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Post by Mr. Thomas on Sept 10, 2013 6:57:23 GMT -5
Post your responses to this thread.
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Post by matthewko on Sept 10, 2013 16:51:39 GMT -5
Matthew Ko
Mr. Thomas
English 11
10 September 2013
A. I relate to this poem when Bradford states, "one of the main beams in the midships was bowed and cracked, which put them in some fear that the ship could not be able to perform the voyage." (Page 122). When I was in Rio, Brazil attending a two million demonstration against the government, me and my family were brought upon tear gas, rubber bullets, and people from the slums carrying weapons. Fear was within us and we weren't sure what to do when people were starting to run. I definitely felt that we might not be able to finish our "voyage".
B. When Bradford writes, "So they committed themselves to the will of God and resolved to proceed" (Page 122), I felt this was very significant in relation to the rest of the text. The rest of the text talks about how they might go under water and how their ship seems to be broken in so many ways. When Bradford brings up God and how they resolve their issue, I saw how these people overcame their fear and devoted themselves to God, hoping He will guide them in the right direction.
D. The quote, "He directed them how to set their corn, where to take fish, and to procure other commodities, and was also their pilot to bring them to the unknown" (Page 127) astonished me because we see Samoset aiding the Pilgrims, showing a clear example of cultural diffusion. The Indians show the pilgrims how to farm, hunt, and the ways of the wild, helping them with pleasure. Being that the Indians were oppressed, we see their true colors of being nice people who really wanted to help.
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Post by poulong15 on Sept 10, 2013 17:26:35 GMT -5
Gregory Poulon
Mr. Thomas
English 11-06
10 September 2013
D. The one action that really stood out to me was in the beginning on the chapter when it says “But it pleased God before they came half seas over, to smite this young man with a grievous disease, of which he died in a desperate manner, and so was himself the first that was thrown overboard.” I really liked this quote because it immediately set off the tone of the chapter and it began it in a way that was very ambitious and kept me reading to see the outcome. This is a good example of how the author uses many literary techniques to appeal to the reader, as he emphasizes the cruelty of the ship after throwing him over board concluding his death.
C. The author William Bradford does an amazing job writing but as his novel goes on it gets a little confusing. The part were I am confused is when Bradford changes his subject from the old ship, to the Indian Relations and then to the Pilgrims and to thanks giving? I do not understand his transitions and this is the point that gets me confused.
E. The one character that does not really show up a lot, but still plays a factor in chapter 11 in the captain Myles Standish. The captain is a very brave man and he takes up a major task with his fellow soldier Mr. William Bruster, to handle the military aspects of the Puritans. The thing that stands out the most is that Myles is not a puritan but he still decided to take up the role of captain and lead the military.
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Post by emmanuelluna on Sept 10, 2013 17:31:45 GMT -5
Emmanuel Luna
Mr.Thomas
English 11
9/10/13
D. One quote that stood out to me was on page 122 where it says, “Thus his curses light on his own head, and it was an astonishment to all his fellows for they noted it to be the just hand of God upon them.” This quote stood out to me because it shows that they are leaving everything to God and are not doing anything themselves. The crew wanted to throw the profane and haughty young man over but when he died of this disease they say it as God acting justly and doing what they saw was right. I believe that this shows how much faith they have in God and how they believe that he will fix anything and does so for a reason.
A. One quote that I can relate to what I am learning in my global class is “a certain Indian came boldly amongst them and spoke to them in broken English, which they could well understand but marveled at it.” (Page 125) I can relate this quote to my global class because right now we are studying the Columbian Exchange and cultural diffusion and reading this quote stood out to me because the Indian speaking English shows that the settlers culture and language has begun to diffuse to the natives.
B. I feel that the reading would have a different meaning without this quote on page 126, “Who, about four or five days after, came with the chief of his friends and other attendance, with the aforesaid Squanto. With whom, after friendly entertainment and some gifts given him, they mad peace with him” I think that without this quote the passage would have almost an incomplete ending since this is the moment where the natives and the settlers unified to make peace and help each other out.
