Author: Cate van den Beemt

Loading Likes...

I found the character of Linda’s grandmother. Throughout the chapters that I have read so far, she exists as a sort of safe and calming presence. She exhibits many of the qualities that typical fiction grandmothers would have. She always is baking or cooking something for others or to sell and her house smells good. She exists as a place for her grandchildren to escape to and will always comfort them.

Something that is really admirable about her character is the fact that even though she is technically free after years and years of hard work, she refuses to go North if any of her children or grandchildren are still trapped in the system of slavery. This shows how much she values her family and will do anything in her power to either buy them back or simply remain a person of support. I find this especially relevant in Linda’s life because her grandmother also serves as her mother once Linda’s parents are no longer around. Her grandmother takes on this duty, as well as all the other duties she has to other family members and rarely falters.

Loading Likes...

I was surprised how quickly I became attached to so many of the characters in this story. Even just after a few chapters, I was already so invested in each of their lives and where they were going to go in the story. I think part of this has to do with how Stowe’s writing allows for the relationships between the characters to be so clear and raw.

One relationship that I kept coming back to was that between Mrs. Shelby and Eliza. It is clear that Mrs. Shelby cares so deeply for Eliza and her child, that she sees them as part of her own family. She never would think to separate the mother from her child. Part of this has to do with the fact that Mrs. Shelby truly understands the motherly bond that Eliza has with her son. She knows that that is such a special love and will do anything in her power to keep them together. Mrs. Shelby works with them to help them escape together because she cares and understands the relationship, where Mr. Shelby does not.

The love Eliza has for her son is not mistaken by Mrs. Shelby or the other women in the story. This really became apparent when Eliza and Harry are journeying to cross the river. Stowe explains that “stronger than all was maternal love” (54). This love gives Eliza the strength to keep going and get her and Harry to safety. This is the love that Mrs. Shelby sees and appreciates in Eliza.

Loading Likes...

I really enjoyed reading some passages from Walk Whitman’s, “Song of Myself.” One thing I noticed while I was reading this, was the sense of calm that came over me. This could be because it is poetry and makes me feel a different way when reading it. However, I think a lot of it has to do with the truth that Whitman talks about.

My favorite sections that we read were the sections that were simply just lists. #15 and #33 especially. One was a list of different types of people and another was a list of animals and things in nature. I was astonished by how real Whitman made these individual people or animals seem. He gave a voice to those who might not normally be in literature and I appreciate that. Clearly, Whitman makes it clear that it is important to notice those things that surround you. Yes, you are your own person, but you are also who you are because of those around you. You are made up of your interactions with others and how you move throughout the world.

I appreciate Whitman’s ability to notice all the little intricacies of life. He reminds us that we can be wonderful and fulfill ourselves. However, unlike Emerson thinks, we all rely on each other to be our best selves as well. The only way to better understand ourselves is to better understand the world around us and how we fit into that. This has inspired me to simply try to notice more. I’m sure that we pass by so many things in our daily lives that are important, but we ignore. Whitman encourages us to stop and take all of these things in.

Loading Likes...

This was my first time reading “The Scarlet Letter.” I didn’t have the opportunity to read it in high school, so I went into this with an open mind. While the actual story is full of important themes like sins, human nature, and starting new, I found the first chapter, The Custom-House, to be very interesting because it is Hawthorne’s own voice.

Something that really stuck out to me was how Hawthorne wrote about finding his home in the world. He speaks a lot about his internal battle with his home in Salem. I found it interesting how divided he was in his thinking. He explained that there was something about Salem that called to him and how he “felt it almost a destiny to make Salem my home” (431). However, at the same time, he feels that if someone stays in the same place for too long, it can become detrimental and “human nature will not flourish, more than a potato” (431). 

I found this dichotomy between what Hawthorne considers to be his home and also what he believes is helpful for human nature in everyone finding their own home interesting. He gets very philosophical and begins connecting nature and humans as he tries to explain how humans can thrive on the earth. Finding home is such a human instinct because one feels safe and protected at home. However, at the same time, one must not cut themselves off from opportunities that may be in other spaces or with different people.

Loading Likes...

I was astonished by how much information I learned about Fredrick Douglas’s life, as well as the lives of those around him in just the first part of this reading. While my education has made a clear point to teach me about the history of slavery, there is an aspect of reading a first-hand account that teaches me so much more.

I felt myself overwhelmed with emotion while I was reading Douglas’s writing. This was described to me in the forward, but I didn’t expect Douglas to be so blunt and upright with the facts. He didn’t hold anything back in terms of brutal details of whippings that he witnessed or the pains of starvation that he went through. While this was hard to read, because the thought of a human being treated like that makes me sick, it was important to hear the truth. Douglas did not try to sugar coat his experience at all and provided real and raw accounts of all his interactions.

