First Semester

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Uncle Tom's Assessment

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a well written story that provides a different perspective of the times of slavery. With the plot following the lives of multiple slaves, the reader gains a new understanding about how the slaves lived and struggled through the days. Although we know that slavery is a terrible thing, many people think that all the slaves were harshly treated and that there were no good slave owners. However, Uncle Tom’s Cabin reveals that this thought to not be entirely true. Through her writing, Stowe illustrates that there are owners that do care for their slaves.

The perspective of the slaves that Stowe uses gives the reader a new view of how things were back then. From my own readings, I find that most writings seem to be from the view of abolitionists or the slave owners. However, Stowe gives two different perspectives of different slaves that show how the slaves lived and thought. The first perspective was from runaway slaves. With this, the experience of fear and courage is seen from the runaway characters, Eliza and her family. Since they are running away from their masters, they have the understanding that if they are caught, there would be severe punishment and even the possibility of death. With many close encounters, the fear, horror, and anxiety of the slaves are written with great detail. However, Stowe also showed the story of a slave that chose to stay behind even if it meant the worse for him. With this part of the story, Stowe reveals how the slave trade business works and how some of the slave owners were not as terrible as many other books portray them to be.  

            One of the major themes that stuck out to me was the faith in God. I find that there are very few books that emphasize the love and greatness of God. The main character Tom showed a constant faith in God. With this faith, he was able to gain the trust of his owners although blacks were thought to be lower. His Christian behavior influenced many of the other slaves to learn more about God. Although during that time blacks were thought to be nothing but property, Tom is rather influential not only to the characters in the book, but also to readers. He illustrates how a Christian should never give up on God and that no matter what the circumstances are, you just have to trust in God because He is in control all the time. I feel that this has shown me that I personally struggle to do this. I feel challenged to be like Tom and not give up on God and to put my complete faith in Him. I find that this illustration presented by Stowe to be quite intriguing since her main focus was to point out the hardships of the slaves and support the end of slavery. To tie in a biblical lesson into her observation of the sins of man is quick ingenious; pointing out two truths through her writing.

            Stowe did an excellent job at writing Uncle Tom’s Cabin. I was greatly challenged by the characters, especially Tom and Eva with their strong love toward God. Also with the view from the slaves’ perspective, I feel that a lot of my thoughts about the post Civil War time were greatly inaccurate. I never really imagine that there were owners that actually really cared as much as Mrs. Shelby, George, Eva, and St. Clare did. I strongly recommend this book to readers that love to read historical stories. Although it is roughly 500 pages long, the plot draws the reader into the story with its heartfelt expression of the lives of the slaves and how God is in control of everything. The only thing that I find to be difficult was the strong Southern accent written throughout the text. With this, there were a few sections that took some time to comprehend what was being said among the characters. But besides that, the book was greatly educational and entertaining to me.

Literary Analysis Ideas

 

Uncle Tom's Cabin Illustration

UTC Writing I

Text to Text

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

            Throughout the book so far, I am constantly thinking of this verse. As I read about how Eliza is running away with her son in order to save him from being sold, I can’t really imagine how difficult it must be for her to actually go on. The reason why I really keep thinking of this verse is because Eliza herself emphasizes that God is always there with her and gives her strength. Really without that thought going through her mind, I doubt that she would have been able to get as far as she has now. All we need to do is put our faith in Him and He would never leave us, even when it seems like we are all alone.

Text to Self

            As I was reading, I was totally lost at some points due to the completely different dialect. Yes, I understand, it is English, but with all the southern accents, I’m getting lost in my own thoughts as I try to read what is being said. And also I start hearing southern voices in my head and sometimes it drives me crazy because I’m doing other work and my thoughts are still talking in an accent. With the different dialect, the thought about how back then certain language was not much of a bother to them as it is today. It shows how man throughout the years have twisted the human language from something that was totally normal for someone in that time to say, but in modern time, that exact word could be taken as extremely offensive and cause so much issues.

Text to World

            Pretty much this entire book reminds me of the countless history lessons we had about slavery and how it brought about the Civil War in America. However, as I am reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the point-of-view is completely different from the lessons that I learned. Instead of just hearing about how slavery was terrible and that all the blacks were mistreated by the whites, the book provides a view from a black family perspective. Although I knew about the Underground Railroad which helped runaway slaves escape, I never really thought much about it. Uncle Tom’s Cabin sheds some light on how the blacks felt during this time and how they had to face so much danger as they tried to escape. Although I know that all men are equal, just this perspective from a slave shows me that although they were thoughts less during that time, a slave was just the same as a white man, a human. They all have their own personality, the emotions, and the dreams of any other human. I guess the book has opened my eyes more on the fact that everyone is a creation of God and that we are all equal no matter our race or our status in society.

Monte Cristo Assessment

Dumas did an excellent job of writing The Count of Monte Cristo with its coverage of themes, along with the suspense and action throughout the story. The main protagonist, Dantes, had a wonderful life; an excellent job position and the girl of his dreams, what more could a man wish for? However, due to the jealousy of others, all this happiness was taken away from him and he suffered. After countless years of captivity, he was able to escape and gain a large amount of wealth which would later fund his quest for revenge on those who took everything away from him. Along with suspense of what Dantes would do, there is the presence of love between the characters that drastically impact the story.

