Nineteenth Century
For some reason I really don't like that he spelled out the 19th Century, it looks cringe-y
124 Matching Annotations
- Nov 2019
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Or shall I hear the name of Plato and never read his book?
When I learned about Plato's Cave in high school we didn't even read it, my teacher basically gave us a Sparknotes version and then we watched a video on it
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The best books are not read even by those who are called good readers.
No one wants to read the fact-filled uber-thick classics, we want thrillers and romances, subjects that keep us on our toes; we want to read for fun, not work. Thoreau hates this about us
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They have only been read as the multitude read the stars, at most astrologically, not astronomically. Most men have learned to read to serve a paltry convenience, as they have learned to cipher in order to keep accounts and not be cheated in trade; but of reading as a noble intellectual exercise they know little or nothing; yet this only is reading, in a high sense, not that which lulls us as a luxury and suffers the nobler faculties to sleep the while, but what we have to stand on tip-toe to read and devote our most alert and wakeful hours to.
Google says that this passage means he's saying that most people read as a hobby or a past time, and not actually to gain knowledge
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Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations.
He's equating the wealth and beauty of a nation to its books and therefore its history- where would we be without books?
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orator’s
An orator is a public speaker, and the word oratory refers to a speech. He's calling writers performers here; I wonder if he's alluding to classic plays as well? Many Greek stories are plays as well as books
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They are the only oracles which are not decayed, and there are such answers to the most modern inquiry in them as Delphi and Dodona never gave.
Classics are oracles that never died- beautiful metaphor! They contain wisdom, and since most Greek classics are about philosophy, they are important to read today. Humans have always questioned the meaning of life and other philosophical questions and reading the classics helps us better understand ourselves, like Delphi did for people
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I kept Homer’s Iliad on my table through the summer, though I looked at his page only now and then.
Feels sentimental
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Instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but one
Not a healthy message to the public-also, not a practical way to spread the message about conservation.
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I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms
Ah yes, I've read this passage before- it angers me. This is the most inaccurate use of the word 'Spartan' I've seen. How dare he reference Greek culture earlier. The Spartans were arguably one of the most progressive and innovative groups of people in history; they invented so much in technology and art. By no means did they "reduce life to its lowest terms." Ugh
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We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep.
We must will ourselves to stay awake without any coffee or caffeine. We have to learn to use nothing but our own abilities. This advice sounds like it came straight from Self-Reliance.
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Morning is when I am awake and there is a dawn in me.
Does he go to sleep before lunch time?
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All memorable events, I should say, transpire in morning time and in a morning atmosphere.
How is this true at all? Does anyone agree with him? I try to keep my mornings as relaxed as possible.
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to which we are not awakened by our Genius
I can't forget Emerson's line about shunning his family when his genius calls him. It's such a pretentious way of saying that an idea popped in your head and you want to write it down before you forget it. I could suddenly think that I should pick up some more oil at the grocery store, I wouldn't call that my "Genius," certainly not with a capital G. These American literature authors crack me up and I mean that endearingly of course
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It was Homer’s requiem; itself an Iliad and Odyssey in the air, singing its own wrath and wanderings.
Language refers to Greek history and mythology. Above, he says that he worships Aurora, the Greek Goddess of dawn. I'm not sure why he's stressing how much he values and loves mornings, but he seems to take great pride in it.
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“An abode without birds is like a meat without seasoning.”
I love this, I have three birds back home and they are amazing. I can honestly say that my apartment here is significantly bland and boring compared to how fun my birds make my house back home.
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though that was nothing to me
He's so rude to the farmers! The agricultural facts that keep the farm running doesn't interest Thoreau at all; he's only in it for a break from civilization. The farm brings him peace and he is so uninterested in all the hard work that goes into him feeling at peace.
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poet withdraw, having enjoyed the most valuable part of a farm, while the crusty farmer supposed that he had got a few wild apples only.
The farmer, who worked the land and created this farm is "crusty" and a visitor who hasn't done any work immediately notices the "most valuable part" of the farm. Assuming the most valuable part is the scenic beauty, this gives the consumer all the credit and no praise to the farmer who gave this particular landscape its beauty.
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We were fain to button up our monkey jackets, and hold to our lips cups of scalding tea with our half frozen fingers.
