Boy Issues Involving Tom Sawyer

An issue that I find interesting in the "Adventures of Tom Sawyer"is how Tom seems to be the epitome of the typical boy in the Nineteenth century. Tom is a the kind of boy that does not like to do what he is told and will find ways trick his Aunt without her knowing: "Hang the boy, can't I never learn anything? Ain't he played me tricks enough like that for me to be looking out for him by this time" (p. 314-315)? Tom also is okay with "play[ing] hookey, and [having] a very good time" rather than doing chores or attending church (p. 315). A fight never seems to intimidate Tom when he sees the "model boy" and tries to pick a fight with him because Tom [loathe(s)] him (p. 318). He tells the boy that "[He] can lick [the boy]'" and is not afraid (p. 319). The most famous incident that happens with Tom is his ability to manipulate others to do what they want, even if the person being manipulated does not realize it. When painting a fence as punishment for playing hooky, Tom tells his friend Ben that "it's got to be done very carful; I reckon there ain't one boy in a thousand, maybe two thousand, that can do it the way it's got to be done" (p. 329). He uses this strategy to bribe Ben to paint the fence while he goes and spends his Saturday afternoon swimming.

All of these characteristics that Tom portrays shows the overall behavior of a young boy. Tom is carefree, spontaneous and not afraid of trouble. 

After reading the complete story, the main focus I want to think about is why the Yares will not move out of their desolate country. Nancy directly tells Denby that "it wouldn't do to kerry [them] down into towns"(267). The Yares are completely content in their mountains and do not see the point in living "with nothing but people about you" (267). The most I can guess from them is that the mountains are simply home, as a specific house we live in or town we come from is what we consider "home". 

I think in a way that Denby understands this because as she travels towards the Yares' home, she comments on the forest by saying that "she felt the friendliness and welcome of the hills, just as she used to be comforted and lifted nearer to God by distant church music" (255). So even though this was definitely not her classification of home, she still felt the warm presence that the forest brought. Readers can also see by these comments that it would be hard to leave this beautiful area once you have visited because of how inviting it is. 

I want to take a stab at what the mountains and nature could symbolize. Perhaps the mountains represent God, because God is known to have created this world and everything beautiful in it. Denby also talks about how she can appreciate God's work through creatures: "Long habit of grief had left her heart tender and its senses keen: these things, which were but game or specimens for the naturalist, were God's creatures to her, and came close to her" (255). We see a religious undertone in this remark because she is referring to herself as a Christian or believer of God. Maybe we are supposed to take the examples of the Yares never wanting to leave and Denby feeling so comfortable in the mountains and forests as how a Christian should feel close to his/her God.

When thinking about 19th century boys in American Literature, I keep thinking about how Ragged Dick supports himself and is very independent. In contrast, we see girl characters such as Ellen from The Wide, Wide World and Gerty in The Lamplighter that greatly depend on their caregivers to protect them and financially support them. 

One exception to this dependence girls tend to have on other people is Capitola in The Hidden Hand. For one, she is "but a bit of a poor, friendless,motherless, fatherless child" that has to rely on her own income to survive (THH page 179). Later we find out that in order to be self-reliant, Capitola has taken it upon herself to dress as a boy so she can take care of herself: "Oh! but I took care of myself, sir! I did, indeed, your honor!" (THH page 184). Horatio Alger informs us in Ragged Dick that Dick "would not steal, or cheat, or impose upon younger boys, but was frank and straight-forward, manly and self-reliant" (RD page 258). Both characters have very strong qualities that make them able to handle the hard times of life, yet one is a girl and one is a boy. Beyond Capitola, most of the time young girls are supposed to learn to how to cook and know they can depend on others.

