"Incidents in the life of a slave Girl"

Incidents in a Life of a Slave girl” relates to ethos and pathos because of the pain she feels throughout the whole story. The story was written by a slave named Linda but the author is Harriet Jacobs. This means that blacks weren’t allowed to be heard during this period of time. Linda had to go through a lot as child and she had to go through even more as she got older.

This story appeals to be ethos to me because Linda has to deal with the death of her mother, father and her mother’s mistress. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have that many people die in my life. This is very emotional because I feel that she shared a special bond with each one of them. Losing a mother is never easy for anyone, no matter how tough you are. So I know that Linda had to feel some type of sadness knowing that she would never see her mother again. Losing a father isn’t easy either I don’t know much about their relationship but I know that it isn’t easy. I think the death of her mother’s mistress had the biggest affect on her, considering she was the one who taught her how to read. The lady was like a mother to her. After all this Linda is sent to live with a new master and mistress.

When the mistress dies Linda is sent to live with Dr. Flint. This man was very cruel in my option. He is the kind of person that when he wants something done, he expects for it to be done now. He also seems like the type of person who wants everything to be done his way (my way or no way). If his food wasn’t cooked the way it ought to be he would stuff it down her throat and make her eat it. That’s just trifling in my option. Anyone who could do something like has no respect for others what so ever. These people were cold and heart-less. They would lock Linda up for days at a time while her baby was left alone. He also tries to have sexual intercourse with her numerous of times. She finally gives into him and his mistress gets jealous. The mistress is really petty, she would punish Linda for the things that the master would do.

Linda lived through the hardest times living with Dr. Flint. She survived through the beatings, the rape, the mistreating, and the disrespect that she didn’t deserve.

Learning to read and Write

In “Learning to Read and Write” Fredrick Douglass has to go through a lot just to learn how to read. It seemed like he went on a rollercoaster ride to learn just one thing. Although in those times slaves weren’t supposed to be learning that, Fredrick felt the need to. His Mater and Mistress didn’t know what they wanted to do they kept changing their minds. I think that the Mistress wanted to teach him but the Master didn’t approve of it so that’s why she stopped. The master felt that Fredrick was learning too much for his own good, but I just think that maybe his master was afraid that one day Fredrick would use his knowledge against him. This whole story relates to pathos because it is true. You can feel the determination that Fredrick has. You can also tell that he puts a lot of effort in to doing it as well.

Fredrick Douglass described his Mistress as kind and tender-hearted. I wonder what happened to make her change her character. In the beginning she was very willing to help him but as the story goes on he would get in trouble if he even thought about picking up a book. So he would find other ways to learn. As a young slave his Mistress taught him the alphabet and as he got older he wanted to learn more. It was like his mind was craving knowledge so he took his learning elsewhere. He started to ask white boys in his neighborhood to teach him what they had learned in school.

After learning how to read Fredrick felt the need to learn how to write as well. So he began to trick the neighborhood kids by giving them things in exchange for their knowledge on how to write. I guess you can say that Fredrick was trying to hustle the poor young boys, but I don’t think he cared. Knowledge was what he wanted and knowledge is what he was going to get. Every chance he got, he was somewhere reading a newspaper or writing something.

In the end all of his hard work paid off. He is now famous for many things. This has taught me to never give up. This also taught me that if you want something then go for it. Fredrick Douglass never let anything hold him back from doing what he wanted to do and I respect him for that.

"The Story of An Hour"

In “The Story of An Hour” Kate Chopin writes about a woman who is happy about her husband’s death. Her sister and her husband’s friend break the news to her because of heart problem. I don’t think people understand why she is so happy to find out the news about her husband

When her sister tells her about her husband Mrs. Mallard goes to her room to be alone. I think she does this so that no one would see her reaction to this tragedy. She described her feelings about the situation as being free. She says that her mind and body are free. I think that she feels free because she can now live for herself, she doesn’t have to worry about anyone else. At first she is upset about the news but a feeling comes over her and she describes that feeling to be joy. As she sits in her room thinking about her freedom her sister worries about her. They think that she will make herself sick by staying in the room.

