Abstract
This paper examines how much of First Nations literature constitutes a criticism of North American society and culture. Various works are cited and the paper further shows how their criticism supports its thesis.

From the Paper
"What are some of the ways in which First Nations literature makes a criticism of North American society and culture? Much of First Nations literature constitutes a criticism of North American society and culture. For example, Marie Clements Burning Vision may be read as a sustained criticism of the core elements of North American culture. It knits together a criticism of the fundamental thrust of Western society that spans the taking of resources from the mines in the Dene territory in the Northwest Territories, all the way to American aggression and brutality directed against Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan...."

Tags:first, nations, literature

Abstract
This essay looks at three sources of First Nations literature to consider themes of racism, exclusion, classism, social justice and violence within Native communities. It uses First Nations literature as a tool to diagnose the malaise of North American society, not only in a contemporary setting but also in relation to the histories of subjugation that have marked Aboriginal interaction with White culture.

From the Paper
"The term `First Nations literature' refers to the poems, novels, stories, plays, legends and songs created by Aboriginal writers from North America. Such works are characterized by the influence of an oral tradition, and for the most part have been located far outside the mainstream of Western literature. To date, very few First Nations texts have been included among the commonly accepted `great works' of English literature. This absence is likely tied to the poor education historically received by Aboriginal youth, including residential schooling and limitations on..."

Tags:aboriginal, literature, critique

Abstract
This paper discusses of some of the ways in which First Nations literature makes a criticism of North American society and culture. the paper explains that in "Burning Vision", Clements makes it clear that the First World is pathologically sick in terms of its attitude to the world and its people and resources. The paper then examines the theme of resistance and struggle and decolonization in three of the texts. The writer believes that if First Nations' existence is defined by their status as having been colonized by people of a different race, then their salvation lies in resistance and struggle. The writer concludes that if First Nations cannot decolonize their countries, they can at least decolonize their minds, and that is what many of the best First Nations writers strive to do, which accounts for the central importance of this theme in much of their literature.

From the Paper
"Clements also seems to imply that the ultimate expression of this rape is nuclear destruction - the ultimate assertion of power, delivered in phallic-shaped bombs by phallic-shaped jets. In this regard, it is important to remember that FAT MAN was the name of one of the atomic bombs. Moreover, the other atomic bomb was code named LITTLE BOY. This was unintentional irony, given that it is Western male aggression that propelled colonization, as well as the kind of destruction meted out by the atomic bombs. In The Unnatural and Accidental Women, Clements seems to be on a totally different track, focusing on poor women living in Vancouver's Eastside in the 1980s."

Tags:atomic, bomb, colonization, race, struggle

Abstract
This paper discusses 'First Nations literature' as referring to the poems, novels, stories, plays, legends and songs created by Aboriginal writers from North America. The paper describes the lack of First Nation literature and how what does exist reflects upon North American society. The paper provides examples from two books (a novel and an historical text), a play, and a film in its analysis.

From the Paper
"The very making of this film offers a critique on North American society, as the filmmakers hoped to revitalize Inuit traditions and bring the legends of the past to a whole new generation of youth. The new growth in Native literature is continuing this trend, with distinctive Aboriginal voices speaking up to offer a renewed critique of Western society. This literature is uniquely capable of reminding all North Americans about the continued impact of our bloody history, the contemporary failure to ensure social justice for all, and the need for hope in creating a shared future together."

Tags:Aboriginal, Inuit, native, writing

Abstract
The paper compares and contrasts British and American literature and contends that they are similar in their response to the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution, but they diverge in their interpretation of romanticism. The paper relates that the short story and transcendental writing are also different between the two nations, as opposed to mysteries which are alike and equally popular in both.

From the Paper
"Although America and Great Britain are separated by an ocean, they are connected at the pen so to speak. The similarities in their literature are more numerous than their differences. This is partly due to their common heritage, America having originally been a colony of England. Even beyond that, though, the literature of both countries was influenced by the same factors. One such factor was the Industrial Revolution. The influence of that revolution upon both countries was significant."

Tags:British, American, literature, romanticism, transcendental, short story, French Revolution, Industrial Revolution, compare, contrast, mystery

Abstract
This paper gives an in-depth exploration on the use of symbolism as a common device in American literature. According to the paper, American literature, born as it is out of the country's colonial past and Wild West mentality, often seeks to insert symbolic presence within the text where authors in other national literary types might be content to let the story stand on its own.

