Carnival Post

Well now it's time for the Carnival Post...so here goes.

Starting with Uncle Tom's Cabin, it really seems as though most of the class enjoyed reading this famed novel. Many blogs include comments about Tom's faith and how inspirational it is, as well as a few criticisms on the sentimental nature of the book. The highly idealized ending has also been criticized by some classmates. Even with the criticism, though, it seems as though this is a favorite among the stories we have had to read this semester. Many people in the class had never read the novel before, and were surprised by how well-written it is and how much they did like it. There was also a lot of discussion about the different types of slavery represented by Stowe throughout- there were the nice slaveowners like Eva's family, and then there were the horrific slaveowners like Simon Legree. It seems as though many people in the class really liked that Stowe included the stark contrasts in slaveowners and their ways throughout her book. Too often we are given just one view of slavery, and it is really interesting to know that there were other ways that slavery took place in that time period.

Poe is the next person many people blogged amount, and it seems that everyone likes Poe as well. Many people have heard and read Annabel Lee and The Raven multiple times, so those poems can get rather old to keep re-reading. But there were a lot of comments on The Purloined Letter. It seems as though many in the class had not read this selection of Poe before, and really enjoyed it. Some comments I thought were interesting were those saying that this story reminded them of the mystery stories of Agatha Christie and the like. I really enjoy Agatha Christie novels, and so I really liked this suggestion. When I was reading Poe, I didn't really think of it as something related to Christie's work, but when thinking about it now, I can definitely see similarities. So thank you for those comments.

Melville and Bartleby are the next-most blogged about, and there are some mixed reviews on them. Don't get me wrong, most people really enjoyed reading this story. But even though most of us enjoyed reading it, we also didn't really get it. Reading through the blogs, it definitely seems as though most of us would like a lot more explanation from Melville into who Bartleby is. Why would working in a Dead Letter office turn someone into who Bartleby is? For goodness' sake, Melville, help us out here. Many of us also questioned the point of the story. Why would Melville introduce us to a character such as Bartleby and then leave us all hanging? Is the point just to frustrate us? I'm not sure, and it doesn't seem like any of my classmates are very sure either. But we did all mostly enjoy reading Melville.

And last but not least- the poets. It really seems as though everyone loves Emily Dickinson. She is an amazing poet, and most people thoroughly enjoy reading her poems. There wasn't just one poem that many people focused on, it really seems like everyone has a different favorite. This goes to show just how good of a poet Dickinson is, because she has written peoms that suit everyone. I don't think anyone in this class said that they didn't like Dickinson, and that's saying something. Usually at least someone dislikes something about an author, but from those who have blogged about Dickinson thus far, no one seems to dislike her. Walt Whitman, on the other hand, has had some mixed reviews. I think he is more of an all-or-nothing poet. Those who enjoy his fantastic imagery and weighty metaphors from Song of Myself probably enjoy most of his other work too. Those who do not like this poem, for various reasons such as being too "me focused", etc, will probably not like the rest of this works. He is a very different style of poet than Emily Dickinson, and that has been emphasized in the statement that Dickinson is a microscopic poet while Whitman is a teloscopic poet.

I'm sure there will be more blogs written as the semester draws to a close, but there's what I got from the blogs thus far on everyone's pages. It does seem that Dickinson and Stowe have been the favorites of this part of the semester, and I fall into the group that views them as such. Thanks for all of the great posts, everyone, and I hope you all have a great end of semester and a wonderful summer. :)

Walt Whitman

I have never really been a fan of Whitman. I'm not sure exactly what it is about his poetry that I don't like, but it has never really caught my interest. His poem Song of Myself kind-of rubs me the wrong way. I understand that as humans, we are all amazing creatures, but this poem just seems self-centered to me. His saying that there is nothing more wonderful than he, not even God, doesn't resonate well with me. We are all made in God's image, which makes us beautiful, but God is the most wonderful of all because He is the Creator. So maybe it's just Whitman's assertions on this topic that rub me the wrong way. He does use beautiful imagery and metaphors, such as grass being the hair on graves. He obviously loves nature and believes that nature has an impact spiritually on us. And I do like these parts of his poem. However, the more sensual and sexual parts of his poem are quite awkward for me to read. I couldn't really tell if there was a woman involved in the scenes he was describing in his poetry, or whether it was nature that was unbuttoning his shirt or what. Maybe if I understood a little better what he was referring to, it would be less awkward. I don't know. But I do know that it made me slightly uncomfortable to read this type of thing in his poetry. I'm not trying to offend anyone out there who does really enjoy reading Whitman, but as for myself, I'm not really a fan.

