Native and Early American Literature

Authors write

1. Because they are so deeply rooted in culture, creation stories often reveal a society’s…

• 1. Environment, values, and traditions 

• 1. Ignorance, barbarism, and sin

• 1. Beliefs, leaders, and wildlife 

• 1. Inexperience, errors, and naivete 

1. If you wanted to prove your inference that circles play a large role in Iroquois tradition, what would be the strongest form of evidence from “The World on the Turtle’s Back?”

• 1. “Then the woman began to walk in a circle around it, moving in the direction that the sun goes.”

• 1. “To keep the earth growing, the woman walked as the sun goes, moving in the direction that the people still move in the dance rituals.”

• 1. “The woman and her daughter kept walking in a circle around the earth, so that the earth and plants would continue to grow.”

• 1. “When the girl awoke from her faint, she and her mother continued to walk around the earth.”

1. If you wanted to prove your inference that the Iroquois value balance, what would be the strongest form of evidence from “The World on the Turtle’s Back?”

• 1. “The world the twins made was a balanced and orderly world, and this was good. The plant-eating animals created by the right-handed twin would eat up all the vegetation if their number was not kept down by the meat-eating animals which the left-handed twin created.”

• 1. “…the people are in the daylight realm of the right-handed twin. But when the sun slips down in the west at nightfall and the dome lifts to let it escape at the western rim, the people are again in the domain of the left-handed twin—the fearful realm of night.”

• 1. “The righthanded twin, the Master of Life, lives in the Sky World. He is content with the world he helped to create and with his favorite creatures, the humans.”

• 1. “In the daytime, the people have rituals which honor the right-handed twin. Through the daytime rituals they thank the Master of Life. In the nighttime, the people dance and sing for the left-handed twin.”

When the woman falls from the Sky-World, we learn from inferencing that the birds’ actions show that animals

• 1. are as strong as the woman and therefore can also overpower humans 

• 1. encourage the woman and therefore will always rally for humans

• 1. depend on the woman and therefore will always need humans

• 1. care about the woman and therefore will become allies with humans

1. How does Jonathan Edwards hook or grab the attention of this audience? 

• 1. By using storytelling skills to tell a personal story 

• 1. By using storytelling skills to provide imagery

• 1. By using rhetorical skills to present logic

• 1. By using rhetorical skills to make himself credible 

 In short, they have no refuge, nothing to take hold of; all that preserves them every moment is the mere arbitrary will, and uncovenanted, unobliged forbearance of an incensed God.

1. What is the meaning of the word incensed in this sentence and how do you know?

• 1. Furious: Context clues: “His anger, His wrath”

• 1. Fragrant: Context clues: Describing fire and smoke 

• 1. Forgiving: Context clues: “Bound by any promise to hold them up”

• 1. Formidable: Context clues: “Held in the hand of God”

1. What emotions does Edwards intend to evoke in his listeners through his vivid descriptions?

• 1.  Fear and terror

• 1.  Anger and frustration

• 1.  Joy and happiness

• 1.  Love and compassion

Brother. You say there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it? Why not all agreed, as you can all read the book?

Brother. We do not understand these things. We are told that your religion was given to your forefathers, and has been handed down from father to son. We also have a religion, which was given to our forefathers, and has been handed down to us their children. We worship in that way. It teaches us to be thankful for all the favors we receive: to love each other, and to be united. We never quarrel about religion.

Brother. We do not wish to destroy your religion, or take it from you. We only want to enjoy our own.

1. What does the passage say about the Native American religion?

• 1. It teaches to be thankful and united

• 1. It prohibits them from reading religious books

• 1. It encourages them to convert others to their own religion 

• 1. It was not handed down from their forefathers

1. What is the main purpose of Sagoyewatha's speech?

• 1. To persuade the audience to convert to the speaker’s religion

• 1. To entertain the audience with storytelling 

• 1. To inform the audience about the differences between two different religions 

• 1. To persuade the audience that the speaker’s religion is as valid as their own