In paragraph 7 (located above), what rebuttal does the author make to the claim in paragraph 6 that America is too culturally diverse to have a national character? Remember that a rebuttal is an argument against, a counterclaim. Quindlan believes the nation will be preserved by a characteristically American combination of heroic perseverance and grudging fairness. Quindlan suggests that the reality of national unity is more important than the impossibility of a national character. Quindlan supports the idea that every generation of immigrants arrives with the same dreams and faces the same problems of fitting into the society. Quindlan proposes the resourceful and courageous American psyche as an acceptable substitute for a national character.

Demonstrating understanding of jem's development one way to demonstrate understanding of character and theme is by writing from the perspective of a character. for this assignment, compose a short poem from the perspective of jem. your poem should detail his feelings about either a. his father, atticus or b. mrs. dubose. the poem must accurately trace the progression of jem's attitudes and beliefs, highlighting the important events and shifts in his perspective detailed above. your writing should also sound like jem, using voice and word choice that reflects the voice and word choice found in the novel. the poem can be a free poem (meaning it does not need to rhyme or follow a particular format). it should be a minimum of twenty-lines in length, have a title, and follow conventional rules of spelling, grammar, and punctuation.