Unit 1 Study Guide
Please answer the following questions on a SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER. This is due the day of the test along
with the rest of your unit 1 portfolio.
You will also need to review the background information (2-page packet) as there will be questions from that one the test.
Native American Myths
1. “The Earth on Turtle's Back,” “When Grizzlies Walked Upright,” and The Navajo Origin Legend are origin
myths. What are origin myths?
2. “The Earth on Turtle's Back” tells how something came to exist. What is it that grew on Turtle's back?
3. From reading “The Earth on Turtle's Back,” you can tell that the Onondaga value certain things in their
culture. Name three items they value.
4. Think about the animal characters in “The Earth on Turtle’s Back.” Which one is the archetype of the hero or
heroine who is determined to succeed, even though the character is not as strong as the others?
5. What part of the natural world is explained by “When Grizzlies Walked Upright”?
6. In “When Grizzlies Walked Upright,” the Chief of the Sky Spirits becomes angry with the grizzlies. What is
one reason for his anger?
7. In The Navajo Origin Legend, the ears of corn are laid out facing east and west. What part of the natural
world does this arrangement represent?
8. What does The Navajo Origin Legend describe?
9. Name some of the images, events, and characters in the three Native American myths that show their deep
connections to the natural world. How does each story show this, and why is this important to their culture?
You will also need to know the information from the Native American PowerPoint (you should have notes for this).
Journey Through Texas
10. The European explorers in America saw things unlike anything they had seen at home. Why were they thus
most likely to write descriptions of their experiences?
11. What insight about the explorers can you draw from Cabeza de Vaca's remark that the Spanish pretended to
be angry to keep the Indians “in suspense”?
12. In “A Journey Through Texas,” why do the people “of the cows” no longer raise maize (corn)?
13. Why are the explorers in “A Journey Through Texas” happy to find people with plenty of food?
14. What overall opinion did the Spanish explorers have about the Native Americans they met? Because of that
opinion, how did the explorers treat the Native Americans?
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
15. In the selection from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, what is the author's main intention?
16. What is the main message of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God?
17. What does Edwards think is true of the members of his congregation in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry
God?
18. What images does Edwards use in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God to draw a picture of the anger of
God?
19. After persuading his listeners of their sinfulness during most of the selection from Sinners in the Hands of an
Angry God, how does Edwards's attitude change at the end of the sermon?
20. What is the basic way in which Edwards tries to move his listeners in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God?
21. What do you think Edwards means by the image of the hand of God, and how might it have affected his
listeners?
22. Why does Edwards use so many different images of hell, suffering, and eternity, and uses them repeatedly, in
his sermons?
Declaration of Independence
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24.
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26.
What is Jefferson's main form of persuasion in The Declaration of Independence?
Why is Jefferson's list of self-evident truths effective in the Declaration of Independence?
What overall announcement does the Declaration of Independence make?
Why might some of the colonists want to stay connected to the power of Britain instead of becoming their
own country?
27. How does the author describe what independence would mean to the American colonies. Identify at least one
aspect of how independence would be favorable.
Speech in the Convention and Speech in the Virginia Convention
28. In “Speech in the Virginia Convention,” Patrick Henry says, surprisingly, that he must take a certain action
against England in order to be a true patriot. What is this action?
29. What action does Henry want his audience to take in “Speech in the Virginia Convention”?
30. In “Speech in the Virginia Convention,” what emotion does Henry say is natural to people but should not be
trusted in dealings with Britain?
31. What “storm” does Henry say approaches the new nation?
32. What does Franklin say as a sort of confession in “Speech in the Convention”?
33. In “Speech in the Convention,” why does Franklin think the delegates should keep their concerns about the
Constitution to themselves?
34. What does Franklin mean when he says that he has learned after a long life to doubt his judgment of others.
35. Both of these speeches led to great changes in American society. Describe how the message of the speech
motivated people to do things differently, and what changes came about from them.
Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano
36. What event does Equiano describe in The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano?
37. In The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Equiano mentions “many of the inhabitants of
the deep” who were happier than he was. Who or what is he describing?
38. Why did Olaudah Equiano write The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano?
39. “Necessary tubs” were used for people's basic needs in The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah
Equiano. What were they?
40. In The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, why did slaves jump off the ship?
41. In The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, why didn't the slaves want to leave the ship in
Barbados?
42. In The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, what does Equiano remember that helped him
learn more about how sailors travel?
43. Why did the crew stop the slaves from jumping overboard in The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah
Equiano?
44. Why did the slave traders filled their ships with so many Africans even though they knew there wasn’t
enough room?
45. “The Life of Olaudah Equiano” is a rare slave narrative account written in 1789. Since there was such an
abundance of slavery at this time, why are there not more records and accounts written by slaves? How did
both slave owners and abolitionists view these slave narratives?
You will also need to be able to interpret several of Franklin’s aphorisms.