You should be able to identify and discuss the important ideas found in the following:
q Christopher Columbus—remember Columbus's excitement regarding the New World (which he continued to believe was a place related to India) as it appears in a letter from his first voyage, in which he tells of claiming and naming the people and places of the New World (35). Be aware of the change in mood that comes later in the letter from his fourth voyage, in which he fears that he is losing his religion by being so far from the "Holy Church" (37). Think about how Columbus's excitement and religious depression might somehow—from the very beginning of continual discovery, exploration, and settlement—be indicative or typical of the American experience.
q Bartolomé de las Casas—remember how Casas describes the cruelty of "the Christians" in their dealings with the Indians. He seems to suggest to us that political-social-economic practices in the New World cannot be reconciled with religious values. The natives are treated worse than animals, suggesting that "the Christians" saw them not only as subhuman but also as a threat.
q John Smith—be familiar with Smith's involvement in the establishment of Jamestown in 1607. Smith is often rash and violent in dealing with situations with both his own people and with the natives. This writer's work of often of a promotional nature, painting the New World as a paradise of plenty where those without rank or fortune in England can become wealthy and live a life relative ease. In the New World, adventurers can garner all the resources they need to live (and more) in less time than in England leaving them either with leisure or growing wealth.
q William Bradford—keep in mind the Pilgrims' reasons for leaving England, as well as where they first chose to settle (Holland) and why they left there also. Try to understand the giant step of faith the Pilgrims (and Puritans) took in coming to the New World, as well as their ideas of what the natural world was as opposed to the civilized world.
q John Winthrop—understand the social implications of the first half of Winthrop's "A Model of Christian Charity." What do his ideas suggest about Puritan views of equality/democracy or social mobility (at least as far as their early settlement goes)? Remember the Puritan tendency to see themselves as God's new chosen people. Above all, perhaps, be familiar with the idea of the covenant that the Puritans felt had been made between themselves and God for the work they set out to do in the New World.
q Anne Bradstreet—Remember that she is considered the first American poet. Understand the ways in which her poetry reveals, among other things, important ideas about 1) how Puritan religious beliefs did not necessarily make them a cold and unfeeling people and 2) how they often struggled between their view of Heaven and their attachment to things of this world. Bradstreet often reveals to us the heart in conflict with the mind, the private feelings in conflict with public doctrine.
q Mary Rowlandson—be aware of what happened to put her in the position her narrative relates. Keep in mind how the Puritans came to see God acting in love or anger in both large and small events of their lives, and how even when they felt they were being punished they also saw themselves as being preserved. Think about how this captivity narrative—with its careful construction—might have been intended to affect its readers.
q Edward Taylor—keep in mind that Taylor is a minister writing very private poetry related to his professional and personal lives. His focus is always on his professional and private relationship with God. In his Meditations, he works to nurture a right spirit for the administering of the Lord's Supper to his congregation. A private poem such as the one about the death of his children seems different from Bradstreet's because it never seems to question God; while Bradstreet might be envisioned as weeping over the graves of her dead grandchildren, Taylor is more easily envisioned standing before God with head bowed.
q Samuel Sewall—notice the ways in which Sewall thinks like a Puritan but acts in ways suggesting that the world holds an almost equal importance in his life. He seems to reveal a balance between this world and the next, between bodily and financial concerns and spiritual concerns. Remember his writing against slavery and the way he approaches his argument.
q Sarah Kemble Knight—remember her as a woman and a Boston Puritan who is living her life beyond the bounds of each of these descriptions. Her Puritanism, for example, is not something gets in the way of her having a good time in the world, not something that prevents her from being afraid in her travels. She is a woman who steps far outside the lines that typically kept women within the confines of a domestic role.
q Benjamin Franklin—be aware of his reasoning behind the writing of his Autobiography. Remember his various points made in regards to the differences between and value of appearance in relation to reality. Try to understand how he saw his story as "fit to be imitated." Remember Franklin's Deism and think about how that might affect his obvious promotion of self-interest as a viable motivation for an individual (or nation).
Keep the following particulars about the works in mind:
þ Columbus and Casas and Smith have their similarities in their narratives about discover and contact with native peoples, but each has his own agenda in writing about these.
þ Bradford and Winthrop are easy to confuse, but realize that Bradford is writing community history while Winthrop is writing more of an essay on right behavior within that community.
þ Bradford and Rowlandson are sometimes easy to confuse, but keep in mind that Bradford mentions the native peoples only in a couple of places while they are a constant presence in Rowlandson's story.
þ Rowlandson and Knight and Franklin are writing first-person autobiographies, but they should be easily distinguished.
þ We have only two poets: Bradstreet and Taylor. Their subject matter is usually quite distinct, but even when it isn't, their writing styles bear little resemblance to each other.
þ Winthrop and Sewall and Byrd are writing journals or diaries. They have similar positions of power in the communities of which they are a part, but each has a distinct "voice" and, for the most part, far different concerns. Sewall and Byrd sometimes write about women and money, but they certainly do so in very different terms.
Keep these distinctions clearly in mind, and you will avoid confusion.
Example of a statement of significance:
q Quote: "To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society. I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me."
q Response: Emerson in Nature. Emerson is saying here that an individual must learn to think for him- or herself, and this can be done only away from the influence of society and human history. But it also has to do with Emerson's views of our reliance on the past and our need to be out in nature. Even away from society, if he is surrounded by his "stuff," he can't be alone. There are objects to remind him of other people and books full of other people's thoughts. He has to get out of the house and be alone in nature before he can get in touch with God and his true self.
(This Emerson example is just one that I already had written up. Emerson will not be on this exam, but the example should show you the style of answer I will be looking for.)