We see very obvious changes in Dick than the other little girls in the other American literature stories. The author informs us that Dick is a great boy, yet has some vices. Dick tends to be quite the cigar connoisseur "and wouldn't smoke the cheapest" brand of cigars (RD page 257). Another fault that is mentioned is Dick's inability to save money because he "stray[s] into [the gambling-house], and play[s] with the rest," forgetting to invest the money that he makes to get him out of homelessness (RD page 257). Lastly is the large difference between girls and Dick in the aspect of his wording. Horatio Alger tells us that "[Dick] swore sometimes" and was never punished for what he said because of his lack of having parents or someone to tell him that is not the way to speak to others (page 255). All of these aspects of a boy that Dick has brought into the story greatly varies from that of a girl's behavior. 

Young boys seem to symbolize completely different things than girls do, where as girls symbolize "sugar and spice and everything nice" while boys might symbolize independence, rebellion and some bad, habitual habits. This could make a huge difference in how we study 19th century American Literature for the rest of the semester in class. We no longer will be reading stories of how nice and cute little girls can be, but how strong and courageous young boys can be. 

A Whisper In The Dark

At first we believe Sybil to be completely sane and in control of her emotions. She goes so far to even try and manipulate her Uncle and her cousin, Guy, later experiencing failure and being completely aware of her actions: "I felt perfectly powerless. All my little arts had failed, and for the first time I was mastered" (page 218). Sybil learns that "[she] can win [Uncle's] heart by obedience, and [can] soon grow quite at ease with him," if she plays her little game of being in love with him (page 223). These manipulative qualities that Sybil takes on are very healthy and are normal human behavioral characteristics. Because she has "had [her] own way all [her] life," she will do what it takes to get what she wants (page 218). These also tend to be traits of children without parents, because manipulative behavior is all they know to get what they want. They do not have the parents or guardians telling them what is acceptable behavior in achieving what they want and what is not acceptable. As discussed in class, there is a correlation between girls that do have mothers and care for them and girls that do not. We also know that despite the lack of a compatible relationship, mothers always tend to pull through for their children.

As the story goes on, Sybil is treated as a mentally ill girl and is put to solitary confinement. As all nineteenth century domestic novels were written, I feel this, in its own gothic way, makes a statement about the relationships of mothers and daughters. It is a known phenomenon that mothers and daughters do indeed have an underlying wavelength shared between them, whether or not they know each other on a personal level. For Sybil to find the letters written by "The Whisperer in the Dark," there has to have been some unknown fate for her mother to at last be able to help her. Although Sybil did not know why she "still carried in [her] bosom the warnings [her mother] had sent [her], prompted by the unerring instinct of a mother's heart" (page 246). This proves that although Sybil's mother was driven "mad since that unhappy rumor of [her] father's death," Sybil still shares a mystical bond with her mother (page 246). A mother seems to always sense when their child is hurting or upset, and will do whatever they can to help them when their child has fallen to the complete bottom. Sybil might have been insane for a short while, because there is no real evidence that Sybil did hear a whisperer tell her things such as "The dog--a lock of hair--there is yet time" (page 243). These statements sound outlandish, but in the end help Sybil escape the infinite death of insanity. Because of Sybil's mother being insane, the only thing that made sense was for her to warn Sybil and help her find the key to escaping: "Find it! For God's sake find it before it is too late" (page 241)! 

This obscure ending made me realize that although Alcott puts a dark twist in "A Whisper in the Dark," she still brings around the importance of the mother and daughter relationship. I think although Sybil barely touched the "fire" of insanity, Sybil's mother initially "pulled her out." We still see how nothing can come between mother and daughter, despite how impersonal their earthly relationship is. 

Another Type of Innocence

After reading the rest of The Hidden Hand, a quote stuck out to me that I kept reading over and over again because it is so true involving Capitola: "She had indeed the innocence of youth, but not its simplicity" (p. 187) This seemed to tell readers that although Capitola is only a young girl, she had endured things that some adults have not gone through. 

