The Yares of the Black Mountain

One of the quotes that really struck me while reading this story is talking about how the widow find a strong connection and takes an instant liking to the Yare family. “These were the first beings whom the widow had ever met between who and herself there came absolutely no bar of accident….they were the first who could go straight to something beneath…” (p 22) I wanted to focus this blog on how the Yares and the widow are similar and what allowed them to make such an instant connection.
One of the more obvious similarities is how both have had to deal with death and grief. The Widow lost her husband and is dealing with losing her baby. The Yare family spent much time during the war worrying about family and even lost several members after standing up for what they believed in. In the story (and also in life) people tend to need some form of hope to keep them going through tough times. In the story both the Yares and the widow turned to the Mt. and/or scenery for comfort or that beacon of hope. “The mountains and they were company for each other” (p 268) The Yars had lived on those mountains for four generations and even stuck it out during the civil war. The widow took her sick baby up to the mountains even though everyone thought she was crazy for doing so. I’m not sure the mountains actually symbolize anything but I feel they helped the widows baby pull through and they helped the Yares continue to live on and prosper.
I felt another reason the two related so well is because both knew what it was like to have almost nothing as well as not fitting in with society. The widow had her baby and the Yares had enough to get by on. It makes sense that both families would need some form of comfort, and were then able to find that comfort within the mountains. At the end of the story it seemed that by having an instant connection the two families were able to find hope within each other. Coming from such similar situations of hardship it was easy to find comfort and acceptance. Up until the end of the story The widow had never really felt like she belonged anywhere. She did not fit in NY and traveling all that way never really felt comfortable. The Yares had always been in hiding because they were on the “wrong” side during the war. It seems like both families were able to accept each other and with that acceptance cam the ability to prosper.

Ragged Dick

Since Ragged Dick is only the first story we have read that deals with a male main character it is hard to suggest how males and females are represented differently in nineteenth century literature. One difference that I did notice was that it felt like the boy s emitted more intelligence than the girls in prior stories. As Ragged dick is walking around the city he is able to state facts about different buildings as is Frank. “that is the new York hospital…They’re a rich institution, and take care of sick people on very reasonable terms.” (p. 297) There are other examples throughout the text that have the similar premise. Then there is a point in the story where the boys begin discussing investments. This topic alone seems like it would be more common amongst an older crowd. “No, said dick; I manage my property myself” “And I presume your dividends have not been large?” (p. 60) That just seems like an advanced conversation for such young boys. The girls in the prior novels really only talked about making toast and other household chores. I feel like authors are trying to suggest that boys have higher intelligence than girls do. Ragged Dick didn’t even go to school, yet he knew about dividends and property values.
Another difference I noticed was that boys seem to be more appreciated and respected. For instance Ragged Dick went out every day and polished shoes. Every day he made money and was able to feed, clothe and find shelter for himself; yet Capitola was forced to dress as a boy in order to work and care for herself. Nobody is willing to hire an orphan unless it’s a boy.
One other point I saw was when Ragged Dick was accused of giving a counterfeit bill. “He stood his ground bravely. Then give me back my bill” (p. 29) The text suggests that Dick is brave for defending his name and for arguing back with the gentleman. In The Wide Wide World when Ellen is given a hard time in the store she does not try to defend herself but rather breaks into tears and is helped by the older gentleman. Now realizing there is a significant age difference between Dick and Ellen I still feel that authors are suggesting boys are brave and defend themselves and that girls are unable to protect themselves.
As I stated in the beginning this is only the first story we have read about boys, but so far it seems that authors portray boys as being stronger and more capable of work.

A Whisper In The Dark

A Whisper in the Dark starts off a little strange due to the relation between Sybil and her uncle and then it became confusing as to the mental stability and reliability of Sybil. There were multiple factors to take into consideration. I felt it was hard to distinguish between her need to rebel and go against authority verses insanity. There was also many times where she was ill for whatever reason which also made it hard as a reader to judge if she was insane or just delusional due to being sick.
“For many weeks I lay burning in a fever, fitfully conscious of Dr. Karnac and the woman’s presence” (p 239) This is not the only time where Sybil is ill, but even in this situation she claims she is conscious and aware of her surroundings. There are some special cases but most people are not very aware when they are as sick as Sybil was. Then there was also the fact that she is drugged through the wine that her uncle provides her. Being ill as well as being drugged would have major effects on a person that could be confused for insanity.
Then the author also includes phrases like “sleepless nights” and having crazy nightmares. These could be signs of insanity, but it could also be circumstance. Being in a creepy house and hearing constant noises would mess with anyone. Plus sleep deprivation will further worsen the situation. My point with all these examples is that whether Sybil was mentally insane or just under poor circumstances it was hard to see her as a reliable narrator. At the end of the novel when it says “but over all these years, serenely prosperous, still hangs for me the shadow of the past, still rises that dead image of my mother...” (p 247) As a reader you almost question if all that really happened. Did Sybil’s mom really whisper to her and save her life, or did Sybil manage to save herself.
After having finished A Whisper in the Dark I think anytime you bring insanity into a novel the reader does lose some reliability in the message as well as relationships. For example, the mother daughter relationship between Sybil and her mother is left in question because the author suggests the mother was also insane. Reliability is lost because it’s hard to believe what is true and what is from a mental breakdown.

