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Post by Mr. Thomas on Sept 16, 2013 12:31:23 GMT -5
Post responses here.
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Post by matthewko on Sept 16, 2013 16:49:23 GMT -5
Matthew Ko
Mr. Thomas
English 11
16 September 2013
D. I really liked the lines after Rowland had just lost her loved one. She states, “I have though since of the wonderful goodness of God to me, in preserving me in the use of my reason and senses, in that distressed time, that I did not use wicked and violent means to end my own miserable life” (Page 38). We get insight on how Rowland is finding a meaning in life, devoting herself to God knowing she has some purpose in God’s mind. This quote also relates to her strength that kept her from moving forward after her wounded baby was lost. Despite the fact that her master was treating her poorly and threatening to hit her baby in the head, Rowland found spiritual presence and faith to keep her moving strong.
E. When Rowland writes, “A certain number of us got over the river that night, but it was the night after the Sabbath before all the company was got over” (Page 39), I now begin to see how she is relating a lot of things to the bible and God. Right before this quote, she cites a line from Isaiah, 43:2 to help her get through this task of crossing the river. Also when she writes, “On Saturday, they boiled an old horse’s leg” (Page 39), this related directly to the bible in many cases when animals are being sacrificed.
A. This reading relates to a lot of social issues today. The homeless who have gotten everything taken away from them are still struggling to survive. Many people on the streets devote themselves to God and live through the tough times that they encounter. When Rowland writes, “I went with a very heavy heart, and down I sat with the picture of death in my lap,” (Page 38), we see how this can relate to many homeless people. These people who have very big hearts are living with the fact that they don’t have a house to live in or a place to eat, but it is through God that many of them make do with what they have and keep the spiritual relationship.
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Post by seandelossantos on Sept 16, 2013 17:18:25 GMT -5
Sean de los Santos
English 11
Mr. Thomas
16 September 2013
Rowlandson Discussion Board
A. This story contradicts the way people thought the colonists were in North America. People today who didn’t really know a lot thought the Native Americans were raped and pillaged a long time ago. People today say they though the Native Americans were treated horribly until they read this book. Once someone reads this book they will realize that the Native Americans treated the colonist hostages the same way also. Although they read this, most people today will not agree that the Native Americans ever did such things it the colonists because of the fact they thought the colonists had an upper hand.
C. What really confused me in the text was how some of the Indians actually treated
the colonists with respect when they were held hostage. An example was during the seventh move where one of the Indian women actually treated Rowlandson with respect. She always paid her in either bear parts, horse legs, peas, or boiled groundnuts. It really confused me how some of the Native American Women would treat Rowlandson with respect while others would never feed her or her baby.
E. Some of the actions of Rowlandson in her story really made me feel sorry for her
in many different ways. One of her actions was just trying to take care of her baby even though the weather was really bad and really poor. This made me feel sorry for her in which the Native Americans never really took care of her. Another action was leaving her baby behind. This really made me feel sorrow since she had to leave her dead baby after trying to take care of him for so long. When she had to leave her baby’s corpse behind, it really made me wonder how she was able to cope with the lost of one of her own.
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Post by emmanuelluna on Sept 16, 2013 17:33:58 GMT -5
Emmanuel Luna
Mr. Thomas
English 11
9/16/13
E. The quote where Rowlandson says “Whereupon I earnestly entreated the Lord, that He would consider my low estate, and show me a token for good, and if it were His blessed will, some sign and hope of some relief. And indeed quickly the Lord answered, in some measure, my poor prayers.” This quote shows that despite Rowlandson’s loss, she is still looking for comfort and help from God. It stood out to me because someone would normally question their faith and in some cases give up on life, but she chooses to look toward God for support and help despite what she’s going through.
D. A line that I enjoyed was when she said “I have thought since of the wonderful goodness of God to me, in preserving me in the use of my reason and senses, in that distressed time, that I did not use wicked and violent means to end my own miserable life.” I enjoyed this quote because it shows that despite losing her baby she did not take her life and instead is choosing to see all the good that she can do for God for allowing her to live.
C. One thing that confused me was how Rowlandson was able to keep going after losing her child. Most people would give up on hope and life and I just found it strange and fascinating that she would not lose hope and go on with her life and even praise God.
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Post by matthewsegarra on Sept 16, 2013 18:18:19 GMT -5
Matthew Segarra
Mr. Thomas
English 11
16 September 2013
A. This story is different from the common perception of American colonists. People think that colonists completely took over Native American land and tortured them. This story would change the harsh view of the colonists. This book shows that the Native Americans were just as ruthless and heartless as the invading colonists. This book is an eye opener for most.
