Benito Cereno, borne on the bier, did, indeed, follow his leader.
The message that was on the ship. It's almost poetic in an upsetting way
208 Matching Annotations
- Oct 2022
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pressbooks.pub pressbooks.pub
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monastery,
I kind of find this interesting because in the beginning Delano thought the ship was filled with monks
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“God charmed your life, but you saved mine.
He actually gives Delano credit for saving his life instead of God. He does suggest that God blessed him in some way but he actually gives credit to Delano!
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Atufal, with his own hand, committed no murder; nor did the negro Babo;
That's very interesting. If they didn't harm anyone in real life why make them so violent and threatening in the story? Was this to push racist views on the audience?
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Don Francisco Masa,
Was this the mixed man? There are too many names to keep them all in order
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Christopher Colon,
Christopher Columbus? Who the hell is Christopher Colon?
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Babo had intimated to him several times, that he would kill all the whites the very moment he should perceive any city, town, or settlement of any kind on the shores to which they should be carried
Radicalized violence. Makes you realize all those small moments we saw through the story. The hushed whispers. The shaving scene.
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Nearly a score of the negroes were killed.
Didn't they say they wanted to capture them and the ship? They must have been really outnumbered to be killing the slaves left and right when we all know they would have rathered sold them.
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the bleached hull swung round towards the open ocean, death for the figure-head, in a human skeleton; chalky comment on the chalked words below, “_Follow your leader_.” At the sight, Don Benito, covering his face, wailed out: “‘Tis he, Aranda! my murdered, unburied friend!”
This was his friend from the beginning. The friend that owned the slaves. They must have killed him and hung his corpse up as a reminder for the living captives.
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Captain Delano, now with scales dropped from his eyes, saw the negroes, not in misrule, not in tumult, not as if frantically concerned for Don Benito, but with mask torn away, flourishing hatchets and knives, in ferocious piratical revolt.
Should've listened to your gut and all of those red flags
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“this plotting pirate means murder!”
slave turned pirate? Also...escalated quite quickly
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“go, and God guard you better than me, my best friend.”
"Go while you still can, and may God be on your side"
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Spaniard again fervently took the hand of the American
Before he was afraid of people touching him but now he is willingly touching people. Shows the power dynamic may have changed
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decisively and repulsively
Interesting word choice and may be foreshadowing?
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I cannot go,” was the response.
Can not...but not will not. Why can't he?
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By your order, of course?” Don Benito recoiled, as if at some bland satirical touch, delivered with such adroit garnish of apparent good breeding as to present no handle for retort.
Could this be a small form of foreshadowing? It actually isn't by his command, and it makes him uncomfortable hence the recoiling
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Captain Delano heard a voice faithfully repeating his orders. Turning, he saw Babo, now for the time acting, under the pilot, his original part of captain of the slaves.
Foreshadowing a bit
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pecuniary
Definition: relating to or consisting of money.
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. He inquired how it was that the scurvy and fever should have committed such wholesale havoc upon the whites, while destroying less than half of the blacks
He's growing very suspicious now, possible mutiny
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Without companions, host and guest sat down, like a childless married couple, at opposite ends of the table,
I know this was common back then but still, could it be insinuating one or both of them being gay?
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But a sort of love-quarrel, after all, thought Captain Delano.
Gay? No gay? Idk
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“now, master,” and the steel glanced nigh the throat. Again Don Benito faintly shuddered.
Bruh...if I had a razor at my throat I'd shudder too. XD
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In the present instance salt-water was used
Idk how good of an idea that is. Maybe it's just me but although salt water can be used to clean wounds doesn't it dry out your skin, especially when you've been exposed to the sun and salt water for a long time? Idk. Probably just me
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Captain Delano took to negroes, not philanthropically, but genially, just as other men to Newfoundland dogs.
Ew, absolutely not. No. No. No
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Glancing towards the hammock as he entered, Captain Delano said, “You sleep here, Don Benito?”
The hammock was torn so I would ask the same question to be fair
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Here it may be observed that as, on the first visit of the boat, the American had not permitted his men to board the ship, neither did he now; being unwilling to add to the confusion of the decks.
This seems to me like he cares about his men enough to not put them in any danger. Again an example of fhis goodheartedness
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somewhat contradictory.
I mean...yeah. At least a bit
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ague
fever or shivering fit
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His conscience is clean.
