Reading Poem

hawthorne # 8 to be graded

While reading Hawthorne's stories quiet a few aspects of " Rappaccinis daughter" and " The Artist of the Beautiful " can be compared to each other. One that particularly caught my attention was the characters. First we can compare Annie and Beatrice, both of who were beautiful and young. Both women were love interest in both stories. In "Rappaccinis daughter" and in "Artist of the Beautiful", the relationships the women were in did not prosper due to no fault of their own.
Two other important characters that can be compared are Rappaccini who is the father of Beatrice, and Peter Hovenden who is the father of Annie. Rappaccini favors science over people and makes his daughter poisonous. I don't think he is much of a people person. Peter Hovenden is also a older man who is hard to deal with and is unliked by his apprentice. Both of these stories have a lot in common and can be easily compared.

1st 2 paragraphs of 2nd paper on poe

Edgar Allan Poe, the 19th century American writer, literary critic, editor, and poet, is best known as one of the first American practitioners of the short story. In addition to his tales of horror and mystery, Poe is considered the creator of the detective fiction genre and credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction.
There is extensive disagreement, however, on the merits of Poe's poetry. According to Enotes.com Ralph Waldo Emerson labeled Poe "the jingle man." Many of Poe's colleagues criticized many of his verses, mainly his later incantatory poems like "The Raven." This view is shared by modern critic Dave Smith who states " " The Raven," although Poe's best known individual poetic work , " may be among our most famous bad poems." (1995)
I personally believe Poe is one of the greatest writers of our time and that his personal trials in life played a major role in his works. Death surrounded him. He lost his mother at a young age, he lost his brother as well as his wife, death and horror was a part of his life and I believe he wrote about what he knew.

emerson #7 revised for the last time!!!!

Emerson, He is a complex individual with strong beliefs. Emerson had his own perception of what was right or wrong, and you were either with him or you weren't. I found his essay on nature hard to understand , and what I did understand, I did not totally agree with. Emerson believed the world was made for us and that the world works for us. This is true to an extent, but man has abused the earth in many ways, and that is why we are facing some of the great scientific issues we are facing today.
The world may have been made for us, but not for us (man) to abuse. I do not believe the world " Works for us". We should be working to preserve the earth for future generations. Nature is a beautiful thing when it is uncorrupted by man, and man can make nature beautiful with enhancements. Man can plant trees and do landscaping.
I also noticed Emerson's style of writing is similar to Whitman. Some what complex, and complicated. Like Whitman, Emerson forces you to think about what he is saying to the point where you find your self re- reading the same lines over and over again, trying to figure out what he wants you to take away from the sentence. In other words I had trouble getting through "Nature"and wonder whether what Emerson is saying could not have been said more clearly.

Rip Van Winkle

What an interesting man. Everyone in the town loved him including children and dogs, he would work hard for others but not for himself or his family. He let his land go to waste, and his children walk around raggedy. His wife nagged him to take responsibility but it was too much for poor Rip. Without retelling the story we know Rip Van Winkle falls asleep for 20 years and wakes up to everything foreign.

The occurring theme in this story is time. So much has changed in 20 years. His wife has passed as well as his dog. He has lost his network of friends and everything that was familiar to him. Rip is in a "time crisis". The small stream that he remembers is now a gushing river 20 yrs later, nothing is the same, time has changed everything he knew.

Thoreau #6 revised for the last time!!!!

Henry David Thoreau lived in the woods for two years, taking advantage of everything he saw around him. Nothing was taken for granite. The way he describes things makes everything seem so delightful and breathtaking. " I got up early and bathed in the pond; that was a religious exercise, and one of the best things which I did. They say that characters were engraven on the bathing tub of King Tching-thang to this effect: Renew thyself completely each day; do it again, and again,and for ever again." (pg1680)
Thoreau descriptions are, so clear as if you are right there beside him. Even at times when what he describes is not so bright he turned it into some thing good: "My house was not finished for winter, but was merely a defense against the rain, without plastering or chimney, the walls being rough, weather stained boards, with wide chinks, which made it cool at night. The upright white hewn studs and freshly planed door and window castings gave it a clean and airy look, especially in the morning,when it's timbers were saturated with dew, so that I fancied that by noon some sweet gum would exude from them." (pg1677)
Thoreau living in the woods, has very little but he is satisfied with how he is living. However, he does not seem as happy with how everyone else is living. He is content with living a simple life and wants others to see it as well: " For a man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone."

Comparrison of Harriet Jacobs & Frederick Douglass #5 revised for the last time!!!!

