John Steinbeck

Favorite Whitman Poem

There are many poems written by Walt Whitman and we have read many of them in class, but sitting here reading many more of them, I came across one i quite rather enjoyed.  "A Farm Picture" is the poem that I believe to be my favorite poem.  "A Farm Picture" is a very short poem but I do not think that the length of a poem determines its importance or fame.  I like this poem for that reason actually.  I am not the type of person who wants to read a poem with twenty stanzas that has to be analyzed for an hour. That is not poetry to me because it seems like it is too much of a story. Poetry should be short, sweet and beautiful and with this poem being only three lines it is rather short.

I also like this poem because it reminds me of being a kid.  When I was younger we had cattle at home and I can remember getting up early with my dad to go and feed the cows and fill their water troughs. And the poem also speaks of standing in the doors of a "peaceful country barn". When I think of a  peaceful country barn I think of the barn we use to have that the baby calves were born in.  A peaceful country barn is just like our one we had.  It was old, open spaced, and made of wood.  These new barns are made of metal and do not give you the same feeling of that country type of barn. This poem brought back good memories because as my brother and I got older and started playing travel baseball it was impossible to keep the cattle and travel at the same time.  We ended up having to get rid of the cattle we had for this reason and it is nice to remember the good old days. Sure the cows smelled awful and are big dumb animals but they really are funny animals to watch.  My family also has pictures of my siblings and I with baby cows and we were all so happy then and as you get older it is harder to have times like the ones we had. I hope to one day be able to have a small group of cattle so that my children can experience the same great things that I did.  This poem brought back some great memories and that is why it is my favorite poem by Walt Whitman.

http://whitmanarchive.org/published/LG/1891/poems/133

Chanting the Square Deific- Self

         Walt Whitman's, "Chanting the Square Deific", shows many of the traits of Self and Spirituality that he had used in a certain time frame of his writing. Whitman uses the idea of a quaternion, or four sided religious belief while many people are use to the three. Many people believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as much of the population of the United States is some type of Christian. Whitman uses the quaternion in the way of God, Jesus, Satan, and the Soul, each having their own stanza. The inner personality of each subject of a stanza is revealed throughout the poem. 

        The "soul" or who God is, according to Whitman, is not persuadable, relentless, and unmerciful.  "Not Time affects me—I am Time, old, modern as any, Unpersuadable, relentless, executing righteous judgments"(Whitman 1). "Executing righteous judgments" and "Relentless I forgive no man—whoever sins dies—I will have that man's life;" tell the reader that the man is not forgiving and that any man who has sinned will not be forgiven for his actions and their life will be taken from them. The author is a harsh but just man in his eyes and God does not feel bad for the judgment and decisions he must make. "I dispense from this side judgments inexorable without the least remorse"(Whitman 1). God believes that he is here to pass judgment on those of the living and make the decision whether man shall live or parish. In the remaining stanzas, Jesus, Satan, and the Spirit are able to interpret themselves as to who they are and why they are here.

       Jesus shows affection, forgiveness, and bears the sins of the world on his shoulders.  Jesus knows that he is here to take on all the burdens of the people of the world from the rich to the poor. "For I am affection, I am the cheer-bringing God, with hope and all-enclosing charity" and "All sorrow, labor, suffering, I, tallying it, absorb in myself, Many times have I been rejected, taunted, put in prison, and crucified, and many times shall be again" proves who Jesus really is(Whitman 2).

      Satan is "Aloof, dissatisfied, plotting revolt" which means Satan is a trouble maker, but he is also the "brother of slaves" showing a kind-hearted sides towards those less fortunate(Whitman 3). Satan knows that he is here to cause war between nations and people in general and to cause trouble for those trying to get to heaven by putting temptations in their lives.

      The Holy Spirit is what brings the other three together.  The Spirit is like the person on a team that everyone likes and gets along with. "Including all life on earth, touching, including God, including Saviour and Satan" (Whitman 4). The Spirit is a little of all three and reconciles the three. The Spirit is here to be the universe, to be everything everywhere and it does its job to keep the three others in line.

     "Chanting the Square Deific" is about four incredible forces whom are able to identify who they truly are and why they are here which is a part of Self.  Normal people struggle to realize who they are and what purpose they serve in the universe and the author is trying to show that a normal person may not be able to identify themselves as to who they really are but a divine force can for it is true and honest.

Oliver, Charles M. "'Chanting the Square Deific'." Critical Companion to Walt Whitman:        A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File,        Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.

Whitman, Walt. "The Walt Whitman Archive." CHANTING THE SQUARE DEIFIC. (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892]) -. Web. 04 Apr. 2012.  

