Native American Lierature
Native American culture is an evolving topic for people who consider themselves Natives now but throughout the history of their ancestors they have been forced to define themselves over and over again. The culture that exists today is not the same one that existed but has changed due to the events going on in the world around them and the desire to fit in a constantly changing world.
Most of what has survived time from the Native American legacy is the things that now define what Native Americans used to be to most of the culture today. These are the things that today are seen on television, people in odd little pieces of clothing riding bare back on horses making noises by patting their mouth with their hand. But this is not very representative of the culture as a whole. One of the main ways histories is passed down for any group of people to its descendants is through story and the Native American people did this in a more unique and powerful way them most cultures. Each of these stories in the collection of Native American authors have one thing in common (besides the fact that they are all Native American) and it is that they are all telling their story. No other culture only writes about what they know but they tell stories of epic heroes of long ago and they can be used to fill in the history of the people that write. Story telling for this culture is not just way to entertain themselves or each other but a way of sharing what they have learned and the history of their people.
Most Native American stories are written with a purpose. The literary devices that are used within Native American Literature have come out of the tradition of vocal storytelling that later gets put from pen to paper. One literary device that was used is imagery for example in “The Little People” by Maria Campbell she goes on about the house to tell the reader about how their houses were different and similar at the same time. “There were open beams on the ceiling and under these
Most of what has survived time from the Native American legacy is the things that now define what Native Americans used to be to most of the culture today. These are the things that today are seen on television, people in odd little pieces of clothing riding bare back on horses making noises by patting their mouth with their hand. But this is not very representative of the culture as a whole. One of the main ways histories is passed down for any group of people to its descendants is through story and the Native American people did this in a more unique and powerful way them most cultures. Each of these stories in the collection of Native American authors have one thing in common (besides the fact that they are all Native American) and it is that they are all telling their story. No other culture only writes about what they know but they tell stories of epic heroes of long ago and they can be used to fill in the history of the people that write. Story telling for this culture is not just way to entertain themselves or each other but a way of sharing what they have learned and the history of their people.
Most Native American stories are written with a purpose. The literary devices that are used within Native American Literature have come out of the tradition of vocal storytelling that later gets put from pen to paper. One literary device that was used is imagery for example in “The Little People” by Maria Campbell she goes on about the house to tell the reader about how their houses were different and similar at the same time. “There were open beams on the ceiling and under these
Bibliography: Campbell, Maria. “The Little People.” Native American Literature: A Brief Introduction and Anthology. New York: HERPER COLONS COLLEGE, 1995. 76-82. Rodgers, John. “Return to White Earth.” Native American Literature: A Brief Introduction and Anthology. New York: HERPER COLONS COLLEGE, 1995. 46-57.