What is the most effective method to teach Early American Literature: by means of sequential request or sorted out by its specific subjects? As I would see it, it is more powerful to teach Early American Literature utilizing topics and ideas as opposed to the customary sequential request strategy. After all, it is the theme of a story that a student remembers most of the time, not the era in which the story was written. Furthermore, I believe when the relevance of a literary work is emphasized, students are more inclined to learn key concepts from that particular literary work.
I think if teachers persuade students to find the value in a particular literary work rather than requiring them to read because it is mandated in the curriculum, actual learning will take place.
In Early American Literature this learning should come from three major themes: settlement, religion, and the American Dream. The relevance of these themes in Early American Literature is unmistakably more imperative than the memorization of movements during the time period in which the they occurred.
The foundation of Early American Literature is based upon settlement. Numerous authors used the theme of settlement in their writings because it was after all where Early American Literature began. The religious turmoil in Europe lead to European settlers setting out to find freedom of religion, along with seeking a New World. The European settlers did find a New World in America; however, the New World was already populated with Native Americans.
Although the Native Americans did not have a single, widespread writing system, they did have a wide oratory tradition made up of religion, history, and educational literature.
These oratory traditions were used to describe the Native Americans’ experiences and travels throughout the New World. Furthermore, each oratory collection included descriptions of individual tribes and their different backgrounds, beliefs, and cultures. After some time, the European pilgrims took the oratory traditions of the Native Americans and grafted the selections into powerful themes of early American writings. By the early 1800’s, books and short stories were being composed to depict the American culture and investigate the New World. In order to gain a full understanding of where Early American Literature truly began, one must begin with settlement.
Although settlement is the foundation of Early American Literature, religion is by far one of the most well-known themes found throughout Early American Literature. Various examples of religious values can be found in writings all throughout early literature. Authors such as Winthrop, Winslow, Bradstreet, and others utilized religious compositions to advance an ethical or religious lifestyle. Religion assumed a huge job in the lives of explorers, as opportunity of religion was the essential explanation behind coming to America. Moreover, all through Early American Literature there are various instances of how the quality and character picked up from religious convictions helped the early pioneers beat hardships and affliction.
Early American Literature provides a glimpse of the gratefulness the early settlers had to God for providing strength and courage to overcome the obstacles they experienced. The reminder of how important God is to our true freedom is why religion should be a theme taught in Early American Literature. Finally, the theme of the American Dream is one of the most popular themes in Early American Literature. This theme can be found as far back as the European settlers. Although these settlers set forth to find freedom of religion, they likewise came searching for the guarantee of what the New Land held. They left their homes with everything they owned in quest of success and prosperity. The topic of the American Dream gave many American writers like James Truslow Adams an intriguing subject to use in order to make powerful or inspiring points in their writings.
The theme of the American Dream has turned out to be a flexible thought that Americans have adjusted to their very own biographies and encounters. It is not rooted in religion, lineage, or shared history, but is defined and shaped by cooperative values. These values allow people to be self-reliant, fulfill their own destiny, and believe that hard work and determination can produce a better tomorrow. Moreover, these values are profoundly sown into the texture of America since they protect the legacy of the genuine American Dream. While my American Dream might be not the same as those of the European pioneers, the equivalent basic tone exist: to work hard, be happy, and prosper. In my opinion, Early American Literature serves as the textbook by which literature is utilized to analyze a general public’s thoughts, values, fears, expectations and dreams.
This textbook by which Early American Literature is written often follows movements in Early American History, leading to the comprehension of themes. For example, settlement, religion, and the American Dream regularly reflects American standards and subjects. As a student, I would find it substantially more useful to learn Early American Literature dependent on topics and ideas as opposed to their sequential request. Themes such as settlement, religion, and the American Dream are easy to both find value in and understand, which leads to effective learning. I think making associations and seeing the pertinence of what we as students read makes the instructive experience unmistakably more significant than the ordered methodology. Therefore, my preference would be to teach Early American Literature thematically, not chronologically.
Settlements, Religions and the American Dream. (2022, Nov 18). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/settlements-religions-and-the-american-dream/