Throughout the story the main theme is revenge. Due to the jealousy and pride of his “friends,” Dantes was imprisoned for many years. After his escape and gaining his great wealth, Dantes learns the truth of the plot against him and he seeks vengeance out of anger and hate. Using the pseudonym, Count of Monte Cristo, and his vast riches, he quickly gained favor in the eyes of his enemies Danglars, Morcerf, and Villefort. However, his form of revenge was not actual murder, but rather manipulated their families and their past to turn against them. This caused great interest in how all his actions of manipulation would gain him his goal of revenge.

Although Dantes’ main goal was to get revenge on the men that ruined his life, he did show a heart of love and compassion to others. This is ultimately seen when Mercedes, the girl he loved and was to be marry, pleaded for her son’s life and Dantes agrees to spare him. Although so many years had passed, and she married one of the men that ruined him, he still loved her and spared her son. Another character that he loved was Haydee. Although his original purpose of buying her was to use her as a testimony against Morcerf, their relationship was great and she was greatly dedicated to him. Finally, Dantes supported Maximilian in his quest to marry Valentine. He executes this elaborate plot throughout his revenge to ensure that they would be together and be able to start a life that he was meant to have but was robbed of.

Personally, I greatly enjoyed reading this book and recommend this to anyone that enjoys sitting down and reading a book full of suspense and plot twists. At first I thought that The Count of Monte Cristo would be a dull love story that would end with everyone happy. However, with the theme of revenge and the use of the power of wealth, I quickly grew interested in the reading. The balance of how love mixed with the desire for revenge created so many plot twists that at times it was difficult to stop reading. However, the length was a bit long, with the abridge version only being a little over 400 pages. Yet I think that this amount of pages was necessary in order to provide a clear image and plot in the readers mind. Along with the great storyline that entertained the reader, this book taught life lessons that could apply to everyone. The main lesson was that revenge through your own power is not going to provide all satisfaction. There is a risk that someone innocent would get caught in your actions and thus changing your acts of “justice” into something that would cause more strife toward you and a greater burden on yourself. Instead of seeking revenge, it’s better to trust in God to bring the wrong to justice.

Literary Analysis Ideas

COMC Writing II

Ch. XVIII: Why is it that now Dantes is not satisfied with freedom alone and desire riches (Dumas, 109)?

            I believe the reason that Dantes was no longer just satisfied with freedom was due to the time he was held captive. After being isolated from the world for 14 years, Dantes had lost everything that he once had. Although he was free, he had nothing and nowhere to go. This knowledge of a hidden treasure proved him with a future that is better than his current situation. With this treasure, he could recreate a new life and also fuel his endeavor of revenge.

Chapter XXVII: Would you like a friendship where you are told "'...though I appreciate your friendship, I fear my reputation would suffer if they knew we were on such friendly footing'" (Dumas, 163)?

            I wouldn’t like this to be a friendship of mine. A feeling of insecurity and a desire to be wanted would probably be one of my reactions. I would probably do anything just to get attention. I would literally be a servant to that “friend”. However, really the only person we are to serve is God. It’s alright to help a friend out of the goodness of your heart, but to serve that friend because you want to be noticed isn’t right. I think to care more about your reputation rather than the person is pretty much saying that the “friend” is just someone that could be used. However, in the situation in the story, I find that it is acceptable. A friendship is really something that is formed throughout the years. In this case, Franz and the hooded man are just acquaintances that have a goal of saving a man from death. This puts their lives in risk and to be known as friends, could mean the death of both of them instead of just one if caught.

COMC Writing I

Chapter I: Whom would you visit first upon returning to your hometown?  Why? Whom would you visit second?

             If I was returning to my hometown, I would first go see my parents right away.  The reason is obviously because they are my family and the people I love most after God. Although we drive each other crazy, after being away from them for a long period of time, the feeling of loneliness shows up. Also, they have a house and I’m sure after travelling back, I would be hungry and tired. To enjoy a home cooked meal after being away for a while is wonderful, and to sleep in a place where you grew up is comforting.

            The people I would probably visit after my parents would be my friends. Like family, I would certainly miss seeing them and would love to hang out with them after such a long time. I remember during this past summer after the Botball competition in California, I did visit my friends. Although I had only about five hours of sleep, I felt so energized that I went out driving to Mililani and Wahiawa to say hi to some people. Somehow I ended up at Mililani Town Center, wandering around Walmart and eating cookies.

Chapter VI: Should Dantes have obeyed his captain’s orders (imprudence) or disobeyed a request from a dying man (Dumas 35)?

            I think that Dantes should have obeyed his captain’s orders, which he did. The captain was his authority, and God commands us to obey our authority, unless it was for wicked purposes. Dantes was simply ordered to see a man and deliver some items to him, there is nothing wrong with this. I think that accepting this task was okay since he knew the captain and respected him. However, accepting the second task was foolish since he did not know the man. He should have found out what was going on beforehand.

Chapter VII: Do you think it was Mercedes on the shore? Why or why not?

            I don’t think that Mercedes was the lady on the shore. I believe that because of the current situation, Dantes’ mind was imagining her on the shore. The stress of him being arrested and accused of treason put his mind in a state of shock. However, after meeting with Villefort, he became more relaxed. Furthermore, when he was taken out of the prison, he thought he was being release. Of course the one of the first people you would want to see when you are released would be the woman you love, especially after being arrested on your engagement party.

            Another reason I believe that Mercedes was not on the shore was because she would have no reason to be on the shore waiting for Dantes. If she was waiting for him, she would be waiting in her home or at his father’s home. Also, in chapter 8, she goes to see Villefort to find out what has happened to Dantes since she has not heard anything about him. So during the time that Dantes was being transported to the state prison, she would have probably be on the road to see Villefort.