My Reaction to Thomas Andersons Narrative

I considered Thomas Anderson a lost voice becuase I found nothing other than his narrative when looking on google for him. I actually found his narrative when looking for slave narratives but saved this one becuase it was too short for that project. I especially took to this story because I have always been interested on how slaves viewed God. It seems to be a common theme in the narratives I have read on different slaves to talk about how their belief in God saved their lives. However, none of the other narratives I have read went into such great detail about why God saved their lives and their transformation to believing in God. Thomas Anderson’s story is based around his belief in God and how this affected him. The story has a very strong theme throughout it and even though he does not have very good grammar or spelling the story is very well written in my opinion. In fact, the mistakes he makes adds to the character and voice throughout the story. After his account on his life and his connection to god he goes on to talk about another slave named J.P Clark. Thomas Anderson takes down Clarks narrative for him because the slave can not read or write. J.P Clark talks about his relation in god too. I found it interesting to compare the two slave’s beliefs and interactions with God

Preview: A slaves ( Thomas Anderson's) account on how God affected him and affects him. Also his account on another slaves view on god.

Activity:How did the two slaves believes in God differ? How did they compare? How did both of their beliefs in God in affect them?

Lucy Nelson or The Boy Girl

When starting to read this story i did not think it was going to end up this way. I thought it was going to have some kind of moral to it saying that theres no specific way that boys or girls have to act. I soon realized that it was quite the oppiste and that Lucy ends up just comforming to the norms. Even though i do not agree with the ending i was fairly pleased seeing that i hate stories with morals, there very unrealistic. While reading the story i found i really strange how her parents punished her. I guess it seemed to work though, becuase she was so embarressed about having to wear boys clothes. I feel personally that it is always the wrong way to teach a kid through embarressing them, you might make them stop doing what you dont want them to do but you crush some part of them in the process. This story made me sad becuase Lucy seemed like a very happy girl when she was playing with all the boys, and even though it didnt tell us much after she started acting like a "girl" she seemed more sad and almost oppressed in a way.

Compairing two Cinderellas

The Native American story “Cinderella” had some vast differences and similarities from the Walt Disney version” Cinderella.” The story starts out telling us about a poor girl who is deprived of so many things because she is thought of to be ugly. The one thing she longs to do more than anything is go to the Dance of the Sacred Bird. But she knows that she would never be able to go since she has been forbidden before every time. This presents the same problem that we see in the Disney’s Cinderella, where she wants to go to the ball but she is forbidden to go by her evil step mother and sisters. This problem is brought up earlier in the story in the Native American Cinderella but shares many of the same qualities. In the Native American story Cinderella’s job is to take care of her turkeys day and night, she talks to them about her wishes and of going to the Dance. She never thought that they could possibly be magical turkeys and help her be the prettiest maiden in the town. This happens in our Cinderella as well, when she thinks that all hope is lost her fairy godmother and her trusty mice come and by making her the prettiest lady there, allows her to arrive at the ball in the most beautiful dress anyone has ever seen. In the Native American story there is a scene when the turkeys are dressing Cinderella and singing that is a lot like the part in Disney’s Cinderella when the mice are dressing Cinderella and singing. In both of the Cinderella stories Cinderella has something she must do in order to go to the ball and dance, although they are very different tasks. In the Native American Story Cinderella must not forget the turkeys that made her so privileged or the turkey will run away. In the end of the story the girl ends up forgetting about the turkeys and does not want to come home, so the turkey leave and run away into the canyon never wanting to see her again. In the Walt Disney Version, Cinderella must be home at midnight or everything that the fairy godmother gives to her will disappear. Cinderella barley makes it home before everything disappears but looses her slipper, the prince that she dances with finds it and eventually finds her: everything ending happily ever after. In my opinion the Native American story had more of a moral. The story ended very sadly, but taught the girl a lesson. She learned not to take things for granted and lived alone for the rest of her life. (Obviously not as much of a kid story as Walt Disney’s version.)

The Baffalo and the Field Mouse

The mouse was frustrated with the buffalo for flattening out the grass that he hid in so he challenged him to a duel.. The mouse was a very proud animal, and was positive that he could beat the buffalo. He ended up succeeding by using his size to an advantage and hiding in the buffalos ear until he was so irritated that he died. The mouse wants to cut up the meat so he calls over a fox with a knife and tells him to cut the meat for him in return of a portion of the meat. After the mouse gave him more than he had agreed to the fox pounced on the mouse and killed him. The moral of this story is “ If you are proud and selfish then you will loose all in the end” according to the last sentence of the story. I am assuming that they are talking about the mouse because he was the main character throughout the story. I however do not think that he was selfish at all, and I do not think that to be proud is a bad thing at all. If I understood the story correctly, I absolutely think that the fox was unjustified in killing the mouse because I did not see how the mouse did anything wrong. The mouse was merely asked a fellow animal a favor in return of meat, which the fox was clearly in need for. I was completely disgusted the fox’s behavior.

The Long Arm and Two Friends

The Long Arm tells the story between two very devoted women, and the love they had for each other. Mary E. Wilkins Freeman really shows through her writing how much these two women care about each other. In a lot of ways this story is very similar to the story “two friends” also by Mary E Wilkins Freeman. Both stories are of two women that have a strong love for each other, sexual or not we do not know. The Long Arm was a story of suspense, although hard to understand at times it was fun to read and try and get my head around the clues.

The Sheriff's Children

The Sheriff's Children dealt with a lot of issues revolving around racisism in America. It really focused on how African Americans communicated around the issue of racisism amoung themselves. I imagine that when Charles Waddell Chesnutt’s short story was first published it didnt go over so hot with most of the white American population. Chesnutt brings the idea of racisism up in a very blunt manner, probably startling to many readers, depending on the time period.

A commen trend

I noticed that one of the trends that was continually brought up in the sites i visited was romanticism. It is often assoiated with poets in the late 18th century/ early 19th century. But was also a style for musicians, artists and writters. combating political norms was one of the reasons romanticism became so popular.