She finally comes out the room where her sister waits for her. Mrs. Mallard walks out of the room like a “Goddess of victory”. This meaning that she walked as if she has just won something. As her and her sister walk upstairs someone walks through the door to their surprise it was Mr. Mallard. Their friend Richard tries to cover him up so that Mrs. Mallard won’t be overwhelmed by the sight of her supposes to be dead husband. But it is too late. Mr. Mallard walks in to find his wife dead.

In the end the doctors say that she died from a disease of the joy that kills. Does this mean that she was so happy about the death of her husband that it killed her? Or does this mean that she was so happy that he walked through the door alive that it killed her? Either way I think that Mrs. Mallard’s sister and their friend killed her because they didn’t know all the fact of his death. They should have wait till they knew for sure.

"Aren't I a Woman"

Sojourner Truth is a Former slave who wrote the speech “Aren’t I a Woman”. In the speech written by Sojourner Truth she makes many errors but in the one written by Frances Gage is written with more understanding. This makes me wonder if Frances Gage wrote his version to help people in the present day better understand the speech or was it written to make Sojourner Truth’s version look uneducated. Both versions of the speech have power and express the words and feelings of an angry black woman.

In the version by Frances Gage uses a lot of punctuations such as questions marks and quotations. His version is more understandable than Truth’s. He explains everything that happens while she is saying the speech. There are actions and movements that she makes and Frances Gage writes down every move she makes. His version helps you to understand how they audience is reacting to her word and how it affects them. The speech talks about how the black women are treated. She starts off by coming at the white men saying how they might feel about men from the south and the women from the north talking about their rights. In the next part she begins to turn the attention not to jus white men but all men. She explains to her audience that she can do just as much as a man can, if not more. She has been through a lot including losing her children to slavery. Men don’t have to birth babies and watch them be snatched out of their hands seconds later.

In the next 2 parts of her speech she talks about religion. People say that women aren’t equal to men because Christ is not a woman. She explains to everyone that Christ was created by God and a Woman who is known as Mary. If it wasn’t for Mary, Christ would not exist. Women have contributed to the world and the religious world just as much as men have. She continues on to say that if one woman who is Eve could turn the world upside down then they could turn it right side up and make women’s rights equal to men’s.

At the end of Frances Gage’s version he described the people’s reactions to her words. Everyone seemed to understand how she was feeling and what she was trying to say. She spoke out for all women including herself and Aren’t she a woman for that.

"The Wz"

“The Wiz” is a remake of The Wizard of OZ. This is a fictional movie about a kindergarten teacher named Dorothy who is brought to Munchkin land by a snowstorm. Munchkin land is a like a dream/nightmare that Dorothy is having. This place and the people she meets there help her to find her independence and how to deal with pressure of her family. She uses independence to try to find her way home.

The first person Dorothy meets is the Scarecrow. When she finds him he is being teased by crows because he doesn’t have a brain and is not able to get down from the pole. Dorothy helps him down and invites him to join her on her trip to see the OZ, so that she can get home and he can get a brain. By helping the scare crow she learns how to think for herself. Together they find the yellow brick road which represented a way out. The next person they meet is the tin man. They find him in an amusement park, where he is rusted. Dorothy and the scarecrow help him by finding his oil can. The tin man needs a heart so they invite him to join them on their journey to find The Wiz. By helping the tin man I think Dorothy learned how to care for someone other than herself. The next person they met along their journey was the lion. The lion was a big scary creature but he had no courage. He was afraid of a lot of things, so they asked him to join them on heir trip to see the Wiz. By helping the lion Dorothy learned to be brave and in control.