From the Paper
"Symbolism is a common device in most types of literature but for American literature in particular it seems to have an especially inviting home. American literature, born as it is out of the country's colonial past and Wild West mentality, often seeks to insert symbolic presence within the text where authors in other national literary types might be content to let the story stand on its own, so to speak. A representative sample of this type of ad hoc symbolism, so to speak, can be found within Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter where other researchers have noted just how blatant the symbolism of his characters is..."

Tags:symbolism, american, literature

Abstract
In this article, the writer analyzes two works for what they show about Chicana and Chicano literature. The writer discusses that while historical discourse is often inaccessible to marginalized communities, authors Julia Alvarez and Edwidge Danticat create narrative space that includes the experiences of women and reveals their role in the preservation of national identity in their respective books "In the Time of the Butterflies" and "The Farming of Bones".

From the Paper
"These works carry a sense of history to the reader and incorporate the experiences of the characters and the experiences of the reader into that history. This effort relates to the idea of collective memory and how that idea is used in these works and in furthering the expression of Latino and Latina writers and characters."

Tags:chicana, chicano, literature

Abstract
The paper relates that Thailand willingly accepted different kinds of national and philosophical influences from other nations while the Philippines were subject to foreign control and colonial influence. The paper shows, therefore, how Philippine literature has emerged in a primarily popular and oppositional context unlike Thailand's literature that is from an academic and complementary historical context.

From the Paper
"Thailand and the Philippines provide interesting contrasting studies of East Asian literature because of their unique geographic locations and histories. Thailand in its early incarnation was a kind of crossroads of South East Asian cultural life and it willingly accepted different kinds of national and philosophical influences from other nations. Its traditional literature up to the 19th century encompasses Buddhist, Chinese, and Indian traditions. The Philippines are islands that were subject to foreign control and colonial influence. They were exposed to the influence of other nations not through geographic proximity, but the imposition of foreign ideas and concepts that were supposed to override the voices of its national, indigenous literature."

Tags:colonialism, nation, identity, freedom, Spanish

Abstract
This paper discusses how a community generates literature that reflects its own attitudes and values and how literature simultaneously moulds community, and reflects it. It consider these interacting influences within the context of Sophocles' "Oedipus the King," as well as within the context of modern Canadian literature and culture. The paper also discusses this in the context of the writer's own experience of cultural community.

From the Paper
"One of these distinctly Canadian discourses may be said to be the discourse of sport, and particularly of hockey. As one theorist put it, "The rituals of sport engage more people in a shared experience than any other institution or cultural activity today." (Varda Burstyn, The Rites of Men, quoted in Coakley and Donnelly, 1) Watching hockey together has become a symbolic action that unites Canadians. Interestingly, sport as a component of ideology and community building is highlighted in John B. Lee's poetry collection, The Hockey Player Sonnets: Overtime Edition. Lee succeeds in making clear a significant aspect of Canadian hockey-related mythology, albeit one that is primarily white and male."

Tags:rhetoric, ideology, sport, nationalism

Abstract
This paper examines the literature of various black American writers and poets. The paper explains that numerous black writers found new ways to express the feelings of their people and created a rich canon of thought and expression leading up to the Civil Rights Movement. The paper looks at how some of these writings show an underlying demand for change. The paper also points out that many of the early literary figures, like W.E.B. DuBois, wrote against slavery. In addition, the paper looks at how, in the latter part of the 20th century black, nationalism was influenced by Darwinian science and by Victorian conceptions of virtue. The paper cites "Coming of Age in Mississippi" by Anne Moody, as an example of the nature of the threat to black Americans.

From the Paper
"DuBois also celebrates aspects of black culture, from the songs of the slaves to and the music they and their descendants make to their religious belief and the special religious observance they developed in the black church in America. He sees the black community then standing at the dawn of freedom, a freedom not yet fully achieved but set out as a potential for all.
"The nature of the threat to black Americans is evident in Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody. She becomes very aware of why as she grows to adulthood and sees more and more racism all around her."

Tags:nationalism, mississippi, freedom, slave, church