Sophomore In class multi-paragraph essay

E-mail your final essay to fiorellienglish@gmail.com

Literature during the Civil War period and the subsequent Gilded Age  was what one might expect, its tones and themes reflecting both the optimism and the pessimism of the economic, political, social, and cultural changes in the country.

You may:

Write about the optimism and pessimism of any THREE WRITERS that we studied during this unit. Be sure to refer to specific works, and for “full credit,” to cite specific lines. 

OR 

You may:

Write about THREE THEMES, THREE EVENTS,  or THREE TOPICS, etc. that were treated optimistically by writers (including songwriters) during this time period and pessimistically by others. Be sure to refer to specific works, and for “full credit,” to cite specific lines. 

So I am looking for four paragraphs with a very short introduction paragraph (your writing prompt is your central idea and thesis, right?)--three body paragraphs with clear topic sentences, and NO conclusion.