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Post by matthewchan on Sept 10, 2013 17:44:45 GMT -5
Matthew Chan
Mr. Thomas
English 11
10 September 2013
A. The first short story “Of their Voyage, and how they Passed the Sea; and of their Safe Arrival at Cape Cod” reminds and relates to the book, The Perfect Storm.. The crew’s goal, in the story, was to cross the ocean and arrive in the Americas to start a new life. However, the crew had to experience a lot of treacherous and stormy weather in order to arrive at their destination. This is very similar to The Perfect Storm because both crews had to endure the tough water conditions and stormy weather. In the short story, it described the weather as “fierce with which the ship was shroudly shaken”.
D. In the first short story, it said, “They had now no friends to welcome them nor inns to entertain or refresh their weather-beaten bodies; no houses or much less towns to repair to.” This line surprised me. When people arrived in America for the first time, was there really no one there to greet them or help them. Not only did the crew had to worry about the ocean and the weather, but they had to think about what they were going to do when they arrived at a place they have never been before.
E. I am very surprised how religious the crew was during their journey. They looked to God for help and guidance along their journey. One thing one of the crew members said was, “What could now sustain them but the Spirit of God and His grace?” This shows that the crew is very religious and cares about the safety of themselves and the entire crew.
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Post by seandelossantos on Sept 10, 2013 17:49:28 GMT -5
Sean de los Santos
Mr. Thomas
English
10 September 2013
A.One thing this story reminds me of is a family moving from one state to another. This reminds me of the situation since the family that is moving from one state to another can encounter similar problems. Some problems include weather and other obstacles in the course of the trip that can harm the family moving. Also, finally getting into the home could be a situation because the family could be far from necessities such as clothing or food stores. This story reminds me of all the things anyone can encounter in the course of a trip.
E. One character’s action I was confused about was the young man’s actions. One thing he was doing was that he was making fun of all the sick people on board and he hoped to cast them off the ship. It didn’t really make sense due to the fact that it was immoral and he was of a very devout religious group. Karma ends up taking him when he gets sick himself and then he gets thrown overboard as a result.
B. What the reading does is that it gives us a background of the type of literature made in that specific time period. Without the reading, it would be very confusing to others. The reading helps us understand what the author thinks and the type of literature that was being written at the time. It helps us familiarize ourselves to what will come in the future. Without the reading, All of the stories and other readings would get really confusing.
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Post by johnmarano on Sept 10, 2013 18:14:36 GMT -5
John Marano
Mr. Thomas
English 11
10 September 2013
William Bradford
A. Some scenarios throughout the story remind me of a personal experience. About five years ago, my mom thought it would be a fun “family trip” to drive to Florida. As it is mentioned on page 121, the weather conditions played a roll in the voyage. “They were encountered many time with crosswinds and met with many fierce storms” (Bradford). I am DEFINITELY sure that the people on the boat would have rather avoided these conditions. Anyway, this reminds me of my “voyage” to Florida. Throughout the 16-hour drive, we encountered serious winds and rainfall. It got to a point where we had to stay in Washington, D.C. for a few days before my dad thought it was safe to get on the road again. We eventually did, and fought through the conditions and arrived in Florida.
D. After this reading this confusing, short story, I came across certain lines that I really enjoyed. “But it pleased God before they came half seas over, to / smite this young man with a grievous disease … “ (Bradford, 121). To me, this story wasn’t the best I have read, so this specific scene really caught my attention. I really was rooting against the “proud and very profane young man,” (Bradford, 121) who did nothing for the crewmembers but abuse and disparages them. It was a sense of relief to see that a man, who wanted the poor and sick to die, died first. I am in favor of the way William Bradford included God because, like my mom always says, God works in mysterious ways. In this scene, William believes that God demonstrated his strange actions.
