Jonathan Edwards

     When I think about the sermons that I have heard recently in my own church and others that I have attended, they seem so light and nice.  Jonathan Edwards clearly does not share this same approach.  One particular aspect that I found intriguing was his use of fear in order to get his parishioners to follow in the right way with Christ.  Nowadays we would find this totally out of line, however, I do in some ways think that people need to be told when they are not following on the right path.  The harsh tone that is carried out during the sermon is needed I think in order for the listeners to understand the seriousness of Christianity.  

     The second aspect of the sermon that I really liked was his use of honesty.  I feel like pastors today do a lot of sugar coating when it comes to the more serious issues and I really like some of Edwards honesty is needed today.  Edwards is trying to stir the crowd up by taking down the walls and just putting his truth about God out on the table.  He is, of course, focusing on the emotions of the audience.  But it is easier to get people to understand the truth when their emotions are out on the table.

Edward Taylor

     This is probably the first reading that I really did not get into that much.  I found the meditations somewhat confusing.  I understood better through our discussions in class what the meditations were more about.  Taylor was very talented at creating wonderful poetry to go along with the sacred communion.  Communion is a very confusing theological subject and I think that Taylor's idea of using these meditations as a way of explaining what communion is and the reason's why we celebrate communion.  I thought the idea of using the meditations as an elaborate metaphor of what Taylor believes about communion is very unique and interesting.  Often times people need images to understand a topic and using a metaphor can allow the reader or listener to learn through imagery.  Although I did not find the meditations extremely interesting I was able to understand why he wrote them and the importance of the meditations at the time.

Mary Rowlandson

    When I read the narrative of Mary Rowlandson I first thought about all of the details that she must have had to leave out.  Rowlandson went through an event that no one in our day and age can even imagine, this fact can explain why some of her situations seemed hard for us to understand.  We talked in class about whether or not Rowlandson exaggerated any of the events that happened to her.  I thought about this a lot and I think that she did not exaggerated but rather recalled the events as she remembered them.  When anyone is put in a life changing situation like she had they are bound to have some sort of traumatic stresses.   I also thing that if we had read ever excerpt out of the narrative we would have better understood her situation and whether or not she was exaggerating.

     One other thing that I found interesting was the fact that the narrative itself is unique to the New World and the culture that it was creating.  I think this has a lot to do with the Native Americans that were here when the settlers first came.  This is a country that already had a culture and the settlers came in a short of invaded that culture.  The result of this was the capture of settlers and then the captive narratives. 

Anne Bradstreet

  I loved reading Anne Bradstreet's poetry.  The way in which she is able to express her struggles and emotions throughout her poetry is extraordinary.  It is common knowledge that women had to struggle at the time however, Bradstreet is able to express the struggles in a way that fits her strengths and abilities.  I found this amazing because at the time she lived in a world that make it very difficult for a women to have opinions.  Though she has many points of contradiction  in "The Prologue" she is not afraid to say what she thinks.  At that time men would have looked down at her for doing thing, she recognizes this in lines 31-32, "But sure the antique Greeks were far more mild- Else of our sex, why feigned they those nine."  This is Bradstreet's way of telling men that Greek men were given their idea by women muses so it seems only natural that artists like Bradstreet would write beautiful and worthy poetry.  

   Bradstreet was not a literally strong women, she had many health problems.  However, the knowledge that she carried and expressed through her poetry was very strong.  She may not feel like she has the power to write epic poetry, but she does have the power to express the frustrations of her time and what she thinks should be done about that.  Maybe her poems are not pages and pages of battles and heroes, but she does tell little stories with very big meanings.  People listened to her poetry and even if she did not realize it at the time it did make an impact. 

Winthrop v. Smith

   When I read these two pieces I debated with myself as to which side I agreed with more.  In one aspect Winthrop is looking at the new world and all of the potential it has to be great.  This is nice and it shows how much faith the puritans had in their new country.  I also liked how he had such high hopes of building a strong Christian community.  The times were hard and being able to come together and help the people survive as a whole is truly a good idea.  I did strongly disagree with how Winthrop believed that people were assigned certain roles in life and they could never move up in wealth or jobs.  America is known now as being a place that allows people to have opportunities that they would never have in their home countries. 

  However, I also found myself agreeing with Smith's realistic ideas of marketing the new world.  In order to build America as an economic stronghold it is crucial to get the rich into the country.  If every person that came to America were poor and lacked the means to build up the country America at the present time would probably be a third world country.  A mix of both rich and poor would allow people to seek opportunity and the country would then continue to grow.  Also, I came to the conclusion that it would took a mixture of both Smith and Winthrop's ideas to help the new world prosper during that time period.

