Skill and Form Number: Historical and Cultural Literature #1
Historical and Cultural Literature
Passage 1
It was evening. I was in the costume of an Indian, holding a small hatchet. After I
painted my face and hands with coal dust, I went to Griffin's Wharf. Three ships lay
there containing the tea. When I first appeared in the street, I fell in with many who were
dressed and painted like me. We marched in order to the wharf.
When we arrived, three men began directing us. They divided us into three parties to
board the three different ships at the same time. The man who commanded my division
was Leonard Pitt. I never knew the names of the other commanders.
We were ordered to board all the ships at the same time. My commander ordered
me to go to the captain and get the keys to the hatches and a dozen candles. The
captain asked me to do no damage to the ship. We then cut and split the chests of tea
with our hatchets. We threw the tea overboard.
In about three hours, we had broken and thrown overboard every tea chest to be
found in the ship. Those in the other ships had done the same. We were surrounded by
British-armed ships. No one tried to stop us.
We returned to our homes without speaking. I did not know the name of anyone else
in our party except Leonard Pitt. There seemed to be an understanding that each
person should volunteer, keep his secret, and risk the consequences for himself. No
disorder took place. It was said that that night was the stillest night that Boston had
enjoyed for months.
adapted from Boston Tea Party; Eyewitness Account by a Participant by George Hewes
Passage 2
In 1773, Britain's East India Company had a lot of tea that it could not sell in
England. It was about to shut down. The government tried to save the company by
passing the Tea Act of 1773. The act let the company sell tea to the colonists without
paying taxes that colonial merchants had to pay. The colonial merchants were afraid
they would be replaced by the East India Company. Americans were angry about
taxation without representation. Lord North thought colonists would like the law because
it lowered the price of tea. Instead, Americans boycotted tea. This boycott helped bring
the colonies together. Colonial women, the main drinkers of tea, now became the
leaders of the boycott.
The colonies tried to keep the East India Company from landing ships in ports. In
many ports, agents of the company quit. Shipments were returned to England or sent to
warehouses. Agents of the company in Boston refused to quit. The royal governor
supported the company. Plans were made to land incoming ships. Colonists could not
keep three ships from landing in the harbor. Samuel Adams led local patriots in a brave
act. On December 16, 1773, three groups of fifty men each dressed as Mohawk
Indians. They went onto the ships, broke open the tea chests, and threw them into the
harbor. News of the Boston "tea party" spread. Other ports staged acts of their own.
The people of Boston would not pay for damages. George III and Lord North decided
to punish Massachusetts. They passed the Coercive Acts. Through these four acts,
Parliament closed part of Boston. They reduced the powers of self-government. They
Skill and Form Number: Historical and Cultural Literature #1
followed royal officers accused of crimes in other colonies and England. Finally, they
made colonists house troops in barns and empty homes. The acts set off new
resistance up and down the coast.
Anonymous account of the Boston Tea Party
1. How do these two accounts of the same event differ?
A. The first account is in favor of the Bostonian's actions that night; the
second account shows why the Bostonians were wrong.
B. One account is told from the perspective of a Boston "rebel," and the
other is told from the perspective of King George.
C. The first account reveals how chaotic the tea party was; the second
account shows how orderly the event was carried out.
D. The first account is simply one participant's experiences that night; the
second is a historical account that gives background information and
consequences of the event.
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2. From whose perspective is passage 2 written?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Lord North, who had to punish the Boston rebels
a bystander who observed the tea party
a historian
a participant in the tea party
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"Oh no, look at all those tourists," complained Honu. "Let's go somewhere else," he
suggested.
The air was warm and moist. The sun was bright and the ocean provided its trusted
rhythm and salty scent. Honu and Leilani headed to another beach—one they hoped to
have mostly to themselves. Honu did not want to be around the careless tourists
slathered in sunscreen, wearing ridiculous flowered shirts, and toting coolers full of
refreshments. They used his land, his ocean, his mountains, and his forests. They left
behind their trash, their oily coating in the water, and a few of their dollars. They left with
memories of perfect, sunny days on the beach. On the flipside, he was left with
memories of forever-changing faces getting in his way, asking for directions and advice
on what to see, what to do, and what to eat.
After a few hours at the less crowded beach, Honu drove Leilani to the place where
she worked. She entertained tourists at a luau, a feast of traditional island food. The
hosts served pork that was wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in a pit of hot stones.
Skill and Form Number: Historical and Cultural Literature #1
This was the way the island natives' ancestors cooked wild pigs they hunted in the
forests.
