The Iroquois Creation Story

The Iroquois Creation Story deals with beginnings of the world. Full of imagery and nature and animals.

The story starts with a women being pregnant with twins and resting. While sleeping she starts to fall into the world of darkness but lands safely on the back of a turtle. This woman is pregnant with twins, the evil of the two bursts through her side instead of being born normally. The twins both live without the mother. the good twin wants to bring light and the evil twin wants the land to stay the way it is. The good twin uses the mothers head for the sun. After some time the two twins fight, each one reveling what will kill them: "Which [the good twin] falsely mentions that by whipping with flags would destroy his temporal life... [the evil twin] relates by the use of deer horns, beating his body he would expire (20-21).". They fight and the good twin wins and the evil twin becomes the Evil Spirit.

This story is interesting because of how late it was recorded. In oral traditions a story changes along with it's narrators. In this case I'll point out that the good twin lies and says that flags will kill him. What is the subtext in post Columbus America? That the good will win but with lies about their weakness, so in order to win one must not be honest about their weaknesses. The part about flags killing a person is directly related to the influence of European cultures on the Native Americans.



<---Good





<---Evil

Cabeza De Vaca

Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca: The Relation of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca

To big to link but here is the Route Cabeza de Vaca took.

"We got so angry that we went off forgetting the many Turkish-shaped bows, the many pouches, and the five emerald arrow-heads, etc. (47)"

De Vaca had a fantastic story starting with slavers then being abandoned and shipwrecked and forced to wander in the desert and rely on natives for help, who would then enslave him, and finally finding other spanish slavers.

The real question is why was the one telling the story if he was not leading? Because, he was from a famous family. This is probably why he was able to make peace with the Spanish slavers since they would know who he was. Of course he had to act the part of being betrayed in order to save his families name, but the fact that he got all the above items is proof they had some kind of deal in works. Maybe it was payment for the food, or payment in advance for the slaves.

But for sure I can say De Vaca wanted out of the desert. After being in a miserable condition for years he would have, and did, jump at the chance to get out by betraying his followers. But the way De Vaca tells the story makes for a more interesting, but less real, ending to a tale about the hardship and survival.

Columbus and his Mayflower

Christopher Columbus: His letters

"... [I] found an infinity of small hamlets and people without number, but nothing of importance. (33)"

Columbus was Last, that is why he did not find anything of importance. The natives were already decimated and fearful of outsiders. Besides the reason Columbus went was to find wealth.

Although we know nothing of his birth or really anything about him before 1492, lots can be said about afterwards. Even if he was the last to go over and went for all the wrong reasons his adventure made headlines. And now people "knew" there was a whole new world out there and would soon flock over in greater number to exploit it. So in a way Columbus did make a substantial event, even though he did not discover anything, but it lead to the destruction of the Native Americans in the process.

His letters were all about selling America as a place that could be exploited. Columbus mentions how beautiful the land is but nothing about the people except that there is a lot of them. And his letter from the fourth voyage is him pleading to be excused for his actions and let out of prison in Jamaica. So in a way he is selling himself as an important resource that should be secured.

Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower

Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower

Some odd facts, first this is a Plymouth Rock.
<-----


And also that, "The City of Berkeley was named by Frederick Billings while he stood at Founder's Rock in 1866. One of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the U.S. was in Plymouth, MA in 1621. The town of Plymouth was found at the landing site of the Mayflower (link)."

In the reading of Mayflower one of the most apparent things is how unexceptional America was to the Puritans, "The grassy fields and open forests were, in Winslow's words, "like many places in England. (107)" Maybe they were saying how this place made them feel welcome, or was like the nice areas in England, but this is not so. They are downplaying this on purpose. Because, if they write about how wonderful America is then like John Smith's book to them, others will flock to America seeking the same bounty. Basically the conquerors do not want competition and the easiest way to do this is to not say how rich the land is, or how the natives are friendly and intelligent, or just how much better (or how much less) the pollution is.

