Civil Disobedience Response

In his piece "Civil Disobedience", Henry David Thoreau wastes no time telling the reader that the government is too involved in the country's affairs. He comes right out in the first sentence saying that he believes that "the government is best which governs least" (Thoreau). Thoreau uses logos in his piece in an attempt to convince the reader to take his side on the matter. At the time at which it was written, "Civil Disobedience" probably effected many readers who were trying to figure out their beliefs as far as government. However, in today's society, in my opinion, his argument does not hold up.

Thoreau has this belief that people should be able to govern themselves. Now I do not know what mixed up flowery fairy tale Thoreau lives in, but govenment like that would only lead to chaos. However, in his own time period, he was most likely one of the leaders of the radicals that wanted and believed in a small central government or one that barely existed at all. They had just escaped the rule of the king and now they felt as if they should be able to govern themselves and not have a strong government like Britain had. They were worried that the government would start to become like England's and the president began to look like a king with just a different title. Thoreau tries to make others see this point in his attempts at using logic. He says, "He who gives himself entirely to his fellow men appears to them useless and selfish; but he who gives himself partially to them is pronounced a benefactor and philanthropist." (Civil Disobedience). Here he uses logos to show how foolish it would be to give yourself completely over to government saying you would simply be useless. However, if you are only partly governed by the federal government then you can actually be deemed beneficial to said government and your opinions and beliefs actually make a difference.

Thoreau is not completely crazy. He does bring up some good points as far as logos is concerned. However, he did not sway my beliefs at all. In his own time period though, I am sure many readers became subject to his persuasive attempts.

The Slave's Dream Response

Slavery has always been a topic that has been hard to get my head around. It has never made sense to me how people thought it was morally right to own other human beings as property. Slavery is something so harsh that it is impossible for me to even begin to imagine. However, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow writes his poem, "The Slave's Dream", in such a way that I can feel and see and even understand that kind of pain. Accomplishing the task of making other people feel pain through writing is a very difficult task, however, Longfellow is able to achieve this with no problem.

"The Slave's Dream" is a poem about the last few moments in the life of a particular slave. This slave is lying down on the ground "beside the ungathered rice" (line 1, Longfellow). This idea of lying beside "ungathered rice" gives an image of a slave who has fallen and dropped what he has gathered, and so it becomes ungathered. Using this word "ungathered" is a very strong word choice. The rice, if it is ungathered, is free and uncontained, as the slave would like to be. As he lays there he thinks back to his native country and the days where he was a free man. He longs to be back there with his family. His life was obviously a good one, as he describes himself as being a king, and he refers to his wife as being a queen (lines 10 and 13). Does he literally mean he was a king? No, what he means is that he was treated and lived in such a way that it was equivalent to that of a king. We also learn that he has children that are referred to as his queen's children. There are many reason's he could refer to his children as his queen's. One way it could be taken is that perhaps his children are still with their mother, but since he is not with them anymore they belong to her now. Or perhaps he just simply views them as her children because she bore and raised them and he just has the pleasure of being their father. Whatever the reason, we know he has a family that he very much cares about, and at one time he was with that family. Here is where as a reader, you start to feel sorry for this man as you imagine having a blissful life with your family in a nation far away, and then feel the pain of being separated from that to become white man's property. Although this part is saddening to the reader, it is the end of the poem that really gets to the reader. At the end of the poem the flash back ends and comes back to the slave in his current state. He is being beaten by his slave master but he is so far gone and so close to death that even the harshness of the whip can no longer be felt by him. In the last few lines of the poem the imagery is so clear it is almost breath taking. Longfellow says, "That he started in his sleep and smiled At their tempestuous glee." (lines 41 and 42). This seems like a strange thing to say. Why would the slave be smiling? Well it says he started to sleep, meaning he started letting go of his consciousness and began letting death set in, but there is still the question of why Longfellow has this slave as smiling? This man is seconds from death, yet he is smiling, even through the immense pain that must have existed at some point. Perhaps the slave knows he is about to die, and it might not be as good as returning to his home country, but he will still be free in some way. Once he die his soul will be free and eventually, he will be able to be with his family again. Longfellow goes on to say, "He did not feel the driver's whip, Nor the burning heat of day; For Death had illumined the Land of Sleep, And his lifeless body lay." (lines 43-46). These lines are very powerful; the slave is letting go and lets death wash over him as he loses his feeling. He no longer feels the whip or even the heat of the day anymore, all he knows is he is almost free. Finally the last line comes and his soul is set free as his body can no longer keep his soul confined within the contour of his body. He is free at last from the hold slavery has had on his life.

Longfellow, though not a slave himself, had a firm grasp on the life of a slave. He was able through his writing to depict what slaves dreamed of and how harsh the life of a slave was. Through his details and his moving imagery he is able to connect with the reader and help them view life outside their understanding. This poem, "The Slave's Dream", is a beautifully written yet poignant description of a slave's death that would effect any reader of any race.

Aren't I a Woman? Lit Response

Sojourner Truth is the very example of an inspirational speaker. She gives examples and clearly lays out what she wants to say with out having to waste a lot of words. Her use of examples help show her purpose to the reader, while at the same time inspiring them with each powerful word.

At first it can be difficult to determine exactly what Sojourner Truth's purpose is because you are so wrapped up in what she is saying, and because there is more than one purpose here. Her first purpose is to speak against racism and sexism at the same time. She starts out with racism talking about how white women are said to be treated and she says, repeatedly, that she has never been treated in that way. She uses repetition and continues with this line, "Aren't I a woman?" (Truth). This is a great tool when speaking to an audience because it sticks with them more if you repeat it but change the words around it. Also, with repition in this fashion, each time that phrase is repeated the author begins to build up the tension of the piece which keeps readers and listeners interested. After comparing her womanly experiences to that of a white woman she goes on to talk against all sexism. She uses this example in her speech, "Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman. Man had nothing to do with him" (Truth, pg. 424). This line is incredibly powerful. Not only does she use repetition again, but she uses Jesus as an example to help prove her point, and considering she is partially talking to a minister, this is very effective. But also this line is extremely clever and quite comical if never thought of before.

