I totally agree with Emerson's idea of not living in the past, and being okay with making our own worship, work, and laws that flow with today instead of the past. I also think that the older generation as learned sometimes the hard way, and it's important we don't forget that so that we can learn from the past. There is a difference from learning from the past, and not living in the past. For instance, I'm learning from Emerson (a man from the past) and am learning a lot, but that doesn't mean I have to follow his every direction and dwell on how he lived life.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Ralph Waldo Emerson
I like Emerson's view of living life rather than following others completely. He explains some rich views of how a person is not what they do. For instance, a person should not be called a "famer" but instead "a person who farms". This makes it so all are equal, and just because they do a particular job that does not define them. He also talks about the individual and becoming self-reliant. I like when he writes, "...but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude" (536). He also writes, "...why should we grope among the dry bones of the past, or put the living generation into masquerade out of its faded wardrobe? The sun shines to-day also" (492).
I totally agree with Emerson's idea of not living in the past, and being okay with making our own worship, work, and laws that flow with today instead of the past. I also think that the older generation as learned sometimes the hard way, and it's important we don't forget that so that we can learn from the past. There is a difference from learning from the past, and not living in the past. For instance, I'm learning from Emerson (a man from the past) and am learning a lot, but that doesn't mean I have to follow his every direction and dwell on how he lived life.
I totally agree with Emerson's idea of not living in the past, and being okay with making our own worship, work, and laws that flow with today instead of the past. I also think that the older generation as learned sometimes the hard way, and it's important we don't forget that so that we can learn from the past. There is a difference from learning from the past, and not living in the past. For instance, I'm learning from Emerson (a man from the past) and am learning a lot, but that doesn't mean I have to follow his every direction and dwell on how he lived life.
Reflection on American Literature [1820-1865]
This time in history can also be known as the American Romanticism, American Renaissance, or the Age of Transcendentalism. It was a time of becoming a more independent country, and literature was a step in the right direction to become more free from English tradition.
The literature during this time focused a lot on nature imagery, and ran away from an artificial mindset. It also broke down on the emphasis of rhythm in poetry. It had a lot of emotion and instinct over reason and also individual mindset over society as a whole. It really celebrated the individual, and pushed for one to make choices for themself. It really started forming American literature because it wanted to break away from the regular British tradition of literature and the question "Who are we as a country?" started being answered through people thinking independently from what they had always known. The book states, “England may have had Spenser, Shakespeare, and Donne, but America, Matthiessen argued, had Emerson, Hawthorne, Melville, and Whitman” (431). Their independence was starting to be revealed even more.
The literature during this time focused a lot on nature imagery, and ran away from an artificial mindset. It also broke down on the emphasis of rhythm in poetry. It had a lot of emotion and instinct over reason and also individual mindset over society as a whole. It really celebrated the individual, and pushed for one to make choices for themself. It really started forming American literature because it wanted to break away from the regular British tradition of literature and the question "Who are we as a country?" started being answered through people thinking independently from what they had always known. The book states, “England may have had Spenser, Shakespeare, and Donne, but America, Matthiessen argued, had Emerson, Hawthorne, Melville, and Whitman” (431). Their independence was starting to be revealed even more.
Washington Irving
He is known for writing "Rip Van Winkle" which is a crazy and imaginative tale. I couldn't help but think of Irving's own biography while talking about this tale because Rip became a bachelor and learned to be thankful for things in life. Irving also became a bachelor in his lifetime. Rip's case is different considering he fell asleep for twenty years and awoke finding out that his nagging wife had passed. He could have been relieved at first, but he starts realizing how much life has changed and has a shift in identity.
This made me wonder if people define ourselves by what's around us. Rip used to live a carefree life, and everyone accepted who he was (besides his wife it seems), and now he is in a place where no one knows him. He starts having to find his identity on his own, and goes through a hard and growing process.
I started thinking about this story and my own life. I think that if I went to a different high school or college, or grew up in a different city I would be a different person. It scares me to think about that; how fragile our lives are, but it also makes me thankful for where I am today. Thinking about this story really helped me reflect on my own life, and if I'm being thankful for each person that's in my life and where I've been placed. I also thought about how I need to find my identity fully in Christ. People will come and go in my life, and places with change, but the only stable and consistent One is the Lord and He'll guide me through.
This made me wonder if people define ourselves by what's around us. Rip used to live a carefree life, and everyone accepted who he was (besides his wife it seems), and now he is in a place where no one knows him. He starts having to find his identity on his own, and goes through a hard and growing process.
