End of Line

From what the class has shown me this whole semester, I am very pleased to say that I have fully much enjoyed it for what it was and what it showed me about American culture. Though not contemporary, a huge part of what we read is reflective of our culture for two reasons:

1. It represents the history of our literature and how far we've come.

2. It shows just what the concept of "we" is not just us in the class, but the American people.

While it may be obvious just how representative of American history the literature part is, I felt it was important to readdress the idea of "we" our teacher talked about at the beginning of class. The reason for this is because, though we as a class learned about the works collectively, we also got a sense of what it's like to be American people. The "we" associated with such is representative of the idea that, as Americans, we mainly have a sense of justice, freedom, and liberty and do what we can to make the world whole again. An impossible task, for sure, but, even in our darkest hours, we'll never stop trying to do our best.

Emily Dickinson

There's no mistake about it; Emily Dickinson is one of the greatest poets of all time in the sense that she has common recurring themes that make you wonder just what it is she's talking about. In particular, her poem "I heard a fly buzz -- when I died" had sort of an intriguing feel to it. The poem depicts the speaker on their deathbed, their relatives all around them, crying and waiting to see when they'll go. While this happens, there is a fly buzzing around them between them and the so-called "Light" -- presumably talking about heaven. While, in class, we did not necessarily come up with a conclusion as to what this means, I recall back when I read this in high school that we sort of concluded that the fly may represent the devil or some other demon. The message behind the poem remains unclear due to Dickinson passing away before all her works were published. Still, it's worth discussing exactly what she meant about her poems in which one of her main themes was death.

Walt Whitman

To say that Walt Whitman is a very compelling poet is pretty much the proper thing to say based on his style. Having read -- and sort of skimmed -- the entirety of his poem (or collection of poems) "Song of Myself", I can certainly say that Whitman had an "interesting" taste when it came to poetry. For one, he wrote this poem sort of in a prose format in the sense that he rarely ever pertained to proper rhyme and seemed more like an avid description of nature. And, by "nature", I mean his interpretation of the human body, which has been subject to debate since his death. What makes the poem fully unique is the point of view; it is often debated whether the "I" in the poem is referring to simply Walt Whitman himself or somebody else. Whomever it is, it appears that the Whitman had a huge imagination that demonstrated his wit and wisdom.

Uncle Tom's Cabin Part III

I will admit it took me long enough to come out with this post, but that will not stop me from further evaluating what I thought of the book as I did my best to finish it. The whole thing was an interesting work speaking against slavery and was easy enough to read that I was able to understand what was going on for the most part. What struck me most about the narrative as what happened toward the end. I won't spoil it for those who haven't read it, but it shows that, even in the lives of the characters in the book, that many since the time period in which the book was written have changed their minds about slavery. Though the book essentially sparked America's most devastating war, it's interesting to note that it may have also allowed America to change its mind about slavery. Surely, this book is something to credit for the idea of abolishing slavery in the first place.

Uncle Tom's Cabin Part II

An intriguing point we brought up during class as to why this novel is a novel in the first place is due to the accessibility of novels in general. As I mentioned before, if it was an academic essay, it may have gone unnoticed and the American Civil War may not have happened. The main reasons for putting it in a novel format involve a few among other forms of connection: sentimentalism and empathy. Without the characters to connect to, nobody ever would have understood the messages that Stowe was trying to convince the public. Based on what she wrote, she was writing against oppression towards the slaves in attempt to convince America that slavery was a horrible thing from the beginning. As such, she made an abundance of the female characters the voice of reason, since, throughout history, people tend to listen and trust women more than men. An interesting strategy on her part, indeed.

Uncle Tom's Cabin Part I

Without a doubt, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe is one of the most interesting novels we've studied in the time period we've looked over. Having heard about this novel before, I think I finally understand the meaning of the term "Uncle Tom" apart from my very own real life Uncle Tom. The way the titular character behaves toward authority figures in a subservient manner is just one of the main reasons the American Civil War sparked in the years following its publication. Who would have known that a simple novel that spoke out against slavery could essentially cause such chaos in our country? If it was an essay without these iconic characters, it may as well have been ignored by the public eye and brushed under the rug without much mention in later years. Still, it's an interesting read so far, and I hope to keep up with the themes we look over and such.

