Blog #5

Edgar Allan Poe

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Edgar Allan Poe? If you are like me, and most likely the majority of other people, you think of a weirdo, freak or crazy person. I mean, the man must have been mentally disturbed in some for or fashion to write some of the things he did right? Maybe, just as our book suggests, we owe his bad reputation to Rufus Griswold's smear campaign. However, it also states that Poe spread some rumors himself, which may have cast him in an unfavorable light with the public. Why would someone want to intentionally want to make themselves look bad? Could it have possibly been that Poe wanted people to fear him? Who can say for sure, but it is an interesting topic for discussion. 

In our reading, The Cask of Amontillado, the main character takes his supposed revenge on his foe by burying him alive in the catacomb. Poe's obsession with being buried alive came through in some of his tales, such as this one. As we suggested in class, this fear was not without good cause. 19th century medicine was by no means and exact science and misdiagnosis of death, which could in turn lead to premature burial, was not out of the realm of possibility. Coffins, such as in the picture to the left and in the linked article below, were sold to prevent instances of being buried alive. Coffin Technologies A flag, bell or speaker was used as a signal from below to alert someone above ground that you, in fact, were not dead! This fascination of being buried can be found throughout history on TV shows and in films. An episode of Alfred Hitchcock from 1955 called Breakdown, depicts a man who was involved in a car accident which leaves him paralyzed to the point in which he is believed to be dead. More recently, movies such as Kill Bill vol 2 and Buried have characters who are also buried alive. One interesting tradition, that is relative to this matter, involves the current pope at the time of his death. Traditionally, when a reigning pope died, he was struck on the forehead with a silver hammer. At the same time, his name would be called out three times to confirm that he was indeed dead. According to this article, that tradition has today been replaced with an electrocardiogram to confirm death. A little more accurate, wouldn't you say?

Blog #4

Rip Van Winkle

The story of Rip Van Winkle reminds me of so many movies I have seen in which the main character finds himself in a similar situation as Rip. The characters in these movies don't necessarily have a few beers and bowl a few games with some woodland elves only to pass out and wake up twenty years later. They do however, fall asleep and either wake up some years later to not have aged or wake up in another life or as someone else altogether. I'm sure there have been times when we all wished we could  go forward or backward in time during our life. Or maybe we wished we could go to sleep and later wake up as a totally different person. However, how do all of the stories turn out, including Rip Van Winkle? The main character always wishes he could return to his true reality and have his old life back. I suspect this would be the case for us as well. Even if we could go back in time and change an event in our lives, who knows what effect it would have on our life in the present. Or what if you could go forward as Rip did and learn of your future, only you would be able to return to the present with the knowledge of things to come? I don't know about you, but I for one would be constantly mentally tormented with thoughts on how to change the future in my favor. Either way, we know this is not possible and the Story of Rip Van Winkle is only a fictional account. However, I prefer to live my life without regrets of past experiences or without worries of future uncertainties. 

Blog 3(b)

The Validity of Olaudah Equiano 

by William Weston Brown

Olaudah Equiano or Gustavusg Vassa as he would later become known, is an interesting and important figure to say the least. After reading his account of being kidnapped and sold into slavery during his childhood, I couldn't help but feel disgusted. Especially horrific were the scenes Equiano depicted of life aboard the slaves ships. The short video below gives some visual representation of this awful time in history.

How could anyone not be sickened by the terrible treatment of the African Americans during this time? Now, you may have noticed the title of this blog and you might be asking yourself if I am questioning if these events even took place at all. There is no doubt whatsoever that the African American slave trade was very real and the brutal treatment of the slaves is well documented. I simply find it interesting that there is some controversy as to whether or not Equiano was in fact born in the region he claimed, which is now known as Nigeria, and as to whether or not he endured passage on one of these slaves ships. But why would he falsify these accounts? There is certainly no controversy that the man actually existed and played a major role in fighting slavery. Perhaps he embellished the story to gain more notoriety and further advance the movement of abolitionism. Or what if he is just did it to gain more notoriety in order to sell more books? We made mention of a instance like this in class in which James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces , fabricated of the events in his National Bestseller in order to perhaps boost sales and shed himself in a heroic light. Perhaps we should ask ourselves if it really even matters whether or not Equiano made the events up or not. Would his actions not be justifiable  in order to bring attention the indecency of the inhumane business of the slave trade? If you ask me, I certainly think the means justify the end in this case.

Blog 3(a)

People Who Changed the World

I admit that I didn't know that much about Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson before our reading of them. Granted, we have just touched the tip of the iceberg in the lives of these men, but I don’t think anyone can argue the fact that they are two of the key figures in the shaping of our country. I have briefly touched on some of Franklin’s philosophies and it’s obvious that he and Jefferson shared many of the same ideas. Both were very hard workers and spoke out against laziness. They each had a desire for scientific knowledge and were both inventors in their own right. Perhaps most importantly, they each strove to see that people were granted their freedom from not only King George III and Great Britain, but from any kind of oppressive rule. While they both served in the Continental Congress and on the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was primarily responsible for the first draft. If he hadn’t done any of his many other accomplishments, the Declaration would be enough to make him one of the most important people in history.

Thomas Jefferson

We could spend hours discussing all of Thomas Jefferson's accomplishments, but let's just list a few:

• Drafted the Declaration of Independence
• Third President of The United States
• Governor of Virginia
• Founded the University of Virginia
• Lawyer
• Prolific Architect
• Farmer of thousands of acres

We complain about having to work 40 hours a week, but can you imagine how many this guy put in! I mean, when did he find the time to sleep? It makes sense though, because the repeated message throughout the Franklin and Jefferson readings is to stay active. The person that came to mind in comparing the hard work that these men constantly did was Warren Buffett. Buffett, who is one of the most wealthy people in the world, was a hard worker from the time he was a child. Long before he made his billions in investments, he would go door to door selling things like gum, magazines, and sodas. He also sold newspapers, golf balls, stamps, and detailed cars for additional income. He and a business partner placed pinball machines in local shops which became very profitable. He did all this and accumulated a good savings, all before the age of 16. I think it's safe to say Buffett shows some of the same drive to succeed that Franklin and Jefferson had. There are countless other examples of this drive throughout history, but these men were truly two of the first innovators of our time.

Now, before I raise Jefferson or Franklin up on too high a pedestal, I would like to make one final point about them., which I think deserves attention. It has to do with the fact that both of these men owned slaves. In Jefferson's case, he most likely had an affair with one of his inherited slaves and fathered several children with her. This is a matter for another blog in and of itself, but the point I wanted to make is that while they championed for the freedom of all people, did they believe in true freedom for the enslaved people. Yes, Jefferson and Franklin were abolitionists, but they still believed that the African Americans should be sent off to another location after they were freed. They didn't believe that the races we be able to live successfully together. So, my question is was their view on liberty really for all people, or only the ones that suited their needs. It is a topic for much discussion, but still we must acknowledge these men truly changed the world.