Uncle Tom's Cabin

This is a very conflicting story, I know that it is said that this story brought the country to its knees. I believe it is for three reasons, first the close attachment between most of the main characters in the story and God, it appears most of the characters rely on God as a source of hope and strength this is similar to The Wide Wide World's early chapters certainly. Also embedded in this story is the idea that good, Christian Americans would be opposed to slavery, just as much as they would be opposed to the treatment of anything in a cruel way for a example, stoning a kitten. In this example we see questions and gaps of this society that was supposed to be of the highest morals. Finally the attachment between a mother trying to protect her innocent child is something that is universal, every woman can imagine protecting her child, it's instinctual to a large degree, and everyone who read this book was once a child so the strength of this relationship can be understood by a large audience.

Mrs. Bird, the wife of a senator with morals but who helped pass the run away salve act of 1850, is a woman of very small stature, and who is very passive in most instances, and often will convince her husband and children rather than order them. She is seen as very sweet and meager one scene on page 275 illustrates well the idea that though she is not one to get into conflict she will not hesitate when there is an innocent creature being treated cruelly. Here, in this instances of oppression of a kitten, by little boys. "I'll tell you what," Master bill used to say, :i was scared that time. Mother came at me so that I thought she was a crazy, and I was whipped, and tumbled off to bed, without any supper, before I could get over wondering what had come about; and after that I heard mother crying outside the door, which made me feel worse than all the rest..." this I feel, is an important part of the story because it makes people question themselves. If being cruel to a kitten is wrong, is being cruel by owning a slave wrong too?

On page 273 we see senator Bird come home and of course the chaos that is in all houses with lots of children, "Tom, let the door-knob alone,--there's a man! Mary! Mary! Don't pull the cat's tail,-- poor pussy! Jim you musn't climb the table,-no, no!-you don't know what a surprise it is to see you here tonight! said she, at last, when she found a chance to say something to her husband." Here we have the nice little family, doing well in life, full of love, and when juxtaposed with Eliza, and her situation, it's all the more sweet. The scene in which Eliza jumps from the boat, jumping from ice patch to ice patch across the Ohio river is unlike anything we have read thus far. Never has so much action been placed around a mother and child.

Overall, I'd say that Uncle Tom's Cabin keeps the assumption that having strong faith in God will see you through, also, I would think this is an example of children in literature used to draw emotions out of us. Finally I think it is trying to teach a moral as well, and the fact that it is through such a violent story kind of makes since and goes along with the teaching of morals idea.

The Hidden Hand

I felt this story incorporated ideas of murder, mystery, comedy and scandal all in one story. I'll focus in this entry on the different settings that we encountered in the story because I feel like they played just as much of a role as many of the secondary characters. The weather, setting (city or country), time of day, even temperature, can all be interpreted to have larger meanings that connect with the story and might help us better understand the characters.

Starting at the beginning of the story with Hurricane Hall and it's surroundings, namely the Devils Hoof, and the Devil's Punch Bowl, two geological phenomenon. We are told that the Devils Hoof is an almost horseshoe like rocky structure, and the name of the Devils Punch Bowl suggests that it is most fit for the devil himself, a scary thought but not outrageos for a land as scary as this one is described. It is all hollows eve, it is a bitterly cold night, and we have an old racist who's tough as nails in his wonderful, cozy room, drinking. Suddenly, we hear a knock on the door! The author, Southworth, draws us in deeper and deeper until we are fully enveloped in the plot. "On his right stood a little table with a lighted candle, a stack of clay pipes, a jug of punch, lemons, sugar, Holland gin, etc. ,while on the hearth sat a kettle full of boiling water to help replenish the jug if needful." Major Warfield, (who's name may indicate a constant struggle within himself), is all set to have a good time for the night. Connected to the MacLeod reading we can see that the idea of children being better off in the country is played out here when Major Warfield rescues Capitola she is in the city, a dirty place where she had to do outrageous things to survive but, such is life in the city. As scary as the opening scene may be, when Capitola retells her story, it is scary trying to imagine being forced, like she was, into a position where the only home you have is destroyed and where you must start from scratch and have all your wits about you to survive. Both places are cold but Capitola is able to find real warmth within Hurricane Hall in the country. I really would like to know how the story ends.

The Lamplighter Post

In todays society our depiction of girls has become one that prizes individuality and creativity yet still relies on the concept of hard work playing a large part of a girls success. In this case the expression "a woman must work twice as hard as a man to receive half the credit comes to mind" though of course slowly these ideas are becoming obsolete. Essentially a wider range of skills is expected of girls today as well as being well mannered and good natured. Anna however, the girl in the video, a modern girl, has found new techniques for dealing with stress. Rather than get angry or frustrated she does yoga and meditates. The thing I found similar to both girls is that they are both 'real' in the since that they do both experience stress--they don't have perfect lives but they both deal with it in different ways, perhaps in the past it was dealt with by building stress but for the girls of today's society, they are taught to release it in a positive way, which is healthier.

It is very possible that just as Willie learned to be kind and compassionate from his mother, Gerty learned to let her anger run free and control her when she gets angry much like Nan Grant did. If Gerty appeared on Amy Pholer's show she might talk about how balance was brought into her life by the lamplighter and how she deals with stress through different forms of screaming techniques and violence. Gerty might also show signs of having a low self-esteem since she does in the story so frequently. "O, yes!" said Gerty, "so glad you can't see me!--because now, perhaps you'll love me." Gerty has had over 5 years of Nan Grant which is enough to make anyone depressed.

The fact that Gerty experienced such a wicked character as Nan Grant at such a young and critical age has left serious marks on Gerty's personality. This could be the reason Gerty feels so conflicted when she throws a rock at Nan Grant's window when she is on the pleasant walk with Willie watching Uncle True light the lamps. "Gerty was silent, too, for the rest of the walk; there were clouds on her face, and she felt unhappy in her little heart." this quote is taken just after Gert throws the rock as she walks with Uncle True and Willie.