All of this tale shows how one sided the views were towards the natives, "fell to discoursing of England. He had said now "King James his man." As a consequence, the French were no longer welcome in Narraganset bay, (108)" because if they had heard of King James before they would surely be his followers sooner. And the insults about the lice and fleas in the Indian tents and how "Massasoit was "both grieved and ashamed that he could no better entertain" both on page 109. Clearly the Puritan's are showing their own biases by not saying anything good about what Massasoit could provide, but instead being poor guests. Why else who you talk trash and down play someone's generosity.

William Bradford

William Bradford, History of Plymouth Plantation.


"What could now sustain them but the spirit of God and His grace? may not and ought not the children of these fathers rightly say: 'Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean and were ready to perish in this wilderness...' (116)," by William Bradford.

Right from the beginning of the History we can see that Bradford is painting a picture in his favor. He has left out anything that would make them seem less important or their journey less hard.

The result is a tale that involves a lot of God and lot of information left out for, "...that I may be brief.. (115)." To not belabor the points that Loewen makes about the truths of the Pilgrims and the danger of teaching history this way let me give a real world example of how far some people will take things if they think that the writings are correct. Don't be scared off by Rush either.

The REAL Pilgrims Story - First Socialism Experiment FAILS

The problem (one among many) is that they accept Bradford's accounts and History as truth and not a history written with an obvious slant. A false or misleading history will cause others to paint their incorrect pictures of events. a good example is the website http://www.deepestfeelings.com/holidays/thanksgiving/history.shtml
and their quotes, "The local Indians were also non-hostile" and "Somehow they were saved by a group of local Native Americans who befriended them and helped them with food." Loewen is screaming in my ear about what is wrong with these statements, but I just wish to show how far Bradford's History is taken and how much more is invented upon it.

The History is not all fiction is does deal with what Bradford felt and the events that happened on the way there, during the landing, and building the town. However, it leaves out too much and includes too much as well. There is no mention of Bradford's wife, but we get a detailed story about a sailor who died after cursing the Pilgrim's, and a story about another two men where one was dieing gave his stuff to the other in exchange for spice so he could have a final meal but the other man went around talking about how he was cheated until the first died that morning.

It is just me but I would like to know more about this village they found stuff in, or about how they traded to make money or really anything other than how God provided for them. Which is all good and well but if Bradford showed us how the Lord provided or gave details I would be more inclined to believe that what was written would be the truth.

Anne Bradstreet

Anne Bradstreet, Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666

"Yea, so it was, and 'twas just
It was His own, it was not mine
...
When by the ruins oft I past
My sorrowing eyes aside did cast,
...
Adieu, Adieu, all's vanity.
...
Yet, by His gift is made thine own:
There's wealth enough, I need no more.
Farewell, my pelf, farewell my store."

The last line is the window to Bradstreet's mind since it shows that she thinks of her belongings as pelf, or stolen/falsely gained goods.

But almost more interesting than that is the fact that she had written this, "after the burning of her house when she lost her personal library of 800 books. (link)"

As she is lamenting the loss of her things she makes no attempt to hold onto the memory or any part of the items she lost. She consoles herself by saying they were all God's things that she had stole and hid up, but still we can see the sorrow in her writings because she did enjoy having the books.

With just a little more history, a poem can take on a whole new meaning. Perhaps, this poem was a way for her to reconcile the events that she perceived as God's judgment on her store or as a way to let go on the attachment she once had on her books that are now burnt.

Not blaming God for doing what is considered to be an "act of God" is a common theme among her poems. After coming all the way to America and trying to concive 8 times, having a child die as well, she does not blame or question God for allowing these events to happen. In this writters view, her poems are with blame: things happen and times are hard, but no one is to blame for them happening.

