TL;DR

Sorry teacher but I just have to say it because you only pointed it out; Abraham Lincoln’s famous speech “The Gettysburg Address” should not be in this class. When taking this class and learning about famous American Literature we started from before the founding of America with the creation stories of the Iroquois and Onondaga tribes to Emily Dickinson poetry in the mid-1800s. With that said “The Gettysburg Address” and the start of the American Civil War would start in the next course which makes putting Abraham Lincoln’s famous speech a waste of space and days talking about it. Nw it is worth a look if you have not already read it, but in terms of taking out of the class is definitely a must.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile if you thought that was dumb I will tell you what you genuinely need to hear. Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was one of the best things I have ever looked at but a really story that should not be looked at in the class besides the poetry is Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil”. If you thought Poe’s stories were dark then you definitely don’t need to worry about this one. While the story surrounds itself about secret sin and gossip I didn’t really understand it all to well. I’ve read it a few times over and over and still I am unable to wrap my head around what is actually happening in the story. Side note; because I didn’t understand the story all to well I couldn’t enjoy it (the same could be said for Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” but I enjoyed that one). And while other readings from this class were more journal entries, letters, poems, and essays written and spoken out to, one story you’ll definitely want to pass up is “The Minister’s Black Veil” #sorryhawthorne

My Favorite Piece of American Literature

It’s the end of the semester and we are given one piece to give credit to that we enjoyed reading. I’m glad to say that there was a vast selection of amazing pieces of literature made by famous American writers, but one definitely stood out for me and that was “Letters From an American Farmer”. The message Crevecoeur was sending spoke volumes about becoming citizens of the greatest country that every lived (at the time). But somehow along the way, a country founded by immigrants started to hate the fact of immigrants coming over and taking jobs. Now some people believe that immigrants can become citizens if done diplomatically, but famous politicians and many other people say they don’t want any immigrants at all or rather no immigrants from poor countries. We’re a proud nation before, currently, and most definitely will continue to be because we change for the better, but we still have a lot of work to do. If you yourself have not read Crevecoeur’s “Letters From an American Farmer” do so and be inspired to learn much more than what you were told.

 

People’s Voices of the Past

Walt Whitman wrote a poem about how America, at the time, was in the process of becoming the greatest country in the modern world (even better than the countries with monarchies and socialism hierarchies). The only downside is that things have become a lot more expensive due to inflation and the world as a whole has become increasingly dangerous over the coming years. Because Walt Whitman lived in the past it would be hard to think up exactly what he would say but if he was full of pride and believed in the American spirit he would have some pros and cons about overseas jobs and industrial shutdowns on American soil. Another thing he would take note about is the citizens complaining in their own country and how they aren’t doing anything about making a change. One things for certain, Walt Whitman would probably recognize America’s growth, but also not in the way he would expect it.

An Outspoken Voice

Frederick Douglass was able to see the true horrors of slavery and talk out about it. He was probably the only former slave to do so considering that education wasn’t given to any of the slaves at all. Learning to see the bigger picture he spoke out from his personal experience and told it as it was, no propaganda, no attacks, only honesty and integrity. He spoke not out of anger but out of pity for those who were influenced to become slave holders because nature doesn’t truly prepare humans as a whole to commit atrocities like the nature of slavery. Douglass was able to point out the wrongdoings of slavery and using that as his centerpiece to show others why it was wrong, not blaming the slave owners but blaming the system that represents it. This is amazing considering people who speak out nowadays blame someone else for their misdemeanor. Now it may be true to point those in trouble out, but the real enemy wasn’t them it was what made them become the enemy.

Common Secret Sin

“The Minister’s Black Veil” defines everything surrounding secret sin and the fact that everyone has it (everyone has it there is no denial). Probably the reason why most people enjoy reading it is because 150 years later nothing has changed. But if the story focuses on the theory of secret sin, should everyone be so open about reading it and exposing their darkest minds to the public. Personally I cannot give a definitive answer because in the story everyone talks about how the reverend, Mr. Hooper, just started showing up with a black veil around his face. Granted everyone was concerned and it was all anyone in the community every talked about (as if their lives were boring enough). By the end of the story he is buried with the mask still on his face meaning that whatever he was hiding he took with his grave. The point of the story is that everyone has a secret sin and you’re gonna carry that with you for the rest of your life, yes even into death. The problem though is should it be okay to expose their own secret sin? My answer: read “The Minister’s Black Veil” and decide whether or not you would want your secret sin exposed.

