Journal # 13

I believe Zitkala-Sa’s story of her life when thrown into the world of palefaces in some ways is and in some ways is not a good representation of the American dream.  The American dream to me is a person using his or her skills and hard work to become successful.  It’s about not discriminating against a person in any way, and giving everyone an equal opportunity to achieve happiness.

 

                In “The School Days of an Indian Girl” Zitkala-Sa is fortunate enough to receive the opportunities she needs to become successful.  While starting off she found school very tough and frightening, she was still able to capitalize on this opportunity and go on to college and become a successful orator.  The sentence “Then there was a mad uproar in the hall, where my classmates sang and shouted my name at the top of their lungs [. . .]” really represents how Zitkala-Sa went from an Indian girl that was looked down upon by everyone to someone that was celebrated by people because of her hard work.

                Even though it is wonderful that Zitkala-Sa was given the opportunity to receive an education, it came at a price that I believe does not represent the American dream.  While learning to read and write, her culture was slowly ripped away from her.  In the sentence “I cried aloud, shaking my head all the while until I felt the cold blades of the scissors against my neck, and heard thme gnaw off one of my thick braids”, Zitkala-Sa is being forced to cut her hair.  Hair in her Indian culture was such an important thing and really represented who that person was. By cutting it off, the “palefaces” were essentially taking away her identity.  In this way I don’t think Zitkala-Sa was living the American dream.  All people should be allowed to be themselves and shouldn’t be forced to “fit in” with everyone else just to receive the opportunities others are getting. 

Journal # 12

"It had not entered into our hearts to believe that these friends and allies from the United States, even with all their foreign affinities, would ever go so far as to absolutely overthrow our form of government, seize our nation by the throat, and pass it over to an alien power."

I really like this sentence because I believe Queen Liliuokalani very effectively sums up how any nation feels after they have been betrayed by an ally, or how a person might feel after being betrayed by someone they thought was a close friend.  It would be unexpected and your trust for that person would be forever broken.  Using words such as “hearts” instead of something like “thoughts” makes it seem like a more personal attack from the United States.  The phrase “seize our nation by the throat” depicts what the United States did as vicious.  And the end of the sentence, “pass it over to an alien power”, makes it feels as though what the United States did was very distant, without any concern for the well-being of the Hawaiian people.  These examples all serve to really make the reader believe that what the United States was incredibly corrupt and convince the reader to take up the side of Hawaii.  

Journal # 11

               One major theme I noticed, especially in “As the Lord Lives, He is One of Our Mothers Children”, is bravery.  It can be seen multiple times throughout the story.  When Jones stares into the eyes of an angry mob just before they killed him and didn’t show even the slightest sign of fear.  Or when Rev. Stevens is brave enough to take in a complete stranger, and still trust him even after he finds out he is wanted for murder.  And finally when Gentlemen Jim sacrifices himself to save the lives of all those people on the train.  All these acts of bravery made me wonder; what force is giving these people the ability to be so courageous?

                For Rev. Stevens I think it is obviously his strong faith in god.  It gave him the ability to reach out and help someone he had never met.  It also allowed him to still trust a man even after he had found out he had been lying to him.  Also, it gave him the courage to confront someone one on one that was suspected of murder.  His faith gave him the power to reach out to those in need and see the good in someone even when others would scorn them. 

                Gentlemen Jim I believe was able to be so incredibly heroic because of two things.  First, Rev. Stevens had helped him and believed in him when no one else would.  He was clearly indebted to him, and on top of that he saw himself reflected in Rev. Stevens and his son.   Jim knew what it was to lose a loved one and didn’t want to put others through that pain.  He understood what a waste it was for someone to die at such a young age and sacrificed himself to keep it from happening again.

                Finally, there’s Jim’s partner, Jones.  Even seconds before he was about to be lynched, he showed not even the slightest hint of fear, and this confused me.  I thought it was pretty obvious what allowed Rev. Stevens and gentlemen Jim to be so brave, but I don’t understand how Jones could be so strong even while facing death.  He was surrounded by an angry mob that was going to kill him for a crime he didn’t commit.  I thought he should have been sad, depressed, or at least angry, but instead he seemed totally calm.  I really don’t know what allowed him to stay so stout through his whole ordeal, but it had to be something very strong deep within him to allow him to be that at peace. 

