Blog 12

“I Will Fight No More Forever” was a speech written by Chief Joseph in 1877. Chief Joseph’s tribe were in a war with the U.S army. The  U.S. wanted Chief Joseph’s tribe, the Nez Perce to move into a reservation. They did not want to go there, so they tried to move to Canada instead.  They crossed through Idaho and Montana having to fight the United States Army the entire way. Many of Chief Joseph’s people died and he did not believe that it was worth all of his people dying. His speech “I Will Fight No More Forever” was actually Chief Joseph’s surrender speech. He gave it on October 5^th, 1877. In his speech, he says that he is “tired of fighting”. He does not like to see his friends from his tribe dying in this war. He has seen so many people die and he says that it is up to the young people to make it stop. He knows that if they move on, they will die because they do not have blankets and they will probably freeze.  In his speech, he says that he wants to see his children. He thinks that his children may be in trouble or in danger. He is afraid that they may be freezing to death.

I think that Chief Joseph valued human life. He did not think that it was worth it to be losing so many of his men in the war. He would rather surrender the war than fight and have more of his men die. I think that Chief Joseph is similar to Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau in the ways that they all value human life. They all believe that each individual person in important. I think that Chief Joseph and Emerson and Thoreau also have some conflicting opinions. Emerson and Thoreau both believe in fighting for what they believe in. They both wanted to fight the civil war and win because they did not like slavery and they wanted it to end. Chief Joseph, on the other hand believed that preserving the lives of his men was more important than fighting in the war.

Bibliography

Chief Joseph. "Chief Joseph." Welcome to Georgia State University. Web. 05 Mar. 2012.

Blog 11

“Two Views of a River” by Mark Twain refers to Mark Twain’s life when he was living on the Mississippi River. He talks about how he felt about the river when he first lived there. He talks about how his view of the river has changed over time. He says that he used to think that the river was beautiful when he first started living there. He talks about how he remembers a time when he was on the river and there was a beautiful sunset. “I stood like one bewitched. I drank it in, in a speechless rapture. The world was new to me, and I had never seen anything like this at home.” (Twain).  When Twain saw this beautiful sunset, he was amazed at it and he could not believe it. As his life carried on living on the river, however, he realizes that his initial awe for the river starts to fade away after living there for a while. He describes how he just becomes accustomed to everything and he gets used to the way the river is. “I had lost something which could never be restored to me while I lived. All the grace, the beauty, the poetry had gone out of the majestic river!” (Twain). Twain says that he had memorized every feature of the river and eventually, it stopped impressing him. The river itself had not changed, but his view of the river had. I understand what Mark Twain is saying when he says that he stops noticing the beauty of the river. He was working on the river and he began to focus so much on his job and his work on the river and he stopped thinking about how beautiful the river is. It’s like when you want something so badly and then when you get it, it turns out that it is not what you really wanted. Twain wanted to work on the river and it turns out when he got what he wanted he realized that he actually lost something very great.

“Two Views of a River” reminds me of Thoreau’s writing. Thoreau writes a lot about nature and this story by Mark Twain includes a lot of references to nature as he describes the river and the surrounding land.

Bibliography

Twain, Mark. "Two Ways of Seeing a River, by Mark Twain." About.com Grammar & Composition. Web. 05 Mar. 2012.