Poe - Annabel Lee

Yet another poem that sealed Poe's legacy as an iconic author, this one wasn't even published until after he died when someone found the poem and put it out there. The repetition is still prominent with the repeating of lines such as "kingdom by the sea" and "beautiful Annabel Lee". I always found it interesting how Poe tended to write poems about the deaths of beautiful women, which makes for an all the more upsetting premise for such intriguing poems. It would seem as though he did this because his only wife and first cousin, Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe, died rather early having only been married for eleven years. Despite the sad contexts of his poems, he really hammered it in with his unique style of poetry in his rhyme schemes, repetition, and vivid vocabulary. It's one of many reasons why I still enjoy Poe even after all these years.

Poe - The Raven

Having read Edgar Allen Poe earlier on in high school, I can say this poem means a whole lot to me than it used to. For one, as an English major, I can more easily pick out an abundance of the literary elements that make this poem so iconic in the first place. For example, the element of rhyme is ever-persistent throughout; literally, every second, fourth, fifth, and sixth line ends in some kind of "or" sound. This alone makes the poem all the more fun to listen to and keep in rhythm if one were to read it. The next thing is the element of repetition; the poem literally repeats the word "Nevermore" for the last couple stanzas and is, perhaps, the main thing the poem is remembered for. Also the fact that the raven can talk in the first place leads readers to wonder whether what the narrator is experiencing is either a hallucination or if it is simply a personification of his feelings. This, however, is a debate for another post in another place.

2/3 of the Way In

As far as we've gotten into this class, I must concur that it has gotten more interesting the more we have gone in. For one, the fiction is some of the best I think I've ever read in any college literature class. Between works "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Scarlet Letter", it's no wonder I feel I've been missing out on some of these "best hits" from America's past. In the long run, this has been beneficial to me and my quest to understand more of how fiction works in terms of both plot and character. For one, "Rip Van Winkle" has an interesting plot that hooks you from start to finish despite the traditional, but gradual buildup. In addition, "The Scarlet Letter" is full of compelling characters that are easily identifiable by their words and actions (i.e.: Hester is good and Chillingworth is bad). Without this class, I may not even have much in the way of inspiration to keep going with my works even if they aren't timeless as these.

Scarlet Letter - Part III

Having just finished the book, here are my final thoughts: The Scarlet Letter is certainly an integral part of American literature in general. The reason for this being is that the themes it invokes the harsh theme of adultery in a way that's okay for those in an academic position to read. While it may not be the most appropriate reading in that case, it certainly delivers this theme nicely in a way that society at the time of which this is set in would have reacted. What makes it interesting is that it still applies to today in some ways concerning its philosophical depth. In terms of its philosophy, it is strong in its Christian thematic elements such as the way it relates the situation at hand to the woman caught in adultery. As a Christian myself, I find it interesting in this aspect as well as the fact that Hawthorne managed to pull it off so well at the time. Props to him for that.

Scarlet Letter - Part II

One of the major things our professor did to coincide with us reading "The Scarlet Letter" was to draw our own letter on a card that is representative of, according to him, our most egregious sin. Thinking about this, I was hesitant to do so since I, as a Christian, do not like to remind myself of my own sin, but rather forgive myself and move on knowing that God has forgiven me. I will not say what letter I put or what it represented, but I will say it was an interesting experience to sort of tie in with the story. In the story, Hester Prynne must wear her scarlet letter A for roughly seven years, having to endure sessions in which she stands on a scaffolding to be publicly condemned for her sin. For an average person in this day and age, this may be terrifying, though, even after she's worn it long enough, she does not discard it right away. Instead, she decides that it will come off whenever God wants it to. The way I see it is that she fully understands her mistake and wants to accept the fact that she did wrong to remind herself to repent. Similarly, the activity we did sort of tied into the same idea. An interesting way to coincide with the reading, indeed.

Scarlet Letter - Part I

Although the novel itself is relatively difficult to understand completely, given the time period it was written in, I appreciate the Scarlet Letter for what it is so far. The beginning seemed rather intriguing with the imagery of the rose bush near the prison door. It may not seem like much at first, but it basically foreshadows much of the dominant story symbols. The rose bush itself seems to be representative of the idea of sin growing inside a "good" person; in this instance it's representative of Hester and her sin of bearing a child in adultery. Typically, a rose is also scarlet, which represents the scarlet letter (hence the title) that she wears for a number of years. It's interesting to note how much more fascinating a simple idea become the further one reads into a story.

