Fire and Brimstone

Gustavo Quintero
English 48A
October 11,2007
Journal #12 Edwards Pg. 432


Quote:
"For behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire...the words are exceeding terrible. If it had only been said, 'the wrath of God'".


Summary:
In Jonathan Edwards fiery sermon he warns all the practitioners attending that they had better repent or else. God is coming to cleanse all the sinners from the earth and he will be showing no mercy. This is not the caring and forgiving God that most people associate with but rather the angry one that shows no mercy.


Response:
Wow, is all I can say. I would by no stretch of the mind call myself the most religions person but I do believe in God and Jesus Christ. While reading Edwards sermon, I felt as if the apocalypse was about to come. The images and words that he uses are so vivid and lifelike that it makes his sermon seem that much more important and real. As Scott said in class, "Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God", is one of the most extreme pieces of work by Edwards. His other Pieces all mild in comparison. Although the sermon was read in a monotonous tone, the words themselves are enough to make the heaviest sinner fear for his life.

This fire and brimstone sermon was given at a time in the 1700's during a time known as the "Great Awakening". Churches prior to this period had suffered from a decline in practitioners. When this period hit people began to embrace their faith again and return to church. Edwards uses this sermon to prevent people from ever straying away from the church again. He makes sure to use the angry God and not the forgiving God. The image of God coming in a chariot of fire parallels that of Satan. I am by no means saying that God is similar to Satan, but the Bible associates all the wrath and fire with Satan. It is almost a disturbing image but Edwards does later point out in his sermon that even though God is angry at all the sinners he is still willing to forgive them if they commit themselves to the faith.

Her internal struggle

Gustavo Quintero
English 48A
October 10,2007
Journal #11 Bradstreet Pg. 215


Quote:
"But as I grew up to be about 14 or 15, I found my heart more carnal and sitting loose from God, vanity and the follies of youth take hold of me.
About 16, the Lord laid His hand sore upon me and smote me with the smallpox....I besought the Lord and confessed my pride and vanity, and He was entreated of me and again restored me."


Summary:
In Bradstreet's letter to her children she is telling her children of a time in her life where she felt she had strayed from religion. She says that she was overtaken by the pressures of being a youth and let her vanity grab a hold of her. As the case may be she was stricken by smallpox, where she felt it was from the hand of God. She reconfirmed her faith and was cured of the smallpox.


Response:
First of all I want to apologize for using such a long quote but I feel that this quote is a very important and useful window into Bradstreet's inner most struggles with her own faith. Anne Bradstreet was stricken with many ailments as a child. We can assume that she was not able to follow the normal life that a child would have. With the constant sickness that plagued her throughout her life she constantly lay in bed praying to God to cure her of her sickness. This is the internal struggle that Bradsteet shares with readers on her writings. If God is a loving God and loves all his children then why does she face and suffer from so much pain? Even as an adult, by reading her poems, she is forced to endure many deaths. The many deaths of her grandchildren drive her to question her own faith. This is a painful thing for a Puritan to go through because of the fact that they all believed that they were the chosen people by God. Yet if she is part of the chosen people then why must she endure so much heartache. The idea that keeps her from completely losing faith is that the many times that she is battling illness she prays and eventually the illness subsides and disappears. Such is the case in the letter that she writes to her children. She tells her children of a time in her teenage years when she was struck with vain and with the desires and curiosity of a pubescent woman. According to her God afflicts her with smallpox so that she can stand and look at where she is going with her life. She obviously feels God is telling her ominously that she must denounce her actions and strengthen her faith to him and her savior. After she confesses all her sins then her smallpox is cured. God has willed her with a cure. This is all a typical view of the early Puritans as we know from our readings on Bradford and Bradstreet.

In, "To My Dear Children", Bradtreet is trying to persuade her children to always have faith in their religion. Never stray as she did, for if they do then they surly will face the pains and sorrows that she did. She is using her maternal nature to try to prevent her children from going through what she did. She is also reconfirming her own faith as she lay on her death bed; "This was written in much sickness and weakness,and is very weakly and imperfectly done."

