WILLIAM BRADFORD

Essential Question

What is Freedom?

Thesis

In an excerpt from William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation, although the Puritans experience hardship in their voyage to America, in their initial arrival and in their dealings with the Indians, they still maintain their reverence to God and to one another[their initial reason for fleeing England].

Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford- Passage

Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford: "In the meantime, the Pequots, especially in the winter before, sought to make peace with the Narragansetts, and used very pernicious arguments to move them thereunto: as that the English were strangers and began to overspread their country, and would deprive them thereof in time, if they were suffered to grow and increase. And if the Narragansetts did assist the English to subdue them, they did but make way for their own overthrow, for if they were rooted out, the English would soon take occasion to subjugate them. And if they would hearken to them they should not need to fear the strength of the English, for they would not come to open battle with them but fire their houses, kill their cattle, and lie in ambush for them as they went abroad upon their occasions; and all this they might easily do without any or little danger to themselves. The which course being held, they well saw the English could not long subsist but they would either be starved with hunger or be forced to forsake the country. With many the like things; insomuch that the Narragansetts were one wavering and were half minded to have made peace with them, and joined against the English. But again, when they considered how much wrong they had received from the Pequots, and what an opportunity they now had by the help of the English to right themselves; revenge was so sweet unto them as it pr4evailed above all the rest, so as they resolved to join with the English against them, and did."

Passage Explanation

I chose this passage due to the fact that it portrayed the Narragansetts as wise since they used strategic thinking. Although the Pequots tried to persuade them to join their side in the situation, they remembered how the Pequots had harmed them before. Considering this previous encounter, the Narragansetts decided to join with the Englishmen. They used common sense thinking and decided, "well why would we work with our enemy when we can work against them with somebody that has never even done anything to us". The choice that they had to make was very difficult because they had the Indians, which they were familiar with, and then they had all these strange, new faces as their other option. This one intelligent choice showed me that the Narragansetts were very smart people because they actually thought before they acted.

Diary Entry

I can not believe that the Narragansetts declined us. Those men are only here to destroy us, the land, and all the hard work that our ancestors and us have done here. Those things are not our friends. In order for us to continue living in peace we must get rid of them before they do away with us. We must not be obvious though; we must only bombard their camp site and destroy them. Us Pequots may have done harm to the Narragansetts before but in a time like this we need to come together as one; they may not be willing to honor their gods and people but all the Pequots are ready to sacrifice our lives for everything that our ancestors and gods have sacrificed for us. We will conquer and anything or anyone that stands in the way will go down with those beast!

Political Cartoon

Immigration is a massive issue in American society right now and especially with the Hispanic race. In this political cartoon, a man sitting at a counter says, "I'm against giving illegal aliens in this country any benefits". This remark shows his arrogance because America is suppose to be the land of opportunity for everyone but the Americans are not allowing freedoms to everyone. Also in the cartoon, are two Hispanic men who are cooks where the American man is dining. One Hispanic man ask the other Hispanic man, "Jose,what does this 'benefits mean'?" and the other man replies, " It is what we do for their economy for five bucks a day". These remarks show that even though the Hispanic man is working, he does not realize the benefits because he is not being rewarded properly. Also by the reply, one can see that the other Hispanic man sees the five dollars a day as being a benefit. The cartoon reinforces the fact that in America there is immigration issues but it even more says that the people of this country are not handling the situation in the proper manner.

~Connection:

This political cartoon relates to the exert we read because in both situations there are are groups of people that stereotype another group and due to this, they are unable to live and work in the same environment without some kind of hostility. In both situations the people did not even get to know the other one before they made assumptions. They did not even provide the chance to become friends and be able to except one another.

~Opinion:

If people would stop stereotyping and making silly assumptions, the world could be a much better and peaceful place. People do not think about how they could benefit each other before they decide that the other one is going to harm them or bring them down. In both situations they could have helped each other out. The Indians could have helped the Puritans with food and the Puritans could have provided the Indians with the information and knowledge of a different lifestyle. In addition, in the cartoon the American could have been more appreciative of the hard work of the Hispanics. I feel that before people start to make assumptions they should get to know them first.

What is Freedom?

For the Puritans, I think that freedom was religious. They fled from England so they could freely worship their god but once they got to America they noticed that they were not really free. They felt as if they were not free because of the savages(Indians). the only problem is that, I thought what they considered freedom was their right to God. So the question still remains, what is freedom and once you reach it, are you really free? I think not because there is always going to be something holding one back from the perfect freedom. Freedom may be ones dream but one must always remember that nothing is perfect.

ANNE BRADSTREET

Essential Question

What is Freedom?

