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Journal #19
Posted By: Melissa Veum
11-23-09
Engl 48A
" But it pleased God before they came half seas over, to smite this young man with a grievous disease, of which he died in a desperate manner, and so was himself the first that was thrown overboard (Bradford, 114)."
"And for the season it was winter, and they that know the winters of that country know them to be sharp and violent, and subject to cruel and fierce storms (Bradford, quotationspage.com)."
This passage was very interesting to me because it shows the wrath of God that the people of this time felt. This young man had put his ugly face forward and talked about being mean to the poor and wanting to throw them into the ocean. This is a very good example of karma. He wanted to exercise his strength and try to be the boss of everyone and wanted everyone to obey him or else be thrown overboard. These poor, sick people could do nothing but hear him bad mouthing them the whole time. Bradford says this young man was proud and probably arrogant in his ways, thinking that no harm would ever come to him, even if he treated others this way.
In this passage I see that Bradford opened up about how relentless this young man was and then describes him having the very diseased death he wished upon others on the boat. Karma at it's finest... He had threatened to throw others overboard and that is exactly what God made happen to him. He made fun of and yelled at the sick people incessantly and then God took avengance towards him and made him sicker than any and as a result, he died a very painful death and then was the first to be thrown overboard. God's wrath is very powerful and should not be "messed with" by anyone thinking that they are above the hands of God.
Journal #18
Posted By: Melissa Veum
Engl 48A
11-19-09
"/Then while we live, in love let's so persevere/ That when we live no more, we may live ever./ (Bradstreet, 206)."
"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome (Bradstreet, quotationspage.com)."
Bradstreet has a very sure and confident way in which she writes her poetry. Even though she may not be confident about what she's writing, she comes across as confident and it is refreshing to see a woman writer of this time period be so smart and poetic with flow to her words. I love her word choice of perseverance in this poem about her husband and love. She wants to persevere in love while she is alive and despite anything that might get in their way, they are going to be in love and continue loving so that they can love even after they are gone from this earth. It is very nice to hear that she wants to focus on love and live through love.
Bradstreet refers to her husband as a gift and someone who she herself cannot pay back for all the love she has received except by her own love. She sees her love life as being quite content and overwhelmingly loving. She even wants their love to travel with them when they die, I think she believes the two of them will be together someday in heaven still loving each other more than they ever did on earth. She wants to live in the ever, forever.
Journal #17
Posted By: Melissa Veum
11-16-09
Engl 48A
"We find it easy to tread on and crush a worm that we see crawling on the earth; so it is easy for us to cut or singe a slender thread that any thing hangs by: thus easy is it for God, when he pleases, to cast His enemies down to hell (Edwards, 426)."
"The best, most beautiful, and most perfect way that we have of expressing a sweet concord of mind to each other is by music (Edwards, quotationspage.com)."
Sometimes people think that just because they are bigger or more powerful than something else, that gives them the right to do what they please with it, like killing poor defenseless worms. When it seems that something is hanging onto life by a small thread or last bit of power, sometimes it feels like your doing the thing a favor by ending it's life or helping it go faster, but maybe if this thing that's hanging on had some encouragement to hang in there or help not to let go, it would survive and hang on longer. For Edwards to say that it is easy for us to cut or singe that thread is discouraging to hear. You don't want to think that people want to be mean and vicious, you want things to be encouraged and helped so as not to have to end their lives or be stepped on.
In this statement God has the most control because it seems that when he is angry, he can just cast people or things away into hell and never worry about them again. Edwards compares a lowly worm being stepped on to an enemy of God being cast into hell by God himself, whenever he pleases. He states that this is an easy task for God to do when he comes in contact with an enemy and all should be very afraid not to cross God on a bad day. When God sends his enemies into hell it is the lowest form of punishment I can think of, you are no longer welcome in Heaven and on this earth and you will burn forever in the fiery pit we call hell. This, according to Edwards, is easy for God to do to someone.
Journal # 16
Posted by: Melissa Veum
Engl 48A
11-12-09
"Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed (Jefferson, 653)."
"Do not bite at the bait of pleasure, til you know there is no hook beneath it (Jefferson, brainyquote.com)."
Jefferson states that governments that have been around for long periods of time, with discretion, should not be changed over small and petty causes. A government that has thrived for long periods of time has hopefully had time to construct itself and should not be changed for frivolous causes because this could diminish all the work and effort that your ancestors created some time ago. If the matter is though an important need for change, as in many years have passed and those who created the government are no longer alive or if the need for change is persistent for the well-being of civilization, one could see a much needed change. He is also trying to express that mankind would rather suffer in bad times than right themselves from the evils and what they are accustomed to.
I think this means that people want and look for the easy way out sometimes. When a government is not working and people are suffering from "evils", that would be the time for a change. Some people would rather dwell in the now and not worry about the future, they don't want to rock to the boat. Jefferson states that you don't have change things for frivolous reasons, but you don't want to suffer either. With a lot of man-power and persistence the rules and customs of a government can be changed and things could be better, people just have to be open and willing.
