” was written in 2015 for ENGL495-Advanced Seminar in English Language,
Literature, and Writing. In this paper, the condition of the English major is examined, comparing
past and present outlooks and statistics on its importance in academia, and the professional
career market. It argues against the stereotypes of teaching as the only career field for English
majors, and English major students acquiring no useful job skills for the professional career
market, providing examples from modern research that prove these to be common
misconceptions. This essay fulfills the requirements of P4, which integrates library resources,
current technologies, and previous research in order to reflect on the English major in academia.

McClellan 39
Lynnsie McClellan
Professor Richard Kemp
English 495
11 April 2015
Why the English Major is Still an Important Degree for Students to Pursue in the Modern World
A college-bound student tells their family and friends that they have decided to pursue a
Bachelor of Arts degree in English. This statement almost always pairs with questions asking the
student what a graduate could possibly do with an English degree, if the student plans on
becoming a teacher, or if they have no other ideas about what they want to major in at the time.
Stereotypes exist throughout the world about how the English major only produces teachers, and
provides no real value in the professional career market. Because of these preconceived notions,
and a shift from society’s value of the humanities to more technological studies, students have
strayed away from the English major. Although English is slowly disintegrating as a college
discipline, it is still important and relevant for college students to purse today due to its
unmatched value for students’ personal and professional growth.
Where have all the English majors gone? Perloff believes, “…available funding has
simply been channeled into the sciences, technological fields, or economics—to fields that yield
measurable results for the business community…” (155). Because of this, students flock towards
degrees in math, science, technology, and engineering, and stray from the humanities.
Klinkenborg describes research findings from a study of English majors at Yale, “In 1991, 165
students graduated from Yale with a B.A. in English literature. By 2012, that number was 62. In
1991, the top two majors at Yale were history and English. In 2013, they were economics and
political science.” Not only do students receive less money from the school for English

McClellan 40
programs, but they also believe they will earn a lower salary after graduation, as they will not
have job opportunities outside of teaching. Klinkenborg explains, “Undergraduates will tell you
that they’re under pressure — from their parents, from the burden of debt they incur, from
society at large — to choose majors they believe will lead as directly as possible to good jobs.
Too often, that means skipping the humanities.” In addition to parents and college students
feeling that majoring in English is not worth the time and money, others believe that the level of
education these students receive, and value of the courses offered, are not on the proper higher
education level that they should be. Balch writes, “Many of the next generation of America's
writers, scholars, critics, and teachers will come from the ranks of these poorly trained students.
Anyone concerned about preserving a creative literary culture has reason to be alarmed” (83).
Darrell believes that this is because, “…English departments have not altered their curricula to
accommodate [non-traditional] students, much more vocational, uninclined to traditional liberal
arts studies, and practical career-minded” (14). So where have all the English majors gone? It
appears they have moved on to more technical, vocational majors; which are generously funded
by the schools, approved by their family members and friends, offer better educational courses
and teachers, and more likely to quickly lead them to a financially secure job after graduation.
With the steady decline of the English major, it still is not completely extinct. Why, then,
are modern students drawn to English as a discipline? What could a college English degree
possibly offer them? It provides room for creativity, the study of history, romance and famous
authors and literature, which have shaped modern language and writing to what it is today.
Klinkenborg believes that it provides students with a gift, “That gift is clear thinking, clear
writing and a lifelong engagement with literature” (12). Another gift English degree seekers will
receive is one of excellent writing skills, an essential skill needed for academic papers and/or