"To My Dear and Loving Husband"

"To My Dear and Loving Husband"
by Anne Bradstreet

If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee, give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay,
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let's so persevere
That when we live no more, we may live ever."

http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bradstreet/bradhyp.htm

Poem Reflection

The poem "To My Dear and Loving Husband" by Anne Bradstreet impresses me the most out of all of the other poems because I am able to see her genuine love for her husband. In this poem she is expressing how much her husband means to her and that she would not trade his love for anything, not even the riches in the east. I really admire this because I believe that what she feels for her husband is true and a lot of women would trade love for riches any day. Also i like that she compared him to such expensive materials because this proves that she is human and does think about materialistic things opposed to only God. Anne Bradstreet brakes the rules of Puritan Doctrine and shows that she is human with emotions of doubt and desperation, which I really like. Finally I really admire this poem because i believe that in real relationships, no matter how great they are, there is always some kind of doubt and she is not afraid to say or show this in her written.

~Other Poems by Anne Bradstreet:

• Upon the Burning of our House http://www.puritansermons.com/poetry/anne13.htm
• In Reference to her Children http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/215.html

Diary Entry

Dear Love,
I just want to tell you that no matter what, I will always love you. I know that times are tough right now and you can not be home but i really miss you. I enjoy and cherish every moment that we share together. When you are away from me, I feel incomplete and like I am dying from starvation of your love. When you are around, nothing else makes me happier, not even Hollywood Boulevard, Melrose avenue, and Sunset Boulevard combined. My God, thank you for blessing me with this great man. I do not know what i would do without your love. All I live for is you. Also, so that i can work to get into the heavens up above. No persons' love can compare to the way that I feel for you because my love is unimaginable. I will forever love you, no matter how many miles away. The day that we became united as one, was the best day of my life. Oh, how much you mean to me! When will I be able to show you this love again? When will I be able to embrace you again? I will wait for you as long as it takes. God will make it all right for us, but right now, this is what satisfies Him. I Love You; till death do us part!

Political Cartoon

The plight of women has taken multiple years and is a very challenging task. In the political cartoon a sorrowful women is rocking in a rocking chair and clasping her arms around a roll that says "The ballot" like it is a baby. This shows that the women holding onto the roll like it is a baby because a women's baby is precious to her and so she is treating her desire of the ballot preciously too because it is what she has hope for. Anne Bradstreet relates to the cartoon because she also preciously holds onto what she loves, which is her husband's love and by using paradoxes like, "Then when we live no more, we will live ever" and "If ever two were one, then surely we" she reassures herself of that love. Also in the political cartoon, it says, "Hugging a delusion". This shows that this women's hope is just a fantasy because what she wishes for is a false idea. The cartoon furthermore relates to Anne Bradstreet because she wants her husband to always be around and there for her when she most needs him but that is a hallucination because it does not follow Puritan doctrine. Overall a person's sex and societal believes can really restrict him or her of their hopes and dreams.

What is Freedom?

The women's hopes were their freedoms because it is what would have made them happy. Freedom changes with each time period because society changes. In the past women's freedoms were voting and breaking traditions. Anne Bradstreet needed her husband to be around in order for her to be free because it is what she wanted and what would have made her comfortable. In reality every persons freedoms are their hopes, dreams, desires, and wishes, because it is what will satisfy them.

EDWARD TAYLOR

Thesis

In the poem "Huswifery" Edward Taylor shows the process for the desire of God's grace through conceit, rhyme,and imagery.

JONATHAN EDWARDS

Image Analysis

I chose these images because when I remembered the passage, I mostly remembered the fire, the hand of God holding everything by a single thread, and the analogy of dark storm clouds. I chose to add the blood to make the image more intense and I chose tear drops to express the pain and sorrow of the sinners. Also there is an image with a hand holding a key. This resembles the idea of the God holding the key of one's destiny. Furthermore, all the images are falling towards the fire because in the passage all the sinners were going to burn in the fiery pits of hell once God lets go of the thread.

http://www.piney.com/JonEdwSinHands.html

What is Freedom?

"Sinners in the hands of an Angry God" really relates to the question What is freeedom because it shows that people are never truly free since someone else is always in control.

OLIDAH EQUIANO

What is Freedom?

Freedom for Olidah Equiano, stated from the passage, would have been death or being able to stay in his country. The conditions of the ship was so horrible that he would have preferred death, just like many others. Another way for the slave to have had their freedom would have been for them to be able to stay with their family while still in servitude. Their freedom was to be comfortable, mostly what everybody considers freedom.

Political Cartoon

Racism creates injustice in the legal system, especially the courts. In the political cartoon there is a judge podium that says "Supreme Court" and a room on each side; the left room is labeled "white" and the right room is labeled "colored". This shows that there are racial divisions in the court system which suggests that the courts are biased, which does not truly promote justice. Further, the bias of the court indicates that the verdict is not true, which furthermore reveals an unjust court. Moreover, racism is exposed in the court system in the cartoon as the room labeled "white" is a jail cell inside, and the room labeled "colored" has an electric chair inside. This illustrates that the criminal's sentence is predetermined based on race and not the crime, which again reiterates unjust practices in the court system, and shows that the judicial process' ability to achieve justice is invalid. Finally, racism is one factor that unveils the court system of being unjust.

Story Corps

Revolutionary Montage