He writes simply but beautifully. I imagine his frozen fingers really hurt while holding the hot tea cup. I wonder what he means when he says "monkey jackets?" Are their jackets made out of monkey fur- if so, how did they afford that and where did they get them from?
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For three minutes or more he was seen swimming like a dog, throwing his long arms straight out before him, and by turns revealing his brawny shoulders through the freezing foam.
Heroic language, drastically different from how he's described in the beginning
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On one side, New Bedford rose in terraces of streets, their ice- covered trees all glittering in the clear, cold air.
Interesting calling New Bedford trees "theirs." This kind of personifies the city. Could New Bedford itself (themself?) be a character?
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It is not down in any map; true places never are.
What is a "true" place??
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Queequeg now and then affectionately throwing his brown tattooed legs over mine,
What happened to being angry that he had to share a bed (with a man)? One night later and they're practically in love
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– to do to my fellow man what I would have my fellow man to do to me –
That, and better, really
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I told him yes; whereat I thought he looked pleased, perhaps a little complimented.
I doubt it's because of you, Ishmael. He's probably just happy to sleep in a warm bed again rather than being banished to the floor/out of the room
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Queequeg was George Washington cannibalistically developed.
Oh Christ
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And the women of New Bedford, they bloom like their own red roses.
This paragraph is uncharacteristically sweet!
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a fellow that, in the dog-days, will mow his two acres in buckskin gloves for fear of tanning his hands
I love the word dandy! It means a well-dressed and fancy man. Dapper gentlemen, if you will.
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himself all over like a Newfoundland dog just from the water,
Animalistic language, comparing him to the largest breed of dog ever
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Queequeg’s pagan arm thrown round me.
Pagan arm? Is his arm not religious? Sometimes ignorant language is just straight up funny
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anything indeed but condemning me to lie abed such an unendurable length of time.
For a child, being forced to stay in bed or go to bed early is torture. I truly think kids can become miserable due to boredom. You have to let them play in order to grow up healthy. What his mother is doing here is pretty irresponsible parenting
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You had almost thought I had been his wife.
There it is!!!
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motioning to me with his tomahawk, and throwing the clothes to one side.
Is he black or Native American? Both are referred to as "savages" and "devils" in American literature
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It was of a dark purplish, yellow color, here and there stuck over with large, blackish looking squares.
This sounds exactly like the description of Frankenstein's monster
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airley to bed and airley
Irish/Scottish accent, amazing
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At any rate, I made up my mind that if it so turned out that we should sleep together, he must undress and get into bed before I did….
How is this preferred? Now he's getting into bed with an undressed man, if anything, that makes it gayer. I see a connection to this shared-bed situation in Edgar Allen Poe's novel "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket." In that story, the main character, who is believed to be Poe himself, often shares a bed with his childhood friend. These books were both written within the same 20 years. The descriptions of two men sharing a bed together, although very different in these two books, reveal a lot about the men involved. Pym was happy to share a bed with his (boy)friend throughout Poe's novel, and here, Ishmael is inconvenienced, angered, and embarrassed to do the same. Could it be that Pym was simply more in tune with himself and his feelings than Ishmael? It could be that Ishmael simply doesn't wish to share a bed with anyone, but I think the author wrote the character this way for a reason. This comment is very long.
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the harpooneer is a dark complexioned chap. He never eats dumplings, he don’t – he eats nothing but steaks, and likes ’em rare.”
As an English major, I can't help but notice the animalistic language here. He pointed out that the harpooner is black and that he likes raw meat; this detail one after the other cannot be a coincidence. He's saying that he's an animal and likes raw meat.
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and the best of pea coffee….
Pea coffee, from a coffee bean called peaberry, is native to Spain. This detail connects us to the seaports of New Bedford even more, as it references foreign trade and consumer spending.
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I stuffed a shirt or two into my old carpet-bag, tucked it under my arm, and started for Cape Horn and the Pacific.
A minimalistic lifestyle! Two shirts for a voyage? Seems very in-tune with the values of the new middle class.
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The act of paying is perhaps the most uncomfortable infliction that the two orchard thieves entailed upon us.
If money is the root of all evil, wouldn't paying for something make on a better person? They're essentially handing their evil to someone else. If Ishmael hates spending his money, what does that say about him?