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson is probably one of my favorite poets. Her poems are all very short, but they each have a certain amount of weight to them to make them very worth someone's time to read. I read a lot of Dickinson in AP English in high school, so it was interesting to revisit her again in college. I did realize this time around that many of her poems focus on death, or at least have death as a part of them. This was really interesting to me. It really made me wonder if Dickinson may have had a fear of death or something along those lines because of the amount of time she spent writing about it. Death is something that is going to happen to each one of us, and many of us do think about death and what it will be like, especially when someone close to us dies. However, I'm not sure if many of us will say that we think about death as much as Dickinson writes about it. She really seemed to have a fascination with death, and viewed it as a huge event in someone's life. Because of this, I also wonder if she was a Christian. Many Christians seem to accept death a lot more freely than non-Christians because there is the hope in life after death. But in many of her poems, Dickinson seems to view death as an end. I don't really see any sign of a belief that there is more after death in her poems, so I'm curious if she was a Christian or not.

Bartleby the Scrivener

I have to admit that this was one of the strangest stories I've read. I wasn't really sure what to make of it as I was reading it. I have never run into anyone who acts as Bartleby does, and this is one thing I think most of us agree on. Having the answer "I would prefer not to" to every question is not a normal answer. Bartleby very peaceably refused to do any work or to leave the office, and what do you do with a worker like that? This was the question his boss really struggled with, and I think we all have to agree with him that it is a difficult question to answer. I tried to put myself in his place, but I had no idea what I would do with Bartleby either. Bartleby intrigued me, and I really wanted to be able to sit down and get to know him, to understand his past and how he ended up the way he did. But as much as most of us would really like that, Melville gave us no clues until the very end, when it was suggested that Bartleby perhaps had worked on a dead letter office. Even this little bit of information doesn't really say much, because it doesn't really explain why a person woul become like Bartleby and do nothing all day every day. Melville leaves us all guessing, and I'm not really a huge fan of that; nevertheless, it was a very thought-provoking story, and I did enjoy reading it, as strange as it was.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Once again, it's been a really long time since I've blogged. I didn't want to blog in the middle of reading Uncle Tom's Cabin, because I would rather wait until I'm finished with it and then do a blog on what I thought about the book as a whole.

I really, thoroughly enjoyed reading Uncle Tom's Cabin. I had never read it before, and all I really knew of the story came from the movie The King and I. There is one part in the movie where the Kings' slaves act out the story of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and it is quite interesting that they put a Buddhist twist to it because it is set in Siam. But that being said, I really wasn't sure what to expect from the story as I was reading it, and I was really excited to actually get the full extent to the story instead of the small part that I knew.

The emotional appeal of this book is really what most caught my attention. I know this book has been criticized a lot for being too sentimental, but if you really step into the book and the different situations the characters are in, you would react the same way they did emotionally. For example, when Eliza is at the senator's house, she tells that family her story and struggle to escape from slavery. She appeals directly to the senator's wife, asking her if she has ever lost a child. She asks this to emphasize her point, because she had lost children before and couldn't bear to lose another. The senator's wife had just a month prior to this lost her own baby boy, and so this remark really hits home for her. Everyone in the household is keenly aware of the fact that the child is no longer with them, and they all weep together with Eliza. This is a very touching scene. And yet many people laugh at it, or criticize it, or say that things like that would never happen. This is very saddening to me, because if you really try to put yourself in their place, you would probably cry too. And who really has an easy time not crying if other people around them are crying? Many people cry sympathy tears for those who are really feeling the pain the most. So in reality, this type of scene can happen anywhere, at any point in someone's life. I find it really sad that some people who read this write it off as dumb or pointless.

