Benjamin Franklin

I thought that Benjamin Franklin's text was a very interesting text. I thought that it was interesting that Franklin talked a lot about deism and how he definitely believed in a God, but not necessarily religion. I could relate somewhat to the things that Franklin said about God and religion. I also found it interesting that Franklin touched on how religion was a great way to express one's love for God as long as one's religion did not get in the way of loving humanity and not discriminating against others based on their beliefs.

Franklin's self determination was very enviable for me. He seemed to be a very goal oriented man. I wonder though, if this could have made his life somewhat boring; never feeling o.k. with making mistakes.

The fact that he was a big supporter of the public library was impressive. He believed that education should not just be for the rich, but for everyone. I completely agree with him on this issue because not only is it empowering to be educated, but it is also important to live in a country that deems educated people to be important.

American Literature: 1700 - 1820

While reading the introduction for American Literature 1700 through 1820, I was excited to see that the text would be covering more topics that I found interesting. With America now a country with some history behind it, the American people began seeing themselves as actual Americans and began to identify with their country rather than with England.

I thought that it was interesting to read that during the Enlightenment, a sense of self determination was beginning to take hold. This is where our "American dream" comes from -- working hard and starting from the bottom and moving up. I also like to read about how there is a switch on emphasis of religion to reason; focusing on science and psychology. Along with that, there was no longer one way of thinking about things. Now there was many perspectives to hear.

Mary Rowlandson

Mary Rowlandson had quite the (mis)adventure.

I found that her narrative about living in "captivity" with the Native Americans was a refreshing look at the time, albeit, no less tragic.

From either point of view - the settlers or the Native Americans, life was a constant struggle. Countless executions to often innocent people was a regularity in the times of Mary Rowlandson.

However, the depiction of her time spend among the Native American people paints two different stories -- one of the Native Americans being cruel and another of them being a resilient and humane people.

I thought that her tale was interesting because it was written first hand. I rarely am able to read first hand narratives about this time period and this was a great way to learn a bit more about both sides of the story. Although it was written by Rowlandson, a white woman, she acknowledges that yes, the Native American people killed most of her family and tried to kill her, as well -- but she also softens in her prose as the story goes on, saying how the Native American people helped her while she was with them.

Anne Bradstreet

I most enjoyed Anne Bradstreet's poetry selection. I though that her poetry probably demonstrated many other woman's views and frustrations at that time regarding how women should act and what their "place" was.

My favorite poems were Contemplations and An Author To Her Book. She acknowledges that she feels at times that her work is not as well written or as good as other writers. I find that by her addressing this and making her poetry real, it can unite writers and poets with a common sense that their work is not always "worthy".

I also liked how she addressed many universal themes that are still relatable today, including the love of her husband, her children, and her sadness when losing her home to a fire. She is a very real poet and writes things as they are.

John Smith & John Winthrop

The text written by John Smith proved to informational as well as interesting. Smith described his travels throughout Virginia and New England and the many misfortunes that happened, as well.

The text was interesting in the sense that Smith uses the opportunity to write about his adventures amongst the Native Americans of that time. He seems a bit disillusioned at times, thinking that the Native Americans want to be his friend, when really they are looking to get him out of their land. However, he was eventually saved from death from Pocahontas, and became apart of their tribe.

The second part of the text, when Smith is writing to persuade the people of England to move to America, proves that Smith felt that America could bring many new opportunities to the English people. Not only the higher class but also the lower, less fortunate class, including orphans and newlyweds; people who had no family to rely on for help or people who were just starting out.

The text written by John Winthrop was not as interesting as John Smith's but still had a lot of valuable information and opinionated statements. Winthrop writes that there are two types of men - the rich and the poor. This is an inherently different idea than what Smith wrote about, but Winthrop also writes that all people are one body and that everyone should help one another. He writes that everyone should give everything they have and become one.

This text was harder for me to understand but the discussion in class cleared the confusion and I was able to see comparisons and differences between the two authors.