Journal # 10

When first reading the "The Wife of my Youth" I was very confused.  There seemed to be no talk about a wife, and I wasn't sure I was reading the right story.  When the old lady came to talk to Mr. Ryder I became very interested in what she had to say.  Her love and passion for one man was incredible, but still I didn’t see any connection between Mr. Ryder and this women.  I thought maybe he would know of the man she was talking about and be able to reconnect these lost lovers, but he didn’t seem to know of the man she was speaking of.  But when he started repeatedly telling this innocent lady the multiple reasons why she would probably never find the man she lost 25 years ago I became curios.  I didn’t understand why he was so against her attempt to reconnect with someone from her past.  At this point there was a second when I thought that Mr. Ryder was the person she was describing, but she said she didn’t expect him to make much of himself, and that she would recognize him between 100 different men, so I assumed I was wrong.  But then Mr. Ryder, after looking at her faded picture of her lost husband, looked closely at his own features I knew I must be right.  Mr. Ryder had changed from his youth and had grown into a new man, a man that those from his past wouldn’t recognize.  It was at this point that I wondered whether he would reveal himself to the wife of his youth, or keep it to himself.  I honestly thought he would keep it to himself.  He had a thriving career, and was on the verge of settling down with what was described as an amazing woman.  Bringing up these things from the past didn’t seem like a smart thing to do.  But to my surprise he did reveal his secret.  And not just to the old women but to his soon to be wife and his colleagues.  It’s impossible to know how this action would affect both his social and professional life, but either way it shows the impressive character that Mr. Ryder has. 

Journal #8 Response to Mark Kennedy

I like Mark’s statement about the irony present when Chestnut compares the “negroes and Yankees” to the “frogs and locusts that plagued Egypt”.  I don’t really understand why Chestnut would make this comparison when the bible and particularly the story of Moses saving the slaves from Egypt was so popular in this time.  That story is obviously anti-slavery, and with Chestnut being pro-slavery I find it strange that she would draw attention to something that is against her cause.  On top of that I don’t understand why she would make herself the “bad guy” in her own comparison.  If the negroes and Yankees are the frogs and locust, then it seems as though she would be an Egyptian that is being bothered by these pests, an Egyptian that in the bible story is looked upon as an evil tyrant that must be defeated by Moses to free his people from the bondages of slavery.  It’s just a strange statement for her to make, and I like that Mark brought it up because I wouldn’t have noticed it if he hadn't mentioned it.  

Journal #7

Using vivid imagery, Francis Harper makes the reader feel a great sense of compassion in her poem "The Slave Mother".  This poem describes a mother and her child as an unknown person separates them from each other.  This was a very common act during the times of slavery and while anyone would be saddened to hear of such a cruel act, Harper takes it a step further by making you feel as though you’re seeing this happen with your own eyes.  By making the reader feel like they’re there allows her to stir something deep within them, something that makes the reader hate what they’re reading about and hate the person doing this.  This ability to bring out such strong emotions from her reader made Harper a very good writer for the antislavery cause.

            Examples of these strong images are found all through out the poem, from beginning to end.  In the first stanza it says, “Heard you the shriek? [. . .] as if a burden’d heart Was breaking in despair.”  This first line immediately grabs your attention and makes you wonder what could be happening that is hurting this person so much.  The first half of the poem carries on in this same way, using very vivid language such as “The shuddering of that fragile form [. . .]” or “As if a storm of agony Were sweeping through the brain.” which makes the reader question why these two people are in such a state of fear. 

            When it’s finally revealed that someone is trying to separate a mother and her child the reader has no choice but want to help these poor people and stop the monster doing this to them.  With her use of imagery Harper gets you on the side of the slaves, bringing to the surface the want to stop senseless acts like this and bring an end to slavery. 

Blog Post #6

               Today in America everyone is seen as an equal.  We all have the same rights, and no matter where you’re from, what your job is or how much money you make you’re treated fairly.  Unfortunately America wasn’t always like this, and in “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”, Linda is the perfect example of how someone from a different social class can be treated so unjustly.

                Slaves in this time weren’t seen as equals to white men, and it was very evident in the way they were treated.  Poor housing, horrible working conditions and the lack of any basic human rights were just a few of the hardships that a person from the lowest social class, the social class of a slave, had to endure.  It was these types of circumstances that pushed Linda to the extreme of running away from her master even faced with death if she was caught.  But realistically Linda had no choice.  Without even the ability to buy her own freedom Linda was left with only one way out.