That we know of
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he was engaged there maturing his plot, of which the sailor, by some means gaining an inkling, had a mind to warn the stranger against; incited, it may be, by gratitude for a kind word on first boarding the ship.
I'm surprised the saying stranger danger wasn't used more often back then. Why did everyone trust strangers?
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like a doe in the shade of a woodland rock. Sprawling at her lapped breasts, was her wide-awake fawn, stark naked, its black little body half lifted from the deck, crosswise with its dam’s; its hands, like two paws, clambering upon her; its mouth and nose ineffectually rooting to get at the mark; and meantime giving a vexatious half-grunt, blending with the composed snore of the negress.
Comparing the slaves to animals happens often throughout this text. It is very deumanizing and disgusting. It has to do with power dynamics and controling
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His hand, black with continually thrusting it into the tar-pot
Eww, yikes. Tar and skin do not mix...hopefully they have something nearby to clean it off
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suddenly he thought that one or two of them returned the glance and with a sort of meaning. He rubbed his eyes, and looked again; but again seemed to see the same thing.
What meaning? What is he seeing?
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Such were the American’s thoughts. They were tranquilizing.
Frozen in fear? Sedative or calming state?
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At last he began to laugh at his former forebodings
Like outloud? Dude don't do that. Let them think ur still innocent and don't know so you can trick them later on. Oh well, you do you
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reconnoitres
make a military observation of (a region).
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But if that story was not true, what was the truth?
I'm willing to bet they turned pirates once they realized how unfit they became. With all teh deatha nd no provisions it could only lead them to piracy to survive.
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as if hiding something.
if he is hiding something... i wonder what?
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turning over in his mind the mysterious demeanor of Don Benito Cereno.
omg, even I wouldn't take this long wondering if the stranger had bad intentions. Just connect the dots faster dude.
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“Your ships generally go–go more or less armed, I believe, Señor?”
The stutering makes me wonder whether or not he's playing an innocent act or this is his mental/physical health
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May I ask how many men have you, Señor?”
Ah yeah. Pirate questions. They're definitely gonna rob them now.
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The alleged Don Benito was in early manhood, about twenty-nine or thirty
That's early manhood?! I thought he was in his early to mid 20's!
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But if not a lunatic, what then?
Is he saying this abotu Bnito? I'm being completely honest when I say I am lost
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“What, pray, was Atufal’s offense,
I'm curious about this too
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Here he paused; his hand to his head, as if there were a swimming there, or a sudden bewilderment of memory had come over him; but meeting his servant’s kindly glance seemed reassured, and proceeded:–
Is this because he is sick or isn't mentally all there? Is this the subtext of Gothic theme I was thinking about?
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he will bend to master yet.”
Babo is saying this which I find...unpleasant. He is trying to win the affections of his master and trying to break the will and sense of self of another slave to do so.
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An iron collar was about his neck, from which depended a chain, thrice wound round his body; the terminating links padlocked together at a broad band of iron, his girdle.
Most be someone strong whom they see as dangerous
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betokening
be a sign of, indicate
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associates goblins with the deserted body of man, as ghosts with an abandoned house.
A subtext of Gothic theme maybe? Is Benito an unreliable narrator of his story? Why is he so jumpy and why did he faint at the mention of his friend still being onboard?
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It was then I vowed never to have for fellow-voyager a man I loved
Is he part of the LGBTQ+ community? I've heard many pirate were gay but Delano's not a pirate, at least not to our knowledge yet
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late friend, Alexandro Aranda.”
Was he one of the ones that died? Or did he die before they set sail?
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have you appointed them shepherds to your flock of black sheep?
Ew. I hate this comparison. When I think of sheep for some reason I think of lamb to slaughter so this comparison made my heart drop. I know this isn't what he meant but in a way it is. They are being sent to ther death with the shepard. Their death will be the loss of self completely or maybe even their physical death
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old dominies
I tried to look this up but nothing came up.Only Dominoes came up, lol. I wonder what this means. Is it a slur? Just a really old word lost in history?
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I know no sadder sight than a commander who has little of command but the name.
I can think of a few sadder things than this.
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torpor
a state of physical or mental inactivity; lethargy.
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“Pretty serious sport, truly,
This suggests that this isn't typical behavior of boys, so the boys will be boys staement wouldn't apply here, unless it's a cultural difference...which it might be.