E. I had mixed reactions to the crewmembers when I was reading this story. Finally reaching the last page, I am going to say my reactions went from being annoyed to, in a sense, relieved. Originally, I was really angry at the way the members of the crew were treating each other. They were already sailing through arduous winds and conditions and their disrespect for each other bothered me. I would like to say that I had an extremely different reaction on Thanksgiving. I was incredibly pleased to see the crew finally recovering and coming together for a small harvest. “… Being all well and recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty” (Bradford, 127). I think this really changed my mind because I can kind of relate these scenes to personal experiences. My family and I always have our differences and sometimes don’t see eye to eye, but in the end we always come together, stronger and closer. The Thanksgiving in the story caused my entire outlook to change.
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Post by eointunney on Sept 10, 2013 18:23:52 GMT -5
Eoin Tunney
Mr. Thomas
English 11
10 September 2013
D. In this short story by William Bradford, there were two sets of lines which I really enjoyed. The first set of lines I enjoyed is at the end of the first page. These lines read, “But it pleased God before they came half seas over, to smite this young man with a grievous disease, of which he died in a desperate manner, and so himself the first that was thrown overboard.” These lines amused me very much because of the karma that plays into. I find it funny that the young man was the first to be thrown overboard after saying he wanted to throw off the other sick people. The second set of lines I enjoyed is on the last page. It reads, “… and was a special instrument sent of God for their good beyond their expectation.” These lines refer to the native which helps them. I found these lines enjoyable because it shows how they are thankful to God for everything that is brought to them.
I. After reading through some of my classmates comments. I felt that Gregory Poulon’s comments for part C were very agreeable. In some parts of this story I felt very confused because everything was switching so fast. I quickly felt as if I had missed out on something and I had to reread that part again. It seemed as if there was a lot of information in this story that could have been added.
B. I felt that the Indian Relations part was very significant to the rest of the story. Without this part of the story I feel that there would be something missing to connect the story line. The most important part of this section would definitely have to be where Samoset shows the English where to find food and how to live off the land. Without this part there would be no connection between them arriving and then celebrating the first thanksgiving.
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Post by michaelannunziata on Sept 10, 2013 18:50:17 GMT -5
Michael Annunziata
Mr. Thomas
English 11
9/10/13
A. “They were encountered many time with crosswinds and met with many fierce storms” (Bradford) page 121. This line from the book reminded me of my family trip of when I went to Aruba. However on my way back from Aruba my flight got delayed twelve hours and we had all of our money on the baggage which was already on the plane and we could no get the money therefore we could not buy any food. Luckily the staff at the airport started to give out food vultures and we were able to get threw the twelve hours just like how they did in Bradford’s writing.
C. The author William Bradford starts out well with the writing piece but then kind of starts to get confusing because of the ways he puts his words into detail. The part were I am confused is when Bradford changes his subject from the old ship, to the Indian Relations and then to the Pilgrims and to thanks giving, because he changes subject so may times in such little time. Because of all the changes in such short notice I start to get confused.
I. While reading along my peer’s comments I felt that Eoin and Greg nailed it on the head with Greg’s part c answer. Like I said in my answer for C everything was changing so fast and that is what both of my peers emphasized in their answers. Also when they said that they had to read the same reading section over and over again, I too had that problem because I couldn’t comprehend what was going on.
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Post by odonnelle on Sept 10, 2013 19:00:45 GMT -5
E. It’s hard to not notice the generational gap between oneself and the early Puritans when Bradford describes the general consensus of the shipmates concerning the death of the crass, bratty fellow with whom they voyaged. “… for they noted it to be the just hand of God upon him.” Although the haughty shipmate openly expressed a desire to throw many of the voyagers overboard when they fall ill and die (which was certainly not as awful a thing to say then as it would be to say now), there are few who would believe it a complete act of justice that he die simply for the poor choice of words that escaped his mouth. It was nothing short of distressing to read about (truly an example of Values Dissonance), it is worth noting that Bradford does not directly state his opinion on the matter. Although his ascertation of the childish shipmate is necessarily an opinion, he never says that the fellow got his just desserts. He merely notes that his colleagues thought it just and that it pleased God (which is not so much his opinion as it is the belief that every occurrence is one by God and is pleasing to Him).
