The forum for this week addresses the third learning objective:  Produce an original opinion based on assigned literature.

Please give an original response to each student separatel!!!!! 

Please follow direction…will dispute if it’s done wrong!

Literature 

Original Post

The forum for this week addresses the third learning objective:  Produce an original opinion based on assigned literature.

Many of the pieces we have read during weeks 1-5 have social, cultural and political underpinnings and influences. Select one author or one piece of literature we have read thus far and discuss how your own personal experiences, assumptions and predispositions impacted how you read the piece.

Jimmy

In this course I have read several different compositions from eras that each reflected their influence on the topics and styles. With that in mind, I have to say that Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte of all the readings was the most influential. When I first began reading of the author and novel I did not think it would be something I would be interested in reading. I usually lean towards reading war novels or bibliographies versus any other genre. However, I was pleasantly surprised that chapter by chapter I began more involved with each character. It was written in such a way that was relatable to the reader with their own feelings of loss, love, and anger. We have all experienced a first love, a long lost love that we would have done anything for. It is with this that I found to relate to Heathcliff with his feelings towards Catherine. It was through the course of his uprising that was relatable as well. I have strived for bigger things then what I grew up with and in this I understand his strife to be successful and influential in society. Coming from humble beginnings I can understand the separation experience between social classes and how that can impact other factors in life.

Dustin 

This week I choose to return to the start of our class to the romantic period. This period stuck with me in the way that these authors were very descriptive in the stories they told. My favorite example of this type of writing was “Lines Written in Early Spring” By William Wordsworth. I decided to use this poem and compare it it my personal life because of my job field which is Quality Assurance in the Military. When doing my job I must be very descriptive when giving examples of something I want the person who is reading what I write to understand in the best way possible. The person reading should be able to place them selves in the scene as if they were involved in some way. An Example of this is when someone gets injured on the job, we as QA are forced to describe every detail of the scene so that anyone who reads will get a clear picture of what happened during the incident. In the poem He talks about the colors which surrounded him, the animals which hopped around him and how everything moved in a way which seemed to be in sync. When I read these words I cant help but place myself in the scene with him and its like i am able to picture every detail first hand. My favorite part of the poem mentions a plan. This is important because it assumes that everything happens for a reason and every position we are placed in could be because we were meant to be there.

Dustin J

Emma

Hello class,

I hope everyone is having a great week so far! For this week’s forum, I have decided to discuss The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield. I really enjoyed reading this story last week, and it’s stuck with me! Although my situation was a little different than Laura’s, this story reminded me of a situation I faced a couple years ago. When I was in middle school (about 8 years ago), my grandma and aunt decided to plan a vacation to take me to Florida. I was so excited to go, because I had never been to a real beach before. The night before I was supposed to leave for Florida, one of my close friend’s brother died in a car accident. I can’t even begin to explain how I felt knowing my friend would have to face one of the hardest moments of his life without me there to support and be there for him. The next morning, I told my family I didn’t want to go to Florida anymore. We had bought the plane tickets, booked our hotels, and spent so much time to prepare this trip, but I didn’t like the idea of leaving to go on vacation when my friend was experiencing this in his life. I felt so guilty. My family had to explain to me that the vacation was planned before this happened, and that I can be there for him when I get back. He’ll appreciate me supporting him whenever I can. I finally came to the realization that I could text or call him to let him know I was there for him, and that I’d physically be there for him when I got back from my trip. I’ve felt a little regret about going on vacation, but I know I would have regretted missing out on a chance to visit Florida with my grandma and aunt and make so many good memories. I definitely made a text-to-self connection when reading the part of the story where Laura questioned why the party was still going on after finding out that the man down the street had passed away. I definitely understand why Laura felt the way she did, but can also justify her choice of continuing the party, regardless of the man’s death. We have to realize that life goes on, and death is a part of life. Your life must carry on despite what happens around you. I definitely enjoyed this story because I was able to make such a personal connection with the message in the story.

-Emma

Angela

Professor & Class,

When thinking back to all the pieces of literature we have read thus far, I have to say I found the Romantic period the most relatable to my own experiences. I have to admit, I thought this was a bit strange at first because I also felt this week was the most difficult for me to understand. Poetry has never been a strong suit of mine and the context of the writing generally goes over my head. However, the poem written by William Wordsworth called “Lines Written In Early Spring” spoke to me on a personal level. In the poem, he seems to become saddened by what has become of mankind. The more he sits there thinking about all the things that are wrong with mankind, he starts to take in the beauty of the nature surrounding him. Once he begins to do this, he is able to shift his thoughts to a more positive nature by focusing on the flowers, twigs and birds that surround him. When I was in high school, eleventh grade to be exact, I had a dear friend of mine die by suicide. My friend had some trouble with depression and received help for her struggles when she was in ninth grade after attempting suicide. She continued with therapy and everyone thought her depression was under control. I grew up with her and we were friends since grade school. Two weeks before our prom, she decided to throw a party at her house because her parents were out of town. It was that night, she took her own life. I found myself questioning a lot of things about that night like what makes someone think that’s the only way out and why didn’t she reach out to her parents or friends? I also asked myself why she wanted to do it with her friends there and how come the people who loved her, and therapy weren’t enough to help her? I even asked how God could let that happen? I still ask myself these very same questions, but I have also accepted some questions simply don’t have answers. Following her death, I would go to this place in the country which I later referred to as my thinking spot. It was on the mountainside and it was a serene area where I could just go and get lost in my thoughts. I often went there to think, get mad and cry all at the same time. I guess I felt as though it was my safe place. After I let everything out, I would collect myself by laying in the grass and staring up at the clouds. I would focus so hard on the clouds that I would see different images in them. After doing this for a while, it would calm my nerves and ease the pain I felt. I could then leave my thinking spot realizing that there is more good than bad in the world and sometimes you have to just accept what you can’t understand or change and find peace within.  

