Reflection: Fireside Poets vs. Others

Because the colonists were from England, Puritan writings can’t truly be classified as American Literature. The colonists had the same values as they did in England, but now they were living them in a different location. Even during the Rationalistic period, literature was still written in a similar English style. It was the next generation of inspired authors that truly began the American style of literature (Langley). Having lived in America most of their lives, the Romanticism authors discussed the beauty of American land and important figures in detailed writings. Although there are similarities in the writing styles of the three periods, it is the differences that led to finding the true American voice in literature.

The Fireside poets, a group of well-known American writers from the mid-1800s, were among the first to be categorized in the Romanticism period (Fireside 210). Their writings described landscapes and adventures in the most vividly and descriptive of ways. Many of their pieces are considered narrative, which tell stories. William Cullen Bryant, one of the five Fireside poets, was known for giving detailed descriptions of his journeys and adventures (Fireside 210). His descriptions allowed readers to picture the landscape being described with all five of their senses. Because of these points, Romanticism writings can easily be compared to Puritan pieces. Puritans also wrote about their journeys and adventures as colonists in New England. When describing their journeys, Puritan authors used many adjectives and descriptive terms so the reader could picture what they are saying. This technique of detailed writing was useful for both Puritan and Romanticism authors.  Puritan literature was also known for being very religion based, which is where is differs from that of the Romanticism period. Instead of looking to God for everything, people in the Romanticism period found inspiration in nature. They also preserved the accomplishments of every individual instead of giving all their glory to God (Langley). Some Romanticism poetry pieces discuss God and religion, but none comparable to the Puritan writings.

One major similarity between the Rationalism and Romanticism time periods is that people were not afraid to share what they believed in, whether it be through writings or speeches. John Greenleaf Whittier and James Russell Lowell, two of the Fireside poets, strongly disagreed with slavery (Fireside 210). Both men shared their feelings in their writings. During the Rationalism period, well-known figures, such as Benjamin Franklin and Patrick Henry, shared their opinions of the war through their literature. The Rationalism period was known for following Deism, the belief that God gave us the right to use our own reasoning to handle situations (Langley). This allowed for a major industrial growth because people were creating their own items to solve problems. Instead of creating their own tools, the people of the Romanticism period looked to nature to solve their problems. They also trusted their own feelings and intuition when it came to making decisions (Langley). These facts are portrayed through each literature period’s writing style. The Rationalistic style was straight to the point and scientifically based, while the Romanticism writings are imaginative, detailed, and emotion filled.

 Langley, John. "Romanticism 1800-1860." English 332. Pleasant Plains High School, Pleasant Plains, IL. 22 Oct. 2011. Lecture.

"The Fireside Poets." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 210-211. Print.

Journal #18- Autumn

Living in the country, it is easy to be taken back by the beauty of nature. My neighborhood has many road turns and is lined with trees and fields. Autumn takes over the leaves and turns my neighborhood into a yellow, golden field of dreams. It's the only time of year where I actually enjoy taking the garbage out. The minute I walk outside the autumn breeze takes my hair, and the scent of fall takes over my nose. I can't exactly put into detail this scent. It's so amazing, but I can't seem to put to the right adjectives together to describe it. Fall weather is also a favorite of mine. Nice warm weather allows you to wear shorts one day, and then a cool, breezy days calls for jeans the next. The autumn season was considered an Indian Summer this year because of the lasting warm weather conditions we had. Because of this, autumn was my favorite season of 2012.

I took my dog out for a walk one autumn day, and I kept getting caught up in the colors of the trees. This year, Springfield had great, lasting fall colors in the leaves. Distances of gold and red were all over the city. I also got caught up driving to school every day. The journey to Pleasant Plains from my house is full of trees and forest scenery. It definitely made the twenty minute drive more relaxing getting to see all the vibrantly colored leaves. One plant I found near my house had leaves fading from a purple/red to a golden/yellow. It was so gorgeous and interesting to see. One bush containing about six colors, it was amazing to see.

Autumn is also the perfect season for one of my favorite activities: Bonfires! Getting your friends together and warming up by the fire is the best. The taste of burnt marshmallow that melt in your mouth are undescribable, and mixing it with chocolate and graham crackers is even better. The best stories are told at bonfires, and they really make you appreciate the time and place.

Journal #19- Nature & Spirituality

I have found so much of my inspiration from life in the lyrics of music. One of my favorite groups, The Dixie Chicks, includes such relatable messages in their music. The following is one of my favorite choruses of all time from the song, Wide Open Spaces.

