Beloved Ch. 9

In chapter 9 of Beloved, Sethe went to the Clearing because she wanted to feel a connection to Baby Suggs because she wanted to feel inspired by the serman that Baby Suggs used do in the clearings.  Sethe ends up remembering what Baby Suggs' fingers feel like while she was imagining them.  Sethe feels relaxed at first while Baby Suggs is giving her a imaginative massage, but after a while Sethe is massaged too ruffly that it feels like she's being choked.  "Just the fingers... they were there... somebody choked me" (Beloved, 112-113).  Sethe wanted to remember Baby Suggs' fingers massaging her, but eventually the massage became painful causing her to feel like she's being choked.  It is because of this that Sethe snaps out of her day dream of the past.  It was important for Sethe to feel uncomfortable in her daydream about the past because now she will not want to remember feelings from the past because they cause pain for her.  One cannot live in the past because they will miss things that are happening now because they are too preoccupied by things that have already occurred.  One must remember major events from the past but cannot dwell on the events that are filled with sorrow.  Sethe should remember the good times she had with Baby Suggs but not dwell upon every little detail about her or the memories Sethe had with her.  The past is usually embraced when there is a memory that represents a happy or exciting time and is forgotten when there is a horrific or painful memory that took place.  Sometimes these memories become intertwined, and one does not know which memories are happy and which are sad until they are remembered again.  "Yet it was to the Clearing that Sthe determined to go" (Beloved, 105).  Sethe first wanted to go to the Clearing because she wanted to remember the happy times she had with Halle and Baby Suggs.  These happy memories were intertwined with the painful memories of her slave past causing her to remember Baby Suggs' hands choking her.  She is combining the happy memories of Baby Suggs' hands with the horrific memories of being a slave and being abused.  The combination of memories makes it difficult for one to remember the past without having many different emotions filling their minds.

Emerson and Society

Emerson believes that an individual should define themselves in society based on their individual actions and thoughts.  One must not rely on anyone to make decisions for them.  Society must be based off of individual efforts and thoughts instead of people copying others.  "To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men" (Self-Reliance, 19).  Emerson is saying in this quote that people must be individuals and must believe in their own thoughts.  They cannot rely on other people to think for them because the society will not prosper.  By everyone believing in their own thoughts and having individuality, everyone in the society will benefit.  "Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members" (Self-Reliance, 21).  The way society is now is that people must agree with each other to achieve greatness and better the society, a conformist society.  Emerson does not agree with that because he feels that people should be non-conformists and have their own individual thoughts and ideas.  This ideal society, according to Emerson, would only be possible if people start thinking and believing in their own thoughts and ideas and not rely on other people to do things for them. People must leader by using their own ideas as their focus.  The society will eventually benefit when people are all non-conformists. 

Quran Burning/ Remembering 9/11

Reverend Terry Jones will be burning copies of the Quran if a meeting with the organizers of the mosque is not set up.  Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf will contemplate setting up a meeting with anyone who wants peace.  I agree with Imam about wanting peace in this country.  The Constitutional issue being raised is the Freedom of Religion.  The Muslims have the freedom to study and pursue their own religion and should be allowed to have a mosque near ground.  Jones should not be threatening to burn Qurans because he is being prejudice towards Muslims and is assuming that all Muslims are bad.  The people that would warship at this mosque have no correspondence to the September 11th terrorist attacks.  Although the people that flew the planes into the World Trade Centers were Muslim, that does not mean that the entire religion was a part of the attacks. 
I don't have very much recollection about the day of September 11th, 2001.  I know I went to school and was confused because the teachers seemed nervous and anxious.  Either my mom or my dad (I can't remember which one) came and picked me after school.  This was different because usually we had a babysitter that picked me up.  My parents told me what happened after school once I got home, and I did not really understand it, but hey, I was just in second grade!

Thomas Paine: The American Crisis

Thomas Paine was being very patriotic in his pamphlets "Common Sense."  He was telling the colonists that they needed to stand strong and fight against the British.  Paine says, "that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph" (The American Reader, 51).  Thomas Paine is saying that people need to try hard in order to achieve their freedom from Britain.  He is persuading the colonists to join together to fight in this conflict even if it might seem difficult or impossible.  The people will feel really good once they accomplish their goal of gaining their freedom from the British because the struggle was very challenging.  "I call not upon a few, but upon all: not on this state or that state, but on every state" (The American Reader, 52).  Thomas Paine wants the colonists to ban together so they can defeat the British.  Defeat will not be possible if the colonists don't come together to achieve a common goal.  The colonists must have teamwork and dedication if they want to overthrow the British and ultimately achieve ample triumph.