Phillis Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley, poetry

"Other

wise, perhaps, the Israelites had been less solicitous for their Freedom from Egyptian Slavery: I don't say they would have been contented without it, by no Means

, for in every human Breast, God has implanted a Principle, which we call Love of freedom..." by Phillis Wheatley

She was sold into slavery at 7 and then bought by the Wheatley's who trained her to read and write. She wrote many poems and letters had three children who all died and a husband of dubious character. But the lasting question is not about her stance of slavery but did she really write all her poems.

The question of authenticity is important because it helps to establish the author as reputable and thus prove their work to be "good" from the writers honesty. The reason this is important is because it shows how society in general accepts the previously held notions of what someone from some group is capable of. I mean that the question over if she wrote this or did not is really saying: could a black slave in that era be educated and write poetry. In a way it is an examination of racism and at the other end exploitation of a black girl by her owners.

Olaudah Equiano, Narrative of the Life

Olaudah Equiano, Narrative of the Life

The narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano details his peaceful existence in Africa for the first eleven years of his life until 

he is kidnapped and sold into slavery. From here he gives a very detailed account of what happened to the other slaves and 

the conditions they were in and suffered through with him. He continues on though and learns to read and how to trade

until he can afford the 40 pounds to buy his freedom.

The most riveting part of the narrative is on page 687 when he describes the headgear a woman wore, "...She had one 

particularly on her head, which locked her mouth so fast that she could scarcely speak; and could not eat or drink."

This device is meant for the reader to understand just how poorly the slaves were treated even after they disembarked the boats.

The graphic portrayal of the conditions along with the novel being the first from an African slave helped it to become famous. Also they style in which it was written is very important because it is really a picaresque novel which wikipedia defines as, "...fiction which is usually satirical and depicts in realistic and often humorous detail the adventures of a roguish hero of low class who lives by his or her wits in a corrupt society," a very popular type at the time. 

So not only was the content riveting but also it was in a popular format which helped to really bring the conditions to the forefront of society. And because of its popularity, the Narrative in the Life helped to inspire many other black writers to write out against slavery too.

An Indian's Looking-Glass for the White Man

An Indian's Looking-Glass for the White Man by William Apess

"And I would ask: Could there by a more efficient way to distress and murder them by inches than the way they have taken?(1053)" Apess talks about how White man has robbed so much and yet hide being the color of ones skin.The crux of his argument is that the white man cannot hide behind his religion since the teachings were from a jewish man who is most certianly not white.

To phrase it in the words of another, "His extraordinary essay "An Indian's Looking-Glass for the White Man" (1833) is a powerful indictment of what Apess called color prejudice and what would today be called racism." From NovelGuide.com

At the time many were proudly calling America a Christian nation, which would set it apart from other nations. But being set apart will draw more attention and if that nations actions do not match their teachings it will be infuriating towards those who suffer at their hands. This is where Apess is coming from, he's writing from the view point of someone who's looking in at America and asking why does this happen. "By what you read, you may learn how deep your principles are. I should say they were skin-deep (1057)," deliberately making a pun and a point, Apess asserts that without the pretext of religion white men are no different than anyone else; guilty of their crimes. Apess ends with beseeching the reader to act on their beliefs and so this in an attempt to mend the fence as it were.

Rip Van Winkle

"To be a Rip van Winkle, is to awake suddenly to profound changes in one's surroundings. This may be due to physical absence or to absence of mind." from Wikipedia.

The idea of escaping and seeking freedom is not the part of the Rip Van Winkle story most focus on. Instead the focus is on the shock of awaking in a new era and being totally lost and alone, a relic of the past.

In researching this link I've found a Twilight Zone episode fallowing the idea called "The Rip Van Winkle Caper" (link at the bottom) which does justice to the story. What the Twilight Zone episode does well is that it takes the idea of needing to escape and flee and adds in a gold heist and technology. Being more about character interaction and about the human condition, along with being a TV show, the episode does not go into the deeper questions that the story raises.
Also I found a claymation version of the story, however, this version is very different from the story even though it uses most of the characters. I do not have the words to describe all the things wrong with the animated version except the one thing it does right: it looks good (also crazy).

