ENCOUNTERS AND
FOUNDATIONS
TO 1800
American
Literature
Tousignaut
TERMS IN YOUR NOTES
 Example:
Term
autobiography
apostrophe
Synecdoche
Initial Definition
Learned Definition
written about the author
Punctuation at the end
of sentence
A figure of speech in which a
speaker directly addresses an
absent person or a personified
object, quality, or idea.
When one piece stands for the
whole (all hands on deck)
LIST OF TERMS
 Myth
 Cultural Details
 Origin Myth
 Archetype
 Oral Tradition
 Exploration Narrative
 Sermon
 Autobiography
 Puritan Plain Style
 Diction
 Chronological Order
 Apostrophe
 Inversion
 Allusion
 Rationalism
 Slave Narrative
 Deism
 Charged Words
 Aphorism
 Ornate Style
 Rhetorical Devices
 Persuasion
 Figure of Speech
LIST OF TERMS (NA FOCUS)
 Myth
 Cultural Details
 Origin Myth
 Archetype
 Oral Tradition
 Exploration Narrative
 Sermon
 Autobiography
 Puritan Plain Style
 Diction
 Chronological Order
 Apostrophe
 Inversion
 Allusion
 Rationalism
 Slave Narrative
 Deism
 Charged Words
 Aphorism
 Ornate Style
 Rhetorical Devices
 Persuasion
 Figure of Speech
NATIVE AMERICAN TERMS
Myth: Stories, usually connected with religious rituals, explaining
the world the people live in and their traditions. They give a
sense of cultural identity. Passed down by word of mouth (see
oral tradition).
Example: NA have Sky Tree etc. Today we have urban legends.
Archetypes: An old imaginative pattern that appears across
cultures and is repeated across cultural and national
boundaries.
Example: Plot—boy meets girl; characters—damsel in distress;
or image/place—fountain of youth.
Oral Tradition: Stories passed down by word of mouth. They depend
on dynamic speaker not only for delivery but also might alter
with each telling.
Example: Think of how a stor y changes af ter you tell it a few
times.
NATIVE AMERICAN TERMS (CONTINUED)
Cultural Details/Characteristics :
References to objects,
animals, or practices that reflect aspects of daily life or
prevalent attitudes
Example: We can learn about the Greek culture by reading
the Odyssey
Origin Myth:
Stories or myths explaining how life began,
customs, traditions, religious rites, natural landmarks, and
events beyond people’s control
Exploration Narrative: First hand accounts of travels.
CHARACTERISTICS OF N.A. LIT.
 Native American Literature was entirely oral
 N.A. originally viewed mainly as folklore
 The telling of the tale may change with each speaker
 The language is poetic and moving
 N.A. produced a diverse body of literature
 Shows a deep respect for nature
 Celebrates the wonders of the natural world
 Stress the cyclical nature of existence
 Shows interconnectedness with the spirit world
WHY NATIVE AMERICAN MY THS?
Native American
Myths indirectly
teach the values,
ideals, and customs
of a particular
culture
T YPES OF NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE
Song lyrics
Hero Tales
Migration legends
Creation Accounts
WHAT ARE MY THS ABOUT?
Creation
Natural phenomena
Origins of humans
Customs
Events beyond
control
Institutions of
religious rites of
people
ORIGIN MY THS
 Explain how life began
on earth and traditional
stories passed down
from generation to
generation.
 They explain
phenomena such as
customs, religious rites,
natural landmarks such
as a great mountain or
events beyond control
ORAL TRADITIONS
Captures a groups
ideals
Stories, poems and
songs convey a
people’s values,
concerns, and
history by word of
mouth
CULTURAL DETAILS
While reading,
notice references to
objects, animals, or
practices that show
how the people of a
culture live, think, or
worship.
EVALUATE: NATIVE AMERICAN MY TH
1.
2.
3.
4.
Title of Myth:
Why was this myth told/written (purpose)?
What does the myth explain?
List and explain three symbols/archetypes used in the myth .
A
B
C
5. List three cultural details/characteristics that you can infer
from the myth about the people who made it ?
A
B
C
WRITING #1
 Create your own mythical accounts of creation. Use details
from the regions in which they were born and from their
ancestral heritage to create a story (myth). Students should
include the use of several narrative techniques, including
dialogue and sensory details, to further the development of
your stories.
 Address at least two of the following ideas:





The
The
The
The
The
creation of the universe (something from nothing)
existence of evils and death
creation of men/women and their companions
relationship between man and his/her creator
life cycle
 Myth needs to be roughly two pages.
LIST OF TERMS (PURITAN FOCUS)
 Myth
 Cultural Details
 Origin Myth
 Archetype
 Inversion
 Allusion
 Sermon
 Deism
 Charged Words
 Aphorism
 Autobiography
 Puritan Plain Style
 Oral Tradition
 Exploration Narrative
 Diction
 Chronological Order
 Apostrophe
 Rationalism
 Slave Narrative
 Ornate Style
 Rhetorical Devices
 Persuasion
Figure of Speech
PURITAN TERMS
 Allusion: A reference to someone or something that is known
from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or
some other branch of culture
 Sermon: A speech given from a pulpit in a house of worship
that conveys to an audience the speaker’s message or point
of view; formal public speaking by a religious person.
 Puritan Plain Style: Style that emphasizes uncomplicated
sentence structures and common diction to show glory to God
and not to the writer
 Ornate Style: Elaborate style of writing in 1600s England
where classical allusions, Latin quotations, and elaborate
figures of speech where common
PURITAN TERMS (CONTINUED)
 Inversion: Changing the structure of a sentence from the
normal syntax (common among poets to aid in rhyme)
 Slave Narrative: Autobiographical account of life as a slave
 Diction: Word choice
 Chronological Order: Writer placing events in the order that
they occurred.