America's first poet

Gustavo Quintero
English 48A
October 9, 2007
Journal #10 Bradstreet Pg 204-217


Quote:
"In this array 'mongst vulgars may'st thou roam.
In critic's hands beware thou dost not come,
And take thy way where yet thou art not known;
If for thy father asked, say thou hadst none;" (Bradstreet 205)


Summary:
In this block quote Bradstreet is telling the reader that she is the writer of this poetry. She is making it sure that anyone who reads her poetry knows that it was not written by a man. She is taking credit for her work at a time when no woman were published. This is a very bold and revolutionary statement for her time.


Response:
When I first read Bradstreet I found it somewhat difficult to read and understand her poetry. I was not very excited nor interested in her poetry as I read it. After we discussed her in class and examined her poetry I can now truly appreciate and enjoy her writings. What she did during her lifetime is a huge complement to her strength and character as a woman. By taking a close reading of her poetry we were able to fully comprehend and get an idea of just how complex and deep her poetry. At first glance when one reads,"The Author to Her book", one might think that she is a very humble person. I like to think that she is writing in a sarcastic tone, as Scott brilliantly pointed out. After you read the poem using Scott's point of view you really see just how clever and excellent Bradstreet is with her poetry. As we discussed in class the reason Bradstreet sounds humble in her poem is because she wanted everyone to read her poems. If she used a boasting tone surly the men that read poetry would not have read her. She would have cut off a large demographic that she was trying and did appeal to. Yet the clever Bradstreet is still able to sneak in a little bit of boasting. She says,"If for thy father asked, say thou hadst none;", she is putting it very bluntly that this poem was written by her not a man. Surely no one would have thought such beautiful and perfect poetry was written by a woman. Yet she makes it a point of hers to let everyone know who the true author is. For this I congratulate her. During her lifetime woman authors were not published or celebrated. For her to break this mold and top become the great poet that she became is a true celebration.

Her poetry has such smooth flow and beautiful rhyming. To be read this 300 plus years later and still be able to find meaning in her poems shows just how far ahead she was for her time. Her title of "America's first poet" is well deserved.

Help from a Native

Gustavo Quintero
Enlgish 48A
October 5, 2007
Journal #9 Bradford Pg 123-124

Quote:
"...but Squanto continued with them, and was their interpreter, and was a special instrument of God for their good beyond their expectation. He directed them how to set their corn, where to take fish, and to procure other commodities..."

Summary:
The Colony that Bradford lived with was only able to survive due to a very helpful Native by the name of Squanto. If it was not for the knowledge and helpfulness of Squanto these Pilgrims surely would have perished. Squanto was a powerful chief who found it in his heart to help the Pilgrims with planting corn and the gathering of other commodities. Of course the Pilgrims see him as a gift sent from God.

Response:
Squanto was a great man who was able to overcome extremely great hurdles throughout his life. As a very young boy he was captures by Spanish slave traders and sent back to Spain. Here he learned English while he worked as a slave. After several years he was able to escape from slavery and make it back to his homeland of Massachusetts. This just adds to the legend of Squanto. Squanto was a great man because he was able to find it in his heart to help the struggling Pilgrims survive, even after what had happened to him. Squanto taught these early Pilgrims how to plant corn and other crops. He also taught them how to fish. All of these skills were essential to survival. If Squanto had never come along these Pilgrims surely would have perished.

It fascinates me how the attitude of the Native Americans is so positive considering what they have been through. Here Squanto helps out the Europeans who have basically invaded the Natives land and who kill millions of Natives in the process. It also reminds me of how De Vaca was helped along his journey by several Native Tribes. The story of Squanto and the Pilgrims is surly a story of inspiration. On one hand you have the Native Americans who have been living in peace and prosperity for thousands of years and on the other you have the Pilgrims who are diseased and in search of land. It begs the question; What if the Natives had not helped the Pilgrims, would the Pilgrims have been able to successfully settle like they did? Squanto went so far as to show the Pilgrims unknown places where they could find precious metals. As Bradford says in his journal, Squanto helped these people until the day he died. This heralding account really makes you appreciate just how vital the Native Americans were during the beginnings of what we now call The United States.





