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Journal #3
Posted by Melissa Veum
English 48A
09/28/09
"But no. I verily believe that buttoning himself up in so downy and blanket-like a coat had a pernicious effect upon him; upon the same principle that too much oats are bad for horses. In fact, precisely as a rash, restive horse is said to feel his oats, so Turkey felt his coat. It made him insolent. He was a man whom prosperity harmed (Melville, 2367)."
"It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation (Melville, quotationspage.com)."
In this quote Melville is stating that Turkey, who has a dreary type of wardrobe, does not feel or look like himself in this borrowed coat. Turkey turns angry and putting the coat on himself and buttoning it up makes him look like he's had too much of a good thing. The speaker thinks that Turkey will appreciate this favor of being able to wear a coat absolutely out of his own style and characteristics, but instead things turn for the worse. It seems that turkey is a man whom the finner things in life are not meant for.
I do believe that you cannot change a person just by putting something shiny and new on the outside of them and calling them something different. For starters if the person does not want to change, in Turkey's case, there is no amount of shine that is going to withstand those boundaries. In terms of this passage the speaker may accomplish what he wants by putting a nice, clean jacket on Turkey, but on the inside he is still going to be the same insolent Turkey.
Journal #2
Posted by Melissa Veum
English 48A
09/28/09
"Sublime is the dominion of the mind over the body, that, for a time, can make flesh and nerve impregnable, and string the sinews like steel, so that the weak become so mighty (Stowe, 1712)."
"The truth is the kindest thing we can give folks in the end (Stowe, quotationspage.com)."
Harriet Beecher Stowe is explaining to the reader in the quote that mind over matter is what really matters in the end. Even the weakest of people can be strong if the cause is worth fighting for. In this case Eliza needs to get away from this trader who is trying to take her son away from her. She has not eaten much and has been traveling all night, but in order to save her son from a life with no mother, she takes all her strength and crosses a treacherous river by jumping on broken pieces of ice. She musters up all the strength she had in her little body and clasping onto her son, makes it across the river, where a Christian gentlemen helps her up the bank.
I think that Eliza is a very brave, independent woman who in not wanting her son taken away from her, she uproots herself and flees for a better life. In this passage she is not only doing this for herself, but she has her little baby with her. When doing something for someone you love, you gain immense strength and power to do whatever you see fit. In this case, Eliza is doing everything she can to ensure a better life for her son, even if it means possibly getting into more trouble than she has ever imagined. Having strength in your mind and within yourself, if nowhere else, is all that Eliza has right now and she can overcome anything just by thinking that she has the power to do so.
Journal #1
Posted by Melissa Veum
English 48A
09/27/09
"Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it parish. And the war came (Lincoln, 1636)."
"Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally (Lincoln, quotationspage.com).
Basically I think Abraham Lincoln is describing some of the reasons for the Civil wars start. Both sides were against the war but both were fighting for different things. One party was not against letting there become a war as opposed to letting the nation survive as is and the other party would accept a war rather than letting the nation perish as is. And so Lincoln states in few words with both parties' feeling this way; the war came. Wanted or not. In so many words both parties seemed against war, but both parties wanted to be right and would do anything to be right.
I do think that one party was working toward a greater good and the other just wanted to be right and have everyone follow in their footsteps, even if it was slavery; a horrific and terrible thing that happened in this country. Lincoln knew that this would not be an easy task to abolish but he stood by his country and eventually got the best of America on the winning side and therefore abolishing slavery in the United States. Both sides of the war believed in God and both read the same Bible, yet having such differently drastic views of what was right is what brought our nation to slaughter and horrify so many Americans those hundred + years ago.
