Comparison of Literary Style

The New World/Two Worlds

American Literature is a unique genre characterized by bodies of written works shaped by American voices and ideologies that reflect American cultures, beliefs, backgrounds, and societal norms. Early American literature examines the literature of the Americas from the colonial period and the discovery of the New World. Because Native Americans already inhabited the New World upon discovery, Two Worlds are evident. Early European explorer and Native American literature reflect discernible differences in their literary style and although the literary elements, qualities and devices are varied, they share similarities. This paper will compare the literary styles and elements of works by European explorers and Native Americans, discuss their respective ideologies and explain how politics, religion and culture influenced their worldviews.

Comparison of Literary Style

The early European explorer writings are primarily configured in letters and narratives. These writings illustrate the explorer’s expeditions, discoveries, impressions of its Natives and were written to convince the monarchs for whom they traveled for the benefits of the New World. These travel narratives and letters represent the first European writings about North America and were subjective reports without the limitations of objective historical science. In contrast, Native Americans did not have a writing system and their literature evolved from storytelling, rituals, ceremonies, and narratives of their people. Oratory storytelling is a tradition passed down through many generations of Native Americans. Baym and Levine (2012) explain, “Theirs were oral cultures, relying on spoken words---whether chanted, sung, or presented in lengthy narratives---and the memory of those words to preserve important cultural information” (p. 7).

Comparison of Literary Elements

Literary qualities and devices refer to the structure used by writers to channel their message(s) in their writings. Literary elements are used to develop a literary work and include a plot, narrative structure, setting, characters, theme, and mood (Home of literary devices, n.d.). The usage of different literary devices such as words or phrases enables writers to express themselves and aid readers to analyze and interpret literary works. Early European travel narratives and Native American literature utilize comparable literary devices in their works to engage their readers beyond the literal meaning of the text. For example, imagery and symbolism are two literary devices evident in both early European travel accounts and Native American literature. “Imagery means to use figurative language to represent objects, actions, and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses” (Literary Devices, n.d., para. 1). From Letter to