Main Blog Post (November 20th)

Isaac Sarmiento

Dr. Lee

Engl&244

November 20, 2015


                                       Blog Assignment: Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Nature" (Pg.214-243)
               Ralph Waldo Emerson is the most influential American writer of his time in the nineteenth century, if it wasn't for Emerson's essays such as self reliance and nonconformity then Henry David Thoreau and Margaret Fuller's career maybe would have went different paths. He was born in 1803 in Boston Massachusetts, and was the son of Ruth Haskins and Rev. William Emerson. Emerson also led the transcendentalist movement in the mid 19th century. He slowly drifted away from his religious beliefs as well as social beliefs. After Harvard, Emerson had helped his brother William in a school for young woman. After a couple years Emerson started to make his living as a schoolmaster. Emerson ended up meeting his wife, Ellen Louisa Tucker on Christmas day in New Hampshire. Later on his wife had died and he started to disagree with the church. He had then inherited a little bit of money after his wife died. He had then returned to live with his Mother in the united states in Massachusetts. With having many great literally stories and inspiring readings, "Nature" is a very great reading in which it sets out an ability to see the universe as how it is presented rather than for what its not.

                He wrote "Nature" a short reading but very interesting and talks about the tendency to accept traditions and knowledge of the past instead of wanting to experience god and nature directly. Its really about how all are questions about the universe or the relationships between god and nature may be answered by our personal experience's with life. In the beginning of the reading Emerson describes true solitude as going out into nature and leaving behind activities as well as the society. He also talks about the poetical approach to nature the perception of the whole made up by many individual components. In order to experience the true aspects of nature, we need to approach it with a well balance between inner and outer senses in order to truly understand it. And all aspects of nature connect somehow to some state of mind. In nature, which also is a part of god, man finds qualities similar to his own. Emerson discusses the ways in which man employs nature ultimately to reach insight into the workings of our universe. He talks about 4 major aspects which are Commodity, Beauty, Language, and Discipline. And in Commodity he uses the most basic uses of nature for heat, food, water, shelter, and transportation. Although he ranks these as being low uses, and also states that they are only applications that many men have for nature, they are perfect and appropriate in their own way. In this reading he also talks about natural beauty and he presents three properties of beauty. First, nature restores and gives pleasure to a man. Nature also pleases even in  its harshest moments. Secondly, Nature works together with a spiritual element inside a man to exceed the nobility of virtuous human actions. Nature itself provides a large and impressive background against which man's higher actions are outlined. Thirdly, Emerson points out the capacity of natural beauty to raise the level of human intellect. Because action follows upon reflection, Nature's beauty is seen in the mind, and expressed through unique action.

       With the big theme building up in this reading it obvious to see Ralph Waldo Emerson wants us to see nature for what it is and learn the true aspects of it in hopes to find answers we seek not only with ourselves but with god. In reading his writing of Nature and understanding many aspects of what he is trying to show in this read it is shown that he was very tactful of what he's trying to present to people only about nature and its beauty and the many great things that could come of it. A great quote from this reading is about the "Transparent Eye-Ball", Emerson states " When we speak of nature in this manner, we have a distinct but most poetical sense in the mind"(R. Emerson 216). Emerson is trying to say that when we speak of nature and its true aspects we get a better understanding of it and acknowledge it more for what it is. This shows a big theme that supports the overall theme of what Ralph tries to set out for us in which that is having a clear mind of what nature truly is; Beauty but only in which you understand it and set out forth to experience it and seek it. And to see only with the eye to gather that information of the true nature of our universe to see how it forms the basis for religion and ethics. This is what Emerson saw and wanted other people to see and understand "Nature".

Bella Martinez

Dr. Lee

ENGL&244

13 November

 

Main Blog Assignment: Lydia Howard Huntley Sigourney, "To the First Slave Ship" (pp. 109-110), "Slavery" (pp. 113-114).

       Lydia Howard Huntley Sigourney as stated in the Norton Anthology Literature: Volume B textbook, was “the most popular woman poet of the early national and ante-bellum period” (106). She was very talented and throughout her years of writing poetry she came to a point where she began to use her writings to try to sway the hearts of man to better respect and treat not only slaves, but the poor as well as the Indians. Among the first, as according to the text, “…she wrote poetry well before abolitionism became a popular reform in New England” (107). And she strongly supported the idea that the nation was losing its way and was forgetting to be “one” and live up to its true ways of republicanism as well as spiritual ideals (107). With that, during the time she wrote a particular poem titled, “To the First Slave Ship” written in 1827, slavery was only getting worse. Times were hard for those in the minority and the poor and so they would become slaves and would have to submit their lives to their “owners” in order to survive in some ways. She wrote this particular poem in response to the happenings of slavery occurring during that time.