Another part of the book I was really touched by was when Little Eva was dying. Yes, it is true that her death was talked about for a long time before it finally happened, but I didn't find this wearisome as some people do. Little Eva was a perfect example of what it is like to have childlike faith in Christ. She reached out physically to everyone around her (like Topsy, for example) and really, truly loved them. She had a kind word or touch for everyone, and did not hesitate to show the love she had found in God to others. She knew that she was dying, and was excited for that day to come because she would then be with God. It is easy for people to look at this kind of faith and write Eva off as being "too angelic", or "too perfect". But she struggled too. As much as a child can understand the hurt and the pain in the world, she understood it. She was accepting of her death, but she was also afraid of it. There were many times where she started weeping with her father because death is not an easy thing. The only thing that makes it bearable is to know that you will be going to God when you die. And that's what Eva put her hope and trust in. She was but a child, and she had so much faith. We all could learn a lesson from this young girl, even though she is only a character in a novel, about how to really live out our lives following Christ and loving as He loved. I was really moved by Little Eva and her death, which brought so many others around her to Christ.

It is true that Uncle Tom's faith is also one that people should try to achieve for themselves as well, but I was more touched by Little Eva. It was very saddening to have Uncle Tom die as well, but he had lived out his life to an old age. He had been able to help many people he came into contact with with his faith. He's one of the strongest Christians I've ever read an account of, and he struggled a lot, but always came back to Christ. This is very uplifting for many. However, I wasn't as sad at his death than I was at Little Eva's death. I think this is just because it really hit me that Eva was a child when she died. She was young, and hadn't had much of a full life as we would call a full life. She didn't have any opportunities to grow up and marry and have her own children and maybe be a part in setting slaves free. Who knows how her life would have turned out had she had the opportunity to live longer. She could have reached so many more people for Christ. It always makes me incredibly sad to hear about children and young people dying, because they are supposed to be in the prime of their lives at that point. They are supposed to have 50 some-odd years left to live. And for their lives to be ripped out from underneath them at such a young age...it is heartbreaking. Especially think of their parents. Look at how Eva's dad was devastated. Parents are not supposed to have to bury their children. It is so heart-wrenching to know that it does happen like this for many.

As you can probably tell from what I've already said, this book really brought out an emotional response from me. I found it incredibly moving, because I really put myself into the book and thought about things from the character's perspectives. It is sad for me to think that many write this book off as being too emotional and sentimental, because I did not find this to be the case at all. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and will hopefully be able to reread it sometime later on in my life.

Edgar Allen Poe

I never really knew much about Edgar Allen Poe and the life he lived. Hence why I really enjoyed reading his biography; it gave a lot more insight into the man he was and what his life was like. Everyone has heard of his famous works like The Raven and Annabel Lee. But many people don't fully understand the man behind the work. I don't think I fully understand him either, but my understanding now is a little bit better than it was before.

I have read both The Raven and Annabel Lee before, but I haven't ever read The Purloined Letter before. Annabel Lee is a beautiful poem, in my opinion. Poe did an excellent job with the diction he used in this poem, and the words flow beautifully together. Especially when hearing this poem read aloud, one is drawn in by the grace and fluidity of the words, and it feels like you are really there, by the sea, with both the man and Annabel Lee. The Raven is a darker poem, in my opinion. It is very interesting that Poe chose to use a raven as the bird in this poem-he could have used any type of creature. Ravens, however, are dark, black birds. They are scavengers. They are not pretty. I think this symbolism is quite useful in this poem. I think the raven may symbolize death and despair, and having an actual raven be the creature to portray this is quite perfect. This poem is also beautifully written and very fluid. I really enjoyed re-reading both of these poems.

I have never read The Purloined Letter before, and I thought it was very interesting. I've never really thought about what goes into investigations to recover lost items, so it was intriguing to read a short story about all the thought and logic that has to go into these investigations to be able to find what you are looking for. It was also interesting to see the point made that many police forces are too meticulous in their investigations; sometimes the answer is rather simple. You just have to know your opponent. I think this can be helpful in many different aspects of life, because many times in order to succeed, one must know his opponent and be able to think like him. Poe made a good point with this story, and I enjoyed reading it.

Scarlet Letter

So...it's been a while since I last blogged...and instead of doing multiple posts according to the reading weeks for the Scarlet Letter, I'll just do one post now. So here goes.