Resistance to Civil Government

Henry David Thoreau's essay "Resistance to Civil Government" had some interesting topics of writing that still matter very much today. As the title implies, the main idea is that government isn't exactly the most reliable thing to live along with. In ways government can be more harmful than helpful in the sense that it may treat certain people unfairly or lack benefits for a certain group of people. According to Thoreau, government appears to fuel corruption and injustice, which tends to be a major problem today now more than ever. I would have to agree that today, especially, the U.S. government has certain aspects to it that can't be looked at as "civil and just" such as in the way it addresses other groups which may or may not pose much threat to our country. Even though Thoreau said that there were even some admirable aspects to the U.S. government at the time in which he wrote this, this saying may as well be different for today.

Nature - R. W. Emerson

Upon hearing the title "Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, one may suspect it to be this perfect description of nature and why it's so important we take care of it. The opposite is true. What this essay discusses is not the typical motivational speech to preserve nature that conservationists give today, but rather the benefits of appreciating nature for what it is: a beautiful sight for human being's to accept. It talks about how too often we, as humans, are distracted by the demands of the world that we forget to stop and appreciate how great it is through our actions. Too often, we are caught in the waves of societal pressure that we never quite get the chance to go into solitude with it and experience the "wholeness" of nature that Emerson describes. Essentially, what he means is that humans experience a spiritual relationship with nature as man does with God. It's almost as if he was saying nature is his god or something, but that's a topic for another time/post.

The American Scholar

"The American Scholar" by Ralph Waldo Emerson is a very solid speech the man gave for his recognition over his previous work entitled Nature. While it covers plenty of big topics such as "Man Thinking" (which I will note is a very thought-provoking term), I felt it could easily be summed up in one little segment toward the middle: "I have now spoken of the education of the scholar by nature, by books, and by action. It remains to say somewhat of his duties." He then goes on to prove that he is clearly referring to the idea behind "Man Thinking". The idea of "Man Thinking" involves a man actually thinking for himself instead of being a "mere thinker" as Emerson referred to in the speech. In this instance, Emerson is encouraging us to become more active in our thinking rather than relying on the thinking of someone else or becoming a "victim of society". This goes to show that Emerson's works are certainly ones for committing to memory for both intellectual and societal reasons that only we, as humans, can comprehend for ourselves.

Rip Van Winkle

It has been a long while since I've been able to post anything that I figured now I would take the time to explain what I thought of the first fiction piece we read in class. "Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving was a remarkable piece of fiction so much so that I can't believe I missed it up until now -- surely, I had heard of it before, though I never had the chance to read it. Written for the collection entitled The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Canyon, "Rip Van Winkle" is about a man who leaves his life behind to travel into the Catskill Mountains. Here he encounters a Dutch man whose group he joins to start drinking moonshine, and falls asleep for twenty years, soon returning to his town and recognizing no one. It certainly was a novel idea for the time and could even be told using an in media res introduction and still be effective. From reading and comprehending it, I feel I've been able to make out a valuable theme that the author may or may not have been intending: that life is too short so we shouldn't sleep too much or we may miss out on a lot. Just the plot alone got me to perceive the story as such, which is why I think "Rip Van Winkle" is certainly among the best works we've read thus far.

The Class So Far

Having taken my first exam for this class, I must admit that the whole thing has been an interesting step back in time for myself as an American. Between learning about America from different aspects in literature to figuring out who "we" is, it offers more than just factual understanding of American literature as a whole. It provides perspective on our country as a whole, our history, and how the outside world tends to view us as the "perfect" society. For example, De Crevecoeur's "What Is an American" tells of what America looks like to any European man (Englishman, Frenchman, etc.) migrating from their country to our own. They tend to view our society as a place of freedom, justice, and prosperity unaware of the many injustices and criminal activities that happen on the side. Regardless, we, not only as collective Americans, but also God's people, do our best to do the right thing and seek out the freedom and justice that everyone believes we have. It may sound like I'm just simply rattling on about the perspectives given in this story, but, personally, I feel it culminates a lot of what we've covered in class thus far and is therefore my favorite work based on how much it makes me think. If this one work could help me understand our class discussions better, I can't wait to see what we've got coming up!

Phillis Wheatley

After reading Phillis Wheatley's many poems about how she came to America via slavery, it amazes me just how positively she viewed the experience despite the sinful nature of it all. For one, her poem "On being brought from Africa to America" indicated that she, indeed, was bought out of her native country by force. Even back then, that would seem like a horrific experience for anybody who most likely did not anticipate anything to occur as such. Usually, people would hate an experience like this; she did not. The way I see it, which many others may not, is that it was all a part of God's plan. You see, I like to think of it as God's way of using another person's sinful nature to shine through to somebody in need and bring them to Him. If it worked for Wheatley -- and even Rowlandson -- it could somehow work the same way with anybody regardless of who they are.