Journal 29 "Self"

Danny Hayes is a sixteen year old young man who is afraid of being alone.  Friends and family keep him going through  the highs and lows of life. This journal is beginning to be difficult. It is hard to analyze ourselves as a person. A drunk woman with a poor voice, but an influence in the teenagers life once said "We are who we are". I find this to be true. I know that I love baseball, cooking and eating,  friends, music, and many other  things. Danny is  also not good about  "having a bucket to piss in" or saving money.  He likes to go out to eat and buy things he does not necessarily need and this gets in the way of big ambitions like buying a car. Danny is also a cautious kid  when it comes to major things but he is not afraid to make stupid mistakes  and  get in trouble.  Danny gets in trouble but he hates it because he gets  butterflies in his stomach and gets  very  nervous about the consequences. Danny really is a loving kid though.  He loves animals, little kids, and does not really "hate" that many people.  Even the people who have hurt him have been forgiven by him. I guess he can be a bit  of a bully  but it is  not because of the state of  happiness he is in or confidence in himself or whatever all those scientists say. Danny can be self conscience about some things though.  When  people make fun of his weight it really hurts his feelings or when someone offends his family members he gets very defensive.  I think that many people would get defensive though if someone else was attacking their family members. This does not happen that often but occasionally does.  Danny is also a little bit of a self critic. He is very OCD about the cleanliness of his room and his car, although I do  not think it is a bad thing to want clean things.

Our group consisting of Shelby Stouffe and Danny Hayes decided to review or interpret the poem #668 "Nature' is what we see" The complexity that arises in dealing with Dickinson's poetry is partially due to the indeterminacy, uncertainty, and mystery that shroud her seemingly simple poetry. Most of her poetry is about nature.  Something so simple to see and understand is happening that we wonder, what is the inner lying meaning?  This poems talks deeply about our  ignorance to the simplicity of nature and to the beautiful things  found in nature. "-So impotent Our Wisdom is  -To her Simplicity"  (Dickinson 11-12) We believe that this means that the human race is smart and intellectual but when it comes to nature we are dumb and ignorant to her simplicity. This poem also talks about the beautiful things in life that we may take for granted.  We see nature everyday and since we know it will always be there we never really stop and look at it.  We know that it will be there tomorrow so sometimes I feel people don’t really find it to be something they will really miss.  Emily Dickinson was a poet that had the ability to see everything in its natural and truest beauty.  She could look past all the bad in the world that was going on and look at the raw beauty of nature since she could not find it within people.  She was not really a people person and she also thought that the people that were high in society saw her as a nobody hence the poem by her I Am Nobody Who Are You?  For someone to be able to look past all the bad and straight into the good really has a good clean head on their shoulders.  They know how to take in life as it comes and can see the true nature of someone.  Emily might have been able to see the beauty but the best part was was that she could transfer her thoughts from inside her mind onto paper and interpret what she saw and felt through words.  This is what I think truly made her famous or her poems so well known because they all had meaning to not only her but those around her.  They interpreted feelings that maybe a lot of people were feeling and made it more known by others.  She definitely had a strong will and determination because no matter what she never gave up on her writing or what she believed in.  I think that is something really special.

"The Hill—the Afternoon—Squirrel—Eclipse— the Bumble bee—Nay—Nature is Heaven—Nature is what we hear—The Bobolink—the Sea—Thunder—the Cricket—Nay—Nature is Harmony—"


http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/nature-is-what-we-see/

Emily Dickinson Poem

The Emily Dickinson poem that we read for this journal was "I heard a fly buzz when I died".  The speaker says that she heard a fly buzz as she lay on her deathbed. The room was as still as the air between “the Heaves” of a storm. The eyes around her had cried themselves out, and the breaths were firming themselves for “that last Onset,” the moment when, metaphorically, “the King / Be witnessed—in the Room—.” The speaker made a will and “Signed away / What portion of me be / Assignable—” and at that moment, she heard the fly. It interposed itself “With blue—uncertain stumbling Buzz—” between the speaker and the light; “the Windows failed”; and then she died (“I could not see to see—”). This poem can be sung to the tune of "Amazing Grace" and this is a pattern in most of her literary.

Dickinson's Writing Style

Emily Dickinson used her own style of writing.  She does not really fit into the modernism period that was going on at the time.  Dickinson fit into the Transcendentalist movement more than anything..  She isolated herself to try and figure out the meaning of life and why she was here on Earth. She did not really use a rhyming scheme, she just wrote what she was thinking about and it just happened to turn into poetry. Dickinson basically cut her self of from society because of how sick of it she was.  Dickson locker herself in her house and I am pretty sure  that she did not leave her house for many years.  Can you imagine how clean her house must have been? Anyway I believe that this is why she was able to write about whatever she wanted to. I think that her poem "A Bird Came Down" is a scene she may have witnessed looking out her window while she was writing.  I do not think that being kept up in your house is the best way to experience life, but I also can see how she would find inspiration from such a scene.  A bird is just such a peculiar thing and I think that Dickinson saw the same thing.