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there is no one who will speak more respectfully, not to say reverentially, of a broiled fowl than I will
Loves eating, hates cooking. So far, he's like Rip Van Winkle; lazy and has a love of relaxation in nature.
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going to sea whenever I begin to grow hazy about the eyes, and begin to be over conscious of my lungs
He takes to the sea whenever he feels unwell, and his language implies that this means whether he is physically sick or feeling sad. The ocean is his go-to place for comfort and clarity.
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Call me Ishmael
Iconic first line, I've seen it quoted and referenced in contemporary TV shows and movies
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quadroon
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wild, grotesque songs
He was described as a cute little boy but when he does a traditional dance he becomes 'wild and grotesque,' it's disturbing that they laugh at him and his culture when he couldn't be more innocent
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“Well, haven’t you a boy or gal that you could throw in with Tom?
Asking for more slaves based on their worth, they place certain skilled workers over others- this is how they valued slaves, based on labor
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‘bliged
Reveals their accent
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“Some folks don’t believe there is pious niggers Shelby,” said Haley,
Haley embodies the wealth of the higher class with his brandy and the values of the higher class with his extreme view of slavery
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- Oct 2017
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While left alone with them, he was not long in observing somethings
He thinks slaves are too be observed, and they interest him because they are different than him. Does he think they are inferior to him?
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while long-continued suffering seemed to have brought out the less good-naturedqualities of the Negroes, besides, at the same time, impairing theSpaniard’s authority over them
Being enslaved makes their bad qualities come out? I think that would apply to anyone. I would expect them to look angry, and be angry, therefore look and act that way. Not sure if he agrees with slavery just yet, but I'm thinking he does
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like a shepherd’s dog
Making slaves appear animalistic, again. Why why why? This had potential to make a stand against this idea, and advocate for no slavery, but here we are
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these strange costumes, gestures, and faces,but a shadowy tableau
Spaniards and Americans dressed that differently? Or is he referring to how the slaves are dressed? More foreshadowing of something bad, "shadowy", "emerged from the deep", sounds mysterious and not to be trusted.
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Spanish captain, a gentlemanly, reserved-looking, andrather young man to a stranger’s eye, dressed with singularrichnes
The Spaniard appears to be a gentlemen, as opposed to the slave near him, who has a "rude face." I would look pretty rude if I was being sold like property too. Cut him some slack. Are Delano and the Spaniard going to trade, be friends, or look the other way at each other? A lot can happen here
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pumpkins on board, with a box of sugar, and adozen of his private bottles of cider
What is he preparing for?
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The scurvy,together with a fever, had swept off a great part of their number,more especially the Spaniards.
I thought this was funny. I remember cartoons from my childhood about pirates who had scurvy, and needed vitamin C. Sailors have the same problem, apparently.
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a strange fowl, so called from its lethargic somnambulisticcharacter, being frequently caught by hand at sea.
He mentions sea birds, and other animals a lot. Does he think that fowl makes the sailor life better? He seems to value them a lot
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from long unacquaintance with thescraper, tar, and the brush. Her keel seemed laid, her ribs puttogether, and she launched, from Ezekiel’s Valley of Dry Bones
The ship looks like it has not been taken care of properly? Has his opinion of it changed because he knows that it holds slaves? Does that fact make the ship uglier to him? That would be a good change of pace
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a Spanish merchantmanof the first class; carrying Negro slaves, amongst other valuablefreight, from one colonial port to another
The ship he has been admiring is full of slaves. How does he feel about this? Is he on the slavery side or the no slavery side?
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after a thunder-storm, seen perched uponsome dun cliff among the Pyrenees.
So now we are in Europe. I'm guessing we'll hear more comparisons to America, and how it's better than Europe
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be a ship in distress, CaptainDelano ordered his whale-boat to be dropped, and
Melville seems to stick with what he likes, which is ships and whales. "Ship in distress" makes me think of "damsel in distress", so we'll see how he is with actual women, and not ships. Hopefully we'll get more characters, and he won't just be describing feminine ships.
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was drawing too near the land,
Can tell he is experienced because he could tell there was something wrong with the ship just by looking at it. He also calls the ship she/her, as a true sailor would.