Blog 10

The short story "The Red Badge of Courage" by Stephen Crane is about a man who just joined in the military. He is fighting in the Civil War for the Union. The man’s name is Henry Fleming and the regiment that he has just joined has not done any fighting yet since he has joined. All that he has done so far is sit around and wait for the order to move. There have been rumors spreading that they are going to move soon and fight soon, but no official orders have been given. While he is sitting around Henry thinks about how good of a soldier he will be in battle and if he has the courage in him to fight. He fears that when the time comes, he will be a coward and run away. Finally, his regiment is called to fight. The first time that Henry fights, he feels like he is “ a cog in a machine”. He finds that even if he wanted to, he would not be able to run because he is packed in by all the other men in his regiment who are fighting alongside with him (Crane). The next time that his regiment is called to fight, Henry remembers the fear that he had in his last battle and he flees before it is too late. While he is running through the woods, he sees many wounded soldiers, even some who have familiar faces. He is jealous of these soldiers and their wounds because he feels that these wounds are “badges of courage” (Crane). He feels very guilty for leaving his regiment to fight without him, and regrets running. His regiment wins the battle without Henry and he is ashamed of himself. Henry watches the battle from a distance and when the other regiment is abandoning the battle, a soldier accidently hits Henry on the head with his gun, causing him to have a huge wound on his head. Henry pretends that his wound is a gunshot so that he does not feel like a coward. Stephen Crane and Ralph Waldo Emerson share the philosophy of freedom. Ralph Waldo Emerson writes about freedom a lot and I think that Stephen Crane also liked the idea of freedom because he wrote about a regiment fighting for the Union, which is the side that wanted to abolish slavery.

Bibliography
Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage. London: Penguin, 1994. Print.

Blog 9

“The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin is about a young woman, Louise Mallard, who lost her husband in a train accident. She was told the tragic news by her sister and her husband’s friend. When she heard the news, Louise was very devastated and she immediately started to sob uncontrollably. She cried a lot and then she went to her room to be by herself. As she is crying by herself in her room, a very strange feeling comes over her. She is looking out the window when she begins breathing very heavily and starts to repeat the word “free!” over and over again. At this point, Louise is realizing that now that her husband is dead, she does not have to live for him anymore. She realizes that men and women who are in a relationship are always living for each other and trying to control and change each other. Suddenly she is happy that she can now live for herself and she is looking forward to the rest of her life. She comes out of her room and meets her sister and her husband’s friend at the front door. Someone opens the door and Louise is shocked to see her husband walk through the door. Turns out, he did not make it on that train and he was not even aware that there had been an accident. Louise screams and ends up dying from a heart attack.

In the story, Louise thinks that men and women hold each other back when they are together and she looks forward to living the rest of her life for herself. Louise valued individualism and I believe that Kate Chopin also does since she writes about it. Ralph Waldo Emerson also values the individual. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Self Reliance”, he writes a lot about how it is important to be an individual and not conform to what other people are doing. “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” (Emerson). I think that Emerson’s beliefs that it is important not to conform with what everybody else is doing relates to Kate Chopin’s belief that living for yourself is better than living for someone else.

Bibliography

Chopin, Kate. ""The Story of an Hour"" Virginia Commonwealth University. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

Emerson, Ralph W. "Self Reliance." Emerson Central. Emerson Texts. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

Blog 8

The short story “A Wagner Matinee” by Willa Cather is about a boy who takes his aunt to an opera. He receives a letter in the mail that says that his aunt is visiting and to take care of her and keep her entertained. Clark lives in the city but he grew up in the country with his aunt. Clark loves his aunt. She taught him how to read and about music and many other things. She educated him so that he would be able to go live in the city. When his aunt visits, Clark decides to take her to the opera because he knows that she likes music and was educated in it when she was younger. When she goes to the opera, she gets very emotional because it reminds her of why she had to go live in the country away from her family. She used to be very wealthy, but she left that life to elope with her husband, who her family did not approve of. Clarks aunt leaving her wealthy family to pursue her own happiness reminds me of what Henry David Thoreau left his home to live by himself in the woods. He wanted to live by himself to escape society. He left on July Fourth saying that he was “symbolically declaring his independence from society” (Grant) . Henry David Thoreau decided to leave society because he believed that society was "ruined by luxury and heedless expense." (Grant). I think that what Thoreau and Clark’s aunt did was very similar and I think that they would each approve of what the other did. I think that they had similar reasons for leaving their homes. They both wanted to be more independent. I think that Clark’s aunt wanted to achieve independence from her family because they did not approve of her husband.  She did not want to deal with their disapproval so she eloped. She left her life of luxury and wealth for a life of hard work in the country just so she would be able to be with the one she loved. Thoreau was just tired of society being so focused on material things and things that he did not find important. He did not want to be associated with society because he disagreed with a lot of their values that they had. I think that Clark’s aunt and Henry David Thoreau probably shared a lot of beliefs.

