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Why study literature?. Why study literature?. Become literary expert Develop critical thinking skills Better understand other people Improve language skills Because it’s required Win on legyen milliomos. What this means for you. Come to lecture prepared
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Why study literature? • Become literary expert • Develop critical thinking skills • Better understand other people • Improve language skills • Because it’s required • Win on legyen milliomos
What this means for you • Come to lecture prepared (check website and read works in advance) • Read works in English • Ask questions
Purpose of lecture class • Provide context for readings (history/background) • NOT to force-feed interpretations • Opportunity to discuss other works • Prepare for kollokvium
Lit of New World • 1492 Columbus • 1620 Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock
Lit of New World • Who came? • Why? • Where? • What did they write?
Ponce de Leon Hernando DeSoto Balboa Spanish
Spanish • Came for gold • This led them to believe legends they heard… • Fountain of Youth • Seven Cities of Gold
French • Samuel de Champlain
French • Came for furs (hunting and trading) • Because of this, few came and mostly men • Better relations with Indians • Eventual loss of North America • Restricted to Quebec
Dutch • Henry Hudson
Dutch • Came to settle, primarily for commericial reasons. • Relationship to Indians bad • Lost war in 1664 to England • Names still in evidence
English • Pilgrims 1620 (Massachusetts) John Winthrop William Bradford • Jamestown 1607 (Virginia) John Smith
English • Came to settle for both religious & commericial reasons • This influenced • What they wrote • How they interpreted what they saw
What did they write? • Diaries • Travel journals
New writings • Change came when the Europeans settled and interacted with Indians. • Then came…. advertising.
Jamestown -1607 • Colony nearly failed • Disease • Starvation • Indians • 80% died
Jamestown - 1608 • John Smith leader • Autocratic rule ensures survival • Propaganda developed later to encourage new settlers
Pocahontas • Who was she? • What did she do?
Pocahontas • Saves John Smith’s life • Taken hostage by English • Marries John Rolfe • Dies in England
Pocahontas & John Smith • Why the changes over the years?
Pocahontas - 1616 • How the 17th century wanted to see her (adaptable)
Pocahontas • 19th century version (sexy, exotic)
Pocahontas • 21st century advertisement (child cute commodity)
Myth of the Noble Savage • Beginnings of idea that primitive peoples better than civilized people. They are closer to nature, hence innocent and unspoiled. • Applies here only to females • Takes hold once Indian culture defeated
Review terms • Travel journals & diaries • Henry Hudson • Jamestown & John Smith • Pocohontas • Myth of the Noble Savage
Next week • Read Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (short passage) • Literature of Colonial America