In this movie Dorothy learns how to stand up for herself and others. By the beginning of the movie Dorothy aunt teases her about moving out and changing her profession so that she go out in be in the real world by herself. I think that by the end of the movies Dorothy is ready to explore the world by herself.

Desiree's Baby

The short story “Desiree’s Baby” is a love story about race and slavery. The story starts off with Desiree’s mother Madame Valmonde telling the story. It then ends with the thoughts of Desiree and her husband Armand. Desiree is the protagonist in this story because she’s the mother of the black baby. Armand is the Antagonist because he accuses Desiree of being black and of ruining his name in Louisiana.

Armand and Desiree are married with a baby boy. It seemed like it was love at first sight. Armand was in love with his wife and his baby. Desiree thought that he was so happy because it was a boy but Armand denied that. In the beginning they had a good marriage until the baby got older. When the baby got to be 3months old Armand began to change. He began to ignore her and treat her differently. One day Armand comes in the house and Desiree asks him what’s wrong with the baby and why he looks like that. Armand ignores her few times but then finally answers and says “he is not white …you are not white”. Desiree denies this accusation but her husband was not trying to hear her. Desiree quickly writes to her mother asking her if she is black but her mother replies and tells her to come home. Desiree goes to Armand and shows him the letter from her mother telling her to come home. Armand tells her to go so she leaves. Armand is upset so he burns everything that was in the house of her.

While burning things he finds a letter from his mother saying that she is grateful for the life that God has blessed her with and hopes that Armand will never find out that he is cursed with a mother who was born of slavery. So in the end Desiree was not the one who was black it was Armand who was. He made such a big deal about it and blew things way out of proportion. Burning her things was very unnecessary but I think he did it because he was hurt. Even though Armand did all of this Desiree still loved him. So in conclusion Armand wan left alone with no wife and no baby.

Phillis Wheatley (incomplete)

Phillis Wheatley was a black slave who was brought to Boston. Her owners were Susannah Wheatley and John Wheatley. Phillis was a very intelligent child. Mrs. Wheatley taught her how to read and write. It was just a matter of time before she began to read Latin, bible verses and English poems. She later went to London but returned home shortly after because Mrs. Wheatley was dying. She ended up dying in 1774 and john Wheatley died 4 years later. Phillis Wheatley was either 19 or 20 when her poems published in London.

The poem “On Being Brought from Arica in America” she was expressing how going to American made her except Christianity. She also expresses the change from Africa to America. In the poem “To His Excellency General Washington“ Wheatley wrote to George Washington telling him that the British want freedom.

Huswifery

The poem Huswifery by Edward Taylor is written in ethos style. This poem is very emotional and straight to the point. The writer seems to have a tone of hope for the future; he wants God to give him a purpose. There are many metaphors used in this poem which makes it more interesting. The mood of this poem is joy that he serves the God he serves. The theme of this poem is that if you give your life to God and he is number one in your life you be accepted into heaven,

In this poem Edward Taylor compares house work to his work of God. When he said “thy holy worde my distaff makes for mee he meant to have God supply him with needs. This poem sound like it could be a prayer instead of a poem. He asks God to help him with affection, judgment, conscience, and memory. He feels strongly about God and his religion. Taylor turned his life over to God.

sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

This passage is very emotional. The writer feels very strongly about his religion and the
way the Israelites act. Ethos is the style of this writing. He also uses imagery to get his point
across. The Israelites are known as God’s visible people. They were believed to be sinners.
They were wicked and bitter people. They were always the cause of destruction. This is a
sermon about a Christian’s opinion of hell. The writer wants to prove to his readers and
listeners that hell is a real place. That God has given us the chance to be forgiven for our sins, and that’s why most people are saved from not going to hell. Many people are uncertain of God’s power and his existence. He is trying to express the need of the Christian lifestyle. He also tries to convince them to leave their old ways and convert into the Christian ways.