Both Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass were slaves that wanted their freedom. Both of them were taught by their mistresses how to read and write which was forbidden at the time. Learning how to read made both of them at times feel cursed because they got a view of how bad slavery was without a resolution. They also recognized why the white man did not want them to be educated.
The thing that stood out to me was how they were both mixed children ( Mulatto) who constantly compared their slave life to the life of other slaves. On many occasions both of them state that they did not suffer as much as other slaves. For example, Jacobs states" He had never punished me himself, and he would not allow anybody else to punish me." Douglass states " For while at Baltimore I got few whippings, and few slaves could boast of a kinder master and mistress than myself...."
Both Frederick and Jacobs had a lot in common being born and raised in slavery. one thing that they both were able to achieve was learning how to read and write which was a great achievement for a slave at that point in time.

frederick douglas assignment #4 to be graded

While reading the narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass many thoughts and feelings went through my head. Feelings of sorrow, joy, and disbelief. The one thing that caught my attention and kept it throughout, was Douglass's drive to learn how to read and write. Mrs. Auld one of Douglass's mistresses taught him his A B C's first, then assisted him in learning to spell words with three or four letters. Once Mr. Auld finds out he forbade his wife teaching and tells her "that it is unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave to read". " A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master - to do as he is told to do. Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world". This statement made Douglass mad and from that point on it made him want to learn to read. I think this was the inspiration for him not to give up. Douglass knew that this was a key to his freedom. " To wit, the white man's power to enslave the black man." I believe he also understood that knowledge is power. After being forbade to teach Douglass his mistress started to understand what her husband was saying " the evil consequences of giving instruction", she began to change from a kind woman with a tender heart to a woman with a heart of stone. This did not detour Douglass from wanting to learn. " Though conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out with high hope, and a fixed purpose, at what ever cost of trouble, to learn how to read".
Douglass had came up with many different ways to use the world and people around him to further his own education of reading and writing. He would read newspapers, befriend little white boys who he met in the streets and learned from them. " The plan which I adopted, and the one by which I was most successful, was that of making friends of all the little white boys whom I met in the street. As many of these as I could, I converted into teachers." While running errands he would take his book with him hoping to finish his errands so he could get a lesson in before he returned home. Douglass would also take bread from the house to trade for knowledge with less fortunate white children in the neighborhood. Douglass was very smart when it came to learning how to read without an instructor, and was just as clever when it came to learning how to write. Imagine if all slaves had been given this knowledge.

Harriet Jacobs revised for the last time!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love reading real life stories , but they make me so sad. While reading "Incidents in the life of a slave girl" by Harriet Jacobs, a number of things stood out to me. The first thing was how slave mothers were wet nurses for their mistresses: "She became an indispensable personage in the household, officiating in all capacities, from cook and wet nurse to seamstress."(pg 2012) You would think the mother of a new born child would not want this. The slaves were considered property, not different from a cow or a pig. Would you let a pig feed your child? My point is: Some slave owners thought slaves as property and treated them poorly, but would trust them to feed their child.
The next thing that caught my attention was how Jacobs avoided being raped by her master. At a young age Mr.Flint let her know that he wanted to have sex with her. But I now entered on my fifteenth year - a sad epoch in the life of a slave girl. My master began to whisper foul words in my ear."(pg2017) He constantly watched her, followed her, made nasty comments to her, and harassed her. Being a married man he had to sneak around and do these unjust things, but his wife who was quickly suspicious.
Jacobs had a few tricks of her own to deal with his slick ways. She stayed in the sight of other people during the day. Jacobs slept in a room with her great aunt at night where she felt safe. At one point Dr.Flint comes up with an idea to have his youngest child sleep in the room with him so he could have a reason for a nurse to sleep in the room as well, namely Jacobs. That only made Mrs. Flint question his actions more, eventually question Jacobs herself who comes clean to what Mr.Flint has been trying to do. Mrs.Flint promises to protect her from Mr.Flint, but Jacobs does not believe her because she understands that she is the object of her jealousy. Mrs. Flint does change the sleeping arrangements and Jacobs is saved for the time being by luck, her smart wits, or cleverness.
The next thing that caught my attention was how Jacobs Still had compassion for Mrs.Flint even though she was not nice to her: "As I went on with my account her color changed frequently, she wept and sometimes groaned. She spoke in tones so sad that I was touched by her grief." (pg2018) I don't think I would have felt any compassion for a person like Mrs. Flint. I would have told her what happened with a smirk on my face coming to the same conclusion as Jacobs, "But she had no compassion for the poor victim of her husband's perfidy. She pitied herself as a martyr; but she was incapable of feeling for the condition of shame and misery in which her unfortunate, helpless slave was placed." (pg 2018)
How can you have pity for some one who has none for you?

