Review of Native American and Revolutionary Literature

Native American Literature Quiz

  • How did people first learn about Native American stories?

    • a. Museums

    • b. Word of mouth (correct answer)

    • c. Reading

    • d. School

  • True or False: American literature begins with Native American literature. (True)

  • What is the main Native American value/belief shown in each story?

    • a. The Earth on the Turtle's Back: Creation, determination

    • b. When Grizzlies Stood Upright: Grizzlies, community

    • c. The Navajo Origin Story: Wind is life, corn is sacred, humans created

  • Besides creation, what can also be explained in an origin myth? Select all that are true.

    • a. Traditions

    • b. Personal stories

    • c. A natural landmark

    • d. Animal biology

  • Who/What is created in each myth? Name the specific details only.

    • a. The Earth on Turtle's Back: The Earth

    • b. When Grizzlies Stood Upright: Grizzlies

    • c. The Navajo Origin Story: Humans

  • Explain how Native American stories show respect for the natural world.

    • These stories show respect for the natural world because they recount historical events (in various forms told differently) that explain the creation of humans, animals, and the world. They reflect the cultures' values, beliefs, and traditions.

Phillis Wheatley and Olaudah Equiano Quiz

  • In "Hymn to the Evening," Wheatley portrays night as a time of:

    • a. renewal (correct answer)

    • b. terror

    • c. virtue

    • d. death

  • In "A Hymn to the Evening," Wheatley says we are most pure at what time of day?

    • a. Morning

    • b. Afternoon

    • c. Evening (correct answer)

    • d. Twilight

  • In "To His Excellency, General Washington," Wheatley personifies America as which goddess?

    • a. Athena

    • b. Britannia

    • c. Columbia (correct answer)

    • d. Eolus

  • Which statement best expresses what Wheatley means by calling America "The land of…"

    • a. America is so weak that it needs God to defend it against its stronger enemies.

    • b. God watches over America because it is a free country. (correct answer)

    • c. Freedom is available only in heaven.

    • d. America is a heavenly country.

  • What does Equiano describe in "The Middle Passage"?

    • a. The loss of his African culture

    • b. The ocean journey on a slave ship (correct answer)

    • c. The struggle to abolish slavery

    • d. The sea life he observed on board

  • In "The Middle Passage," why did slaves jump off the ship?

    • a. They preferred death to slavery. (correct answer)

    • b. They hoped to swim to shore.

    • c. They wanted to give others more room.

    • d. They hoped to find another boat.

  • In "The Middle Passage," what does Equiano remember that helped him learn more about how sailors travel?

    • a. Listening to a drum signal the slaves' sale

    • b. Looking through the quadrant to find land (correct answer)

    • c. Being put into the merchant's yard

    • d. Seeing ships in the Barbados harbor

  • True or False: Phillis Wheatley had to obtain signatures from prominent men in Boston to verify the authenticity of her authorship before her poems could be published. (True)

  • True or False: Olaudah Equiano was one of many who wrote about his experience as a slave. (False)

  • What is the main idea Wheatley expressing in her poem "On Being Brought from Africa to America"?

    • To show that when she was brought to America, she had opportunities for redemption and equal rights.

  • What was Olaudah Equiano's intention in writing about "The Middle Passage"?

    • To inform readers about the daily environment of how the slaves lived on the boat and how they were treated poorly.

  • What kind of text did Olaudah Equiano write?

    • The Slave Narrative

  • Extra Credit: How did Phillis Wheatley get her name?

    • "Phillis" = name of the ship she was on.

    • "Wheatley" = name of her owners.

Puritan Literature Test

  • Author Identification:

    • “Of Plymouth Plantation” - E. William Bradford

    • “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” - C. Jonathan Edwards

    • “Upon the Burning of Our House” - D. Anne Bradstreet

    • “To My Dear and Loving Husband” - D. Anne Bradstreet

  • True or False:

    • God's wrath is compared to black clouds hanging over people's heads. (True)

    • God's view of man's sin is compared to the way humans view a rotting animal carcass. (True)

    • Mankind's sin is compared to a team of horses out of control running towards a cliff. (True)

    • God's wrath is compared to great waters that are held back by a dam for the time being. (True)

    • According to the author, the pleasure and hand of God keep people out of hell. (True)

  • Figurative Language Matching: Note: Some answers will be used more than once.

    • A. Simile

    • B. Metaphor

    • C. Personification

    • D. “there is hell's wide gaping mouth open”

    • A. "Your wickedness makes you as if you were heavy as lead…"

    • B. "The bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string."

    • C. "The God holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider…"

    • D. "The world would spew you out…"

  • Which emotion did the speaker NOT experience?

