Name That Device
“The ship moved like a leaf tossed across the water.” The comparison emphasizes the ship’s lack of control. Name the device.
What is a simile?
Harjo repeatedly describes physical features of New Orleans while connecting them to memories of the past. This technique helps establish the importance of _____.
What is place/setting?
Bradford recounts the voyage, arrival, and later hardships largely in the order in which they occurred. Identify this organizational structure.
What is chronological sequence?
An author describes freezing rain, violent waves, darkness, and exhausted travelers instead of simply saying, “The journey was difficult.” Why?
What is to use imagery to help readers experience the severity of the journey?
“History” is a topic. Transform it into a complete theme statement.
Answers vary: The history of a place continues to influence the people who experience it.
A writer describes the sound of crashing waves, bitter cold, and darkness surrounding a ship. This technique allows readers to experience the setting through the senses.
What is imagery?
Harjo's descriptions allow readers to experience New Orleans as both a physical city and a place filled with memories. Name the literary technique most responsible for creating those mental pictures.
What is imagery?
Bradford shows the Pilgrims enduring sickness, dangerous conditions, and uncertainty rather than simply calling them “strong.” What quality does this characterization develop?
What is perseverance/resilience?
An author reveals a character's determination through actions rather than directly stating, “He was determined.” What advantage does this give the reader?
What is it allows the reader to infer the character's qualities from evidence?
“The exhausted travelers stepped onto the shore as the freezing wind cut across their faces.” Identify the technique AND its effect.
What is imagery; it emphasizes the harsh physical conditions experienced by the travelers?
A writer references a familiar biblical story without explaining the entire story, expecting the audience to recognize its significance.
What is an allusion?
Harjo refers to historical people and events without stopping to provide their complete histories. These references require readers to connect the poem to knowledge outside the text.
What are allusions?
Bradford frequently connects events to God’s will or providence. What does this reveal about Bradford as the narrator?
What is his religious beliefs influence how he interprets events?
Bradford presents one hardship after another in chronological sequence. How can this structure affect the reader's understanding of the Pilgrims?
What is it allows readers to see how their challenges accumulate and how they continue responding to them?
Bradford generally moves event → event → event, while Harjo moves between the present and memories/history of the past. What does this reveal about how structure can serve an author's purpose?
What is authors organize information differently depending on the ideas they want to emphasize?
Instead of directly calling a group “determined,” an author shows them continuing despite illness, hunger, and dangerous conditions. This method of revealing qualities is called _____.
What is indirect characterization?
Harjo blends images of present-day New Orleans with references to people and experiences from the past. What does this choice suggest about the relationship between place and history?
What is the past continues to exist within or influence the present?
Bradford describes both the hardships the Pilgrims experience and their responses to those hardships. Why is this important to their characterization?
What is their responses allow readers to infer qualities such as determination, faith, and resilience?
Harjo uses historical allusions rather than discussing only modern New Orleans. What does this allow her to communicate about the city?
What is that understanding the present requires recognizing the people, cultures, and history connected to the place?
Both Bradford and Harjo connect people to important places. Identify one major difference in how each author develops that connection.
What is Bradford develops place through historical events and experiences, while Harjo develops it through imagery, memory, and historical/cultural allusions?
A writer references a biblical journey while describing a group entering an unfamiliar land. Identify the device AND explain what the reference adds to the description.
What is an allusion? It connects the group's experience to a familiar religious story and adds deeper meaning to their journey.
Harjo could have simply provided historical facts about New Orleans. Instead, she combines imagery, memory, and allusion. Explain how this choice helps develop the poem's theme.
What is it makes history feel present and personal, supporting the idea that places carry the memories and identities of people who came before us?
Bradford reports historical events but also interprets what those events mean. Explain why readers should consider his perspective when analyzing the account.
What is because Bradford's beliefs and experiences influence which details he emphasizes and how he explains their significance?
Two authors describe the same difficult event. One calls it bad luck; the other describes it as part of God's plan. What does this difference demonstrate about literary analysis?
What is an author's perspective can influence how events are interpreted and presented to readers?
Both “New Orleans” and Of Plymouth Plantation connect the past to the present. How does each author use the past differently to develop meaning?
What is Harjo uses the past to show how history and cultural memory remain connected to a place, while Bradford recounts past events to preserve the Pilgrims’ experiences and explain their significance?