ON my dear grandchild Simon Bradstreet, who died on 16 November, 1669, being but a month, and one day old

In the poem "On my dear grandchild Simon Bradstreet," by Anne Bradstreet she describes her feelings upon her grandchild's death. We know that the child dies, possibly in his sleep because it is in the full title of the poem as well as the first two lines of the poem referencing death. ".... but gone, and fall'n asleep,". The child died at a young age and the Bradstreets only got to know him for a short time, ( " Acquaintance short...") but were still very sad when he passed away (" Yet parting caused us weep). Bradstreet has also lost other grandchildren. She compares the children to flowers and compares there contrast in age by how far along the flower has bloomed. " Three flowers, two scarcely blown, the last I' th' bud,..). She believes in God and believes that he has cut the childrends lives short, and says "yet is he good". Almost questioning. She believes it was Gods will but wants to question why but is wise not to question the higher power. (Such was his will, but why, let's not dispute, with humble hearts and mouths put in the dust,...). I believe Bradstrret was saying there may be things you want to question but you do not question God's will. Instead praise him," let's say he is merciful and just." The last few lines of the poem are saying the Lord will return and make up for all that she has suffered. The poem ends with Bradstreet telling the soul of the child to go be with his sisters in Heaven where there is never ending joy and he will be among the blessed.

ben franklin

Ben Franklin was an interesting man, he was responsible for so many things. At the age of twelve Franklin published his first works, by the time he was 16 he was working for his brothers newspaper. Franklin was also the writer of the Almanack, as well as discovering lighting. Franklin was the only American to sign the four documents that created the republic. The declaration of Independence, the treaty of alliance with France, the treaty of peace with England, and the constitution. He was considered the father of his country.
When reading the autobiography of Ben Franklin I found it to be somewhat hard to understand, but not as bad as John Edwards. The first thing that stood out to me was when he is writing to his son, he basically says he would live his life over if he had to, but he uses so many words to say it. He could have just got straight to the point. The second thing that stood out to me was the way he followed his ancestors. It was amazing to see how he went far back as records would let him go in the town of Ecton. There he found account of his fathers birth. He plans to keep this going as he writes memoirs to his son of his life and events.
Ben Franklin had many brothers and sisters, his father was married twice. We had a discussion in class about Franklin's relationship with his father. I don't think they had a bad relationship, I think his father was being protective of him in a way. He wanted to find him the right trade to get into, and he didn't want Ben to do something that would bring him no financial stability. While reading this story there was times when it seemed as if his father was not being supportive of him, for instance on page 346 ( I dislik'd the trade and had a strong inclination for the sea; but my father declar'd against it...). His father worried about his safety and well being.

explicating my poem

The poem I chose to read out loud was "On my dear child Simon Bradstreet". The first two lines of this poem is saying that the child died at a young age, possibly in his sleep. The writer of the poem is saying that they only knew him for a short time, meaning he only lived a short time, but when he passed they were very sad. They meaning the family members. The third sentence in the poem on page 152 says, " Three flowers, two scarcely blown, the last I' th' bud,". In this part the narrator is saying that she had three children, two barely grown, and the third never had a chance to grow. All which have past on. The next line is saying that god cut her flowers down, meaning the children, "yet he is good". That part of the poem sounds like a bit of sarcasm, "yet he is good as if almost asking a question. With all this badness before him lets be quiet, it was gods will , the narrator asks why as to question the lords doing. Then it says "let's be mute", as if she is taking back her questioning the higher authority. In the next part of the poem the writer is saying there may be things you want to question but you do not question god 's will ( "with humble hearts and mouths put into the dirt"). He is merciful and just, he will make up for all that they have lost, and she will be able to smile again. At the end of the poem she is telling the soul of the child to go rest with his sisters, where there is never ending joy and he will be among the blest.

john edwards

So far I am finding this story very difficult to understand. I do get the point that he feels some kind of emotional attachment to god. When he is reading or thinking of god's words he is happy. John does mention one point in his life when he had kind of lost his delight. "But in process of time, my convictions and affections wore off; and I entirely lost all those affections and delights and left off secret prayer, at least as to any constant performance of it, and returned like a dog to his vomit, and went on in the ways of sin." I think everyone at one point or another go down another road only to find there way back to the one they left.

wikipedia on poe

The author I am choosing to write my paper on is Edgar Alan Poe. When I went to the wikipedia website here were some things I found interesting. Poe was believed to be part of the American Romantic movement. Poe is distinguished for his short story's, and the beginning of science - fiction genre, as well as mystery- fiction. He was the first renowned writer to try and make a living off of writing. Poe started his career with a collection of poems he wrote while in the military. He lied to get into the military he said he was 22 when in fact he was 18. After that he worked for literary journals which had him often relocating, but he became known for having his own style of literary criticism. Poe married his 13 yr old cousin! Poe was a great writer but had many hardships throughout his career. When he died in 1849 at age 40, his cause of death was unknown. Something else I found interesting under wikipedia under see also was, Edgar Poe and music, and coupled cousins!