McClellan 41
essays, which are both required in almost all courses a student takes throughout college.
Klinkenborg elaborates further on the importance of obtaining good writing skills, “Writing well
used to be a fundamental principle of the humanities, as essential as the knowledge of
mathematics and statistics in the sciences. But writing well isn’t merely a utilitarian skill. It is
about developing a rational grace and energy in your conversation with the world around you.”
Studying English brings one further than simply learning facts, earning grades, and practical
application, on a more soulful, heartfelt journey to inspire and enrich students beyond what they
imagined for themselves. Edmundson describes his desire for the English major student,
Love for language, hunger for life, openness and a quest for truth: Those are the qualities
of my English major in the ideal form. But of course now we're talking about more than a
mere academic major. We're talking about a way of life. We're talking about a way of
living that places inquiry into how to live in the world—what to be, how to act, how to
move through time—at its center.
So what do students majoring in English earn? Creative, historical and culture-rich course
studies, writing skills to carry them through all their college classes, future careers, and
correspondence with the world, and a soul-enriching experience which will teach them to live
life inquisitively and in appreciation, with an open mind, ready to absorb all the world has to
offer.
All of this sounds great for personal growth and enjoyment, but how can today’s students
apply what they learned in their English degree program out in the professional career market?
Evans discusses the findings of a study conducted in 1949,
“All [employment managers] acknowledged the value of the English major, but revealed
that such a major would fare far better in some companies than in others. For example,
‘heavy industries,’ especially those which placed a high value on expertise in economics,
engineering, business administration, and mathematics, rated the chances of employment
very low. On the other hand, insurance companies and public utilities offered
considerable hope.” (201)

McClellan 42
The common stereotype believed today of English majors is that they all go on to become
teachers or starving writers. In truth, so many more career opportunities exist for English majors
in the modern world, due to employers’ desire and need for particular skills, which only students
with English degrees possess. Clayton explains advantages English major students possess,
People who think for themselves, communicate well, and operate with a complex
humanity are more adaptable, more competent in new learning, better professionals in
any field. The person sensitive to the nuances of human relationships, to the
contradictions within each one of us, to the feelings of other people, to the fact that any
situation can be examined from a variety of perspectives—such a person makes a
valuable lawyer, doctor, business executive, social worker.” (125)
English major students learn valuable, transferrable skills which can apply to a variety of job
positions in a vast range of career fields. Their ability to closely analyze, interpret difficult
language, and effectively communicate thoughts and ideas makes them ideal candidates for any
job.
Since English and the humanities are slowly dying as majors in college, but there is
obvious importance and relevance for the modern student and the professional career market,
what can be done to convince students, and society, that English as a discipline is a worthwhile
degree to pursue? First, stereotypes about teaching being the only profession for English majors,
English existing as a major for people who do not really know what they want to do, or that there
are no available jobs out there for them, must be crushed. These common misconceptions can be
replaced with modern, truthful facts of how potentially successful and personally rewarded the
English student can be. The Department of English at Purdue in their article “Why Major in
English?” provides information from a recent study stating, “In 2011 (the most recent year with
data available), 89% of graduating Purdue students surveyed in English found employment
within a few months, second only to engineering and exceeding all other majors at
Purdue. These students are now at work in a wide-range of career-fields including brand

McClellan 43
marketing, reporting, broadcasting, financial advising, media buying…” Hearing real scenarios
like this might cause a student to seriously consider English as a major, and eliminates all the
stereotypes discussed in this essay. Second, colleges must provide better career programs for
students, so they understand the possibilities available to them with an English degree. If people
are readily available to help students understand and guide them to, from before they even step
foot on the campus, their potential opportunities, correct path and courses to take to achieve their
goals, how to summarize their education and skills earned on a resume, and market themselves
the right way to employers, then English major students can realize their true potential. Once
students begin to seriously consider English as a possible degree choice, then their personal and
professional growth can begin, and modern society can look forward to graduating students who
potentially offer inquisitive, analytic, interpretive, and open minds.

McClellan 44
Works Cited
Balch, Stephen H., and Gary C. Brasor. "Losing The Big Picture: The Fragmentation Of The
English Major Since 1964." Academic Questions 14.2 (2001): 61. Education Research
Complete. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.
Clayton, John J. "Career Planning and the English Major." College English 1981: 122. JSTOR
Journals. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.
Darrell, B. "Career Education And The College English Major." Journal Of Career Education
3.1 (1976): 13-20. Business Source Complete. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.
Edmundson, Mark. “The Ideal English Major.” The Chronicle of Higher Education (29 July
2013). Web. 9 Apr. 2015.
Evans, William H. "What Does the Research on Alternative Careers Say to English Departments
and English Majors?." College English 1978: 199. JSTOR Journals. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.
Klinkenborg, Verlyn. “The Decline and Fall Of the English Major.” New York Times 22 June
2013: SR10. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.
Perloff, Marjorie. "The Decay Of A Discipline: Reflections On The English Department Today."
Qui Parle: Critical Humanities And Social Sciences 1 (2011): 153. Project MUSE. Web.
9 Apr. 2015.
“Why Major in English?” Department of English: Purdue. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.

