Plot Pyramid
Lit Terms
Creation Myths
Coyote Stories
Miscellaneous
100

The "point" of the story; the big action scene

Climax
100

The attribution of human characteristics to something that is not human

Personification

100

In "The World on Turtle's Back," how do the animals help the woman who fell from the sky?

The birds break her fall, the turtle carries her, and the other animals dive in an attempt to find soil

100

How does Coyote convice Buffalo Bull to spare his life?

Coyote offers to make Buffalo Bull new horns to defeat his enemy.

100

What do origin stories explain?

How the earth came to be

How people came to be

How a people's way of life came about

200

The ending of the story; the "happily ever after" 

Resolution/Denouement

200

An object in a story that represents something greater than itself

Symbol

200

What roles do the grandmother and her daughter play in the earth's creation?  Hint: they do two different things.

The grandmother grows the earth and plants the roots, which create vegetation.  The daughter gives birth to twins, who create the rest of the world.  Crops grow from her grave.
200

According to the story "Coyote and the Buffalo, why don't buffalo live in the Swah-netk'-qhu country?

Because Coyote disobeyed Buffalo Bull and killed the cow he was given

200

Why do we only have fragments of Native American Literature left?

Native Americans were pushed off of their land, killed by Europeans, gathered on to reservations, and forced to attend boarding schools designed to destroy Native American culture.  It is hard for literature to survive under those circumstances. 

300

Events that build in intensity as the story progresses

Rising Action

300

A very typical example of a certain person or thing; a recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art, or mythology

Archetype

300

Why do the Iroquois honor both twins in "The World on Turtle's Back?"

The twins represent both sides of human nature-- there is good and bad in all of us.

300

According to "Coyote Finishes His Work," why do Indians speak different languages?

Coyote spread them out and taught them different languages. 
300

This animal typically shows up in Native American stories as a trickster

Coyote

400

The event that sets the story in motion

Inciting Incident

400

Information passed down through generations by word of mouth; not written down

Oral Tradition

400

What do the right- and left-handed twin create in the world?  Hint: this is a one word answer. 

Balance

400

What archetype is Chief of the Earth, or Great Spirit?

the Creator Character

400

What is one characteristic of Native American Oral Tradition?

Provides explanations about the world and its origins

Teaches moral lessons and conveys practical information

Reflects the belief that the natural world includes both human beings and animals

Respects speech as a powerful literary form

500

Events that tie up loose ends, wind down the story, etc. 

Falling Action

500

Exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge, and uses it to play tricks or otherwise disobey normal rules

Trickster Character

500

How does "The World on Turtle's Back" explain why the moon is mainly only visible at night?

The moon is the grandmother, after the right handed twin killed her.  She is visible mainly at night, because she "keeps watch over the realm of her favorite grandson."

500

List 2 traits that Coyote has in both stories.  Be prepared to explain if asked. 

Answers will vary

500

According to the article "Native American Oral Traditions," what is one reason that Native American Literature was not initially recognized by Western scholars?

It was an oral tradition, so much of it was not written down.  

It needed to be translated from hundreds of different languages

Westerners did not initially think that Native Americans had literature, because they did not think highly of Native Americans.