    • a. Sorrow

    • b. Fear

    • c. Thankfulness

    • d. Jealousy (correct answer)

  • Which of the following lines is an example of inversion?

    • a. "It was his own, it was not mine"

    • b. "And them behold no more shall I" (correct answer)

    • c. "Raise up thy thoughts above the sky"

    • d. "Farewell, my pelf, farewell, my store"

Revolutionary Literature Test

  • Author Identification:

    • “On Being Brought from Africa to America” - B. Phillis Wheatley

    • “The Declaration of Independence” - D. Thomas Jefferson

    • “His Excellency General Washington” - B. Phillis Wheatley

    • “A Hymn to the Evening” - B. Phillis Wheatley

    • “The Autobiography” - C. Ben Franklin

    • “Speech in the Virginia Convention” - E. Patrick Henry

  • What does Equiano describe in "The Middle Passage" from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano?

    • a. The loss of his African culture

    • b. The ocean journey on a slave ship (correct answer)

    • c. The struggle to abolish slavery

    • d. The sea life he observed on board

  • What attitude toward slavery does the narrative most strongly convey?

    • a. Outrage (correct answer)

    • b. Understanding

    • c. Tolerance

    • d. Indifference

  • In The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Equiano mentions "many of the inhabitants of the deep" who were happier than he was. Who or what is he describing?

    • a. The slaves asleep in the ship's hold

    • b. The slaves who jumped into the sea

    • c. The fish and other ocean creatures (correct answer)

    • d. The slave traders asleep in their cabins

  • What gives The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano its strength?

    • a. Its poetic words and figures of speech

    • b. Its similarity to an African folk tale

    • c. Its power as a personal account (correct answer)

    • d. Its logical arguments against slavery

  • What was Equiano's main purpose in writing The Interesting Narrative?

    • a. To entertain readers with dramatic episodes in his life

    • b. To sway public opinion about slavery (correct answer)

    • c. To contrast life in Africa and life in Barbados

    • d. To provide detailed information on 18th-century sea travel

  • Who is considered the mother of the African American literary tradition?

    • a. Olaudah Equiano

    • b. Toni Morrison

    • c. Phillis Wheatley (correct answer)

    • d. Zora Neale Hurston

  • In "On Being Brought from Africa to America," Wheatley's main message is that:

    • a. She regrets learning English

    • b. She believes her enslavement was a blessing

    • c. All people, regardless of race, can be redeemed by God

    • d. Africans are inferior to Europeans

  • In "A Hymn to the Evening," the "sable curtains" refer to:

    • a. winter

    • b. the west wind

    • c. darkness (correct answer)

    • d. thunder

  • Which tone best describes "A Hymn to the Evening"?

    • a. Angry and urgent

    • b. Calm and reverent (correct answer)

    • c. Humorous and playful

    • d. Suspicious and ironic

  • In "To His Excellency, General Washington," what human characteristics does Wheatley give to Great Britain?

    • a. innocence and ignorance

    • b. pride and vanity

    • c. foolishness and greed

    • d. malice and spite (correct answer)

  • In "To His Excellency, General Washington," Wheatley personifies America as:

    • a. a fierce goddess of freedom (correct answer)

    • b. a mourning mother

    • c. a helpless child

    • d. a proud king

  • In the "speckled ax" metaphor, Franklin suggests that:

    • a. People should strive for absolute perfection no matter the cost

    • b. Accepting some imperfections can be wiser than exhausting oneself trying to eliminate them

    • c. Anyone can achieve total perfection if disciplined enough

    • d. Tools reflect a person's character

  • What was the primary purpose of most literature during the Revolutionary period?

    • a. to entertain readers

    • b. to persuade people to understand political issues (correct answer)

    • c. to provide scientific information

    • d. to document historical events

  • What does Benjamin Franklin's list of 13 virtues show us about his personality?

    • It shows that Franklin is very determined about the things he's set his mind on accomplishing.

  • Explain the meaning of this aphorism: "The doors of wisdom are never shut."

    • This means that wisdom never goes away and is always accessible.

  • What is ironic about these words by Patrick Henry?

    • He states, "…I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery…Give me liberty or give me death!" He is a slave owner who desires freedom for himself but does not wish the same for his slaves.

  • Identify the allusion and figurative language in the following: "Soon as the sun forsook the eastern main…"

    • The phrase reflects the sun rising/setting.

  • Personification Examples: "The pealing thunder shook the heav'nly plain…"

    • Represents the grandeur of nature and its impact.

  • Overall Meaning: The poem emphasizes the magnificence of creation and the divine, highlighting themes of spirituality and respect towards God.