"He glanced with rapid eyes
That hurried all abroad,--
They looked like frightened beads, I thought;
He stirred his velvet head"(Dickinson Stanza 3)

This is the third stanza of the poem "A Bird Came Down" and reiterates what I said about the interesting thing of a bird. A bird is just so interesting in how it hops around, moving its head quickly, and looking for something to eat.  This poem does not follow a more difficult rhyme scheme.  Only some lines rhyme with each other. Unless I am not able to rhyme words together,  this poem follows an A B C B D E F E G H I G J K L M N O P Q rhyme scheme.  Only the first two stanzas appear to have a rhyming pattern at all and this is very weird for poetry.  When I think of poetry, I think of every other line rhyming with each other.  I know  that this is not true for all poetry.  Another thing I do not understand is or who considers this good poetry.  Seems to me that this poem is just about a bird walking around eating bugs.  It is possible that I am looking to far into taking this poem literally but that is just what it seems to me.  I do not understand what makes some of these authors worthy of being famous.  I hope one day to be able to open up and understand these author's writing better.

"A bird came down the walk: A
He did not know I saw; B
He bit an angle-worm in halves C
And ate the fellow, raw. B

And then he drank a dew D
From a convenient grass, E
And then hopped sidewise to the wall F
To let a beetle pass. E

He glanced with rapid eyes G
That hurried all abroad,-- H
They looked like frightened beads, I thought; I
He stirred his velvet head G

Like one in danger; cautious, J
I offered him a crumb, K
And he unrolled his feathers L
And rowed him softer home M

Than oars divide the ocean, N
Too silver for a seam, O
Or butterflies, off banks of noon, P
Leap, splashless, as they swim."  Q

Dickinson, Emily. "Emily Dickinson." PoemHunter. 14 May 2001. Web. 12 Mar. 2012 

Whitman's Writing Style

Walt Whitman is considered a "tweener" because he falls in between the Realism and the Modernism periods of writing.  Walt Whitman shows characteristics and tendencies of both writing styles in many pieces of his work.The Realism period is about being literal or real. The pieces of works and there perspective authors that fall into this genre are not writing about wizards fighting dragons.  These authors are writing about things that happened or realistically could. Walt Whitman's poem "Cavalry Crossing a Ford" is literally about Union soldiers crossing a ford riding their horses as the "guidon flags flutter gaily in the wind"(Whitman, "Cavalry Crossing a Ford"). Even the title of this poem fits into the realism period. "Calvary Crossing a Ford" is just a very plain and generic title.  It tells us what is happening in the story and it gives the reader an idea of what the poem is going to be about. Being a writer of the Realism would be difficult I think.  The author can only let their imagination go so far before they have to wrangle it back in to keep in under control.  The author has to remain somewhat factual as well as making the story interesting for the readers. The other genre that Whitman fell into during this period was modernism.  Modernism writers are big on individualism and industry.  I believe that Walt Whitman has a piece of work that fits the individualism part of Modernism very well that I found in our book.  "I celebrate myself, and sing myself, and what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you"(Whitman 2).  If this is not being an individual then the grass is not green and the sky is not blue.  "I celebrate myself"(Whitman 2).  I think that this quote is very arrogant.  I believe that I can be very arrogant at times but not this severe, or so I hope.  I am not sure that it is a bad thing for Walt to be a tad cocky but there is a line.  Although I am not sure I can fully blame Whitman because this is just one of the few genres of writing he fell into.  I think that it would be difficult for an author to go from one genre to another like that. The Modernism period would not be as difficult to write during in my opinion. The person may be alive during what is happening so the piece of work is almost a rewritten news report.  The rewritten part comes from making it more enjoyable for the reader to read because it would still have to keep the reader engaged. It is possible that his beliefs and ideals changed and he wanted to write what he thought, but no matter what happened, Walt Whitman is a "tweener" because he falls into the two categories of being a Modernism writer and a Realism writer. Like many other famous authors, including Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman was an influential writer in more that one genre.


"Cavalry Crossing A Ford by Walt Whitman." PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of Poems and Poets.. Poetry  Search Engine. Web. 11 Feb. 2012.


Whitman, Walt. "from song of Myself." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 533 . Print.