Jonathan Edwards

Plenty who have read the works of Jonathan Edwards may agree that his popular sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is not something to be shared in our contemporary church service. To an extent, I can see why since, overall, the sermon uses vivid imagery of hell to the point where any unsuspecting church patron would be scared out of their minds and may never want to attend that church again. However, in reading it, I could sort of see the beneficial side of preaching it even to the newest church attenders. For one, it actually provides the context as to what we're being saved from through our faith Christ (that being eternal damnation). Not many pastors these days touch on this fact during their sermons that it tends to leave people wondering what it is we're being saved from apart from our own sins. As my teacher said, most of today's sermons consist of "touchy, feely God loves us all" topics and, while they are great for a contemporary time, it could help to emphasize the existence of hell a little bit more as a way of leading more people in the right direction towards heaven.

De Crevecoeur's "What is an American" - current version

Everyone wishes they could sympathize with what an Englishman thinks upon entering the the mainland of the United States for the first time. Regardless of his intentions to visit the country, it is only fitting that their thoughts upon their arrival would be that they've entered the land of freedom, independence, justice, honor, and prosperity. Even if they don't know us, everyone often sees America as a country of such and only such. However, what outsiders do not see is even more shocking; between every injustice, there exists poverty, crime, domestic abuse, and taking freedom for granted. More than ever now, people blur the lines of freedom to the point where it is largely unknown what true freedom is these days. Despite this, America itself does not stop portraying itself in its own ideal image. Together, for the most part, we stand as a nation fighting for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We do our best to help others and bring to justice those in oppression toward us. Often times, we are more compassionate than the world makes us out to be.

1700-1820: Subjects I've learned about once more

Upon reading this introduction to the new era we read in class, I was surprised as to notice the subject matter we'll be getting into that I've not been taught in a while: the Enlightenment Period. Last I heard about this particular period in history was in high school, but I don't remember much about it apart from the idea of "new ideals". I was most intrigued to re-learn of the different ideals introduced during the time such as Deism, which I do not believe in, I just found it very interesting to have revisited ideas that I remember learning about. Little did I realize, though, that one of the biggest ideas introduced around this time was psychology -- a subject that very much intrigues me. The reason I found it so intriguing was because, at the moment, I anticipate that there will be more of a "psychological factor" in our readings (meaning readings that understand how people work). Far as I know, it may be one of the more interesting periods that we read about.

Who's "We"?

In class, we often have brought up the idea of "we" in terms of who specifically we're referring to in conversation. The first week of class, I believed that the sort of "we" we referred to was simply us as a class. The interactions we shared, the ideas we exchanged, etc. The more we've gone through class, however, my perception of the term "we" has slowly, but surely changed over time. From my understanding of the works of literature we've read thus far, the term "we" may as well be referring to those from different backgrounds and cultures. Much of what we've read (such as Mary Rowlandson's story and John Smith's account) show different cultures interacting with one another and, even if they don't agree on something, they are pretty much of the same people. How? They are all made by God and are therefore very much collective even if they don't understand each other. In other words, "we" refers to humanity as a whole.

My thoughts on Mary Rowlandson

Mary Rowlandson was, indeed, an interesting author in the way she wrote about her most famous experience. Her's was a captivity narrative that involved her time being captured by Native Americans during King Phillip's War for 11 weeks. The way she was treated during that time has often been compared to the way African American slaves were treated by Americans in the sense that the two different ideas (captivity vs. slavery) seem to parallel one another in this instance. It is possible that, with her Christian faith, that she had some sympathy towards slaves (for example: when she said "Yet the Lord showed mercy to me; and as he wounded me with one hand, so he healed me with the other", referring to the rough experiences they endured). Even the way she expressed her faith and even implemented some Scripture also made it clear as to why she would never give up in the face of suffering. She was, indeed, an influential figure of the time and continues to be so today.

John Winthrop

As a regular reader of Christian literature, I must say there have been some fascinating accounts of Christianity in both the past and present. One in particular that I read in the past involved the account of John Winthrop's "A Model of Christian Charity". Although his ideas were rather static, so to say, it followed the whole idea of a Puritan's belief: that everything is done in God's design. Basically, the idea shows that these so-called "charity's" are what make up the entire body of Christianity in which all pieces are necessary. It's also interesting to think that this is one of the many mentions of the whole idea of the "city on a hill" showing that God's light is not meant to be hidden. Overall, it's one of those works that makes you think deeper about the the model of New Israel -- being all-inclusive and aware of God's presence -- and it's interesting to see how well it holds today even.