Similarities Between Anne Bradstreet And An Indian Looking Glass For The White Man

Anne Bradstreet’s feelings about her home represent the most material conflict. When her home burned down she wrote the poem to voice these feelings of hers. She describes the awakening to the “shrieks of dreadful voice” and going out to watch “the flame consume” her “dwelling place”. But she comforts herself with good Puritan dogma. The burning of the house is God’s doing and his doings should not be questioned. In looking over the stanzas where she

When the word reflection is mentioned, the first thought is a mirror-like image of yourself. This is to define your own perception of the acceptable and poor quality within yourself. Taking action of the weaknesses and developing my skills to improve me around everyone, (Stadter, 2015).

Anne Bradstreet was not the typical Puritan author. She wrote sweet and loving poems that greatly contrasted from other writers of her time. She did not write the ever so popular sermons that told people that they were going to hell and there was nothing they could do about it. Bradstreet was a rarity in Puritan times, she was a very educated woman that worked on something other than being a woman in the household. She was one of a kind and the beginning of an era. Using literary criticism when reading Anne Bradstreet’s poems adds a deeper understanding of her character and difficulties in life.

Anne Bradstreet’s education gave her advantages, which allowed her to write about politics, history, medicine, and theology legally. She use to have her own library of over 9000 books but over half of them were destroyed in the fire when her house burned down. Her house burning down actually inspired her to write the poem “Upon the Burning of Our House July 10th, 1666.” She was constantly reflecting her anger and grief from the tragedy of her house burning and instead of being mad, she looks towards god and heaven as a consolation. Whenever she was a younger writer, she wrote 5 epic poems of four parts of speech that explored the diverse natures of their

Between the years 1633 and 1652, Anne had her eight children and many domestic responsibilities, but she also wrote her poetry which expresses her commitment to the craft of writing. In addition, her work reflects the religious and emotional conflicts she experienced as a woman writer and as a Puritan. Bradstreet was concerned with the issues of sin and redemption, physical and emotional frailty, death and immortality throughout her life.

It has been said time and time again that actions define man, but how can one begin to reify such an abstract concept, when actions alone are merely only a facet of the definition of what it means to be human. Nature does not uphold limitations during our existence, as such it is unnatural for one human to limit the freedom of another. To be human also means to have the ability and possibility to learn, experience, digest, and create. As social creatures, it also means to empathize and to love. Finally, and maybe most importantly to fight, for ourselves, for our beliefs, and to protect the exploited and oppressed. Both William Apess, in his essay titled "An Indians Looking-Glass for the White Man”, and Benjamin Banneker’s letter to Thomas Jefferson,

The tone used by Apess in “An Indian’s Looking Glass for the White Man: is one of direct address. His consistent use of the pronoun “I” is that of a speaker addressing an audience. It seems though, at times, his audience changes. His intent is for the audience to look at themselves in a mirror; therefore “I” can be interpreted as the conscience of the reader, reexamining their views.

What is the value of one’s culture? Native culture is an integral part in a person’s life. A person consists of many different characteristics, such as personality and appearance; however, what makes a person more unique would be his own culture. Native culture is what a person grew up with and identifies him as, thus losing or forgetting it would mean losing himself. Although it is important to remain with one’s culture, many people end up losing it. This is the consequence of living in America, where people with diverse cultures exist. Often times, diverse cultures feel the need to adapt to the more mainstream culture. Because of this, many people tend to forget their own native culture in attempt to assimilate to a different one.

From the writing at home to the speeches at church, Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards are two religious authors during the Puritan Times. A woman poet of a time against woman’s independence and a preacher of full religion devotion, Bradstreet and Edwards’ concept of religion were presented similarly but not alike. Bradstreet’s aspects of religious views were focused upon praising God and loving her family and husband. Edwards’ perspective of his sermons were strongly influenced by religion about praising the Lord or to suffer in hell if not. Bradstreet’s poems, “Upon the Burning of Our Home” and “To My Dear and Loving Husband”, expresses emotional tone and gratefulness towards God. Edwards’ sermon, “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God”, indicates the power of God and anger he has towards the non-believers. Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards have strong belief in God, but have two different religious views and personalities of how they envision the Lord.

William Apess’s narrative, “An Indian’s Looking-Glass for the White Man,” is a compelling indictment of not only race prejudice (specifically against people of color) but also of hypocritical actions and feelings performed by religious people. In his autobiography, A Son of the Forest: The Experience of William Apes, A Native of the Forest, Apess writes that he was born in 1789 in Colrain, Massachusetts. His father, who was of mixed race (Apess’s grandfather was white, while Apess’s grandmother was a Native American), joined the Pequot tribe and married his mother who was also a member of the tribe. After moving to Colchester, Connecticut, and living there for almost three years, Apess and his two brothers and sisters were taken into his grandfather’s

Anne Bradstreet, as a poet, wrote as both a Puritan woman in her time and as a woman ahead of her time. Zach Hutchins analyzed this tension in “The Wisdom of Anne Bradstreet: Eschewing Eve and Emulating Elizabeth”, and makes a primary argument that three of Bradstreet’s poems provide evidence that Bradstreet rejects the Puritan views of a woman while keeping her own personal faith. Hutchins fither his argument by declaring that readers should not view Bradstreet as a symbol of rebellion or submission, instead as a symbol of wisdom.

For Anne Bradstreet, the closeness of God to the soul is essential to not only understanding life, but coming to terms with devastation and loss. Bradstreet’s journey to God is best explained by Job 1:21 which says “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Her belief is exemplified through her poem “Versus upon the Burning of Our House.” One of her first reactions while she is watching her home burn to the ground is look up to the sky and say “strengthen me in my distress and not leave me succorless.” Throughout the entire poem, Bradstreet constantly references how God will help her rebuild her life and strengthen her soul. During the middle of the poem, she talks about all of her lost material things like

When the word reflection is mentioned, the first thought is a mirror like image of yourself. This is to define your own perception of the good and bad quality within yourself. Taking action of the weaknesses and developing my skills to improve myself around everyone, (Stadter, 2015).

Anna Bradstreet grows up in a healthy family. She was the daughter of Thomas Dudley who is the manager of the country estate of the Puritan Earl of Lincoln. Anna Bradstreet got married at the age of 16 to the young Simon Bradstreet who was working with Anna father. Anna Bradstreet never went to school but her father always taught her and gave her an education. It that time many women didn’t have an education. Anna considers one of the best and most important American poets. When Bradstreet was a little girl, she writes poems to honor and please her father. After she got married, she kept writing and it marriage didn’t stop her. Her brother in law, John Woodbridge, pastor of the Andover Church, brought with him to London a manuscripts collection of her poetry in 1650. It was her first book, The Tenth Muse was the first published volume of poems written by an American resident and it was widely read. Anne Bradstreet was a very religious and Godly woman. Anne Bradstreet always tried to live life in a perfect way. Anne Bradstreet was a woman of God and she always wrote about her faith in her poetry. She always talked about the Puritan and their believes and views on salvation and reclamation in her poetry. Anna seems to believe that God has punished her through her sicknesses. The Puritans believed suffering was God’s plan of preparing the soul and heart for accepting his mercy

Reflection helps one to improve especially when they can draw lessons from the positive and negative experiences of the past. It is an active process that enables individuals to understand how historical, social, cultural, as well as personal experiences contribute to how we study or learn. In any aspect of life, reflection can be applied to help individuals focus their efforts in getting the most out of different situations, and, therefore, improving self-performance and becoming lifelong learners.