Download Colonial Period

Colonial Period
Early American Literature
The Standards:
ELAALRL3 The student deepens understanding of literary
works by relating them to their contemporary context or
historical background, as well as to works from other
time periods.
• The student relates a literary work to primary source
documents of its literary period or historical setting;
the student:
• a. Relates a literary work to the seminal ideas of the
time in which it is set or the time of its composition.
• i. Native American literature
• ii. Colonial/Revolutionary/National literature
Native American Literature
• The earliest American Literature was
composed by Native Americans.
• Much of Native American Literature was
passed down orally.
• Native American tales were often
mythological and/or folktales, such as
Trickster tales.
Exploration Literature
• Once explorers began to travel to the New
World, they chronicled their experiences in
the form of diaries and letters home.
• Often, the diaries and letters were
propaganda designed to increase settlers’
interest in the land.
I. Colonial Period (pre-1600 to 1760)
Note: 1 through 7 is a quick overview of this section.
1. Begins with oral literature of Native Americans
2. No written literature among the more than 500 tribes before
Europeans came
3. Native American stories show deep respect for nature
4. Nature contains special forces
5. Main characters may be animals or plants
6. The focus was on society more than the individual person
7. This period was God-centered for the Puritans
A. The literature of Exploration
1. The written record of Jamestown (founded 1607) is mainly
that of John Smith
a. John Smith was an incurable romantic
b. He stretched the truth in his
stories
c. Pocahontas is the most
famous one
2. Later in the 1600’s, pirates, adventurers, & explorers opened the
way for a second wave of settlers at Plymouth
a. Their literature consisted of
diaries, journals, ships’ logs, and
reports
b. Because England
eventually took control
of the colonies, the
best known colonial
literature is English.
c. Today we are
“discovering” the literature
of many minorities who
came here at the same time.
The Literature
Native American
Literature:
Creation Myths
What is a myth?
The word itself comes
from the Greek "mythos"
which originally meant
"speech" or "discourse"
Myth
A traditional story that deals with
goddesses, gods, heroes, and/or
supernatural forces. A myth may
explain a belief, a custom, or a force of
nature.
Myths
• Contain supernatural elements
• Often explain the unexplainable
• Have also been told in order to teach a
moral lesson.
• All cultures have myths, though often do
not see their stories myth but as fact.
Sacred Narratives
• A more culturally sensitive term for “origin
myths” or “creation myths”
• No culture appreciates their beliefs being
called “myths”…
What is a myth?
A traditional story
explaining how the
world and the things
in it came to be.
Oral tradition
• Native American
myths originated
as oral tradition:
stories passed
down verbally
Oral Tradition. . .
• Native American creation myths were not
written down until just a few hundred years
ago.
Four functions of
myth:
1. To awaken us to
the mystery and
wonder of creation
2. To explain the
workings of the
natural world: every
corner, every rock, hill,
stone, and flower has
its place and its
meaning.
3. To pass down the moral
and ethical codes that
support and validate social
customs.
4. To teach:
to guide the people through
the trials of living
Creation myths
• Explain how the universe, the
earth, and life on earth began.
Creation Myths
• Creation myth- explanation for how the world began
• Trickster- some one is creative curious and often
gets into trouble. Will sometimes find wisdom
through their curiosity.
Essentials of Creation Myths
Creation Myths…
1. SHOW WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO THE
TRIBE! (corn, animals, rituals, etc.)CULTURAL DETAILS!!!
2. State the place and people of origin
3. Describe what existed before the “creation”
4. EXPLAIN the “creation” of things or the
beginnings of rituals
5. EXPLAIN who or what did the creating
More About Native American Literature
• Oral Traditions
• Integration of the natural world with the human
world
• No separation of spiritual and physical
• Importance of ancestors
• Trixter figure – often a coyote
• Rich literary tradition – developed mythology
• Extremely diverse
• Native American legacy today – Sherman Alexie
Native American Literature
•
•
•
•
The Earth on Turtle’s Back
When Grizzlies Walked Upright
From The Navaho Origin Legend
From the Iroquois Constitution
Colonial Period
The first migration to the Americas was not
by the British.
The first migration occurred 20 – 40,000
years ago when Ice Age Hunters traveled
from Siberia to Alaska.
Slowly these people and their descendents
migrated south. When European
exploration began, these were the people
who were living in the “New World.”
In 1492,
Columbus
“discovered”
America.
Taking Native
Americans with
him to Spain,
stories began
to circulate
about the
wonders of the
New World,
about its
exoticism and
bountifulness.
Spanish and French
explorers wrote about
this new world in overexaggerated styles,
praising its beauty,
making it appear as Al
Dorado (the place of
hopes and dreams).
America was viewed as
the land of plenty, the
land of peace and
hospitality, the land of
riches
This brought hope for those who were
being prosecuted across the world.
When Europeans began voyaging to this
world, they unleashed diseases such as
smallpox, measles, typhus, and so on,
on the Natives, who were also enslaved
and mistreated.
In the face of this, Native American
population began to decline rapidly,
and thus, Spain introduced African
slavery in 1501
The period of European exploration
brought with it a huge body of
literature that is referred to as a
literature of witness or exploration
narratives The early settlers brought
with them their knowledge of written
communication with its particular
style and content. They wrote about
their new experiences in forms that
were familiar to them – letters,
factual records, sermons, and poems.
Captain John Smith: A Description of New England (1616)
Exploration Literature
• Captain John Smith:
– The General History of Virginia, New England, and the
Summer Isles (1624)
The Generall Historie is Smith’s most comprehensive discussion
of conquest and exploration and stands today as an exemplary
text in the exploration literature of the 16th and 17th century
• William Bradford:
– Of Plymouth Plantation (1650): a journal comprising the story
of the Pilgrims and the early years of the founding of their colony
(from 1608 to 1647)
• Christopher Columbus:
– From Journal of the First Voyage to America (1492): a
journal written nine days after Columbus Arrived in the
Americas
The Many Faces of
Pocahontas
Pocahontas
Your Homework tonight
• Directions:
• Write an origin myth that is at least one page typed
(Double Spaced), 1” margins, 12 pt. Font)
or two pages (front and back written) Your myth must
include the following elements:
• Explain the origin of a phenomenon in nature (refer to
examples discussed in class)
• Creation of man, animals, or the earth
• Must include an Immortal Being