3 poems i would like to read

On my dear grandchild Simon Bradstreet,...page152
On being brought from Africa to America...page529
Shiloh...page1470

john woolman assignment 2 " revised b" for the final time !!!!!

One of the first things that horrified me was John Woolman's journal. When he killed the family of birds. It proved to be an experience that he carried all though life and effected on how he treated people and life itself. When I first read about the killing of the mother bird. "I stood and threw stones at her, till one striking her, she fell down dead. At first I was pleased with the exploit, but after a few minutes was seized with horror, as having in a sportive way killed an innocent creature while she was careful for her young." (page 256) I thought he was a bad child. But when he decided to kill the babies, I thought he was psychotic!
After reading on and reevaluating what he said and , I gained better knowledge of the kind of person he was. He knew without the mother to feed the babies, they would starve to death. "I beheld her lying dead and though those young ones for which she was so careful must now perish for want of their dam to nourish them; and after some painful considerations on the subject, I climbed up the tree, took all the young birds and killed them, supposing better than to leave them to pine away miserably,". I was not expecting a young child to have that sort of knowledge.
I believe the incident with the birds was an important experience for Woolman, and lesson for all of us. He learned that what he did was wrong. By killing the mother he had ultimately killed the children who needed her to live. Coming to this conclusion he killed the babies himself because they would have died anyway without their mother. He also learned that no life should be taken for granted. Everything exists for a reason.

mary rowlandson "revised" assignment 1b for the final time!!!!

What an amazing story. I believe that what really got Mary Rowlandson through her ordeal was the Word of God. Her faith in God was so strong. Whenever she was faced with a hard or sad time, she was able to quote scripture that related to the situation . Sometimes it seemed as if the lord was controlling her fate by directly telling her what to do. A good example is a quote from Psalms 27 on page 217 , "Wait on the lord, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart, wait i say on the lord". To Rowlandson, God was telling her not to run, and she didn't. She shared this scripture with another woman held captive, but she did not take heed and was killed.
Another scripture that related to Rowlandson's situation was, "for to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet", Proverbs 27:7 page 220. Given a piece of horse-liver which was partly stolen back from her, Rowlandson, out of hunger, was forced to eat it half raw. At home she would have never have considered eating horse-liver, but when you are hungry you will do what is needed to survive.
Many other scriptures helped Rowlandson maintain her spiritual well being. On page 221, she quotes Psalms 118:17 - 18: "I shall not die but live, and declare the works of the lord. The lord had chastened me sore, yet he hath not given me over to death". After all she has been through, she is still able to look to God with a open heart and believe in God and his power.
Mary Rowlandson had seen enough blood and death for a million life times, still she has a faith in God ,that no test can break. Remarkable. I don't know if I could still believe in God after witnessing such horrific things. To have to deal with the death of a child at the hands of the people who are holding you against your will, the separation of the remaining children, the loss of family members,and the in just done to Mary throughout her captivity...... and still be able to believe and quote, psalms 107:1, "Oh give thanks unto the lord for he is good,for his mercy endureth for ever". Rowlandson was strong, and she got her strength from the Word of God.

candidates for analytical paper

Three writers as candidates for my analytical research paper are Poe, Emily Dickinson, Faulkner, or Emerson. I'm not sure if Faulkner is on the list but I'm sure you will let me know. Also I did not see the story "A rose for Emily" . I love that story!

crossing bk ferry pt 2

well we finally finished reading the rest of the story crossing Brooklyn ferry in class. After reading the second part I realized that Whitman was digging a little deeper than the clouds, seagulls, and ocean. He was trying to make us realize the connection we all have to each other in the world, as well as the connection we have to the world. Walt also takes pride in his work and is very confident in what he believes.
In stanza 8 he says, " what I promised without mentioning it, have you not accepted? What the study could not teach - what the preaching could not accomplish is accomplished, is it not? To me it's like he is addressing the reader as if he knows the reader agrees with him in almost a how could you not way. I hope you understood that thought. I hope I explained it clear enough.

Very 1st blog entry, Crossing Brooklyn Ferry

In class we started reading a story by Whitman called "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry". We started reading it in class. I am from New York and have had the pleasure of crossing the Hudson river on many occasions. I guess I have done it so often that I have took for granted all of the beautiful details that Whitman describes in this poem/ story. It is truly an amazing ride to take if you ever have the chance. Some of the language that Whitman uses is not simple and he is very repetitive. It was not until Mr. Simpson translated for us did it start to become clear what Whitman was saying and describing.