 Figure of Speech: aka figurative language, a word or phrase
that describes one thing in terms of something else and that
is not meant to be taken literally. (simile, metaphor,
personification, and symbol)
CHARACTERISTICS OF PURITAN WRITING
Bible provides the
model
View life as a
journey to salvation
Diaries and letters
are most common
Show signs of Grace
Purpose: To Worship
God
PHILOSOPHY OF PURITANS
 Sought to “purify” the
Church of England
 Response to Henry VIII
 Clergy or Gov’t should not
act as an intermediary
between individual and God
 Most of humanity damned
due to Adam and Eve
(disobedience)
 Hard work and self sacrifice
 Reward in the afterworld
 Everything for the glory of
God
PURITAN PLAIN ST YLE
 Style that emphasizes
uncomplicated sentence
structures and common
diction
 Differed from Ornate or
“high style” of the time
 To show glory to God
and not to the writer
 Stresses simplicity and
clarity of expression
ARE AMERICANS STILL PURITAN?
 Read the following article and be ready to discuss with your
class.
 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/05/opinion/sunday/are americans-still-puritan.html?_r=2
HOMEWORK
 Bring in lyrics to your favorite love song
 (school appropriate as always)
#2: PURITAN ST YLE
 Rewrite your Origin myth. (Must have your myth draft)
 Using Puritan Plain Style, rewrite your origin myth. Tell
essentially the same story, but put it in the no nonsense, to
the point style of the Puritans.
 Be sure to have diction and syntax in contemporary style (use
todays words to demonstrate the style of the puritans).
 Keep the focus similar to the Puritans, God oriented.
 Should be two pages for the puritan.
READ THE CRUCIBLE
 Use PPT with McCarthyism
LIST OF TERMS (COLONIAL FOCUS)
 Myth
 Cultural Details
 Origin Myth
 Archetype
 Sermon
 Autobiography
 Puritan Plain Style
 Oral Tradition
 Exploration Narrative
 Diction
 Chronological Order
 Apostrophe
 Inversion
 Allusion
 Rationalism
 Slave Narrative
 Deism
 Charged Words
 Aphorism
 Ornate Style
 Rhetorical Devices
 Persuasion
 Figure of Speech
COLONIAL TERMS
 Autobiography: Usually written in first person, autobiographies
present life events as the writer sees them. They also provide
a view of history that is more personal
 Rationalism: the belief that human beings can arrive at truth
by using reason, not relying on past authority (king), religious
faith (church), or intuition (chance).
 Deism: Believed in the perfectibility of humans their inherent
goodness. They rejected strict religions and rather focused on
the common threads/principles that each religion shares.
COLONIAL TERMS (CONTINUED)
 Charged words: Likely to produce a strong emotional
response.
– Example: tyranny, which means “oppressive power” may evoke
feelings of outrage.
 Aphorism: A brief, cleverly worded statement makes a wise
observation about life
 Persuasion: One of four forms of discourse, which uses reason
and emotional appeals to convince a reader to think or act in
a certain way
 Rhetorical Devices: Techniques used for persuasive writing
CHARACTERISTICS OF
COLONIAL WRITING
Find truth using
reason
Mostly newspapers,
pamphlets and
political writings
Many persuasive
techniques
Logic is a God-given
gift, try to find order
in universe
RHETORICAL DEVICES
 Rhetorical question-is asked
for effect and not actually for
an answer.
 Repetition-unifying property
of repeated words, sounds,
syllables, and other elements
that appear in a work.
 Rhyme-repetition of vowel
sounds in accented syllables.
RHETORICAL DEVICES (CONTINUED)
 Parallel structure- the
repetition of words or phrases
that have similar grammatical
structures (parallelism)
 Diction: word choice
 Charged Words (loaded
words)
 Syntax: word order
 Note: Inversion: the reversal
of the normal word order in a
sentence or phrase
ARISTOTLE'S TRIANGLE
Pathos
 Emotions
 Imagination
Ethos
 Credibility
 trust
Logos
 Logical
 consistency
LISTEN TO PATRICK HENRY’S SPEECH
When finished, Close 1. What is Henry’s
your book and get
purpose in
out a piece of paper
writing/delivering
this speech?
Answer these
questions…
2. Identify three of his
best/lasting
arguments
3. What is his tone?
4. Is it effective? Why
or why not.
FIND ONE EXAMPLE OF EACH IN PATRICK
HENRY’S SPEECH IN VA. CONVENTION
(1) Pathos
 Emotions
 Imagination
(1) Ethos
 Credibility
 trust
(1) Logos
 Logical
 consistency
(1) Rhetorical
Question
(1) Repetition
(1) Sound device
 Rhyme,
 Alliteration
 etc.
(1) Parallel structure
(1) Diction, Charged
words
*Use paper started yesterday; due today (in basket)
WRITING #3: AUTOBIOGRAPHY
 Write 2+ page first person narrative on a personal experience.
 Be non fiction in nature, but your level of bias is within your
control.
 Be factual and detached from the event, for purpose ( Equiano)
 Have fun and exaggerate the event for entertainment (Franklin)
 Anything in between, just be in control
 The event should be real and you should have had time to
reflect on its repercussions.
 At least five years ago
 Due WED after we return.
FIND EXAMPLES IN
THOMAS PAINE’S CRISIS NO. 1
Pathos
 Emotions
 Imagination
Ethos
 Credibility
 trust
Logos
 Logical
 consistency
Rhetorical Question
Repetition
Sound devices
 Rhyme,
 Alliteration
 etc.
Parallel structure
Diction, Charged words