Native American Literature culture and is one of the most honored and

21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World respected members of the tribe/society
3. the oral tradition was a performance
Historical cultural context -the relationship between the storyteller and
 Our American identity as we know it is a product the audience is established through voice
of our past. emphasis, gestures, use of space, eye
 Literature reveals how we arrived at our society contact, and the audience can be
and culture today. representative of the
 We study Native American literature out of a characters in the story.
respect for the indigenous cultures who were here 4. there is no known original author
before the European explorers as well as a respect - these stories are open to personal
for their cultural and literary influence throughout interpretation.
the years.
 Once explorers and settlers decided to stay and These oral stories include the following types of texts:
start building the natives could do nothing although  cultural information (beliefs about social order and
they usually tried to fight back. appropriate behavior)
 While oral stories are meant to be passed down  historical accounts including migrations how people
through generations verbally, it is important to got to where they are
remember that written transcripts are not exactly
 lessons describe how and why things are the way
representative of the oral performance. But a
translation/ transcription of the stories is the closest they are
we can come to sharing the Native American  creation stories and the origins of societies (beliefs
culture and tradition. about the nature of the physical world)
 These oral stories were chanted, spoken, sung and  legends which include exploits of their heroes
repeated over and over until embedded into the  traditions, religious beliefs, ceremonies, dream
memories of the next generations.
songs, shamanic chants, naming chants and
 The Native American oral tradition was the only
blessings (beliefs about human nature and the
way to pass on tribal history, heritage, and cultural
practices. In order to continue hundreds of years of problem of good and evil)
a tribes history the young must listen and  trickster tales featuring a trickster figure who was
remember the stories the elders tell and then pass any combination of the following descriptions rule-
them on. breaker, malicious, cunning, foolish, chaos-causing,
shape and gender shifting (a famous example is
Indigenous Americans inhabited this continent before anyone
Kokopeli who was a Hopi flute player symbolic of
else. They endured many invasions from the Spaniards for the
following primary reasons: (1) land, (2) gold and (3) crops all happiness, joy, and fertility)
of which were plentiful.  instructions from spirit mentors and explanations
on how to conduct ceremonies
Natives had a completely different set of values and traditions:  descriptions of natural processes such as water
1. some wouldn't fight back until they realized they cycles, inter-species relationships, life cycles of
would lose their land completely
plants, earth movements, and soil types
2. they lived off the land and held it in high regard
earth was the mother  oral maps for travel which describe historic and on-
3. they never used more than they needed and they going migrations of tribe for subsistence and holy
never wasted anything journeys
 magical tales of transformation which articulate the
Storytelling oral tradition mystery and complexity of being human adventures
 Long before European explorers came to North
in love, romance, and marriage
America, Native Americans had a rich literary tradition
of their own. Their stories, histories, and legends were
shared and preserved through oral tradition. The Major Themes in American Literature
storyteller is one whose spirit is indispensable to the - It includes (1) American Individualism, (2) American Dream,
people. (3) Cultural diversity and (4) Tolerance
American Individualism
 The Native Americans spoke hundreds of languages
and lived in incredibly diverse societies with varied  Also known as the self-made man
mythological beliefs.  Celebration of ambition and achievement
 Despite their differences, their cultures and literary  Original colonists came from religious freedom
traditions had the following common elements:  Later colonists came looking to make their fortune
1. lack of a written language for the opportunities not available in class-based
-they believed in the power of words and they European societies.
relied on memory, rather than writing to The American Dream
preserve their texts in this regard,  Closely linked to American Individualism
-these stories are not defined by the  The idea that anyone can became whatever he or she
boundaries of written language there are no wants to become through hard work, determination,
ending pages and they are not contained and perseverance.
within a limited, concrete, physical source; Cultural diversity
these stories belong to the collective  A society that welcomes legal immigrants of diverse
people/the tribe. backgrounds.
2. the oral tradition was a performance  The melting pot theory – immigrants assimilate into
-it is offered to the audience as dramatic our culture and become Americans.
events in time yet, the audience is not  The salad bowl theory – immigrants retain their
passive and has a role in bringing out the separate identifies while making up part of the whole
story the storyteller is very important to and adopt a hyphenated American name (Chinese-
Americans)
Tolerance Representative Authors
 Religious Tolerance was one of the first principles in  William Bradford (journal)
American Life.  Anne Bradstreet (poetry)
 More recent issues have included race, gender, sexual  Jonathan Edwards (sermon)
orientation and etc.  Mary Rowlandson (captivity narrative)
 Phillis Wheatley (poetry)
Native American Period (pre-1620)  Olaudah Equiano (slave narrative)
- These include ancient hieroglyphic and pictographic
writings of Middle America as well as an extensive set of Revolutionary period (1750-1815)
folktales, myths, and oral histories that were transmitted - (1) Historical Context, (2) Characteristics, (3) Important
for centuries by storytellers and that live on in the Authors
language works of many contemporary American Indian
writers. Historical Context
Native American period
- Oral Tradition of songs and stories.  Occurred during/after the Revolutionary War
 Originals authors unknown  Writers focused on explaining and justifying the
 Written accounts come after colonization American Revolution
 Includes: creation stories, myths, totems  Writers pondered what if really means to be an
 Archetypes: trickster and conjurer American
 Writers pondered what if really means to be an
- Focuses on: American
 The Natural world as sacred  After the war of 1812 (when last British troops were
 Importance of land and place removed from North America) there was an even
greater focus on Nationalism, Patriotism and
- Myth – an anonymous oral story American Identity.
 Relies on supernatural to explore a natural
phenomenon, human behavior or mystery Characteristics
 Explain why the world is the way it is/they help make
sense of the world  Emphasis on reason as opposed to faith alone; this
was a reaction to the Puritan way of life
- Notable Works  Shift to a more print-based culture; literacy seen as
 The Earth on the Turtle’s Back – Carol Pugliano sign of status
 When Grizzlies Walked Upright – Richard Erdoes  Instructive in values, highly ornate writing style,
and Alfonzo Ortiz. highly political and patriotic
 Grandmother Spider Steals the Sun – Geri Keams
 Creation by Women – Elizabeth Fisher Representative
 Benjamin Franklin (biography, common sense
aphorism)
COLONIAL period (1620-1750)  Patrick Henry (speech)
- Historical Context, (2) Characteristics, (3) Important  Thomas Paine (pamphlet)
Authors  Thomas Jefferson (political documents)
Colonial Period  Abigail Adams (letters)
Historical Context
 When colonists arrive in the new land, they created
villages and towns and established new governments
(while protesting the old ways in Europe) ROMANTICISM period (1800-1865)
 French. Swedes, Dutch, German, Scots-Irish, - (1) Historical Context, (2) Characteristics, (3) Important
Spanish, Africans (mostly slaves) Authors
 Did not consider themselves "Americans" until mid-
1700s Historical Context
 Enormous displacement of Native-American  A reaction to the previous decades in which reason
civilizations and rational thought dominated
 Period of invention, Manifest Destiny, abolition
Characteristics movement, and the "birth" of truly American
 Literature of the period was dominated by the Literature
Puritans and their religious influence  Growth of urban population in Northeast
 Emphasis on faith in one's daily life  Growth of newspapers, lectures, debates
- Predestination - A person's fate is determined by  Revolution in transportation and science
God  Industrial revolution made "old ways" of doing things
- Original Sin - All are corrupt and need a Savior irrelevant
- Puritan work ethic - belief in hard work and
simple, nofrills living Characteristics
- Theocracy - government ruled by Bible/church
 Types of Writing  Interest in fantasy and supernatural
1. Sermons
 Writing can be interpreted two ways - surface and
2. Diaries
depth
3. Personal Narratives
 Good triumphs over evil
 Writing Style
 Imagination over reason
- Writing is Utilitarian; not professional writers
- Writing in instructive  Intuition over fact
- Puritan Plain Style; Simple and direct
Writers celebrated:
 Individualism
  Nature  Characters reflect ordinary people in everyday life:
 Imagination determined yet flawed, struggling to overcome the
 Creativity difficulties of war, family, natural disasters, and
 Emotions human weaknesses
 Good doesn't always triumph over evil
 Types of Writing  Nature is a powerful force beyond man's control
1. Short Stories  Racism persisted beyond slavery-Reconstruction, Jim
2. Novels Crow, KKK, etc.
3. Poetry
Important Authors