Capitola talks about having to "[sell her] clothes, piece by piece, to the old Jew over the way," in order to have food for herself (p. 182). She was "trying to get jobs every hour in the day," discovering that nobody wants to hire a petty girl that has no muscle or strength to do odd jobs (p. 182). When worse came to worse, Capitola felt as if though "there seemed to be nothing but starvation or beggary," giving her no way to survive (p. 182). She finally decides that the only way she can make money and feed and support herself is to become a boy. As soon as the idea occurred to her, Capitola goes to the old Jew's shop and asks for "the raggedest suit of boy's clothes he had, whether they'd fit [her] or not" (p. 184) Capitola ends up making a great living for herself, not having to worry if she can eat when the next meal rolls around.

This story captures the very essence of the determination Capitola had to survive, yet she accomplishes it in the most humble and innocent way possible. Never once does she think about stealing or resorting to any kind of prostitution that some girls might have had to give in to. She provides for herself in the Great American Way: hard, sweaty work. While telling her story, she even worries that the judge and Old Hurricane "dare to think but what [she] did" (p. 184). This attitude she has to take care of herself shows great character even though she is a young child.

The Lamplighter: Anna and Gerty

I do not know if necessarily the depiction of girls has changed, or if it merely had to do with the two girls' personalities. Anna, the guest on Amy Pholer's "Smart Girls at the Party" is very relaxed and stabilized, while Gerty in "The Lamplighter" is very emotional and rough around the edges. There are significant differences as well as similarities that make up both.

A drastic difference in the two girls was how they viewed the world and how each is accepted into it. Anna told Amy that she felt as though she could be herself and people would like her for that. She knew she had the freedom to be who she wants to be and not what others want. Gerty tends to push away people and peers, such as children her age. Among the kids "she had made herself feared as well as disliked" and was constantly rejected by them (page 84). She always was never accepted because "she was the worst-looking child in the world, and, what was more, the worst behaved" (page 80). Gerty was constantly told how unattractive and "witch-like" she looked (page 81).

Both girls also have different ways of reacting when bad or stressful things happen to them. Anna tells Amy in the interview that when she needs to get away from the world, she does yoga. She feels this keeps balance and peace in her lief. When Gerty is mad or upset, she lashes out such as "lift[ing] a stick of wood which lay near her, [and flinging] it at Nan with all her strength" because Nan killed her kitten (page 90). She also "sometimes weep[s] for hours, so upset about her life (pages 84-85).

One similarity I found was that both girls do have a positive outlet at times that helps them vent and de-stress. Anna talks and talks about yoga and how it makes her happy and content. Gerty sometimes retreats to a "wood-yard," where she "brood[s] over her griefs, her wrongs, and her ugliness" (page 84). It is the only place she feels safe and not judged.

Because of these similarities and differences, I feel Gerty would react quite differently in the interview then Anna did. I feel that Gerty's answers would be more bitter and abrupt and she would probably at some point, get angry with Any. She most definitely would not dance at the end, because I do not think she has anything to dance for. 

Complications of Slavery in Uncle Tom's Cabin

Chapter ten in "Uncle Tom's Cabin" really struck me as far as how enslaved children behaved and what their parents expected of them compared to free white children. There are similarities and differences in the way George is taught as a slave and the way Ellen is brought up in a slave-free environment. These comparisons both correlate and confuse the didactic theories of children's literature. 

After learning of Uncle Tom's arrest, George throws a fit and is greatly upset, "sobbing and groaning vehemently" (UTC page 170) while Ellen in "The Wide, Wide World" is asked to stop acting as a child and immediately "[says] little, and did not weep any more" (WWW page 25). It seems that emotion and exploring those feelings was acceptable to the salves, where as Middle or Upper class white children were taught to suppress those feelings and be mature. 

George is then told by Uncle Tom to "keep close to [his] mother" and try to stay out of trouble and "hold on to her, and grow up, and be a comfort to her" (UTC 173). As George is lectured to take care of his mother, little Ellen makes it a priority in her life to take care of her ill mother, because her "love to[wards] her mother was the strongest feelings her heart knew" (page 25). She made it her business to prepare the tea and toast, comforting her mother in any way she could. Both children in this scenario are taught to love their mothers and always be there for them, tending to their needs. 

