Analysis Essay on American Literature

Pima Stories of the Beginning of the World Analysis

The creation stories fulfill the human desire to wonder about the unknown and seek answers, although every culture has its own myth of explaining the existence of human beings, the majority of the creation myths share common literary elements such as the supernatural creatures or beings, beginning with the theme of birth and their immense influence on the members of that particular community.

What are Pima Stories About?

The Pima story is a creation myth story explaining the existence of the world of the ancient Indian community. The story talks of the beginning of the earth with only one man, Juhwertamahkai also known as the doctor of the earth in the story, and how he came up with the different creations in the wondering and dark wilderness (Baym, 2007). The story then provides the chronological events of creation from the first day of creating greasewood bush to the last Day Mountains and everything good to be eaten.

Literary Devices and Elements in Pima Stories

Some of the literary devices and elements in the story include the superstitious power, symbolism of birth in the beginning, and enumeration of events. Most of the creation myth stories share the element of the existence of supernatural beings in the story that controls everything. In the Pima story, the narrator explains that the supernatural being in the story, also known as a doctor of the earth had all the power to create the mountains, human beings, and water (Baym, 2007). Enumeration of events is another element or literary device that can be found in the Pima story. The creation events have been enumerated from the first day when a doctor of the earth created the greasewood bush, followed by water second, stars and moon on the third day, and finally, he created the mountains and things to be eaten.

Symbolism in Pima Stories

Symbolism is another element that has been widely adopted in the creation story, the Pima story. The birth of the parents symbolizes the beginning of a new life on earth. The parents in the Pima story symbolize the beginning of a new life on earth as well. The parents figure in the story shows the representation of the existence of creation in the world.

References

Baym, N. (2007). The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol. A. WW Norton. Retrieved from https://againstamericangrain.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/pima-stories-of-the-beginning-of-the-world-the-story-of-creation/

Analysis of Walt Whitman Recording “I Hear America Singing”

I hear America singing is one of the poems in a recording collection performed by Walt Whitman. The poem examines the hopelessness of Americans (Whitman, 1991). The persona in the poem tries to give the people the hope that they have lost in war, building the economy and creating a happy society that everyone can feel proud of.

Literary Devices in “I Hear America Singing”

Some of the literary elements in the poem include metaphors, repetition, and symbolism. Metaphors have been widely used in the poem. The narrator compares the sound and actions of the workers with the sound of music metaphorically. Almost all the jobs that have been described in the poem such as sewing or washing produce a physical sound.

Symbolism in “I Hear America Singing”

Repetition is another core element that the poet has used to create emphasis in his ideas. Article the has been repeated in every line especially in the last seven lines not only to create rhythm but also to create emphasis for the readers. Although symbolism has not directly manifested itself in the poem, we can depict the element from the literal meaning of the words that have been used in the poem. For example, the song that the narrator talks about in the poem is a symbol of hope to Americans that have lost hope of fighting for their country.

Reference

Whitman, W. (1991). I Hear America Singing. [Video file]. Retrieved from vvhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnMoUm87QII

Analysis of Story Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford

The story Of Plymouth Plantation authored by William Bradford examines the social and religious life of the English pilgrims. The pilgrims who are also called puritans got their puritan name from their religious life. The story depicts the separation between the puritans and the separatists who wanted to move away from the Church of England. It further describes the rift between the two ideologists, puritans and separatists, and the sacrifices that the separatists made while trying to move from the Church of England. The book further describes the settlement of the separatists in America after a long struggle with the puritans in Europe.

Themes in Of Plymouth Plantation

Some of the themes discussed in the book include the significance of faith to religious believers, perseverance, and the strength of a united society. The theme of the significance of faith is one of the major themes explored in the book, Of Plymouth Plantation. The Puritans believed in God’s existence and His ability to do anything. This is expressed in a situation where the nasty shipman was knocked by a storm on the Mayflower voyage and the people considered it the will of God. The pilgrims believed in the strength of God, for example, the narrator says we verily believe and trust the Lord is with us, unto whom and whose services we have given ourselves in many trials (Bradford, 1908, p.38).

The strength of a united society or community is another main theme depicted in the story. Bradford writes about the challenges that the pilgrims experienced during the first winter season, for example, disease outbreaks and starvation that affected many people. The author describes the unity that made the community survive the challenges they experienced during winter. The seven members of the pilgrim community that did everything together to ensure the community continued to the next generation acted in unity. However, it was not only the unity that ensured the success of the pilgrims but also the willingness and cheerfulness of the participants (Bradford, 1908).