Leilani earned a lot of money for dancing the traditional style dances. Before the
show started, she presented the tourists with fresh leis of sweet-smelling Plumeria. She
showed the female tourists a few dance movements. Then she coaxed them to dance in
a line with her while the male tourists attempted to play ukuleles and sing in her native
language.
When the sun went down, the hosts lit the torches and the real dancing began.
Leilani took the stage with confidence. She danced as if she was Pele, the volcano
goddess, exploding with burning lava. Then her fury melted into a peaceful dance of soft
ocean waves. At the end of every one of Leilani’s performances, the crowd stood,
clapped, and cheered for her.
3. How does the author use the setting to show differences in the main
characters?
A. The beach setting focuses on Leilani's anger towards tourists; the luau
setting focuses on Honu's love of dancing.
B. The beach setting focuses on Honu's bad habit of yelling; the luau
setting focuses on Leilani's good cooking skills.
C. The daytime setting focuses on Leilani's feelings for Honu; the
nighttime setting focuses on Honu's feelings for Leilani.
D. The daytime setting focuses on Honu's dislike of tourists; the
nighttime setting focuses on Leilani's ease with the tourists.
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4. How does the setting change?
A. It starts out with Honu and Leilani looking for a place to eat and
changes to a lively luau on a beach.
B. It starts out during a loud, nighttime party and changes to a daytime
scene on a quiet beach.
C. It starts in the daytime with Honu and Leilani in search of a beach and
changes to a nighttime luau.
D. It starts on a quiet beach without any tourists and changes to a noisy,
crowded beach full of people.
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5. The setting is important to this passage because
Skill and Form Number: Historical and Cultural Literature #1
A. the characters are trying to leave their home to get away from
tourists.
B. the author gives many details about the culture and traditions of the
place.
C. the author describes the perfect place for anyone to take a long
vacation.
D. the characters must live somewhere near rugged forests and
mountains.
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The Legend of the Dream Catcher
Teton loved when her “unchi,” or “grandmother,” told stories. Her unchi was from the
Lakota peoples, one of seven Sioux Native American nations. Unchi taught Teton about
her Native American history through stories and songs. Her favorite story was the one
about the dream catcher.
“The Lakota believe that the dream catcher holds the key to the future,” Unchi
began. "Long ago when the world was young, an old Lakota spiritual leader was on a
high mountain and had a vision.
"In this vision, Iktomi, the great trickster and teacher of wisdom, appeared in the form
of a spider. The spider picked up the elder's willow hoop which had feathers, horsehair,
and beads on it and began to spin a web. He spoke to the elder about the cycles of life,
‘We begin our lives as babies and grow up to be adults. Finally, we grow old and must
be taken care of like babies, completing the cycle.
‘But,’ Iktomi said as he continued to spin his web, ‘in each time of life there are many
forces. Some are good, and some are bad. If you listen to the good forces, they will
steer you in the right direction. But, if you listen to the bad forces, they'll steer you in the
wrong direction and may hurt you. So these forces can help or can interfere with the
Skill and Form Number: Historical and Cultural Literature #1
harmony of Nature.’
“When Iktomi finished speaking, he gave the elder the web and said, ‘The web is a
perfect circle with a hole in the center. Use the web to help your people reach their
goals and make good use of their ideas, dreams, and visions. If you believe in the Great
Spirit, the web will catch your good ideas and the bad ones will go through the hole.’
“The elder passed on his vision to the people, and now many Indian people hang a
dream catcher above their beds to sift their dreams and visions,” Unchi said. “The good
is captured in the web of life and carried with the people. The evil in their dreams drops
through the hole in the center of the web. It is no longer a part of their lives.”
6. Why does Teton call her grandmother Unchi?
A.
B.
C.
D.
It means "grandmother" in Lakota.
It is her grandmother's real name.
"Unchi" is Lakota for "dream catcher."
She dreamed about spider named Unchi.
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Geronimo!
“Geronimo!” Jacob screamed as he jumped off the jungle gym at the park.
“Do you ever wonder why you scream “Geronimo!” when you jump off something?”
said Saul, Jacob’s big brother.
“Well, I never really thought about it before.”
“Well, you’ve got to hear this! It’s about a guy named Goyathlay.
“Goyathlay?”
“Yeah, it means ‘one who yawns.’ ”
“How did he get a name like that?”
“I don’t know! Do you want me to tell you the story or not?!”
“Alright, alright.”
“As I was saying, from 1858 through 1886, Goyathlay was an Apache warrior known
for his sense of adventure and ingenious escapes from capture while battling Mexican
and U.S. troops. You see, he wanted to keep them from expanding and taking over the
Native's land. Anyway, while the Apaches were leading a battle against Mexican forces,
Mexicans started shouting “Geronimo!”