McClellan 45
Brief Explanation P4.2
The short essay “Personal Goals: Higher Education and High School English Teacher”
was written in 2015 for ENGL495-Advanced Seminar in English Language, Literature, and
Writing. This essay discusses my personal goals upon earning my Bachelor of Arts degree in
English. I first describe my journey towards earning my degree with the University of Maryland
University College, and how although hard, it was well worth it. I then explain how the English
degree program has provided me with the knowledge and skills I need to pursue my future goals
of earning my Texas teaching certification, becoming a secondary High School English
Language Arts and Reading teacher, and pursuing my Master of Arts in Teaching degree. This
essay fulfills the requirements of P4, which examine how current and past experiences impact
the English major in academia.

McClellan 46
Lynnsie McClellan
Professor Richard Kemp
English 495
13 April 2015
Personal Goals: Higher Education and High School English Teacher
The journey to obtain my Bachelor of Arts in English degree has been long and hard, but
well worth it. School was always my part-time job, after working forty plus hours a week in the
Army, and taking care of my two children. I spent many nights and weekends, while everyone
else relaxed and participated in fun activities with friends and family, hunched over my laptop
reading William Shakespeare, Jane Austen and Frederick Douglass, studying historical periods
of time like the Renaissance and Victorian eras, analyzing famous poems, novels, short stories,
and prose, and writing essays and papers on how all of these influenced modern literature and
society. I do not regret my choice to study English, and I would not go back and change any
decisions I made along the way. When I first began my journey, I did not realize that studying
English would give me such a rich appreciation of literature, history and culture, and for
language which transcends time and place. I learned about English literature, its history, and
influential writers, as well as, how to closely analyze and interpret what I read, and greatly
improve my writing skills. All of the time, hard work, and effort I put into my studies has
prepared me for the following chapters of my life. Now that I have reached the end of this
journey, and earned my English degree, I am ready to start a new path on the road to earning my
Texas teaching certification, becoming a secondary English teacher, and earning my Master of
Arts in Teaching degree.

McClellan 47
My first goal after completion of my Bachelor of Arts in English degree, is to earn my
Texas teaching certification. I have already started this process through the Alternative
Certification for Teachers program in San Antonio, Texas. I completed the first task of passing
my Texas Examinations of Educator Standards (TExES) English Language Arts and Reading 7-
12 Grade content exam, and am in the process of finishing the second task of observing thirty
hours in a ninth grade high school English class. I will complete the third step, a three-week
intensive teaching course, by the end of this June, and will then earn my eligibility to begin a 12-
week clinical teaching internship. At the end of my internship, I need to pass the Pedagogy and
Professional Responsibilities (PPR) exam, upon which I will earn my Texas Teaching
Certification. This timeline of events will be completed by January 2016.
My second goal is to become a secondary English teacher in a public school in San
Antonio, Texas. After earning my certification, I will need to start looking for teaching positions
in the area. I will have to research school districts to find one which is not too far from my home,
has open positions for a high school English teacher, and fits my personal and professional
needs. Once I find suitable districts, I will attend job fairs, email my resume and complete the
application process for each one. Next, I will interview with potential employers, and hopefully
begin employment soon after. If there are no open positions right away, then I will apply and
interview for substitute teaching positions while I wait for opportunities. My knowledge gained
from completing my English degree and clinical teaching internship, as well as, my experience
as an instructor in the Army, will provide me with the tools I need to become a successful
English teacher.
My final goal is to earn my Master of Arts in Teaching degree. Since I will already have
my certification to teach in Texas, I will need to find a college graduate program which does not