Squanto

Club Merrymount

Gustavo Quintero
English 48A
October 5, 2007
Journal #8 William Bradford

Quote:
"And Morton became lord of misrule, and maintained (as it were) a school of atheism....in quaffing and drinking both wine and strong waters in great excess, and some reported,10 worth in the morning. They also set up a maypole, drinking and dancing about it..."( Bradford 127)

Summary:
In Massachusetts, their was a captain by the name of Wollaston. He came over to Massachusetts with slaves and provisions with the intent to start a plantation. With Captain Wollaston came a charismatic and devilish man by the name of Morton. Morton was not religious and was not at all interested in following the strict religious lives that the Pilgrims held themselves to.

Response:
If I were to land in the newly settled America I would definitely want to be hanging around with Morton. Morton, as Bradford writes in his journal, is a atheist and a man that has no problem with enjoying life and partying. He and the people on his settlement drank in excess and drank very potent alcohol. This sounds like one of Americas earliest strip clubs, complete with woman dancing on the poles.Not to sound sexist but in a way this is what Morton has created. Bradford writes in his journal of how the Indian woman would spend days with him "dancing and frisking together". To make this "club" more complete Morton changes the name of Mount Wollaston to Merrymount. Notice how merry is in the name. Could this not describe this place any better. As Scott also said in class, this is where I would want to be in the 1600's. Bradford even goes on to describe the parties as; "the beastly practices of the mad Bacchinalians." These are people who drank and who would rip apart wild animals. Even though they did not rip apart wild animals they did drink heavily.

The ironic thing about William Bradford is that he seems to be jealous of Morton. Maybe deep down inside Bradford wanted a taste of the party life. Bradford keeps calling out Morton on all the devilish things that he does but he offers no punishments for what he does. But on the other hand maybe Bradford was disgusted by Morton. Well either way Morton's settlement is eventually taken down by Mr. John Endicott. He is the man who cuts down the maypole and who sends Morton back to England.

Besides the partying and alcohol consumption that bothered Bradford was the fact that Morton traded with the Native Americans. Morton would trade guns with the Native Americans. He would also teach the Native Americans how to properly aim and fire these weapons. So, in Bradfords eyes, it was a blessing that Morton was eventually taken back to England. One may not agree with Morton's lifestyle but to say the least Morton did treat the Native Americans equally as people.





The man who stopped the party.

All thanks given to God

Gustavo Quintero
English 48A
October 4, 2007
Journal #7 Norton Anthology, William Bradford

Quote:
"Besides, what could they see but a hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wild beasts and wild men?...Neither could they, as it were, go up to the top of Pisgah, to view from this wilderness a more goodly country to feed their hopes."( Bradford 116)


Summary:
The Pilgrims upon reaching the newly "discovered" land have the wrong impression of the landscape that is far from the truth. When the pilgrims arrive at shore they see what to them seems to be an untamed wilderness unable to support any types of crops or people. The people they do encounter are seen as savages or beasts. These are very false description's of the Native Americans considering the condition they are in.

Response:
Once again we revisit the tired old stereotype that Native Americans have faced for hundreds of years. Upon arriving to land, William Bradford encounters along with others people he is not familiar with. The most ironic thing about calling these people "wild" is that they themselves were much more "wild" looking than the Native Americans. According to Loewens book the Native Americans were a taller, much healthier race of people than the general Europeans that came. The Native American men were in much better shape overall with a much more fit physique. On the other hand the Pilgrims were shorter people, who rarely bathed and who brought with them numerous amounts of diseases.They had bad teeth and were in a much less healthier state of being than the Native Americans. The Native Americans diet was also richer in vitamins and minerals and life sustenance. While the Europeans were accustomed to drinking beer. The point I am trying to paint here is that it is very ironic that the Native Americans were the people viewed as wild, when one could easily argue that it was the Europeans that were the wild ones.

