Author: Erin Merenic

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I noticed that both Winterbourne and Daisy are very theatrical but in separate ways. While Daisy is theatrical in that she wishes her life to be dramatic, Winterbourne is theatrical in that he tries to manufacture the way he is being perceived. A moment that I thought was silly and revealed the nature of both characters was when Daisy’s mother, Daisy, Eugenio, and Winterbourne were deliberating whether Daisy would accompany Winterbourne on the boat. Winterbourne strongly desires Daisy’s company but when asked casually states, “as mademoiselle pleases” (James, 21). Winterbourne conceals his true excitement regarding Daisy’s company to appear polite and refined to those around him. Daisy becomes upset at his passivity and frustratedly remarks, “Oh, I hoped you would make a fuss! I don’t care to go now” (James, 21). Daisy is more open about her desires, admitting that she wanted Winterbourne to fight for her company. Both reveal in this moment their wish to manufacture the moment. Winterbourne acts artificially to appear easy going while Daisy reveals that she wishes for Winterbourne to be more forthcoming about his feelings so there is more excitement. It does not seem enough to Daisy to go on the boat for the experience itself but wants Winterbourne to openly display his desire for her. Daisy refuses to be defined by the expectations placed on women in society but has her own expectations for how she lives her life. Winterbourne is much more concerned with his reputation and following into societal norms.  

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When reading “The Goophered Grapevine” I was intrigued by the narrator who I thought was extremely concerned over his reputation. As he is writing the story in past tense, he protects his reputation by suggesting that he was aware of Uncle Julius’ insincerity from the moment he began to interact with him. When thinking back to his first meeting with Uncle Julius he notes that the way that he ate his grapes made him instantly aware that the “performance was no new thing” (2). I took his wording of “performance” to suggest that he could immediately tell that Uncle Julius was disingenuous. As the narrator’s immediate characterization seems impossible and unsupported, it suggests that he wants to assure the audience that he was not, even for a moment, tricked by Uncle Julius. Additionally, the narrator emphasizes that he recognized intelligence through Uncle Julius’ eyes, supporting his own skilled judgment. He notices “there was a shrewdness in his eyes, too, which was not altogether African” (3). This detail also seems impossible/unreasonable and rooted in confirmation bias as he learns later the Uncle Julius is one trustworthy. Lastly, without any modesty, he speaks to the success of his decision to by the vineyard and the influence it has had in inspiring others from the North to seek opportunities in the South. He claims that the vineyard “has been for a long time in a thriving condition and is often referred to by the local press as a striking illustration of the opportunities open to Northern Capital in the development of Southern industries” (11). His narration suggests that the cunning of the southern man is unable to stop the superior intelligence of himself and others in the North from having success in the South. 

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In class we spoke about how Uncle Tom’s Cabin was distinct from other texts we had encountered this semester in that it was written for the present day instead of attempting to be a lasting piece of literature read years after being written. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, in several places, distinctly considers its 19th century reader. For instance, when Jacobs describes being protected by the wife of a senator in New England, she specifically refers to the senator in the 19th century best seller Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Furthermore, Jacobs refers to a 19th century pro-slavery political figure John Mitchell. These moments which are particularly relevant to the 19th century reader are important in showing to the intended audience how here autobiography is relevant. However, as opposed to the conclusion of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Jacobs does not end her autobiography by directly calling the readers to action against slavery. She instead thanks those she has been surrounded by, such as her grandmother and Mrs. Burns, who have shown her love amidst her adversity. While Jacobs does not as directly call her readers to political action or refer to the increasing tension in the United States, the references she makes throughout the text make her biography more pertinent for the 19th century reader.

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The conversation regarding religion between Haley and Tom in the chapter “Eliza’s Escape” was particularly interesting to me. Haley explains to Tom his intentions of eventually leaving his occupation as a slave trader because he is a religious man. Tom finds Haley’s faith insincere and self-serving. While Tom is a ruthless person, there is something to be said about his awareness of his own brutality that is more respectable (if you may say) than Haley’s self-proclaimed piety. Haley prioritizes his desire for money over any religious belief he has and consoles his conscience through the option to return to religion after working as a slave trader. I feel as though Stowe utilizes the blunt character of Tom in this scene to highlight how religion is often manipulated to both defend slavery and, in this instance, offer one protection from the consequences of their immoral behavior. Tom argues:  

“T’ant that you care one bit more, or have a bit more feelin’ – it’s clean, sheer, dog, meanness, wanting to cheat the devil and save your own skin; don’t I see through it? And your ‘getting religion,’ as you call it, arter all, is too p’issin mean for any crittur; – run up a bill with the devil all your life, and then sneak out when pay time comes! Boh!” (Stowe, 127).  