Important Authors Transitional Writer

 Transition from Romanticism to Realism
Early Romantics  Express Transcendental ideas in poetry, with realistic
 Authors began the tradition of creating imaginative detail
literature that was distinctly American  Experimented with new poetic techniques such as
free verse and slant rhyme
1. Washington Irving (folktales)
2. William Cullen Bryant (poetry) 1. Walt Whitman (poetry)
3. James Fenimore Cooper (novels) 2. Emily Dickinson (poetry)

Fireside Poets Civil War Writers

 The most popular poets of the time were read in the  Primarily concerned with:
home by the fireside - The war
 Poetry contained strong family values and patriotism - Slavery
 Taught in elementary schools for memorization - Women's suffrage (right to vote)

1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1. Abraham Lincoln

2. Oliver Wendell Holmes 2. Robert E. Lee
3. James Russell Lowell 3. Mary Chesnut
4. John Greanleaf Whittier 4. Sojourner Truth
Transcendentalists 5. Harriet Beecher Stowe
 Hippies of the Romanticism 6. Frederick Douglass
 Belief that man's nature is inherently good; "divine
spark", or "inner light“ Local Color Writers (Regionalists)
 Man and society are perfectible (utopia)  Focused on a particular region of the country
 Stress self- reliance, intuition  Seeking to represent accurately the culture and
beliefs of that area.
1. Ralph Waldo Emerson (essays, poetry)  Emphasized:
2. Henry David Thoreau (essays) - Physical landscape
- Habits
- Occupations• Speech (dialect) of the area's
Dark Romantics people
 AKA Gothic or Anti- Transcendentalism
 Man's nature is inherently evil
 Use of supernatural 1. Mark Twain (Mississippi River valley)
 Strong use of symbolism 2. Kate Chopin (the South, particularly Louisiana)
 Dark landscapes, depressed characters 3. Willa Cather (the Midwest, particularly Nebraska)