Modern Activism

Recently I’ve read Frederick Douglass’ My Bondage, My Freedom and I was quite surprised how he learned to see such a wide perspective when looking back on his youth. And I’m not really that surprised when I learned he was also a strong advocate for women’s rights and Irish rights. The reason why for women is because when Douglass thinking back to his youth we learn that a woman educated him but later tormented him because her husband forced her to treat Douglass as a slave. The end result was that she became very cruel to Douglass, probably even more so to her husband. And at that very moment Douglass realized that women were just as much property to their spouses as was Douglass was to the family that owned him. For the Irish it turns out they were treated just as poorly as slaves were during this time as well. During the Industrial Revolution, Ireland was dealing with a potato famine and a majority of the population decided to migrate to America. In fact, more Irish came over than any other immigrant in Europe, and this was kind of how they were taken advantage of. Which brings the conclusion of the difference between activism back then and activism now. To me personally, I don’t really think people know what they are protesting for (most of the time). And I believe most people would donate money with good intentions only to have that money be used for something entire different at all. And the fact that black people still have biased rights in America to this day, Frederick Douglass would probably preach to the masses about perspective and how most people are one-sided (might even run for president “I would vote for him”).

The Man on the Penny and $5 bill

If you’re about 5-7 years old, born and raised in America, and don’t know or haven’t heard of Abraham Lincoln you need to go to the bathroom and look at yourself in shame. This man is known for keeping a divided nation together during America’s darkest hours. “What did he do?”, you might be asking with a derpish look on your face. Abraham Lincoln became a politician and helped free the slaves in radical states. He had the Union’s best interests, or at least that’s what they say. While being a good man at heart, he was hoping to bring America back together without punishment; offering many lenient compromises to the Confederate states, but it wouldn’t last. Shortly after the war ended Lincoln was killed and all his plans to form new industries in the former Confederate States die with him. He really did have the public’s best interest because while the Union and Confederate States were clashing it out, Lincoln was finding anyway possible to bring a divided nation back to a untied nation.

And he loves cats!

Grotesque Imagery From “The Pit & The Pendulum”

Let me be honest, while reading part of “The Pit and The Pendulum” I was completely lost with the narrator. I was told prior that he would slip in and out of consciousness and would start describing his sensations of being close to death. Meanwhile being awake and aware he would canvas and focus on his surroundings by describing some great detail. It took a bit of reading and looking up what the heck the narrator was talking about but I’ve come to a decent decision. After going over what the narrator had bear witness to, along with vivid and implied imagery, I believe the pit was the most grotesque image I would see. Poe doesn’t describe the pit directly because the narrator was shackled in a dark and damp dungeon cell. Once he is able to move around he trips and as he lands on the floor he notices that there is no floor around his chin. This makes him believe that there is a drop in the cell, and its also worth mentioning that there was a smell of decay in this pit. This would imply the reader that there were others trapped in the same dungeon cell and they evidently fell and died in the pit. Thankfully it was dark, so trying to have Poe write the details down wouldn’t be pleasant. Some would argue that there were other parts in the story that would make their stomachs turn. One for example that I read up on was when the narrator used his food to bait the rats into freeing him from his shackles. I can disagree because for one I don’t have a fear of rats and I’ve seen big ones before that have indeed shocked me due to their size. But what I can agree with is the fact that rats were unsanitary and having them around you or even on your body was a risk of catching terrible diseases, so no thanks. What would you agree on?

Fear Factor

My greatest fear factor that I have is open water, let me explain. If I was driving over a bridge that had another lane under it or any piece of land, I’m cool with that. But if I’m driving over a long body of water, I start to freak out internally. The same thing is said for plane rides over the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans (which I haven’t done and probably never will). And its also the reason why I will never get on a cruise ship (my fear of cruise ships actually came from a movie I saw as a child where a group of people are put to the test on how to escape the ship after it was hit with a massive tidal wave). Other common fears that most people have don’t really affect me that much and I can’t really say anything about death because I haven’t “seen” a decomposing body.

And I’m not going to look up a picture about it either.

My Thoughts on “The Tell-Tale Heart”

Back when I was in middle school I read Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”. When I first read it my only thoughts were that this guy was pretty crazy, but after revisiting it years later now I truly believe this guy was mentally unstable. He states that he does indeed care for the old man because he has never done the main character any wrong. But what the main character truly hates out of the old man is his bulging eyeball (which the main character says is pure evil). Then he goes to tell the reader that he’s not crazy at all, and that there are worse people than him with even more twisted minds out there (already raising red flags). So throughout the story the main character attempts to kill the old man while he sleeps but can’t because the eyeball is closed. However, one night he got his chance as he was able to scare the old man out of his slumber and eventually suffocate him. With the deed done the main character proceeds to cut open the old man and hide his body parts in the floorboards whilst draining his blood fluid in the bathtub. Reading this part made me realize that the main character has a bit of experience with this meaning that he’s probably done this before. Afterwards the cops show up because while the main character and the old man scuffled they made a bit of ruckus. The main character, clearly having nothing to hide, lets them in and treats them with great hospitality. But all is not as it seems as his twisted mind gets the better of him and he loses it revealing to the cops his heinous crime. Overall, its a really great story of how a man with twisted intentions sees what he has done to his best friend. Old boy is crazy but the way Poe wrote the main character makes you see the mind of someone with an unstable mind which is incredible and the atmosphere he puts you in makes sit like you’re there witnessing everything. That’s what makes Edgar Allan Poe’s writings so great.