McClellan 48
require licensing as part of the degree. Some ask why I want to earn my Master’s degree if I
already have my certification, and I tell them that it is because I want to further my knowledge
on how to become a more effective teacher, possibly earn more money, and open more doors for
opportunity which will be unavailable to me with only a Bachelor’s degree. I want to specialize
in Curriculum and Instruction, so I can create better lesson plans, and possibly one day have the
opportunity to work for the State Board of Education in designing the curriculum for high school
English. I am currently taking a graduate level course, EDTP600 – Foundations of Teaching for
Learning, as an elective class this semester. It is the first class required in the Master of Arts in
Teaching program at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC). This class has
given me a great head-start and foundation to build on in the process of earning my Master’s
degree. Since I will only be taking classes in the summer, and will start the summer of 2016, I
hope to complete this goal by the end of summer 2018.
Now that I have completed the most difficult first journey of earning my English degree,
I can look forward to moving on to my future journeys of earning my Texas teaching
certification, becoming a secondary English teacher, and earning my Master of Arts in Teaching
degree. I have considered possibly earning another Master’s degree in English, so I could teach
at the community college level, or in Counseling, as I feel this will help me build stronger
relationships with my students, and more easily manage misbehavior in the classroom. This will
all depend on if I want to continue teaching at the secondary level, or wish to move on to the
postsecondary level. Also, a Doctorate degree in the Education field is not completely out of the
question, but I want to wait until my children are older and do not require so much attention.
While those two goals are uncertain at the moment, I will definitely strive to meet the first three
goals discussed with the same energy and effort I contributed to earning my English degree. All

McClellan 49
of the course material and my professors at UMUC have inspired and prepared me for these
goals, and I am extremely grateful that they shared their expertise and helpful feedback to make
me a better student and future English teacher. I am proud of what I have accomplished so far,
and motivated and excited to move on to these next chapters of my life.

McClellan 50
The essay “Lessons Modern Society Can Learn from Romantic and Victorian Era Values
Depicted in Dickens’ and Wordsworth’s Characters” was written in 2015 for ENGL312 –
Romantic to Modern British Literature. This paper discusses how Charles Dickens and William
Wordsworth portrayed Victorian and Romantic era values in their literature, specifically
Dickens’ novel, Great Expectations, and Wordsworth’s poem “The World is too much with us”.
It explores how these values are displayed in the protagonist characters, and how they can help
modern society with the technological, secular and materialistic world they live in. First,
Wordsworth’s poem “The World is too much with us” is discussed by addressing how the words
from the speaker in the poem could serve as advice for the modern world; encouraging society to
use green energy technology and natural resources, stop focusing on money and material wealth,
and find something to believe in that brings one happiness. Second, the essay discusses how
Dickens’ character, Pip, in his novel Great Expectations can serve as a helpful guide for modern
society to follow on looking past one’s material wealth to their true character, appreciating
educational technology, and to pursue a life that will make one happy. Last, the paper finishes by
stating that even though the authors wrote from the Romantic and Victorian ages, those values,
portrayed by their protagonist characters, could encourage modern society to care about the truly
important things in life, like nature, personal character, relationships, and true happiness; instead
of money and material wealth. This story fulfills the requirement of P5, which illustrates the
ability to edit written communications and create professional caliber written documents.

McClellan 51
P5: Original Draft
Lynnsie McClellan
English 312
Professor Anthony Lee
5 March 2015
Lessons Modern Society Can Learn from Romantic and Victorian Era Values Depicted in
Dickens’ and Wordsworth’s Characters
William Wordsworth and Charles Dickens both served as extremely influential writers in
the Romantic and Victorian eras. Wordsworth conveyed Romantic themes in the majority of his
poems, writing of experiences with strong, personal emotions, and a closeness with nature.
Dickens often represented Victorian themes of social injustice, and the idea that one can create
their own capital. Modern society has come a long way since the Romantic and Victorian ages;
however, the values from each era can still prove relevant today. William Wordsworth, through
the speaker in his poem, “The World is too much with us”, and Charles Dickens, through the
character, Pip, in his novel Great Expectations, provided ideas for modern society on how to
survive through its technological, secular and materialistic world, with Romantic and Victorian
era values.
William Wordsworth believed that a life working in the city was ineffective. Fry writes,
“…he never doubts that work for him requires a tranquil setting…hearing the still sad music of
humanity in “Tintern Abbey” only when city static is safely out of earshot” (27). Hubbell
explains, “Nature refers to wild, unspoiled backcountry, the antithesis of the modern,
anthropocentric city. Out in the rural backcountry, the writer can strip off corrupting layers of
culture, and then dwell, achieving environmental consciousness” (14). Wordsworth’s poem,

