The Song of Hiawatha

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

DEBATE: “Is The Song of Hiawatha a Form of Cultural Exoticism?”

In this activity, students will argue either for or against the assertion that Longfellow’s The Song of Hiawatha is a form of cultural exoticism.

Despite its popularity, Longfellow’s epic has met with a certain amount of criticism regarding the representation of Indigenous communities. Using the text as well as your own research, you will argue either for or against the following assertion: Longfellow’s The Song of Hiawatha is a form of cultural exoticism. Working with your classmates, you will develop an argument that supports your point of view. Include opening and closing statements as well as rebuttals, and be sure to rehearse your argument with your group prior to the in-class debate. Finally, participate in a post-debate class discussion in which you analyze and reflect on each team’s argumentative approaches.

Teaching Suggestion: This activity invites students to apply their analytical and debate skills to the text’s themes of Connecting With the Natural World, Blood Kin Versus Found Family, and Mortality. Students may use assertions from the text as well as their own research on the subject. This teacher-facing resource from Harvard University provides guidance on facilitating in-class debates.

Differentiation Suggestion: For an extended writing exercise, this Activity may be amended to an argumentative essay in which students answer the following prompt: “Is Longfellow’s Hiawatha an example of cultural exoticism? Consider historical and literary contexts and use direct quotations from the text to substantiate your response.” Students with artistic talents and creative learning styles may appreciate the opportunity to draft a visual component detailing whether The Song of Hiawatha is an example of cultural exoticism. This could take the form of an argumentative video, story mapping poster, or informative slide presentation.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Consider Hiawatha’s relationship with animals and nature.

• How does the natural world affect Hiawatha’s decisions? How does it support him and/or undermine him? (topic sentence)
• Identify 2-3 examples from the text and analyze the effect the natural world has on Hiawatha in those moments.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, discuss how Hiawatha’s relationship with nature speaks to the larger theme of Connecting With the Natural World.

2. In the second half of the epic, Hiawatha experiences grief due to loss.

• How does Hiawatha’s perception of death change between the first half and the second half of the epic? (topic sentence)
• Select one notable death from the first half and one from the second half, then compare Hiawatha’s reactions to these losses.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, reflect on the relationship between Hiawatha’s interactions with death and the overarching theme of Mortality.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. How does gender influence the actions and words of the characters within The Song of Hiawatha? For example, how does the speaker include the characters’ genders when describing a specific instance in the epic? What is the overall effect or purpose of this choice? Identify 2-3 examples and explain your ideas carefully. Make sure to provide relevant context and cite all textual evidence.

2. As a Christian, Longfellow is said to have alluded to biblical stories and themes within his epic. What evidence is there of Christian biblical themes within the story? Are these themes represented positively or negatively? How might these biblical allusions speak to the larger historical and literary contexts in which Longfellow was writing in? Identify 2-3 examples and explain your ideas carefully. Make sure to provide relevant context and cite all textual evidence.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What is the female gender usually synonymous with in the poem?

A) Strength

B) Weakness

C) Love

D) Hatred

2. Which of the following connections can be made with the content of Canto I, “The Peace-Pipe?”

A) A biblical allusion to Christ

B) A reference to Satanic values

C) A replica of an Islamic hadith

D) A comment on colonialism

3. Which of the following phrases best describes the content of the first set of Cantos?

A) A comedic story

B) A tragic story

C) An origin story

D) A love story

4. Which of the following words describes Hiawatha as a child?

A) Petulant

B) Inquisitive

C) Aloof

D) Selfish

5. Which of the following words best describes why Iagoo feels compelled to tell the story of “The Son of the Evening Star” at Hiawatha’s wedding?

A) Because he is jealous with the lack of attention

B) Because he believes it is an important story to be told

C) Because he is bored of Chibiabos’s dancing

D) Because he is tired of Nokomis’s singing

6. What did Hiawatha and Minnehaha’s marriage bring about for the tribes?

A) Unease

B) Distress

C) Avarice

D) Peace

7. Which of the following activities does Hiawatha introduce to his community?

A) A branch of religion

B) A type of language

C) A form of writing

D) A way of hunting

8. Which of the following words best describes how Pau-Puk-Keewis feels about Iagoo and Hiawatha?

A) Irritated

B) Irate

C) Impatient

D) Interested

9. Which of the following situations enrages Hiawatha?

A) The death of Chibiabos

B) The mischief of Pau-Puk-Keewis

C) The introduction of healing medicines

D) The wedding of Minnehaha

10. Which of the following reasons best describes why the Puk-Wudjies dislike Kwasind?

A) Because they share concerns regarding his friendship with Hiawatha

B) Because they are annoyed by his gentle nature

C) Because they fear for the future of their people

D) Because they desire to take over the land of the Dakotahs

11. Which of the following terms is upheld as important to society, based on context clues in Canto XIX?

A) Matriarchy for young women

B) Hospitality to strangers

C) Bureaucracy for lower gods

D) Democracy amongst tribal leaders

12. Which of the following words best describes what the ghosts bring Hiawatha?

A) A warning

B) A gift

C) A reprimand

D) A praise

13. Which of the following best describes the placement of the famine in the epic?

A) Foreshadowed by the ghosts

B) Predicted by Kwasind

C) Alluded to by Chibiabos

D) Implied by Minnehaha

14. During the famine, the speaker states, “All the earth was sick and famished / Hungry was the air around them / Hungry was the sky above them / And the hungry stars in heaven / Like the eyes of wolves glared at them!” (Canto XX) Which of the following combinations of literary terms are used in this quote?

A) Alliteration and simile

B) Anaphora and simile

C) Personification and allusion

D) Simile and metaphor

15. According to Longfellow’s epic, what does the arrival of the “white man” bring for Hiawatha’s community?

A) Sorrow

B) Famine

C) Confusion

D) Rejuvenation

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. Describe the structure of the epic. What are some of the literary elements that Longfellow uses in order to distinguish the epic as a form of poetry rather than prose?

2. Select one of Longfellow’s stanzas to analyze for literary terms and their effects. Be sure to include any figurative language as well as structure.