Division and Reconciliation Unit Review

Spirituals

LITERARY TERMS• Spiritual- Folk songs by slaves with

biblical references• Refrain- Repeats, effects on song• Repetition- Reinforced ideas, what was

repeated in each• Rhyme & Rhythm- Used for effect &

reinforcement

“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”

• Expresses desire for eternal salvation in heaven.• Longing for freedom and from slavery.• “Band of Angels” is symbol of the

underground railroad.• Based on Old Testament story.

“Go Down, Moses”

• Typical spiritual for biblical reference.• Moses is appropriate, led Israelites out

of Egypt to freedom.• Slaves identify because both suffered

oppression.

My Bondage and My Freedom

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass• Gifted writer and speaker• Famous for efforts to fight for abolition

of slavery• Education was key• Helped women win the right to vote as

well• Proponent for fair and equal rights

Literary Terms•Autobiography – an individual’s

written account of his/her own life• Tone – author’s attitude toward

the subject

My Bondage and My Freedom

• Consumed with learning and want for freedom, he grows to hate the institution of slavery.• Message is that slavery harms ALL

involved.• Douglass’s attitude toward slavery was

that it goes against the nature of both slave & owner.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

Ambrose Bierce“Bitter Bierce”

Literary Terms• Omniscient- narrator is an objective observer

of everything.• Third-person limited – narrator relate the

inner thoughts and feelings of the character.• Stream-of-consciousness - thoughts and ideas

the way the human mind thinks. Short bursts, not always clear or logical.

• Chronological order - represent the order of events.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

• Civil war hanging of a southern planter who tried to sabotage the North.• As Peyton Farquhar prepares to

die, his imagination takes over. • Surprise ending!

The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

&The Outcasts of Poker Flat

Mark Twain & Bret Harte

Mark Twain• Real name was Samuel Clemens• Known as the greatest American

author• Life on the Mississippi River

(setting of many of his stories)• Traveled all over country & Europe• Riverboat pilot, printer, journalist

and lecturer

HUMOR = EVOKE LAUGHTER• Use of exaggeration

(hyperbole)• Embellish incidents• Regional dialect – language

specific to a particular area• Use of a serious narrator that

has ridiculous qualities but is unaware (understatement)

The Notorious Jumping Frog…• Simon Wheeler tells story of a

betting man (Jim Smiley)• Smiley is clever & competitive.• Wanted a stranger to bet on Dan’l.• Simon Wheeler does not recognize

how ridiculous his tale is which adds to the humor

“THE OUTCASTS OF POKER FLAT”

By: Bret Harte

REGIONALISM• Depicts the unique qualities of a

particular place and it’s people• Use of LOCAL COLOR= highlights

characteristics unique to a time and place• Popular when America was

expanding, mid-to-late-1800’s

“The Outcasts of Poker Flat”• Typical Southwest town• Certain “characters” have been

banished from town• Mr. Oakhurst is the main

character tries to “save” them all• EACH character is flat in order to

illustrate specific traits.

“The Outcast of Poker Flat”

•Author’s attitude toward the outcasts is sympathetic.•Main message: punishment

without justice is as bad as the crime.

“I Will Fight No More Forever”

Chief Joseph

Literary Terms• TONE – the quality of language revealing distinct emotions and expresses the author’s attitude .• MOOD – the feeling created in the reader through the use of the tone.

BackgroundNative Americans used the land, but felt that they did not own it!

Culture of hunters so they ranged over a vast territory.

• Settlers felt differently feeling they owned the land they settled on.

• Created strong opposing view points.

Background• Originally from the Oregon area, Joseph was leader of the Nez Perce.• Government tried to relocate his people to Idaho.• Reluctantly signed treated giving the gov. control over their land.• He thought it was illegal and refused to recognize it.

Background• War erupts and his forces join with the Sioux.• Great leadership helped them to win many battles but were eventually forced to surrender.• Forced to live in the barren Oklahoma territory, many became ill and died.

I Will Fight No More Forever

• Emotionally charged• Became a symbol of the Native American’s tragic plight.

“To Build a Fire”

Jack London

Literary Terms

• Internal & External Conflict• Dramatic Irony• Predictions

To Build A Fire• Along the Yukon river of the frozen Northern wilderness of Alaska.

• An inexperienced yet confident man & his dog make a long & dangerous journey on foot toward camp.

• Temperatures are much colder than the man anticipated: 1st mistake!

• Builds a fire in the wrong spot: 2nd mistake, proves to be fatal!

To Build a Fire

•Nature is the antagonist.•Man’s overconfidence contributes to his downfall.

The Story of an Hour

by

Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin• Powerful & controversial

writers of the time• Influenced by American

Regionalists• Uses local color to capture the

essence of life in Louisiana.

Kate Chopin• Explored bold & radical themes

such as:–Nature of marriage–Racial prejudice–Women’s desire for social,

economical, and political equality

Kate Chopin• Novel The Awakening was

banned for content of a women’s search for independence and fulfillment• Today, it is in the top 5 most read

in colleges and universities

IRONY• VERBAL – use of words to suggest

the opposite of usual meaning.• DRAMATIC – reader is aware of

events and yet the character is not.• SITUATIONAL – outcome of an action

or situation is different from what one expects.

The Story of an Hour• Involves a keen sense of irony• Focus on reaction Mrs. Mallard’s has

about the death of husband• Watch for:– Specific details –Climax of story–Expected outcomes–Actual outcomes

“Douglass” & “We Wear the Mask”

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Poetry Terms• Exact rhyme – ways and days• Slant rhyme – prove and love• End rhyme – occurs at the ends of two or more poetic

lines• Internal rhyme – appear within a single line• Symbol – anything that stands for, or represents

something else• Simile – an explicit comparison between two different

things using “like” or “as”• Metaphor –an implied comparison made between two

unlike things that actually have something in common.

“Douglass” & “We Wear the Mask”

• Storm symbolizes the turmoil & hardship they still faced.• Wished Douglass was still alive to

guide them.• Dunbar suggest that the world sees

African Americans only when they hide their feelings.

Edwin Arlington Robinson &

Edgar Lee MastersPOETRY

FIVE

Robinson• Successful American poet of

the 20’s• Focus on people’s inner

struggles• Mostly desperate characters

who view their lives as trivial and meaningless• He used traditional style

Robinson

• Two poems address pain of a loss• Luke cannot figure how to go

on without his beloved• Richard Cory, the town is

mourning

Masters• Law by day, Chicago film critic• Abandoned conventional rhyme

& meter• Series of poems about people in

rural southern Illinois

Masters• Anthology consists of 244 epitaphs

for characters, buried in mythical Spoon River• The dead ARE the speakers, reveal

secrets kept hidden during their lifetime• Some happy, most filled with

frustration and despair

Masters• In the two poems, two

different characters and their abilities to face life in a changing world.• BOTH speak about their lives

from the graves.