McClellan 52
“The World is too much with us”, perfectly resembles Wordsworth’s value of nature, and his
expression of resentment he felt towards how society evolved in city life in the Romantic era.
The speaker addresses society, angry at them for wasting their time and efforts focusing on
worldly possessions, explaining that they have lost the ability to see and appreciate the beauty of
nature. His powerful words could serve as advice for the modern world; encouraging society to
and find something to believe in that brings one happiness. The speaker in the poem first
complains that, “The world is too much with us; late and soon, getting and spending, we lay
waste our powers” (Wordsworth, Lines 1-2). He feels as though people focused too much on
money and possessions, which caused an unbalanced world, where the people are no longer
welcome. This sounds very similar to the issues the modern world faces of offsetting the balance
between nature and mankind. Jowit explains, “The Living Planet report calculates that humans
are using 30% more resources than the Earth can replenish each year, which is leading to
deforestation, degraded soils, polluted air and water”, and, “The problem is also getting worse as
populations and consumption keep growing faster than technology finds new ways of expanding
what can be produced from the natural world” (para. 2-3). Due to the increasing, greedy demands
of society on the natural resources of the world, soon there will be no world left. The value of
nature that Wordsworth’s sonnet portrays, could suggest to modern society the importance of
conserving natural resources by using green energy technology. This would, if not solve the
problem, at least slow it down, and allow more time for discovery on how to fix it.
In addition to promoting the conservation of natural resources, Wordsworth’s poem
offers solutions for materialism in the modern world. The speaker states, “This Sea that bares her
bosom to the moon; the winds that will be howling at all hours, and are up-gathered now like

McClellan 53
sleeping flowers; for this, for everything, we are out of tune; it moves us not” (Wordsworth,
Lines 5-9). Since people are so focused on “getting and spending”, they have lost sight of the
natural beauty the world offers. He would suggest to modern society for people to value nature
over money and material wealth; which will allow them to be more in harmony with the natural
world. A final solution this poem would offer to modern society is for people to believe in
whatever makes them happy. The speaker ends the sonnet by wishing he could go back in time
and change his religion, crying out, “Great God! I'd rather be a Pagan suckled in a creed
outworn; so might I, standing on this pleasant lea, have glimpses that would make me less
forlorn” (Wordsworth, Lines 9-12). Since he feels helpless with no other options, he cries out to
God, saying he would rather be a Pagan, a far stretch from Christian England at that time, so he
could have a chance to witness those gods surrounded by the beauty of nature. Beer explains
Wordsworth’s religious beliefs, stating, “‘Nature’s God’ is not necessarily the same as the
Christian God; and examinations of his writings later in the decade suggests that Wordsworth
was becoming increasingly reserved on these matters”, and, “…he did not necessarily align
himself easily with the civilization in which he himself had been raised” (6). Although
Wordsworth was raised as a Christian, his beliefs started to change later in his life. The last lines
in his sonnet seem to suggest to his readers that they should follow their own religious path, and
not conform to society’s beliefs; rather, they should believe in whatever makes them happy, even
if it was not how they were raised. Overall, the speaker in the poem believed that society should
be more in tune with the natural world, and less focused on worldly possessions, in order to
create a better living environment, and a happier personal life for everyone.
Charles Dickens displays Victorian themes of social injustice and creating one’s own
capital, throughout his novel, Great Expectations. His protagonist in the novel, Pip, can serve as

McClellan 54
a helpful guide for modern society to follow on looking past one’s material wealth to their true
character, appreciating educational technology, and to pursue a life that will make one happy.
Growing up in a working class family, Pip was looked down upon by higher society as a poor,
lower class person. They paid no attention to his character or personality, but judged him based
on status alone. After receiving his wealth, people began respecting Pip, solely because he had
money. Ignoring character and focusing on status was true for many characters in the story. One
could have a high stature and be part of the upper, wealthy class; but have the worst character
(like Mr. Jaggers and Miss Havisham). On the contrary, one could be of low stature in the poor,
working class; but have the best character (like Joe and Biddy). Pip’s dealings with these positive
and negative influential characters in the lower and upper classes can prove to modern society
that social status and material wealth do not matter; rather, individual character defines people,
and that is what people should focus on before judging someone, or choosing whom to have
relationships with.
Due to his low status, Pip did not have opportunities to obtain a proper education. He
paid for his own education with what little money he had. Pip describes how he had next to
nothing for his education, “…the little catalogue of prices, to a comic song [Biddy] had once
bought for a half-penny”; and, “a broken slate and a short piece of slate-pencil were our
educational implements” (Dickens, 80-81). In modern society, there are so many resources
available, even for the poor and working class; which modern technology has provided. Libraries
provide computers for anyone to access, and several television shows, and apps on phones and
tablets, contain educational programs, which children can access from home, or local community
centers. Additionally, most schools have computers available with educational programs, games
and activities, which teachers can incorporate into their classrooms. These types of educational