The hidden hand

I wanted to focus on the relationship between Capitola and Old Hurricane because I felt the relationship between two strong and distinct characters is important within this story, but also within the other stories we have read this semester.
As soon as Old Hurricane decided to take responsibility for Capitola you feel an instant connection between the two. It felt like both characters were able to bring happiness to the other. Old Hurricane was able to provide food as well as a father figure for Capitola. As Capitola states in the story “how much happier from the contrast of her previous wretchedness, to be suddenly freed from want, toil, fear and all the evils of destitute orphanage…”(p.188)Capitola gains so much from Old Hurricane who seems to have everything. Even though he is wealthy, up until Capitola enters his life the author portrays him as a grumpy old man who typically does not treat others well. Once Capitola enters the story all of a sudden you get Old Hurricane laughing and taking pity on the poor child. “How soft those gray eyes looked when praying” (p. 189) All of a sudden the man who seemed so unpleasant and terrible isn’t so bad. I felt the change seen in Old Hurricane reflects part of the role of children in literature. We talked in class about how if you hear about a child being mistreated or living in horrible conditions you instantly feel terrible and want to help, and it seems the same feelings occur in literature. Not only as the reader, does your heart go out to poor Capitola, but the characters with in the story also feel terrible for children. Old Hurricane has been grumpy and bitter for years and all it took was a little girl to bring about a subtle change in his character.
We have seen this occur in the other stories as well. True Flinn instantly feels sorry for Gerty after seeing her cry and begins to make life changes in order to keep and assist her. There is something about the innocence of a child that makes characters want to change and take on that parenting role. Something else that was interesting about the relationship is that like Gerty and True it was like a father daughter relationship; however, neither girl would call the man father but rather uncle. In Wide Wide World the father plays almost no role in Ellen’s life, and in the next two stories the men who could play father roles don’t want to be called father. The minute Capitola days “Yes father” Uncle Hurricane says “ No, no you needn’t call me father, you know, because it isn’t true. Call me uncle.” (p.188) I just found it interesting because He is taking on the fatherly role, as well as changing his attitude, but does not want the title of father.

The lamplighter

Although times have changed immensely with technology and other advances since Gerty’s time, I do still think that girls struggle with the same issues as Gerty. Girls still struggle to fit society’s idea of what a girl should be. Girls are supposed to be sweet, pleasant and respectful of authority. Still to this day it is common to put girls in dresses, give them dolls, and if they were to throw a tantrum like Gerty did in the novel there would surely be consequences. Having watched the video I would say there are some similarities and some differences between the present day girl and Gerty. I think both girls needed balance because that made them feel more relaxed and at ease. Both girls have balance in their life; however, they found balance through different types of activities. The girl in the video was able to use yoga as a way of bringing inner peace and calmness to her life. Plus it was something she enjoyed so it made her happy which would affect how she acts during the day. Gerty got balance from Uncle True. He showed her love and kindness so she gave it back by helping with chores, going to school, and spending time with him. By giving and receiving love I think Gerty was able to find a happy balance in her life which she had not been able to experience living with Nan.
One of the questions that Amy Polar asked was “what would you say to someone who says they can’t do something” The little girl responded with “Try your best and try harder”. I believe that answer fits with today’s society. Both girls and boys (with some acceptations) are told to try their best. Even if children don’t always do well, parent’s still show how proud they are. As long as the child is trying and participating that is good enough. I think Gerty would have thought that not being able to do something was unacceptable. Up until moving in with Uncle True if Gerty wasn’t able to do what Aunt Nan told her then she got in trouble, and that was if she was even asked to do anything. I’m not sure Gerty would have known how to answer that question because was rarely asked to do or try anything.
The fact that Gerty was not asked to do anything helps show the difference in societal expectations from then and now. Girls then were brought up to be house wives. Gerty is taught how to cook, clean and make clothes. Mrs. Sullivan even comments at one point in the novel that Gerty is on her way to “being an excellent house wife” If you look at the modern girl today girls can go to school and do what they want in order to express themselves. In the video for instance the girls chooses to do yoga.
Its interesting to see how two girls from very different time periods could be so similar and so different all due to time and circumstance.

