New World

New World/Two Worlds

Laura Bull

ENG 491

October 31, 2016

Peggy Walls

American literature began long before the idea of America or American existed. American Literature, throughout the years, has gone through many changes and phases. All events, large and small that have shaped America have also shaped American Literature. The start of American Literature compared to modern day literature, readers can see literature has vastly grown in the way it is created and interpreted.

The start of American literature began with oral stories, due to the lack of reading and writing abilities. During the beginning of American literature, written stories did not yet exist, and stories were created and passed down generations through “spoken word- whether chanted, sung or presented in lengthy narratives” (Baym, 2012). Many of the first American stories were tales of Native American legends and myths. There were more than five-hundred different Native American languages and tribal cultures that existed in North America before the first Europeans arrived. Because of the various languages and cultures within the Native American society, their oral literature offered much variety and appeared diverse. Native Americans spoke their language and would often tell their stories to one another. Native Americans depended on their memories and their storytelling abilities to pass along the tales of their ancestors. It was imperative to the Native American culture that the stories were passed along with little to no variances so that the younger generation would not let their history cease to exist.  With the lack of written language, Native American would often illustrate pictures and drawings to accompany their oral stories. Along with pictures, they also used carvings and mementos to commemorate special events in their history. With the lack of written language, many stories and legends were lost to history when entire tribes died. There were times when a few members survived, possibly children, and due to the age of the surviving children, some of the stories were continued, but often there were forgotten details and specifics of the stories.

Native Americans’ lifestyles were different depending on their location. Some tribes were hunters, while others were agriculturalists. “In spite of some common features, religious and mythological beliefs were also diverse” (Baym, 2012) Because of the diversity, there have been eight documented creation stories all offering wide variations. “Stories about the creation of the world tell people who they are by telling them where they come from” (Baym, 2012). Each tribe, while different in many aspects, culturally they all had the same general outlook and perspectives of what life is and how it should be lived.