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Time Period: Pre-Colonialism

Years: pre-1607

Major Historical Events: Vision of the Prophet in “Ghost Dance Songs,” Saint Augustine becomes the first European Colony in North American history (1565), Christopher Columbus genocides (1492)

Major Authors: Sioux, Arapaho

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Name of the Sample Work: “Ghost Dance Songs”

Time Period: Pre-Colonial

Dates: published 1840s and set pre-1607

Point of View: first person

Themes: Freedom, Hunger, Death, Redemption, Spiritual

Connection: The Souix indirectly mention the effects of Christopher Columbus’ genocides and colonization of the native land in the lyrics of the “Ghosts Dance Songs.” The natives sing the lyrics “the whole world is coming, / a nation is coming…” (Sioux 19-20). This displays the impending nature of the colonizers that the Sioux sees them as. Additionally, the Souix discuss the theme of Spirit. The natives sing, “The spirit is advancing, they say” (27) in hopes that the native spirit will save them from the advances of the Europeans.

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Time Period: Colonialism

Years: 1607-1775

Major Historical Events: rise of Puritanism, colonization of native lands (1607), migration of Europeans to New World (post 1607), Salem Witch Trials (1692)

Major Authors: Jonathan Edwards, Nathaniel Hawthorn

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Name of Sample Work: “Sinners In the Hand of Angry God”

Time Period: Colonialism

Dates: preached in 1741 and set in 1741

Point of View: Third Person

Themes: Death, Punishment, Fate

Connection: The author of “Sinners In the Hand of Angry God” shows the reader of the rise of Puritanism throughout the sermon. Jonathan Edwards preaches, “The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present” (5). This quote displays the establishment of the puritan belief in the omnipotent powers of God. Jonathan Edwards mentions the theme of Punishment throughout the sermon. Jonathan Edwards writes, “O sinners! Consider the fearful danger you are in” (7), to point out the wrath and punishment that comes with upsetting God.

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Time Period: Enlightenment

Years: 1776-1820s

Major Historical Events: Establishment of the independent United States (1776), Wealth of Nations is published (1776), Boston Tea Party (1773)

Major Authors: Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Locke

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Name of Sample Work: “The Declaration of Independence”

Time Period: Enlightenment

Dates: published and set in 1776

Point of View: Third Person

Themes: Freedom, Liberty, Independence

Connection: “The Declaration of Independence” directly connects to the action of the 13 colonies becoming an independent nation from England. Thomas Jefferson writes, “these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States” (46), displaying that the United States would be free from that point onward. He also portrays the theme of Liberty in this declaration. Written in the second paragraph, “all men are created equal” (5), is an example of liberty. This shows to the reader that liberty is for all.

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Time Period: Romanticism / Dark Gothic Romanticism

Years: 1820s-1860s

Major Historical Events: Poe becomes editor for the Southern Literary Messenger (1835), Poe died (1849), Industrial Revolution (1840s)

Major Authors: Frank Lebby Stanton, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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Name of Sample Work: “The Raven”

Time Period: Romanticism / Dark Gothic Romanticism

Dates: published and set in 1845

Point of View: First Person

Themes: Grief, Love, Loss

Connection: Edgar Allan Poe relates the death of his wife named Virginia to the speaker’s wife in “The Raven”. The protagonist and the Raven speak with each other, “‘-tell me truly, implore!’ / Quote the Raven ‘Nevermore.’” (Poe 89-90). This frustration that the protagonist has for the death of a partner takes place in Edgar Allan Poe’s life. Similarly, the theme of Grief is clearly displayed by the words of the speaker when the Raven repeats, “Nevermore.” (90). The constant repetition of the word illustrates the constant thought of grief that the speaker experiences.

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Time Period: Transcendentalism

Years: 1830-1855

Major Historical Events: Connection with humans to nature (starting in the 1830s), establishment of individuality (starting in the 1830s), the abolitionist movement (1830s)

Major Authors: Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walter Whitman

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Name of Sample Work: ”Because I could not stop for Death”

Time Period: Transcendentalism

Dates: published in 1890 and set in 1863

Point of View: First Person

Themes: Death, Immortality, Fate

Connection: In ”Because I could not stop for Death”, we see the poet relate the establishment of individuality that comes with transcendentalism. Emily Dickinson writes, “I first surmised the Horses’ Heads / Were toward Eternity -” (23-24). She discusses this to show the reader that she understood the meaning of the horses, and that they were for her future and about her individual self. The theme of Death is clearly mentioned in the first line, it says, “Because I could not stop for Death - / He kindly stopped for me” (1-2). This shows the importance of the theme of Death in the poem.

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Time Period: Slave Narrative

Years: 1840-1860

Major Historical Events: Nat Turner’s Rebellion (1831), Underground Railroads (1850s-1860s), abolitionist rise (1830s)

Major Authors: Frederick Douglass

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The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass

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The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass

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Name of Sample Work: The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass

Time Period: Slave Narrative

Dates: published and set in 1845

Point of View: First Person

Themes: Coming of Age, Education, Freedom

Connection: Frederick Douglass illuminates the Underground Railroads in The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass. Instead of their common name, Douglass refers to the escape routes as the “underground railroads…” (76). This displays Douglass’ concern for the popularity of the underground railroads. The theme of Freedom is also apparent within the novel. Douglass writes, "But, by this time, I began to want to live upon free land as well as with Freeland; and I was no longer content, therefore, to live with him or any other slaveholder." (122). This shows his want for freedom away from an owner.

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Time Period: Modernism

Years: Roughly 1901-1950

Major Historical Events: World War I (1914-1918), World War II (1939-1945, America entered 1941), airplanes (1903)

Major Authors: F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Name of Sample Work: The Great Gatsby

Time Period: Modernism

Dates: published in 1925 and set in 1922

Point of View: First Person Limited

Themes: The American Dream, Class, Love

Connection: Gatsby mentions the first world war when speaking of his backstory in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Gatsby explains to Nick, “It was a great relief, and I tried very hard to die, but I seemed to bear an enchanted life” (14). The fact that Gatsby’s fate was not to die in the war, shows the reader how important he is. The theme of Class is visible in the text as well. Daisy says,“Sophisticated—God, I’m sophisticated!” (16), as a way of showing how her class separates her from others that are not as wealthy.