        In Sigourney’s poem, “To the First Slave Ship” she expresses an undying sadness and distaste for the happenings with regards to slavery; in particular the transfer of human cargo on “slave ships.” That transfer is quite bothersome in that she emphasizes this particular string of words, “Dire engine! O’er the troubled main” in order to fully communicate that what is being done is wrong and is more than troublesome. In the beginning she is speaking to the boat as if it is alive. This is perfectly shown when she questions, “Hear’st thou their moans whom hope hath fled?—Wild cries in agonizing starts?—Know’st though thy humid sails are spread with ceaseless sigh from broken hearts?—“ (109). She is speaking to the ship directly here, trying to make it clear that it’s not okay that the ship itself is being powered by that of the sails and the ceaseless sighs from broken hearts that “spread” the “humid sails” themselves in fact (107). Although she may be speaking more so to the ship in text, indirectly she also wants us to think about the human in control of the ship and the wrongs they are causing because they really are the only ones who could stop if they wanted. On the same line, she makes it very clear that the nation and humanity are wrong and that humanity is worse than the physical toils the sun has on us. This is mentioned when she says, “The Sun upon thy forehead frown’d” meaning just that and the fact that the Sun in all its glory or God is sad (110). She goes on to talk more specifically to the “slaves” themselves by saying “Poor outcast slave!—Our guilty land should tremble while she drinks thy tears..” (110). This particular sentence serves as a reminder to the nation and even that of a “wake-up call” for them. Sigourney is trying to express that America should feel guilty and for that, as they cause suffering and pain, they should fear and cower as well. They should fear for the likely occurrence of a slave uprising and not only that, but they too should fear God. The “fear God” aspect comes in when she continues in her poem by saying, “…or sees in vengeful silence stand, the beacon of thy shorten’d years;--should shrink to hear her sons proclaim the sacred truth that heaven is just,” (110).

        With regards to the larger themes being developed in our module it’s obvious to see that the hardships of slavery and a continual expression of sadness and disgust for and by it are quite apparent. In reading Harriot Jacobs autobiography especially, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” so much pain and suffering was expressed because she had experienced it all first-hand; beatings, whippings, sexual abuse, all of it. Although Sigourney didn’t experience slavery first-hand as Jacobs did, they both agree that slavery is wrong and should not be considered “okay” by any means. Both texts function on pathos and in Sigourney’s text especially this is furthermore shown when she questions as mentioned earlier, “Hear’st thou their moans whom hope hath fled?—Wild cries in agonizing starts?—Know’st though thy humid sails are spread with ceaseless sigh from broken hearts?—“ (109). In this particular sentence she is not only using pathos to introduce feelings of sadness, she too is using a sort of personification in that she is speaking to the ship as if its living and that she is saying to it that its “humid sails are spread with ceaseless sighs from broken hearts,” almost as if it’s being kept “alive” so to speak by those things in particular (109).

Baym, Nina. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 8th Ed., New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print.

Main Blog Post #5

Main Blog Post (November 6, 2015)

Abdirahman Abdi

Dr. Lee

11/4/15

ENGL & 244

Blog Assignment: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, 23 July 1775

Over the course of many years, John Adams and his wife, Abigail, have exchanged many letters. The letters consisted of multiple subjects; mainly their personal lives and politics. The letter I believe to be the most interesting is the “Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, 23 July 1775” because it gives an accurate firsthand account on what was happening in America at the time. The letter also gives readers an insight on John Adam’s personality. In the letters, John writes about Benjamin Franklin and the continental congress, he also talks about how he feels certain people and wrote a bit about himself.

While John and Abigail Adams were exchanging these letters, the colonies were in the middle of the revolutionary war. The war was fought in order for the colonies to gain independence from England. The colonists felt as though they needed more freedom, tensions escalated resulting in a war. John Adams writes a bit about Dr. Benjamin Franklin the concept of independence. He notifies Abigail of Franklin’s constant occurrences in the congressional meetings. It is evident John admires Franklin. John wrote “He is however a great and good Man. I wish his Colleagues from this City were All like him”. John admired Dr. Franklin’s unique way of thinking. He wasn’t like the others and was helpful and cooperative. Independence was a recurring theme in these congressional meetings. John wrote more about Franklin’s ideas and how he felt about independence. Afterwards, John mentions several other men and what he notices. Despite not knowing them, he picks up on a lot of their personality traits meaning John is a very intelligent man and calculates every move and is generally a cautious person. Towards the end of the letter, John told Abigail he loved her and their children. The fact that they exchanged letters over the course of many years and him writing “I’m yours” gives readers a firsthand view of John and Abigail’s life and relationship.

John and Abigail Adams were by no means writers. The letters they exchanged were solely personal and were not meant for everyone to see. That being said, the Author of this text, John Adams, had neither implications nor an audience to write for. He wrote these letters for personal reasons. There were no stylistic choices. For the most part, these letters were very straightforwardly and they were easy to understand. However, it seems as though John kept out sensitive information because the “mailing system” was informal and the letters could end up anywhere. He provided Abigail with facts but didn’t go too much into detail. Although there wasn’t anything artistic, these letters are very important because the readers can learn a lot from the time period it was written and it goes well with the other excerpts from the textbook that have been assigned.

 Adams, John. Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, 23 July 1775, "You have more than once..." [electronic edition]. Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive. Massachusetts Historical Society. http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/

Baym, Nina. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 8th Ed., New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print.