The last difference I found in Chapter ten of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" compared to "The Wide, Wide World" is each set of parents' idea of being a good person in society. Uncle Tom tells George he has everything in the world to be a positive influence in the world and make his parents proud: "l'arnin', privileges, readin', writin" (UTC page 173). Ellen's mother wants Ellen to "always [be] neat, and tidy, and industrious; depending upon others as little as possible" (WWW page 44). Both parents give them the tools to be an ideal good person, yet they view these ideas in a different light. Mrs. Montgomery wants Ellen to be moral and productive, while Uncle Tom wants George to be able to read and write. 

The slight disconnect between these stories is largely due to ethnicity and economical background. Although each child is brought up in a different way, all that each parent wants is to be proud of their children in their own perception. Each parent wants to feel as though they raised their child to be as great as they could be. 

The Wide, Wide World

In the Wide, Wide World we see the interesting story of Ellen Montgomery. She is a young girl striving to please her parents, yet wants to be all grown up. Her parents play a huge role in how she behaves and handles situations.

The text encourages us to view the role of the parents as basically equipping Ellen to be a civilized young adult. Ellen's mother is determined to teach her to be "tidy, and industrious; depending on others as little as possible (page 24). Mrs. Montgomery also encourages Ellen to pray to God, asking "that He would take away the power of sin, and show [her] himself" page 31). Ellen's mother feels it is so important to love God more than "anybody or anything," knowing Ellen needs to grasp the concept of faith (page 31). Ellen's father appreciates the fact that Ellen does not "make a great fuss" when he tells her she must go to England immediately (page 55). He wants her to be strong and is pleased when she "behave(d) [so] admirably" (page 55).

Although both parents want their child to be prepared for the real world, they both handle their "mentoring" differently. Captain Montgomery comes off as very stern towards Ellen, expecting her to be non-emotional. When he goes to wake her up to get ready for England, he hopes that "the final leave-taking [is] as brief as possible," showing his resistance to be sentimental and upset that Ellen is leaving (page 54). Ellen's mother behaves the complete opposite, loving Ellen as much as possible. When Ellen is upset, Mrs. Montgomery is there to "reach out a hand to her...with all the energy of gratitude, love and sorrow (page 30). Mrs. Montgomery dreads the day when Ellen must leave, while Captain Montgomery does not have any reactions towards the matter. We see the two parents act in the same consistent way towards Ellen throughout the book. 

I think Ellen sees her parents just as they act towards her. Ellen's "love to her mother was the strongest feelings her heart knew" and she does anything in her power to please her mother and make her happy (page 5). I would think Ellen sees her father as a very detached and odd person because of his absence from her life as well as his lack of "not readily [being] touched by anything (page 54). Ellen probably expects her father to behave in the same passive way he has throughout her life, knowing that he is only around when something bad is about to happen to her: "there was no need  at all for him to trouble himself with making painful explanations" (page 55). The love Ellen feels from her mother would be what she expects because Ellen "always feels safe when [her mother is] near [her], because [Ellen knows her mother will] take care of [her] (page 10).

5 Main Theories for Analyzing Children's Literature

There are many ways to deconstruct the different frameworks that make up children's literature. Finding five main theories to support these claims is difficult to decide because of all of the possible ways that children's literature can be outlined. I will lay out the top five analyses that stood out the most to me, explaining through textual evidence why they are so significant to the composition of children's literature.

The most emphasized structural outline to children's literature is the adult's influence in each story written.  Stories were based intentionally to "offer insight into what Americans wanted of and for their society," knowing children would be the next generation (Macleod page 3). As parents they felt it was their duty to uphold their children to the same beliefs they had and to further those life-long aspirations. The stories told were "static and repetitious" with "few surprising points of view" because of adults' eagerness to embed these loyal qualities into the minds of children (Macleod page 3). These ideals also carried on into the actual content of the stories, preaching to children how to be a good person.

