COLONIAL

Based on the text, which of the following options best characterizes early American literature?

• A. Early American literature is best described as solely influenced by Native American storytelling traditions.

• B. Early American literature is best described as a diverse mix of writing and storytelling techniques that were informed by various cultural influences.

• C. Early American literature is best described as solely faith-based and originating from the writing traditions found in the Puritan movement.

• D. Early American literature is focused on defying British conventions of spelling and grammar.

What information does the following passage (paragraph 6) mainly convey?

England had a well-established literary tradition at the time—Shakespeare had died only four years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in 1620. By contrast, because North American settlers were occupied with establishing the colonies and had little time to devote to the creation of original works of fiction, the majority of early colonial literature was utilitarian—observations of North American geography, biographies, and treatises.

• A. The passage explains that Shakespeare was an important influence on early colonial literature.

• B. The passage explains the impact of England’s taxation on early colonial literature.

• C. The passage describes a notable difference between English and early colonial literature.

• D. The passage suggests that English literature was more interesting than early colonial literature.

The following passage (paragraph 9) most closely suggests that early American literature .

Many of the inhabitants of North America during the colonial period were struggling to adapt to unfamiliar circumstances. Native Americans saw the land they had inhabited for thousands of years overrun by newcomers; they saw their populations being decimated by European diseases and colonization, which culminated in violent battles over territory. Early European settlers sought to establish themselves and tame what they viewed as a wild and alien environment, documenting their efforts in diaries, letters, and books. Enslaved Africans passed on oral and written accounts of their daily struggle to survive the violence and degradation imposed on them by colonial masters.

• A. was informed by a sense of struggle

• B. attempted to explore the injustices of oppression

• C. was responsible for starting the Revolutionary War

• D. united colonial America’s various cultural groups

The following passage (paragraph 12) adds to the development of the text mainly by explaining that .

Authors use rhetorical devices like similes, metaphors, and irony, among a long list of other things, to convince their audiences in more subtle ways. Thomas Jefferson was a learned student of literature and philosophy and had a keen sense of how to use these devices. In the Declaration of Independence, he employed a straightforward style but used rhetorical devices such as alliteration, allusion, euphony, and repetition to drive home his points. The rhetoric used during the late colonial period was instrumental in fostering the revolutionary spirit that defined the times and formed the basis of the arguments that led to the founding of the United States of America.

• A. Thomas Jefferson was a well-educated scholar and politician

• B. the first rhetorical devices originated in ancient Greece

• C. Thomas Jefferson knew he could not convince people without rhetorical devices

• D. rhetorical devices were influential in the founding of the United States of America

According to the text, which of the following best describes the typical form of Native American literary traditions?

• A. Native American literature is mostly based on hieroglyphics.

• B. Native American literature is primarily an oral tradition.

• C. Native American literature is primarily a written tradition.

• D. Native American literature is mostly harmonious in form.

Which selection from the excerpt best supports the correct answer to Question 5?

• A. “The Constitution of the Iroquois Nations, which contained some of the original ideas about self-government and later influenced the creation of the founding documents of the United States of America, was passed down for hundreds of years through Native American oral traditions.”

• B. “Creation myths described how the earth began and origin myths explained how things like the moon or mountains were made.”

• C. “Many stories emphasized the sacred harmony, or interdependence, between humans and the natural world.”

• D. “Some societies developed writing systems, especially those in modern-day Mexico and Central America, but the majority of Native American peoples maintained a rich oral literature tradition to preserve their beliefs and histories. ”

According to the text, the Enlightenment was a movement primarily committed to the use of____________.

• A. philosophy

• B. religious faith

• C. emotion

• D. reason

Which sentence from the excerpt best supports the correct answer to Question 7?

• A. “European Enlightenment philosophers, including John Locke and Thomas Hobbes, introduced a political philosophy concerned with equality and the natural rights of man, which provided a foundation for the creation of modern democracies.”

• B. “In North America, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson incorporated Enlightenment ideas into their rhetoric...”

• C. “The Enlightenment was a philosophical movement that promoted the use of reason in all areas of intellectual life.”

• D. “Both the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening helped to shape a distinctively American sense of identity, encouraging people to find their own way rather than subject themselves to the power of traditional governments and religious institutions.”

A religious movement that called for simple and very strict rules of worship, discipline, and morality

• Puritanism

• Revolutionary War

• Great Awakening

• self-government

• Enlightenment

The war between the American colonies and Great Britain that resulted in the colonies’ independence

• Puritanism

• Revolutionary War

• Great Awakening

• self-government

• Enlightenment