Emily Dickinson "A Bird Came Down"

"A Bird Came Down" by Emily Dickinson, is a poem that I believe to be focused towards the nature side of Thoreau and Emerson. I know that the remaining few pieces of work we are to read are based on Realism writing and the Realism period but I do not see it this way. I do not get the sense of Mark Twain or Henry James in this poem.  The style of writing is just so much different.  They focused on the period after the Civil War and wrote accurate ficticious material concerning American life(Campbell).  There really is no other point of origin for this story because it is just about a bird walking around eating worms and watching beetles.  The description of the bird is given to us and even though a person may seem certain birds to be ugly or undesirable, Emily Dickinson makes the bird seem beautiful.

"He glanced with rapid eyes
That hurried all abroad,--
They looked like frightened beads, I thought;
He stirred his velvet head"(Dickinson Stanza 3)

The third stanza shows the qualities of the bird and certain characteristics about him. He almost seems to be nervous or frightened as Dickinson says.  His "velvet head" gives him a quality of beauty and makes the reader imagine something smooth and soft.  "If you are ready to leave father and mother, and brother and sister, and wife and child and friends, and never see them again, --if you have paid your debts, and made your will, and settled all your affairs, and are a free man, then you are ready for a walk"(Thoreau "Ideas.."). This was said by Thoreau and this shows how fond he is of nature.  He thinks that if you can leave the rest of your life behind to go for a walk then you should.  Emerson followed the same line of thinking. "In the instant you leave far behind all human relations, wife, mother and child, and live only with the savages—-water, air, light, carbon, lime, and granite. Nature grows over me. Frogs pipe; waters far off tinkle; dry leaves hiss; grass bends and rustles, and I have died out of the human world and come to feel a strange, cold, aqueous, terraqueous, aerial, ethereal sympathy and existence"(Emerson "Ideas.."). This poem is describing what Thoreau and Emerson love to do.  The narrator is just watching this bird in his natural environment.  The narrator is observing the bird and enjoying nature.  They do not disturb the bird, other than when to offer him bread crumbs. This is what nature is all about.  Watching and listening to the amazing sights and sounds that nature has to offer.  No matter where you live there is some nature to enjoy. I know that this is what Emerson and Thoreau believed because of the research I have had to accomplish for this project.

Campbell, Donna M. "Realism in American Literature, 1860-1890." Literary Movements. Dept. of English, Washington State University. Web. March 12 2012.

Dickinson, Emily. "Emily Dickinson." PoemHunter. 14 May 2001. Web. 12 Mar. 2012


"Ideas--Philosophy of Nature." Virginia Commonwealth University. Web. 12 Mar. 2012

Jack London "to build a fire"

Jack London's  "To build a fire"  is a very sad story. It talks about a man in the Yukon  going to meet some of his friends. He is new to the Yukon and knows the dangers of being out in the cold for too long.  The man begins to build a fire to keep him and his dog warm so that he can protect his ligaments from the harsh winter that the Yukon brings. The man had taken limbs from a spruce tree and had weaken the structural integrity of the tree. He finally gets his fire going and as soon as he takes his moccasins off, a pile of snow from atop the trees falls onto his fire and puts it out.

Henry David Thoreau said something that I believe the man of this story should have heard. "Beware of all enterprises that require a new set of clothes"(Thoreau). If this man had heard this then I think he would have not have died as quickly. The man would have had an extra set of clothes, so when he got wet he would have been able to change into a set of clothes that were dry.  

I think that this short story leans more towards the natural side of Emerson  and Thoreau. This story is very  descriptive of the winter and of the Yukon. Emerson  and  Thoreau valued nature throughout their lives as well as many other things.  "Nature never became a toy to a wise spirit. The flowers, the animals, the mountains, reflected the wisdom of his best hour, as much as they had delighted the simplicity of his childhood"("EMERSON - NATURE--Web Text.").  

"EMERSON - NATURE--Web Text." Virginia Commonwealth University. Web. 11 Feb. 2012.

Thoreau. BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 09 Mar. 2012. 

Edwin Robinson "Miniver Cheevy"

"Miniver Cheevy" by Edwin Robinson is difficult for me to find it fitting in a distinct period. This poem is  about the narrator, Miniver, being upset and angry about when he was born.  Miniver wishes he had born long ago. "Miniver loved the days of old;When swords were bright and steeds were prancing;The vision of a warrior bold;Would set him dancing"(Robinson). Miniver wishes that he could have been born in the olden days where he could have experienced Thebes and Camelot.  Miniver also loved the Medici.  The Medici was an old Italian family who lived in Florence, Italy and they were a powerhouse. He loathes for war and battle, not khaki suits(Robinson). This poem is not as easy to recognize as being realism writing but it is in someways. One characteristic of the realism  period is an objective narrator. The narrator of this poem hates himself for being born in the modern age when  he wishes he could have been born in the medieval era. His objective is to love the life that he does not and can not have and to loathe the one he has. 


