Habibat Oguntade
Ap English III
11/30/09
The Jumping Frog : In Respect To Realism
Realism is a very natural form of writing because readers see situations that are very possible. Here, readers can make connections between the characters and themselves. Compared to Romanticism which is understood to be not so genuine in existence and much intricate to understand. Realism has a reasonable plot with which would don’t be as complex to understand. Most characters have colloquial dialects, which makes them more factual, in comparison to other stories, especially in terms of romanticism, where characters have their own distinct or linguistic dialects. “The Jumping Frog” is a very good example of one of the many stories that represents realism. The plot itself is very real, as the events that occur can happen to anyone. The setting of the story is a common one, as there are many situations, where various people leave in small towns. Also the use of vivid imagery helps readers to imagine exactly what the characters look like, without second guessing themselves. Twain construes the gist of realism, in the story, by making it as simple as possible, so that readers will be able to understand it as well as enjoy it at the same time.
If compared to many other stories, it can be said that The Jumping Frog is very straight forward and understandable. The Scarlet Letter will be a good story to be compared with The Jumping Frog. Rarely do we see people been put in jail, for having extramarital affairs, even though it might occur in certain parts of the nation. It is exceptionally unusual , for us to walk down the street and see someone walk past with a Scarlet letter on their bosom. On the other hand, it is very common to hear about people who bet on everything “ Well I’ll resk two-and-a-half, that she don’t anyway” (Twain). In this quote, Smiley bet that his wife might not be recovering from her illness, and this just shows the kind of individual he is. Another example is Pearl, in scarlet letter. It is very unusual, to hear about someone being demonic, or supernatural, even though some individuals do posses qualities like that, but in very rare occasions will you hear about or see them. Another important literary device used to construe realism in this story is dialect. Most languages or vernacular are informal, which gives the story complete verisimilitude. The use of words like thy, doth, thou, e.t.c. has been eliminated and substituted with simpler words. Realism writing calls for everything natural, as everyone talks in a straight-forward manner. The difference between the two forms of writing are very apparent. Romanticism is quite different from this, which can be easily noticed, by reading both types of writings after the other, to compare and contrast between them.
In conclusion, Twain construes the gist of realism, in the story, by making it as simple as possible, so that readers will be able to understand it as well as enjoy it at the same time. The overall story is self-explanatory, because it is very easy to assimilate, which is an advantage to the readers. It also helps them see the difference between realism and other forms of literature.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
The Custom - House
Bebe Oguntade
Ap EnglishIII
Period 2
The Custom House
John Fransoza’s Customhouse is basically criticism as well as an in depth analysis of Nathaniel Hawthorn’s work. With the use of various opinions, literary terms and examples, he gives readers a better understanding of the introductory chapter of The Scarlet Letter. John explains the origin of the story, as well as why Hawthorne decided to recreate it, and turn it into what it is today. He also analyzed some of the major characters like Hester Prynne, Chillingsworth, Dimmesdale and Pearl. In John’s opinion, this article is the first criticism, which does not only demonstrate the unity of the sketch and the narrative of the custom house, but also identifies the psychological themes, operating in the Scarlet Letter. The most significant thing about this passage is that it gives readers a clue of what they will be reading, as they progress with the Scarlet Letter.
In the beginning of the article John describes the attention getters of the book. “ A throng of bearded men … intermixed with women”. This quotes describe the first set of people that were introduced to the readers, in the very beginning of the original story. John also introduces Hester Prynne who is the protagonist of the story. “A throng of bearded men … intermixed with women is seen gathered outside the prison door from which Hester and her infant will emerge” John construes that this imagery is the figure of maternity, which immediately captures the interests of the readers.