The one thing that is missing in most in these retellings is the dog, since "Rip's sole domestic adherent was his dog Wolf. (956)." So why leave out his only friend?
One more comic book for this post, then the video links.
Link



Watch 24. The Twilight Zone - The Rip Van Winkle Caper in Entertainment | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Claymation Rip Van Winkle Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4

Henry David Thoreau

Here's a video of his impact. Thoreau has taken Emerson's ability to make powerful one line quotes and in Resistance To Civil Government he express his ideas in the same powerful one-liners.

"Moreover, any man more right than his neighbors, constitutes a majority of one (1863)." Is one of my favorite lines because it connects so well with what Emerson says in Self Reliance: The majority is wrong.

Thoreau's argument can best be summed up through the quote, "I came into this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to live in, but to live in it, be it good or bad (1836)." which means that the most important part of life is living it. In context he is arguing with the idea of petitions and how long they take to go through. And how we must reach a point where immediate action is needed.

"Thoreau was right when he said, "We want great peasants more than great heroes." from Janey Canunk In The West. But he, like Emerson, like Loewen, warns against heroification of those who take action.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

In true sense of Self Reliance I will speak my own mind on Emerson and not stand on the shoulders of others. If Emerson were a video game system he would have been a Colecovision.

What is one of those? It's a



That's right two phones with a stick attacthed. Released in 1982 it has 14 buttons in an age where everyone else has 1! "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines (1168). The idea is that this system provided enough expandability to accompany almost any game's idea for how they wanted to play.

In life he was adhead of his time with thinking. Because, he always studied he was able to sysnthize many ideas into one. Much like the Colecovision, Emerson was ahead of his time but both were immensely popular in their ages.

The only hard part is control, or rather how to control this amount of buttons or ideas. The Retroist laments, "The siren song of amazing graphics is hard to resist, but if your system is difficult to use, you will lose your audience." What to do with ideas that aren't easily boiled down into what you want them to be, is the same problem people have with a 14-button controller: When everyone is used to one way of doing things (the easy 1-button way) changing ideas and hand positioning will be hard.

Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the life of a Slave Girl

"...but the condition of a slave confuses all principles of morality, and, in fact, renders the practice of them impossible (1817)>" - Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the life of a Slave Girl.

The story that Jacobs relates is one of herself trying to evade a tyrannical master's sexual advances and her keeping her purity. And the fear and hardship of living in the floor boards under a shack. Then finally having escaped to be hunted and trying to come to terms with being sold. Initially she is resentful of being bought, but once she understands how much freedom she gained through the sale.

This is a piazza,

Yes a Roman one, but still the idea is that she is cramped into a desolate shack near the edge of a grander and more open, or free, area. Jacobs uses a lot more imagery to display her meanings and purpose whereas Douglass uses direct words to the matter. The exceptions are when Jacobs steps out of the story to talk directly to the reader. This story is really similar in its manner of appeal to that of Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. The question that this story answers for the modern reader is; Was slavery that bad? Of course it was and still is a great evil, but hte debate rages on.

     I was going to make a sepreate blog post for this but since I might not have time I'll list the arguement I found while researching. It is an internet forum arguement over how bad (or good) slavery was in the 1800's in Amercia. Some Claimed that by being enslaved they were given food and taken care of instead of living in Africa whose living conditions were awful. Please ignore the stupidity of the last statement for a moment, this was the best response (not linked because of pictures, read to the bottom of that person's post), 

"To the Op: I see you have a point there. Unlike the many enraged people here, who I dare to say have no basis whatsoever in mind other than their feelings to disagree, I have a question for you. No, it is more like a proposal.

