Whittier and Wheatley

     Whittier was an abolitionist. Wheatley was once a slave. What have they in common? They are both passionate and expressive through their work. However, they lived separate lives in different centuries and thus are very different authors. Whittier wrote a poem called The Hunters of Men. In this poem, he writes about men chasing down slaves who have run away from their owners. He writes: “Oh! Goodly and grand is our hunting to see,/In this “land of the brave and this home of the free.”/Priest, warrior, and statesman, from Georgia to Maine,/All mounting the saddle- all grasping the iron-/Right merrily hunting the black man, whose sin/Is the curl of his hair and the hue of his skin!” He uses the motto the “land of the brave and this home of the free”  to emphasize that there were multitudes of people who identified with that motto and yet their actions proved that they were no better than the British. They claimed that they lived in the land of the free and chased down slaves who they didn’t feel were worthy of freedom.  He points out how even those who aren’t expected to behave so appallingly join in on the hunt of the slaves. He says of women: “And woman- kind woman- wife, widow and maid-/For the good of the hunted, is lending her aid:/Her foot’s in the stirrup- her hand on the rein-/How blithely she rides to the hunting of me!” The picture he paints shows how inhumane people become when they are involved in the slave hunt.
    Wheatley wrote a poem titled On Being Brought from Africa to America. She wrote: “Twas mercy bought me from my pagan land,/ Taught my benighted soul to understand/ That there’s a God, that there’s a Savior too.” She puts a positive perspective on her past as a slave, for it brought her to her Christian faith. What’s more, she doesn’t take her past lightly. She uses her story and knowledge to try to change the world for the better. Many people admired her and were drawn to her work; for few had read the work of a slave before. Her poem of encouragement to Washington was considered to be highly influential. She wrote: “Proceed, great chief, with virtue on thy side,/ They every action let the goddess guide./ A crown, a mansion, and a throne that shine,/ With gold unfading, Washington! Be thine.” While the Americans were struggling, she believed in their leader and this poem could have determined Washington’s own attitude toward the fight. Needless to say, Whittier and Wheatley were both influential in their time. I think that they both had a common quality for fighting for what they believed in that altered the world at that time.

As Unusual As Their Names...Fern and Poe

    Fanny Fern and Edgar Allen Poe have completely different writing styles and were entertaining in their own way. While Poe wrote using vivid imagery that paints a scary story quite effectively, Fern was relatively straightforward which was refreshing. Rather than being hung up on the wording, her phrasing is exactly what makes it enjoyable. She writes with such energy and insight. She says: “Whether ladies can write novels or not, is a question I do not intend to discuss; but that some of them have no difficulty in finding either publishers or readers, is a matter of history; and that gentlemen often write over feminine signatures would seem also to argue that feminine literature is, after all, in good odor with the reading public.” I love that she uses fact to support her claims and the fact of the matter was that women’s work sold. Period. I also enjoyed her work, A Law More Nice Than Just, which described the inconveniences of women’s society enforced apparel. The fictional character of Mrs. Fanny Fern says, “But oh, the delicious freedom of that walk, after we were well started! No skirts to hold up, or to draggle their wet folds against my ankles; no stifling vail flapping in my face, and blinding my eyes; no umbrella to turn inside out, but instead, the cool rain driving slap into my face, and the resurrectionized blood coursing through my veins, and tingling in my cheeks.”  I can imagine that many women both enjoyed and were shocked to read about a lady who was determined to live her life the way she wanted, making the best of inconveniences that they themselves had to endure.
    Poe’s work has gathered quite a fan base over time. There were not many from his time that wrote with such intensity and suspenseful descriptions that made you feel as if you are right along side the character. He writes in The Fall of the House of Usher: “While I gazed, this fissure rapidly widened-- there came a fierce breath of the whirlwind-- the entire orb of the satellite burst at once upon my sight-- my brain reeled as I saw the mighty walls rushing asunder-- there was a long tumultuous shouting sound like the voice of a thousand waters-- and the deep and dank tarn at my feet closed sullenly and silently over the fragments of the “House of Usher.” That last sentence is arguably one of the most gripping descriptions I’ve read. Over all, I felt as though Poe and Fern were unusual authors and I liked them all the more because of it.

Capturing interest through fiction: Hawthorne and Irving

    Nathaniel Hawthorne and Washington Irving undoubtedly capture the reader’s attention through their work. Yes, there were a few parts that seemed to linger here and there. However, after pushing past the complicated, old-fashioned phrasing of a few sentences that slowed me down, I found myself once again engaged in their stories. The difference between the two would be that Hawthorne had a moral message tied into the story whereas Irving’s did not.
    Hawthorne’s, The Birthmark, stirred me the most. I was quite enraged with Aylmer’s character from beginning to end. His relentless pursuit for perfecting his beautiful wife was absolutely disgusting and pathetic. He could not see past the physical appearance of Georgiana and his scientific work in his lab was obsessive in the sincerest form.  He talks of nothing else with her: “Fear not, dearest!” exclaimed he, “Do not shrink from me! Believe me, Georgiana, I even rejoice in this single imperfection, since it will be such rapture to remove it.”
    “Oh, spare me!” sadly replied his wife-- “Pray do not look at it again. I never can forget that convulsive shudder.”
    Georgiana is clearly distressed over the birthmark she has had since birth and her husband's reaction toward it, yet Aylmer cannot look past it. He says she is noble to undergo his plans of removing it and praises her for it. Although I sympathize with Georgiana and like her character, I am disappointed that she is so blinded by his madness. She believes his love to be true in his own strange way. Georgiana even worships him for his intelligence. She says of his work:“It has made me worship you more than ever,” said she.
    “Ah! Wait for this one success,” rejoined he, “Then worship me if you will. I shall deem myself hardly unworthy of it. But, come! I have sought you for the luxury of your voice. Sing to me, dearest!”
    Again, we see Aylmer’s selfishness. Not only does he not try to stop her from worshiping him, but he also demands her to perform for him to help him relax from his efforts of removing her one physical flaw. What a jerk! In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the main character, Ichabod Crane, is similar to Aylmer in that he is not the typical romantic hero portrayed in other stories. He is a poor school master who falls for Katrina for her beauty, and even more for her money. “Ichabod Crane had a soft and foolish heart toward the sex; and it is not to be wondered at, that so tempting a morsel son found favour in his eyes, more especially after he had visited her in her paternal mansion.” He was most interested in her father’s riches. These two are real winners…not.
    Overall, I believe Hawthorne was trying to tell his readers through this story that all of humanity is imperfect and that the only way to be rid of our flaws is through death as we become detached from our bodies and one with our soul. He shows that Georgiana is rid of her birthmark as she is dying and Aylmer sees her beauty as it fades away.Washington Irving’s story was entertaining and had romance and suspense intertwined in the spooky tale. However, I did not take away a moral message when I finished reading it.