I really enjoyed reading the Scarlet Letter. I had the opportunity to read it in highschool, so this was my second time through the book. It was very interesting to be able to read it already knowing the end, because I was able to pick up on the more subtle clues into the mystery of who the father of Hester's child was. I think this book has a very interesting way to describe and portray guilt. Hester was guilty of adultery, and had Pearl and the scarlet letter on her chest to show for it. She was secluded from the pious Puritan society, and lived in constant torment and reminder of her sin. However, after many years, she was able to hold her head high and extend her services to her fellow townspeople. Many people came to her for help with matters which they didn't feel they could talk to anyone else about. She made a niche in the society for herself, and apparently lived at least a semi-fulfilling life. Dimmesdale, on the other hand, suffered his sin in silence. He had committed the same sin as Hester, but none of the public knew. He tried to tell the people, but because the people had not actually seen any sign of the sin, they did not believe that he was guilty of anything. He lived this way, dying, for many years, and it was only when he finally showed the people his sin that he was able to let go of his guilt and die. Why is it that Hester was able to cope with her sin and eventually find her way back into the hearts of the people? If Dimmesdale had done the same, would he have been able to live out his life with Hester, the woman he loved? Chillingworth was also a very guilty man, but his sin was that of tormenting Dimmesdale. He became so overcome with this that when Dimmesdale died, he had nothing left to live for, and he died within the year. Was it possible for him to be able to overcome this sin and guilt, and live out his life? I don't know. If one is so taken over by the devil, can he ever come back? Was Hester's forced repentance of her sin worthy of the forgiveness she got?

This book is rather wordy, and the descriptions of minute details very lengthy, but I really enjoy that aspect of Hawthorne's writing. He is so good at painting pictures in your head while you read that it's really like watching a movie. He raised many, many questions about society and sin and community and guilt and forgiveness throughout this story. I've only mentioned a few above. A book that is this thought-provoking truly has a lot of value, because it forces its readers to step back and really wrestle with the questions brought up. You can't just sit back and be entertained by a story like this, you have to engage it. You have to love it or hate it. You have to decide your own answers to the questions raised. That's what I loved about this book, even reading it for the second time.

Nature

There is something curious about sitting in a tree. Bright sunny days with only a little wind are perfect opportunities to read a book while in a tree. People don't usually look up and see you there, but you have every opportunity to look at them. It is very curious to observe the goings-on on a college campus, by the parking lots and dorms. Trees offer protection for the spy within as you can easily watch who comes and goes from buildings or cars. They don't offer much protection from the wind, but it is definitely worth it to find a good tree and take to climbing it. A good tree is one that has a place to set your book while you climb, low enough branches to pull yourself up with, and at least some sort of footholds for the scramble upwards. Once you're up in the tree, find a good spot to sit. Usually this is best if there is a little indent for a seat with your back against a branch. Maybe another branch to put your feet on too. Now sit back and relax. Isn't that nice? To find a good tree on campus took a little while because you have to survey each tree, by walking around the base of them. Don't lose heart, you'll find a good one. The one I found has a perfect seat, and it's not very high off the ground. It has a good base, and sturdy backrests and a footrest too. My guess is that no one really realized I was there, even though I wasn't wearing camo or something to really blend into the tree. Sitting in this tree while reading brings back such memories.

I took piano lessons from when I was five through senior year of highschool. My sister and I had our lessons at our teacher's house, and her house was right next to a park. While Kiera was in lessons, I would go play at the park, on the the playground, or play catch with my dad, or (fancy that) climb a tree and read. There was the absolute perfect tree in this park. It had big gnarly branches and wonderful footholds; it was the easiest tree to climb, even with a book in hand. I would climb up til I reached the perfect sitting branch, and would lean back against the trunk of the tree. Then out came the book and the reading started. I never wanted to get down from the tree to go into lessons when my sister was done; it was just the perfect place to be.

I'm not sure what it is about reading in a tree, but it makes the reading so much more enjoyable to me. I can read in my house on my couch, or on my bed, or anywhere else, but to be fully immersed in nature by sitting in a tree just has a different feel to it. It's a wonderful experience and I recommend that everyone should try it at least once before writing me off as a "weirdo" or something because I read in trees. Really, go out and try it. You might find what I did. It's very calming and soothing to feel the wind and the branches moving and hear the leaves rustling very close to your head. To see bird's nests at close proximity and feel the bark under your hands as you climb...there's just nothing like it. God made the trees for our enjoyment. Climbing them is a must.

To go back to the tree in the park at my piano lessons. Sometime in middle or highschool, I'm not sure which, there was a huge storm. Lightening and thunder and the whole works. For some reason that I don't understand, that perfect tree was struck by lightening. It was hit at the sitting spot, and the next time I went to the park, I saw that the spot was gone. There was no more reason to try to climb the tree, even though the base of it was still there to a decent height, because the tree was gone after that point. I was devastated. There was to be no more climbing, no more reading in that perfect tree. After that, for piano lessons, I just went to them and left. I never really went into the park again, for lack of time and for that tree being struck down. No longer did Kiera and I have the tree that we always sat in and played in and read in.