While a character who is morally against slavery could indicate frustration regarding the manipulation of religion, I believe it was important that Tom, a notoriously evil slave owner, is making the argument. Tom, through emphasizing the similarity of his own immoral character to Haleys,’ a proclaimed religious man, reinforces the untruthful nature of Haley’s piety. 

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I noticed similarities between the narrator in Melville’s  “Bartleby, the Scrivener” and the narrator in “William Wilson. A Tale”. To begin with, I was struck with the decision of the narrator in “Bartleby, the Scrivener” to never disclose his name. In the first paragraphs, the narrator gives a description of himself but instead of a formal introduction vaguely begins with, “I am a rather elderly man” (Melville, 1469). It seems intentional that the narrator leaves his name out of the story as he feels shame for the eventual death of Bartleby. Similarly, in “William Wilson. A Tale” the narrator explicitly conceals his true identity for fear that the page be “sullied with [his] name” (Poe, 642). In both instances, it appears that to convey the shame the narrators feel, (or shame they want their audience to think they feel) their names are purposefully kept from the account.  

Furthermore, in “Bartleby, the Scrivener” , the narrator is constantly contradicting himself. At the forefront of the story, in discussing the forced abrogation of his office, the narrator establishes, “I seldom lose my temper; much more seldom indulge in dangerous indignation at wrongs and outrages; but I must be permitted to be rash here” (Melville, 1470). Throughout the entirety of the account, the narrator is constantly disproving this claim. For instance, he becomes almost immediately outraged when Bartleby refuses to examine a paper with him. Similarly, while William Wilson attempts to convey accountability for his “unspeakable misery, and unpardonable crime” he tries to find excuses for his behavior (Poe, 642). He cites his parents’ failed job at raising him as the cause for his personality deficits. Both narrators struggle with taking full accountability for their actions. In contradicting themselves, they display that their accounts are somewhat unreliable. 

Lastly, I was intrigued with how similar the titles of the two short stories are. Both titles convey that the narrative will be an account of someone else and not the narrator. However, in actuality, in speaking respectively about Bartleby and William Willson, the reader learns more about the inner conscience of the narrator. The title seems to show the lack of awareness that the narrators have. They choose to title the story after the person they claim to be discussing when in reality they give an account of their own experiences.

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Hester Prynne, and specifically her scarlet letter, exemplifies the Puritan perspective on women’s easily tainted natures that can remain hidden from the public. I was intrigued by the idea that Hester Prynne served to justify the weak moral character of all women. Throughout the reading, the narrator speaks to Hester’s complete loss of individuality where she begins to stand for the idea that women’s natures are more susceptible to sin. They argue, that “throughout them all, giving up her individuality, she would become the general symbol at which the preacher and moralist might point, and in which they might vivify and embody their images of woman’s frailty and sinful passions” (Hawthorne, 469). Her behavior was used as an example when one was speaking about women in general. Furthermore, there is a lot of anxiety from the other women in the town to even look at the scarlet letter on Hester’s chest; one would be corrupted by a quick glance. From the first chapter, the women of the town wished to punish Hester more harshly than the men as she had, “brought shame upon [them] all, and ought to die” (Hawthorne, 454). Hester could not be viewed as an individual who committed a crime but was thought to represent all women. Hester Prynne starts to doubt the nature of women herself from wearing her scarlet letter. She begins to discuss the idea that her letter has given her a sense of seeing others’ invisible scarlet letters. With suspicion that the devil was corrupting her, she started to believe the “outward guise of purity was but a lie, and that, if truth were everywhere to be shown, a scarlet letter would blaze forth on many a bosom besides Hester Prynne’s” (Hawthorne, 473). Her own wearing of the scarlet letter makes her skeptical of the character of all the women around her. Ultimately, The Scarlet Letter has given further insight into the anxiety that surrounds being a Puritan woman. 