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Whether, inview of what humanity is capable, such a trait implies, along witha benevolent heart,
Shows experience, he's an experienced man/sailor. He's not as naive as the other authors we have studied.
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ndulge in personal alarms, anyway involving the imputation of malign evil in man.
He sounds interesting so far, independent and alert.
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Shadows present, foreshadowing deepershadows to come.
Kind of annotated for us, telling us he is in fact foreshadowing. He really didn't want us to miss that lol
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Everything was muteand calm; everything grey.
Foreshadowing something bad, a storm maybe? Or the ugly concept of slavery coming his way?
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Ships were then not so plenty in those waters as now
He wrote this not in his present-day, but in his past, if that makes sense. That's unique to what we have been reading so far.
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It is a parable of slavery, written at the dawn of the civilwar, about a black crew’s desire for freedom
I wonder where this story will go. I know his name, only because of Moby-Dick. I have not read that, or anything else by him. Fingers crossed that he's famous for good reasons, and that he won't depict slaves in a horrifically offensive way.
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- Sep 2017
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to Albany upon one of those horses, and sell me for powder
What is in Albany? What kind of powder would she be sold for?
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He answered me that he was not asleep, but at prayer; and lay so, that they might not observe what he was doing
I wonder if they would shame him for praying if they found out? Or maybe he just did not want to be bothered? It is almost like he's playing dead so that people would leave him alone. It's very note-worthy that he was in such deep prayer during the day on his own accord.
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boiled my peas and bear together, and invited my master and mistress to dinner; but the proud gossip, because I served them both in one dish, would eat nothing, except one bit that he gave her upon the point of his knife.
She is trying her best to reach out to them so that they can all connect as human beings. She tried her best to make a dish that they both would enjoy. Although they did not eat it, it was a valiant effort. Perhaps the master and mistress were suspicious of her kindness, since they have had her captive for so long.
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I offered the money to my master, but he bade me keep it; and with it I bought a piece of horse flesh
Why is horse meat so popular? Aren't horses very useful and important during this time? Why aren't they eating something else? I have never read about anyone eating horse before.
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During my abode in this place, Philip spake to me to make a shirt for his boy, which I did, for which he gave me a shilling.
Did she make a shirt for the king's son? Does this king not have maids or anyone to do this for him? She seems very humble, to be knitting for royalty without any bragging.
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It seems to be a bait the devil lays to make men lose their precious time.
Its interesting to see how tobacco/drugs are portrayed in Christianity in this time period. Calling it the devils work is very accurate, in terms of danger. Especially in this time, when health was rare, tobacco was the last thing anyone needed.
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There one of them asked me why I wept. I could hardly tell what to say: Yet I answered, they would kill me. “No,” said he, “none will hurt you.”
Clearly these were tears of fear. She still is fearful of other religions, and most customs that are foreign to her. These people seem to care for her, at least they feed her. I hope she is finally in good, healing hands.
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Then my heart began to fail: and I fell aweeping, which was the first time to my remembrance, that I wept before them.
Is she no longer disgusted by pagans/other religions? Has this experience opened up her mind? Are these happy tears or sad tears?
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He told me he earnestly desired it, I gave him my Bible, and he lighted upon that comfortable Scripture
Like mother like son. Here we can see that she really believes in God, as she has taught her children to have faith. This is how they bond, and it is really nice that they can still have a relationship despite all that their family has been through.
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We asked of each other’s welfare, bemoaning our doleful condition, and the change that had come upon us.
Is Mary still injured? How did Joseph get here?
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King Philip.
I honestly do not know who this is. Is she still with the Native Americans? Why are they meeting with this European-sounding king? What are they meeting for?
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On that very day came the English army after them to this river, and saw the smoke of their wigwams, and yet this river put a stop to them.
Was the English army too scared of the river? Since it took the Native Americans three days to cross it, maybe they thought it was pointless, since they would have been long gone by the time they arrived. I wonder how Mary knows this?
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When the Sabbath came they bade me go to work. I told them it was the Sabbath day, and desired them to let me rest, and told them I would do as much more tomorrow; to which they answered me they would break my face. And here I cannot but take notice of the strange providence of God in preserving the heathen.
