Fluent Essays

After reading Song and The Great Sea, keep in mind the information from Notes on Native American Oral Literature and consider the following questions: What imagery seems striking or most important in the works? (Remember that imagery can relate to any of the 5 senses.)How might the imagery in Song relate to the tone and main idea of the work?How might the imagery in The Great Sea relate to the tone and main idea of the work?In either poem, do you find repetition that serves to emphasize an important idea or to create an emotional response or both? Why? Try to find particular words/phrases/lines to support your answer and define the specific idea/s and/or emotions that might be emphasized in the work.As a modern reader, how might you be able to relate to Song and The Great Sea? Thanksgiving Address” What might be the significance of the repeated phrase “Now our minds are one”What is the significance of the different groups addressed and the order in which they are addressed? What might this tell the audience? (Note: Keep in mind that what is usually most important is either first and/or last in a piece.)What imagery can be found in Thanksgiving Address? How might this imagery enhance the meaning of the piece--or even a particular part of the work? What might be the point of this work? The Haudenosaunee founding story focuses on the origin of the Iroquois confederacy, but it also illuminates other aspects of the Haudenosaunee culture. Similarly, while the Hopi origin story explains how their people came to be and their place in the world, this story also explain the origins of other aspects of their culture and the world. List and describe the different aspects of the Haudenosaunee and Hopi cultures and the world, all that is explained, in these two origin stories. “The Iroquois Creation Story” What is the relationship between the two brothers? Why is it significant that they are twins?Why is the bad twin envious of the good twin?In the story, how are the Good Mind and the Bad Mind different from how a modern Western reader might typically think of “good” and “evil”?How is the rivalry between the brothers resolved?As a creation story, what does this tale explain? What lessons can be found in the story? The Navajo Creation Story Describe each world that the Navajo travel through before reaching the surface. In each instance, why do they need to leave, ultimately finding another world?What is the significance of the Holy People in the story?How were First Man and First woman created? Describe their relationship.What role does Coyote play in the story?Why do Changing Womans sons, the Twins, not kill all the monsters plaguing the people?What is the significance of the place where the Navajo reside, their homeland?What lessons can be found in this story?The Great https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48709/the-great-sea-#about Thanksgiving Address http://www.nmai.si.edu/environment/pdf/01_02_Thank...https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=swJs2cGNwIU http://www.pbs.org/native-america/extras/sacred-st... On the page, scroll down to Explore All Sacred Stories, and Haudenosaunees Legendary Founding will be the second video clip under that section. Native America: Hopi Origin Story https://www.pbs.org/video/hopi-origin-story-dc0awe... notes_on_native_american_oral_literature.docx Unformatted Attachment Preview Notes on Native American Oral Literature 1 Often Native Americans are treated as homogenous in the media—indeed when they are recognized at all—so it is important to note how rich and varied their cultures are, especially before Europeans came to the New World. Scholars estimate that of a population of 10 million, there were approximately 200 different languages spoken, representing the diversity of Native American culture.* 2 Their oral literature—stories, songs, prayers, and chants—is a centuries old tradition. This spoken literature is dynamic and organic, constantly evolving, rather than static. The works might vary depending on the tribe. For example, the Iroquois are composed of five distinct nations, so each group could tell its own version of a particular story. The story also change depending on the storyteller, his/her relationship with the audience, and particular circumstances. 3 The notion of ownership varies within this literary tradition: rather than the individual retaining sole ownership, the story, song, etc. is also considered communal property or the property of a particular group within the community. 4 There are multiple influences on these Native American works that affect their development and how they are understood—for example, the impact of transcribers who might not know or understand the language or culture of a particular tribe they are working with. · Translation: when these pieces are translated from their native language, there might not be a one-to-one correlation between words, and some concepts or ideas might not translate well or make sense in another language—especially outside of a cultural context and without the verbal and visual cues from a performance. · Ethnocentrism of the transcriber: sometimes words or passages deemed unimportant or confusing by the ethnographer (the person writing down the story or poem) might be left out, or the format of the work might be changed to reflect literary styles current at that time. · Contact with Europeans: the incorporation of personal experiences, European folktales, and Bible stories. · Education or Christianization of Native Americans by Europeans, and later by converted Native Americans. 5 Native American “poems”—songs, chants, prayers—often feature particular elements: · Significant use of imagery: We often think of imagery in terms of visual imagery— pictures we imagine as we read or listen to a work—but imagery can relate to any of the 5 senses. It is a way for the reader or listener to focus on specific words, phrases, or images used by the author in order to imagine the visceral experience/s described in a piece. · Repetition of a particular word or phrase: In a longer work, repetition can serve as a mnemonic, or memory, device, as a way to help the person performing the piece stay on track with its various sections. Repetition can also serve to emphasize an important idea, and it can be used to create an emotional response in the audience listening to the piece. 6 There are four different types of Native American tales. · Origin/Emergence tales, like most creation myths, seek to explain the physical world and particular features of the world, to explain how the world came to be as people know it, and to explain how people are connected with the physical world. These stories also explain the origins of a particular community and how its people came to be in a particular place, certain geographical markers, particular aspects of animals and plants, and even the origins of certain cultural practices and traditions. · Culture Hero tales focus on an extraordinary individual who transforms the community in a significant way, usually by introducing an important practice or tradition with cultural or religious significance. · Historical narrative presents events from a Native perspective. · Trickster tale focuses on a supernatural being, often a shape shifter, engaging in taboo behavior, testing or challenging cultural norms to reinforce accepted behaviors. The trickster is an outrageous, often obscene, character whose antisocial behavior creates a negative role model for conduct—demonstrating what NOT to do—while providing a release through laughter from the strain of maintaining particular social expectations. However, the trickster character is complex. While a rebel against authority and a breaker of taboos, the trickster can also a hero—although acts of benevolence are often the by-product of actions with baser motives. The trickster represents the spontaneous in life, the creative spark, by defying fixed roles and behavior. This character represents the dichotomy between the need for boundaries and the need for growth. 7 With these stories, it is often important to look for some lesson or admonition—some message or point. *This information came from The Heath Anthology of American Literature. ... Purchase answer to see full attachment