Week 4

This week we spent time discussing the topic of domination and control. The book we read was Bernal Diaz's "The Conquest of New Spain". This book was an ewewitness account of the Spaniards led by Cortez taking control of the Aztecs in search of gold and wealth. Within the text, there are several references to how great and brave the Spaniards were in conquering the Aztecs. I believe that throughout the text it becomes apparent that Diaz's ego is oversized due to his people's succcess in conquering their opponents. I couldn't help draw connections with Diaz's ego and the ego seen in the movies "Wedding Crashers" and "300". In "Wedding Crashers", the characters played by Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn apparently have large egos and are very cocky with their ability to "dominate/conquer" women. And in "300", the soldiers are constantly making jokes to each other while they are slaughtering their foes. In the English version :), the narrator who is a Spartan, comes off as being a bit cocky in his re-telling of the battle.

I guess the point I am trying to make here is that humans seem to have an internal desire to conquer/dominate/take control of other human beings. I am not exactly sure why. Perhaps it is because we are afraid of what is not ours. For example, the Spaniards viewed the Aztecs as a very foreign people, which they were compared to the European society, and perhaps that is why the Spaniards felt the need to conquer the them. Obviously the Spaniards wanted the gold, but there could have been other ways of getting the gold besides conquering a whole civilization. I feel like perhaps the gold was an excuse for wiping out the Aztec civilization. I think the underlying reason to why the Spaniards felt a need to conquer the Aztecs was because of how different they were compared to the European world.

Perhaps the two men in Wedding Crashers felt the need to conquer the opposite sex because women are so different then men. Obviously, there is the pleasure factor that goes along with the womanizing lifestyle but perhaps the underlying reason here is again that the two men, or most men for that matter, are so interested in controlling women is because of their unique differences, physically and mentally.

What do you think about humans want for control? Do they desire to conquer that which is different from them?

Favorite quote:
(Guatemoc surrendering to Cortez)
"I have assuredly done my duty in defence of my city and my vassals, and I can do no more. I am brought by force as a prisoner into your presence and beneath your power. Take the dagger that you have in your belt, and strike me dead immediately" (Pg. 403)

Week 3

"Women's Indian Captivity Narratives"

Class Discussion

This week in class we watched a documentary film on the relationship between the native Americans and the Puritans when they were just beginning to settle in the New World and on Thursday we spent time discussing the selected reading from "Women's Indian Captivity Narratives". Watching the film in class on Tuesday was a great way to set up our discussion of the book on Thursday. Also, the movie brought to life the text which we were reading from "Women's Indian Captivity Narratives".

In my opinion, I feel like the main difference between the Puritans and the Native Americans was religion. I feel like that was one of the main reasons, if not the root of the problem, as to why the the two groups could not get along. I'm not sure how I feel either way about who's fault it was that the two could not make peace. The film made it out to be the Puritans' fault when Metacom made the statement that the much stronger Englishmen should treat the Indians with respect and kindness just as the Indians had done when they could have easily wiped out the Englishmen. The book, however, depicts the Native Americans as being the barbaric savages. In your opinion, which side is most to blame for the inability to keep the peace? The Indians or the Puritans? Was a war between the two inevitable?

I can see why Mary Rowland would view the Native Americans as savages because of how she witnessed them kill a pregnant woman. This act of murdering a pregnant woman would certainly be considered by most as being barbaric. And perhaps the custom of scalping also influenced the way the Englishmen viewed the natives. But perhaps it was the English who drove the natives to such barbaric behavior. The natives just wanted to keep their land which they had kept for who knows how long before the white men arrived. And the English were definitely not innocent when it came to respecting the enemy. For instance, cutting off indians heads and sticking them on poles in cities for all to see is not civilized at all.

One cannot fully appreciate the irony of the whole situation between the Puritans and the Native Americans until the history of the Puritans is known. The Puritans escaped Europe because they wanted to free themselves of religious oppression. However, once in the New World, the Puritans seemed to become the oppressors and attempted to force their views upon the natives. I wonder if any of the Puritans living at that time took a step back and realized what was happening.