This Native American tribes religious beliefs are completely different than Christianity. They do not have a sabbath day, and therefore do not understand its importance to Mary. I find it so strange that they threatened her with violence. Does she believe that her misfortunes derive from God's intolerance of her track record for skipping sabbath days?
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On the Saturday they boiled an old horse’s leg which they had got, and so we drank of the broth, as soon as they thought it was ready, and when it was almost all gone, they filled it up again.
That sounds vile. Why did she include this in her writing? Is this the only food worth mentioning?
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A certain number of us got over the river that night, but it was the night after the Sabbath before all the company was got over.
They left on a Friday afternoon, and they did not get all the way across the river until Monday night? What river is this? Was it even a river?
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which cannot but be acknowledged as a favor of God to my weakened body, it being a very cold time. I was not before acquainted with such kind of doings or dangers.
This woman has lost all of her children, by death and by distance, and she does not know if her husband is dead or alive, but she is happy that she doesn't have to get her feet wet. I am very intrigued by this woman.
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In this travel, because of my wound, I was somewhat favored in my load; I carried only my knitting work and two quarts of parched meal. Being very faint I asked my mistress to give me one spoonful of the meal, but she would not give me a taste.
She is still injured, and the only personal possession she has is her knitting. I'm saddened that she was denied food, especially after having traveled. Also, her baby just died, and then she had to leave her other two children behind. This is unimaginable.
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chose some of their stoutest men, and sent them back to hold the English army in play whilst the rest escaped.
How did they decide on this? Don't they need their strong men? Are the men willing to stay and potentially die?
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The occasion (as I thought) of their moving at this time was the English army, it being near and following them.
Does the English army want to save Mary and the other captives? Are they the hero here? Besides God, of course
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that there was no mercy for me, that the blessings were gone, and the curses come in their room, and that I had lost my opportunity. But the Lord helped me still to go on reading till I came to Chap. 30, the seven first verses, where I found, there was mercy promised again, if we would return to Him by repentance; and though we were scattered from one end of the earth to the other, yet the Lord would gather us together, and turn all those curses upon our enemies.
She has moments of weakness and sadness, but then she keeps reading and believing. She believes that one day, God is going to have vengeance on the Native Americans. Looking back at history, I suppose that is one way to put it
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Oh, the hideous insulting and triumphing that there was over some Englishmen’s scalps that they had taken (as their manner is) and brought with them.
She heard them from a mile away, and when they arrived they were holding scalps of Englishmen? That is nightmare material. Why did they decide to keep Mary and her children, and kill other Englishmen? Is it only the men that are a threat?
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In this time of the absence of his master, his dame brought him to see me. I took this to be some gracious answer to my earnest and unfeigned desire.
How old is her son? Who is this dame? Could it be a maternal figure, or a wife? Did they hear she arrived and thought the two should be reunited?
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With tears in his eyes, he asked me whether his sister Sarah was dead; and told me he had seen his sister Mary; and prayed me, that I would not be troubled in reference to himself.
He did not want to upset her further, which is very admirable. It's heartbreaking that he had to ask if his sisters are dead or alive. They must both be shocked to see each other, I know I would be a crying mess
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for as I was going up and down mourning and lamenting my condition, my son came to me, and asked me how I did. I had not seen him before, since the destruction of the town, and I knew not where he was, till I was informed by himself, that he was amongst a smaller parcel of Indians, whose place was about six miles off.
It must be situations like these that restore her faith in God. She lost a child, but then her missing child reappeared. It is not ideal, but to her it must be a miracle to be reunited with him.
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God having taken away this dear child, I went to see my daughter Mary, who was at this same Indian town, at a wigwam not very far off, though we had little liberty or opportunity to see one another. She was about ten years old, and taken from the door at first by a Praying Ind. and afterward sold for a gun.
Why are we not hearing about this child until now? Why didn't she try to see her before? Does she not want to get her family back together? Is she just going to spring the news that her sister was there for weeks, and did not get to see her, and now she is dead?
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When I came I asked them what they had done with it; then they told me it was upon the hill. Then they went and showed me where it was, where I saw the ground was newly digged, and there they told me they had buried it
At least they had the decency to bury the child. However, I don't agree with them not letting her hold it, and then burying it without telling her, or let her come to grieve, and have a sort of memorial.