I offer you a good life. I will take good care of you. Nothing is going to happen, three foods every day, and a roof over you with a bed, not the best bed, but you can sleep there I assure you. All you have to do in return is become my slave; you know work eighteen hours a day, do whatever work I say...actually do whatever I say without talking-back or even look at me with bad-eyes. What kind of slave you ask? Just slave, my property. I am offering you a good deal, in fact this will make you happy, don't deny it since you stated it.

Oh I just forgot to mention a couple of things. 
1. You will lose your freedom, not that it matters.
2. You will lose your status of 'human being,' and be just a 'thing.' You know, worst than an animal, but it doesn't matter because you don't care about that, you will have a good life.
3. You don't have pride; I forbid you to have one.
4. I will treat you well, like my property you will be, but that doesn't mean my good friends that look after my slaves, my valuable workers, my brothers, my doctor, my lawyer, and all the rest of the people I know will treat you well. Oh yes some of them like to fuck my slaves, since we are good friends, you know as long as I don't get to know it; it's cool, right?
5.You do whatever I want, and I will hurt you on a whim because I am your master.

Well, those things doesn't really matter since you will have a good life, and a good future. Because your children, and grandchildren will have a great life in my country. That is when that happens in a hundred years, maybe, well who knows? Doesn't really matter.

So, what do you say? Do you accept my offer?..." From Crunchyroll.com

All of the Slavery-era readings we have read illuminate one point: Slavery is, was, and always will be bad on every level. None of the readings have supported slavery or the conditions in which those slaves lived as 'good' the best that can be said about them is 'not bad'.

Ignorance of these writers leads to their voices being muted and thus people forget just how harmful slavery is for the slave and the slave owner. Much like how Lies warned about lessens lost from ignoring or romancing the facts. As in; making the issue of slavery be a one time deal. It is over and everything is happy since both races get along, and there was never any tension in the northern states(142, bottom paragraph Lies).

Frederick Douglass' Life

Frederick Douglass "Narrative of Life"

Frederick Douglass' Narrative of Life is a powerful book detailing the events that happened to him during his life. The story is all too familiar though, as a boy he is moved around a lot between slaveholders but learns to read a little from Mrs. Auld which opens his mind to be able to comprehend slavery. From then on, Douglass is subjected to torments under slavery: the hypocrisy between religion and reality, starvation, and whippings. Then Douglass was sent to Mr. Covey's to be broken. After seeming to be broken he fell ill and attempted to go to his master for protection, but finding no protection he was left with the choice, "...to go home and be whipped to death, or stay in the woods and starve to death (2102)." After his return Mr. Covey attacks.

Success came from the brawl and was the changing point for Douglass; his spirit no longer felt crushed and he once again felt empowered. Soon after he goes to a new master, Mr. Freeland who makes the biggest impact on Douglass through him being free of religion. It was here that Douglass founded a Sabbath school, and was beaten for it by others and commented on how Mr. Freeland was, "... the best master I ever had, till I became my own master (2108)." After his time there he tries to escape, gets caught, imprisoned and sold to Master Hugh. With Hugh, Douglass gets work and makes plans to escape and succeeds in 1838. Mr. Ruggles gives Douglass a location where he can go and be safe: New Bedford. It is here Douglass begins his free life and gets started in activism for the abolitionists.

The biggest impact Douglass makes in his Life is through his tone. He speaks in a forceful tone, strong and commanding, detailing the injustices he both saw and befell. In a brief comparison, his wok is the opposite if Stowe's: Douglass uses cutting words and actions and anger, where Stowe appeals to emotions using softer tones and comedy. There was nothing funny in Douglass' biography mostly because it wasn't fiction but what really happened. The point of writing this way was to incite anger in others and to promote outrage over slavery.

Below is a coloring book picture of Douglass, look at how he is standing how aggressively he holds the paper. One final note, well more of a quote of the text below him, "Douglass left the U.S. after the failure of the John Brown raid at Harper's Ferry."
It is quite funny to see the situation dumbed down to the point that is losses all meaning and context (much like what chapter 7 in Lies warned us about). By contrast below is the link to a quote by Douglass about the 4th of July, only the link to the image since it is a bit more graphic in it's display of the evils of slavery and whipping.