It's been a long time since I sat and read in a tree. Since that tree was hit by lightening, I have only done this twice. Once a couple of years ago in highschool when I climbed the great big tree in our front yard in the summer, and once in college. It was this last time that I realized how much I missed being able to sit by myself and enjoy nature and all that comes with it. It does get somewhat chilly if there is wind, especially if you're pretty high up, but even if just for an hour, doing this really has an impact. You learn things when you're in a tree. Especially if you're up pretty high. You learn what it is like to look down over the world. To see things from a different perspective. You learn what other people do when they think no one is watching because they don't know you're in the tree. You see people dancing alone on their way across campus. You see people together laughing so hard they're almost falling over. All this from a vantage point where no one can see you. Or at least they don't notice you, even if you are pretty visible. This is almost spiritual, in a sense, because maybe this is what it is like for God. At least a little bit. To be able to see a big expanse of space, and laugh with those who are laughing, and dance with those who are dancing, and share in their happiness whether or not they really know that you're there. Maybe this is why God created trees, and people with a desire to climb them. To get a glimpse of what God sees. To understand the beauty of the world. Maybe.

Walden: Solitude

I really enjoyed reading this chapter of Walden. Thoreau's writing style is still easy to read, and I find the subject matter really interesting. I especially found the section on page 898 when Thoreau was talking about his pleasantest hours intriguing. He stated that he was happiest when there were long rain storms in the afternoons of spring and fall. He enjoyed being confined to the house and listening to the "ceaseless roar and pelting". This is interesting because many people get annoyed with rainstorms, especially farmers when the storms mean they can't get to their crops. Thoreau didn't seem to mind that, though.

I really enjoy rainstorms as well, and staying inside watching movies and baking and doing the like. I enjoy them most, however, because I am with other people. I'm not sure I would enjoy them if I was by myself. Many people don't really like being alone like Thoreau did, and I am one of them. Maybe Thoreau was an introvert because he enjoyed his time alone so much. I think people who are normally extroverts, like myself, and are energized by being around people would have a much harder time with the solitude Thoreau experienced. There is something to be said for time alone, though, and maybe since we're coming into spring and going to be getting rainstorms, we will be able to enjoy them in the solitude of our homes by ourselves.

Walden: Economy

I actually really enjoyed reading Thoreau's Economy chapter of Walden. It was written in a way that was much easier to understand and comprehend quickly, where as reading Emerson was more difficult. I definitely felt like I could understand Thoreau's meaning in his writing much more easily. However, there was one section that really caught me in this chapter. It's right at the end of the chapter, on page 885. Thoreau states,

"Our manners have been corrupted by communication with the saints. Our hymn-books resound with a melodious cursing of God and enduring him forever. One would say that even the prophets and redeemers had rather consoled the fears than confirmed the hopes of man. There is nowhere recorded a simple and irrepressible satisfactions with the gift of life, any memorable praise of God."

This really struck me. Throughout the chapter, and in many writings of this time, spirituality is given a very high importance. One of the reasons Thoreau lived in the wilderness alone was to experience the spirituality in nature. It is very curious to me then, that he would make such a harsh statement about God, how our hymns curse Him, and no one has ever really given memorable praise to Him. Has no one ever then actually experienced true life and therefore cannot adequately thank God for it? Or is God not actually an aspect of spirituality; only through nature do we find spirituality? Does our praise really curse God? It raised a lot of questions in my mind; I just found this passage very interesting because of the earlier emphasis of spirituality in Thoreau's writing. It definitely brings the question of Thoreau's definition of spirituality to my mind. Maybe others had similar or different questions or possibly answers to the questions I raised, I don't know. I do know that it's very interesting to think about.

