JE05 Guilt

            In the beginning of the story, Hester Prynne was condemned with crime and had to wear the A letter. The A letter represents her sin of adultery. Back in the Puritan world, I think it would be reasonable to have a punishment like that. However, considering the situation of her leaving her husband and living alone, it was quite acceptable. Think of it in the modern minds, I personally don't think it was a serious crime, though a little immoral. Even so, she should be a little guilty for what she had done, especially in such a religious and conservative society.

             Sometimes I feel guilty for spending too much money or trying to get something too expensive. The most expensive thing I tried to get was studying abroad. I didn’t come from a rich family so it was actually a big decision for my family. At first I felt nothing about the decision. I didn't realize that it was actually a serious issue. However, after the first mid-term exam, I felt extremely guilty for not doing a good job on my own decision. I started to be diligent and conscientious about my schoolwork. I tried to forget about my previous guilt and start all over. Few weeks later after my second mid-term exam, I decided that going to college abroad is definitely part of my life because I know I have the ability to do it. I literally proved myself to get rid of the guilt. 

JE04 Puritan Poetry

          In the poem, “Here follows some verses upon the burning of our house, July 10^th, 1666”, Anne Bradstreet shows a style strongly influenced by the Bible and God. They believed that they were born as sinners and had to work hard to pay back. Their writings were plain, without the use of complicated figure of speech. The Puritan writings reflect their life that they like to keep things simple, without any luxury or enjoyment.  They also didn't believe in eternal possessions because since God gave them everything, He can take everything away too.

           

            A rationalist or deist would believe that they have the control of their lives under the rules of universe that God created. They believe people are born with good souls and the best way of worshiping God is making people happy. If their house got burned down, they probably would complain and described it as an unfortunate experience in life. Furthermore, they might reason what caused their house got burned down. They probably would also be upset about the lost possessions since they earned everything by themselves.  

           If one day my house was burned down and I lost all of my important possessions, I would be upset at the very first place. My belief is more likely to be like the Rationalism. I would choose to think that no one purposely made this happen, and what was lost was lost so it is meaningless to think about it repeatedly. It is not a hard thing to earn everything back and start a new life again.

 

JE0 Possessions

            Anne Bradstreet’s house, where all her possessions belonged, was burned down. Initially she was upset and complained about it. But later, an idea popped up to her mind that God gave her everything, so He can take everything away too. She believed that she, herself, was worth more than her possessions. I appreciate with her optimistic idea and how she interpreted this event. However, I don't believe the person, or God, gave can be taken back without a clear, appropriate reason.

            Material possessions are pretty important in my life. I believe they help me expressing myself in a better way. However, I have a clear idea that things in my mind are more valuable than all other material possessions. If all of my possessions got burned down into ashes, I would feel extremely upset. Nevertheless, I would probably start all over and try to chase back everything I lost. In all of my possessions, the least thing I would want to lose is my CD collections because it took me a lot of time to collect them, and some of them are already out of print. The thing that I can easily live without is my collection of old textbooks because they are all from local schools. 

JE02 Rationalism v Puritanism

          In general, most people would view human nature as kind and with a good soul.  Most people, if educated, would be polite to people in the first place. Also, there are trusting bonds between people. It is a fair idea since that is how we interact. Sometimes we may reveal an evil side, but that doesn't mean we have a bad heart. It could be the family background or growing environment. Besides, everyone in this world must has done something good.  

Based on my observation, I think most people don't have a clear idea of universe, as if they are apart from it. Even so, I believe there are some rules in the universe that people would have to follow. I think people are sent to this planet to accomplish some goals that can be contributed to the society, instead of aimlessly wasting life day by day.

            I am closer to being a Rationalist because I believe people are born with a good soul. Happiness, for me, is also an ultimate goal that a person in life should be searching for to fulfill his or her mind. I personally don't agree with Puritan’s idea of long working and being born as sinners. I believe we are born to help this society. In order to succeed, we should work hard. But relaxing is also essential. Instead of thinking relaxing would make people lazy, I think it is a key process for longer works.

            

JE01 A New Nation

           From the statement that John Winthrop made, we can see that the Puritans had strong faith in their expedition. They committed to successfully accomplish their goal, which is, to arrive North America and settle down. They were very strong in their religious beliefs that they had to prove that their belief was right. They didn't want to disappoint God and Jesus and become a byword through the world. They didn't know what the result would be, but they bravely, dedicatedly work hard on it. Therefore, it is obvious that the Puritans were really religious and strong-willed in their actions.

           

Americans did fulfill the destiny that Winthrop spoke about not only by successfully landed in the new land but also by spreading the religious. The majority of American people now are Christians. Although they struggled at first, with the help from Native Americans, they grew and prosper. They learned how to grow crops and adjusted the new environment. Even it was an arduous process, they never thought of giving up. They kept their faith and religious beliefs, holding the idea of not becoming just a story and a byword, and establish the nation. Now, America is one of the strongest countries in the world where everyone come for business, education, etc.