C. I did not get how some people were passive towards Rowlandson and some were aggressive towards her. She only paid in produce. Some women showed no love or any of the slightest feeling for Rowlandson. No one would pay her mind or help with her baby. Even when she lost her baby she got no comfort. However, during one of the moves she was actually treated like a human being; very confusing contradictory behavior.
E. After this quote, “A certain number of us got over the river that night, but it was the night after the Sabbath before all the company was got over” (Page 39), I start to realize the strength of her faith. Before this line, she recites Isaiah 43:2 to make her feel better about crossing the river. This quote also relates to her faith, “On Saturday, they boiled an old horse’s leg” (Page 39). This relates to biblical stories by means of how they would sacrifice animals as offerings to God for something in return.
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Post by frankclarke on Sept 16, 2013 18:51:04 GMT -5
Frank Clarke Mr. Thomas English 11 16 September 2013 D. The first paragraph or so on page 42 really stood out to me. The way I look at it is that people started to feel bad about bringing her and enslaving her. So, rather than requesting things, it was a simple barter. And, her master no longer requested the item she received in return. In a sense, she was almost living a normal life. Yet, she still had to endure living a life of being separated from her family, and the loss of some of her children. (eventually reunited with the remaining members) A.On page 39; “The first week of my being among them, I hardly ate anything, the second week, I found my stomach grow very faint for want of something…” This line sparks a light bulb in my head, thinking back to the Holocaust. Currently in religion we are reading a book titled “ A man’s search for Meaning” And these lines make me think of him writing within the concentration camp. Saying that they grow through phases in the camp, just as she is going through phases whilst being captured. Also, pretty much just the Holocaust in general. By he way she was just lugged around, not even used for manual labor; and her finding God through the bible she was given. Just as many Holocaust survivors recollect on how they got through the pain and suffering. C. One question I had throughout reading this was; why didn’t she run? Or try to escape. Yes, she found God and was able to fight through it, but even her captors struggled to maintain a constant food supply. She could have had every opportunity to just run and find her family…   |
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Post by matthewchan on Sept 16, 2013 18:57:09 GMT -5
Matthew Chan
Mr. Thomas
English 11
16 September 2013
A Narrative of the Captivity
A. I can relate this story to the Civil War period where white men had black slaves. This story is somewhat similar because the Indians are holding this woman captive and treating her as an outcast. Slaves were also treated unfairly, but they were treated worse than the woman. Slaves had less freedom and were barely cared for by their owners. At least the Indians are treating her with some kind of respect and loyalty.
C. Why does the woman’s son die in the beginning of the story? Was it the lack of food the baby was receiving or was it too cold for the baby to handle? It seems the woman was a “bad luck” charm in the beginning of the story. Not only does her baby die, but when she goes sees her daughter, the Indians wouldn’t let her. Also, the woman doesn’t even recognize her son when she encounters him. She is clueless and confused. What’s up with the woman?
E. There is a drastic change throughout the story from the beginning to the end. In the beginning, her baby died, she couldn’t see her daughter, and could not recognize her son. When she prays and asks God for help and guidance in the middle of the story, her attitude and person changed. Other fellow Indians respected her and gave her a second chance. People asked her to make things for themselves and she was paid a good amount. She was given more food and was cared.
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Post by eointunney on Sept 16, 2013 19:06:27 GMT -5
Eoin Tunney
Mr. Thomas
English 11
16 September 2013
A. This story by Mary Rowlandson gives great insight into what some Native Americans were really like. Most people in today’s world think that the natives were treated horribly by the colonists, but many people have not read a story like this which is about a personal experience. In this story, especially on pages 37 and 38, we can see that the natives were also cruel people. On these two pages Mary Rowlandson tells us how for the first few days during their captivity she and her young child were not fed anything but water. She says this causes her ill son to die. This shows that the natives are cruel because they let a young child die.
D. One thing that really amazed me about this story was how the Indians ate really weird foods. In the page that describes Mary Rowlandson it says, “… the Wampanoag were driven by their hunger, eating horses, dogs, frogs, skunks, rattlesnakes, and even tree bark.” This really amazed me because they ate tree bark and skunks. Also I find it ridiculous how they ate horses sometimes. Horses at this time were great helpers for farming and hunting, I’m really surprised they would actually eat them.
