Define the concept known as the “American Dream.” Think about how this concept is presented in Ellison’s “Battle Royal.” Discuss how the narrator’s experiences in the story illustrate the American Dream in either a postive or negative way.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” can be seen as a kind of sophisticated allegory — a highly symbolic story with a message or moral to it.

Based on your understanding of the story and its central symbol, explain in your own words what this moral might be.