Robinson, Edwin. ""Miniver Cheevy" by E.A. Robinson." The Poem Tree: An Online Poetry Anthology. Web. 07 Mar. 2012. 

"The Darling" Anton Chekhov

"The Darling" by Anton Chekhov shows many characteristics of the realism period as well as the transcendentalist movement.  The description of nature shows the transcendentalist side of the short story. "It was hot, the flies were persistent and teasing, and it was pleasant to reflect that it would soon be evening. Dark rainclouds were gathering from the east, and bringing from time to time a breath of moisture in the air" (Chekhov). This quote from the short story gives the reader a sense of the weather and the scenery because of how descriptive it is. As for the realism side of this short story is shows important changes and how it effects the climax. I am not able to tell the climax of this story because I believe that two occur.  Olenka is the main character and protagonist of this short story and in the story she loses two of her lovers both being her husband. I know this is a characteristic of the realism period thanks to Josh Rahn."Changes in mood, in perceptions, in opinions and ideas constitute turning points or climaxes"(Rahn, "Realism"). These events would change Olenka's mood and ideas drastically. Olenka fell into a short depression after the death of her Kukin, lasting only three months. After the death of her second husband, Vasily Pustovalov, the depression is much greater with her only accompaniment being her cat(Chekhov). I am irritated though by the fact that she can not really make up her mind on anything. While married to Kukin, she adores the theatre but when she is married to Vasily she detests it. I am not sure what would change her mind so drastically about something other than it reminding her of her deceased Kukin. This is also part of the realism movement, changes in opinions and ideas. The recognition of both the realism period and transcendetalist movements are important to this story because it deals with both nature and changes in mood and ideas which change the climax.  Even though it was difficult to identify the climax, I still believe both deaths to be climaxes of this short story.




Chekhov, Anton. "Short Stories: The Darling by Anton Chekhov." East of the Web. Web. 06 Mar. 2012.


Rahn, Josh. "Realism." - Literature Periods & Movements. Web. 06 Mar. 2012. 

Kate Chopin "The Story of an Hour"

"The Story  of an Hour" by Kate Chopin is obviously a short story for woman.  Woman's rights were a very large issue during the realism period and this story showed that issue well. Mrs. Mallard was a woman with heart disease and one day she learns that her husband has been killed in the derailment of a train.  At first she is sad for she loved her husband but then she thinks of the future.  She thinks of how she will no longer be oppressed by anyone and that she can do as she wishes.  "Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering"(Chopin, "The Story of an Hour").  This is where the feminist part of the story is located. She is thinking on her own and this was almost frowned upon during this time period. However her joy is short lived, just as the rest of her life, as someone rings the bell at the door.  When it is open we learn it to be Brently Mallard. "He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one". The doctor came to the house and concluded that she had died of heart disease, or the joy that kills(Chopin, "The Story of an Hour"). This is almost ironic because the reader is not sure whether she really died of happiness.  She was excited about the new life she was to begin being free and when she saw her husband the reality of her world came crashing down on her all at once. 


"Changes in mood, in perceptions, in opinions and ideas constitute turning points or climaxes"(Rahn, "Realism"). This is part of the definition or characteristics of the Realism period.  I think that this definition fits this story well. She was happy knowing that she was not going to be tethered to someone anymore and when she saw her husband, a drastic change in mood constituted the climax of the story where she has her heart attack. The Realism period showed a major shift in the type of writings being made and this story shows the characteristics of realism including the changing of mood and perceptions.




Chopin, Kate. ""The Story of an Hour"" Virginia Commonwealth University. Web. 


Rahn, Josh. "Realism." - Literature Periods & Movements. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. 

Willa Cather "A Wagner Matinee"

Willa Cather is the author of the short story "A Wagner Matinee". As some to most of the short stories and poems assigned to us to read, I find this short story to tug at the strings of nature during the transcendentalist period. The descriptive words used in this short story are great. "her linen duster had become black with soot"(Cather, "A Wagner Matinee"). This may not seem all that descriptive but it gives us details on how long and tiring her journey must have been and on what her appearance is. When the author meets his aunt on the train we know that she is battered and worn from the journey but he still respects her. The author talks of the old times working on the farm for her and how he respected her. "I became, in short, the gangling farm boy my aunt had known, scourged with chilblains and bashfulness, my hands cracked and sore from the corn husking. I felt the knuckles of my thumb tentatively, as though they were raw again. I sat again before her parlor organ, fumbling the scales with my stiff, red hands, while she, beside me, made canvas mittens for the huskers"(Cather, "A Wagner Matinee"). This tells us that she cared for the workers and took the time to make mittens for the workers so that their hands would not be as sore as they would be without them.