I. After reading a few of my classmates comments, I would like to say that I totally agree with Sean de los Santos comments about part E. Sean says that he feels really bad for Mary Rowlandson because her baby dies. I felt the same way while reading this story. It amazes me how the Natives would actually allow something like this and not even care to help her. The eleven weeks that she was in captivity must have been the worst eleven weeks of her life.
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Post by Sgarlato on Sept 16, 2013 19:12:56 GMT -5
Stephen Sgarlato
Mr. Thomas
English 11
9/17/13
A. “The first week of my being among them, I hardly ate anything, the second week, I found my stomach grow very faint for want of something” (Page 39). This line spoke to me because it reminded me of a story I heard a while back from my track coach. He was talking to us about “how tough is tough” and he brought up an event about a war soldier being captured, beaten and given little food. This line reminds me of something he would write about.
D. “A certain number of us got over the river that night, but it was the night after the Sabbath before all the company was got over” (Page 39). I realized this line’s importance as did another one of my classmates. I realized that Rowlandson quotes a lot of lines from the bible. I think it is interesting when authors incorporate biblical writings into their own script.
C. Trying to help Emanuel Luna’s understanding of when he says, “One thing that confused me was how Rowlandson was able to keep going after losing her child. Most people would give up on hope and life and I just found it strange and fascinating that she would not lose hope and go on with her life and even praise God”. I think that since she found God and was able to realize he would help her through everything she just took on the will to survive. She knew God would keep her going and she put all her hope into that.
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Post by bourdonm15 on Sept 16, 2013 19:15:38 GMT -5
Matthew Bourdon
English 11
Mr. Thomas
9/16/13
A. I feel like this can really relate to anyone that is struggling in life with any type of situation. Whether its unemployment, to a disease, to losing your home, etc. it really relates to this. The constant battle that she has to put herself through constantly just to have no form of happiness present is horrendous. “I could not sit still in this condition, but kept walking from one place to another.” (Page 38) This line shows so much of the struggle of the main character and anyone else in her predicament.
B. The tone of the story is clearly plagued with distress, sadness, and curiosity. She is clearly not sure as to why she has to go through this struggle and why is she even in that type of predicament. “I went to take up my dead child in my arms to carry it with me, but they bid me let it alone: There was no resisting, but go I must and leave it.” (Page 38) I cannot believe that she really let the people tell her what to do with her child. This is a powerful line. It shows how this woman has no liberty at all. It genuinely is very sad.
D. I enjoyed reading this story very much. It was intriguing and was full of very deep lines. “So I took the Bible, and in that melancholy time, it came to my mind to read first the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy, which I did and when I had read it, my dark heart wrought on me this manner, that there was no mercy for me, that the blessings were gone, and the curses come in their room, and that I had lost my opportunity.” (Page 39) This is a very deep line within the story. It is funny and interesting that AFTER reading the Bible she lost hope, when in all reality and through what the Church constantly teaches you are supposed to gain faith and hope not lose it. I found this interesting.
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Post by danokeefe15 on Sept 16, 2013 19:27:27 GMT -5
Danny O’Keefe
Mr. Thomas
English 11
9/16/13
D. A line that I enjoyed in this story was, “I have thought since of the wonderful goodness of God to me, in preserving me in the use of my reason and senses, in that distressed time, that I did not use wicked and violent means to end my own miserable life.” The reason why I liked this line is because it shows that even through all this horrible times she still turns to God and believes in him.
C. One thing that confuses me about this story is the Puritan beliefs about God. They talk about all this disaster and misery and how dangerous God can be, but they look at God like he does it to help them out or teach them a lesson. And after all these bad things happen they look towards the God who supposedly took things away from them for comfort.
E. One thing that I liked allot about this story was how heavily she depends on her faith and how much faith she has in God. In some parts of the story I noticed that she referred to the bible and different teachings from the bible.
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Post by joeroperti on Sept 16, 2013 19:28:33 GMT -5
Joseph Roperti
Mr. Thomas
English 11
16 September 2013
A. This story really gave you a clear depiction of what the Native American environment and lives were really like. They lived in a harsh setting throughout their entire lives. Some of the natives wouldn't give water or feed the young and ill to have a sufficient supply for themselves. Also they had to deal with the invasion of the colonist. they didn't had lives of serenity and peace, they had lives of burden and hardship.
D. THe one thing that amazed me and put the story over the top for me was the natives food selection. With there way of survival the natives lived off of everything they could find regardless if it was alive or dead. There way of life could be described as spartan and austere.