Another main idea in this article is the way John view issues with psychoanalytic perspectives. When describing how Pearl might have been dealing with leaving with her single mother, and been deprived of things that other kids have, or even one of the most important things, which is the love of a father. “ According to psychoanalytic theory, the key relationship in the first year is a symbiotic dyad. Within weeks after its biological separation from the mother, the infant is seduced into a psychological symbiosis with a maternal figure. Words cannot adequately describe this relationship, since it predates the infants acquisition of language and the use of symbols, and the term relationship is misleading because in this experience, there is no differentiation between self and other. This quote explains how the separation from a biological parent can affect the life of a child.
Even if Hawthorne does not see things and interpret them the way John Franzosa did, because not all writers agree on the same opinion, there can be ways by which readers can connect both writers’ opinion, and let it make sense while trying to understand the story.
Ap EnglishIII
Period 2
The Custom House
John Fransoza’s Customhouse is basically criticism as well as an in depth analysis of Nathaniel Hawthorn’s work. With the use of various opinions, literary terms and examples, he gives readers a better understanding of the introductory chapter of The Scarlet Letter. John explains the origin of the story, as well as why Hawthorne decided to recreate it, and turn it into what it is today. He also analyzed some of the major characters like Hester Prynne, Chillingsworth, Dimmesdale and Pearl. In John’s opinion, this article is the first criticism, which does not only demonstrate the unity of the sketch and the narrative of the custom house, but also identifies the psychological themes, operating in the Scarlet Letter. The most significant thing about this passage is that it gives readers a clue of what they will be reading, as they progress with the Scarlet Letter.
In the beginning of the article John describes the attention getters of the book. “ A throng of bearded men … intermixed with women”. This quotes describe the first set of people that were introduced to the readers, in the very beginning of the original story. John also introduces Hester Prynne who is the protagonist of the story. “A throng of bearded men … intermixed with women is seen gathered outside the prison door from which Hester and her infant will emerge” John construes that this imagery is the figure of maternity, which immediately captures the interests of the readers.
Another main idea in this article is the way John view issues with psychoanalytic perspectives. When describing how Pearl might have been dealing with leaving with her single mother, and been deprived of things that other kids have, or even one of the most important things, which is the love of a father. “ According to psychoanalytic theory, the key relationship in the first year is a symbiotic dyad. Within weeks after its biological separation from the mother, the infant is seduced into a psychological symbiosis with a maternal figure. Words cannot adequately describe this relationship, since it predates the infants acquisition of language and the use of symbols, and the term relationship is misleading because in this experience, there is no differentiation between self and other. This quote explains how the separation from a biological parent can affect the life of a child.
Even if Hawthorne does not see things and interpret them the way John Franzosa did, because not all writers agree on the same opinion, there can be ways by which readers can connect both writers’ opinion, and let it make sense while trying to understand the story.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Minister's Black Veil
Habibat Oguntade
Ap English III
10-19-09
The Minister’s Black Veil.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story, “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Hawthorne identifies a Puritan minister as a man not innocent enough to believe that he could not escape sin or secret sin. Good Mr. Hooper, as he was called, spent his entire adult life trying to prove a point that was only figured out in the end. Throughout the story good Mr. Hooper was treated as if he made people feel that they were all sinners, which is kind of similar to SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD, which many of us seem to be familiar with. With the use of various literary devices, Hawthorne construes his opinion about American Gothicism.
Throughout the story, the minister wore a black transparent veil, which concealed every part of his face apart from his mouth and chin. He never took off the veil, or let anyone else touch it. This might have been assumed to be a sign of true devotion to his God and a means to cover up his sins, in order to be rewarded with heaven. By wearing this veil, the Minister created a feeling of lack of righteousness to the other individuals. As the Sexton said in story, “I can’t really feel as if good Mr. Hooper’s face was behind that piece of crape.” Minister Hooper gave up his entire adult life for his secret sin and also to prove a point that no one could hide from sin, no matter who they were. In the story Minister Hooper gave up his fiancée for his task, because if he did not give her up he thought that he would fail his mission. He never told her why he would not take off his veil but gave her a hint when he said, “If I hide my face for sorrow, there is cause enough and if I cover it for secret sin, what mortal might not do the same?” She later became aware of terror at the sight of the veil. A terror of the veil overcomes Elizabeth just as it had the rest of Hooper’s congregation then She decided to leave. Hooper begs her to stay. She offers to stay on the condition that he removes the veil and looks her in the face; when he refuses, Elizabeth leaves him.