Favorite Quote:

"It is a solemn sight to see so many Christians lying in their blood, some here, and some there, like a company of sheep torn by wolves. All of them stript naked by a company of hellhounds, roaring, singing, ranting, and insulting, as if they would have torn our hearts out, yet the Lord by His almighty power, preserved a numbe of us from death...." (Pg. 14)

Week 2

Class Discussion

This week in class we continued to discuss the Salem witchcraft trials and the Puritans way of life during these trials. We had in class discussions about what it might be like to live during this time and what the fear the Puritans felt might be like. I was having a hard time trying to put myself in the shoes of the Puritans and the fear they felt until we watched the Danzel Washington movie clip in class. I think the movie clip made the fear the Puritans had of the supernatural more real to me because it depicted an evil supernatural power in a modern day world. In the clip, Denzel Washington is being pursued by a demonic spirit called Azazel. The spirit can move through people just by simply making physical contact with them. I think that the scariest aspect of Azazel in the movie clip was that no one but Denzel Washington could hear him or noticed him. Washington was alone in his observations of the spirit. On top of that, the spirit warned Denzel that he is to tell no one of the spirit's name. Another aspect of Azazel which I found especially frightening was the idea that it is not a physical adversary. As a physical being, Denzel seems to be utterly powerless against the invisible spirit. This is where I connected the movie clip with witch trials that we have been learning about the past two weeks. In my opinion, the Puritans biggest fear was that they were fighting, in their minds, forces which could not be seen. I think they truly believed that Satan was at work in their communities and that the worst part about it was that He could take on the shape of even the innocent Puritans. This belief opened the door to Satan being anyone, or anyone being Satan. If I were living during this time and was told by everyone what I have just described, then I would most likely be suspicious with almost anyone I came in contact with. I would fear whether the person I am interacting with is really the devil. I would also fear whether or not people were suspecting me as being the devil. If you were living in Salem during this period of time, what would you do to protect yourself from being accused of being Satan or practicing witchcraft?

Favorite Quotes:

"Magistrate: Is it not your Master? How comes your appearance to hurt these?
Martin: How do I know? He that appeared in the shape of Samuel, a glorified saint, may appear in any ones shape." (On Waitchcraft, Pg. 114)

Week 1

"On Witchcraft"

pg. 14-25

Although I found this reading extremely difficult to get through, I did find it interesting how Cotton Mather viewed the colonists of that time. Cotton Mather was the partor of Boston's Old North Church and he was very disturbed over the recent problems which had arisen from witchcraft. Through Mather's uneasiness over the practice of witchcraft in the new world, it is apparent that he held a high view the colonists in the New World. Mather seems to speak of the colonists as "God's chosen people" and he seems to feel that they have been sent by God on a mission to take control of the New World which has been previously ruled by Satan. Mather views the problem of withcraft as one form of an attack by Satan on God's people of the colonies. Mather introduces the idea that even those people who are saved by God may not even be safe from the torments which Satan may inflict on people. He supports his belief by making reference to Job and how God allowed Satan to torment Job. Mather explains that while God holds the souls of the saved, what is to say that God will not hand over the Christian's physical body over to the torments of Satan since, after all, the physical body is such a sinful part of a Christian.

In my opinion, I feel like Cotton Mather is taking some tall tales about witchcraft and there being a "Satan's Book" and he is using these stories as scare tactics in order to control his congregation. I know there were some weird things happening in Salem but, in my opinion, I think there could be a logical scientific explanation for the strange occurrences. Perhaps the people who were "afflicted by demons" were actually afflicted by some sort of new sickness which had not been discovered yet. Whatever the case was, I feel like if the same situation were happening in today's modern world, there would be some reasonable explanation given for the afflicted people. While I do believe that there are demons, I do not think that demon possession is something that would ever become such a widespread problem as it was believed to be back during the Salem witchcraft trials. Also, Mather makes reference to a situation where a man was trying to cast out the devil from a woman and the devil spoke directly to him in Latin. I find this hard to believe. Why would satan, a supernatural being and probably possesses the ability to speak in other languages, talk to an Englishman in something other than that man's primary language. This is another situation where I feel that Mather is using the "awe-factor" in capturing his followers.

However, I could be wrong and there could have been more that met the eye during this time period. Perhaps all the witchcraft and demon possessions stories really were true and perhaps Satan actually was fighting the Puritans as bluntly as what Mather makes it sound. If this is the case, then I can't even imagine how I would have handled the situation. I probably would have been looking for a spiritual leader like Mather who spoke about witchcraft and Satan as openly as he did. From the reading, Mather seemed to really have all the answers and perhaps that is why I would look to him in this time of desperation and fear. What about you? Do you think you would have kept your head or would you be caught up in the stories of demon possessions and demonic figures offering people to sigh "satan's book"? How would you have acted?

Favorite Quotes:

"The New-Englanders are a People of God settled in those, which were once the Devil's Territories; and it may easily be supposed that the Devil was exceedingly disturbed, when he perceived such a People here acomplishing the Promise of old made unto our Blessed Jesus, that He should have the Utmost Parts of the Earth for his Possession." (Pg. 14)