Native American Myths To Puritan Literature

A Native American saying is, “The tragedy of life is not death but what we let die inside of us while we live.” Both Puritans and Native Americans would have found this to be true after we examine their literary pieces. The first form of literature we see in America was Native American myths. These were origin myths about nature used to elaborate on the beginning of a part of creation. Then there was a shift between Native American myths to Puritan literature. Puritans used mostly poetry to serve God through their writings. The change from Native American myths to Puritan Literature is shown through a shift in structure, purpose, and themes.
Firstly, a change from Native American myths to Puritan literature is shown through a shift in structure. An origin myth is the story of how something was created. …show more content…
A common theme in Native American Myths was nature. For example, in When Grizzlies Walked Upright, the animals were a part of nature. Another example is from Earth on Turtle’s Back, which also used animals and mud which was from the Earth. A common theme in Puritan literature is God and religious views. In Huswifery, God is evident because this was written towards him. Also in To My Dear and Loving Husband, it says that when they die they will still be together which means she believed in afterlife. The themes are similar because they are both very big ideas. They are different because God and nature aren’t similar ideas.
In conclusion, the change from Native American myths to Puritan literature is shown through a shift in structure, purpose, and themes. In the end, it is important to know both Native American Myths and Puritan Literature for understanding American Lit because they are two of the earliest forms of literature in America. This is also important because since it was first, many other pieces of American literature would have built off of these