Reflection-Fireside Poets

The Fireside Poets were and still are an American icon. They are a superb example of romanticism style poetry. The smooth and rhythmical phrases combined with the entertaining subject matter keeps the reader and listener engaged.

The subject matter of the Fireside Poets was different from the Puritan writing style. In the Fireside Poets writings they wrote about simple things like snow fall and a ship as well as evoking emotions of pride and patriotism. In the poem “Old Ironsides” the author, Oliver Wendell Holmes, writes in a way that gives the reader an emotional connection with the battleship, the U.S.S Constitution. In the poem, Holmes writes, “Her deck, once red with hero’s blood, Where knelt the vanquished foe” (Holmes 211). This phrase gives the feeling that the ship was very victorious. It had won many battles and conquered the enemy. It was the place where many great men had fallen. Such phrases stir in the heart’s of the readers a sense of national pride. The Puritan writers use things like experiences and use them as instruction for the reader. Their writing is very faith heavy. There are many references to the providence of God. In “Of Plymouth Plantation”, written by William Bradford, there are several references to God. “I may not omit here a special work of God’s providence.” (Bradford 15) Here Bradford is saying that without the help of God, and God’s sense of humor, the man would still be bothering them. The basis for all of the Puritan writing is that everything happens for a reason and everything happens because of what God has done.

I believe that the subject matter of the Romanticism period and the Rationalism period are the same, but they are presented in different ways. In the Rationalism writings, especially Benjamin Franklin’s writings, the topic is usually a natural event, or something that happened to him or someone else. In Franklin’s autobiography he writes, “I found myself very feverish and went to bed; but having read some where that cold water drunk plentifully was good for fever, I followed the prescription and sweat plentifully most of the night. My fever left me…” (Franklin 106) These sentences show the whole idea of the Rationalism period. For everything that happened there was a scientific reason why it happened. However, Romantics’ writings were made bigger than life, elevating them to an almost mythological point. In “Old Ironsides” Holmes writes, “And give her to the god of storms, The lightning and the gale!” (Holmes 211) It seems like Holmes is putting this ship into the category of legends. Sending the ship to the “god of storms” is making the ship a sacrifice to him. Everything is made larger then life and exaggerated. The Romanticism writings also brought a feeling of emotion to the reader. “No more feel the victor’s tread, Or know the conquered knee;” (Holmes 211) The reader feels sorry for the ship. This is a strange emotion for someone to have for a ship, but that is the reason that Holmes wrote it. He wanted the ship to not be torn down.

The content of the Fireside poets are almost the same as the Puritan and Rationalism writing styles, but they are portrayed differently.

Holmes, Oliver Wendell. "Old Ironsides." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.

Franklin, Benjamin. "from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.

Bradford, William. "from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.

reflection- Franklin's virtues

I think that Franklin was very ingenious in his compilation of the thirteen virtues. He was a very ingenious man himself with many inventions like the library, the Franklin stove, and the bifocals. When Benjamin Franklin was making his list of virtues, I feel like he wanted to find things he felt he was struggling with and things he wanted to become proficient in. His thirteen virtues are temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. I think that for a man as accomplished as Ben Franklin it would be very difficult to stay humble. He was an ambassador to France, a founding father, and an extremely inventive man. Even to realize that you need to practice humility is a big deal. Another aspect of his life that would be hard for him to follow is silence. I think that for any person silence would be hard to accomplish. I do not think I can remember a day that I have been silent for more than an hour or two, I am not counting sleeping. I am not a super talkative person, but it is still hard to be silent. Franklin says, “Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation. (Franklin 149)” What is a trifling conversation you may ask? I think a trifling conversation is any conversation that does not benefit your life or the lives of others in some significant way. I have never gone one day without trifling conversation because that’s who I am. I like to make jokes and have fun. It is almost a habit for me. Franklin says, “I concluded at length, that the mere speculative conviction, that it was our interest to be completely virtuous, was not sufficient to prevent our slipping; and that the contrary habits must be broken, and good ones acquired and established, before we can have any dependence on a steady, uniform rectitude of conduct. (Franklin 148)” So basically he is saying that in order to be able to follow the virtues completely and to the letter, you must break your old habits and replace them with the new virtues.

