True Christianity

Harriet Jacobs writes about how Christianity has many different influences on different people. First, she portrays how Christianity can be used to reinforce slavery: " After the alarm caused by Nat Turner's insurrection had subsided, the slaveholders came to the conclusion that it would be well to give the slaves enoough of religious insturction to keep them for murdering their masters." The slaveholders used Christianity to justify slavery and used it against rebelling slaves.Simultaneously, Christianity is also hope for the slaves: "The congregation struck up a hymn, and sung as though they were as free as the birds that warbled round us. ... Precious are such moment to the poor slaves. If you were to hear them at suck times, you might think they were happy. But can that hour of singing...

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Love or Hate- Harriet Jacobs

There is very interesting relationship between Harriot Jacobs and Dr. Flint. Although that is clear that they verbally abuse each other, it is also obvious that they effect each other postively and negatively. If you think about it, Dr. Flint's abuse is what drives Jacobs to run away. The other way around, Jacobs give Dr. Flint a purpose in life. These two people are very much involved in each other's world. Dr. Flint goes out of his way to get Jacob's emotional and physical attention and ironically, even when Jacobs escapes, she manages to write to Dr. Flint. Although there is abuse, it seems to give each of them a purpose in life, which is a positive affect. However, the relationships itself is quite negati...

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True Love or Contemporary Propaganda?

(This post is for the week of February 7)I thought it was interesting that the people who commented on the article from "La Solidaridad" by Jose Rizal seem to agree that Jose was a great figure. I, too, do not doubt that he was a hero to many but I question his motives in writing this article. When I first read this article I thought he was promoting violence and I was shock to hear in class that he advocated non-violence. He is very dramatic, descriptive, and poetic in this article and I believe he uses these writing techniques to cover or even justify the violence used for the country. He starts the article by elaborately describing the beauty of the land, mesmerizing the readers. He writes: "Could we not dedicate to her something -- those of us whose only failing is that we were born later?...

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