Blog Post #6: Caught In Between

Lydia Marie Child’s The Quadroons is a case study of what it means to be caught between races in the 1800’s.  In the story, both Rosalie and her child Xarifa eventually fall into misfortune because of their race. The progression of both their lives goes from good to bad, or, if you will, light to dark, which could be seen as a symbol of how they are viewed throughout the story in terms of race. Rosalie begins in the “white” stages; she is happily married to a white man and has a beautiful daughter. However, her life soon begins to darken when her husband takes a fancy to a white woman. It is then that her race becomes an issue, and also is what causes her and her husband to separate. The same character arc can be seen in Xarifa’s story: she is beautiful, admired and adored by all until race brings about her enslavement, and eventually her demise. Both of these women illustrate precisely the idea of the Tragic Mulatta. Though they are virtuous, kind, and even beautiful socially respectable women, their race holds them back from happiness, and through no fault of their own, is eventually what causes their destruction.

            One thing that I took away from this reading was how Rosalie and Xarifa’s status as a Mulatta kept them from engaging fully on either side. Being part African American, Xarfia could never truly be a part of the white society due to the deep, inherent racism of the time. Also, because of her upbringing in a predominantly white society, she was not treated as a slave until she was repossessed, and therefore obviously unfamiliar with the harshness of such a life. In a way, I saw that Xarifa was doomed to insanity from the start, as she was unable to escape or either part of her identity. In addition to the shock of becoming a slave horrible treatment she endured, a crisis of identity could have been another of the many contributing factors to her insanity at the end of the story. The tragedy of this story is that the people of this time saw only the side of a Mulatta that they wanted to see. In the end, choosing to recognize her as a slave's offspring rather than a white man's daughter benefitted them more, regardless of her beauty, character and poise.

Blog Post #4: Sure as Death

While reading Elizabeth Stuart Phelps’s story “The Tenth of January,” I was struck by the sudden, unexpected and very violent ending. However, upon re-examination of the story, I noticed that Phelps had employed the plot technique of foreshadowing Sene’s death several times. The one instance that really jumped out for me occurred relatively early on in the story, when Sene sees Dick and Del together by the stream. Close to heartbreak, Sene resolves to investigate and check to see if the man was really her Dick, saying “I won’t be a fool, I’ll make sure, I’ll make sure as death.” This again brings up the idea of death in relation to Sene’s character in the story. This statement stuck out to me as a parallel to the end of the story in a way that the other mentions of death did not because it is sadly ironic. In the end of the story, it is in fact in death that Sene “makes sure” of her fear that Dick would choose Del over her, and that his love for her is lost, as Phelps says “for a scratch upon [Del’s] smooth cheek, he had quite forgotten her.” To me, by paralleling Sene’s earlier statement, the tragedy of Sene’s horrific death is both enhanced and also paralleled by the tragedy of her lost love. 

Blog Post #3: Quiet Strength

While reading Washington Irving’s The Wife, I expected to see a somewhat stereotypical view of women as associated with Irving’s time period. What I was surprised to find was that, though the common view of women as weak is present, Irving challenges that classification with a very different take on women. The Wife highlights the true strength of a woman, even if it is hidden beneath a soft and tender exterior. I thought that it was very interesting to see these two very different views of women juxtaposed so closely, especially given the time period in which this was written. In Irving’s world, women were ideally supposed to be tender, frail, slight, weak and dependent on their husbands, and were rarely involved in anything more than trivial matters. However, directly after describing this feminine ideal, Irving goes on to say that beneath the delicate exterior of a lady, there hides a strong, brave, and steadfast spirit that makes a woman strong even when men cannot. Irving illustrates this point by describing a delicate vine wrapped around a sturdy oak tree, that, when the oak tree is broken by lightning, clings to the shrapnel and holds it together. I think that it is very refreshing to see recognition of a woman’s strength in writing, especially by a male author. It is nice to know that this quiet strength that women have is recognized by others, and written about in such a pleasing light from one of the most famous authors in history.

Blog Post #2: Read All About It: Newspapers Then and Now

           In this weeks reading, one thing that really jumped out at me was the prevalence of newspapers and magazines as one of the pioneering forms of literature in the New World, especially in the time period around the Revolution and the emergence of the United States.

            Prior to the Revolutionary war, newspapers in the colonies were mainly separated by region, catering to those in their immediate vicinity. However, with passage of the Stamp Act in 1765, printers of newspapers were brought together in opposition to the tax, despite distance and political ideas. To me, this showed yet another example of the colonists joining together during the time of the American Revolution, further uniting them against the British.

            Another thing that I found interesting about this time in American history was how much it laid the framework for our modern day newspapers. During the Revolution, newspapers united and became very focused on the political issues of the time. In much the same way, today’s papers follow political races, issues, scandals, and everything in between. Also in a similar structure to that of colonial times, our society has regional papers that have stories relevant to their local district, which also include national and global news. Our modern society boasts technological advances such as the internet and television, which eliminate the issues of distance, it is remarkable how much the Revolutionary era paved the way and helped to shape our news system.

Blog Post #1: To Be American

Blog Post #1

The title “American” is a label that many people hold claim to, but most rarely take time to define. For me, to be an American means to be a free, proud, and patriotic citizen of the United States. Ideal Americans are characterized as hardworking, united, patriotic and civilized leaders who strive for success and to achieve the American Dream.

Our discussions in Tuesday’s class reinforced my initial definition, and also reminded me of another key factor: Americans are diverse. By saying diverse, I am not only including the obvious distinction of race, but also factors like culture, social class, economic status, social background, ideals, beliefs, dreams, and many more things that make each American unique. When forming my definition, I quite honestly left out the diversity factor, not because I don’t believe that it is a vitally important factor, but because it simply wasn’t the first thing to come to my mind. Upon further reflection, I realized what a serious error it was to not include diversity in my assessment. Diversity is one of the major characteristics that makes America special. The title “American” is not just limited to the wealthy or upper classes of our society; it includes everyone, even, and especially, the marginalized of society. Langston Hughes’ two poems we discussed in class really drove this point home. No matter what our social, ethnic or cultural classification, we all bear the distinction of being American. It is each of our personal identities, cultures, ideas, hopes, dreams and ambitions that come together to create America itself.

            So therefore, my new and improved definition is: to be American is to be a part of the incredibly diverse, proud, patriotic, united and free country of the United States.