Consider the tone of each piece of writing and the different contributions of each writer. In a short response, pick two writers and discuss at least two significant contributions of each. What do each of the writers have in common? How do they differ? What primary purpose did each have for writing? Why do you think each is important? What does each reveal about the lifestyle of the early colonial period? Choose from these questions to respond.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Autobiographical details -- what they reveal
Thanks to the autobiographical records of William Bradford (Plymouth Plantation, 1620), Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797), Mary Rowlandson (A Narrative of the Captivity, 1636-1678), and William Byrd (1674-1744, History of the Dividing Line, Early Viriginia), students have access to records of the earliest American literary history.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
My life style, like other teenagers of this time period involves going to the movies with friends, going to the mall and spending quite a bit of time on the internet. I think that this shows we are a leisurely generation who enjoy wasting time, however, as a bright person once said “It is not time wasted if you enjoyed wasting it.” We all love to shop and the majority of us live off junk foods. Our music is a mixture of just about everything including metal, screamo, country and pop.
ReplyDeleteWe also work hard to earn that free time. Some of us play sports or do activities every day after school during some parts of the year as well as school work. We truly are the hope for tomorrow. We have everything at our fingertips including the internet and texting. We are all very connected to the world. I think that with a little work, our generation could be the leaders of tomorrow.
I think that life styles differ from person to person. My life, for example, does not involve as many fun activities as many of you kids like to do. My lifestyle is rather complex. I like to work, on my own time. I have different hobbies, and one of them is to design layouts, and web pages. It is a hobby and it's also my job. I get paid for doing it and I love designing those web pages.
ReplyDeleteHowever, just like every other teenager, I too have my friends and social activities. I enjoy going to quite place like parks, rivers, and sometimes even baseball games. I have a great time when I'm with friends. I believe that everyone does. I mean... Who wouldn't like to spend an afternoon on the fields with with either friends or your girlfriend just laying down and watching the sky or just talking about things. I know I do.
To write an autobiography is more than to let people know who you are. It's to let people to get to know you. You don't have to be dead to write one. I think it would be a great idea to have a new blog post for introduction to let other students know who we are. Just to get to know each other a little bit better.
"Heroes get remembered. Legends never die"
-Four Year Strong
Consider the tone of each piece of writing and the different contributions of each writer. In a short response, pick two writers and discuss at least two significant contributions of each. What do each of the writers have in common? How do they differ? What primary purpose did each have for writing? Why do you think each is important? What does each reveal about the lifestyle of the early colonial period? Choose from these questions to respond.
ReplyDeleteThe writings of Mary Rowlandson and William Byrd are more different than similarities. Rowlandson took her writings more seriously than Byrd, because she went through a difficult time, and did not find them a time of celebration, basically. Byrd was a very joking person: He had money, land, and he seemed pleased with his life. But, the only similarities they shared was the fact that BOTH of their writings were quite wonderful to read, and interesting to learn about. They were both important in their own way, not just the fact that it was old literature, but because of the imagery they gave us. It sets us back, and lets us see both sides of the spectrum.
BEING A TEENAGE GIRL,I KNOW HOW BUSY LIFE CAN GET...ALL THE BOYS,SCHOOL WORK,SHOPPING,HANGING WITH FRIENDS,& ETC. I HARDLY HAVE TIME FOR ANYTHING EXTRA. AND WITHOUT MY LAPTOP,CELL PHONE, & iPOD I DONT THINK THAT I COULD DO ANYTHING. MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY WOULD BE VERY INTRESTING BUT I REALLY DONT THONK I WOULD EVER FINISH IT..
ReplyDeleteI DONT HAVE ENOUGH TIME:)
SORRY
Although both of the aforementioned autobiographical writers shared a great deal with readers, I believe that of the listed, Olaudah Equiano and Mary Rowlandson produced the most intriguing in the list. Equiano produced a very rare literary experience for readers today: the ability to see the journey of a slave from his own point of view. This was rare because, as a general rule, slaves weren't permitted to read or write, much less learn to do so, but Equiano was an exception. He had been the son of an African plantation owner, and had been kidnapped from the plantation where his own father owned Africans as slaves. His graphic description of his feelings and emotions as well as the physical surroundings and events painted a such a vivid image in my mind that it haunts me to this day.
ReplyDeleteMary Rowlandson's story was also one of strife and hardship. Like Equiano, she was snatched from her own home, and from all but one of her children (whom which died in her arms at the tender age of 6). Rowlandson spent many days following behind her captors, the Native Americans, and lamenting over her losses. She wrote of the treatment of her by the natives, being somewhat hypocritical, considering it was her people that had chased the Natives from their homeland in the first place. But she also began to lose her ignorance and become more open in the open world in order to not only survive, but live somewhat successfully. For example, she learned to enjoy foods that she once found intolerable, such as bear meat and unborn dear. In the end, her struggle bore successful results, reuniting with her children and returning home.
The contributions of Olaudah Equiano tell us that, not only white people owned and sold African American slaves but also African Americans owned and sold African American slaves as his father had been a slave owner. Although, he wasn't born into slavery he was captured and sold into slavery by people of his own race. This type of autobiography is not commonly seen because not many captured African Americans could read or write about the horrors of slavery. This autobiography gives an insight to the lifestyle of a typical slaves life and lets the reader view into the persons life to experience a broad outlook on the experiences a slave experiences throughout their life. The life of Mary Rowlandson compares to this in the fact that there were many horrors in her life and that she was captured and put into a state of servitude as was Olaudah Equiano.
ReplyDeleteMary Rowlandson was a mother living with her husband. She teaches us that in history that at the time Native Americans were aiding the British and that Native Americans would take in servants and execute prisoners. This shows us that the Native Americans would rely on aid from foreign people and take in servants to protect their homeland, which at the time was slowly deteriorating as new nations were in the midst of forming. The life of Mary Rowlandson can be viewed as a horror because of the tragedies she witnessed. Mary Rowlandson is much like the life of Olaudah Equiano in the face that they both experienced tragedies in their lifetime and were able to document their tragedies for future generations to learn from.