F. As yet another example of Values Dissonance, the way the community responds to the ill and dying should, by all means, horrify the typical reader who has more than he/she needs. “For they that had been boon companions in drinking and jollity in the time of their health and welfare, began now to desert one another in this calamity, saying they should not hazard their lives for them.” Regardless of how much one contributed, many were abandoned in their moments of need. Bradford even accounts one gentle heart who took care of another who was sick, but that gentle heart became as cold and as brazen as the devil himself when the person he was feeding did not die as soon as expected. It is clear that the teachings of the Man from Nazareth did not hold much water within this community.
A. Although a few passages clearly exemplify a dissonance of values between now and then, it is worth noting the feedback that a person gets when one associates a tragedy with God sending a message. A trademark of the Westboro Baptist Church is claiming that disasters, natural or otherwise, are God’s way of punishing people for various acts which don’t directly oppress everything they hate. For example, the Church has officially stated that God used the “evil pervert Adolf Hitler” to “punish and destroy” millions of “God-haters” (“God-haters” referring to the Jewish). Needless to say, the WBC and the people associated with it are largely vilified, but the issue lies in the fact that there are more Americans who vilify them for their disgusting rhetoric than there are Americans who vilify them for their basic claims (this disaster is God’s way of punishing us for [insert absurd political issue here]). If Bradford’s account is anything to go by (and there are corroborating works which imply it is), it becomes clear where the WBC’s logic finds its origin, and why such thoughts aren’t as disdained in the United States as they would be in, say, most of Europe.
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Post by joeroperti on Sept 10, 2013 19:29:27 GMT -5
Joseph Roperti
mr. Thomas
English 11
9/10/13
A. “They were encountered many time with crosswinds and met with many fierce storms” (Bradford) page 121, I can relate to deeply. I feel that it is more then just the physical wind and storm it could be a brier that trie to stoop you from what you are trying to do. I feel that in everyones life they are given certain challenges where they have the opportunity to rise to the occasion or fall to the less honorable pit. My personal experience is that of making the Xavier baseball team. My barriers was having seniors on the team already that have their set positions in which i had and still have to fit for a position on the team.
b. I feel this reading gives you more of an insight into what the literary pieces were off this time pierod. Also, gave the reader a better understanding of what the puritan religion required and demanded of you, as a puritan. the more information you have on a subject i feel the better a connection can be with an experience or emotion you have had or felt.
I. while i was scrolling through the discussion board i came across my peer Michael Annuziata's contribution to the discussion. i was struck by the fact that his family and him had such a terrible delay in the airport on their way to aruba, but that shows how there are obstacles one is faced with in which the man or woman must overcome.
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Post by georgebaroudos on Sept 10, 2013 19:45:52 GMT -5
George Baroudos
Mr. Thomas
English 11
10 September 2013
D – When disaster strikes we are able to decipher who the genuine people are in our life. “Another gave his companion all he had, if he died, to help him in his weakness” (125), this quote shows us how strong a relationship can be. Even though we all experience death, a strong bond can last until death. This quote made me put my own friendships into question and I believe my closest friend would help me before he helped himself. With that bond I would help my closest friend before I helped myself as well, I believe that in order to develop a strong bond both parties must put in equal work to allow the bond to grow.
E – When two groups of strangers interact and develop relationships I find it inspiring. The world is full of unknowns; we cannot know anything unless we try it. I find the ability of the Pilgrims and the Massasoit to sit and celebrate Thanksgiving a beautiful act. The quote “They began now to gather in the small harvest they had…” (127) displays their willingness to work together. They don’t seem to have much, but they come together anyway. Both parties forget about what they have and put all indifferences aside in order to watch their relationship grow. This motivates me too meet new people!
