The World On The Turtle's Back: The Evolution Of American Literature

American culture evolved many times prior to 1870. This change of culture and ideas brought with it an evolution in literature, as well. From the Puritans’ relocation to America, to the ideology of Transcendentalism, American literature changed and evolved as often as the nation’s people did. The World on the Turtle's Back, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, and Self-Reliance clearly show the progression of American literature. American literature did not go from oral myths about Creation to the thought provoking essays of Transcendentalism in one giant step between the discovery of America and 1870. Relaying information and history in America began as oral stories and myths, long before the written word was known. The Native Americans passed these stories and myths on for generations. This is shown by The World on the Turtle's Back. The Iroquois passed down the story of how the Earth came to exist many generations before the myth was written down. The Native Americans told stories to entertain, but made up myths, like this one, to explain the unknown. The World on the Turtle's Back shows how American literature started out as myths, simply passed down orally, generation to generation, for a very long time. …show more content…
A prime example of the new style of writing these settlers brought is Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Puritans quickly became the majority of American writers, and nearly all their works revolved around religion. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is a sermon given by Jonathan Edwards. The purpose of this sermon was to persuade people to believe that all men are sinners and that God's judgement would be more painful than they could imagine. Puritan writings dominated American literature for most of the 17th century. Persuasive Puritan writing was one of the many steps of American literature prior to