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merely the sport of the lad.
Just how the boy is?
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Three black boys, with two Spanish boys, were sitting together on the hatches, scraping a rude wooden platter, in which some scanty mess had recently been cooked. Suddenly, one of the black boys, enraged at a word dropped by one of his white companions, seized a knife, and, though called to forbear by one of the oakum-pickers, struck the lad over the head, inflicting a gash from which blood flowed.
Thought this would be a bit of a bonding moment...nope. Ouch. What was said?
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This excitement is bad for master
Why is it bad? Weak heart? False hope?
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bethink him of the beauty of that relationship which could present such a spectacle of fidelity on the one hand and confidence on the other. The scene was heightened by, the contrast in dress, denoting their relative positions.
This is symbolic but also right on the nose.
fidelity: faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief, demonstrated by continuing loyalty and support.
sexual faithfulness to a spouse or partner. (again with the idea of something more happening between them, consentually or not)
the degree of exactness with which something is copied or reproduced.
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I envy you such a friend; slave I cannot call him.”
He may be a friend but he is still very much a slave
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Babo is nothing; what Babo has done was but duty.”
Speaks of himself in third person. He also is saying exactly what we all thought. He is stripped of his idenity and individuality.
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scanty
small or insufficent in quantity or amount
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scurvy
a disease characterized by swollen bleeding gums and the opening of previously healed wounds (typical in sailors in the late 18th century)
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“His mind wanders. He was thinking of the plague that followed the gales,” plaintively sighed the servant; “my poor, poor master!” wringing one hand, and with the other wiping the mouth. “But be patient, Señor,” again turning to Captain Delano, “these fits do not last long; master will soon be himself.”
Whenever I see paragraphs like this with someone fawnin over their master I can't help but see subtext here of a deeper relationship. Maybe sexually, or romantically, or maybe it's just a power dyanmic. Maybe it's just how to present these slaves as happily serving their masters that makes me think this way.Idk how else to put this...I can't find the right words
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His cough returned and with increased violence; this subsiding; with reddened lips
Tuberculosis?
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mata
Mata in spanish means bush or shrub...idk if that makes sense
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faltered
Okay. What happened on this trip? Why is he so anxious and hesitant? Why are they all practically dying? Why don't they have guns? Was the ship always in bad shape? What happened?
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What the San Dominick wanted was, what the emigrant ship has, stern superior officers. But on these decks not so much as a fourth-mate was to be seen.
This shows just how different this ship is to the rest. Why is it so chaotic and unorganized?
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the noisy confusion of the San Dominick’s suffering host repeatedly challenged his eye.
I really like how this was put. No matter what Benito des, Delano is watching him with a careful eye
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Wonted
habitual or usual
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transforming the man into a block, or rather into a loaded cannon, which, until there is call for thunder, has nothing to say.
I was at first confused by this until I read some other people's thoughts. They're right. It's stripping individuality away and possibly his voice.
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the same reserve was shown towards all but his faithful personal attendant.
That's not right. WHy would he not give some of the stuff to his personal attendant to which Delano compared as a companion?
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in judging the Spaniard, he might not, after all, have exercised charity enough.
Nah, I think he exercised enough charity. He gave them food and water, two of the three things they desperately needed.
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peculiar natures on whom prolonged physical suffering seems to cancel every social instinct of kindness;
Woah. This is a very bold statement but I find it to be a bit true.
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Still, Captain Delano was not a little concerned at what he could not help taking for the time to be Don Benito’s unfriendly indifference towards himself.
I...do not quite understand what this means. Some of the writing I understand while writing like this...is just hard to follow.
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Babo.
Is Babo the slave or second mate? He doesn't introduce the characters coherently enough for me.
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whom a master need be on no stiffly superior terms with, but may treat with familiar trust; less a servant than a devoted companion.
I still see a power dynamic here. The slave here may be compared to a devoted companion but they still don't have any rights or sense of identity.
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cloyed
cloy: disgust or sicken (someone) with an excess of sweetness, richness, or sentiment.
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His mind appeared unstrung
He's kind of losing it with starvation, dehydration, sleep deprovision and so much more.
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Benito Cereno
Is this the Spanis captain? When did we learn his name?
