Learning this week

After reading about the slavery this week, I learned to accept that each person has their own unique thoughts and beliefs, and their own free will. And more than that, it requires us to honor and support those mindsets and beliefs at least, not try to change them, just because they happen to be different than what we choose to believe. I won’t need to forget all the lessons I have learned. I only have to accept the fact to respect others.

Slavery

What comes to mind when I hear about Slave labor-? First, the pictures rich people living a in house with a slave. Slaves spend all of their day s and nights toiling over what those rich people need. Historically, many people supported slavery and a majority even owned slaves because they felt that it was a necessary and important institution. The slave economy grew, and increasingly lagged in transformation, from railroad construction to supply the demand to the consumer. Many people feared that the abolition of slavery would result in an economic collapse. Owners of slavery developed arguments to defend their cause, from those how against the slavery. The morality of slavery was not the issue, but how it affected the politically and economically. Later this debate leads into war.
Slavery has been abolished by all laws around the world because it’s a form of humiliation for human beings. All humans within the law are born free and are given certain equal rights, so that no human is allowed to enslave another and keep them as their property without their own will. Slaves fought for their freedom because they couldn't accept being treated as if they weren’t equal to the other humans because of their skin color. Slaves saw the injustice and that’s what made them fight for their simple right which is freedom. Their masters knew that they weren’t for fair enslaving a human being, but they gave reasons to justify their behavior. Even though slavery has been abolished by the United Nations, it somehow still exists, but it looks different form the slavery we taught. Slavery still exists in China were all those people have to work to make clothing for the whole day and get paid a couple dollars. Inequality still exists in our societies were people of all races are still unequal.
Since the rise of the civil rights movement, human beings have been engaged in an ongoing debate about how best to control and defend the diversity. With all the talk about cultural diversity and tolerance for others, it is sad to realize how few people really understand the concept of not judging anybody by their ethnicity.
It is difficult to understand why people judge others by skin color, apparent age, city or country of origin, gender, and language. We should not label everyone within that box.
The evil remains in human minds to control others in many different ways. This evil still exists in the world and we have to do something about it. In some places people think it's alright as long as they are not slave themselves and don't have to directly deal with it. It is a fine line between master and slave the removal of the slave from the master’s obedience lead to the freedom, and therefore, to independence
No matter where they are or where they worked, slaves were generally given meager rations that were barely at the level of subsistence. I Believe, slavery was and still is very much alive. Somewhere in other countries they forced children of young ages to work. The International Labor Organization estimated that there were over a hundred million working children between the ages of 5 and 14. Why would such a wealthy people and big companies rely on the use of child slave labor? Slave children are one of the biggest issues around the world because it puts children in danger, it deprives them of an education, it is widespread and it's often hidden or invisible especially in agriculture, big industries and mines, especially in poor countries. Many people are strongly opposed to child labor and something should be done. However, it does not matter if working conditions improve. It is illegal to employ children in certain circumstances.
In some places in the world women are molested and rape every day. Also, every day a women are kidnapped and victims of sexual harassment. We are all guilty for not doing anything about it. In some cultures that are male dominated, women are raised to be servants to their husbands often by the way of arranged marriages. Women are beaten and being mistreated for insufficient dowry money because the groom’s family may be greedy and would like more items.
Slavery was a brutal, inhumane abuse of mankind. People were seized from their native land, and sold into lives of servitude in a foreign land or become a slave in their own country. Indeed, it was a tragedy on such a big scale. And it is this very notion.
The questions are impossible to answer: who was the most responsible?

Eeight weeks

They say that in every experience there is something new to learn. Something that challenges the way we viewed things or the way we thought about things. This is no less than true for my personal experience when I began attending this course. By involving myself in the weekly discussions and researching the tasks that were presented to us, I was forced to break the mould of my usual thinking techniques and therefore my communication skills were also tested when I tried to transfer my newly gained knowledge on to paper (or screen actually). I believe that my writing skills have developed a cleaner flow and structure, making it easier for the readers (such as yourself) to understand my opinion on a more academic level.

I have also enjoyed reading the work of my fellow classmates each week and seeing their interpretation of the questions that were at hand. I find it interesting how one task can generate so many different views and opinions that all differ based on the person who is writing it. Before I hand up my assignment every week I think I’ve read all there is to know on the author or poet relevant to that week; then I go and read the blog of a fellow classmate and realize, wow! I didn’t know that, and wonder how they got that information. The online blog was great idea because we all got to learn off each other and communicate our opinions if we didn’t agree with something. It felt like a safe environment to learn and help others learn, I believe I would enjoy doing other classes through the internet in the future.

When I say that my communication skills have been tested, I not only refer to the manner that I write for someone to understand my opinion, but also to the means in which I chose to present my work. Prior to this course I would have never had the courage or technical knowledge to present my work on the internet and I thought that the word ‘blog’ was an insect or something. I guess you learn something new every day.

One particular assignment that I found challenging was the one about the ‘sublime’. I really had to search deep to find what the word meant to others initially, and then I searched even deeper to find out what the word meant to me. When we were given the task of writing a letter/poem about a personal sublime experience; I never thought I would actually feel a sublime moment while writing about it. The poem of my brother’s death was a moving experience for me and it is something that will stay with me for a long time after this class is finished.

Another assignment that I have learnt a lot from is the one about the little house in the woods. I felt I could relate to the experiences that Thoreau encountered during this social experiment and also relate to his intensions. Learning and writing about this particular event in our history strengthened my courage to enjoy what I already have with my family and not worry about buying more.

