Readings for the week of Feb 19

This weeks readings centered around slavery and race. Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virgina was a far cry from The Deceleration of Independence. It was kind of the oppsite of what he was fighting for in D.O.I. Also, regarding Jefferson's relationships with his slaves it was ironic that he would have those feelings toward slaves.
I throughly enjoyed Margaret Fuller's The Great Lawsuit: Man vs. Men. Woman vs. Women. I liked how she goes through the four different types of "equality". My favorite is when she talks about "men engaging in public life" but, "in the course of things the intellectual development of woman has spread wider and risen higher". The husband and wife can work together to form a "harmony of mind". Another quote from Fuller I enjoy is from The Great Radical Dualism is where she speaks about the writer from the New York Pathfinder. She says "he views woman truly from the soul, and not from society" this shows how women can be viewed in a non worker/servant way.
In the Harriet Beecher Stowe reading I was surprised to see that she was a white women abolitionist writing about a slave escaping. Uncle Tom's Cabin was an interesting story of a mother trying to save her son from being sold to a different family. All the things Eliza had to go through to keep out of reach of the slave hunters was intense. The descriptive narrative of Eliza journey added to the story. Uncle Tom's religious belief is a big part of this story.
Fanny Fern's "Fresh Leaves, by Fanny Fern" was a very refreshing read. I enjoyed how she was able to show her critics how idiotic they would sound when they critique her work. My favorite line in the reading was "We imagine her, from her writings, to be a muscular, black-browed, grenadier- looking female, who would be more at home in a boxing gallery than in a parlor." I think it is good she can laugh at her self but at the same time prove a point. Another quote I like is " She should be oil upon the troubled waters of manhood" I think this shows how she is pushing limits with her writing . I also think it shows how others are worried about her ideas being published for others to read and think about.
In the Harriet Jacobs passages I enjoyed the glimpse into a slaves life. I liked how it started out with background information about her life. I liked how she pushed what she knew she should not and ended up getting what she wanted. I think this story shows how strong willed women are and also what women slaves went through. I loved how she hid in her grandmothers attic while her owner searched every where for her and she was right under his nose. It was very intelligent of her to take the risk and hid there. The ending to this story was perfect I enjoyed it very much.
I enjoyed the theme of women writers taking a stand in what they believed in. My favorite readings were Fanny Fern's .