"Nature never became a toy to a wise spirit. The flowers, the animals, the mountains, reflected the wisdom of his best hour, as much as they had delighted the simplicity of his childhood"("EMERSON - NATURE--Web Text."). Nature was important to Ralph Waldo Emerson as shown in his famous essay "Nature". The symbolism of nature is evident in this short story as well as emotion which was also important to Emerson and Thoreau. After Clark took his Aunt to the opera and the audience had left they remained behind reminiscing on the old days. "I spoke to my aunt. She burst into tears and sobbed pleadingly. "I don't want to go, Clark, I don't want to go!"(Cather, "A Wagner Matinee"). This is because the music had brought some memories of home back to her which was all but gone due to relatives passing away. She was happy and sad at the same time and did not want to give up those happy memories of her long life.

This short stories showed some characteristics of the Transcendentalist period and it is an important piece of writing to that period. It shows both nature and emotion to engage the reader and help us to understand the meaning of memories. Memories are to be cherished and can be brought back to us in the smallest things, such as an opera show.

Cather, Willa. "A Wagner Matinee." Willa Cather's Short Story:. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.

"EMERSON - NATURE--Web Text." Virginia Commonwealth University. Web. 11 Feb. 2012.

Sojourner Truth- Ain't I a woman

Ain't I a woman is a very deep essay based on the feelings and lack of attention for an enslaved woman. Sojourner Truth feels that she is not treated the same as other woman are and she wishes that someone would show her some attention. "That man over there say a woman needs to be helped into carriages and lifted over ditches and to have the best place everywhere Nobody ever helped me into carriages or over mud puddles or gives me a best place. . ."(Truth, "Ain't I A Woman?"). It is obvious that she is treated differently from other woman because of her ethnic background being African American and that she is a slave. We have heard about how slaves were treated and neglected by society but never have I heard an account on how they felt about things that we consider to be normal and on things that happen everyday.

Emerson and Thoreau's philosophies can be related to this essay in some ways. Emerson thought that "the differences among the members of a race are greater than the differences between races"(Brewton,"Emerson, Ralph Waldo [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]."). He thought that all the different characters and behavioral patterns were far different that the skin tone between races. This belief gives us an insight on to his views on racism. Emerson does not seem to be a racist man and this is significant because of how many people owned or had just lost their slaves at this time. Many people believed that "blacks" were the scum of the Earth and some did not consider them human. "Civil disobedience means to protest what one believes to be an unjust law or an unfair sociopolitical system through nonviolent means, fully aware the the consequence may entail imprisonment and/or brutality by the powers-that-be"(Mannion,"Henry David Thoreau - Philosophy."). Since Thoreau wrote an essay on civil disobedience I find it hard to believe that he thought slavery was just and fair to the slaves. I am not saying that he was giving his life for the freedom of slaves but he considered it to not be something God wanted.

This book does not share the political style of writing these men were famous for but it does show the emotional and spiritual side of their philosophies. Truth was not afraid to speak what had been killing her whole life and she was able to get her message across. Truth must have hit a keynote with this speech or we would not be reading it today.

Brewton, Vince. "Emerson, Ralph Waldo [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]."Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 24 July 2003. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.

Mannion, James. "Henry David Thoreau - Philosophy." Netplaces. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. Truth, Sojourner.

"Ain't I A Woman? Famous Speech by Sojourner Truth." Find Famous Quotes, Funny, Movie and Motivational. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.

Walt Whitman"Cavalry Crossing a Ford"

Walt Whitman's poem "Cavalry Crossing a Ford" is literally about Union soldiers crossing a ford riding their horses as the "guidon flags flutter gaily in the wind"(Whitman, "Cavalry Crossing a Ford"). Even though this is one of the shorter pieces we have had to read for this project, it is still easy to see the resemblance to the philosophies of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

"Nature never became a toy to a wise spirit. The flowers, the animals, the mountains, reflected the wisdom of his best hour, as much as they had delighted the simplicity of his childhood"("EMERSON - NATURE--Web Text."). Emerson wrote this in his essay "Nature" and I believe that it can relate to Whitman when he was writing his poem "Cavalry Crossing a Ford". Whitman is very descriptive and chooses his words well when speaking about nature and the men in his poem. He talks about the "silvery river" and "their arms flash in the sun"(Whitman, "Cavalry Crossing a Ford"). These are all very descriptive phrases and assists the reader in imagining the scene and beauty of nature through the soldiers' eyes.

"Cavalry Crossing A Ford by Walt Whitman." PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of Poems and Poets.. Poetry Search Engine. Web. 11 Feb. 2012.