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 I was struck by the sympathy that Douglass displays toward the slave owners. Douglass speaks extensively about the good nature of his mistress in Baltimore, Sophia Auld, who teaches him how to read. However, Auld quickly becomes inconsiderate in her treatment of Douglass, enraged at the mere site of him reading. Sophia Aulds complete change in character serves to emphasize that the institution of slavery is destructive to not only the slaver but to those who are given the power over another’s life. Douglass views Sophia Aulds shift in character with sympathy. He speaks of the harm that slavery has caused her by noting that “slavery soon proved its ability to divest her of these heavenly qualities” (1187). Douglass illustrates that slavery can transform good citizens into one who is completely inconsiderate, acting to uphold the established rules of slavery without consideration of what is humane. Douglass sympathizes with slave holders as they are likewise corrupted by slavery and rid of their once pure soul. Furthermore, Douglass’s account of the complete change in Sophia serves as a warning to the reader illustrating that slavery is a sickness that can affect anyone handed the power. Similarly, Douglass notes that the valuation process, particularly brutal for the enslaved, who were ranked alongside animals and inspected unmindfully, also displays the loss in humanity of the slave holders. He argues that at the valuation, “he saw more clearly than ever the brutalizing effects of slavery upon both slave and slaveholder” (1191). The slave holders in treating the enslaved with a complete loss of respect have simultaneously rid them of their own humanity.  

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A theme I noticed across Poe’s writing was the use of an unreliable narrator in order to add suspense and dimension to the plot. In Poe’s stories the reader has to be conscious of the danger that the narrator is revealing as well as suspicious of the narrator’s account. In Ligeia the narrator explicitly acknowledges his lack of knowledge on important details regarding his wife Ligeria. For instance, he cannot recall her paternal name. While at times he justifies his lack of knowledge about his former wife by the large amount of time that has passed or his drug and alcohol use, as the narrative continues, it becomes evident that his overall knowledge of Ligeia is fairly base level and centers around her outward appearance. In repeatedly questioning whether he has ever known Ligeria to be wrong, he establishes his view of Ligeia as somewhat inhuman. The reappearance of Ligeria following the death of his second wife Rowena feels foreshadowed by the narrator’s ignorance to the character of Ligeria.  

Furthermore, in William Wilson. A Tale the narrator’s unreliability, established from the opening paragraph where he refuses to give his true name to the reader, keeps the reader suspicious of his account throughout the story. Wilson appears aware of his own wrongdoing revealed in the story, arguing “the fair page now lying before me need not be sullied with my real appellation” (Poe 642).   However, while seeming to take accountability and to have knowledge that his actions were unethical, the narrator’s emotions, specifically regarding his classmate William Wilson, seem to be pertinent and used to justify his final action of the play. He dedicates almost a page of writing to the striking similarity between Wilson and himself in their school years to the extent where, “this most exquisite portraiture harassed [him]” (647, Poe). Wilson’s killing of Wilson in the final page is built up through the narrators contradicting account where he is simultaneously taking accountability and justifying his actions. 

Loading Likes... In our first class we discussed how many living in the United States in the early 1800s continued to rely on pirated British literature for inspiration due to the elevated reputation that English writers possessed. I can see how The American Scholar is a particularly revolutionary piece as it advocates for the young men in The United States to develop their own ideologies by going beyond the tendency to rely on ideas by renowned writers such as Locke and Shakespeare. It not only goes directly against the established notion that British literature should be used as defining our thinking, but it questions whether books should be our first source of inspiration and if a formal education, in the way that it existed at the time, is the best way of learning. He advocates against the notion that an education is simply learning from literature but suggests we learn best from life itself. When reading, Emerson argues one must be an inventor when reading: taking what you read and applying it to be significant to your life. He promotes the idea that man can be both a scholar and involved in public labor where they are engaging and learning directly with nature. He argues, “life lies behind us as the quarry from whence we get tiles and copperstone for the masonry of to-day” (Emerson, 217). The American Scholar pushes the American man to be more educated through working with nature, reading creatively, and consistently writing literature relevant for each succeeding generation and thus establishing itself from Europe.