# 7 Rhyme is the Connection

As I read poems, I wonder why they are written so differently. I ask myself questions like, why do poets use dashes in the middle of sentences? Why do they use objects and places to describe ideas and emotions? Why do poets often make the words in the poems rhyme? I am now realizing that poets use certain techniques in their poetry for a purpose. Poets use these methods to help convey their message and ideas to their readers. In the poem, The Hunters of Men, Whittier uses end rhyme to appeal to readers’ sense of sound. The use of end rhyme helps reinforce the ideas behind his poem. Whittier’s use of end rhyme helps paint a picture of the brutality and degradation of slavery. By using end rhyme, he connected two ideas together. Two thoughts and visual images would now be connected because of the end rhyme in the poem. For example, Lines twenty-five and twenty-six read,
“Right merrily hunting the black man, whose sin
Is the curl of his hair and the hue of his skin!”
The use of end rhyme connects the word sin with skin, but more importantly it poses questions. How can a person’s hair type and dark skin determine whether a person deserves to be punished and treated like an animal? Is a person’s dark skin worthy of punishment like sin? Another powerful connection that end rhyme helped form is in lines thirty-eight and thirty- nine. The lines read,
“What right have they here in the home of the white,
Shadowed o’er by our banner of Freedom and Right?”
By rhyming the words white and right, Whittier poses more powerful questions to his audience. How does white skin make them right, or how does white skin determine freedom? Also, how does having black skin signify being wrong and determines the criteria for bondage? Without the use of end rhyme this poem would not have the same impact on the audience. The poem’s tone and attitude and its impact on the audience would be different. By using end rhyme, Whittier’s, The Hunters of Men, paints a clear picture of how barbaric slavery is, and how there is no justification to excuse slavery.

Bonus Blog "I Second That Emotion"

I enjoy reading all types of stories. Stories that impact me on an emotional level, or the kind of stories that make me want to skip ahead just to find out what happened, because I cannot wait to the end. My favorites are the ones that make the reader feel like they are in the story. As I was reading Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, I found that this story is the type of story that I enjoy the most. Jacobs’s story draws the reader right in. As I was reading, I found myself picturing how Linda looked and also thought about her facial expressions and how her voice sounded as she spoke. I found myself drawn into Linda’s world because the story is told in a sentimental and descriptive language. One instance where I found myself drawn in, was when Linda begins to explain how she became pregnant and how this helped her escape being raped by her master. Linda, states to her readers, “The remembrance fills me with sorrow and shame. It pains me to tell you of it; but I have promised to tell you the truth and I will do it honestly, let it cost me what it may” (Jacobs 1: 776). The words she uses are so expressive and emotional. As I reader, she already had my sympathy and compassion before she even divulged any details of the events. I believe she did this deliberately because she knows that her behavior is morally and socially unacceptable and needs to appeal to her audience’s sense of compassion. She makes certain that her audience knows that she could face repercussions just for being honest about the events surrounding her pregnancy. Another point in the story where I felt myself drawn in, is when Linda boldly asks her readers to excuse her scandalous behavior. The language and choice of words that Jacobs’s uses is so full of emotion, I can picture the tears as she says,” Pity me, and pardon me, O virtuous reader!” (Jacobs 1: 776) Not only is this a moving statement, which plays on the readers’ sympathies, but it also appeals to the Christian virtues of forgiveness and compassion. I can honestly say I have enjoyed reading Jacobs story, because of the language she used to tell her story. This has left me eager to read other slave narratives.

#6 Going Once, Twice, Sold!

Have you ever been to an auction? There are many items arranged for buyers to come and hunt for potential bargains. People come from near and far just get a good deal. I myself have been a potential buyer at an auction. The auction I attended had all types of items for sell from computers, to cars and trucks. Each item was tagged with an item number so buyers would know how to bid. No name, just a description. After reading Jacob’s The Incidents In the Life of a Slave Girl, I will see auctions in a new light. Linda, in Jacobs story, is constantly struggling to move from being considered auction chattel to obtaining her freedom. Even though Dr. Flint owed her, she refused to allow him to rule over her. She was determined not to be like the other slave girls that had babies from their masters and then were discarded. ”I had seen several women sold, with his babies at the breast.” She wanted not only the American dream of freedom for her, but for her children as well. On more than one occasion, Linda’s family tried to purchase her with no success, but Linda had the determination and was filled with the hope that one day she would have her freedom. Linda finally obtains her freedom for herself, and her children by the kindness of Mrs. Bruce. Although she is truly grateful and excited, she struggles to accept that her life was bought and sold. She remarks, “ So I was sold at last! A human being sold in the free state of New York!” I love Linda’s spirit. She acknowledges her condition as changed, but she expresses that her life’s dream was something entirely different. Like many Americans today, Linda’s dream is to own a home. For in her mind she was always free.

