American Literature

Question 1

Orally transmitted myths, legends, tales, and lyric songs of Indian cultures

Answer 1

Early American and Colonial Period (early 15th century)

Question 2

There was no written literature among the more than 500 different Indian languages and tribal cultures that existed in North America before the first Europeans arrived.

Answer 2

Early American and Colonial Period (early 15th century)

Question 3

Native Americans were called

Answer 3

Merciless Indian Savages

Question 4

Most writing were explorers’ tales

Answer 4

The Literature of Exploration (16th century)

Question 5

Italian explorer funded by the Spanish rulers Ferdinand and Isabella

Answer 5

Christopher Columbus

Question 6

Printed in 1943, which recounts his voyages

Answer 6

Epistola (Christopher Columbus)

Question 7

Leader of the Jamestown colony and wrote the most famous story of the Indian maiden, Pocahontas

Answer 7

Captain John Smith

Question 8

Favorite daughter of Chief Powhatan, saved Captain Smith’s life when he was a prisoner of the chief; their marriage (John Rolfe) initiated an eight-year piece between the colonists and the Indians

Answer 8

Pocahontas

Question 9

Puritans believed in God’s ultimate sovereignty in granting grace and salvation.

Answer 9

Colonial Period in New England (17th century–1830)

Question 10

3 Important covenants of the Puritans

Answer 10

Work, Grace, Redemption

Question 11

Believed that the Church of England was corrupt and that true Christians must separate themselves from it (Plymouth colonists)

Answer 11

Separating Puritans

Question 12

Believed in reform but not separation (Massachusetts Bay Colony)

Answer 12

Non-Separating Puritans

Question 13

This movement was marked by:
Rationality rather than tradition;
Scientific inquiry instead of unquestioning religious dogma; and
Representative government in place of monarchy

Answer 13

The American Enlightenment (18th-19th century)

Question 14

One of the founding figures of the US, reflecting concepts such as liberty, equality, and the pursuit of happiness

Answer 14

Thomas Jefferson

Question 15

Foundational document in American History

Answer 15

The Declaration of Independence (Thomas Jefferson)

Question 16

Revolutionary thinker and writer during the American Enlightenment movement who was known for his political pamphlets

Answer 16

Thomas Paine

Question 17

Pivotal pamphlet that argued for American independence from Britain

Answer 17

Common Sense (Thomas Paine)

Question 18

“The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind.”

Answer 18

Thomas Paine

Question 19

Originated in Germany but quickly spread to Europe and reached America 20 years after William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge had revolutionized English poetry by publishing “Lyrical Ballads.”

Answer 19

Romantic Movement (1820-1860)

Question 20

Focuses of the Romantic Period

Answer 20

ASP
Art
Self
Psychological States
(Add Sublime: effect of beauty in grandeur)

Question 21

Famous for his exploration of the macabre.

Answer 21

Edgar Allan Poe

Question 22

A chilling story that explores the narrator’s descent into madness after murdering an old man.

Answer 22

A Tell-Tale Heart

Question 23

Man’s place in the universe. He went to sea when he was just 19 years old. Most of his early novels grew out of his voyages.

Answer 23

Herman Melville

Question 24

Captain Ahab is consumed by his quest to hunt the white whale, which had previously maimed him.

Answer 24

Moby Dick

Question 25

Focuses on harsh realities of life and gives the reader a true sense of "local color."

Answer 25

Realism (20th Century)

Question 26

Post-Civil War literary movement (1865-1900)

Answer 26

Realism (20th Century)

Question 27

Captured the complexities of American life during the Realism period and wrote the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Answer 27

Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

Question 28

Follows the journey of a young boy who escapes from his household life and Jim, a runaway slave, as they travel along the Mississippi River.

Answer 28

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)

Question 29

Writer during the realist movement who focuses on themes like war, poverty, and human resilience.

Answer 29

Stephen Crane

Question 30

Psychological experience of warfare through Henry Fleming, a young Union soldier during the American Civil War.

Answer 30

The Red Bandage of Courage (Stephen Crane)

Question 31

A feminist writer who wrote the Story of an Hour

Answer 31

Kate Chopin

Question 32

Follows Louise Mallard, a woman with a heart condition, as she learns of her husband's sudden death in a train accident.

Answer 32

The Story of an Hour (Kate Chopin)