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surprise was lost in pity, both for the Spaniards and blacks, alike evidently reduced from scarcity of water and provisions
The first part of this sentence stood out to me. "Surprise was lost in pity" was such a beautiful way to describe the emotions he was feeling.
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converse with some freedom in their native tongue.
He's trying to show them no harm and a sense of familiarity. Ths makes me curius on how many languages people back then knew, especially captains and pirates.
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ill-health.
Most of the people on the ship mst be sick and possibly overworked. Before they were described as having bags under the eyes and really brittle looking (no food, no water, dry cracking lips, etc.)
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make known her own case among his suffering charge, or else in despair of restraining it for the time
This makes me think that the Spanish captain knows of the disrepeair and just doesn't care. He really is neglecting his ship while most other capatins would treat their ship like thei rmost prized possession.
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six other blacks; each with a rusty hatchet in his hand
I find this a bit odd. If the ship doesn't have rifles, why would they allow a slave to keep their tool which could be used as a weapon against them?
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continuous, low, monotonous, chant; droning and drilling away like so many gray-headed bag-pipers playing a funeral march.
This stands out to me. Didn't the slaves used to sing or chant in cotton feilds too? Was I taught wrong?
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unstranded old junk in their hands
Is it actually? Or personal possesions? COuld it be possible it actually is junk? (I doubt it)
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living spectacle it contains, upon its sudden and complete disclosure, has, in contrast with the blank ocean which zones it, something of the effect of enchantment.
Where the slaves entranced witht he surroundings? Did I read this wrong?
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uppermost and central of which was a dark satyr in a mask, holding his foot on the prostrate neck of a writhing figure, likewise masked.
Imagery of a cruel action. He focuses a lot of descriptions and teh tiny details which I like most of the time. Hopefully I won't grow tired of the details.
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mouldy
That's not good. A ship isn't supposed to be all banged up and moldy. It happens but the captain should do everything to prevent this
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However, no guns were seen.
Unexpected. Why would a trade ships with slaves not have a way to defend themselves?
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slovenly neglect pervading her. The spars, ropes, and great part of the bulwarks, looked woolly, from long unacquaintance with the scraper, tar, and the brush.
Had no idea what this meant until I looked at the other annotations. Now it makes sense.
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frigates
war ships
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the true character of the vessel was plain–a Spanish merchantman of the first class, carrying negro slaves, amongst other valuable freight, from one colonial port to another.
Yeah, I didn't want to assume but I kind of guessed it.
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cowls
Hoods that will typically be worn by monks.Kind of similar to an infinity scarf but also not.
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bulwarks
a defensive wall. Similar: wall rampart fortification parapet stockade palisade barricade embankment earthwork breastwork berm vallum circumvallation 2. an extension of a ship's sides above the level of the deck.
Can't believe I didn't know what this meant. Thanks Google.
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apprise
inform, tell
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, and, at the least, pilot her in.
Good example of the Captains good heartedness
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saya-y-manta._
Spanish for petticoat or poncho. He's comparing the stranger watching the Plaza to that of someone staring at a womans petticoat. (That's what I figured anyway.)
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With no small interest, Captain Delano continued to watch her
He's watching the ship out of boredom I assume? "No small interest."
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observing that, the ship, in navigating into the harbor, was drawing too near the land; a sunken reef making out off her bow.
Someone who doesn't know how to steer a ship
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Whether, in view of what humanity is capable, such a trait implies, along with a benevolent heart, more than ordinary quickness and accuracy of intellectual perception, may be left to the wise to determine.
Who would the wise be to determine this? A higher power?
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the stranger, viewed through the glass, showed no colors
Wait...like unifrom? Flag? Race? Maybe personality wise?
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Shadows present, foreshadowing deeper shadows to come.
This must be foreshadowing something
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strange sail
Pirate?
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berth,
Definition(s) 1. a ship's allotted place at a wharf or dock. "the vessel had left its berth" Similar: docking site anchorage mooring 2. a fixed bed or bunk on a ship, train, or other means of transport.
Thanks Google, lol
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he had touched for water.
what does this mean?
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pressbooks.pub pressbooks.pub
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Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles.
It is important to rely on yourself. This text reminds me of individualism
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And so the reliance on Property, including the reliance on governments which protect it, is the want of self-reliance.
So what he's saying is we all want to be able to rely on ourselves instead of companies, governments, etc.
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Columbus found the New World
Gross. No.
