Rip looked, and beheld a precise counterpart of himself, as he went up the mountain—apparently as lazy and certainly as ragged.
Political commentary as Rip comes to the conclusion that nothing has really changed despite a switch in the government, but maybe social commentary on how people throughout generations don't change much either.
returned to the more important concerns of the election
Seems satirical because they people are more concerned about politics than a supernatural event, especially because the narrator describes politics as "more important".
I told them, they had as good knock me in head as starve me to death.
I feel like this shows that Rowlandson did acclimate to captivity after a while.
This morning I asked my master whether he would sell me to my husband.
This is another interesting difference between her captivity and the European/trans-Atlantic slavery model.
I offered the money to my master, but he bade me keep it; and with it I bought a piece of horse flesh.
The commerce shown throughout this remove poses the question of whether Rowlandson should be considered a slave or a prisoner. As far as accounts from the colonizer side of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, I have never read one of where the English captors traded with Natives, yet here we see that, although she is captive, she does receive forms of "payment" for her labor. If we consider her as enslaved, it's a slightly different form of slavery that aligns more with accounts of slavery among other cultures/parts of the world (my point of reference being the early chapters of Olaudah Equiano's life narrative where he describes his time as a slave in various parts of Africa during the 1700s). I wouldn't deem it a more "moral" slavery, but it does seem marginally better than what I've read about trans-Atlantic slavery, which I find is interesting to note.
God would have found out a way for the English to have passed this river, as well as for the Indians with their squaws and children, and all their luggage.
It seems a little like Rowlandson is thinking that God had something to do with the Natives being able to safely pass the river, which is strange considering all the language she has so far used to describe them such as "pagan", "heathen", and other forms of demonization. Is she conceding that her God works for all people and not just English/Anglo/Christian?
and what comfort it was to me.
This is a good line because I think it really shows how good religion has historically been as somewhat of a "coping mechanism" for traumatic events/hardships. In these removes you can really see how much it influences Rowaldson's actions.
It is not my tongue, or pen, can express the sorrows of my heart, and bitterness of my spirit that I had at this departure
I know that a lot of what Rowlandson wrote about Natives is horrifically racist, but being a human being with a capacity for empathy, I don't she's necessarily a bad person or in the wrong for feeling this way considering her circumstances.
Little do many think what is the savageness and brutishness of this barbarous enemy, Ay, even those that seem to profess more than others among them, when the English have fallen into their hands.
This remove makes me wonder if there are narratives from Native Americans that also use terms like "savageness" or "brutishness". How much sympathy could people who have suffered situations exactly like--or even worse--be fully expected to not harbor resentment? I just wonder if dehumanization is used in a similar manner in texts from opposite perspectives.
It features our own unique textual interpretations and what they may mean to us on a more personal level.
I think interpreting text on a personal level in a way that can be shared with others also helps to redefine American literature in contemporary times.
whittled early American literature down
The phrasing of this is a little surprising considering that it seems like rethinking American literature would be a broadening of what is considered as such.
arbitrary geographical constraints?
I think it goes way further than just geographical constraint. Could American literature also include texts written in languages where translation might cause them to lose their impact?
However, this anthology takes things a step further because it makes connections between important works of American literature and contemporary culture (such as films and other references). In this way, this anthology is relevant to students today. It provides insight into what has happened in the past, while also giving students the tools to think critically about what’s happening within the field of American literature in the present.
This seems like a good way of also refining our own relation and understanding of American literature.
by framing the texts in new and provocative ways
New and provocative is important, but I like the plurality of "ways" because it suggests that American literature should be a diverse grouping rather than one label and that in itself is an important way of rethinking literature as some of the early readings from the class have also written.
See how man has kicked me about because I’m ugly, as he says, until my back is covered with sores;” and here he showed the spots on his skin.
Interesting that the frog uses spots caused by harm for his argument, and then later the animals mark the back of the ground squirrel for his counterargument.
counteract the evil wrought by the revengeful animals
So are these diseases only seen as evil in the eyes of humans and plants?
No hunter who has regard for his health ever fails to ask pardon of the deer for killing it
Would this be the act of self-preservation or actual respect towards deer?