It can be concluded that the Minister Hooper’s character also helped Hawthorn to give his opinion about American Gothicism, by displaying a dark, gloomy and mysterious tone, throughout the story. An example of this is how Minister Hooper was always sad and never showed pure happiness except when he died. He was happy when he died due to the fact that he knew the gates of heaven would open up for him when he got there. He also never gave all of his sermons, marriage ceremonies, and funeral services in a composed mood. He was always in a mild mood and showed a flicker of a smile once in a while. Throughout the story, Mr. Hooper is portrayed as an odd man who wears a black veil. As he goes through the life with this black veil he created sin for those people by having them whisper and ridicule him to other people and thoughts about him to themselves. The ignorance of the town is abundant due to the fact that they were Puritans and felt that they could never be sinners. With this, Hawthorne conveys , that no matter who those people were, they could not escape sin.
Ap English III
10-19-09
The Minister’s Black Veil.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story, “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Hawthorne identifies a Puritan minister as a man not innocent enough to believe that he could not escape sin or secret sin. Good Mr. Hooper, as he was called, spent his entire adult life trying to prove a point that was only figured out in the end. Throughout the story good Mr. Hooper was treated as if he made people feel that they were all sinners, which is kind of similar to SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD, which many of us seem to be familiar with. With the use of various literary devices, Hawthorne construes his opinion about American Gothicism.
Throughout the story, the minister wore a black transparent veil, which concealed every part of his face apart from his mouth and chin. He never took off the veil, or let anyone else touch it. This might have been assumed to be a sign of true devotion to his God and a means to cover up his sins, in order to be rewarded with heaven. By wearing this veil, the Minister created a feeling of lack of righteousness to the other individuals. As the Sexton said in story, “I can’t really feel as if good Mr. Hooper’s face was behind that piece of crape.” Minister Hooper gave up his entire adult life for his secret sin and also to prove a point that no one could hide from sin, no matter who they were. In the story Minister Hooper gave up his fiancée for his task, because if he did not give her up he thought that he would fail his mission. He never told her why he would not take off his veil but gave her a hint when he said, “If I hide my face for sorrow, there is cause enough and if I cover it for secret sin, what mortal might not do the same?” She later became aware of terror at the sight of the veil. A terror of the veil overcomes Elizabeth just as it had the rest of Hooper’s congregation then She decided to leave. Hooper begs her to stay. She offers to stay on the condition that he removes the veil and looks her in the face; when he refuses, Elizabeth leaves him.
It can be concluded that the Minister Hooper’s character also helped Hawthorn to give his opinion about American Gothicism, by displaying a dark, gloomy and mysterious tone, throughout the story. An example of this is how Minister Hooper was always sad and never showed pure happiness except when he died. He was happy when he died due to the fact that he knew the gates of heaven would open up for him when he got there. He also never gave all of his sermons, marriage ceremonies, and funeral services in a composed mood. He was always in a mild mood and showed a flicker of a smile once in a while. Throughout the story, Mr. Hooper is portrayed as an odd man who wears a black veil. As he goes through the life with this black veil he created sin for those people by having them whisper and ridicule him to other people and thoughts about him to themselves. The ignorance of the town is abundant due to the fact that they were Puritans and felt that they could never be sinners. With this, Hawthorne conveys , that no matter who those people were, they could not escape sin.
Young Goodman Brown
Habibat Oguntade
Ap English III
10-19-09
Young Goodman Brown
In the story, Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne construes his opinion of side of the human spirit. The story takes place in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. This story enables readers to get a better understanding of the spiritual battle being fought for the hearts of mankind The story is about a man who was walking in the forest, and, and came across a witch meeting. Hawthorne uses this illustration as a symbol to describe how individuals are easily carried away by the negative sides of life, in this case can be understood as evil forces , which is a characteristic of Gothicism.