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The arts and inventions of each period are only its costume, and do not invigorate men.
Not so sure about that.
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The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet. He is supported on crutches, but lacks so much support of muscle
Very very true, especially in today's society. We have advanced but at what cost?
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Society never advances. It recedes as fast on one side as it gains on the other. It undergoes continual changes; it is barbarous, it is civilized, it is christianized, it is rich, it is scientific; but this change is not amelioration.
Ain't that the truth nowadays.
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Do that which is assigned you, and you cannot hope too much or dare too much.
How do we know what is assigned to us? Should something be assigned to us?
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Insist on yourself; never imitate.
Fall back on yourself, do not copy from others.
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Our minds travel when our bodies are forced to stay at home
Yeah, isn't that why we read books?
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the man is first domesti- cated, or does not go abroad with the hope of finding somewhat greater than he knows. He who travels to be amused, or to get somewhat which he does not carry, travels away from himself, and grows old even in youth among old things.
But didn't he say all boys are brash earlier on? Why is this type of brashness so bad? Because he's no longer a boy but a young man?
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In manly hours
Is there a specific time? What makes an hour manly?
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They cannot imagine how you aliens have any right to see, — how you can see; ‘It must be somehow that you stole the light from us.
Was this text meant for immigrants? Who are the alines?
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as a girl
There's the mention of a girl.
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Every new mind is a new classification
This stands out and I'm not sure if it's in a good way.
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the self-helping man. For him all doors are flung wide
I wonder why?
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1. In what prayers do men allow themselves!
Ummm incomplete sentence? Allow themselves what?
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He walks abreast with his days, and feels no shame in not ‘studying a profession,’ for he does not postpone his life, but lives already. He has not one chance, but a hundred chances.
Damn. Ain't that the truth. Most of us are swamped with schoolwork we can't even enjoy simple things in life, while those who decided not to further their education do have the free time, outside of work, and are enjoying their lives
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High be his heart, faithful his will, clear his sight, that he may in good earnest be doctrine, society, law, to himself, that a simple purpose may be to him as strong as iron necessity is to others! If any man consider the present aspects of what is called by distinction society, he will see the need of these ethics.
This really stands out to me. He's basically saying to make your own rules and ethics as long as your sight is clear, heart is faithful, etc.
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and wake Thor and Woden
Woden is another name for Odin. Aka two of the most powerful gods but one of them is not a god of war, Thor. I find that kind of odd. Should it not have been Freyja there since she was the goddess of love, beauty, fertility, war, etc.
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But now we are a mob.
Who is we? Americans or mankind? Also...what makes a mob? Violence? Power? Conformity? I don't think we're all violent against one another, maybe during that time we were, idk.
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demonstrations of the self-sufficing, and therefore self-relying soul.
You know what...yeah they are. Those are pretty good examples of self reliance.
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Self-existence is the attribute of the Supreme Cause, and it constitutes the measure of good by the degree in which it enters into all lower forms.
This is the ultimate fact. What is the Supreme Cause?
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And now at last the highest truth
Hasn't he said this like a dozen times? Is this the last highest truth?
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If we live truly, we shall see truly.
Truly as in believing in God?
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He cannot be happy and strong until he too lives with nature in the present, above time.
Wow, yeah I agree with this. I don't know if he actually means nature as in environment but if it is then yes. We should be living alongside nature rather than constantly fighting and overpowering it.
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Time and space are but physiological colors which the eye makes, but the soul is light
Makes sense because of the speed of light and we need light to differentiate between colors.
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they do not distinguish between perception and notion.
Is there a real difference between these two? I guess so... Notion: the idea itself. Perception: organization, identification of said idea
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our imagination plays us false
That stood out for some reason.
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A man Caesar is born, and for ages after we have a Roman Empire. Christ is born, and millions of minds so grow and cleave to his genius, that he is confounded with virtue and the possible of man.
Yeah but they died. Gruesome deaths. So were their plans accomplished? Like fully to their extent?
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a true man belongs to no other time or place, but is the centre of things. Where he is, there is nature.
Ah...no. To be a true man is to be the center of things...I don't like that.
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I do not wish to please him; I wish that he should wish to please me
I mean...if you're hosting him then it's kind of your job to please him. If he displeases you in any way you have the right to throw him out? Is this what he was saying with conformity? Is he just going off of what society has taught us all: that we should be pleasing to our guests?
