(2016 midterm assignment) Sample Student Midterm Answers 2016 (index to #2 samples) #2a: Short Essay (Favorite Passage)

LITR 4326 Early American Literature  Model Assignments

Burgundy Anderson

Education Over Spirituality

“One good schoolmaster is better than a hundred priests.” – Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason

At first glance, analyzing one sentence out of the entire first half of this course could be assumed to be erroneous. I would argue that in most cases that assumption would be valid, but when discussing this particular sentence, the assumption couldn’t be more wrong. This sentence, more than any other sentence, truly sums up the turning point in America. This sentence, and the literature published by its author, called more men to action against an oppressive monarch an ocean away than any religious writings done prior.

I really enjoyed the study we did of Thomas Paine, particularly the presentation Tom did. I believe this quote truly encapsulates the basic ideals behind the Age of Reason. The idea behind this is that education will always be more important than religion. I definitely agree with this sentiment, and as a gnostic I believe strongly that the way to enlightenment and eternal salvation is through education and a fight for basic rights.

Education is the strongest weapon anyone can have. The idea of using your education to fight against inequality and a lack of freedom is now an extremely common ideal of the United States. But before these writings there was a deep history, particularly among white people in America, of extreme religious fervor. The level of extremism was so high that religious camps were often found throughout the colonies. I’ve always found this fascinating, as religious fervor always seems ridiculous to me. And when religion fails, reason prevails.

Religion and extreme religion do not lead to peace or freedom. On a mass scale throughout history, religion has been the number one cause of wars and violence. More people are made refugees by the actions of militant extreme religious man than any greedy warlords we have seen. Education seeks not to harm anybody, or convert people by force but to provide knowledge in a very real, accessible, and necessary way.

The real reason behind literature is to either educate or entertain. In this case the intent is to education and inspire to action beyond one’s self. During the Great Awakening, and prior to it, men had only a call of action that fulfilled a duty unto themselves. Priests and other clergymen focus intently upon looking inward; however, education looks out and informs the way we see not only ourselves but also the larger world around us. For this reason, education will always be more important than religion, and will always be our most fundamental need as humans.

Walking in to this class, I viewed myself as a gnostic Christian, and in our studies I believe now more than ever that our founding fathers were either gnostic, holding truth in the highest light, or non-religious all-together. This one sentence has reinforced my understanding of not only myself, but also of our history as a nation. I believe it will remain, to me, the single most important quote of the class.