An important aspect of analyzing children's literature is realizing what kind of stories were told to the children. Children's books were meant "to teach, and specifically, to teach morality" to the younger generation so they could learn right from wrong (Macleod page 3). The older society felt that in order to "fit a child for the adult world" they must ensure "immanence and innocence" into the children, making sure they were fit to make moral decisions in their lifetime (Sanchez-Eppler page 5). Repetitive stories of "good characters contrasted with bad"

 were displayed for children to see that the bad people will always be punished and the good people will always flourish and be content with life (Macleod page 5). Along with children attaining the knowledge of good and evil came more responsibilities to be dealt with and how to decipher childhood from adulthood.

Responsibility played a hefty part in deciding when children were accepted as mature, growing out of their adolescent stage. Adults set up steps for success for children through books and their lessons, but it ultimately was up to the child to decide if they wanted to take the new knowledge and mature from it. Children went through "stages in the process of making an adult identity," trying to be accepted into society as a mature individual (Sanchez-Eppler page 8). When children decided to be adults was entirely up to them, depending on whether or not they had a specific "set of social conditions" that could be productive to society (Sanchez-Eppler page 13). Age had no correlation to whether or not a person was a child or an adult. Childhood is merely a "status or idea associated with innocence and dependency than as a specific or biological period" (Sanchez-Eppler page 13). If an eight year old understands concepts of morality that the public sees as mature and they can be responsible for themselves, then they can be viewed as an adult. This idea that a young person can be adult-like tends to interfere with the idea with what the child's role in their family is consisted of.

A conflicting idea with children's literature is the question of how to view children culturally. In the nineteenth century "all children participated in some form of family-labor"

 until laws were set up to abandon this idea of "abusing" children by making them to work (Sanchez-Eppler pages 9 & 10). They then were seen more intimately, as humans to love and care for. This construes a flaw in the system of parents raising their children to be "robots"of them, teaching them how to run a country properly. Should the parents "prepare children for adult worries and responsibilities or protect them in a freer world of imagination and play" (Sanchez-Eppler page 10)? The fact that children lose their child day dreams and play dates might affect them in long run, being drilled by their parents instead of loved and admired. The protection of children is still shown in over-bearing adults in being firm in what their children should believe.

The last foundation of children's literature is the parents' fear of change and finding ways to discourage industrialization to kids. Urbanization was portrayed by authors as " dangerous, corrupting, and immoral," shying kids away from leaving the country and moving into the city (Macleod page 6). Stories were told of bad people living in the city and immoral occurrences happening there. The new era of the machine also worried authors and how they would keep children out of the city and wanting to stay in the country. Authors persistently portrayed the "yeoman farmer as the backbone of the nation," although there was obvious and unwanted change occurring around everyone (Macleod page 7). This fear of change scared adults into thinking this new industrialization would corrupt the children, causing chaos and destruction to their idea of America. Throughout the nineteenth century, they pushed to oppose these new ideas and stick to what formed their country in the first place.

These five theories sum up the formation of children's literature and explain why stories were written in the manner that they were. They build the foundation of several generations before us and show us the adequate attention paid to keep America the way it was. 

A Letter About Me

Hello Everyone,

My name is Halie David and I was born in Odessa, Texas but grew up in Amarillo, Texas. I am a Sophomore at TCU and have just recently changed my major to Strategic Communications with an Art emphasis and a minor in Business. I love to read which excited me about this course because of all of the different books we will be reading this semester. I also love to hang out with my family, paint, and hang out with friends.

