Blog #7

              The element of speaker is extremely pronounced in the poem “The Slave Mother” by: Frances E.W. Harper and gives the reader insight as to why slavery should be abolished. Harper’s poem depicts an African-American slave who is denied the right of her child because of her status as a slave. Although, it is not said that Harper had children herself, it is said that she was an only child which perhaps could have strengthened her bond to family ties. A climax of emotion: "He is not hers, although she bore / For him a mother's pains; / He is not hers, although her blood / Is coursing through his veins!" demonstrates the pure anguish that this mother laments as she cannot claim her own son. However, it is not just the claim that causes her suffering, but also the fact that he has no ties to her in legal and economic sense as well and is eventually torn from her arms and is made to leave her by which reason the reader is not let onto. 

          "Oh! never more may her sad eyes / Gaze on his mournful face." Harper narrates as her son is stripped away from her as if she were never his mother. The presence of speaker is vital to this poem, as we are told a regrettable story made real by the cries of a mother and son forced to separate by an unjust system. The reader is immersed in the tragedy of this story by the mother and thus called into social reform as to ensure that oppression like this does not occur again.

Blog Post #6: Evaluation of Reagan Hall's Post

I completely agree with Raegan's idea about Linda (Harriet Jacobs) being very different from other black women slaves because she fights against what her masters ask.  Most women slaves at that time would just obey what is asked of them, but Linda did things such as hide in her grandmother's house and run away from Dr. Flint that made her rebellious.  Another thing that stood out to me was her dedication to finding her children.  I know that in this day in age parents have the right to have their children, but I feel that most other black women just faced the reality of letting their children go back in those days.  Linda would not accept the idea of losing her children.

Blog Post #4

One thing that really jumped out to me in "The Tenth of January" by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, was her descriptive style that she used in her writing.  She really brought her narration to life because she used detailed descriptions to describe things such as the setting or the feelings of the characters in the story.  The first instance of this comes at the very beginning of the story when she describes Lawrence, the town in which Sene works.  One stanza that really stood out to me in this paragraph was "for “bleak, uncomforted” sidewalks, where they chase you, dog you, confront you, strangle you, twist you, blind you, turn your umbrella wrong side out."  This vivid style of imagery enables the reader to really get a feeling for the setting in the story.  Another instance of imagery that was important in this story was the description of looks between Sene and Del.  Phelps describes Sene with a pale face with a long white scar across it and a poor, rounded shoulders, while she describes Del as a beautiful, young, bright girl.  The imagery that Phelps uses to describe Sene helps you to understand the pain that she is suffering because of her unfortunate looks.  Phelps does a great job using her descriptive style to give the reader a vivid image of what she is trying to portray.  

Blog Post #3

In "The Wife, " Washington Irving portrayed marriage and love as the most powerful thing on this planet.  He writes that during a marriage "if you are prosperous, there they are to share your prosperity; if otherwise, there they are to comfort you" (Irving 526).  What he is showing is that American's viewed marriage as the most important bond in a person's lifetime.  He also shows that the single man cannot be as happy as a married man because he does not have anyone to look after him in times of need.  Irving embraces every good quality of women when describing Leslie's wife, Mary.  One quote that he uses to refer to women is that "there is in every true woman's heart a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity; but which kindles up, and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity."  He describes so many good qualities of women in this stanza and it shows how he and other American's valued women during that time period.  He also showed portrayed that women were not worried about money during that time, and that they were happy with a loving relationship rather than lavish amenities.

Blog Post #1

I wasn't in the first class where we discussed what it means to be an American, but my opinion of being an American has not changed since I have joined the class.  I have always profiled an American as a free, determined, and healthy individual.  There were definitely struggles that we have talked about in class that our generation does not have to endure, but I feel that American citizens still abide by the same basic standards that our nation was founded upon.    One example that I learned through our reading is Benjamin Franklin.  He showed so much determination and pride while devoting his time to the freedom of America, and I feel that American citizens have that same drive and passion today.

Blog Post #2

There were a few things that really struck my interest while reading this section of our text book.  The first thing that stood out to me was how much of a technological advantage we have over the people of the late 1700s.  I have understood that technology has increased over the past few centuries but it would be impossible to live my lifestyle in that era.  I can't imagine living a life without my cell phone to talk to people or the internet to research and network with peers.  The printing press could only produce about 800 finished printed pages a day, that is such a small amount in comparison to what mass production printers can do today.  

         Another thing that I really paid attention to in the book was Benjamin Franklin's illustration, "Join, or Die."  His drawing depicts a snake seperated into 8 pieces, each labeled a different colony.  He was trying to state that all of the colonies need to united to seperate from Great Britain.  I feel that Benjamin Franklin was able to show his opinions in very clever ways that made his work popular.  He was a very vital role in the seperation of the colonies from Great Britain.