Abraham Lincoln

Jozi Lucha

Second Inaugural Address, March 4 1865

"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for this widow, and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations"(Lincoln 1636).

I was truly taken by this speech.  To think about the time, the conditions and the people when he did his speech.  Lincoln took no time to celebrate his victory over the South, instead he took his time and his speech to bring attention to all that slavery was wrong, that both sides suffered, that now after the fact, they were all punished, North and South, and that all need to reunite and help rebuild the country.  He wanted peace among all nations at last.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand"(Brainy quote).  I chose this quote because I think that it goes so well with his speech and what he is trying to say.  A nation divided and fighting against each other, won't stand, and can't rise.  So he asks that all should put everything aside, realized that this was a was punishment and devastating for all and now it is time to rise together.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Jozi Lucha

10/06/09

The Minister's Black Veil

"'Elizabeth, I will,' said he. 'so far as my vow may suffer me. Know, then, this veil is a type and a symbol, and I am bound to wear it ever, both in light and darkness, in solitude and before the gaze of multitudes, and as with strangers, so with familiar friends. No mortal eye will see it withdrawn. this dismal shade must separate me from the world: even you, Elizabeth, can never come behind it!'"(Hawthorne).

Mr. Hooper were the veil as a symbol of sins. He was ashamed of something that he did and made the choice to punish himself. He also brought up to everyone's attention that we all have a black veil on, it's just invisible, we choose to not show it, and by doing so, we hide and ignore our own sins. He never said what he had done, he never named any names and with his veil, he cause the townspeople to think, be afraid, judge and he also brought a darkness with him, which represents sin. He first were the veil on the funeral of the young lady. He put a wall between him and his fiance and caused her to break of their engagement.

"Edgar Allan Poe speculated that Minister Hooper may have had an affair with the young lady who died at the beginning of the story, as this the first day he wears the veil, "and that a crime of dark dye, (having reference to the young lady) has been committed, is a point which only minds congenial with that of the author will perceive"(Wikipedia). I believe that as a minister and an engaged bachelor, Mr. Hooper commits adultery. To him, and in those times, this a terrible sin. He can't face the people and he can't talk about it either, so he punishes himself, but he knows that in his sin, he is not alone.

Rebecca Harding Davis

Jozi Lucha

10/01/09

Life in the Iron-Mills

"A dirty canary chirps desolately in a cage beside me. Its dream of green fields and sunshine is a very old dream,--almost worn out, I think"(Davis).

"I dunno,"he said, with a bewildered look. "It mebbe, Summat to make her li, I think,--like you. whiskey ull do it, in a way"(The Atlantic doc).

This story is about life as a poor worker in a factory and in an Iron-Mill. Deborah and Hugh, cousins that are in love with each other work hard day in day out. Some of the days they have enough food others day don't. Hugh is a sculptor and creates a sculpture of a woman who resembles Deborah. Hugh asks for help so that he can become and sculptor and set him and Deborah free from their poor life, by not working in the mills anymore. He doesn't receive the help that he wanted. Deborah then steals someone's wallet to try to help them out and set them free, but Hugh gets blamed for it and they both end up in jail and really lose their freedom. In the end Hugh dies and his is finally free but at a cost.

Desperation can sometimes lead us to do certain things that we later regret. Being poor and consistently struggling for food and things of necessity can create a feeling of being worthless. It seems to me that even in today's date, the poor people seem to work the hardest and suffer the most. When Deborah brings Hugh his dinner and walks through the rain and cold and then ends up sleeping like an animal at the mills, I felt so bad for her. She must have been miserable. But for her to steal to try to make life easier, there is no excuse. Life is one of those things that you have to get through it and there is no way around it.

Herman Melville

English Journal

Posted by Jozi Lucha

September 28, 2009

Bartleby, The Scrivener

"Even so, for the most part, I regarded Bartleby and his ways. Poor fellow! thought I, he means no mischief; it is plain he intends no insolence; his aspect sufficiently evinces that his eccentricities are involuntary. He is useful to me. I can get along with him. If I turn him away, the chances are he will fall in with some less indulgent employer, and then he will be rudely treated, and perhaps driven forth miserably to starve" (Herman Melville).

"As his professional fortunes waned, Melville's marriage was unhappy, plagued by rumors of his alcoholism and insanity and allegations that he inflicted physical abuse on his wife. her relatives repeatedly urged her to leave him and offered to have him committed as insane, but she refused"(Wikipedia).

The narrator, Bartleby's employer, is a good man with a good heart. He struggle with doing what is right for his business and the treatment as a human being towards another human being. Throughout the story, he continuously sees the good in Bartleby, even when Bartleby refuses to talk to him or listen to him. He tries all he can in his power, even moving but he can't get through Bartleby. In the end, it is he who is by his side when he dies.

The entire time that I read the story, I kept waiting for something big to come out, for Bartleby to tell his employer something, but he never did. The two quotes that I have choose, I chose because the first describes how his employer sees Bartleby and his patience. It also describes his worry about his well being and him taking responsibility for Bartleby. The second quote I chose, because maybe Bartleby didn't do anything insane, but he did not act normal. He never responded to someone who made it his personal mission to make sure that he was ok. The quote also shows that maybe Melville suffered inside, the worst kind of struggle and how his wife refuse to give up on him, the same way that Bartleby's employer refused to give up on him and give him many chances.