I. As I looked through my peers posts, I thought Matthew Chan's comment an connection with this story and the civil war is one i would never think off. When we think of those times our many focus is that of racial indifference and not in the moral and unethical issues that happened at this time.
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Post by georgebaroudos on Sept 16, 2013 19:36:19 GMT -5
George Baroudos
Mr. Thomas
English 11
16 September 2013
A – Some of the smallest items are awarded the most meaning. As humans we can essentially assign meaning to anything. When she is given the knife as a token of gratitude she quickly gives meaning to such a minuscule object. She then has trouble giving up the item, which indicates a connection. A personal connection can indicate meaning the gift was given with good intentions. The knife ultimately served its purpose and resulted in a hard goodbye.
D – The quote “Then my heart began to fail …” (40) really stuck out to me. Anytime and anywhere we can breakdown. A broken heart excludes no one and if we must breakdown we do. We can fight it as much as we can but the expression of feelings is of great importance. It is a hard task of living a life as a stonewall emotionally and it does take a toll on our body. We unfortunately are subject to a meltdown at anytime. But if we are able to express ourselves it can do us justice. God gave us feelings and we need to express them!
E – Rowlandson suffers and long and enduring trip which results in “One child dead, another in the wilderness, I knew not where, the third they would not let me come near to…” (38). The uncertainness of her children and grief of her children is a horrible burden for a mother to carry. It is unfair that a mother who loves their children more then anything has to go through that. It is unfair but allows her to become stronger. She begins to direct her strength in other places to make moves for herself. Feelings fluctuate, but we have to make the best with what we have.
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Post by johnmarano on Sept 16, 2013 20:17:06 GMT -5
John Marano
Mr. Thomas
English 11
16 September 2013
A. This story of disaster can personally relate to a story that I followed on the news for quite some time. The story related to this because a mother was kidnapped and taken away from her family. I believe she was missing for 18 years with life-threatening situations each day. A quote that I feel related to my experience of this story was, “Then my heart began to fail: And I fell aweeping which was the first time to my remembrance, that I wept before them. Although I had met with so much affliction, and my heart was many times ready to break (Rowlandson, page 40). Just like Mary, the mother was losing hope at a certain point. Both mothers felt the power of God, who guided and protected them, but it was only time that brought heartache.
D. I think Mary Rowlandson is so interesting. I truly admire her for her constant faith and search for meaning. One specific quote that really stood out to me and grabbed my attention was “…He would consider my low estate, and show me a token for good” (Rowlandson, page 39). This quote REALLY made me feel terrible. It shows how she is getting so tired and asking God to please help her in her miserable position. It was so hard for Mary and throughout it all she was pulling through. How much longer could she though? How does she still put God in her life after all of her suffering? In religion, I am currently studying what it means to be a full human. A full human is someone who finds meaning in his or her life when it is almost impossible. Mary Rowlandson is truly a full human that believed she had meaning in her life.
I. I really enjoyed reading this story and learning of her captivity. I also enjoyed reading Matthew Ko’s response to a quote. “On Saturday, they boiled an old horse’s leg” (Rowlandson, page 39). I really found this ironic how we both had the same opinion on this quote. As soon as I read over the paragraph this jumped out at me. I thought of how sacrificing animals isn’t a surprise and it was actually common. Attending a Jesuit school we study the bible, I really like how he included that even the bible sacrifices animals. Job well done Matt!
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Post by etiennem15 on Sept 16, 2013 20:49:41 GMT -5
Marvin Etienne
Mr. Thomas
English 11
16 September 2013
A Narrative of the Captivity
A. Through all of the hardships that Rowlandson faced, especially the loss of her child, she confided in God to give her strength to keep moving forward. She says "I have thought since of the wonderful goodness of God to me, in preserving me in the use of my reason and senses, in that distressed time, that I did not use wicked and violent means to end my own miserable life." She finds a purpose of living through everything she has been through. This story also changed my perspective of the natives. Contrary to popular belief, the natives were just a heartless and cold as the colonists.
E. I really liked how some of the Native American women treated Rowlandson and her child with respect and they provided for them during their time of need, while others did not care at all. That shows that there are good Native Americans that care for people they are not used to being around. This shows that she was able to go on living because she didn't feel completely alone at time and there were people who actually cared.
D. I found this story to be very interesting because it ties into a book I am reading for religion. The book as about the search for meaning as human beings, and I believe that Rowlandson was able to find a purpose in living while most others could not. It is astounding to know that she was able to continue to want to live when all she had before was gone. She found meaning through her beliefs and through faith.
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