English lit week 1 assignment

 
Post your interpretation of this week’s readings.
The access to the book can be found in the attachment below. 
For this week’s assignment, write a total of 3 full length pages that address each of the works assigned, as well as each of the questions below:
1. In chapter 1 you read about how many Amerindian divine beings are represented in myth as needing to learn about the essential, natural processes of life and death, even to the point of accepting the fact that they must die to induce creation. What do you feel this portrayal of a divine being says about a culture? 
2. In chapter 2 you learned about various Amerindian culture heroes. What values were expressed by the representation of these culture heroes – for instance, why portray a hero as an animal or embodiment of a botanical agent?
3. In chapter 4 you read that often human characters within Amerindian myths had to learn to trust nature in order to successfully be labeled heroic. Why do you think this element of trusting the natural environment was so important to the tribes who embraced the hero?
4. In chapters 7 and 9 you read about heroes who married natural elements and also who metamorphosed into natural elements. What do you feel is the symbolic meaning of marrying nature and/or transforming into nature?
5. The heroes presented in this week’s reading became heroes because they learned to embrace all aspects of nature and carried this wisdom back to their communities. Do you think these definitions of heroism will remain in American literature after the European conquest of the Americas?