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One tendency unites them all
Not sure what to write here...just sounded important to highlight and look back upon.
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A character is like an acrostic or Alexandrian stanza; — read it forward, backward, or across, it still spells the same thing.
As much as I want to believe this I don't. You are the villain in somebody's story. But you're also the love interest, the sacrifice, the hero. We are not all the same even when looking at ourselves and others. We have to break down walls, break down stereotypes, etc.
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Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.
Wow. Loved all of this. But it is pretty dangerous. I mean, a few of them died for being misunderstood; did they all go down in history and considered to be great...yeah..but still a dangerous thing to say
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Leave your theory, as Joseph his coat in the hand of the harlot, and flee.
This stood out a lot to me but I don't know why. Is what he's saying a contradiction? Wasn't what he was saying was to truth our judgments and thoughts?
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It seems to be a rule of wisdom never to rely on your memory alone
Yep, heard that before!
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the forced smile which we put on in company where we do not feel at ease in answer to conversation which does not interest us.
Lol, I do this often. It's come to my attention however that some of these smiles are just us trying to be polite. When you are walking down the street and make eye contact with someone, we will mainly smile towards each other to show we mean know harm. Is this a forced smile or just a polite smile?
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chagrins
embarrass, humiliate, distress
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This conformity makes them not false in a few particulars, authors of a few lies, but false in all particulars.
In all particulars? Damn. I mean, conformity sucks because you don't want to be different and laughed at by society but it doesn't mean it's all bad, right?
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If you maintain a dead church, contribute to a dead Bible-society, vote with a great party either for the government or against it, spread your table like base housekeepers, — under all these screens I have difficulty to detect the precise man you are
I think what he's saying here is you are a fraud? Like...you do all these things that go against this self reliance? I don't know I could be totally wrong
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expiation
Definition: the act of making amends or reparation for guilt or wrongdoing; atonement.
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Are they my poor? I tell thee, thou foolish philanthropist, that I grudge the dollar, the dime, the cent, I give to such men as do not belong to me and to whom I do not belong.
Fair enough, but I was always taught to give them a chance. If I have the extra I will give out money to the homeless. Some people will say they're just going to buy drugs with it and I'll typically shrug and say, "Yeah. Or a hot meal." They have a choice with the bit of money to use is wisely or not. But I totally understand where he's coming from. You don't want to help those who haven't helped you in some way.
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I am ashamed to think how easily we capitulate to badges and names, to large societies and dead institutions
Love this. If only this related to today.
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the only right is what is after my constitution
Like...the American constitution or your mental constitution?
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Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.
Hmmm, not so sure about this but I'm willing to hear the rest.
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These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world.
These voices...bad thoughts? Did I understand that correctly? Like negative thoughts about God or people or certain topics that just evaporate once you're out in town?
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You must court him: he does not court you.
Court was the word used for dating, so I'm interpreting this as the ladies must do all the work in the relationship in order to get a genuine interest from the man. Sort of like playing hard to get?
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A boy is in the parlour what the pit is in the playhouse; independent, irresponsible,
It shouldn't surprise me that there are no women mentioned in this as it's from 1841, but seriously. Shouldn't what Emerson is writing and saying be important for girls to hear too?
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Their mind being whole, their eye is as yet unconquered, and when we look in their faces, we are disconcerted. Infancy conforms to nobody: all conform to it
Shows how uncorrupted babies and children are. They have not seen any evils of the world therefore they can do no evil.
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must accept in the highest mind the same transcendent destiny; and not minors and invalids in a protected corner, not cowards fleeing before a revolution, but guides, redeemers, and benefactors, obeying the Almighty effort, and advancing on Chaos and the Dark.
Notice how it says must accept as in you have no choice. You must accept this or we will believe you to be one of the "minors and invalids in a protected corner" or the "cowards fleeing before a revolution."
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Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string
Trust Thyself was really important to me. It's important to me because not many of us do. We don't trust ourselves or our actions. Also...what iron string? Is this a religious metaphor that went over my head?
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God will not have his work made manifest by cowards
Are the cowards nonbelievers? Mankind? Who are they? Also, what a grave statement. Sounds almost menacing.
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ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents.
This honestly makes me so aware of how different everyone is. We all may have shared experiences but we all had different reactions to those experiences. "A divine idea which each of us represents" makes me think of the not one snowflake is the same" analogy.
