Reread paragraph 2 of “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Mark independent and dependent clauses. Then, classify each sentence as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex. paragraph 2:

Nevertheless, in this mansion of gloom I now proposed to myself a sojourn of some weeks. Its proprietor, Roderick Usher, had been one of my boon companions in boyhood; but many years had elapsed since our last meeting. A letter, however, had lately reached me in a distant part of the country—a letter from him—which, in its wildly importunate nature, had admitted of no other than a personal reply. The MS4 gave evidence of nervous agitation. The writer spoke of acute bodily illness—of a mental disorder which oppressed him—and of an earnest desire to see me, as his best and indeed his only personal friend, with a view of attempting, by the cheerfulness of my society, some alleviation of his malady. It was the manner in which all this, and much more, was said—it was the apparent heart that went with his request—which allowed me no room for hesitation; and I accordingly obeyed forthwith what I still considered a very singular summons.

Explanation:

Lets first of all give some definitions.

Independent and Dependent Clauses

An independent clause is a sentence that can stand on its own as a complete sentence.

A dependent clause however cannot stand on its own as a complete sentence.

Simple, Compound, Complex and Compound-complex sentences

A simple sentence is a complete sentence that consists of a subject and a predicate. It is also known as an independent clause

A compound sentence is a combination of an independent clause with a dependant clause often with a coordinating conjunction.

A complex sentence on the other hand consists of one independent clause with one or more dependent clauses joined by a subordinating conjunction.

While a compound-complex sentence consists of two independent clauses joined with at least one or more dependent clauses.

With these definitions, we can now go ahead and classify the sentences in the second paragraph of the 'The Fall of the House of Usher'

1) "Nevertheless, in this mansion of gloom, I now proposed to myself a sojourn of some weeks" - complex sentence.  A combination of a  dependent clause (in this mansion of gloom) and an independent clause (I now proposed to myself a sojourn of some weeks) joined by the subordinating conjunction 'nevertheless'.

2) "Its proprietor, Roderick Usher, had been one of my boon companions in boyhood; but many years had elapsed since our last meeting." - compound  sentence.  

It contains one independent clause (Its proprietor, Roderick Usher, had been one of my boon companions in boyhood) and dependent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (but).

3) "A letter, however, had lately reached me in a distant part of the country—a letter from him—which, in its wildly importunate nature, had admitted of no other than a personal reply." - complex sentence.

4) "The MS4 gave evidence of nervous agitation" - simple sentence. A sentence that is complete and can stand on its own.

5) "The writer spoke of acute bodily illness—of a mental disorder which oppressed him—and of an earnest desire to see me, as his best and indeed his only personal friend, with a view of attempting, by the cheerfulness of my society, some alleviation of his malady." - compound sentence

6) "It was the manner in which all this, and much more, was said—it was the apparent heart that went with his request—which allowed me no room for hesitation; and I accordingly obeyed forthwith what I still considered a very singular summons." - compound- complex sentence

what did the protagonist say?

- "the answers are a and b.  

when cullen speaks of planting while others reap, and standing "abject and mute," he is speaking about the racial injustices present in american society. as these injustices have changed over time, the american identity  has also shifted. those changes are, in turn, reflected in american literature."