F – The relationship between the chief of the Massasoit and the Pilgrims is one of significance. This relationship must work both ways in order to reach peace. Both leaders are able to come to terms in order to create a treaty and “They made peace with them” (126). The relationship just grows from here. Through this treaty they are able to have Thanksgiving. Through the peace they are able to communicate on a humane level. Communication is key and this treaty allows a bond to develop.
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Post by bourdonm15 on Sept 10, 2013 19:47:34 GMT -5
Matthew Bourdon
English 11
Mr. Thomas
9/10/13
A. “The disease began to fall amongst them also, so as almost half of their company died before they went away, and many of their officers and lustiest men, as the boatswain, gunner, three quartermasters, the cook and others.” (Page 124) This quote reminds me of the Swine Flu epidemic when it was going around a year ago. Everyone was panicking and it was a big deal. It was a deadly sickness and some people were even dying from it. This quote on what happened reminded me about the Swine Flu epidemic.
B. “The disease began to fall amongst them also, so as almost half of their company died before they went away, and many of their officers and lustiest men, as the boatswain, gunner, three quartermasters, the cook and others.” (Page 124) This really was the part of the story that really got interesting. It showed how many people were affected by a disease all of a sudden. It was all in all pretty sad and bizarre at the same time. It was really bizarre in the way that out of nowhere these people are dying due to disease in the blink of an eye.
F. The relationship between the characters of the story was mutual and amiable. “They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty.” (Page 127) This shows the relationship was pretty good and they all were sort of like family to each other. They all sat down and worked together to have a great meal and to help comfort each other because of winter. I found it interesting how the Indians still managed to be friendly with the Pilgrims after they spread diseases that harmed the Indians. It was again a positive in the story!
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Post by 1adams12 on Sept 10, 2013 20:30:05 GMT -5
Michael Adams
9/10/13
C. I did not like the story because it was too confusing in the old English of the 16th Century. I did not like the fact that throughout the whole story I had to keep looking down for the words I did not know. Even when I looked at the words, I still did not understand what the writer, Bradford, was trying to get across. Did anyone understand what the story was about?
E. What I was thinking while I was reading this, was why am I reading a narrative that I don’t understand completely? I was also thinking, do I really have to answer these questions about what I truly did not understand. What also went through my mind while I was reading this was why the publishers could not have re-written the story in normal English where high-school students can understand it? I would have liked it better if it was in a way that I could have read with no problems. It seemed like it was a good story, but I personally thought it would be even better if people who were reading it, could understand it.
G. The beginning of the story: I am scared that I might not be heading into the right place, simply because I don’t know where I am going. I just hope that I will be free wherever I am going. I am also afraid that the boat is going to be tipped over because the wind might turn into a strong storm wind and tip the boat over. I have to go because it is supper time. Will write tomorrow.
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Post by epoccia on Sept 10, 2013 21:18:24 GMT -5
Eddie Poccia
English 11
Mr. Thomas
10 September 2013
D. “ So they committed themselves to the will of God and resolved to proceed (122).” I like this quote because it shows their complete faith in God and how they trust him with everything that happens. It also relates to Anne Bradstreet’s poem because in the poem she puts all of her faith in God and lets him take control.
E. The part that surprised me the most was when the pilgrim that wanted to throw the sick overboard. This just seamed very cruel even though they were all trying to survive. If someone suggested this today he would probably go to jail or be punished in some way. However, back then they may have considered it to be a serious option to prevent sickness.
A. I can relate to how the pilgrims felt moving to their new home. When I moved I left my old life behind me and I was ready to start anew. I’m sure this is the same feeling hat the pilgrims had when they were on their way to their new home. Although the journey was not as extreme as theirs, it is still relatable.
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