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This sculpture in the memory is not without preestablished harmony.
I think I understand what they're saying here. We each come with out set of beliefs and opinions that we were taught as children. We have preestablished values that lead to harmony with others who also share those values. Then again, maybe I'm totally wrong, lol.
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The power which resides in him is new in nature
What power? The power to make your own opinions? Did I miss something here?
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envy is ignorance
I've never actually heard this saying. I've heard Ignorance is bliss, but never this one. Maybe it's not a saying but an opinion or fact?
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he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his.
Until our thought is proven to be true by some outside source, I think most of us do this. We will always take another person's opinion as fact rather than our own.
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trumpets of the Last Judgment
Right before the start of Armageddon basically. The end of the Earth. Judgement day. Are these Archangel Gabriel's or Michael's trumpets? I'm not too sure because I'm not religious...
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To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, — that is genius.
Is it genius? I mean, don't we all have different opinions and beliefs? Maybe I'm just a bit confused on what's trying to be portrayed here.
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him
Who is him? Just man[kind] in general, or will we meet a character/narrator?
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Our acts our angels are, or good or ill, Our fatal shadows that walk by us still.”
Is this comparing our actions to angels whether good or fallen?
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“Man is his own star; and the soul that can Render an honest and a perfect man, Commands all light, all influence, all fate; Nothing to him falls early or too late.
Right off the bat, this pulled me into the reading. I never so much could be said so eloquently and in so little words.
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- Sep 2022
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pressbooks.pub pressbooks.pub
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A grand feast followed in honor of White Feather’s triumph over the giants and of his marriage with Crystal Stone.
Hmmm, not how I expected the story to go but it was pretty good. Definitely different but good!
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Then White Feather motioned to them that he wished to take it. He also asked for the white feather, which he placed on his head
How did he manage to get his respective items back so easily? You would think the Giant would put up more of a fight.
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He came out a tall, handsome man, but without the power of speech.
But how..? Did I maybe miss something?
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the dog had asked
I guess I shouldn't be surprise he can talk but...he can talk?
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He grew to love her more and more every day and looked about for some way to show it.
How long did he stay as a dog?
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elk
I wonder what the significance or spiritual meaning of an elk is? Are they protectors?
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giants were six brothers who lived in a lodge that was ill-kept and dirty.
This is definitely a stretch and I'm almost certain not accurate but I wonder if the giants are a metaphor for the Europeans? Ill kept and dirty? The Europeans were fairly dirty and didn't bathe regularly, not to mention all the disease they brought. Just an observation that came to my attention.
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little spirits
I wonder who these little spirits are? Are they similar to Hermes, always conveying messages or are they more like trickster spirits?
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became very sad, for he loved the boy so much that he could not bear the thought of losing him.
This indicates that there is suspicion that the legend may not be true amongst the people. That White feather may not be able to conquer all his enemies and may in fact die.
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waking will find a pipe, a pouch of smoking mixture, and a long white feather beside you.
I wonder how these will help him on his journey/adventure.
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but the time had come for him to know these things.
Reminds me of "call to adventure" in the hero's journey.
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he heard a voice
Whose voice? Is it spiritual or a physical person?
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This was the child whose home was in the forest.
Ah! So this is the boy from the beginning. The one that lives with the old man and who escaped the giants.
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not to be supposed that the giants would act fairly.
Did the natives know this? If they did know the giants would cheat then why wager?
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Kaw:
This makes me wonder if Kaw is a person or a phrase like "silence" or "nonsense."
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The giants believed the story and sought to prevent it coming true.
I wonder what made them believe the story? Fear?
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wigwam
Basic Definition: a hut or tent with a domed roof
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- Nov 2020
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www.historians.org www.historians.org
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explore your own mind.
This ties back in with the sentence about human experiences. The only way we can be human is if we're humane and we can't do that without exploring our minds and learning empathy for others.
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it teaches us the patience to try, fail, and try again
I think almost everything teaches you that but it definitely is more true with history. We discover things everyday and have to solve the missing pieces. Sometimes we're wrong and have to start all over again.
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help us explore the astonishing breadth of human experience
While I learned about history in High School I never understood why we do until I took an Anthropology class. We can learn so much about ourselves from our history. Just recently I learn why it's harder for some people to lose weight, and that is because on our ancestors must have been poor and their genes tell our bodies to keep that weight in case something happens. Something similar is also passed down from mother's to babies. So much can be learned about ourselves when looking at family history and history in general.