Literary Devices in of Plymouth Plantation

Some of the literary elements presented in the story include the third-person perspective of narration and symbolism. The author has used the third-person narration perspective in narrating the story. The significance of the third point of view of narration is to impart the sense of community in the audience that the successful survival of the evict was because of the unity of the community and not the individual’s ability. Symbolism is also related to this concept of point of view of narration, for instance, the narrator in the third perspective is not an individual character but is the voice representing the community. The narrator in the third point of view symbolizes the community in the story, therefore, the struggles that the narrator explains are experienced by the whole community. For example, the narrator explains that in two or three months during winter almost half of the company had died (Bradford, 1908). The narration is the third point of view symbolizing the suffering of the whole community. The loss due to the death of some of the people is something that was felt by everyone in the company.

Reference

Bradford, W. (1908). History of Plymouth Plantation, 1606-1646 (Vol. 6). C. Scribner's Sons. Retrieved from http://eada.lib.umd.edu/text-entries/of-plymouth-plantation/

Analysis of Literary Elements in After Apple-Picking by Robert Frost

The poem, After Apple-Picking recited by Robert Frost himself, depicts the persona explaining his experience after apple picking. The persona explains how tired he is after a long day’s work. The persona says that he has felt drowsy and dreamy but after a long day’s work, he feels tired, sleepy, and exhausted. He wonders whether the experience is normal or something more than just tiredness.

Literary Devices in After Apple Picking

Some of the poetic literary elements used in the poem include repetition, rhyme, imagery, and personification. Rhyme has been used to create rhythm in the poem, for example, the sounds in the first line end with tree second line ends with still, the third line ends with fill, and line four ends with three. Therefore, figuring the rhyme scheme of the first four lines will be ABBA.

Personification in After Apple Picking

Personification is another literary element that the poet has used in the poem. Personification is depicted towards the end of the poem in the last three lines, for example, was he not gone: The woodchuck could say whether it’s like his (Frost, 2016, lines 40-41). Imagery has also been used in the poem to give the audience a mental picture of events as they happen in the poem. The reader can be able to get the picture about the chilliness of the afternoon after the persona has worked the whole day, the persona says, Essence of winter sleep is on the night (Frost, 2016, line 7). One can be able to get the image of a chilly evening after reading the whole poem. The poet evokes the reader’s emotions by providing a vivid description of the events and whether such that the reader can be able to picture it as if he/she was there.

Reference

Frost, R. (2016). The Poetry of Robert Frost. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKRXWV6-pbY

Analysis of The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway

The article A Stylistic Comparison of Two Short Stories by Ernest Hemingway: A Clean, Well-Lighted Place and Hills like White Elephants authored by Hietanen in 2009 examines the common characteristics of Earnest Hemingways works by focusing on two short stories. Through the analysis of the two short stories, we can get the common features that Hemingway uses in most of his works. Literary authors are mainly identified by the features of their works. The same way Hemingways works can be identified by some of the works that Hietanen has examined in his article. Some of the features that Hemingway commonly uses in his works include low-frequency adjectives, the hidden plot that leaves the audience to interpret the work by themselves, and short sentences. This article can help us analyze the story The Snow of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway.

What Is the Plot of Snows of Kilimanjaro?

The story The Snows of Kilimanjaro depicts a couple, Harry and his wife Helen who are stranded on their safari in Africa. Harry is sick and in his sickbed, he stares at the biggest mountain in Africa. Harry starts to hallucinate about a plane coming to rescue him which is not true. The coming of Harry and Helen in Africa followed their desire to stay away from their pretentious and rich friends in Paris. Harry does not have respect for women even when Helen adores him that much. He dies in his fantasy about the rescue.

What Is the Meaning of the Snows of Kilimanjaro?

As Hietanen (2009) explains, Hemingway’s works are not direct that a reader can easily read through and depict the meaning. However, the reader needs to use his/her imaginations to be able to grasp the meaning of Hemingways works (Hietanen, 2009, p. 12). Another feature that Hemingway’s works have in common is the use of distrusting adjectives in his descriptions. Most of Hemingways works do not have direct descriptions with which a reader can easily relate. Hietanen (2009) argues that Hemingway’s works ignore or omit heavy adjectives and adverbs intentionally (Hietanen, 2009, p.13). In the story, The Snow of Kilimanjaro Hemingway has omitted direct adverbs and adjectives or descriptive words with the intention of engaging his audience’s critical thinking. Hemingway wants to involve his audience in the reading such that he does not lay the information directly through descriptive words in normal circumstances.

Heitanen (2009) further states that Hemingway’s works have short sentences that make it easy for the readers to read. Hemingway tries to make his works easy for the readers as possible through the use of simple sentences. According to Hietanen (2009), Hemingways works are known for their short declarative sentences that focus on the concrete instead of the abstract (Hietanen, 2009, p. 13). In the story, the author has used short and declarative sentences, for instance, in his fantasy...