In the beginning. Goodman Brown is seen as a young and happily married man, who with the context of the story can also be seen as pious, and a religious individual. Faith his wife, is a symbol of faith, as she tried as much as possible to prevent him from going to the witch meeting, but all her effort was in vain. “ Prithee put off your journey until sunrise and sleep in your own bed tonight Alone woman is troubled with such dreams and such thoughts that she is afeared of herself sometimes. Pray tarry with me this night dear husband of all night in the year”. Despite the fact that Faith warned him enough, he didn’t listen to her, but let the evil forces decide for him . He didn’t completely cling to faith, which can be seen from his thoughts about leaving on this journey, away from his wife Faith for the evening. After embarking on his journey, Goodman met a companion and told him “ Faith kept me back a while”. This quote is significant, because it shows how Goodman left his guard behind, both physically and emotionally. The confusion and doubt in Goodman’s mind continues as he goes deeper into the forest , straying away from God, and rather letting evil set lead him astray.
In conclusion, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, Young Goodman Brown, is the struggle between Goodman Brown’s faith, power to resist his own evil impulses and his own doubts within him. It is a story of Young Goodman Brown’s personal conflict over his inner feeling and its greater meaning conflict between good and evil in the world to describe how individuals are easily carried away by the negative sides of life. We can never be sure if good or evil won the fight within Young Goodman Brown, but Hawthorne construes that Brown was scared for his life due to his experience. This journey that Young Goodman Brown encounters might have been a dream or even a true event that is shown by his own feelings . Unable to accept that life is a mixture of both good and evil, Goodman Brown chooses his own instincts, and by doing this, he ended up losing his chance at redemption when he makes the decision to completely isolate himself from society and even from his own wife.
Ap English III
10-19-09
Young Goodman Brown
In the story, Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne construes his opinion of side of the human spirit. The story takes place in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. This story enables readers to get a better understanding of the spiritual battle being fought for the hearts of mankind The story is about a man who was walking in the forest, and, and came across a witch meeting. Hawthorne uses this illustration as a symbol to describe how individuals are easily carried away by the negative sides of life, in this case can be understood as evil forces , which is a characteristic of Gothicism.
In the beginning. Goodman Brown is seen as a young and happily married man, who with the context of the story can also be seen as pious, and a religious individual. Faith his wife, is a symbol of faith, as she tried as much as possible to prevent him from going to the witch meeting, but all her effort was in vain. “ Prithee put off your journey until sunrise and sleep in your own bed tonight Alone woman is troubled with such dreams and such thoughts that she is afeared of herself sometimes. Pray tarry with me this night dear husband of all night in the year”. Despite the fact that Faith warned him enough, he didn’t listen to her, but let the evil forces decide for him . He didn’t completely cling to faith, which can be seen from his thoughts about leaving on this journey, away from his wife Faith for the evening. After embarking on his journey, Goodman met a companion and told him “ Faith kept me back a while”. This quote is significant, because it shows how Goodman left his guard behind, both physically and emotionally. The confusion and doubt in Goodman’s mind continues as he goes deeper into the forest , straying away from God, and rather letting evil set lead him astray.