“Why? Didn’t they know his name was Goyathlay?”
“They knew, silly! They were pleading with their patron saint, Jerome, for help.”
Skill and Form Number: Historical and Cultural Literature #1
“Oh.”
“The Mexicans were afraid of Goyathlay because he fearlessly fought with his knife
as bullets flew about him. After the Apache tribe won the battle, his fellow warriors
started calling him Geronimo. Not only did ‘Geronimo!’ become a battle cry but
Goyathlay also became an icon in popular culture.”
“You’re right. That was a pretty cool story.”
“Yeah, but it would’ve been better without all of the interruptions.”
7. Goyathlay is known for being a/an
A.
B.
C.
D.
U.S. soldier.
Mexican leader.
patron saint.
Apache warrior.
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8. The name "Goyathlay" is Apache for
A.
B.
C.
D.
"battle cry."
"fearless warrior."
"one who yawns."
"Jerome."
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9. What does this story teach the reader about the battle cry "Geronimo!"?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Apache Indians along with U.S. and Mexican troops coined the cry.
Mexican troops and Native Americans were responsible for coining it.
Apache Indians were the only people responsible for coining it.
Mexican and U.S. troops were responsible for coining the battle cry.
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Skill and Form Number: Historical and Cultural Literature #1
The War Bonnet
“Mr. Redcorn, can you help me with my social studies report?” asked Seth. “You’re
an American Indian, and I’d love to talk to my class about your heritage.”
“Sure! What are neighbors for!? In fact, I’ve got a showpiece that you can take to
school for your project. You have to be careful with this artifact, though.”
“Oh, I promise I will, Mr. Redcorn.”
“This war bonnet has been passed down in my family for several generations. It
serves as an important symbol and a beautiful piece of Plains Indian art.”
“I’ve seen pictures of these bonnets before. I thought all Indians wore them.”
“No, Seth. Only men wore bonnets, and they were extremely hard to come by. A
warrior had to earn a golden eagle’s tail feather for each honor he won in battle. When a
warrior had been honored enough times (at least ten or more), a bonnet was made out
of these feathers. In fact, the construction of this bonnet tells stories of the warrior’s
battles and victories.”
“How?”
“The way each feather is decorated and fastened to the bonnet tells an individual
story about the details of the battle, such as if it was won on horseback or on foot!”
“Wow, Mr. Redcorn. I’ll surely get an A for this. Thanks a lot!”
10. Which birds did Mr. Redcorn's ancestors use to make the bonnet?
A.
B.
C.
D.
eagles
chickens
pigeons
blue jays
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Skill and Form Number: Historical and Cultural Literature #1
Answers
1. D
2. C
3. D
4. C
5. B
6. A
7. D
8. C
9. B
10. A
Explanations
1. These two excerpts about the Boston Tea Party provide both a picture of
the night itself from the perspective of one participant and background
information about the factors that led to the event and the outcome. It is a
nice mixture of information to help us understand what happened.
2. Passage 2 was written well after the fact by a historian who could sum up
both the causes and consequences of the event. It is an attempt to simply
give the facts of the event.
3. The author uses the daytime setting to show that Honu does not like the
tourists that visit his home. The author writes that Honu wants to find a
beach where there is not a lot of tourists. The author uses the nighttime
setting of the luau to show how Leilani is comfortable around the tourists.
Leilani interacts well with the tourists and enjoys dancing traditional dances
for them.
4. The setting tells when and where a story takes place. The reader can tell
that the story starts out during the day because the passage states, "The
sun was bright . . ." The passages also mentions that Honu and Leilani are
heading to a beach that they hope is not crowded. Later in the passage, the
setting changes to a nighttime scene at a luau. The reader can tell that it is
nighttime because the passage states, "When the sun went down, the hosts
lit the torches . . ."
5. The author gives many details about the culture of the place where the
story takes place. The story's setting needs to match the details about the
Skill and Form Number: Historical and Cultural Literature #1
luau, cooked pig, dancing, singing, playing ukuleles, leis of Plumeria, and so
on.
6. This passage is about a girl whose grandmother teaches her about Lakota
history. Teton calls her grandmother "unchi" because it means
"grandmother" in Lakota language.
7. Saul said that Goyathlay was an Apache warrior.
8. Seth tells Jacob that "Goyathlay" means "one who yawns."
9. If the Mexican troops wouldn't have been asking Saint Jerome for help,
Geronimo probably would've kept the name "Goyathlay." His Apache friends
gave him his nickname. Therefore, both cultures are responsible for coining
this battle cry.
10. American Indians considered eagles to be the greatest and most
powerful birds, so the best war bonnets, or headdresses, were made from
eagle feathers.