While reading her words the reader is taken by Truth's awe-inspiring words and it may seem obvious that her point is that women deserve rights and that black women deserve the same rights as white women. So here it seems she is killing two birds with one stone, but there is also another purpose. This purpose is to prove the inconsistancy of how society views women. On the one side there is the idea that women should be treated delicately and helped into carriges, it even goes so far as to say women deserve "the best place everywhere" (Truth, pg. 423). These are some fairly heavy statements that the minister has made in which she repeats, but then later the same minister said, "women can't have as much rights as a man" (Truth, pg. 424). But wait a minute, did he not just say that women deserve the best and should be helped into carriges? If that is true, if women are worth all those things, then why should they not have as many rights as a man? Here she finds the flaw in society's thinking and she points it right out. Sure she does it in a more flamboyant way with comparisons of Christ Jesus and Eve, but that is what works for her. She easily grabs the attention of her listeners and even with such a short speech she has the crowd with her, cheering and clapping right along with her.

Aren't I a Woman is one of Sojourner Truth's most famous speeches. Even though it is not very long she captures the audience's attention and makes them listen. She is the kind of speaker that makes people want to jump out of their seat and go act now. She had the power to inspire change and see the world for what it was. After listening to or reading Sojourner Truth's Aren't I a Woman speech, not a man, or a woman, or even a dog, could have questioned the fact that Sojourner Truth is very much a woman.

Sojourner Truth ?'s

1. Specifically I think Sojourner Truth was responding to the minister "the little man in black" who said women can not have as many rights as a man can. But in general I think she is speaking to all women and trying to encourage them to take a stand for their rights as well.

2. Sojourner Truth gives many examples through her speech of what makes her a woman. She is trying to make the point that she does not get treated like a woman but then later she talks about how all women are not given enough rights and how contradictory society is. Her examples do a good job of making this point that society contradicts itself and the point that she is indeed a woman and women deserve as many rights as men.

4. I would imagine that had I been there in 1851 when Sojourner Truth gave her speech, being a white girl, I would have had some initial perceptions of her that would have made me not want to hear what she had to say. However, if I stayed long enough to give her a chance I would have been greatly inspired and moved by what she said. Just sitting here reading it makes me want to clap and cheer her on and get up and do something, so I can only imagine hearing such a speech in person.

Frederick Douglas ?'s

1. Frederick Douglas had a little bit of help from his mistress in learning to read. However, he mostly taught himself by making friends with as many white boys as he could and used them as teachers to guide him in his sneaky learning. However, once he learned to read he learned of his situation and the cruel and unjust aspects of it.

2. Douglas's mistress also goes through a learning process. Only her results are not good. She goes from being a sweet kind woman who tries to teach her slave how to read to a strict and harsh slave owner.

4. I can very much relate to Douglas. One thing about me is I love to learn and soak up as much knowledge as I can. However, more recently, there have been many things I've learned, that in hindsight I wish I had not learned because learning them only made me realize how bad the world really is. It can be really depressing sometimes because I used to fully believe in the statement that "Knowledge is power" but I am beginning to think that perhaps the opposite is more true, that "Ignorance is bliss".

Gettysburg Address Questions

1. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is incredibly brief, he does not waste time beating around the bush, but rather, he is very straight forward. However, at the time of his speech, people probably expected him to say more. He hardly talked about the battle itself or about much of the actual war and such. Instead he explained the importance of the battles going on and what we were fighting about. He felt the need to address this and place emphasis on it in hopes that his words might effect people.

2. The final sentence of the speech is a long run-on sentence. However, in this case, a run-on sentence is completely appropriate. In fact, in most speeches, run-on sentences can be a nice tool to help the tension build up until an eventual climax is hit. This technique has a huge impact on the reader in many ways. One thing it does is get the reader "pumped up". It also puts more emphasis on this sentence and makes it sound more important so it catches the reader's attention.

3. The Declaration of Independence and The Gettysburg Address, though very different, have some similarities. Both pieces were written, to some degree, to inspire people, and Lincoln even refers to the Declaration, however, that is where the similarities end. It ends there because their overall purposes differ from each other. The Declaration was written in order to share with the rest of the world why America was seeking Independence from England, while Lincoln's Address was written to make Americans stop and think and realize what they were fighting for. These two pieces were written in different ways which is reflected by their difference in purposes. The Gettysburg Address was written on a train ride on the back of a napkin. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing and it was his thoughts at that moment. Therefore it probably had more passionate words behind it in comparison to the Declaration which was clearly thought through in order to not be a simple act of passion. Since the king was going to read it it was imperative that it did not come across as a simple childish act of rebellion spurred by emotion.

4. The Gettysburg is not like any speech I have heard. When I think of speeches I think of long drawn out dramatic readings. Also, most of the speeches I am used to have a lot of information and background information about the information and a ridiculous amount of unnecessary detail. Therefore, I greatly admire Lincoln's speech because it was short and to the point, however, it still had all the effect and all the importance that a longer speech by other people would have. He was very concise and specific in his word choice. More power to him for making less mean more.

Poetry Corner

I chose to add a verse to Swing Low Sweet Chariot...

Don't leave me here I'm comin' too
Comin' for to carry me home
Just lead the way and I'll follow you
Comin' for to carry me home

I think it keeps the meaning of the song the same, but I its effect is changed a bit because it does not quite have the same flow as the original song.