I think that it was almost inevitable for Franklin to not be changed by his virtues. He was following such a rigorous schedule of virtues, and doing his best to practice them that I think he had become a better person. I think that one of the main keys to his success was the chart that he had made. Every day he would mark down which he had followed, so when he did not do well on a virtue it was obvious for him to see. It would seem hard to believe that such a great and accomplished man could become a better person. He plays a major role in our nation history, but I guess that is why he is such a great historical person. He wanted to make himself a better person. He did not want to make himself more famous or become wealthier. He wanted to become a morally better person. If we all had that same attitude could you imagine what the world would be like? Could you imagine how different the world would be today?

journal 18

The perfect autumn day for me would be going backpacking with my brothers in southern Missouri. When we go it is usually in late October after football season. It is beautiful because the leaves just start changing. The yellow, orange and red leaves look simply magnificent in the morning sun. We usually wake up early, because that is what you do when you go camping. We cook bacon and eggs over the fire and it smells like heaven. The sound of the bacon sizzling on the pan is like snow falling. The eggs and bacon are the best taste in the world in the brisk morning air. I love the feeling of the cold air against my skin in the morning. After we eat breakfast we have to break camp and hit the trails. To make they day more perfect in the middle of the day's trek the temperature will reach 75 degrees. While in the hike we came across a spring fed stream and a waterfall, and we immediately jumped in and cooled off. After the swim we decided to eat right there on the bank of the stream. Our lunch consisted of Vienna sausage, bread, and some water. A perfect day for me does not really consist of the literal day, but it consists of who I spend it with. Since my brothers are gone and off the college it makes it more special for me to spend time with them since I usually only get to see them two or three times a year. I do love to stay outside and spend time with nature, but it is better if you have someone the share nature with. Usually we would spend a week or so backpacking, and camping along the way. Another perfect fall day would be a Friday evening. The temp. would be perfect, and I would be getting ready to play football with my team. The perfect ending to the day would be with the crowd cheering and our team running victoriously off the field.

journal 16

Well I feel like I am about to write the exact same journal that I just finished moments ago. There are several ways that we could communicate with the students from Farmington High School. We could us Twitter and follow each other on the Twitter. Communicating through Tweeting we could accomplish a lot and develop team chemistry. There is a downside to Twitter, I do not have one. I do have a facebook though, and every once and a while I will check to see if I have any updates. We can also us cell phones to call and text each other and get to know each other. We need to find a good way to communicate and the best way to do that would be a trip up to Farmington High School. We could meet our fellow students in person and not in some bad video feed. We can utilize all of our resources to come in contact with our fellow teammates. I think one of the best ways to talk would be through Skype, even though the video feed would not be the best. We could still be face to face and compare the work we have visually through the Today's meet. Today's meet is an excellent way to communicate with the people and the messages come up almost immediately. Given my experiences already with my group no matter what tool you use to communicate with the students from Farmington High School, they will not respond. With the days drawing closer when the project is due, we are going to have to find a way to communicate so we can get this job done. It will be really frustrating if they do not help with this project. So I hope that through simple Email we will be able to talk and communicate with our group members. So far the Gmail has been the best way to talk, but so far only one of the group members has responded.

Journal 15

In this day and age it should be very easy for us to be able to connect with students from another area. With all of the technological developments we could be connected with the students from Farmington in a matter of seconds. There are cell phones and texting, almost every high school student has texting and would be able to communicate very quickly with each other. A downside to that would be that we are not allowed to use our phones during school, but outside of school it would work out perfectly. Facebook would be another good way to communicate with the students from Farmington. However the school has blocked social media websites so we would not be able do this during school. Outside of school there are so many ways that we could communicate using the internet. Google+ is not blocked and we could all use that and create our own profile and be friends. Today's meet would also be an excellent way to communicate with each other. It is like an instant messaging site. Also you could just talk on the phone and go old school all up on this project. If you really wanted to go old school on this project you could send a letter to the other groups, become pen pals and become best friends. We could also work in the library during P.A.C.E. if we are allowed to. We could message each other, or talk to them on the phone if we get permission from the teacher. We could Email each other, and work hard to make this thing work so that we can get a good grade.