McClellan 55
tools were not available for the working class society in Victorian England. Children and adults
in modern society should be grateful, and appreciate all the educational opportunities that
modern technology has provided.
Pip was born into a working class family, but he desired to have a better life. Although he
was lucky to receive money to help him do this, Pip was determined to create that life for
himself. Instead of simply accepting his position as a blacksmith, he dedicated his time to
educating himself, and working with Miss Havisham in hopes she would help him one day.
Unfortunately, once he received his wealth, his friend Herbert and he made poor decisions in
spending their money and procured a large amount of debt. Walsh writes, “…in the 1850s
economic conditions had been particularly unforgiving for young men like the chastened Pip and
the irrepressible Herbert Pocket” (14). He was lucky that Joe came to his rescue. Houston writes,
“…even the ideas of debt and the market dynamic of production and consumption are repealed
when Joe freely pays Pip’s creditors” (11). In the end, he made a smart, and charitable decision
to use his money to help his friend get into a business practice. He eventually joins him in this
business, and, while he did not become rich, he sustained a good living for himself. Pip’s story of
rising from poor, to wealthy, back to poor, and then finally ending with a reasonable sum of
money, shows modern society that one can change their position in life, as long as they make
smart decisions and work hard. Instead of remaining stuck in an unchosen life that one hates,
they can take it upon themselves to change their path in life to one of happiness.
Wordsworth and Dickens wrote literature in different eras, from Romantic to Victorian;
however, their messages were very similar. Wordsworth believed in maintaining a close
relationship with nature, and appreciating its beauty, while Dickens focused more on social
injustice. Both agreed, though, that people should care about the truly important things in life,

McClellan 56
like nature, personal character, relationships, and true happiness; instead of money and material
wealth. The speaker in Wordsworth’s poem, “The World is too much with us”, and Pip in
Dickens’ novel, Great Expectations, portray Romantic and Victorian era values in a way that
modern society can understand and apply to their own lives. First, they teach the modern world
to be grateful for advanced technology, which provides educational opportunities for all, and
allows the use of green energy to conserve natural resources. Second, they show that the worth of
one’s personal character, and the value of nature, surpasses the merit of one’s social status and
worldly possessions. Finally, they prove that no matter how one was raised, or what religion or
social class one was born into, that they should pursue whatever kind of life will make them truly
happy.

McClellan 57
Works Cited
Beer, John. "The Paradoxes Of Nature In Wordsworth And Coleridge." Wordsworth Circle 40.1
(2009): 4-9. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. University of Maryland University College, 1867. Web. 5
Mar. 2015.
Fry, Paul H. "Time To Retire? Coleridge And Wordsworth Go To Work." Wordsworth Circle
41.1 (2010): 23-29. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
Houston, Gail Turley. "`Pip' And `Property': The (Re)Production Of The Self In Great
Expectations." Studies In The Novel 24.1 (1992): 13. Academic Search Complete. Web.
19 Feb. 2015.
Hubbell, J. Andrew. "A Question Of Nature: Byron And Wordsworth." Wordsworth Circle 41.1
(2010): 14-18. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
Jowit, Juliette. “World is facing a natural resources crises worse than financial crunch.” The
Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 28 Oct. 2008. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.
Walsh, Susan. "Bodies Of Capital: Great Expectations And The Climacteric Economy."
Victorian Studies 37.1 (1993): 73. Historical Abstracts. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
Wordsworth, William. “The World is too much with us.” Web. 27 Feb. 2015.