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not that he first took me, but I was sold to him by another Narragansett Indian, who took me when first I came out of the garrison).
I never knew that Native Americans kept European slaves. Evidently, they do not care if they live or die. This is painful to read, actually.
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I did not use wicked and violent means to end my own miserable life.
I cannot imagine the pain she must be going through. It is implied that this is not the first child she has lost. It's truly horrible. Her faith in God gives her the strength to keep living though, so that shows the power of religion
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I cannot but take notice how at another time I could not bear to be in the room where any dead person was, but now the case is changed; I must and could lie down by my dead babe, side by side all the night after.
Cuddling ones dead child has to be the saddest thing I have ever read. She must feel so alone and so angry. It seems like this good have been avoided if their wounds had been treated and if they were fed. Why didn't the Native Americans, or Robert Pepper, or anyone help them?
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About two hours in the night, my sweet babe like a lamb departed this life on Feb. 18, 1675. It being about six years, and five months old.
Heartbreaking. I was not picturing a six year old at all, I was imagining a baby, especially because she had not spoken this whole time. I suppose she was too sick to speak. Was there something the Native Americans could have done to help?
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my child being even ready to depart this sorrowful world, they bade me carry it out to another wigwam
Wigwams are Native American huts made out of skins, etc, are they trying to comfort her by giving her a warm place of privacy? How does she know it is dying this time?
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“your master will knock your child in the head,” and then a second, and then a third, “your master will quickly knock your child in the head.”
What does this mean? I wonder if they are serious and malicious, or if they are teasing her? Either way it is cruel. However, they have put up with it for awhile, so I don't see why they would change their minds now
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and up with them almost as far as Albany, to see King Philip, as he told me, and was now very lately come into these parts.
Is he consenting? Or is he captured, too? Does Mary find him repulsive because he is not Christian? Or, is he Christian?
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and as He wounded me with one hand, so he healed me with the other.
So she blames God for her problems, but also sees Him as her hero? And the hero aspect cancels out the bad?
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how many Sabbaths I had lost and misspent, and how evilly I had walked in God’s sight; which lay so close unto my spirit, that it was easy for me to see how righteous it was with God to cut off the thread of my life and cast me out of His presence forever.
It is unnerving how terrified she is of God. I know that in this time, a fear of God motivated a lot of Christians, but this is intense. She was captured and borderline tortured, it seems like, and she feels guilty for missing Sabbath days? I would be completely focused on myself and my childs survival, but I suppose that in this time, that would make me a bad Christian who God should cast away?
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there being not the least crumb of refreshing that came within either of our mouths from Wednesday night to Saturday night, except only a little cold water
Neither of them have eaten for days? This child is being starved, on top of being injured and sick? Are the Native Americans eating, or are they specifically starving them? Is it a punishment?
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A very wearisome and tedious day I had of it; what with my own wound, and my child’s being so exceeding sick, and in a lamentable condition with her wound.
Even though she is describing this morning as awful and painful, both physically and mentally, she just finished telling us how grateful to God she was for letting them live. So, even though her situation is bad, she still has faith and is grateful. I think thats something we can all take away. Even if a situation seems horrible, be thankful that you and your loved ones are still alive.
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still the Lord upheld me with His gracious and merciful spirit, and we were both alive to see the light of the next morning.
This is a very powerful statement. She has lost so much, but she is genuinely grateful that she and her baby survived the night. She really is embracing a love for Christ and an appreciation for life. Perhaps all the loss she has endured as made her a more grateful person, which is very good.
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My own wound also growing so stiff that I could scarce sit down or rise up; yet so it must be, that I must sit all this cold winter night upon the cold snowy ground, with my sick child in my arms, looking that every hour would be the last of its life; and having no Christian friend near me, either to comfort or help me.
This is a very heavy situation. Her child is injured, and now it has a fever, not to mention she essentially dropped it twice. Even still, she is sitting in the cold, half expecting her baby to die. I can't imagine the heartache she must be going through.
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as we were going down a steep hill we both fell over the horse’s head,
She has fell down holding this child twice, I understand that she is miserable but she needs to count this childs safety as a factor. A horse is a long way to fall, especially for a young child
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One of the Indians carried my poor wounded babe upon a horse; it went moaning all along, “I shall die, I shall die.”