<Link to quote and picture>

Poe's House of Usher

"Catalepsy: Complete trance-like mental detachment."

Symptoms include:rigid body, rigid limbs, limbs retain position when moved, loss of voluntary muscle control, and no response of recognition. See also "what appears to be death"

from WrongDiagnosis

"The Fall of the House of Usher" is pure Poe being Poe, which means it's good but complex. There are so many different and equally spiraling outward threads of meaning that picking one is not easy. But madness is the central issue in "House of Usher" the only hard question is what type of madness and what is inducing it.

The madness is caused by pressure, so much pressure that Roderick has lost his mind. The pressure comes from everything, really though everything pressures this man so much so that he has retreated to hermitage. The madness does not cease though, and so willing is he to end the suffering he sees ending the line of Usher as the only way. So Roderick invites an old friend, the narrator, over to help him kill his twin sister. The quote at the top is what Roderick knows, that she will appear dead and this condition will fool others. Enlisting the narrator to help move he body works until she breaks free and kills him by dieing on top of him.

To be honest who wouldn't be almost shocked to death if this came running after them.

So the Madness consumues and culminates for Roderick in the dead coming back to life to be with him, hinting that he will never be free of the curse of the House of Usher.

The real treasure in this story is that when summed up it amounts to little more than a ghost story, but in the hands of Poe it turns into a Gothic masterpiece.


P.S. While looking I found a comic book of the fall of the house of usher.
http://thehorrorsofitall.blogspot.com/2009/01/fall-of-house-of-usher.html

Hawthorne: The Minister's black veil

"The antipathy or, at the very least, ambiguity towards masks is hundreds, if not thousands of years old, and it always associated with evil, sickness, wrongdoing, or, at the very least, “naughtiness” in western culture." From The Scottish Boomerang

Mr Hooper traded a part of his soul away for power: the power to move people by his words. The result is that he hides away from everyone lest they know what he has done. By hiding his face he repulses the townsfolk and even his bride to be Elizabeth.


This story is about more than just isolation it is also about power. In effect by isolating himself, Mr. Hooper has become a hermit but not a wise man lifted above darkness instead a righteous man trusted into darkness who is still trying to light the way out for others.

The irony is that Hooper has power to bring others into his flock while his flock does not invite Hooper in. And so even after his death the veil is left on symbolizing the disconnection Hooper has made from the rest of the world.

Rebecca Harding Davis "Life in the Iron Mills"

"This 1905 shows just one blast furnace (number 7) and the ore yard where the iron ore was stored to feed it day and night." From Heritage Education Center

The Iron-Mills would become an icon for progress, in both directions though. Technology was advance for "progress" but humanity and quality of life was sliding backwards. Davis beats her point in to the extent that the work is almost taking a modernist approach to industry sixty years before it exists. The overbearing tone of the story is that of damnation and pity. Damning industry and its evil for killing the once beautiful land and pity for the people who must work within. But within this horror there sparks the glimmer of creativity inside Wolfe which is then extinguished through a misguided attempt at help. Ending up with Wolfe losing his mind and killing himself to end the torment and his wife finding peace with the Quakers outside the city.

So once Deb leaves the city which represents hells she find peace in heaven. The city is referred to many times as hell and comparisons to Dante's Inferno are brought up to demonize this urban setting. And all the while the narrator is just pointing all this out to the reader as if both are just spirits floating and observing it all. In the same way Virgil leads Dante through hell. Davis leads the reader through an industrial hell.

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin basically caused the Civil War and yet it did so through comedy and sarcasm and not calls to violence. Of all that we discussed about Stowe's work UTC in class what struck me the most was the mention of a cartoon, thus I set out to find such a cartoon and did. The above is best described as the abridged version of UTC where abridged means butchered.

