The long and dangerous journey halfway across the continent was definitely not for the faint of heart. After reviewing both accounts, the general impressions were that of hardship, perseverance, and a will to survive. All for the hopes of a better and more successful life that the new lands promised. While some did not survive the journey, those who did were rewarded for their efforts with new land, opportunities, and even gold. The account of Harriet Scott Palmer was by far the most interesting and most enjoyable to read. It was filled with many adventurous moments that really kept my attention. But with the long hard journey came hardships such as the sad passing of both friend and family. It was saddening to read about those who did not …show more content…
When the oxen swam across the river, two men risked their lives to retrieve the oxen. And unfortunately, one man did drown. While their efforts were courageous, it just seems a little illogical to drown for the sake of an animal. However, the value of such animals must have been equivalent to owning a car today. So to the settlers then, it must have made sense at the time. Your typical modern day American probably would not be up to the challenge of such a feat. Most Americans strive for an easier life with the least amount of risk or challenge. But there are still a few Americans that have what it takes to conquer dangerous challenges if faced with them. After reading the accounts of early settlers and those moving west, I have to admit that my perceptions have changed. I knew the journey was taxing, but it was not until I read the stories that I fully realized the cost of moving west. The early pioneers sacrificed so much with hope their investments pay off and provide their offspring the opportunity of a better life than the one they left behind. Not only did they leave behind their homes, friends, and family, but much more was typically lost along the
The availability of inexpensive land in the American West provided opportunity for many Americans to fulfill the American dream of individualism, economic opportunity and personal freedom. Immigrants, former slaves and other settlers moved across the country to become western farmers and ranchers to make a new life. One of the reasons why the west was a land of opportunity for the farmers and ranchers was the large quantity of cheap available land. This allowed for many Americans, both rich and poor, to buy land for farming and raising cattle. The Homestead Act of 1862 aided the process. The Homestead Act gave title to 160 acres of federal land to farmers who staked a claim and lived on the land for five years. Alternatively, a farmer could buy the land after six months for $1.25 an acre. Many blacks and immigrants joined the westward expansion, looking for a better life. Immigrants saw the land as opportunity because many could not own land in the countries where they were born. For example, in Nebraska, a fourth of the population was foreign born. These immigrants transformed...
To summarize, the Hero’s Journey is a challenging process, yet Holden answered to his call of journey, undertook challenges under rigorous environments, and finally returned with satisfactory with aides from the helpers.
I never thought that I would read a book over the summer, but over the course of these past two months, that changed. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” forever changed how I view slavery. I loved reading it. Throughout the whole novel, Stowe uses her experience and knowledge to portray the terrible hardships and struggles that slaves endured everyday. Not only does this book express the thoughts of the slaves and their faith in God, but also of the people around them. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” wanted so badly for America to give freedom and equality for all people, and that is what I enjoyed most while reading.
It has been said that Europeans went over to the New World in search of God, Glory and Gold. For the most part, the two latter motives were what drew men to the wildernesses of unknown continents; but still, mixed within these desperate attempts to forage a better life or to discover extravagant riches, history has shown that some men aspired to nobler ends.
Overall, Turner does an excellent job of telling the epic story of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Turner’s rather rough dialogue jumps out of the page at you once you fully understand what she is trying to convey. Although Turner does not include maps, photographs, or even simple drawings, she still finds a way to express her ideas and still bring out the complete story. This well written, modern book can be read and interpreted by most any scholars and is one of the more fun books to read. Furthermore, any scholar looking for a good read on the epic voyage of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, look no further.
The Donner Party encountered one of the most paramount hardships a set of travelers could possibly fathom. This historical catastrophe involves eighty-one inexperienced emigrants who traveled in hopes of reaching the land that’s come to be known as California. Forty-seven of said travelers have met series unfortunate events from many contributing factor (PBS). The most horrible and misleading factor of all was the human mind and its insistent need to discover and subjugate everything, whether within reach or not in the shortest and fastest way possible (A&E). The aspect of taking the shortest route that led to one’s inevitable downfall, and in some cases, to death, of the Donner Party. The amount of tragedies about travelers who’ve ran out of food, experienced bad weather, or even getting raided by Native American Indian were endless, but this is a story like no other. It's one of the greatest calamities of all time, however few of us know the unabridged story. Their determination to outlive the odds is ultimately greater than the social taboos that took place during this time period (Bell).