McClellan 58
P5: Peer Review
Lynnsie McClellan
English 312
Professor Anthony Lee
5 March 2015
Lessons Modern Society Can Learn from Romantic and Victorian Era Values Depicted in
Dickens’ and Wordsworth’s Characters
William Wordsworth and Charles Dickens both served as extremely influential writers in
the Romantic and Victorian eras. Wordsworth conveyed Romantic themes in the majority of his
poems, writing of experiences with strong, personal emotions, and a closeness with nature.
Dickens often represented Victorian themes of social injustice, and the idea that one can create
their own capital. Modern society has come a long way since the Romantic and Victorian ages;
however, the values from each era can still prove relevant today. William Wordsworth, through
the speaker in his poem, “The World is too much with us”, and Charles Dickens, through the
character, Pip, in his novel Great Expectations, provided ideas for modern society on how to
survive through its technological, secular and materialistic world, with Romantic and Victorian
era values.
William Wordsworth believed that a life working in the city was ineffective. Fry writes,
“…he never doubts that work for him requires a tranquil setting…hearing the still sad music of
humanity in “Tintern Abbey” only when city static is safely out of earshot” (27). Hubbell
explains, “Nature refers to wild, unspoiled backcountry, the antithesis of the modern,
anthropocentric city. Out in the rural backcountry, the writer can strip off corrupting layers of
culture, and then dwell, achieving environmental consciousness” (14). Wordsworth’s poem,

McClellan 59
“The World is too much with us”, perfectly resembles Wordsworth’s value of nature, and his
expression of resentment he felt towards how society evolved in city life in the Romantic era.
The speaker addresses society, angry at them for wasting their time and efforts focusing on
worldly possessions, explaining that they have lost the ability to see and appreciate the beauty of
nature. His powerful words could serve as advice for the modern world; encouraging society to
and find something to believe in that brings one happiness. The speaker in the poem first
complains that, “The world is too much with us; late and soon, getting and spending, we lay
waste our powers” (Wordsworth, Lines 1-2). He feels as though people focused too much on
money and possessions, which caused an unbalanced world, where the people are no longer
welcome. This sounds very similar to the issues the modern world faces of offsetting the balance
between nature and mankind. Jowit explains, “The Living Planet report calculates that humans
are using 30% more resources than the Earth can replenish each year, which is leading to
deforestation, degraded soils, polluted air and water”, and, “The problem is also getting worse as
populations and consumption keep growing faster than technology finds new ways of expanding
what can be produced from the natural world” (para. 2-3). Due to the increasing, greedy demands
of society on the natural resources of the world, soon there will be no world left. The value of
nature that Wordsworth’s sonnet portrays, could suggest to modern society the importance of
conserving natural resources by using green energy technology. This would, if not solve the
problem, at least slow it down, and allow more time for discovery on how to fix it.
In addition to promoting the conservation of natural resources, Wordsworth’s poem
offers solutions for materialism in the modern world. The speaker states, “This Sea that bares her
bosom to the moon; the winds that will be howling at all hours, and are up-gathered now like

McClellan 60
sleeping flowers; for this, for everything, we are out of tune; it moves us not” (Wordsworth,
Lines 5-9). Since people are so focused on “getting and spending”, they have lost sight of the
natural beauty the world offers. He would suggest to modern society for people to value nature
over money and material wealth; which will allow them to be more in harmony with the natural
world. A final solution this poem would offer to modern society is for people to believe in
whatever makes them happy. The speaker ends the sonnet by wishing he could go back in time
and change his religion, crying out, “Great God! I'd rather be a Pagan suckled in a creed
outworn; so might I, standing on this pleasant lea, have glimpses that would make me less
forlorn” (Wordsworth, Lines 9-12). Since he feels helpless with no other options, he cries out to
God, saying he would rather be a Pagan, a far stretch from Christian England at that time, so he
could have a chance to witness those gods surrounded by the beauty of nature. Beer explains
Wordsworth’s religious beliefs, stating, “‘Nature’s God’ is not necessarily the same as the
Christian God; and examinations of his writings later in the decade suggests that Wordsworth
was becoming increasingly reserved on these matters”, and, “…he did not necessarily align
himself easily with the civilization in which he himself had been raised” (6). Although
Wordsworth was raised as a Christian, his beliefs started to change later in his life. The last lines
in his sonnet seem to suggest to his readers that they should follow their own religious path, and
not conform to society’s beliefs; rather, they should believe in whatever makes them happy, even
if it was not how they were raised. Overall, the speaker in the poem believed that society should
be more in tune with the natural world, and less focused on worldly possessions, in order to
create a better living environment, and a happier personal life for everyone.
Charles Dickens displays Victorian themes of social injustice and creating one’s own
capital, throughout his novel, Great Expectations. His protagonist in the novel, Pip, can serve as

