Be Who You Are(Journal for Bradstreet)

Jessie Akers-Bell
Journal on Bradstreet
11/29/11


Author Quote: "I washed thy face, but more defects I saw,/ And rubbing off a spot still made a flaw,"(Norton 205).

Internet Quote:"Let Greeks be Greeks, and women what they are. "(annebradstreet.com)




Summary:For the author quote, what Bradstreet is saying, that no matter how hard you try to better and change yourself, you will find more aspects of your character that you will not like. In the internet quote Bradstreet is saying that people should let others be who they are not matter what the circumstances.


My Idea: I really like the things that Bradstreet writes about. They are true to her times but they can also ass on and be understood today. So many people (including my self) need to understand that being perfect is acting just as who you are. Not hiding in some clique or suppressing who you are just to fit in. That only hurts your self and does nothing for others. It is a message that is not said enough. It is being said more today, that you are perfect even with your flaws, but not to the extent that I think it should. Bradstreet is brave for saying you should. This showed men in that time that women are more then just property to own and a person who can make babies. Though what she is saying I'm sure had been said before her. She just puts it into a way that no one can misunderstand her, or twist what she is saying. I like that about her, she is blunt and straight to the point, no bobbing around what you're going to talk about for pages and pages before the writer starts to talk about what they really want to talk about.

Hidden from Wondering Eyes

Author Quote:"He who had made the country, and baptized it. The most hatted man in America,"(Paul Collins 7).

Internet Quote: "'I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man,'"(The White House, Jefferson)

Summary: In the Author quote I think what the author is saying is that Thomas Paine started this country by writing the work that fueled out Rebellion against Great Britain, but we also hate him because he wanted us to follow his ideas to the letter like he did, but Americans didn't. Americans wanted to change them so that they fitted what we wanted. Then with the quote by Jefferson He is the same as Paine wanting to follow what he wrote in The Declaration word for word even wanting to free all slaves (in his younger years). Also with the internet quote Jefferson doesn't quite follow through with what he says, like not freeing his children from slavery. He changes the meaning of what he said to fit his circumstances, and not follow his word religiously.

My Ideas: Both of these men are crucial to what it means to be American. They both wrote pieces that are the bases of our society today, but they also are not followed to the letter like these men wanted them to be. One would follow his rules for the rest of his life while the other changed his views in certain aspects. With Paine and his life/quote i feel sad. That this man, who started the phrase that would soon be the title of our country, has been demonized and hidden for most Americans. Then with Jefferson the part of his life that he spent with Sally Hemingway and their children is also very sad. I feel for his kids, who would never get the satisfaction of being claimed by their father. Though I think that situation was also painful for Jefferson, not being to have a normal relationship with his "black" children. I understand the reasons for why he wouldn't tell America about his slave children, and the ridicule he would get from them. But it's not like other white males didn't do the same as he did. I don't understand what made them go bananas over the fact that he had a "black" mistress. It makes no sense when the people who were calling him out on it probably had black mistresses of their own. So really Jefferson hiding his children from the world is not exactly right. He just hurt himself and his children. Both of these men have things that are hidden. One he hid himself, while the other was hidden by history.