James Fenimore Cooper

This excerpt from The Last of the Mohicans was a very interesting one. I have never had the opportunity before to read this story or see the movie, and I think I might now just because I thought this chapter was very good. Cooper did a very wonderful job describing both Natty Bumppo and Chingachgook both in physical appearance and the way they interacted with each other. The physical description Cooper gave was very adequate to be able to paint a good picture in my head of the scene, and be able to see what the two men looked like. Bumppo was described as your stereotypical Englishman, while Chingachgook was described as your stereotypical "noble savage", if you will. It is very interesting to see, however, that they don't really fit these stereotypes. They have a camaraderie, a friendship, that is usually quite unheard of during this time between Indians and white men. This chapter was mainly dialogue between the two men, not really any action until the last part when the deer was killed, but it was a very intriguing dialogue. The two men were having a conversation about the history of their peoples, and it had fairly reached the point of an argument, but both men argued very eloquently. It was this fact that was really interesting to me, and kept me reading, because not very often do you see an argument between two completely different people on a heated subject still be able to hold the friendship in balance. That says a lot about the characters of these two men, and really makes me want to know the rest of the story.

Washington Irving-Rip Van Winkle

I really enjoyed reading Rip Van Winkle. I have heard of it many times in my life but never seen the movie or read the story, so it was nice to finally be able to see what it's about. I thought t was a very well written short story, and it kept me turning pages. It was definitely interesting to see what he thought about his wife in the story. She was a big nagger, and I understand the feeling of being oppressed by such a person, as Rip was. But later in the story when he came back after 20 years, he was very happy to hear that his wife was dead. As annoying as she may have been, was there not even a bit of remorse that his companion in marriage for so long was dead? He didn't seem to think at all of the effects that may have had on his children too, for they believed he had shot himself in the woods and was dead. And then their mom died too. That would be a very hard thing to deal with, and yet there was no mention of any possible remorse for that from Rip. He was just happy that he had gotten out of his "petticoat government" and had "got his neck out of the yoke of matrimony". I was fairly amazed that someone wasn't saddened in the least by the death of a family member, no matter how obnoxious she had been.

Phillis Wheatley

I was really impressed with this lady's ability to write poetry. I was amazed that she was a slave, and yet was able to write like this and speak multiple languages and have her poems published all while she was younger than 20 years old. This is amazing in itself, because I'm 18, and what kind of things am I capable of writing? Certainly not anything as good as this. Wheatley definitely knows the right words to use and writes very well. I really thought the poem on the death of the reverend was really good. It emphasized the fact that even though death separates us from people here on earth, it's not the final thing. It was very eloquently expressed that the reverend was a very respected man in his city and would be missed terribly; however, it was also expressed that the city and the people in it were joyful at the prospect of being with the reverend again because death isn't the end. I really enjoyed reading this poem, especially when she said that Christ is an "impartial savior". Everyone has the opportunity to be saved, and to know that death isn't the end. The salvation is for everyone, of any race, and I think this was very well-put by Wheatley.

Equiano

I found the reading about Equiano to be quite interesting and enjoyable. It was a very compelling read, and I found myself wanting to know what was going to happen next. I thought it was extremely unfortunate that he had to experience the severe changes in his condition so frequently throughout his life, because he would go from a relatively good situation to a purely awful one by being sold to someone else. This seemed to happen to him a lot, and it would be really difficult to live like he did.

I also thought it was very interesting that Equiano spoke so much about how he thought the white men had "magic". It was such a mystical land and people to him, and in today's day we hardly ever think about how Americans really appeared back then. We had the ability to use boats, and to stop them with anchors; we were also able to ride horses as a mode of transportation. These and many other things seem so natural to us, but were incredibly foreign to the slaves that had been transported to America. I never really stopped to think about how our way of living would be viewed by the Africans who were forced to come here, so it is really intriguing to read about their views on our way of life.

Benjamin Franklin

I thought it was quite interesting to read about Franklin's attempts to better himself and live in accordance to thirteen virtues that were important to him. However, I found it more interesting that he at first only had twelve virtues and then as a sort-of after thought, added humility to his list. Humility is often viewed as one of the greatest virtues for anyone to have, so for someone to add it as an after thought in their life is curious. Reading about how he changed his appearance to look like he had humility by using different, more agreeable words and not contradicting people right off the bat was intriguing. As he said himself, he can't boast about acquiring the reality of humility, but had a "good deal of regard to the appearance of it". I don't know how many people would really try to go through the trouble of looking humble without ever really being humble, but apparently Franklin succeeded in this. I really enjoyed the last paragraph of this excerpt, though, and think that Franklin was spot on by his last sentence. He said that pride is the hardest natural passion to subdue, and "even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility". This is such a true statement that many people have witnessed throughout history, because even those who are still humble seem to take some pride in it.