1. Nathaniel Hawthorne (novels, short stories)

2. Herman Melville (novels, short stories, poetry) naturalism period (1880-1940)
3. Edgar Allan Poe (short stories, poetry, literary - (1) Historical Context, (2) Characteristics, (3)
criticism) Important Authors

Historical Context
Realism period (1850-1900)
- (1) Historical Context, (2) Characteristics, (3) Important  The Realistic Period includes the Civil War,
Authors significant industrial inventions, and extensive
westward expansion
Historical Context  Rejection of Romantic view of life as too idealistic
 The Realistic Period includes the Civil War,  Writers write about real-life issues and complex
significant industrial inventions, and extensive events of the time rather than idealized people or
westward expansion places
 Rejection of Romantic view of life as too idealistic  Objective narrator
 Writers write about real-life issues and complex
events of the time rather than idealized people or Characteristics
places
 Objective narrator  Focused on grim reality
 Observed characters like scientists observe lab
Characteristics animals
 Realistic authors convey the reality of life, however  Viewed nature and the universe as indifferent, even
harsh hostile, to man
 Universe is godless, cold, and indifferent
  Life is meaningless 3. Flannery O'Connor
 Fate Chance (no free will)
 Characters are helpless victims- trapped by nature, Traditional Poets
the environment, or their own heritage - Carl Sandburg
- Robert Frost
Important Authors
- Jack London (novels, short stories) Experimental Poets
- Stephen Crane (novels, short stories, poetry) - Edward Estlin Cummings
- Edwin Arlington Robinson (poetry)
- Ambrose Bierce (short stories) Modern Dramatists
- Arthur Miller
- Tennessee Williams
Modernism period (1900-1950)
- (1) Historical Context, (2) Characteristics, (3)
Important Authors Post-Modernism period (1950-present)
- (1) Historical Context, (2) Characteristics, (3)
Historical Context Important Authors

Writers affected by: Historical Context

 World War I, World War II, fear of communism,
beginning of the Cold War • unprecedented prosperity
 Roaring 20s, the Great Depression, commercialism
 Increased population from immigration • global conflict
 Lingering racial tensions - Korean War, Vietnam War, the end of the Cold
 Technological changes War, the rise of terrorism, Gulf War, 9/11, Iraqi
 Fear of eroding traditions War. War in Afghanistan

Characteristics
• social protest
- the civil rights movement, the women's rights
Modern writers are known for: movement, the gay rights movement
 Themes of alienation and disconnectedness
 Frequent use of irony and understatement
• Mass culture and consumerism
 Experimentation with new literary techniques in
fiction and poetry
• Media saturation
- Stream of consciousness
- Interior dialogue • Rise of technology and space exploration
- Fragments
 Creating a unique style • The digital revolution
 Rise of ethnic female writers

Important Authors Characteristics

The Lost Generation

 A group of writers who chose to live in Paris after • Eclectic - a collection of a little bit of everything•
WWI Create traditional works without traditional structure
 Themes of alienation and change
 Confronted people's fears, despair, and • Address social issues related to gender/race/youthful
disillusionment rebellion

1. T.S. Eliot (poetry) - Questions traditional values

2. F. Scott Fitzgerald (fiction) - Often critical and ironic
3. Ernest Hemingway (fiction) - No heroes/anti-heroes are common
- Detached, unemotional
Harlem Renaissance - Individuals are isolated
 Flourishing of African- American authors
 Included music and art Important Authors
 Two goals: (1) Write about African-American
experience (2) Create literature by African-
Americans that could rival anything created by
anyone else
• The Beat Poets Pre-hippies, highly intellectual,
exuberant language and behavior
1. Langston Hughes (poetry) 1. Jack Kerouac
2. Zora Neale Hurston (fiction) 2. William S. Burroughs
3. Claude McKay (poetry) 3. Allen Ginsberg

Southern Renaissance

 Follow in the footsteps of earlier local color writers,

in that they focus on the South
• Confessional Poets Used anguish of their own lives
to reveal hidden despair
1. Sylvia Plath
1. Margaret Mitchell
2. William Faulkner 2. Anne Sexton
 3. Robert LowellSylvia Plath
4. Anne Sexton
5. Robert Lowell

American Authors

1. J.D. Salinger
2. James Thurber
3. John Updike
4. Truman Capote
5. Stephen King
6. Joyce Carol Oates

Jewish

1. Elie Wiesel

African American

1. Ralph Ellison
2. Maya Angelou
3. Alice Walker

Latino-Americano

1. Julia Alvarez,
2. Sandra Cisneros

Asian-Americano

1. Amy Tan
2. Maxine Hong Kingston