Chapter ten, Society: Aspirations and Achievements, covers the life and times of the early aristocracy. Throughout its history, the colony’s debt to England in all areas is evident—society, government, art, and architecture. The wealthy planters came from England, and considered themselves English in many respects. Early settlers often came with the intention of returning to […]

Blog 1: Reading Native American myths and legends might seem to require a new way of reading. What aesthetic assumptions (about what literature should be, about authorship, about plot, about form, etc.) do you typically bring to texts you read in English classes?  And in what ways were those assumptions challenged? Blog 2: (1) Many questions […]

It has definitely been entertaining to see the different works that editors chose to add into certain collections and anthologies that we have read thus far.  To me, it has really opened my eyes to the level of difficulty involved with tackling this type of literary task.  Before now I had never really considered the […]

It has been entertaining to see what does and does not make it into the anthologies we have read thus far.  Granted we obviously have not seen all the possible choices that were potentials for either the Indian Myths or The Puritans but we did get a prime example of what the editors of those […]

After reading a ton of Indian legends, Cabeza de Vaca’s narrative, and some Puritan memoirs, I feel like I have gained a whole lot more knowledge of Pre-American colonization than I would have if we had just read some excerpts from an ordinary Norton anthology. There is way more authenticity in reading people’s stories than […]

With the assignment to make an anthology for Cabeza de Vaca’s narrative I became more aware of the kinds of maneuvering that an editor must do in order to make a coherent selection. The introduction will hopefully prepare the reader for the chosen selections and also introduce the theme or ideas that motivate the editors […]

My experience anthologizing Cabeza de Vaca was an interesting and difficult one. I never thought about how anthologies were put together, I figured the most popular works of authors just happened to be compiled together simply because they were revered/popular. In my 299 class last semester we looked at Norton anthologies from the 60’s, 70’s, […]

Elizabeth Knapp was a house servant to Reverend Samuel Willard in Groton, Massachusetts and in 1671 she suffered what is described as a demonic possession. Unlike the fictional horror movies we are familiar with chapter 13 (irony?) of Hall’s “Puritans” is the real account of Elizabeth Knapp’s violent and frightening ordeal with who she said […]

In Sarah Goodhue’s farewell letter to her family and friends, there is a lot of evidence that proves she was an authentic Puritan. She does not seem to have a positive look on herself, however, so I presumed she focused more  on the belief that she was inevitably a sinner rather than the belief that […]

John Winthrop wrote his essay “Christian Charity, A Model Hereof” before leaving for New England and used it as a guide for the intentions of the voyage. Winthrop uses Christian Charity as a way to explain the necessity of community. Winthrop begins his essay by rationalizing the discrepancy between the rich and poor. He suggests […]