American Literature

American Literature

By Tamás Németh

​- Mark Twain

“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”

What is literature?

• written works

• drama

• poems

• prose ​

Multiple Choice

It is mostly written for theatre. Can be a comedy or tragedy.

• drama

• poetry

• prose

Multiple Choice

It can be a novel, a short story or a graphic novel. Usually something with a longer text.

• drama

• poetry

• prose

Multiple Choice

It is set in verses, uses rhymes, alliteration etc.

• drama

• poetry

• prose

Early American Literature

Poll

Did the natives have literature?

• Yes

• No

​Native American Period

• Pre-1600s

• No written works (no writing at all) ​

• Oral tradition of songs and stories

• Mostly about nature ​and history

Multiple Choice

The first American poet was a..

• man.

• woman.

​Anne Bradstreet (1612-1647)

Early "real" American Literature

Multiple Choice

The next writer gave the world a very (in)famous headless horserider. But what is the name of the novel it appears in?

• Rip Van Winkle

• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

• Tales of a Traveller

Washington Irving (1783 –1859)

"Rip Van Winkle", short story, 1819.

It follows a Dutch-American villager in colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who falls asleep in the Catskill Mountains (New York). He awakes 20 years later to a very changed world, having missed the American Revolution.

Multiple Choice

Was there a USA when Rip Van Winkle fell asleep?

• Yes

• No

Multiple Choice

A Dutch person is from which country?

• Denmark

• The Netherlands

• Canada

• Belgium

Romanticism

19th century​

Multiple Choice

The next writer wrote many gothic, dark, horror stories and poems. He's most famous work is about a bird. What bird?

• A hummingbird

• A turkey

• A sparrow

• A Raven

​Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)

• One of the most important American writer.

• ​Some say he invented detective fiction.

• ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLiXjaPqSyY

Open Ended

And said the raven:

​Harriet Beecher Stowe

• Daughter of a rich and famous family who wrote about the harch life of American slaves.

Multiple Choice

Harriet Beecher Stowe's most famous book about slavery. It's title is about a cabin. Whose cabin?

• Uncle Tom's

• Uncle Ben's

• Uncle Norbert's

• Aunt May's

Multiple Choice

Nathaniel Hawthorne's world famous story is about a woman who gives life to a baby while his husband is away (so cannot be the father). For this sin, she must wear a letter A (for adultery). What is the colour of the letter?

• moss-green

• lavender

• beige

• scarlet

Multiple Choice

Herman Melville created the world's most famous whale - Moby Dick. What is the colour of the whale?

• Blue

• Grey

• White

• Black

Open Ended

Samuel Langhorne Clemens had a pen name and is the number 1 writer of the USA. What's his pen name? (hint: quote in the beginning)

​Mark Twain (1835-1910)

• Author and humorist.

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

• ​The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

​Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

• One of the most important American poet​s.

• ...and basically that's it. ​

20th century

The Lost Generation

​Earnest Hemingway

The old man and the sea​

One of the most important 20 century writer​

F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby​

Dramatists

• A Streetcar Named Desire

• A streetcar is a tram... there's no tram in the drama.

• But it's still a cool story. ​

Tennesse Williams

• The Crucible (About Salem witch hunt)

• Death of a Salesperson (Hungarian title is cooler: The Death of the Agent) ​

Arthur Miller

Multiple Choice

This is Arthur Miller's wife. One of the hottest chics actress of her era. Who is she?

• Marilyn Monroe

• Marilyn Manson

Multiple Choice

Harper Lee's work was recently chosen to be the greatest novel of all times. What is the full title? To Kill a ...

• Mockingbird

• Mockingjay

• Raven

​- Ralph Waldo Emerson

" To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." 

Thank you for your attention.

Now get a book from the English Library and start reading.