I actually was supposed to come on a volleyball scholarship to TCU, but decided after my Senior year in high school that I had closure and wanted to move on to other things in my life, I guess start a new chapter. If I were Chancellor at TCU I am not sure what I would change. I have not really thought about how TCU could be better because I already think it is so wonderful. I feel at home here and love the people at TCU so I do not see any changes that need to be made. A good teacher is an individual that is passionate about what they teach and love telling others about it. They should be entertaining to listen too and also like input from their students so they can make things more clear or fun for the classroom setting. Good students are the kids that put forth the effort outside of class so that they can ask legitimate questions and bring important things to discuss. They read the material, but also seek to truly understand the meaning of the text or the assignment given to them. If I could have dinner with any three people, they would be Jesus, Dave Matthews and Michalangelo. Three important things to know about me are that I love my family, they are always there for me and I could not ask for a better life with them. I also give one hundred and ten percent at anything I do because I cannot deal with not putting my all into a project, knowing that the effort I put in will show in the finished product. I also am a very sarcastic yet honest person and I find it amusing and hopefully you all will too. I would like to know what people are passionate about in our class because this class is full of different people with different majors, but they took this class for a reason. I also am interested in knowing what everyone is planning on doing after they get out college. Lastly, I am curious as to why people took this course, everyone has a reason.

I chose to take this course because the title interested me and I love to read. I do not always know what types of books to read so having someone telling me I need to read it because it has a meaningful purpose helps me to read different genres of books. I took Intro to Shakespeare last year and loved how beautifully it was written and how challenging it was to comprehend what Shakespeare was trying to get across to his readers and now want to dabble in different centuries of texts. I am hoping I will find this class as intriguing as I have found all of my other English classes so I will put forth the required effort to succeed. 

As far as things I have read in the past, I have completed the Twilight series which I loved, as well as all of the Nicholas Sparks collection. I tend to lean more towards romance novels, but I really am up for anything. One of my favorite books with the most meaning to me was George Orwell's 1984 because of the amazing facts that humankind overlooks because of what we are told to do. I also have read the entire Bible as well as taking a religion class last year that focused on the Old Testament, including excerpts and small readings pertaining to the class material. I really love to read anything that either makes me think about life and what is happening in our world or I like to relax and go on an adventure with the character as cheesy as that sounds. Reading is how I get away and relax and it is nice to read all genres at some point in time. I have never seen myself as an incredible writer that people will read my work and think how witty and articulate I am, but more as a writer that can be on the same level as readers and help them to understand what I am thinking or feeling. I am actually planning on writing a book about myself and about the things that happened to me in the end of my Senior year and the beginning of my Freshman year at TCU, sort of as an outlet to heal and feel closure from it. I have not started the book yet because I cannot decide how detailed I would like it to be, although I realize in order to write a great book, it must contain all of the embarrassing, immature, and gory details. I of course write papers for different classes, basically given a topic by the teacher and am asked to form an opinion and find evidence that supports my claim. The usual. As every other college student, I am addicted to texting and give in to it all the time. My mom says it is sad that we communicate that way because it is so impersonal, but I keep telling her times are changing. I am not big on emails, but will send one when necessary. As I said earlier, I do not feel my writing is impeccable, but I think the reader can understand what I am trying to say. Only a few teachers have told me I was a great writer, only because I was passionate about what I was writing. That is why I feel I can write a book that can impact lives everywhere: I am very passionate about what I plan to write about.

My blog is intended to be as completely honest and upfront as I can be. I have learned that honesty is the best policy and although it may hurt at first, the situation will always be better in the end. I also thoroughly thought about my answers, because I do not want people to think I am something when in actuality I am someone completely different. For example, I love the color green and chose a green background because my eyes are green. I thought that was kind of cool. I also chose red text because green and red are complimentary colors and I am an artist at heart and I love to see how colors work with each other, and of course I love Christmas! This blog should show that I am willing to think about my answers and spend the extra time digging in to find the answer. 

I have read the course syllabus and agree to all of the terms, and cannot wait to begin!

Until next time,

Halie David