Post 5 The Theme

After reading the writings of Apess and Sigourney I noticed a common theme. The unifying theme is the unfair treatment of the American Indians. Both authors spoke about the same issue, but use two different approaches to convey the same idea.  Apess’s approaches the topic by using Christian principals and precepts to validate his argument. He also passionately reminds his audience of the how Indians are taught and converted to the Christian faith, but do not see these Christian precepts that they are to endorse reflected in the way “white Americans” treat American Indians.  Apess gives the example of Christ’s treatment of people of all colors.   Apes writes, “Jesus Christ being a Jew, and those of his Apostles certainty were not whites- and did not he who completed the plan of salvation it for the whites as well as for the Jews, and others?”   He even posed the question how would Christ treat Native Americans. Sigourney posed argument and viewpoint by posing intelligent questions and observations. Sigourney pointed out the intelligence of the American Indian by pointing out that geographical locations in American there were named by the American Indian.  Sigourney appeals to the thought that The Indians have value and should be treated accordingly. Both authors use different arguments but convey the same idea.

Post 4

In the story, The Tenth of January the author uses the point of view to help convey the meaning and moral of the story.  Phelps tells the story from a third person narrator who is omniscient. Phelps use of the third person narrator allows the readers to know how characters are thinking and how they feel about themselves and others. For example, in the beginning of the story the reader knows that Asenath feels bothered when her father speaks to her. ” She was never cross with her father but her words rang impatiently sometimes.”  This helps the reader have an understanding of how she interacts and feels about her farther. The story point of view also allows us to see how much Asenath’s father cared for her. “She was all she had in the world,-this one little crippled girl…” This is important because Asenath does not think she is worthy of love or is even worthy to live. She feels this way because of her physical appearance and disability. However the readers know that her father loves her dearly. This helps to convey the message of the story that life is valuable and worthwhile to someone even though you do not possess physical beauty. Asenath feels so unworthy and feels that her life is not worth anything to anyone that she gives up and tells the rescuers to save her friend. She feels this way so much that she tells her father, “I don’t mind it much”. The author use third narrative to express the idea of the value of life at any state regardless of one’s self-image.

Blog 3

Even though times are changing, certain mindsets, perceptions and ideas on American values remain the same. Irving’s The Wife was written in the Nineteenth century but its story still resonates in 2011. Irving’s main characters deal with the core issues of marriage, finances, and the women’s role according to men. I find it rather humorous that the dilemma in the story still plagues many Americans of 2011. I find the story humorous because recently spouses all over America like Leslie had to have tough conversations with their spouses about money. The Wife seems like it could be about the Smith’s from down the street who had to move because the husband invested poorly in the stock market. I also found it interesting that even though the story suggested that Irving had a high viewpoint of women there were still some phrases that suggested that a women’s happiness was tied to wealth. For example, Leslie expresses that he does not think his wife will not be able to handle the change in lifestyle and comments that his wife will be, “brooding over a prospect of future poverty.”  The suggestion that women are only happy when they are wealthy depicts women as being shallow.After reading the story it was also clear that the husbands were the sole bread winners and women were financially dependent on their husbands. Although times are changing it seems that Irving’s The Wife is aging well.

Blog Posting #2

I never realized how much early American history influenced American literature and the idea of the “American Dream”. Growing up I always knew that The Declaration of Independence is significant to American History, but to be honest I never really viewed the work as American literature. I never even thought of how American literature as shaped the “American Dream” and will continually help to reshape the dream. The ideas of the declaration came from the thinkers and writers of the Enlightenment. The Declaration of independence was written by Thomas Jefferson who said he,” used neither book nor pamphlet” as he wrote. This piece of American literature put the ideas of the enlightenment into action. These thinkers used the written words to make their cause. However this was good and bad. I say this because not everyone’s viewpoints were expressed in newspapers or in books. The views and subject matter were those of the ones who controlled the printed word. Many other causes were left in the background and took a back seat to the politics between the colonies and England. This is evident in the way the controlling powers viewed education. Women were mainly educated to become good Republican mothers. Slaves were forbidden to be taught to learn to read or write. The Declaration of Independence left out a huge group of people. I am sure most slaves did not view slavery as the pursuit of happiness or that most women felt happy in their restricted roles. The American Dream will continue to evolve as the literature landscape continues to be redefined by either book or blog.