 She needs wide open spaces 

Room to make her big mistakes 

She needs new faces 

She knows the high stakes

These lyrics also do a very nice job at describing the importance of nature and spirituality in life. I feel that being raised in the country and around nature has made me who I am. I have developed different values and outlooks compared to someone that has grown up in the city. I have always had that place in nature that I can visit to feel clam and free. Living in the country, where everything is so open and free, has had an effect on who I am. I am open and carefree, not so uptight and crazy. I also find that living in the country makes on a harder worker. I don't know if it's the midwest in general, but I have always felt that I work much harder than those who live on the coastal regions. This will come in handy when I am competing against others for job positions.

The lyrics discuss the need for one's wide open spaces. I would consider this finding one's spirituality. Being alone in a field all by yourself is one of the best ways to find your true self. Being who you really are and being proud of who you are is one of the most important accomplishments in one's life. Spirituality can also have to do with one's beliefs and values. It is important to believe in something because that's a large part of your values.

Journal #17- Nature

During the summer of 2010, I spent most of my days outside. We had a hammock in the middle of a bunch of trees. The branches and leaves created a canopy above the hammock. It felt so amazing to lie on the hammock in the summer sun. Because it was the summer before freshman year, I had several books I was assigned to read for Honors English class. I would lie on the hammock and read the novels. Hours would fly by, and I wouldn't even realize it because I was so into the stories I was reading. It felt good to know that I was spending my days outside instead of inside being lazy inside.

I have always liked to think of myself as an outdoorsy person. A trip to Calgary, Alberta in Canada two years ago taught me otherwise, however. I was not prepared for the amount of 'outdoorysyness' that was headed my way. We spent every day of that 10 day trip outside. We hiked, canoed, kayacked, hang glided, climbed a waterfall, and even walked across an iceburg. I quickly realized that I was underqualified to use the word 'outdoorsy' before visiting Canada, especially when it came to describing me. Although I didn't always enjoy every minute spent outside during that trip, I came to really appreciate the scenery. The trip also made me thankful for living in Springfield, Illinois. I believe a place like Springfield makes one appreciate other geographies so much more. We don't have mountains or beaches, so when we visit places that do, we find it so much more magical. A person that lives in California, that sees the beach every day, doesn't see the beauty of the ocean or enjoy it as much as someone who sees it for the first time in years, or even for the first time in their life. It is common for people to make degrading comments towards Springfield, Il, but I see it in a different light. Yea, I get sick of corn fields too, but it just makes be dream about a different scenery even more. When I finally get the chance to see that dream first hand, I enjoy the rarity so much more. However, when I have seen all there is to see, nothing sounds better than coming home to these corn fields.

Journal #16 - Partner Communication

Having to work with group members that are in a different city is going to be difficult. We are going to have to communicate in several ways, and it's not going to be easy. Because we are not working in the same class, let alone building, communication is going to take much longer. It will also be confusing working like this because each roup member is going to have a preferred way of communicating. If they are all different, getting ahold of each other is going to be overwhelming.

Social networking sites is going to be a major form of communication between the group members. Adding each other on Facebook and Twitter will be necessary. We can quickly chat back and forth or message online. Most high school kids have facebook, so sending a message to every group member would be proactive. I also took it upon myself to create a today's meet page.This would be a very simple place to communicate, but if the others don't understand it, I could see where it would be difficult. Plus, getting every group member on the website at the same time would be difficult because we all have english class at different times. Above all else, texting is a major option. Smart phones are so common these days, so texting and email would be so easy to navigate.

I have already seen similarities between the group members and relationships between coworkers. I always hear adults saying, "This one lady in my office, ugh. She never knows what she's doing and is able to get everyone else backed up on their own work." That pretty much sums up what I'm going through. Many of my group members don't know their role in our project, let alone what the project is even about.I can already tell that I'm going to be doing a lot more than I should with this project in order to meet the deadline. Oh, how I love group projects.

Journal #15- Ways to Contribute from a Distance

As of just learning about this project today, I am not to excited about it. I enjoy learning about Benjamin Franklin's thirteen virtues, but I work better as an individual. Having to do a video project with a group of people from a different class, not to mention a different town, is going to be very difficult. Most of the time when people work in groups, one person ends up doing all the work, and in my case, it's usually me doing all of the work. I am going to a large issue if that is the case this time because it's a big video project, and I don't want to be doing that. I just hope I don't get a group of people who intend on not working and relying on me because I am the honors student. In order to make sure that this is not the case, I am going t have to find several ways that I can communicate with the students from other schools in order to be in contact at all times. That way we can keep up on schedule and be able to turn our work in when the deadlines are due. One way I can make sure that this communication is made is through social networks, such as Facebook and twitter. I can add my group members and message them quickly and easily. Communication will be easy to keep up on because I am on Facebook constantly. If a group member doesn't have a Facebook or Twitter, we could always talk back and forth via email. I would actually prefer that over social networking because that way you don't have to deal with all the unnecessary pop ups and gadgets that Facebook has. If the computer communication was absolutely impossible, my group members and I could always refer back to the 1960's when computers were unavailable. We could use our feather and ink to write out handwritten letters. We would have to incllude lots of information into each letter considering they won't be received for many days. This, of course, is only if technology is out of the question.