Jonathon Edwards

I was rather uncomfortable reading Edwards' "Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God". I didn't even listen to it be delivered; I just read it and I was struck by what he had to say. It is quite easy to tell that Edwards believes that only those who are born again will be able to go to Heaven. He claims that God absolutely hates sinners and holds them in the highest contempt. It's almost as if Edwards is saying that God is a puppeteer who takes great pleasure in screwing his enemies over. He dangles them by a thread over the depths of Hell just to watch them squirm and then lets them goes as He pleases and watches them die. And apparently He gets pleasure from this. This is what made me the most uncomfortable and made me not want to finish reading his sermon. Because of Jesus, all people have been saved from their sins, according to the Scriptures. So I think that since God demonstrated His love for us by sending His son, He most definitely is not dangling us above Hell and getting immense pleasure from our suffering. I believe that it hurts God to watch us hurt, and it hurts Him even more when people actually do end up in Hell. Because of these beliefs of mine based on the gospels, it was really hard to read Edwards' sermon all the way through. I think he spent way too much time on the Old Testament verses about God's wrath then the New Testament verses about His love for us through His son.

1700-1820

I thought it was very interesting to read the section "Enlightenment Ideals" in this introduction. A big part of the American colonies before this time was based on religion and the people were typically very spiritual. In this section, however, it said that the colonists started defining their highest duties in social rather than spiritual terms. There was a shift in this period from being interested in God and the metaphysical to being interested in people and relating to other colonists. It is curious that this change happened because it led to a more political mindset in many of the colonists, because they became more concerned with government and the order of relating to other people instead of just focusing on the spiritual aspect of life. This change was one of the causes of the writing of the Declaration of Independence. I don't usually stop to think about why and how documents like the Declaration were written, but reading this gave a good insight into it because there was a shift from spiritual to governmental importance in the colonies.

Mary Rowlandson

While reading Mary Rowlandson's narrative of her captivity, I thought it was extremely interesting that she kept focusing on the future and how God was going to deliver her from her predicament. She didn't allow herself to get beaten down by her situation, even though it was a very diffucult situation to be in. She watched her family all die or be taken prisoner, and saw much brutality on the part of her captors. Yet she was still able to look to God and try to discover his reasons for putting her in this position; I think it was because of this focus on God that she was able to view her captors as just "indians" by the end of her captivity instead of referring to them as "savages" as she had at first.

I also found it very intriguing that she wrote this after she was back with her husband and had been released from the Indians. It made me wonder if she was exaggerating any of her thoughts or feelings throughout her time with them because it was written so much after-the-fact. It is a very hard thing to focus on God in difficult situations, and to have the kind of focus on Him that she claims to have had throughout made me slightly skeptical. I'm sure that she always hoped for Him to save her from where she was but I don't think it's possible to not have serious doubts about what He is doing in a situation such as hers.

All together, I did enjoy reading this piece and found it very thought-provoking.

Anne Bradstreet

I really enjoyed reading Anne Bradstreet's works. Her poems were fairly easy to understand and laced with subtle irony and sarcasm which was enjoyable to read. Throughout her poems, she brought up many issues with being a women poet in a time where women weren't supposed to be educated and do things like write poems. I thought it was very interesting, then, that she wrote a poem all about Queen Elizabeth. Queen Elizabeth is one of the most prominent females in our history, and accomplished a lot during her reign. Anne spoke in her poem about the fact that Queen Elizabeth was a women and yet did so much for her country despite the common feeling that women were inferior. It really seemed like this poem was written almost to spite the men of the time, for it was a well-written poem by a female about a female who was an outstanding person in her time. I thought Anne did a wonderful service to her sex by writing that poem in particular, but all of other her poems as well.

While reading about John Smith and John Winthrop, I was struck by the differences in their views on how to survive in early America. Smith was very corporate and money-focused while Winthrop was very focused on community and the idea of "one body" in Christ. We also discussed in class the different backgrounds of these two men, and I think it is very interesting to note that their views on survival definitely stemmed from how they lived before moving to America.

The struggle between corporate and moral living was very apparent then and it still is today. It can be seen in the conflict between church and state, as was mentioned in class today, and can be seen in nearly every social issue of today's age. Issues such as stem cell research bring up this conflict, because it is morally wrong to some people and should never occur, and yet to others it will benefit those who are sick and help medical corporations. This is just one example of the struggle that is seen in our country today and it is evident from the two men we were discussing that this struggle is not at all new. It has been occuring since the earliest days of our nation.