In conclusion, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, Young Goodman Brown, is the struggle between Goodman Brown’s faith, power to resist his own evil impulses and his own doubts within him. It is a story of Young Goodman Brown’s personal conflict over his inner feeling and its greater meaning conflict between good and evil in the world to describe how individuals are easily carried away by the negative sides of life. We can never be sure if good or evil won the fight within Young Goodman Brown, but Hawthorne construes that Brown was scared for his life due to his experience. This journey that Young Goodman Brown encounters might have been a dream or even a true event that is shown by his own feelings . Unable to accept that life is a mixture of both good and evil, Goodman Brown chooses his own instincts, and by doing this, he ended up losing his chance at redemption when he makes the decision to completely isolate himself from society and even from his own wife.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
The Devil and Tom Walker
Habibat Oguntade
Ap English III
10/15/09
The Devil and Tom Walker
The Devil and Tom Walker is a story written by Washington Irving. The story is generally about an individual, who let is selfish and greedy personality take complete charge of him. Right from the beginning of the story, Tom has been seen as an unfortunate person and he remained unfortunate throughout. He had various terrible situations take over him, which depicts the Gothicism in the story. Irving displays a dark and gloomy tone throughout, with tells us that the idea of the whole story is nothing like Puritanism, as puritans are used to doing things based on the clean and pure aspects of life. With the use of his writing style, Irving construes how people let materialistic aspects of life sets them off track, and once they get addicted to it, they would anything to keep them in favor of materialism.
Irving constitutes the setting in such a way that readers will be able to understand that not all things that look beautiful are actually beautiful. He describes the environment as an area where no one had any interest in. It was simply a no-go area, which has been deserted a very long time ago. The use of vivid descriptions, give readers a clue of how the environment really was. “ One side of this inlet Is a beautiful dark grove”. In this quotes, the world beautiful spices up the whole sentence, but in this same sentence, Irving also uses to word dark. The word beautiful usually comes with other fascinating words, but in this case, the word beautiful is since as an objective to gild the dark part of the environment. Here, Irving creates a mysterious to, which gives readers a general understanding of what the story is all about.
One of the most important ideas of the story, is how it opposes the whole idea of Puritanism. Here, the protagonist of the story who allowed greed and selfishness to control him. As a result of this, he pledged both himself and his morals to the devil for the sake of riches and wealth. Tom’s selfish attitude can be noticed through Irvings description of Tom’s home. “He had a wife as miserly as himself; they were so miserly that they even conspired to cheat each other”. According to this quote, Tom and his wife are seen as egocentric individuals, because they should not have any reason to conspire against each other. Married couples should always be the best means of support to each other, but in their case, they served as obstacles that bring each other down. On the contrary, puritans will always remain as faithful as they can be. This one of the ways Irving uses to bring out an outstanding difference between Gothicism and Puritanism.
Most individuals are excessively materialistic, and do not care about the outcome of situations they might get themselves into. An example of this type of individuals is Tom Irving. Out of greed, Tom Walker compromised his soul to the devil in order to gain wealth, riches and fame. While creating for himself a good name, he squeezed the debtors until every penny dropped into his own account. Irving explains, “Tom was the universal friend to the needy, and acted like ‘a friend in need’; that is to say he always exacted good pay and security.” His greed for wealth caused him to cheat others out of money and keep it for himself.
When Tom began truly succeeding in his business as a broker, he became a man of rank in society, power and wealth at his use. The protagonist draws far too much love and attention to his money, though he no longer finds joy in riches. Tom wasted time on failed plans to taking debtor’s money and found that happiness does not come from material things.
It can further be concluded that good things sometimes contradicts themselves. With the use of his writing style, Irving construes how people let materialistic aspects of life sets them off track, and once they get addicted to it, they would anything to keep them in favor of materialism. In Tom’s case he wasn’t patient enough to find out how the step he was about to take can help him or hurt him. Unfortunately for him, the situation he got himself into the not only hurt him, but also deprived him of the ability to take a second chance, and turn for a new leave.
Ap English III
10/15/09
The Devil and Tom Walker
The Devil and Tom Walker is a story written by Washington Irving. The story is generally about an individual, who let is selfish and greedy personality take complete charge of him. Right from the beginning of the story, Tom has been seen as an unfortunate person and he remained unfortunate throughout. He had various terrible situations take over him, which depicts the Gothicism in the story. Irving displays a dark and gloomy tone throughout, with tells us that the idea of the whole story is nothing like Puritanism, as puritans are used to doing things based on the clean and pure aspects of life. With the use of his writing style, Irving construes how people let materialistic aspects of life sets them off track, and once they get addicted to it, they would anything to keep them in favor of materialism.