This cartoon takes everything that powerful and makes it ineffectual to the extent that the original purpose and meaning is lost and all that is left are the stereotypes and bare bones of a story. All the whit and humor is gone as well as the senator and Honest John making the cartoon a white versus black issue instead of the intended issue. The intended issue was to pull at the hear-strings of the reader and convince them to not let this happen anymore. Where in the cartoon all we see are images and depictions of blacks in poor to stereotypical behavior. The black characters just dance around and act silly and without order it seems and the climax at the river is concluded through a deus ex machina moment then they dance.

Overall the hardest part of watching was seeing how the producers of this cartoon twisted a story that empowered the powerless and shows the inhumane nature of the slave trade, into a short film featuring nothing but stereotypes meant entirely to amuse and entertain others at the expense of the blacks.

Finally I leave you with two more short cartoons with racist tones, one of Felix the cat and the other Van Beuren's Tom and Jerry (think Laurel and Hardy) both shorts have their characters go to Africa.

Tom and Jerry in "Plane Dumb" (1932)

Felix the Cat in The Non Stop Fright

Lincoln, Lincoln, whatcha' thinkin'

"His tenure in office was occupied primarily with the defeat of the secessionist Confederate States of America in the American Civil War."
From, Wikipedia.

For a man whose presidency is best remember for the war that was fought during it, Lincoln's Second Inaugural address seems out of place. Mostly because ignores the obvious points of interest and instead brings up seemingly unrated topics, and untrue statements.

The point that Lincoln repeats himself on is how the war is not just one sides fault, owning it up to both sides sins over allowing slavery to continue for so long. The odd nature of this speech comes through when Lincoln says that neither side wanted the war or expected it, both of which are lies.

After Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin opinions escalated along with violence and tension. Also missing is the rhetoric present in his first address and any "I told you so" comments.

The biggest part of this speech is how tired Lincoln sounds (because he was, since after all he was president during the Civil War). His tone is somber and he is ready to have the war be over. Most striking is how out of character this is for Lincoln. The speech does not follow what we know Lincoln to believe, or what the public must have wanted to hear. So what was the purpose of having this speech this way? Simple, look at the keys they are shiny and we shouldn't have done this war. Oh hey a cool looking bird! Look at the time, I've talked too long, see you all later- thanks for all the shoes.

Basically Lincoln had to give a speech and he did, but it was mostly emotional and probably from the Lincoln in the moment and not from the Lincoln in the past (or history books).

Test post for English 48a, Melville

"Main Entry: lone·ly

1 a : being without company : lone b : cut off from others : solitary
2 : not frequented by human beings : desolate
3 : sad from being alone : lonesome
4 : producing a feeling of bleakness or desolation

synonyms see alone"

from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lonely


Melville's Bartleby is a lonely nobleman, that is to say he's lonely because he's the last of his kind. This story is more comedic than tragic but when read through the biography of Herman Melville is appears that Bartleby is a stand in for how Melville feels. Bartleby's issue is that he does not know what he wants or needs, only what he prefers or does not prefer. The biggest insight into the character comes at the end of story when the grub-man is saying how he thinks Bartleby was a gentleman liar. So Melville is writing about Bartleby who needs something but cannot communicate it, or prefer to, but is still trying to deceive others into having his way. The most profound image of this is in the one of the last paragraphs where Melville writes about the Egyptian surroundings and when the grub-man asks about Bartleby the narrator replies, "[He is] With kings and counsellors"(2388).
This ending has three possible meanings.
First it could mean that Bartleby has gone to hell with the other lying kings and counsellors.
Second that Bartleby was the last of the gentleman liars, destined to become like the pyramids; a moment of people long ago.
Or third, showing how Melville feels about himself. Isolated and lying, people in his life wind up leaving him alone until he dies.

P.S. Just for kicks here's a video showing what I mean about being lonely and having people leave.