Edward Prendich: The Lady Vain

“Wake up, wake up!” says my owner, Eliza Emerson. She has been my owner ever since her husband, my old owner, died. I have been a slave my whole life and when our old owner died I thought that maybe our new owner Eliza, would set us free if I paid her. She actually liked me here and liked the earnings she got for paying me out. What I thought I could do after she said no was go to court. When our old owner died we had already lived in a free state so I thought that since I lived in a free state I was free.

During colonial times, women were expected to play a smaller role in society than men and were deemed inferior, especially in New England and other colonies. Though there were many women who felt the need to put a stop to the ongoing sexism and establish women’s rights, three of the most influential were Anne Bradstreet, Phillis Wheatley, and Anne Hutchinson. Anne Bradstreet was an American poet, who shared the perspectives of a 17th century New England woman through her poems. Phillis Wheatley was an African-American author, who wrote about the lives of black slaves. Anne Hutchinson was a well-known and established leader who spoke out against the ways of the Puritan religion in the Massachusetts Bay colony. Anne Hutchinson was the most

Elizabeth de la Guerre lived in the Baroque time period. She was born in France, October 10, 1666. She died on June 27, 1729 in France. Elizabeth de la Guerre was the daughter of Claude Jacquet. Claude was an organist and a harpsichordist who taught all his children to play. Elizabeth could play and sing so well that king louis the 26th let her perform in public when women weren't allowed to.

A young woman leaves work one summer night and never returns, Amelia Simmons disappeared on August 7th, 1797 in Hartford, Connecticut. Mary Tolford Amelias best friend and neighbor knew Amelias daily routine better than Amelia herself somedays so, when Amelia never returned home from her two to ten o’clock shift at the local general store. Mary immediately knew something was terribly wrong, because Amelia was not the type of person to meander around after her shift. Mary had known Amelia since she was five years old and knew that if Amelia did have plans she would have informed her the day before so she would not

Many people try to prove themselves to other by acting one way in the presence of one group of friends and acting another way in the presence of another group of acquaintances. Such is the case for the “chameleon character” Clarence Hervey in Maria Edgeworth’s 1801 novel Belinda. Through Edgeworth’s use of third person point of view and a negative tone towards the character of Clarence, the reader is better able to get a sense of the arrogance and complexity of this man.

When I read both Anne Bradstreet’s poems, “The Prologue” and “Contemplations” I realized that she is an excellent poet. Her ability to make you feel like you are there experiencing the situation with her. In contemplations she says, “Some time now past in the autumnal tide…The trees all richly clad, yet void of pride, were gilded o’er by rich golden head. Their leaves and fruits seemed painted, but was true, of green, of red, of yellow, mixed hue; Rapt were my senses at this delectable view.” (Bradstreet p.112) I believe the intended audience for these poems were her male critics who believed woman were too inferior to be poets. She did not want to outdo male poets even though she showed she could. In fact, all she wanted was woman to be recognized as poets.

Lady Audley’s Secret, set in the Victorian Era, a time where women were stay-at-home mothers who took care of their children and doted on their husbands, Lucy Graham, also known as Helen Talboy’s, uses her beauty to full potential. This is a young woman from a low-income household who is has changed by marriage; she captivates men by her physical beauty and acquires wealth in return. The novel uses a contrast among different types of women during this era. The Victorian era was notorious for change in women. It is through Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s book, a historic shift from a man-run society to a more optimistic society for women, Lady Audley and the other female protagonists show that women are capable of being as intelligent as men and able

Finally, literature can create a platform for those who typically are unable to influence society publicly or on a public platform. For example, women in the 17th and 18th centuries possessed very little societal influence and there for had to find a means to still leave their mark on the world and impact it for the better. Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley are two such women who sought out a way to impact the world. These two women, although from extremely different circumstances, both wrote about what life was like for women in these two centuries and both are considered courageous according to the standards of may despite being in the submissive female role that society had categorized and placed them in. For example, Anne Bradstreet

We all know what horses are, and how they are used for many different uses. Some are used to work on farms, some are bred to drag carriages, and some are race horses. In the passage The Georges and the Jewels by Jane Smiley, and Black Beauty: The Autobiography of a Horse by Anna Sewell, they both use first-person view in different ways. Jane Smiley’s passage is in the point of view of a little girl, and Anna Sewell’s passage is in the horses perspective. Both of the passages use first person view to better describe the characters, but they use it in some different ways too.

Jane Addams, the Hull House co-founder, and peace activist, was seen as one of the most acclaimed first-generation college-educated women. Rejecting certain matriarchal principles such as marriage and motherhood, she devoted herself towards a lifetime commitment to the less fortunate and social activism and reform.

Have you ever met a hero ever in your life? One with a beautiful appearance and an intelligent brain filled with countless great ideas, this person is a loathly lady found in Selina Hastings’s retold short story, “Sir Gawain & the Loathly Lady”. However as one of the protagonist, the loathly lady is considered a heroic character based on her statements and actions. Throughout the story, King Arthur promises to grant the loathly lady a wish, then she gets a chance to release her from the spell by marry to a knight. At the end, not only she overcome several difficulties of breaking her spell, but also earn Sir Gawain’s sincerity. As the story unfolds, the loathly lady is concluded as a beautiful, confident and intelligent

In the life of an entrepreneur one should expect, risk, decisions, success, and even failure, but that didn’t stop the likes of Madam C.J. Walker, a woman who reared even the greatest of entrepreneurial risk while fighting for something bigger than herself. In the biography entitled, On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker, by A’Leila Bundles, and published by Scribner, Walker’s own great-great granddaughter tells the tale of a lifetime of a woman who started her business own her own ground in her own way. The main idea of this book is to profess Madam C.J. Walker’s own personal story in a very sentimental perspective. No detail is left unwritten about her prolific journey from a slave to a self-made millionaire. I am

Every woman would want to be Lady Marguerite Blakeney, née St Just. Having recently made her debut at the Comedie Francois, Marguerite married Sir Percy Blakeney alias the Scarlet Pimpernel. Charming, clever, beautiful, with childlike eyes and a delicate face, Marguerite captures everyone’s attention. Yet Marguerite is portrayed as a stereotypical woman who is weak, impulsive, and whose identity revolves around her husband.

Joseph Prince once said, “ Sin does not stop God's grace from flowing, but God's grace will stop sin.” It is funny how idea about a god has changed over time. Back then Puritans believed that all people were born sinful but now God is known for saving people from sin. Joseph Prince is New Creation Church founder and his book was listed as one of Christian retailing's top 100 books. Famous Puritans writers Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edward view Christianity so different unlike present writers like Joseph Prince. Both Anne Bradstreet “ upon the Burning of our House” and Jonathan Edward’s “ Sinners in the Hands of an God” are representative of Puritan literature. Bradstreet and Edward works teach a lesson, and both give all glory to God.

The most memorable character and one who has a tremendous impact on the audience is Lady Augusta Bracknell. Wilde’s audience would have identified most with her titled position and bearing. Wilde humorously makes her the tool of the conflict, and much of the satire. She serves well the plot and the theme of the play. She is the strong hand who forces the whole play to move forward with a happy ending.