By the end of Early American Literature, students should have acquired a number of skills that will aid them in future learning. This includes internet research skills that go beyond just Google and Wikipedia. I have learnt how to save links and create blogs etc, all of which I didn’t know before. Our writing skills should also have improved, form structuring our paragraphs to wording our newly gained knowledge in a manner that is easy to read and understand for everyone in the class. And thirdly our research and memory skills should have improved, from sourcing information in books and the internet etc; to remembering key words in certain chapters that we may have had to re-visit for other assignments that we have been handed.

All in all, my experience in Early American Literature has been a positive one, and it is a class which has tested me on many levels but one that I believe I have grown in also. I have enjoyed reading the feedback of my classmates and sharing my information I look forward now to the next step in my studies and putting all that I have learnt in this course to good use with the rest of my degree.

Learning reflections

What a great week! Readings "The Wound-Dresser”, “The Farewell ", and “The Death of an Infant" and especially “walking.” They helped me realize how much life is beautiful and how much I need to be alone with nature to relieve stress. It has also made me understand balance in my life and I realized that by developing an idea that makes me understand the meaning behind this new way of life.

Walking in nature

Working in a festival this weekend I took time to walk in nature. I saw dirt trails and small trees on both sides; I watched the steady flowing of water while the birds proudly perform their freedom songs. Arriving to the big stream I bend down and see my clear reflection in front of me. I put my hand in the water, it was ice cold. The numbness ran through my fingers. The cold water quickly refreshed my face. When I splashed the water on it, it washed away my anxieties and frustrations of this life.
I looked beyond the stream; there are a variety of flowers that filled the grassland, walking between the flowers, on that land, through a rainbow which makes me feel the rich soil. Crossing from stream to stream, I felt the other breeze, carefully merging the two scents into one fresh, clean smell of Mother Nature. I felt that there were unexplored treasures still in the forest undiscovered. The clouds are like cotton candy, in the midst of the blue sky. A bird catches a worm so it may feed its young. When the rough dirt trail ends, I sat down on a rock, picking at one rock ready to explore any new treasures. The birds serenade each other dancing and the squirrels play each other.
After a half an hour of deep, deep thought, I came to the conclusion that a strong influence in our lives comes from the beauty of earth. I felt overwhelmed and amazed by the power of nature. It is heaven.
Getting in touch with nature, for me, is about taking a look inside ourselves and opening the doors for our spirit to be free.

Mountains and hills,
Birds flying with a strong will!
Strong winds hugging the trees,
Kissing the branches lying on their knees!
Begging them, let me be, let me be
Let me be your sister and let me be your daughter
Let me be, let me be

Comment

It will be nice if I take a couple of weeks off and try to catch up with everything, but this cannot happen. I like to read everyone’s writing because every topic is very interesting.Deb- reading your writing! It is inspiring and especially when I read the piece “I would like to live more spiritually”. Meditation is a wonderful thing and combined with Yoga, it is good for the body, mind and soul.
Savannah: "If I died tomorrow, I could say that I was happy with the way things were going, and wouldn't have any regrets." Writing shows you how to live self reliant and independent. The discipline in your life will get you where you want to be. Keep enjoying your life because it is worth living.
Margie: I like the way you describe the sublime. It makes me (*silence*) speechless. It is true when a person experiences an over whelming incidence.
Harrison: “Sublime moments are the only type of drug that can only help you; rather than a substance you get in memories.” This is true.

Learning this week

I learn this week to writes openly and freely about any things come to my mind, and make the others see what I can see.
I learn to write and experiences of being alone with nature and be friend; with the seasons, birds and the rain, and write from a different state of mind. Also, when I read and write I could reach both emotional and intellectual levels.
However if a particular incident of my sublime, I could identify with my own personal experience.

Emerson, Thoreau and Poe Sublime

Thoreau allows his imagination to wonder in his writing and it is apparent he hasn’t held back on the rhythm and soul of his words. He writes openly and freely about the things he can see which others cannot. He writes of his experiences of being alone in the woods with nature as his only friend; about the seasons, birds and the rain. Thoreau’s external environment truly entertained him and allowed him to write from a different state of mind. He never measured life by material things; instead he measured it by experiences. If it proved to be mean, Thoreau would extract the essence of malice out of it and publish it to the world. However if a particular incident of his were sublime, he would identify with it through his own personal experience.

Thoreau wanted to reach his readers on both emotional and intellectual levels. As his audience, he tells us that wealth traps a person into a sort of contrary ownership, and then tells us to seek a shelter, but one that requires the least amount of work and time, so that we are left with enough spare time for reading, thinking or doing whatever it is that will make us happy.

Emerson’s work on the other hand speaks of how people use their minds to visually create what they see around them. He speaks of how he wants us to separate ourselves from all that we were attached to. He opens up on a personal level in one particular piece, the sublime moment when he lost his father, wife and two brothers; saying “It is my own humour to despise pedigree. I was educated to prize it”.

After reading some of the work of Emerson and Thoreau, I came to a conclusion that they both have written similar opinions on the aspects of simplicity and imagination. They also both pursued transcendentalist philosophy, and used it to a great extent in their writing. Both writers have a similar passion for nature and believed in living in harmony with it. They briefly state that individuals need to live their own experiences instead of living through old traditions and that the deeper meaning of life can be found through simplicity and nature. In addition to living simply, both men believe in the value of the soul.

Poe coming next

The Sublime

I express the sublime, the death of my brother.
I did wrote this poem

Brother
Brother left away
Why he left me half way
We should continue our life all the way
Growing older and we talk about what makes our hair gray
I miss fighting with him every day
I still wait for him every night when he stops by when going home on his way
I feel some time his spirit come in the hall way
God needs young angel, this way my brother left not coming back this way
It is God will I respect and axcept God way
My brother left me without saying good bye
Why, why, why, why
Brother, brother I miss you
I will see you one day

Khattar