                Had Linda been born into any other social class at that time her life would have been completely different.  She could marry who she wanted, live where she wanted, work doing what she wanted and make the choices that a free person gets to make.  Unfortunately this was not the case, and just the simple fact that she was born into a class that made her “less” than a white person caused her to go through a life of immense suffering and hardship. 

Blog Post #4

“The Tenth of January” by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps is a very touching, tragic story that brought up many emotions and reactions that I haven’t felt from a piece of literature in a long time.  While all the parts of the story were great, reading about the actions of Richard Cross are what really kept my interested.

                Dick is introduced in the story as a hard working young man who just came from his father’s farm to the city in search of work and a place to stay.  It puzzled me why a young man like Dick would immediately become so closely bound to Asenath when nobody else wanted her, but in the story when it said “[. . .] he for the first time saw what she was [. . .] his blue eyes widened [. . .] a pity like a mother’s had crept into them [. . .]”, it became painfully clear that Dick only stayed with Asenath out of a since of obligation.  This observation is further solidified when Asenath see’s Dick with Del Ivory on the river bank where it is obvious that there’s something going on between them.  I figured Dick stayed with Asenath so as not to hurt her by leaving her for Del, and while this isn’t a very good base for a relationship, Dick knew how much he meant to Asenath and all she did was give him love in return, so that was at least something.  For the time being, I thought Dick was a respectable guy.

                Through al her ups and downs Dick stuck by Asenath and it seemed as though he was a genuinely good person.  But all that changed with the collapse of the mill.  When Dick pulls Del from the rubble, he completely forget about the girl still stuck in the burning debris, the girl that was able to get out of bed every morning because she had him in her life.  When Dick ran Del to the hospital and left Asenath “tombed alive” in the furnace, I had never been so infuriated with a character in a story.  To just leaver her there like that was awful and unforgivable.

                Phelps was able to take a character I was rooting for the whole story and make me despise him in just one paragraph.  And while this did anger me, it really highlights the skill of Phelps writing and makes “The Tenth of January” a story I won’t soon forget. 

Blog Post #2

Sometimes I can take for granted all the resources at my fingertips.  In just a few seconds I can pull out a phone or a laptop and read about things that happened half way around the world.  Reading about the printing press really made me appreciate the resources I have and made me think about how different life would be if this one invention hadn’t been thought up.

                Without the printing press the technology we have today could be years behind.  We might not have cell phones, satellites or even the ability to read about what’s been happening in our country.  Without the communication abilities we have today, so much of our world would be different.  Leaders of the world couldn’t communicate, businesses couldn’t form and our economy might still be based solely off selling crops like tobacco.

                Not only would our technology be near non-existent, but America may never have formed.  Writings such Thomas Paine’s Common Sense were very important in the molding of America.  With no printing press there would be no way for these pieces of literature to influence and inspire the colonists.  Without this inspiration the colonies may never have broken away from British rule and form the U.S. 

Blog Post #1

When thinking about the American identity, I admittedly catch myself having a slightly negative outlook.  When asked in class what words came to mind when thinking about Americans, I thought of things like “lazy”, “spoiled”, and “ungrateful”.  It’s not that I think all Americans represent these qualities, but watching the news and hearing about all the crime and low-class people that populate are country, it’s hard to see those citizens that still represent the kind of character our nation was founded on.

                In “The New Colossus”, Emma Lazarus talks about the freedom and opportunity our nation can provide to anybody, no matter their background.  While this is a beautiful thing and is a quality unique to America, it’s balanced out by “Unguarded Gates”, written by Thomas Bailey Aldrich, where he talks about the concern he has with letting just anyone into our country, knowing that there will be people that would choose to waste it liberties America has to offer and instead become a cancer to society.  Langston Hughes, who wrote “I, too”, was such an optimist that even through all the oppression he went through, he could still look to a brighter future.  While this is an outstanding quality to have, it doesn’t change the fact that there are still racists refusing to let go of the past.

                It seems that in every aspect of the American identity there are extremes.  No matter how outstanding  someone is, there is still someone out there who is equally awful.  And although my definition of American identity hasn’t changed, it’s now altered.  I do see those upstanding people that will keep our nation going, but I still recognize those people that don’t deserve all the opportunities laid out in front of them.