Journal # 15
Posted By: Melissa Veum
11-10-09
Engl 48A
"If you have not, then are you not a judge of those who have. But if you have, and can still shake hands with the murderers, then are you unworthy the name of husband, father, friend, or lover, and whatever may be your rank or title in life, you have the heart of a coward, and the spirit of a sycophant (Paine, 635)."
"To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead (Paine, quotationspage.com)."
I really like the first line of this quote, but it's wording is a bit puzzling to me. I feel like when reading it correctly my mind automatically wants to flip it into "...then you are not a judge of those who have". When Paine uses "... then are you not..." I feel like this statement should be concluded with a question mark and not a period. Paine is saying that if you have not lost someone or burdened your family in anyway, then can you really judge those who have done this? Although with his lack of question mark he is making the reader think that maybe you can judge them. It would be Common Sense to not judge anyone if you have not been in there shoes. It also makes you think about the fact that everyone has had bad times and that everyone at one time or another have been sorrowful of something they have done unto their families, friends, or themselves. So, we can be judgemental of someone if we've experienced the same thing in our own lives?
Paine goes on to say that if you have been through these hardships or lost someone dear to you and can "...still shake hands with the murderers..." then you are unworthy and your title or rank in your life should be taken away and you will be seen as low to those of you around you who are "judging" you. He says that your spirit and your heart will be no longer yours to feel and be with, but that of a "coward" and a "sycophant". If you are okay with losing a loved one or if you can just forgive and forget then you should be judged by society as a "coward" and a "sycophant" for you have no soul and people should be weary of you. You should get your "titles" stripped from you and you do not deserve the privilege of not being judged by society.
Journal #14
Posted By: Melissa Veum
11-04-09
Engl 48A
"Some view our sable race with scornful eye./ "Their color is diabolic dye."/ Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain,/ May be refined, and join the angelic train/ (Wheatley, 753)."
"Now here, now there, the roving fancy flies,/ Till some lov'd object strikes her wand'ring eyes,/ whose silken fetters all the senses bind,/ And so captivity involves the mind/ (Wheatley, On Imagination)."
I believe Phillis Wheatley's poems to be very powerful yet witty at the same time. I like the way she rhymes every other line and does so throughout every poem I have read. In this quote from her poem On Being Brought From Africa To America, she states the not so obvious from both sides of the spectrum. She sees things from the slaveholders eyes and then comes back at them from the very slaves eyes. She states that some may look at the black race negatively and even quotes that they are labeled as having "diabloic dye" on their skin, but that even though many feel this way, it does not matter in the eyes of God because one day we will all be on that "angelic train" riding towards Heaven, no matter the color of your skin.
It's like she's saying a little prayer to her fellow mistreated Christians, "Remember..." as in don't forget that we too are going to some day rise above this insanity which be our lives and be allowed to ride that "angelic train" to our much needed and God-given fates. She has a wonderful way of making even the gloomiest of thoughts have a light at the end of the tunnel. She says that it doesn't matter if you are a black Christian, you are a Christian, regardless of skin color and that blacks are "refined" and it no matter the turmoil you feel that you are in right now in your life, look to the future for Heaven and that saving grace await us all.
Journal # 13
Posted By: Melissa Veum
Engl 48A
11-02-09
"I had before entertained hopes of getting home, and had determined when it should be dark to make the attempt; but I was now convinced it was fruitless, and began to consider that, if possibly I could escape all other animals, I could not those of the human kind; and that, not knowing the way, I must perish in the woods (Equiano, 679)."
"I now wished for the last friend, death, to relieve me (Equiano, Wikipedia)."
Reading the Narrative of Olaudah Equiano lets you see and hear how smart Olaudah was even as a young child. He wanted to get home, no matter how far, and was going to venture it in the darkness of night. As it was getting darker, he was getting a little anxious and scared. Things are different in the dark and you cannot see your way and it would have been very scary for a young boy to venture this alone. Once nightfall came he realized that this excursion was "fruitless" and was not going to end well. Even if Olaudah could get by the scary animals he might encounter, he would still have to be weary of the human "animals" he might encounter. He assumed he might as well have to die in these woods.
Olaudah is very smart because he recognizes his chances, considers the obvious and does not act like the average child would. He and his friends had methods of warding off bad guys and on this day, did not go as planned. Olaudah wanted to return home and when he saw his chance to get away, I feel that he tried to take it. His smart mind knew he may not make it all the way home and that venturing alone in the darkness was not the best idea in the world. I liked how Olaudah referred to humans as animals as well, being that most humans who indeed own slaves were animals and sure acted that way. I would think that for Olaudah encountering the human animals would be much more frightening than encountering the real animals that may be in the woods with him.
