Henry David Thoreau

In Thoreau's writing, I found it interesting how he talked about the necessities of life. He wrote that food is somewhat easy to come by and very much needed and then how clothing and shelter are two of the more unimportant things. It is definitely thought provoking in how food is only the really important thing that we really need and that everything else are just things that we have gotten used to. People just tend to follow everyone else and if they have something they want then they are going to get it. The material possessions become more important than anything and people tend to lose themselves in obtaining those kinds of things and allow themselves to be owned by their possessions or the new possessions they could end up buying. It is crazy how people think they need to one-up each other in material items or buy things they think might make them more likable.

Washington Irving-Rip Van Winkle

I enjoyed reading this story because it was very comedic and a somewhat magical short story; it is very fantastical. Rip Van Winkle was so trusting of the random strange man in the mountains and then also with the strangers friends. Irving even wrote that Van Winkle was apprehensive and uneasy when he heard the man yelling for him and saw him climbing over the rocks. It is almost as if he is saying that one should listen to their gut when it is saying something. Since he slept through so many years, I find it funny that he just fit right into the crazy old man of the town and how he was so well liked by the kids because of his story and how he told anyone who would listen.
I laughed when Van Winkle heard of his wife's death and, "There was a drop of comfort" (465). He was definitely a very unhappy man when he was married and seems that he could not be happier that she is now gone and he does not have to deal with her anymore.

Ralph Waldo Emerson-American Scholar

I really enjoyed  section two of the American Scholar. On page 523, there is one line that really stood out to me, "Books are the best of things, well used; abused, among the worst." I loved this line because I completely agree with Emerson. I read  all the time and I would rather have my nose in a book than do most things. I like how Emerson wrote how each generation has to write its own books in order for history and events to be remembered fully because the next generation would not be able to write them and that information could be lost or skewed.
Emerson wrote that writers forget that they need to write their own original ideas and not follow that of Cicero, Locke and Bacon. These people had to write on their own and not follow others, they wrote their own thoughts and ideas. Today if one genre is doing exceptionally well, such as paranormal romance, everyone follows suit and tries to write in that genre as well. The paranormal romance has grown tremendously since the Twilight series became so popular and profitable. People need to just write their own things and not follow other people.

Benjamin Franklin

It seems like he was very obsessed with his time management since he felt the need to plot out every minute of his day. I have enough trouble using my own time wisely and I cannot imagine trying to plan out my day to the minute of what I should be doing; even though to a certain extent I think it is a great idea. He had a good idea of keeping track of his sins, but I think after a certain point it would make a person feel like they are doing terrible in trying to be Christian and it would be very depressing I think as well. It would be a good idea to keep stock of the things one does wrong but not to tally up every single thing that is done wrong, which Franklin does and accepts that it is better to be a man with flaws than trying to be perfect. I liked how he wrote "I think I like a speckled Ax best" (288) after his realization of being perfect and that it is okay to not be.

Phillis Wheatley

I was intrigued by the contrast between Wheatley and Bradstreets' writing and how they did or did not make it known that they were women. If one was reading something from Bradstreet,  they would know immediately that she was a woman and would probably go into the reading with their own judgements just based on her gender. I like how when reading Wheatley, had the reader not known about her, they would not know her gender until the very end of "To the University of Cambridge, in New England" and they would not have those judgments before even reading the piece. I feel that it was very clever of her to do so.
She also was a big advocate of education and learning, and how students need to take the opportunities that come to them and to learn for an eternal purpose.

Olaudah Equiano

Equiano was very relatable throughout his text and he was determined enough to basically teach himself how to read and write and that is very inspirational; he craved education and knowledge so much. I do not think there are too many people who would work that hard to educate themselves.
I found it interesting how he became Christian through his captors; I would think one would not want anything to do with what their captors believed because of being taken and then the cruelty that he went through. I liked how he questioned the motives of his Christian captors and how they thought they could treat other people so terribly when they were Christians. He understood that if you were going to take the name of a Christian, your actions have to act like it; one cannot be Christian if they do not apply Christianity to their life.

John and Abigail Adams

I cannot imagine how hard it must have been for Abigail to not have her husband for the ten year span that he was out of the country even though it was for a good cause. From reading their lettters, it did not seem like they had much affection for each other but I guess how much affection can you show in a letter? It was very admirable that Abigail took on so much while John was away. She knew what he was doing was so very important to them and to the country; I wonder how hard it was for her to not have her husband there with her.