Vanity

Franklin believed that vanity was wrong and those that are vain lose. Franklin was so avid about this that he refused to eat out of china bowls and off silver spoons. When his wife purchased china and silver for him because she believed he was deserving of it he criticized her. This was a gift to him, she admired him so much she decided to purchase something well out of their means because he deserved it. It was almost vain of him to try to live a life preaching about vanity. Franklin did live somewhat of a humble lifestyle but I just have to make the point that he was vain as well. It is a fact that Franklin worked very hard to be more than successful. Had he been as humble as he claimed he would not have had to work so hard to be better than everyone else.

Did he forget about the New Testament?

Although Jonathan Edwards is very well rehearsed and knows his material, I have to wonder if he only knows his material from the Old Testament. He is making a point to inform the people that God has the power to save whomever he wants and does not have to same someone. He also speaks of all of humanity dangling over the pits of a fiery hell, it is God's choice to save us from this. Edwards was a calvanist and they believe that God doesn't have to save anyone, in fact a person is chosen to be saved before they even ask for it. The New Testament clearly states that anyone who chooses to follow Christ is saved. In fact a very well-known verse in the New Testament, John 3:16 states, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but shall have eternal life." It's not about God choosing who will be saved, God wants us all in his family. God wants everyone to follow him.

Ode to Bradstreet

It is too bad that in the time of the Puritans women were thought of to be nitwits. It is too bad that when Ann Bradstreet was writing some of the best poetry of that time she was thought of to be a nitwit. Women of that time period were never given a chance to exhibit their true gifts. Bradstreet made a great point in saying that by writing an amazing work everyone will think that it was by chance or that she stole it, women were to have little heads during that time. It is just too bad. Bradstreet had everything but a little head. I am sure she made a great wife and mother but she also made one heck of a writer. She paved the way for so many women poets and writers. Had it not been for her talent I truly believe that women would have had many more struggles in being published as known authors and poets. As a woman I would like to thank Bradstreet for paving the way for me to be an educated young woman working daily with literature.

Winthrop made one good point

John Winthrop stated that God created diferent people to be in different levels of society. Truth is God did not create people to be in different levels of society. God created all men in his image, all men equal. God would not have created us in his image had he wanted there to be levels of society. Truth is, God created each person as an individual. With that it mind, each person is going to need each other. Not every person is going to be able to do everything, people will still have to rely on each other and I believe that this is the only point that John Winthrop captured. Winthrop, I am sure, had many reasonsfor writing what he did, but I believe that it was all a misinterpretation. Society has levels of society, yes, but not because it is to avoid conformity and to truly manifest his work. God created each person as an individual and ultimately the goal was to work through that person as a way to manifest his work, not by the social level they are in but through the individual.

True Blindness

Ever wonder what it would be like to be blind? Ever wonder what it would be like to never see what you're wearing or what you're eating or what you're furniture looks like? This is blindness. Does it really matter if you're wearing lucky brand jeans or jc penny's jeans? Does it really matter if your plate is arranged beautifully or if the food is just set on the plate? Does it really matter if all of the furniture in a room matches perfectly? Doesn't the personality of a person matter anymore? Whatever happened to a family restaraunt with home-cooked food? Aren't we all truly blind? In this modern world what used to matter to our grandparents does not seem so i'mportant to this generation. Maybe we all are truly blind and the people that are blind are actually better off. Maybe not knowing what a brand of jeans look like but rather what they feel like is better. Maybe having comfortable furniture rather than modern fancy furniture is better. Maybe we are all truly blind.

Trapped by gender

Among the many ideas the settlers heading west had, was the one that women belonged in the kitchen. Although that same stereotype is around in some families it was not an occasional expectation, it was a way of life. The women were responsible for the children, the house, the dinner, and the animals. Women were not given the opportunities that we are now. Women are given a chance at life now. Women are given a chance to achieve a higher education, we are given the chance to move up in the career world and hold positions higher than the male race, we are given a chance to be something that we never could have before. Louise Gluck addresses this in her poem "The School Children." Women helped the kids get ready for school and sent them off. The children would come home speaking of their education and to the mother's this was a completely different language. They were never given the chance to learn what their kids were learning. The children slowly grew away from their mothers and the mothers eventually realize there is no way out. They work to figure out how to find a new life, but trapped by the expectations of womanhood, there is nothing they can do but make the dinner and make sure it is on the table when the husband walks in the door from a long day at workl. Women were trapped by gender.