Irving constitutes the setting in such a way that readers will be able to understand that not all things that look beautiful are actually beautiful. He describes the environment as an area where no one had any interest in. It was simply a no-go area, which has been deserted a very long time ago. The use of vivid descriptions, give readers a clue of how the environment really was. “ One side of this inlet Is a beautiful dark grove”. In this quotes, the world beautiful spices up the whole sentence, but in this same sentence, Irving also uses to word dark. The word beautiful usually comes with other fascinating words, but in this case, the word beautiful is since as an objective to gild the dark part of the environment. Here, Irving creates a mysterious to, which gives readers a general understanding of what the story is all about.
One of the most important ideas of the story, is how it opposes the whole idea of Puritanism. Here, the protagonist of the story who allowed greed and selfishness to control him. As a result of this, he pledged both himself and his morals to the devil for the sake of riches and wealth. Tom’s selfish attitude can be noticed through Irvings description of Tom’s home. “He had a wife as miserly as himself; they were so miserly that they even conspired to cheat each other”. According to this quote, Tom and his wife are seen as egocentric individuals, because they should not have any reason to conspire against each other. Married couples should always be the best means of support to each other, but in their case, they served as obstacles that bring each other down. On the contrary, puritans will always remain as faithful as they can be. This one of the ways Irving uses to bring out an outstanding difference between Gothicism and Puritanism.
Most individuals are excessively materialistic, and do not care about the outcome of situations they might get themselves into. An example of this type of individuals is Tom Irving. Out of greed, Tom Walker compromised his soul to the devil in order to gain wealth, riches and fame. While creating for himself a good name, he squeezed the debtors until every penny dropped into his own account. Irving explains, “Tom was the universal friend to the needy, and acted like ‘a friend in need’; that is to say he always exacted good pay and security.” His greed for wealth caused him to cheat others out of money and keep it for himself.
When Tom began truly succeeding in his business as a broker, he became a man of rank in society, power and wealth at his use. The protagonist draws far too much love and attention to his money, though he no longer finds joy in riches. Tom wasted time on failed plans to taking debtor’s money and found that happiness does not come from material things.
It can further be concluded that good things sometimes contradicts themselves. With the use of his writing style, Irving construes how people let materialistic aspects of life sets them off track, and once they get addicted to it, they would anything to keep them in favor of materialism. In Tom’s case he wasn’t patient enough to find out how the step he was about to take can help him or hurt him. Unfortunately for him, the situation he got himself into the not only hurt him, but also deprived him of the ability to take a second chance, and turn for a new leave.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Phillis Wheatley
Habibat Oguntade
Ap English III
9/14/09
Phillis Wheatley
With the use of few sentences, Wheatley describes her attitude towards her condition and experience of enslavement, both coming from Africa to America, as well as the people who considered her race negatively. She seems to fall in the nationalism category. Due to the fact that nationalists are very patriotic, they always feel they need to take pride in what belongs to them, if they are ever going to make changes. People like this possess feelings of emotion, and want to be independent. In the poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America”, Wheatley’s theme centers around darkness, which represents, her past, her skin color, and black people as a race. She became educated and was able to read and write at the end of the day. Wheatley voices out her opinion in several ways.
In the beginning of her poem ““On Being Brought from Africa to America”, Wheatley credits her slavery has positive, because it has changed her from being impious to being dedicated to her religion, which is Christianity. “Twas mercy brought me from my pagan land” (line 1). In these quote she personifies mercy, which shows that mercy is of a great significance to her. This is the mercy that has encouraged and showed her how to be religious. Wheatley believed that it was God’s mercy that brought her away from the land that served and worship idols. Her master was able to encourage her to learn how to read and write. Many people value support from others, if they are actually encouraged by others, then they will be inspired to do the best they can. It helped her to be able to express herself on paper, since she has been thought how to read and write.
