Political Cartoon/Reflection

People shouldn’t treat other people who are not like them like outcasts just because they speak a different language or have a different colored skin. In this political cartoon there are two Indians walking to some pilgrims and one Indian says, “They won’t learn the language, they’re not assimilating, they don’t look like us. I say—put ‘em back on the Mayflower!” This shows that the Indians are being compared to the Americans because the pilgrims came to the Indians’ native land and foreign immigrants come to the United States. Americans always complain and criticize about immigrants just because they don’t speak English well, they don’t assimilate, and look different while their forefathers did the same thing; travel to a different place to find a new start. Also, in the cartoon the Indians are carrying a turkey to the pilgrims. The pilgrims resemble the US and the Indians resemble immigrants because they want to work and people take advantage of them and give them labor. In the end, people are just people, regardless of anything besides what’s in the inside.

Entry A: William Bradford

1. 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 one another.

2. "Let them therefore praise the Lord, because He is good: and His mercies endure forever." "Yea, let them which have been redeemed of the Lord, show how He hath delivered them from the hand of the oppressor. When they wandered in the desert wilderness out of the way, and found no city to dwell in, both hungry and thirsty, their soul was overwhelmed in them. Let them confess before the Lord His loving kindness and His wonderful works before the sons of men."

3. In this passage, the puritans just landed ashore. They were glad and praised God for their safe journey across the sea. The only problem was right in front of them; there was nothing there. When they looked ahead and to their sides they saw trees and land and behind them was the sea. The reason why this passage impressed me the most is because when all hope is gone, the puritan's look up to God for salvation and find the strength to survive.

4. Dear Journal (November 1620),
The winds blew furiously and the waves crashed into our ship. We were all freezing cold and our hands and feet were numb. The icy water and cold gusts of winds sent shivers up our spine and made our teeth chatter. We were all relying on God to get us through the journey alive. When thought it couldn't get any worse, a huge wave crashed onto the deck knocked me off my feet. I slid across the deck and fell off the ship. Everything happened in seconds and I didn't even know what was happening. I just flailed my hands around trying to grab something when I caught onto something thin, like a rope. I opened my eyes and there it was, the rope. I tried with all the energy I had left to pull myself back onto the ship, but I couldn't. I was going to die. My eyes slowly started to close and I had lost all hope when I felt a tug. I thought I had just imagined it, but then there was another tug. I looked up and saw some people pull me up. When I got onto the deck, I lied there and praised God for the mercy he has given me. Then everything went black as I fell asleep.

Entry B. Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672)

4. "In Reference to her Children" impressed me the most. The reason why I liked this poem was because it was really laid back and didn't talk about anything disturbing or weird, unlike "Upon the Burning of my House" and "To My Dear and Loving Husband". I liked how she made the poem relate children leaving home to birds leaving their nests. To me, relating her poem to birds instead of her actual kids makes it less emotional and easier to read.

5. Dear Diary,
I am sitting here home alone. My children have left and my husband is away. I see it as if my role as a mother and wife has disappeared. I have nothing else to do while I am at home. Not many dishes to clean, no laundry, no picking up after kids, no anything. I hear no screaming and no footsteps of little children running around. The house is a bit too dreary, but there is nothing I can do about it. I guess I'll just go write another one of my poems...
-Anne Bradstreet

Women's Plight Political Cartoon

Women’s rights nowadays have increased since some years back, but they still face opposition. In this political cartoon there is a sign with an arrow that says “Women’s Rights”. This shows how women appear to have gained more rights since the earlier times, or have they? The suggestion of the spider and its web suggests some inactivity. Likewise, the subject of women have fewer rights or voice, arises in the writings and life of Anne Bradstreet, who, although she wrote poetry, needed to camoflauge her true feelings of fear, insecurity, intelligence amidst Puritan doctrine and subject or she would not be able write. Also, in this political cartoon there is a woman being dragged by a man in the opposite direction of the “Women’s Rights” sign. This explains how men oppose women’s rights and do not allow them to have the same privileges. Again, Bradstreet's poems were edited by others in order to be published; this suggests that, like the cartoon, she did not really have freedom of expression, but limited voice. Is it appearance vs. reality, or do women truly have equal footing with men?

Entry C: Edward Taylor (1645-1729)

Thesis: In the poem, "Huswifery", Edward Taylor uses diction, literary conceit and rhyme to convey that in order to gain God's grace, one must take care of your soul as you would take care of your house.

Reflection: I liked "Huswifery" because Edward Taylor uses parts of weaving to describe his evolution. Some words in the poem are hard to understand, but after analyzing them, I understood them much better. I also like how he used literary conceit to conceal God in his poem.