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(2014
midterm assignment) Sample Student Midterm answers 2014 #1: Long Essay |
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Laura Tompkins
Do
Unto Others
One main theme that stands out for me is the
idea of Self and Other.
This puts our readings about the past into perspective and connects them to the
problems we have in society right now. We have great examples from our readings
that show how polarizing Self and Other can be but also, the positive effects of
reaching across ethnic, religious, or political differences to understand or
unite with people who are different from ourselves.
What I have found is that when we study
history, it is from the point of view of someone. For example, in Sor Juana Inez
de Cruz’s “You Men”, her view is different from the male-dominated views in her
culture. She asks, who is more to blame, “the woman who sins for money/or the
man who pays money to sin?” Women’s roles in society were limited as were their
abilities to pursue education or other interests. Anne Bradstreet points this
out more gently in her “Prologue”. She states, “Men can do best, and Women know
it well…Yet grant some small acknowledgement of ours.”
She was obviously happy in her marriage and with her family but she had a
yearning to reach others with her writing and felt that since she was just a
woman, her writing was somehow inferior.
William Bradford implied Native Americans
were inferior and spoke of America as “being devoid of all civil
inhabitants…where there are only savage and brutish men…little otherwise than
the wild beasts” (4.7). He did not want to understand that there were other
cultures and beliefs besides his and his condescending attitude continued when
he talked about Samoset and Squanto. He praised them for learning English and
for trying to assimilate into European culture, much as one would praise a dog
for learning new tricks. Bradford also polarized himself with his limiting views
on religion by dividing Christians into Catholics and Protestants. In his
opening in “Of Plymouth Plantation”, he talks about the “darkness of popery”,
referring to the Catholic Church.
Another way to divide people into the
category of Self and Other are by religious beliefs. The Puritans wanted to
practice their religion the way they saw fit and they believed coming to America
would offer that opportunity for them. When they arrived, they encountered the
Natives, who were not Christian, and the settlers would try to convert them.
Columbus speaks of “inducing them to become Christian” (1.5) with trinkets and
John Smith of “alluring them hereafter to Civility and Christianity” (24). It is
ironic that the settlers left their countries of origin to practice freedom of
religion but did not want to extend this privilege to the Natives.
Some of the early settlers were explorers in
search of fame and riches for their countries. They not only wanted to convert
the Natives but they wanted to steal their resources, or worse, take them into
captivity. Cabeza de Vaca was different because his voyage was an overall
disaster, which kept him in and out of captivity for ten years. In order to
survive, he had to learn the ways of the Natives in his wanderings. He managed
to blend in so well that when he finally came across Europeans, they did not
recognize him as one of their own (similar to Mary Jemison). De Vaca did not try
to convert the Natives but was able to work healing miracles on them that
blended his beliefs with theirs. This syncretism led most of the Natives to
trust him, which in turn led to a type of blending, or understanding, between
the two cultures.
Another way of blending cultures and
religions is through marriage and family. Mary Jemison was fascinating to read
on many levels. She encompasses all the above categories and more. In our class
discussion, we tried to analyze why she would remain with the tribe that had
killed her family. Some conclusions we reached were because she was young she
was able to, or wanted to, assimilate. The Indian family that adopted her forced
her to learn their language and not speak English, and later, when she had the
opportunity to leave, she decided to stay. Again, we figured that perhaps she
was afraid of separating her children and breaking up her new family. Whatever
her reasons, Jemison is an example of not just accepting others different from
herself but embracing them.