Angela

References

William Wordsworth, assorted poems. English Literature: 18th Century to Present. Retrieved on June 6, 2018 from

African American History 

Original Post 

Pick one historical figure or group listed below- each of these people or groups are connected to African American Military History  from 1860 to1865. 

Tell the class the history of this person(s) or units as it relates to African American Military History and remember to cite where you found your information. Also read two of your peers Soldier discussions and comment on the units or people they chose in comparison to the ones your wrote about.

Courtney 

William W. Woodward came into the army as a second lieutenant during the time of the Civil War. He started off his career in the K Company of the Ohio 2D Cavalry Regiment. Woodward was quickly promoted to captain while in Ohio. He later decommissioned and  reenlisted as a Colonel for the 116th  United States Colored Troops. The 116th Regiment was  formed on July 12, 1864 and he was there from the beginning. 

“Colonel Woodward’s troops were involved in the siege of Petersburg from October 23, 1864 to April 2, 1865. Specifically, they were a part of the major charge that took place at 4:00 a.m. on April 2 to drive the Confederate forces from Petersburg, and then followed the retreating Confederates to Appomattox. They were also a part of taking Fort Gregg (on April 2), where they supported an artillery barrage led by the 31st Regiment.” (The 116th Colored Troops at the Battle of Petersburg)

The 116th United States Colored Troops were open to a variety of elements of the war within a minimum time period, especially in a military and social aspect. African-American soldiers in the Civil War came face to face with multiple forms of racism and mistreatment. Aside from being paid slighter, they were often designated “fatigue duty” or “military labor,” and were often ordered to do most of the manual labor such as digging holes. This support work was often the primary use of African American troops, and a lot of the regiments of troops of color would often not participate in the actual fight.  The experience of war for the 116th Regiment and Colonel Woodward was not primarily based in the military, but also had several social and cultural experiences that were different from what African Americans were use to.

Ancestry.com Library Edition, s.v. “U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles about William W Woodward,” http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=civilwar_histdatasys%2c&rank=0&gsfn=William+W&gsln=Woodward&sx=&gs1co=2%2cUSA&gs1pl=1%2cAll+States&year=1825&yearend=1900&sbo=0&sbor=&ufr=0&wp=4%3b_80000002%3b_80000003&srchb=r&prox=1&ti=5542&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&o_iid=21416&o_lid=21416&pcat=39&fh=338 (accessed October 17, 2009).

“The 116th Colored Troops at the Battle of Petersburg .” The History Engine, The University of Richmand, 2015, historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/4734.

Delano

Delano Johnson New! CORPS D’AFRIQUE

Delano Johnson (Jul 13, 2018 10:27 AM) – Read by: 1

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From the beginning of the Civil War to the Emancipation Proclamation, the then President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, had enacted an official regulation that proscribed the drafting of African Americans into the army. By 1861, some commanders in the military had raised their objections to this policy adopted by Abraham Lincoln’s government which prohibited interference with slave owners and the property. One of the notable critics of this policy was Major General Benjamin Butler, who commanded the military post in Fort Monroe, Virginia. This point builds on the knowledge that Butler refused to surrender three fugitive slaves from a Confederate labor troop to their master. His logic was that since the owner considered the slaves his assets, their involvement in a war against the United States qualified them as ‘contraband of war.’ This point implied that these slaves were subject to appropriation and could be drafted into the US military in its quest to end the uprising (Gladstone, 2010).

It is imperative to note that the national government was reluctant to allow African-Americans to serve in the Union Army. In fact, it was not until two years after the outbreak of the Civil War that measures were taken to form Black regiments. However, it should be noted that several states had already created African-American regiments prior to the start of the Civil War. This point builds on the knowledge that General Benjamin Butler from New Orleans went against government policy and formed the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd regiments comprising of African-Americans referred to as Louisiana Native Guards in 1862. These battalions, also referred to as Corps d’Afrique, were integrated into federal service in September, October, and November in the same year respectively. This development made them the first Black soldiers formally drafted into the Union Army (Everett, 2014). This aspect marked the beginning of Blacks’ enlistment into the US Army.

                                                                                                                   References:

Everett, D. E. (2014). Ben Butler and the Louisiana Native Guards, 1861-1862. The Journal of Southern History, 24(2), 202-217.

Gladstone, W. A. (2010). United States Colored Troops, 1863-1867. Thomas Publications.

~Delano

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