Reflection: Lemay's Criticism of Franklin's Autobiography

Although many believed that Benjamin Franklin’s thirteen virtues were just a challenge to be accomplished, Franklin claimed that they meant much more. Along with being a challenge, the thirteen virtues were to help him become a better person. He served as a learning lesson for many that watched his journey to get through the virtues. In the end, Franklin proved that the thirteen virtues not only make you a better person, but they also help you reach the American dream.
The first point that Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography made, according to J. A. Leo Lemay, was the rise from rags to riches (Lemay para. 4). Because Franklin invented many things during the rationalism period, he was not a poor or unknown man. He was also an ambassador for America. Despite the fact that he was wealthy and a very notable man, Benjamin Franklin did not show off his wealth (Langley). He stayed very noble and was gracious for his newfound popularity. The second point was the rise from impotence to importance (Lemay para. 6). This would also include dependence to independence and helplessness to power. Lemay even categorized Franklin’s Autobiography as the common success story that contains the rise of a hero (Lemay para. 4). The third point that Lemay found was the philosophy of individualism (Lemay para. 12). This has a large part to do with the popularity of Deism during the Rationalism Period. The philosophy of Deism believes that all people are naturally good. They just make good or bad choices (discussion). This was also the time where people were separating themselves from the church and creating their own ideas instead. The autobiography also touched on the importance of free will instead of determinism (Lemay para. 13). During this time, it was a common belief that one was either damned or elect (Langley). It was believed that only the church knew who fit into what category. Some people claimed that this was a scan. More continued to follow in their belief and, as a reaction, free will became more common (Langley). The fifth and final point Lemay made over Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography was the philosophy of hope (Lemay para. 17). I agree that Franklin was a great example of a role model because of his brave actions and intellect, but I can’t decipher whether this “philosophy of hope” is from Franklin’s words or from Lemay’s infatuation with the autobiography.
All of these points and notes were taken from Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography. A major focus in his autobiography was the thirteen virtues Franklin had to work hard to accomplish. Franklin spent thirteen weeks trying to meet his goal, adding on another virtue each week. He used a chart to keep record of his facts (Franklin 52).
It is obvious from Leo Lemay’s writing that he is a big fan of Benjamin Franklin. He claims, “Franklin deliberately creates a certain kind of fictive world, embodies that world in some unforgettable scenes, creates and sustains one character who is among the most memorable in American literature, and writes vivid truths that strike us with a shock of recognition” (Lemay para. 23). He also tends to write in a biased view that focuses on the optimistic side of Franklin.

Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Henry Altemus, 1895. Print.

Langley, John. "Lemay's Criticism on The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin." B2 English 332 Class. Pleasant Plains High School, Pleasant Plains, IL. 3 Oct. 2011. Lecture.

Lemay, J.A. Leo. "Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream." In The Renaissance Man in the Eighteenth Century. Los Angeles: William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, 1978. Quoted as "Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream." in Bloom, Harold, ed. The American Dream, Bloom's Literary Themes. New York: Chelsea Publishing House, 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.

Journal #14 - Apprentice

As Benjamin Franklin's apprentice, I do anything that the talented man asks of me. Sometimes his requests are odd, like the time he sent me out to attach a key to a kite, but I follow through with every task no matter how strange they may be. I know that no matter how crazy the things he asks of me, the man has a plan. I have been able to watch Benjamin Franklin, the visionary, at work, and it has been very influential. Seeing his mind travel from one idea to another is an inspiration, and I realize how lucky I am to have such an amazing employer. One recent assignment that Mr. Franklin gave me was to proof read and edit a speech that he wrote. He will be reading it at The Constitution Convention in Virginia next week. I was honored, as his first hand man, to be the one that he came to to criticize his work. Speeches are not the only thinks Mr. Franklin comes to me about. Whenever he is having a bad day dealing with personal problems, he will come to me to brighten his day. I usually tell him a clever aphorism to make him feel better. He seems to really enjoy them. My favorite part of working for Mr. Franklin is the chats we have during our spare time. He is the kindest man. In fact, he hates that I Call him Mr. and prefers that I refer to him just simply as Benny. Mr. Franklin is also a very brilliant man. Many folks have questioned his intentions and his measures, but I truly believe he will change the world someday. His mind comes up with the craziest ideas, but his ability to explain them and act upon them is completely genius. It makes me sad that not everyone will have a chance to know Benjamin Franklin in the way that I do, but that is just one more reason for me to be thankful. I would not be the person I am today had it not been for Mr. Franklin. Thanks to him and his one-of-a-kind mind, I can experiment with pride knowing that it takes one success out of all of those fails to make a change.