Benito Cereno

In Benito Cereno the quote, “… the American could not but think it another strange instance of his host’s capriciousness, this being shaved with such uncommon punctuality in the middle of the day,” suggests that the character Captain Delano is beginning to figure out that there is something suspicious on board of the San Dominick. Everything that has already happened that is already suspicious to the reader is now evident to the American and leaves the reader angry at him for his lackadaisical persona toward the Spanish ship. He just assumes that many things are different because they are of Spanish decent, and perhaps different cultures do things different such as shaving. He realizes that it is odd that Benito is shaving in the middle of the day and also that Babo offers for them to continue speaking while he is shaving Benito. However for the American, these suspicious events do not completely register as means enough for alarm.

Melville does a great job in aggravating the reader so to speak, in instances such as this one with the somewhat slow-acting American in Benito Cereno. All that is provided to the reader up until this point in the story, makes it known that something isn’t quite right and that this storyline does not follow typical stereotypical themes. Although with Captain Delano present during all of these events, and even making comments as he actually notices majority of them, he seems to misinterpret everything and just assumes it to be common among a different culture. Personally Melville did a great job at making me fall into this same literary trap, as he does with most of his audience’s. For that I applaud him on making such an interesting story that totally captures the reader and really brings them close to the character enough to know exactly what is going on and then having his characters not realize what we are realizing. Therefore this is an excellent device used to entrap the reader even more into finishing out the entire story and strongly poll for the good of the narrative characters.

Nathaniel Hawthorne- Young Goodman Brown Blog

Nathaniel Hawthorne seems to be inflicting his own personal beliefs and tendencies in religious issues into the character Goodman Brown, who also has a Puritan decent. One common realization of Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown is that he writes as if it is the 17th century, where in reality it is the 1835. The reason Hawthorne writes a story covering religious Quaker/Puritan issues 200 years before this actual point in time is to inflict his own knowledge of what lay ahead of people in this religion. In having this knowledge Hawthorne was able to successfully write a story in which his main character and narrator Goodman Brown was always on the right side of things, and always saying or thinking the politically right thoughts for this point in time. He exemplifies such beliefs when he has Goodman Brown state things such as “…I have nothing to do with the governor and council; they have their own ways, and are no rule for a simple husbandman, like me…” and “My father never went into the woods on such an errand, nor his father before him. We have been a race of honest men and good Christians, since the days of the martyrs…”

It is already established that Nathaniel Hawthorne holds strong feelings for the Quaker faith because this covers his own beliefs. What better way to write upon something he feels so strongly about and get his point across smoothly, than to cover a time period 200 years before his time about in which he already knows the answer to? At this point in time some Puritan groups separated from the Church of England such as the Pilgrims, who in 1620 founded Plymouth Colony. The Massachusetts Bay Company in which was the first major Puritan migration to New England took place around this time as well. For the Puritans New England was their stronghold and safe haven so to speak. Therefore many Congregationalist churches were set forth to verify their true feelings about a Christian society for more than 200 years. Therefore Nathaniel Hawthorne fell into this ongoing struggle in which still continues to his lifetime and the main reason he wrote such a story.

The Group- Mercy Otis Warren-- Post

In The Group, a play by Mercy Otis Warren, she uses clever language in the speech in Act II Scene iii. This speech by the character Meagre basically sides with all the common issues of all Tories in Massachusetts at the time, “I hate the leaders of these restless factions, For all their generous efforts to be free…hate the people, who, no longer gulled, See through the schemes of our aspiring clan…Could we erase these notions from their minds, Then (paramount to these ideal whims, Utopian dreams, of patriotic virtue…If we could keep our foothold in the stirrup…For I've a Brother, as the Roman dame Who would strike off the rebel neck at once.”

It is interesting how Warren speaks so well of the Tories’ beliefs in this issue. For it is all a bit sarcastic to those readers that really know the intent she is writing it. It is to mock the Tories and their theories, and to give more power and courage to the patriots in which most at the time are at limbo of whether or not they should fully side themselves with America and risk treason. The question is just how significant are Mercy Otis Warren’s efforts? Do the majority of the American citizens in this time period understand completely the clever wording and sarcasm that Otis uses in The Group, or are they too illiterate?

Benjamin Franklin, Part 3 - Post

In Part 3 of his Autobiography, Benjamin Franklin tends to be a lot more relaxed in his thinking toward his life and everything else. He could have quite possibly began settling down his rebellious and precocious ways as a result of his travels around the world, thus having a greater appreciation for things especially in America.

Benjamin Franklin states, “I would take home his son, then but ten years of age, and bring him up to the printing business … Thus it was that I made my brother ample amends for the service I had depriv'd him of by leaving him so early,” early on in Part 3 of his Autobiography. Through this statement I truly believe that Benjamin Franklin has had a significant change in point-of-view towards life altogether. As I mentioned earlier he seems more subtle in his actions. This quote completely demonstrates that fact in that he and his brother have settled differences and now Benjamin is taking on his nephew to “repay” his brother for the difficulties many years before.