Bibliography

Cather, Willa. "A Wagner Matinee." Willa Cather's Short Story:. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. 

Grant, P. B. "Individual and Society in Walden." McClinton-Temple, Jennifer ed. Encyclopedia ofThemes in Literature. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2011. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc

Blog 7

The short story “An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce was written during the time of the Civil War. This story describes the thoughts of a man, Peyton Fahrquhar, who was being hung for trying to blow up Owl Creek Bridge. Peyton Fahrquhar was a plantation owner who wanted to help his country during the time of the Civil War. That is why he blew up the bridge. He got some information from a soldier that the “Yanks” were fixing the railroads and bridges so that they could make another advance. The soldier told him that if any civilian messed with any bridges or railroads that they would be immediately hung. Fahrquhar of course thought that he would be able to get away with it and he wanted to be able to help the South out during the war, so he decided that he would try to burn down the bridge. Turns out, the soldiers who were advising Fahrquhar were actually Yanks. They had tricked Fahrquhar into trying to burn down the bridge, and they caught him doing it and hung him. This story is all about Fahrquhar’s thoughts as he is about to be hung. It shows how he imagines that he will escape his fate.

Ambrose Bierce was against slavery. He worked as a printers apprentice for an antislavery newspaper before fighting in the Civil War and eventually becoming a lieutenant. I think that Ambrose Bierce was against slavery because he wrote this story about a man who was a plantation owner and also owned slaves, being hung. “An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge” shows a couple soldiers from the North tricking this plantation owner into being hung. I think that his experience writing for an antislavery newspaper probably influenced his views. Ralph Waldo Emerson was also against slavery.  He believed that people should be equal. "All men have my blood, and I have all men's.” (Emerson). This quote from Emerson’s “Self Reliance” shows that Emerson believes that all men are kind of like brothers. I think that Emerson  feels the same way about slavery. He feels that all men should be treated the same, like family. I think that Emerson and Bierce both share this idea.  

Bibliography

Emerson, Ralph W. "Self-Reliance." Ralph Waldo Emerson Texts. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. 

Bierce, Ambrose. "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge" Page By Page Books. Read Classic Books Online, Free. Page By Page Books. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. 

Blog 6

When I was looking for Robert E. Lee’s letter to his son, I saw that he had written many letters to his family members. He wrote letters to his wife, sister and his son during the civil war.

In the letter that Robert E. Lee wrote to his son, he talked about how much he did not want the union to be divided. “It would be an accumulation of all the evils we complain of, and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation” (Lee). Robert E. Lee feels very strongly that the union should stay together.

Another thing that Robert E. Lee feels strongly about is that if a nation has to fight to preserve itself, then it is not a good nation anyways. Although Robert E. Lee feels that the nation should stay together, he does not think that it is worth it if he has to continue fighting for it. “Still, a Union that can only be maintained by swords and bayonets, and in which strife and civil war are to take the place of brotherly love and kindness, has no charm for me” (Lee).

In his letter, Robert E. Lee talks about how he is proud of his country and he says that he would do what ever it takes to defend it. “As an American citizen, I take great pride in my country, her prosperity and institutions, and would defend any state if her rights were invaded.” (Lee).

Robert E. Lee was fighting in the civil war so that his country could stay together and not be divided. Robert E. Lee was against slavery and so was Ralph Waldo Emerson. This is a philosophy that both of these men shared. Ralph Waldo Emerson believed that owning slaves and enslaving people was immoral and wrong. He did not own slaves and he had sympathy for the anti- slavery movement. “It was because the life of the American people was low,vulgar,mean, that slavery was possible” (Cooke). Emerson believed that people were valuable and that the only reason that slavery existed was because American people had very bad morals.



Bibliography

Cooke, George Willis. Ralph Waldo Emerson His Life, Writings, and Philosophy. Boston: J.R. Osgood and, 1881. Print.

Lee, Robert E. "Letter To His Son." 23 Jan. 1861. Wikispaces. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.