All of our accounts of Native Americans come from their eyes and hands of the Europeans. The account taken from above reflects a typical European view. They all believe that they are on a holy quest from God in search of the promised land. William Bradford references Mount Pisgah in one of his journals. Pisgah was the mountain where Moses first saw the promised land. So in a way the Pilgrims who first began to arrive to this new land land saw themselves as a Moses type of being. When they arrive to land they have found what they believe is the holy, promised land that they have been in search of. By the will of God they find this promised land. Later after reading some investigative literature we find that some of these land discoveries had already been made by others and also were stumbled upon by accident. This reference to Mount Pisgah is an important one because it shows the amount of faith that these Puritans had in their religion. When things seem to be going your way you must credit it to somebody. By arriving at this Mountain that Bradford has dubbed Pisgah, the Pilgrims are empowered with more hope. This, as they see it, is what they have been in search of and with the help of God were able to find. Later they will attribute their findings of food and shelter to God also.

The point that is important to see is that the Pilgrims were a people with a lot of faith and belief in what they did. This may have been one of the factors that allowed them to endure so many hardships. Through William Bradfords Journals later generations can see the enormous impact that the Pilgrims had on America and its inhabitants

Open your eyes to the real Thanksgiving

Gustavo Quintero
English 48A
October 4, 2007
Journal #6 Loewen Ch. 3

Quote:
"For that matter our culture and our textbooks underplay or omit Jamestown and the sixteenth-century Spanish settlements in favor of Plymouth Rock as the archetypal birthplace of the United States....in contrast to Squanto, a volunteer, the British in Virginia took Indian prisoners and forced them to teach colonists how to farm."(Loewen 90)


Summary:
Schools from kindergarten to high school teach students that the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock is credited as being the point in History where the Pilgrims settled into America. Yet as the quote above states, most students are not taught that there were Spanish settlements before the Pilgrim settlements. Thanksgiving is also seen as a celebration which was started by the Pilgrims which could be no further from the truth.


Response:
With Thanksgiving a little over a month away we as critical thinking college students need to examine and pick apart the myth the is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was first made into a federal holiday while Abraham Lincoln was in office. Thanksgiving began in 1863 during the Civil war as a way to increase patriotism amongst feuding Americans. From the get go this holiday that is celebrated by millions of Americans on the thirds Thursday of each November seems almost phony. As Loewen Says: "No one used the term Pilgrim until the 1870's."(Loewen 95) The pilgrims are not even initially included in the Thanksgiving celebration, yet if you were to walk into any elementary school in the U.S. during November almost surely you would see pictures and posters of Pilgrims sitting alongside Indians.

The story, in a nutshell, of Thanksgiving is as follows: The Pilgrims escaped religious persecution from the English church. The Pilgrims then went aboard a ship where they endured terrible weather on their way to America. When they reached America they landed at Plymouth Rock. Here they managed to set up a village and survive the bitterly cold winter that hit this region of America. After surviving the harsh winter, while giving thanks to God, they became friends with nearby Indians and they had a huge feast in commemoration of their first winter.
This is the story by which I was raised by in school. After reading Loewen's book has done an exceptional job of putting the facts out in the open for people to read. His book serves as a medium in order to expand the knowledge that one has about certain American cultures and celebrations.

From what we know from historical facts anthropologists have concluded that Native Americans were the first people to celebrate, what we now know as Thanksgiving. The Native Americans had been practicing Autumn harvest celebrations for thousands of years. It was not the Pilgrims who began the tradition but the Native Americans. The food that is eaten during this feast is also food that is all indigenous to America. This food includes wild turkey, squash, beans and corn. Lastly it was the Native Americans who helped the pilgrims survive the winter, and later how to plant corn and other crops.

With all that I have read regarding the Native Americans role in Thanksgiving it really makes me think about what is really important during this holiday. Its not necessarily the food and the and the remembering of our "forefathers" but rather getting together with my family and having a wonderful and delicious meal.