In his article “Why We Travel,” Paul Theroux talks about how short term travelers, which are people who are traveling for short periods of time, experience the same type of fear that long term travelers and movers encounter. Theroux states, “Throughout history the traveler has been forced to recognize the fact that leaving home means a loss of innocence, encountering uncertainty” (Theroux). For the longest time, in America it was thought that this loss of innocence and encounter with uncertainty was all a part of the experience, and that the risk was well worth the reward. But that theory has long been thrown out the window according to Arthur Brooks, because in his article “How to Get Americans Moving Again,” he writes about an America that is unmoving, and unwilling to travel, partially due to these
Elizabeth Bentley was born in Connecticut in 1907, raised by Republican, Episcopalian parents, who passed away prematurely before 1925. She attended Vassar on a full scholarship, did postgraduate work at Columbia University, and had a graduate fellowship at University of Florence. Despite being a seemingly normal American young woman, she was intrigued by Communism and ultimately joined the Soviet Union as a spy. Elizabeth Bentley has an intriguing story, examined in great detail by both Kathryn Olmstead and Lauren Kessler in Red Spy Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth Bentley and Clever Girl: Elizabeth Bentley, the Spy Who Ushered in The McCarthy Era, respectively. An important point to understand about Bentley is that she had a tendency to mislead
In this paper I will talk about some information that I have obtained from reading Mary Piphers, Reviving Ophelia, Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls and give my view on some of her main points and arguments. I also will discuss why I feel Mary Pipher’s views on the toxic influence of media are accurate, and that it does affect adolescent girls. This paper will also point out the importance of Mary Pipher’s studies on the problems that today’s female teens are facing and why I feel they are important and cannot be ignored.
He entered a battle when he had just learned of the uncertain odds, he nearly sacrificed the lives of his family while trying to act the hero in front of them, and he recovered from the death of his wife unnaturally quickly when faced with the prospect of leading a voyage. Though his experiences seem to depict the worst of them, he hints at evidence that he learned from these experiences and emerged a better person because of
...lowed me to step into the early 1800's of America and get a good, solid grip of what a brave woman went through to secure the freedom of her children. I was able to connect with Harriet Jacobs and her life as she was an incredibly venerable woman with a good heart and a bit of a stubborn streak that a lot of people could relate to in one way or another. This book definitely made a large impact on me and I feel like I will carry a majority of it with me for quite a while, in particular the seven years that Jacobs spent in an cramped "attic" in a shed. She was so close to her children, yet wasn't able to do anything for them for all those years except remain quiet and wait for the time to take action so she could keep them safe. This book has maintained the part of an American classic for many reasons and it was an absolute wonderful and enlightening book to read.
The two classic books that I read were very inspiring and interesting. They are both widely known books that have impacted people’s lives and views on various subjects greatly. These two books that are known worldwide are Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Uncle Tom’s Cabin revolves mainly around the aspect of slavery and how slaves were treated unfairly. We learn about how slavery was once lawful in our country, the United States of America, and how our government punished people who helped fugitive slaves escape.
In his first voyage in 1492, when Christopher Columbus set out to search for Asia, he ended up landing in America on a small island in the Caribbean Sea, which he confidently thought was Asia. He then made several other voyages to the New World in search for riches, thinking that he was exploring an already explored land, but he had found the greatest riches of them all, undiscovered land, America. This shows that when one sets out on a mission, they face different challenges on the journey but in the end, achieve more than what they planned on achieving. The novel The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, and the novel Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, both describe two journeys where the characters achieve more when they learn about life, survival and patience, by understanding religion, tackling their fears, associating with nature, and encountering other characters from whom they learn something. The former is about a young shepherd named Santiago, who has a recurring dream of a treasure in Egypt, for which he makes a journey to achieve his “Personal Legend” by the help of a man who claims to be...
I choose to read the book “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker. The book talks about the life of an African-American lady by the name of Celie that lived in the southern United States in the late 1930s. It addresses the numerous issues that included the low ranking of American social culture. In the book it talks about how she wrote books to God because the father she had would beat her and rape her. He also got her pregnant and then she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Her father end up taking the baby shortly after birth.
were able to make it to their destination were not met with the fulfi but with the feeling of