Jane Churchon's "The Dead Book"

For my “pick-um” essay I chose to read Jane Churchon’s “The Dead Book”, partly because it sounded interesting and partly because I wanted to comment on your blogs and I do not like to do that without reading what you have read.  This was one of the most powerful essays I have ever read.  Right off the bat this essay hits you like a ton of bricks.  I had no idea that this would be about how a woman pronounces someone dead.  Of course, the essay has much more depth than just that.  The way in which Churchon describes the actual process sends shivers down my spine.  I do not think that I could even for a second do what this woman does.

I have never had someone extremely close to me die.  When I was fourteen my grandma’s boyfriend, who had always been a grandfather figure to me, died of a heart attack.  But it is not the same as losing a parent, sibling, or real grandparent.   Someday I will know that kind of loss, but until then this essay gives me a better understanding of the process of death itself.  I connected closely with what Churchon says about the time of death making the death more real to the family.  Sometimes a death seems so unreal and out of reach, but putting a time on it can make it a reality.   

I found it interesting when Churchon talks about what gives her the right to pronounce someone dead.  It is as though these patients, who have died, do not matter as much to other people.  But Churchon gives them the time that they deserve and I admire that.  I hope that someone gives me that when it is my time.  A life is an amazing thing and many people do not realize that everyday matters, even the last. 

When she describes the morgue it sends shivers down my spine.  I know that I would never be able to go into a place like that by myself.  It’s not that the place itself gives me the creeps; it’s the fact that there is some much sadness in that one tiny room.     All that room ever sees is death, no light shines through, no miracles or happiness, just sadness.  The way Churchon describes what happens in the morgue is painful yet enlightening.  Although, I am sure there are people that work in morgues that find it horrible, Churchon takes what she does seriously and cares about what happens to the people she places there.

Life and death are a part of who we are, but it is what happens in between that determines what we are remembered for.  Everyone hopes that they will be remembered fondly and that many people will grief over them.  But what we do when we are alive is what is important.  Death should be a celebration of life, a time for stories and thanksgiving for a wonderful life in heaven with God.  At least that is what I want for myself someday.  Although I fear the death of a loved one, I know that it is not the end of our journey together.

David Sedaris' "Guy Walks into a Bar Car"

David Sedaris’ essay “Guy Walks into a Bar Car” is a love story of uniqueness and intrigued me from the start.  At first glance this looks like the story of lost love as David travels to Chicago in order to find an old boyfriend he thinks he still has a chance with.  This reminds me so much of my own life.  I often find myself wanting to maintain a part of my life that is in the past and probably should just stay there.  Thankfully, this story takes a turn for the sick and twisted somewhat quickly.  Sometimes people come into your life that you never thought would make a difference and then all of a sudden boom!  Your whole world has been turned upside down, for the better.  In the case of this essay it starts with a dirty nun joke. 

Both of the men in this essay are down on their luck, which is possibly what drew them together.  When people are having a hard time sometimes instead of finding someone stronger to lean on they find someone that they can relate to.  I see the two men and their two problems, one a gambler slash drunk and one simple drifting through life with no real purpose.  This is why they are attracted to each other; their problems are brought into the light and unmasked by the other person.

I like the style of this essay, because between all of the sad and pathetic talk about the failures in these two men’s lived there is comic relief by the drunk man at the bar.  The comic relief in itself is kind of sad and pathetic but it brings the attention back and forth, which is interesting.  For some reason, it was shocking to me when in the middle of the night these two guys decided they needed to smoke pot.  It seemed so random, yet because of the two men’s life styles, should have been expected.  Every paragraph adds to the shock of the disastrous encounter of these two men.  For instance, Sedaris writes, “One moment, I was asking if his mom gave him a discount on his drugs, and the next thing I know he was telling me about this women he’s recently had sex with.”  The kinds of information in this essay are shocking, yet I find it honest and worth reading.

I appreciate a true story that does not leave out any facts.  This is one of those stories.  Sedaris is honest about his journey as a gay man and the stumbles that have been a factor in his life.  I, of course, feel compassion towards him because of the honesty that he portrays in this essay.  There are really three love stories here.  The first is of a man who is trying to maintain a relationship with someone who he is not meant to be with.  The second is of the same man meeting a guy on a train whom he feels attracted to for all the wrong reasons.  This of course ends as pointless as it begins.  And finally, of the man falling in love and watching the one love walk out the door.  He does not go after him and that was his biggest mistake. 

This essay is about feelings and heartache, which is present in everyone’s life.  But the difference here is how you choose to deal with the pain.  The choices that this man makes have terrible consequences, but he realizes that their needs to be changes made in order for him to find peace with himself.  I feel this way at time when I know that I am not doing what my heart tells me is the right thing to do.  Sometimes we need to step outside ourselves and see what others see in order to make the right changes in our lives.  I looked up Sedaris on the Internet because I knew nothing about him prior to reading this essay and I see that he is a comedian.  It really brings the whole essay into light and I am able to look at this essay with a little lighter perspective.