Constructions of childhood

The parents in Wide, Wide World were portrayed to the audience as role models. People you should look up too, learn from, and because parents teach you life lessons you should respect them. Parents were there to teach their children morals, which in the case of this story were done through the bible. In other instances there were simply phrases to live by. One was “have patience; and let your motto be ‘overcome evil with good’”. Ellen always took what was told to her seriously because what parents told you is crucial for life. The author was trying to send across the message that parents will teach and love you.
The role of the mother was much clearer in The Wide, Wide World because that is who Ellen spends most of her time with. The mother prepares Ellen for learning how to do jobs that women were expected to know how to do. The situation is a little different because Mrs. Montgomery was not going to be around to raise Ellen, so all she could do was prepare her for activities such as writing, and sewing. I would assume under normal circumstances the mother would actually teach the daughter the household chores and what was expected of her. Mr. Montgomery was not present for most of the story. The author suggests that he did run the house, because there were circumstances where he told his wife what to do and she obeyed. For instance, at the end of the novel when Mrs. Montgomery wants to wake and worn Ellen of her early departure, Mr. Montgomery will not allow it. I had another thought that part of the reason Mr. Montgomery was not included much in the story is because the main character is a young girl; therefore, that is for a mother to deal and work with. Had the main character been a son it is possible Mr. Montgomery would have played a more active role in his child’s life.
I wasn’t able to tell how Ellen felt about Mr. Montgomery because he wasn’t around. It seemed if he told her to do something she obeyed, which would indicate that she respected him. During the whole story Ellen constantly praises her mother and tells her how much she is going to miss her. Its seems Ellen has a firm grasp on the idea that your parents are the ones who teach you and help you grow up and that without hers she will b e alone and have to learn for herself. For example when Ellen is making toast she realizes she will never be able to make it for her mother again. She also realizes her mother will not be able to read the bible with her. Both examples are activities that you learned from your parents. Although it was implied through Ellen’s kind words that she loved and would miss her mother, as a reader I question the circumstance. Was Ellen really that close to her mother or was it due to the fact that her mother would be leaving? People act differently when someone is dying, so did that have an effect on how Ellen treated her mother?

Theories

Both MacLeod’s and Sanchez-Eppler make point of explaining how children were seen as an important part of the future. During the nineteenth century there was a lot of change occurring within American society and adults in that time needed to prepare their kids for the future. In analyzing children’s literature it is important to understand that because adults saw children as a crucial part of the future they needed to bestow on them a strong set of morals and beliefs. It’s possible that while some nineteenth century literature may seem strictly about morals that’s what was important in that time. The constant push of morals seen in different nineteenth century literature is what adults wanted their children to read which then leads to the next idea that perhaps there was some imbalance of power between adults and children.
Sanchez-Eppler points out that although we have countless collections of “children’s literature “which was written for/or about children there is almost no archives of children’s writings. The writing done by children often goes unmarked or unnoticed. This suggests the theory that perhaps there was an imbalance in power between adults and children. Children’s literature was written and based on what adult’s thought or felt, and not necessarily based on what children thought or felt about society. If children in literature were structured solely on adult needs, then one might question the accuracy of nineteenth century children in literature.
Whether there was a balance of power or not both MacLeod and Sanchez-Eppler point out the lack of imagination and fun in nineteenth century books that we tend to see more now days. In society today fantasy books are very popular for children, but you would not see that in nineteenth century literature. Also a sign that maybe the stories were written based on what adults wanted but also suggests that children’s literature was always written in order to provide some form of knowledge. Stories were written for learning purposes. If all stories were mostly the same premise one might say that nineteenth century stories were also based on predictability.
Because of the war and other changes in that time there was a need for predictability. If adults could raise their children the way they wanted too then they could know there was a brighter future. In “The Child’s Part in the Making of American culture” it states “If the outer world could not be frozen into predictable form the inner world could.”This would suggest that children were within the inner world. This style of writing was a form of control. By writing literature that pushed certain morals and ideas it was easy to know that children would follow them; making for a predictable future.