"EMERSON - NATURE--Web Text." Virginia Commonwealth University. Web. 11 Feb. 2012.

Abraham Lincoln: Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865

Abraham Lincoln was voted for a second term probably because of how he handled the war that was between parts of our own country. In his "Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865" he reflects on why African Americans are as equal as caucasians."Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us judge not that we will be not judged"(Lincoln, "Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865"). This statement made by Lincoln is proving that in the end we are all the same and that God will not judge us on the color of our skin or the type of race we originate from, but from the actions we live by during our time on earth. Emerson and Thoreau were both part of the Transcendentalist movement and this quote and belief tie into nature very well. Everything lives and at the end of that life everything dies whether young or old. The circle of life is one of the biggest factors in nature.

"when a sixth of the population of a nation which has undertaken to be the refuge of liberty are slaves, and a whole country is unjustly overrun and conquered by a foreign army, and subjected to military law, I think that it is not too soon for honest men to rebel and revolutionize"(Thoreau, "Civil Disobedience"). Thoreau could not have said it any better. Back in 1775 Britain was rebelled against by men who thought that they deserved freedom from a tyrant of a nation. They had many supporters in this rebellion as do the slaves. Douglass, Lincoln, Thoreau, and many others believed the new nation to be hypocritical and did what they could to ensure that the constitution and Declaration of Independence was being carried out as they saw it ought to be. Others were so blind and ignorant to the freedom that was given to them that they forgot about the men that were forced to tend to the tobacco fields these recently freed men owned. Lincoln was not blind though and looked back on the hard and tiring work that occurred in giving the bound men their freedom and thanks the soldiers who fought for the right of freedom to the slaved. "let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting piece, among ourselves, and with all nations"(Lincoln, "Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865").

Like Lincoln, Emerson also believed that this was not the way the divine wanted it to be. "Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events"(Emerson, "Self-Reliance). These men believe that God has allowed these men to be free and that it should remain this way. Many men fought for the freedom of others and Lincoln connects to the beliefs of Emerson and Thoreau in his second inaugural address.

Emerson, Ralph W. "Self-Reliance." Ralph Waldo Emerson Texts. Web. 08 Feb.

Lincoln, Abraham. "Internet History Sourcebooks." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 09 Feb. 2012.

Thoreau, Henry D. "Thoreau: Civil Disobedience (DL SunSITE)." Berkeley Digital Library SunSITE. Web. 08 Feb. 2012.

The Meaning of the 4th of July for Negros

"The Meaning of July fourth for the Negro" by Frederick Douglass was written in 1852. With this speech being written during the Civil War it is very appropriate for what was going on at that time. The country was basically fighting over whether it should allow slaves or not. The entire essay is based on how hypocritical the celebration of the 4th of July is. The American citizens of this time celebrate over their freedom from the British yet they deny other human beings in the same country freedom. With emotion being a key factor in the transcendentalist style of writing, Douglass was able to hit a major emotion in guilt. Douglass made the white man feel bad for celebrating their freedom from Britain, while the African Americans were denied the same privilege. "Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?"(Douglass, "The Meaning of July fourth for the Negro"). America had fought so hard for its independence that it did not care what happened to the non-Americans living in the country.

The diplomatic and military disputes fall right into the philosophies of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. "How does it become a man to behave toward this American government today? I answer, that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it. I cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as my government which is the slave's government also" (Thoreau, "Civil Disobedience").Thoreau did not believe that his government could possibly be the same one that was working for the slaves because of how the slaves were treated. It is evident that Thoreau did not believe in or encourage the possession of another human being.“Speak what you think now in hard words, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said to-day”(Emerson, "Self-Reliance"). I think that this quote from Emerson is saying to not be afraid of changing what you thought right yesterday. Slavery may be a good thing for you today but will you wake up tomorrow thinking the same thing? Do not be afraid of what others may think, but go with what you feel is right. Most plantation owners fought to keep their slaves to the very end, but we do not hear about the men who let their slaves be free before the war. There are some owners out there who had done this and our country should be proud of these few. They gave up their workers and probably lost a lot of money for doing what was necessary and what they thought was right. you think now in hard words, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said to-day”(Emerson, Self-Reliance). I Douglass, Frederick. "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro by Frederick Douglass."History Is A Weapon. Web. 08 Feb. 2012.

Emerson, Ralph W. "Self-Reliance." Ralph Waldo Emerson Texts. Web. 08 Feb. 2012.

Thoreau, Henry D. "Thoreau: Civil Disobedience (DL SunSITE)." Berkeley Digital Library SunSITE. Web. 08 Feb. 2012. will you wake up tomorrow thinking the same thing? Do not be afraid of what others may think, but go with what you feel is right. Most plantation owners fought to keep their slaves to the very end, but we do not hear about the men who let their slaves be free before the war. There are some owners out there who had done this and our country should be proud of these few. They gave up their workers and probably lost a lot of money for doing what was necessary and what they thought was right.