One thing I was really impressed by was Douglas’s inability to give up. Even from a very young age, he had witnessed so much mistreatment. Yet continued to fight for something, even if he didn’t know what it was yet. When he learned that knowing how to read and write would be a great advantage in life, he went forward with the goal of achieving this. One line that stuck out to me in this sense was “The first step had been taken. Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet, had given me the inch, and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ell.” (1187). He realized the opportunity he was given from learning the A,B,C’s and he ran with it. He would not stop until he had the skills that he deserved and the life that he deserved. Reading Douglas’s personal account is so moving and so important in our country’s history.

Loading Likes...

After reading “The Philosophy of Composition,” I was taken back by how strong and clear Poe’s voice was. It was interesting to read what he thought the process of writing a good poem or good prose should be. While I had read “The Raven” before, it was exciting to see how Poe viewed his work and what he was trying to convey in his words. I noticed themes that Poe intended, like the idea of longing for a lost love. However, there were also things that Poe intended, that I didn’t originally pick up on, like the idea that melancholy is the most relatable human experience.

 After reading Poe’s explanation of his process in writing “The Raven,” I was reminded of Dupin in “The Purloined Letter.” His voice and narrative felt very similar to Poe’s. Dupin was very confident in explaining his process as to how he found the letter and had an answer to any question that the narrator thought of. This is very similar to how Poe had an explanation for every single stanza in the poem and how his process was very clearly thought out. Dupin was also adamant about thinking outside the box and not immediately coming to the first thought that comes to mind. This is how he was able to see that the letter was hiding right in front of his eyes. Poe also describes this with his process. He doesn’t immediately set the poem in a forest. Instead, he thinks of other settings to give off a better message. 

It is clear that Poe’s voice is strong and he is confident in how he writes. Many of the characters in his stories, reflect this about him. I find that this is a common thing for writers to have an influence on the characters that they create, because in the end, they are just expressions of themselves.

Loading Likes...

I remember reading some of Poe’s stories when I was much younger and thoroughly enjoying them. I had read “Masque of the Red Death” and “The Tell-Tale Heart,” but am realizing now that I definitely read the children’s versions of these stories because I would not have understood the language. Reading these stories now, along with new ones that I didn’t have any previous experience with, I found myself noticing many more common themes and types of characters. I’m not just interested in the scary story aspect anymore. 

One thing that I found continuously appearing in all of Poe’s stories was the description of architecture. A lot of this architecture is similar in the sense that it there are castles and vaulted ceilings. I was surprised by how in detail Poe went at describing the scenes, but found that it really helped put me in the story. The dark windows described, produced an eerie feeling in my from the beginning of the story and I knew it wasn’t going to end well. If there was light that shined through stained glass, it was masked by drapes and the hope was gone. The buildings had dark basements and long, narrow, winding corridors that had no sense of planning. After reading these descriptions, I felt trapped, as well as the characters. 

Poe cleverly used descriptive language to make the reader feel particular emotions. When it was dark, I felt dark, when the hallway was confusing, I felt confused, when there was a glimpse of light, I hesitated. This made my reading of the stories much more enjoyable because I leaned into this. Not only were Poe’s characters feeling these emotions, but so was I. 

Loading Likes...

Although Emerson’s writing is very formal and philosophical, I found myself agreeing and diving deep into the ideas that he was presenting. I believe that the idea of the relationship between humans and nature is very delicate and it is something that is constantly talked about. This can be from how humans have destroyed the environment around them to how many elements of the natural world have healing properties. It is very much a give a take relationship and at least now, humans tend to take much more than they give.

What struck me the most about Emerson’s writing, was his take on beauty. To him, he feels that “there is no object so foul that intense light will not make beautiful” (186). This is a very bold statement, but one must not take it too literally. To Emerson, nature represents some kind of spiritual being. In a lot of spiritual beliefs, light represents a higher power of a God of some sort. Emerson is referring to the belief that the God in nature has the ability to touch all things and turn them into something beautiful. At the same time, the light shining down on a sunny day can truly transform a space into something magnificent.

I agreed with Emerson in his idea that beauty is not concrete. He explained how some people may think a country landscape is only beautiful in the summer because it is blossoming and green and warm. However, Emerson believes that it is also beautiful in the winter – it is beautiful in a different way. In the winter, the snow glitters on the ground and ice hangs from tree branches. This is something that I try to incorporate into my life. I try to look for the beauty in everything. This might not be easy. I will have to look more closely at things and notice the small details that are beautiful. This is a way of being an optimist.