I started thinking about this story and my own life. I think that if I went to a different high school or college, or grew up in a different city I would be a different person. It scares me to think about that; how fragile our lives are, but it also makes me thankful for where I am today. Thinking about this story really helped me reflect on my own life, and if I'm being thankful for each person that's in my life and where I've been placed. I also thought about how I need to find my identity fully in Christ. People will come and go in my life, and places with change, but the only stable and consistent One is the Lord and He'll guide me through.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Phillis Wheatley
I was very impressed with Wheatley's response to the blessings of Christ. She had a lot of things happen in her life, like being treated as a slave, but she seemed to look on the positive side of life. In her poem "On Being Brought from Africa to America" she has taught me so much, even though this poem is only eight lines long. She used her gift of writing as a witness for Christ and wrote, "'Twas mercy brought me from my pagan land,/taught my benighted soul to understand/that there's a God, that there's a Savior too..." (1-3). She seems to have such a humble spirit, and seems to understand the fact that Christ saved her and nothing she did brought her to a safe land. There is a metaphor she used, whether it was intentional or not, that she was brought from Africa to America to live with a family that seemed to treat her well, and she also was brought to safety from death to live with Jesus. She has witnessed what it feels like to be, in a way, rescued and gives the credit to God.
Her other lines I enjoy from this poem are, "Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain,/May be refined, and join the angelic train" (7-8). She is talking about the color of human's sin rather than their skin. She is pleading for others not to judge by the outside, but remember that the heart of a person is what matters in the end.
I complain a lot in life. I complain about the weather, homework, not getting enough sleep, and friendships/relationships. It was really beneficial to read what Wheatley had to say about being thankful for the Cross, and not thinking so much about this present life. My "problems" in life seem a lot less dramatic than hers, but she still kept a positive perspective. I've learned a lot from her.
Her other lines I enjoy from this poem are, "Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain,/May be refined, and join the angelic train" (7-8). She is talking about the color of human's sin rather than their skin. She is pleading for others not to judge by the outside, but remember that the heart of a person is what matters in the end.
I complain a lot in life. I complain about the weather, homework, not getting enough sleep, and friendships/relationships. It was really beneficial to read what Wheatley had to say about being thankful for the Cross, and not thinking so much about this present life. My "problems" in life seem a lot less dramatic than hers, but she still kept a positive perspective. I've learned a lot from her.
De Crevecoeur
This guy reminded me a lot of John Smith. He has a vision, and it’s a big one. I admire him for the fact that he thought it was a positive thing that the United States was a melting pot. With English, Irish, Scottish, German, Swedish, and so on, he thought of this as a new nationality. He wanted something new with the new world, and he seemed to get what he wanted. He wrote, “We have no princes, for whom we toil, starve, and bleed; we are the most perfect society now existing in the world. Here man is free as he ought to be; nor is this pleasing equality so transitory as many others are” (311). I like that he was so excited about the new world, and the direction it was going, but I also think that he thought it was too perfect. This world will never have a perfect place till Jesus comes back, but I think he thought it was the closest thing we could get to perfect.
John Adams and Abigail Adams
I really appreciate this couple. Relationships are hard in general, and especially if you have to live apart for ten years, but they seem to have it figured out. They have a different and admirable relationship because of how they communicated and what they all had in common. They wrote letters to each other, and although I wish there was more affection within them, I admired both of their knowledge regarding the Declaration of Independence. Abigail didn’t grow up education, and that’s an amazing trait of her biography because she worked hard at learning despite the setback.
Another admirable trait about their relationship, and them as individuals, is that they cared a lot about the United States and the founding principles. In one of Abigail’s letters she wrote this about the new constitution, “May the foundation of our new constitution, be justice, Truth and Righteousness. Like the wise Mans house may it be founded upon those Rocks and then neither storms or temptests will overthrow it” (305). I’m so thankful that we had people like her while the time of creating the constitution, because the Lord was definitely working through her.
Benjamin Franklin
I had never known much about Benjamin Franklin, but I have to say that I was not impressed. Although, I admire his self-discipline and motivation for being a good person I think he put way to much thought into scheduling his life. First, I’m going to comment on what I admire about him so I don’t sound like such a critic. I admire the fact that he taught himself so many languages; French, Spanish, Italian, and Latin. I also need to be somewhat sympathetic of him because his father offered him as an offering to the church as a young boy, and then he had to leave school to work for his father. He seemed to be forced into a serious world growing up, and I give him credit for continuing to be a good person even though he could have rebelled. I admire his ambition for wanting to please God.
On the other end of the spectrum, I wish he enjoyed some freedom in the Lord. Joy and freedom come with being a Christian and I don’t feel that through his literature voice. His schedules that he had set out to make a timeslots that planned out his day are overwhelming. When one focuses so much on what they’re doing, and if they’re pleasing God, than they can start to become too much into the self. That could turn into pride or insecurity, if one is constantly critiquing themselves.
I could definitely learn from Franklin that although Christ has won it doesn’t mean that we can sit around. There needs to be some self-discipline and if we love the Lord we will want to work for Him. Also, I don’t want to put down Benjamin Franklin, but I do hope that he had some joy in his life. I just want to give him a pat on the back and let him know that Christ loves him so much.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)