The poem also focuses on providence and salvation, especially Phillis Wheatley’s conversion to Christianity , as a consequence of surviving the infamous middle passage, from Africa to America. She might have been criticized for defending the slaved trade, as a means of civilizing Africans brought to America. “ Thought my benighted to understand” (line 2). The word benighted means to be overtaken by night or darkness. This shows that she has been in a state of intellectual darkness, therefore, she makes her skin color and her original state of ignorance of Christian religion parallel situations. Despite the fact that various individuals are opposed to slavery, Wheatley still sees it as a positive thing, because she knows how slaves can later benefit, even though it might take a while.
In conclusion, Phillis Wheatley is said to be a slave who actually benefited from being one. Apart from the fact that she learned how to read and write like other white people, she also had the opportunity to change her life around, and become more pious. She moved to the righteous side of life, which would have made her complacent. She did not have to get rid of her nationality and become intimidated by the white people, instead, she did what she had to do with a lot of endurance and became outstandingly successful.
Ap English III
9/14/09
Phillis Wheatley
With the use of few sentences, Wheatley describes her attitude towards her condition and experience of enslavement, both coming from Africa to America, as well as the people who considered her race negatively. She seems to fall in the nationalism category. Due to the fact that nationalists are very patriotic, they always feel they need to take pride in what belongs to them, if they are ever going to make changes. People like this possess feelings of emotion, and want to be independent. In the poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America”, Wheatley’s theme centers around darkness, which represents, her past, her skin color, and black people as a race. She became educated and was able to read and write at the end of the day. Wheatley voices out her opinion in several ways.
In the beginning of her poem ““On Being Brought from Africa to America”, Wheatley credits her slavery has positive, because it has changed her from being impious to being dedicated to her religion, which is Christianity. “Twas mercy brought me from my pagan land” (line 1). In these quote she personifies mercy, which shows that mercy is of a great significance to her. This is the mercy that has encouraged and showed her how to be religious. Wheatley believed that it was God’s mercy that brought her away from the land that served and worship idols. Her master was able to encourage her to learn how to read and write. Many people value support from others, if they are actually encouraged by others, then they will be inspired to do the best they can. It helped her to be able to express herself on paper, since she has been thought how to read and write.
The poem also focuses on providence and salvation, especially Phillis Wheatley’s conversion to Christianity , as a consequence of surviving the infamous middle passage, from Africa to America. She might have been criticized for defending the slaved trade, as a means of civilizing Africans brought to America. “ Thought my benighted to understand” (line 2). The word benighted means to be overtaken by night or darkness. This shows that she has been in a state of intellectual darkness, therefore, she makes her skin color and her original state of ignorance of Christian religion parallel situations. Despite the fact that various individuals are opposed to slavery, Wheatley still sees it as a positive thing, because she knows how slaves can later benefit, even though it might take a while.
In conclusion, Phillis Wheatley is said to be a slave who actually benefited from being one. Apart from the fact that she learned how to read and write like other white people, she also had the opportunity to change her life around, and become more pious. She moved to the righteous side of life, which would have made her complacent. She did not have to get rid of her nationality and become intimidated by the white people, instead, she did what she had to do with a lot of endurance and became outstandingly successful.
Spontaenous Me
Habibat Oguntade
Ap English III
9//09
Spontaneous Me
With the use of his writing style, Whitman conveys his opinion about nature. He uses imagery to describe the things that fascinate him in nature. He makes use of various things in the environment, that has a certain type of connection to himself, or human beings as a whole. While reading the poem, it might seem capricious to the readers, due to the fact that Whitman maneuvers from one point to another, with the use of different examples and scenarios. This makes readers wonder what Whitman’s main point is, right from the beginning of the poem. On the other hand, if readers continue reading and get an in-depth understanding of the poem, they will be able to realize how Whitman has used nature as a camouflage to conceal his conception of sexuality. He did this in an excellent way, that readers will be able to see that nature has a connection with human sexuality.