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I traveled through time, space, and culture
I really like how they put it here. As you study history, you study the time, culture and so much more. What happened in that time period for it to go down in our history books?
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- Oct 2020
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blogs.edweek.org blogs.edweek.org
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The materials "often do everything they can to hide the blemishes of this country that we need to fix,"
I hate to say it but it's true. We're the hero's in our history books when we bombed Japan because they were on the opposite side of us in WW2. In Japanese history books we're the villain for that. We need to fix our history books to acknowledge the other side, just like other countries should to.
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seek[s] to squash ... the power of a growing number of teachers who teach outside the textbook."
It never really occurred to me that teachers teach outside the textbook. Yes, it can be bad, but it can also be good. My health teacher mentioned his opinion on milk every day and it changed my view on milk. Now, I gag every time I see milk. That can be deemed bad, because teachers aren't supposed to mention their beliefs and opinions, or so I've been told. But history is different. History has many point of views. We must experience all of them.
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Trump has aimed to score political points with his conservative base by entering into the culture war about how American history is taught.
I don't want to sound political but this is exactly what he is doing. He wants to please the conservatives by pushing for schools to simply ignore the problems the US was built on. While reading this and further on, the video "Somewhere in America" kept popping into my head. If you haven't watched it, I highly suggest you do. The three girls speaking say exactly what needed to be said "they build buildings to hide where we're really standing. On the bones of the Native Americans. On the bones of the slaves. On the bones of the Hispanics. On the bones of those who fought just to speak." Our history is dark and no one wants to acknowledge that. But we have to. We know our history is horrible and most of us wish we could change that. But we can't, so we learn from our past mistakes to make sure it never happens again.
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www.nationalreview.com www.nationalreview.com
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We are likewise skeptical of federal efforts to ban schools from teaching the 1619 Project or other particular books or courses of study. This is not the proper role of Washington. Where federal funding is being used to finance leftist propaganda, the better solution should be to eliminate that funding or redirect it to parents to control.
I can see where the side is coming from. They believe that all the money is being used to finance the "leftist propaganda" and that the funding should be eliminated or given to the parents. The sad truth about this is it will not work. The majority of the US has not gone to college (at least from what I've researched). How can we allow parents to use that money on topics they didn't even know/learn about? Think about how you learned math. The way you were taught makes sense to you. It may make sense to your child too, but to other's it doesn't. Teachers and the school board know (or at least should) know what they're doing and teaching. I suggest we leave it up to the teachers and school board but don't forget to have your voice be heard! It may not be the change you want but it could be a step closer in your direction. And if you were to eliminate the funding, the school would go into shambles. You need funding in order for schools to run properly.
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www.historians.org www.historians.org
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If you do not plan to teach history or obtain a professional degree, pick up some courses that will be relevant in your first job
This is very important, especially to students like me that are undeclared. If you don't know what major would fit you best, then try different classes and find which one you would be comfortable with. Just because you take a specific class doesn't mean that you have to do just that specific career. If you don't want to teach then find a job that can correspond with your major and what skills in the classes you took.
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By all means study history
We should all learn history. Learn the bad things, the good things, sometimes even funny history stories. Learning history prevents us from making the same mistakes that our ancestors made.
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changing slowly, and how people respond to the pace of change requires a particular skill set
I find this very relevant with today. Not many people like change but we know we must go through change to have a better future. It reminds me of how far we've come with minority rights and how people want to take those rights away because they are scared of change and may believe it is wrong. Think of abortions. We've learned from history that making abortions illegal will not stop them. Women will continue to have abortions, they just won't be safe. In countries that have abortion legal and organizations like Planned Parenthood, the abortion rates are some of the lowest ones. So why do we want to go backwards, when it seems going forward is the better option? It's because that people are scared of change. So that is why I feel like this quote is relevant even in today and back then.
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- Sep 2020
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www.historians.org www.historians.org
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ethical framework
I'm learning about this in literally every class and I am just now realizing how important it is no matter your major, minor, job, etc. This is and always will be very important.
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And what medieval or ancient legal systems, practices, or ideas provide the deeper background for a modern understanding of justice?
Did we really use medieval legal systems to inspire our own legal system?
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