McClellan 61
a helpful guide for modern society to follow on looking past one’s material wealth to their true
character, appreciating educational technology, and to pursue a life that will make one happy.
Growing up in a working class family, Pip was looked down upon by higher society as a poor,
lower class person. They paid no attention to his character or personality, but judged him based
on status alone. After receiving his wealth, people began respecting Pip, solely because he had
money. Ignoring character and focusing on status was true for many characters in the story. One
could have a high stature and be part of the upper, wealthy class; but have the worst character
(like Mr. Jaggers and Miss Havisham). On the contrary, one could be of low stature in the poor,
working class; but have the best character (like Joe and Biddy). Pip’s dealings with these positive
and negative influential characters in the lower and upper classes can prove to modern society
that social status and material wealth do not matter; rather, individual character defines people,
and that is what people should focus on before judging someone, or choosing whom to have
relationships with.
Due to his low status, Pip did not have opportunities to obtain a proper education. He
paid for his own education with what little money he had. Pip describes how he had next to
nothing for his education, “…the little catalogue of prices, to a comic song [Biddy] had once
bought for a half-penny”; and, “a broken slate and a short piece of slate-pencil were our
educational implements” (Dickens, 80-81). In modern society, there are so many resources
available, even for the poor and working class; which modern technology has provided. Libraries
provide computers for anyone to access, and several television shows, and apps on phones and
tablets, contain educational programs, which children can access from home, or local community
centers. Additionally, most schools have computers available with educational programs, games
and activities, which teachers can incorporate into their classrooms. These types of educational

McClellan 62
tools were not available for the working class society in Victorian England. Children and adults
in modern society should be grateful, and appreciate all the educational opportunities that
modern technology has provided.
Pip was born into a working class family, but he desired to have a better life. Although he
was lucky to receive money to help him do this, Pip was determined to create that life for
himself. Instead of simply accepting his position as a blacksmith, he dedicated his time to
educating himself, and working with Miss Havisham in hopes she would help him one day.
Unfortunately, once he received his wealth, his friend Herbert and he made poor decisions in
spending their money and procured a large amount of debt. Walsh writes, “…in the 1850s
economic conditions had been particularly unforgiving for young men like the chastened Pip and
the irrepressible Herbert Pocket” (14). He was lucky that Joe came to his rescue. Houston writes,
“…even the ideas of debt and the market dynamic of production and consumption are repealed
when Joe freely pays Pip’s creditors” (11). In the end, he made a smart, and charitable decision
to use his money to help his friend get into a business practice. He eventually joins him in this
business, and, while he did not become rich, he sustained a good living for himself. Pip’s story of
rising from poor, to wealthy, back to poor, and then finally ending with a reasonable sum of
money, shows modern society that one can change their position in life, as long as they make
smart decisions and work hard. Instead of remaining stuck in an unchosen life that one hates,
they can take it upon themselves to change their path in life to one of happiness.
Wordsworth and Dickens wrote literature in different eras, from Romantic to Victorian;
however, their messages were very similar. Wordsworth believed in maintaining a close
relationship with nature, and appreciating its beauty, while Dickens focused more on social
injustice. Both agreed, though, that people should care about the truly important things in life,

McClellan 63
like nature, personal character, relationships, and true happiness; instead of money and material
wealth. The speaker in Wordsworth’s poem, “The World is too much with us”, and Pip in
Dickens’ novel, Great Expectations, portray Romantic and Victorian era values in a way that
modern society can understand and apply to their own lives. First, they teach the modern world
to be grateful for advanced technology, which provides educational opportunities for all, and
allows the use of green energy to conserve natural resources. Second, they show that the worth of
one’s personal character, and the value of nature, surpasses the merit of one’s social status and
worldly possessions. Finally, they prove that no matter how one was raised, or what religion or
social class one was born into, that they should pursue whatever kind of life will make them truly
happy.

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