I thought she had said the baby died, but I guess not. If one of the Native Americans is carrying it for her, then why is she so spiteful? Why isn't she more grateful? Why does she only gave this child with her- what happened to her other children?
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openamlit.pressbooks.com openamlit.pressbooks.com
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my children gone, my relations and friends gone, our house and home and all our comforts—within door and without—
Her husband, as we know it, is alive, but she hints that her children are dead. Did she have a sickly baby that died? I need a little clarification
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my husband gone (at least separated from me, he being in the Bay; and to add to my grief, the Indians told me they would kill him as he came homeward
I am very interested, the way the author writes makes me want to learn what happened. Why is she alone? How did she land herself in this predicament?
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And as miserable was the waste that was there made of horses, cattle, sheep, swine, calves, lambs, roasting pigs, and fowl
Could she be referring to Native Americans wearing fur/animal hides? Or does she mean literal animal corpses lying around?
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Oh the roaring, and singing and dancing, and yelling of those black creatures in the night, which made the place a lively resemblance of hell.
She does not seem to want to be associated with the Native Americans, even though they are both captors, she still thinks she is better than them. She even describes their singing as hellish. She seems very spiteful.
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What, will you love English men still?” This was the dolefulest night that ever my eyes saw.
So she is one of the captors, except she is not Native American, and the Native Americans are appalled that she still wants to be associated with English men.
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those barbarous creatures
Who's side is Mary Rowlandson on? Right away, it seems like she agrees with the colonists, referring to these Native American captors as barbaric.
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www.sacred-texts.com www.sacred-texts.com
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Then it was made that a woman should have only one child in a year, and it has been so ever since.
This is a farfetched explanation for a nine-month pregnancy in my opinion. It is not explained very well. They claim that the woman had so many babies that it became a population issue, and then it was magically decided that women could physically only carry one baby a year. It's a little rusty. I wish they would have expanded that, because there are gaps. What about twins and triplets? That's technically more than one a year.
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all the animals only the owl, the panther, and one or two more were still awake
I have never heard an explanation for nocturnal animals before. This is very interesting. Since fasting and staying awake were so important to them, I wonder if Cherokee felt inferior to animals like owls because they could stay awake/survive without food longer. Perhaps that is why they valued animals so much, because they looked to them as guides.
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just as young men now fast and keep awake
I wonder why fasting is connected to religion so closely. It does not seem healthy. However, I suppose it does show an appreciation for food, and a degree of humility.
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When the animals and plants were first made--we do not know by whom
I'm wondering why there are significant gaps in their beliefs? Why didn't anyone offer any ideas? I'd like to know their explanation for animals. They touched upon early sea creatures, but that was pretty much it.
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but to do this one must fast and, go to water and have one of the underground people for a guide.
This is a very familiar belief of the underworld. Many myths believe that one should be buried with a coin, to give to the grim reaper so that he will bring you across the river into your afterlife. Water is very often associated with life. It's interesting that waterfalls are considered to be the entrance to the afterlife, because usually people associate them with beauty, and not death.
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Every day the sun goes along under this arch, and returns at night on the upper side to the starting place.
Interesting explanation for day and night, saying that the "sun returns at night" meaning the moon. It's interesting that they believed that man controlled the sun's cycle.
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the Red Crawfish, had his shell scorched a bright red
Does this explain lobsters, or I wonder if it's touching on the dietary restrictions of the Cherokee people? Maybe they did not eat certain animals out of religious respect/beliefs?
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When he reached the Cherokee country, he was very tired, and his wings began to flap and strike the ground, and wherever they struck the earth there was a valley, and where they turned up again there was a mountain
I wonder if the Cherokees recognize a Buzzard God, since they believe the air pushed from it's wings created the mountain range they lived on. This also explains the different terrains of Earth, the flat and soft areas were not altered by this buzzard.
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he little Water-beetle, offered to go and see if it could learn
Interesting explanation for the creation of Earth. They believed in a creature that we know for sure exists, rather than leaving it to God/Gods, who's existence cannot be proven scientifically, only through faith.
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let the earth sink down into the ocean, and all will be water again.
The cherokee explanation for the apocolypse/end of the world is that all land will sink and mankind won't survive. They believe a force is holding them up, sort of like a reversed gravitational pull
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