God chose not to send some of the sinners to hell. Jonathan Edwards talks about the pain and horror that sinners will have going to hell. He describes hell to be a bottomless pit that is full of fire that God holds you over. The devil stands ready to fall upon them and take them as his own and God will be willing to let him. Hell opens its mouth to receive the sinners so that they will be swallowed and lost forever. Being saved and turning your life over to God is the way to have life after death. God will not put up with people who don’t believe in him so when their time comes God will just watch them fall. He will have no pity for them, if they cry with loud voices he will act as though he doesn’t hear them.

I think that Edwards really got to his audience with this sermon. He scares his audience by saying “I will tread them in mine anger, and will trample them with my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments (Is.63:3). At the end of the sermon after putting the sinners down and scaring them with his view of hell, he reaches out to the sinners trying to make them follow Gods path. He asks his audiences are their souls as precious as the people in Suffield rejoice day to day for their Christ. I think this sermon opened up a better understanding to being a Christian and being a sinner. If you are a Christian then you are protected by God. If you’re a sinner the devil is waiting to make you one of his.

I am convinced that he wrote this sermon out of love for his people and his God. He is encouraging them to be reborn by Christ and become righteous before Christ.

The Malhado’s way of life is a little weird to me. Many of these people are tall and built. They live on an island from October to the end of February. They also love their offspring’s. If a son dies the whole village joins the family in weeping. The funeral occurs after a year of mourning. All of the dead is buried except for the medicine-man. Everyone dances and celebrates until the medicine-man becomes powder. A year later His powder is presented as water that his relatives drink. Each man has wife except for the medicine-man. He has two or three wives a piece. When a daughter gets married she must take everything that her husband hunts or catches to her father’s house. The mother and father of the daughter never enter the husband’s house after the marriage. The Brides are welcome to spend time with the family of the husband.

In a house where a son or brother may have died no one is allowed to leave their house for 3months. This causes hunger in most of the houses. Three months out of every year for them they eat oysters and very bad water. Their houses are made of mats and their floor is made of oyster shells. They sleep in animal skin. These Indians stay naked except for the women who cover some parts of their body with wool that grows from trees. Their damsels dress in deerskin. They speak 2 different languages which are Capoque and Han.

The Avavares dig their own food and carry their own loads of wood and water. These Indians go naked all day and cover up at night. They don’t much food. If they were ever caught eating roasted food they would steal it from their hands. Most Indians probably wouldn’t try because they were in such a bad condition that roasted food would have caused them pain. They could digest raw food better. They also shed their skin twice a year. The sun and the air made sores on their bodies and heavy load caused cords to cut their arms.

On the island of doom the men don’t sleep with their wives from the time they find out their pregnant to two years after giving birth. This was a land of poverty so they would go many days without eating that’s why children were breast fed until they are twelve. Men sometimes leave their wives after an argument and return when they please, this is only for men with children. Family men are never to abandon their wives. If Indians are to get into a disagreement they are to fist fight until they are tired. After the fight they go live apart from each other for a while then return as friends. The Indians and the Christians have many arguments. The Christians tried to make slaves out of the Indians.

The Iroquois

The Iroquois never had myth. David Cusick was the first to record one on his people. It is called the “A Tale of the Foundation of the Great Islands, the Two Infants Born, and the creation of the Universe. This writer is using logos to catch the attention of the audience. The central contention of this passage is the two twin brothers fighting about the creation of earth. The story begins with the lower world and the upper world.