Poe's Pit and the Pendulum

The short story "The Pit and the Pendulum" is very different from many of Edgar Allan Poe's other works of writing. I rather like this story because it does not end in someone's death or someone grieving over the loss of a loved one."The Pit and the Pendulum" actually has a rather happy ending. I like this short story because in the end the narrator does not die and we do not learn of any of his loved ones dying. Although there is a rather upsetting part of this story. The narrator is being held captive and has been punished to auto-da-fé, or “act of faith”—an execution normally taking the form of a hanging. This makes the reader both mad and upset for the narrator because we do not know for sure that this man has done anything wrong but during the Spanish Inquisition a person could be blamed for anything and punished to death. The strangeness that the narrator feels is also interesting to me. I do not know if the water or bread that he is given to eat has been drugged or if he is claustrophobic, but I think it odd how often the narrator just blacks out or falls asleep. The narrator in this story was also very clever though. He is able to determine that the pit in the middle of the room was very deep by throwing a rock down in and noting that time that the rock took to hit the bottom so he knew that it was not a way out. The narrator is also clever in the way of when he was strapped to the wooden board, with the pendulum scythe object swinging towards his heart, to think of taking the meat and use it to lure the rats to chew through the straps holding him to certain death. On the last "test" there is not really anything that he could do and he really just got lucky that the French had been able to end the Inquisition at the time that they did. "The story, however, holds out hope by demonstrating that true resolve when what someone chooses to do seems most impossible. When threatened by the pendulum, the narrator does not succumb to the swooning of his senses. He recruits his rational capacities and uses the hungry rats for his own benefit"("SparkNotes: Poe’s Shor..").

"At first the ravenous animals were startled and terrified at the change -- at the cessation of movement . They shrank alarmedly back; many sought the well. But this was only for a moment. I had not counted in vain upon their voracity"(Literature.org - The Online Literature Library). This quote from Poe's short story shows characteristics of Romanticism writings to me. "Nature was not only appreciated for its physical beauty by the Romantics, but also for its ability to help the urban man find his true identity"(Kartha, "Romanticism: Characteristics of Romanticism."). I think that nature is very important in this story because the savageness of wild rats saved the narrators life. The narrator does not appreciate the presence of his only companions in the dungeon but comes to realize what they are worth and how valuable the rats are.

Dark Romanticism was harder for me to identify in this short story."They believe that human beings were equally capable of evil and good"(Nair, "Dark Romanticism"). This is the only characteristic of Dark Romanticism that I was able to interpret from the short story. This man had been convicted of a petty crime or maybe he did something gruesome such as murdering someone. This is part of the equally good and evil. We do not really know if this man is good or bad but as a reader, we want to believe that the narrator is the good guy.

Nair, Tulika. "Dark Romanticism." Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. Web. 17 Jan. 2012.

Kartha, Deepa. "Romanticism: Characteristics of Romanticism." Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. 26 Sept. 2011. Web. 17 Jan. 2012.

"SparkNotes: Poe’s Short Stories: “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1843)." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. Web. 20 Jan. 2012.

Literature.org - The Online Literature Library. Web. 20 Jan. 2012.

Journal 24 When were you spooked?

One time I was spooked while seeing the movie Disturbia in theaters on Friday the 13th. It is not that the movie was particularly scary but the atmosphere of being Friday the 13th did give it a little more spookiness. The other time I was spooked was the last time I read an Edgar Allan Poe poem. I guess it was not as spookier as it was startling and I strongly believe that there has to have been something wrong with that man to be able to stand writing about sadness and death as much as he did. Another time I was spooked is when I was about ten years old and my brother and I were trying to pick a movie to watch while the parental figures were out of the house for a while. He decided on Dawn of the Dead and informed me that it was not a scary movie. Lets just say that I slept on the floor of my parents' bedroom for a week. But i do not think that it can measure up to the first time my brother made me sit down and watch Saw with him. Actually i think that my brother caused the part of my childhood in which I was afraid. Watching that Saw movie though did not just effect me and I think that it effected him even more, because I had a kid in high school sleeping in my Winnie the Pooh themed bedroom. I guess I have not had any serious scares like someone breaking into our house or someone I know being kidnapped or murdered so I am really lucky that way. I know a lot of people who have been at least robbed and it is a really scary thing to think about. There was that part of my childhood where I also thought that I heard something downstairs and I thought someone was coming to get me so I would sleep with my jr. Swiss Army knife sometimes. This all happened when I was very young and I am glad that this is not still continuing.