Looking at the word “ Spontaneous” it means something that results from a natural impulse or tendency, and due to the fact that Whitman qualifies himself with the word spontaneous, it can be said that is point of view about things, is that most things occur naturally and unpremeditated. In the beginning of the poem, Whitman displays a tone of acknowledgment, by giving some examples of things he appreciates in nature. “ The rich coverlet of the grass, animals and birds, the private untrimm’d bank, the primitive apples, the pebble stones” . These are lots of things that are engulfed by nature, when readers look at these things, they see how significant they are and also start realizing Whitman’s point of view, as to how most things are naturally occurring.
Whitman then moves on to bring up a new idea which can also be connected to his opinion of how things occur unpremeditatedly. After giving an example of few things nature consists of, Whitman then relates the poem to humanity. This might become confusing as the poem suddenly changes from the use of in-human characters to human ones. “The body of my love, the body of the woman I love, the body of the man ……two sleepers at night lying close together as they sleep, one with an arm slanting down across and below the waist of each other”. This quote construes how Whitman tries to convey message that even the sexual desires that occur between human beings, as all been derived from nature. He believes that these sexual desires come unplanned, and they always occur without any anticipations.
In order not to draw readers attention all the way into the whole issue of how sexual desires are derived from nature, Whitman goes back to his in-humane characters and then goes in details to explain them. He incorporates different human and in-human objects and actions together, just to let people understand that most things in life occurs naturally, without being pushed. If readers can pay attention to Whitman’s details, imageries and explanations, maybe it will let them realize his idea of how both Inhuman and human circumstances occur under nature’s control.
Ap English III
9//09
Spontaneous Me
With the use of his writing style, Whitman conveys his opinion about nature. He uses imagery to describe the things that fascinate him in nature. He makes use of various things in the environment, that has a certain type of connection to himself, or human beings as a whole. While reading the poem, it might seem capricious to the readers, due to the fact that Whitman maneuvers from one point to another, with the use of different examples and scenarios. This makes readers wonder what Whitman’s main point is, right from the beginning of the poem. On the other hand, if readers continue reading and get an in-depth understanding of the poem, they will be able to realize how Whitman has used nature as a camouflage to conceal his conception of sexuality. He did this in an excellent way, that readers will be able to see that nature has a connection with human sexuality.
Looking at the word “ Spontaneous” it means something that results from a natural impulse or tendency, and due to the fact that Whitman qualifies himself with the word spontaneous, it can be said that is point of view about things, is that most things occur naturally and unpremeditated. In the beginning of the poem, Whitman displays a tone of acknowledgment, by giving some examples of things he appreciates in nature. “ The rich coverlet of the grass, animals and birds, the private untrimm’d bank, the primitive apples, the pebble stones” . These are lots of things that are engulfed by nature, when readers look at these things, they see how significant they are and also start realizing Whitman’s point of view, as to how most things are naturally occurring.
Whitman then moves on to bring up a new idea which can also be connected to his opinion of how things occur unpremeditatedly. After giving an example of few things nature consists of, Whitman then relates the poem to humanity. This might become confusing as the poem suddenly changes from the use of in-human characters to human ones. “The body of my love, the body of the woman I love, the body of the man ……two sleepers at night lying close together as they sleep, one with an arm slanting down across and below the waist of each other”. This quote construes how Whitman tries to convey message that even the sexual desires that occur between human beings, as all been derived from nature. He believes that these sexual desires come unplanned, and they always occur without any anticipations.
In order not to draw readers attention all the way into the whole issue of how sexual desires are derived from nature, Whitman goes back to his in-humane characters and then goes in details to explain them. He incorporates different human and in-human objects and actions together, just to let people understand that most things in life occurs naturally, without being pushed. If readers can pay attention to Whitman’s details, imageries and explanations, maybe it will let them realize his idea of how both Inhuman and human circumstances occur under nature’s control.
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