A woman has two twin boys who are born and raised in darkness. One’s name was Enigorio, who was the good mind and Enigonhahetgea, the bad mind. The good mind decided not to stay in the dark so he decided to create light. He created light from the sun, light from the moon and light from the stars. The bad mind was not too pleased with this but the good mind continued to create things. He made rivers, animals, forests, and fish. After creating the universe he felt like something was missing so that’s when he decided to create male and female. He named them Ea-gwe-howe which means real people. The good mind created thunder and rain to make the island more fruitful. The bad mind tried to do the same thing as his brother and create human life but he failed to do that. With the bad mind getting irritated by his brother he decides to challenge him. Whoever gains victory will govern the universe. The good mind accepts his challenge. The battle lasted for 2 days and the good mind ended up winning by crushing his brother into the earth. The bad mind’s last words were that he would equal power over the souls of the universe after death. At the end the bad mind sinks into the ground and becomes the evil spirit and the good mind retires from earth.

The next story is Pima stories of the beginning of the world. The Pimas got their name from the Spanish. Most Pimas are Christians. This passage also uses logos to catch the reader’s attention. The central contention is that Juhwertamahkai can’t seem to make the men and women the way he want s to make them. So he keeps recreating them until he is satisfied with the results.

In the beginning there was no earth, there was only one person whose name was Juh-wert-a-Mah-kai. He created the world by holding out his perspiration and tipping over 4 times. The first thing he mad was a bush for ants. Then he created a bigger bush that he was able to fit in. The next thing he created was a person. He made him with the shadow of his eyes. He created this human to help him with creating tree, humans and everything else that needed to be done on earth. The next thing he created was the sun, but in order to create the sun he first need water. After creating the sun he places in the east because it wouldn’t work anywhere else, as well as the moon. Next he created the star by putting water in his mouth and spurted it into the sky. After doing this the stars weren’t bright enough so he took stones and mixed them in with the water. After created his world with man and women who never grew old Juhwertamahkai realized that all there wasn’t enough food so the human began eating each other. Juhwertamahkai doesn’t like this so he lets the sky fall on them and kill them all. He then recreates man and women but this time they all turn gray. He didn’t like them gray so he let the sky fall on them once again. In conclusion he ended up making the world the way it is today.

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus set out to find a route to Asia in 1492.Many of his voyages were disaster and disappointments. Christopher left many of his settlers behind on the Island of Hispaniola. The settlers demanded gold and sexual partners as a homecoming gift. On Columbus’s third voyage he traveled to South American mainland which brought him closer to paradise. But once he got back to Hispaniola he was arrested. He later died after his fourth voyage. There was a journal summary written by Bartolome de las Casa.

The letter from Columbus to Luis de Santangel was regarding the first voyage, it was written at sea on February 15, 1493. It had been Thirty-three days when Columbus and his crew had found many little islands filled with people. He decided to give the islands names. He named the first island San Salvador, the second one Isla de Santa Maria de Con ceroidon, the third Fernandina, the fourth one was named Isabella, and the fifth one was named Juana. Columbus was determined to find big cities on these islands so he traveled eastward until he found another island that he named Espanola. On the island there were many rivers and trees that were so high they looked as if they were touching the sky. The land was high with many sierras and very lofty mountains. There were also birds and fruits of much diversity.

The Letter from Columbus to Ferdinand and Isabella is talking about his fourth voyage, which he wrote in Jamaica on July 7, 1503. In the beginning of the letter he talks about his crew and how they have gotten sick. He demands that whoever did this to them to come forward. Columbus was later made a prisoner while waiting on ships to come rescue him. He started his voyage at age twenty-one and is now ended it with gray hair. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was son of the village alderman. He watches Columbus in chains passing through Cadiz. Cabeza de Vaca took 600 man to Hispaniola where a quarter of the left and then to Cuba where 2 of his ships were lost in a hurricane. He told the rest of his crew that for now on it would be every man for himself. The other rafts were wrecked on Galveston Island.

After that there was only Cabeza de Vaca and 3 other men who survived the wreck. He spent his first 2 years as a prisoner of the Han Capoque clans of the Karankawa Indians. The Indians took them north where they gained power. He was arrested again by the Christians. That sent him south where he was able to lead an expedition to the new world. After the expedition he was forbidden to return to America.

Diction

A Maple Tree like a syrupy dog.