Olaudah Equiano: The Atlantic Voyage

Such a tendency has the slave trade to debauch men's minds, and harden them to every feeling of humanity! For I will not suppose that the dealers in slaves are born worse than other men. No; such is the fatality of this mistaken avarice, that it corrupts the milk of human kindness and turns it into gall. And, had the pursuits of those men been different, they might have been as generous, as tender-hearted and just, as they are unfeeling, rapacious, and cruel. Surely this traffic cannot be good, which spreads like a pestilence, and taints what it touches! which vioiates that first natural right of mankind, equality and independency, and gives one man a dominion over his fellows which God could never intend! For it raises the owner to a state as far above man as it depresses the slave below it; and, with all the presumption of human pride, sets a distinction between them, immeasurable in extent, and endless in duration! Yet how mistaken is the avarice even of the planters. Are slaves more useful by being thus humbled to the condition of brutes, than they would be if suffered to enjoy the privileges of men? The freedom which diffuses health and prosperity throughout Britain answers you. No. When you make men slaves, you deprive them of half their virtue, you set them, in your own conduct, an example of fraud, rapine, and cruelty, and compel them to live with you in a state of war; and yet you complain that they are not honest or faithful! You stupify them with stripes, and think it necessary to keep them in a state of ignorance. And yet you assert that they are incapable of learning; that their minds are such a barren soil or moor, that culture would be lost on tbem; and that they come from a climate, where nature, though prodigal of her bounties in a degree unknown to yourselves, has left man alone scant and unfinished, and incapable of enjoying the treasures she has poured out for him! An assertion at once impious and absurd. Why do you use those instruments of torture? Are they fit to be applied by one rational being to another? And are ye not struck with shame and mortification, to see the partakers Of your nature reduced so low? But, above all, are there no dangers attending this mode of treatment? Are you not hourly in dread of an insurrection? Nor would it be surprising; for when
No peace is given To us enslav'd, but custody severe,
And stripes and arbitrary punishment
Inflicted. Wbat peace can we return?
But to our power, hostility and hate;
Untam'd reluctance, and revenge, though slow.
Yet ever plotting how the conqueror least
May reap his conquest, and may least rejoice
In doing what we most ill suffering feel.'
But by changing your conduct, and treating your slaves as men, every cause of fear would be banished. They would be faithful, honest, intelligent, and vigorous; and peace, prosperity, and happiness would attend you.
Equiano, Olaudah. "The Atlantic Voyage". 1995. March 2008 .

By the Student,
This narrative was originally experienced on board of a slave vessel going to America by one of the slaves who did not know English, did not know the other passengers, could not read or write, and had little idea of what was going on. Because of all the trauma that this eleven-year-old experienced, the feelings stuck with him throughout life until he was able to write it down many years later with the same vivid descriptions and the feel ofblooming hatred for his new masters who, he writes, "looked and acted, as I thought, in so savage a manner; for I had never seen among any people such instances of brutal cruelty."
The above quote shows irony because the white men thought of the blacks as savage beasts themselves, which was their reasoning for going to enslave them. Meanwhile the black people think of the whites as cruel because they beat everyone in sight, including each other and enslave helpless, clueless people.
The tone of this selection is disgust at the white men. He can not fathom why they are so cruel, but expect the slaves to bend under the beating and loss of self without hatred towards the new masters.
The lack of mention of the Christian religion or anything of that sort sharply contrasts to the normal Puritan writings of this time. This probably upset some white men at the time, but was also probably largely ignored by the American public in the 18th century because it was simply something people did not want to believe happened.

By a White Sailor,
Them negros! We try to make there livs better and they jest complan and wont eat! The nerv of them they want to dye while we break are backs for them.
one of are slaves tranlats for us and says that they think were dirdy and disgusting well look at them! i beat the one hu said that and he is in scrubing the deck now its good for him so he nos his place later and dont get hurt worse.
they chant somtimes and i dont like it it make me nervos like there planing somthing.

Essential Question,
The import of slaves previously almost untouched by Puritan religion provides a sharp contrast to the culture that has been fermenting in the new country, bringing with them the potential for a war later in history and and a new culture that can not seem to mesh with the god-fearing Puritans. In the passage above, Equiano presents a rather different view of slavery, one that the average citizen of the New World was unaware of, and one which shows the white man as the brutal and uncivilized race as they are cruel and dirty. Although every first-generation slave was exposed to this, their masters generally were not keen on teaching them to write and no publisher in his right mind would print a book saying how white men were evil compared to slaves! Not yet, anyways...Equiano says that the slaves would be willing to work if they were just treated as men instead of dogs. Unfortunately the Puritans have been brainwashing each other for many years and can't understand the voice of reason, even if it does care to adapt and learn their language and culture. Black slaves coming over from Africa unwillingly give up their own freedom so that the Puritans may become more sucessful, although this develops a huge wall of hatred between the two as black people string to break free from the crazies who have abducted them.

Sinners in the hands of an Angry God!

You probably are not sensible of this; you find you are kept out of hell, but do not see the hand of God in it; but look at other things, as the good state of your bodily constitution, your care of your own life, and the means you use for your own preservation. But indeed these things are nothing; if God should withdraw his hand, they would avail no more to keep you from falling, than the thin air to hold up a person that is suspended in it.

...

The bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood. Thus all you that never passed under a great change of heart, by the mighty power of the Spirit of God upon your souls; all you that were never born again, and made new creatures, and raised from being dead in sin, to a state of new, and before altogether unexperienced light and life, are in the hands of an angry God. However you may have reformed your life in many things, and may have had religious affections, and may keep up a form of religion in your families and closets, and in the house of God, it is nothing but his mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction. However unconvinced you may now be of the truth of what you hear, by and by you will be fully convinced of it. Those that are gone from being in the like circumstances with you, see that it was so with them; for destruction came suddenly upon most of them; when they expected nothing of it, and while they were saying, Peace and safety: now they see, that those things on which they depended for peace and safety, were nothing but thin air and empty shadows.

Edwards, Jonathan. "Sinners in the hands of an Angry God!". July 8, 1741. March 2008 <http://www.piney.com/JonEdwSinHands.html>.

By the Student,
This passionate speech by Edwards is mainly appealing to the emotion of fear in the Puritans, who already picture an angry god. One who is ready to shoot them in the hearts with arrows is just asking for the attention of the paranoid religious folk. They have apparently been resting on a cloud of false security and Edwards wants to vaporize it to keep everyone in line. What exactly these people did to make him so inclined towards believing that God is going to destroy them all, I do not know, but it must have been bad.
Upon further research, these types of speeches were very common and were meant to scare audiences into living good lives. Probably one of the more effective methods, but I'd start to resent God after a while if it was me.

By a Doubtful Puritan,
My heavens! Minister Edwards gave such an impassioned sermon today! I do not remember sermons being so frightful. My wife and children usually go without me, much to the disapproval of both her and the townsfolk. Today I decided to go, however, since I got a 'friendly reminder' nailed to my door by the local church and what do I get when we are seated in the pews? A man scaring us into being pious.
He claims that we have been angering God with our heathen activities (like not going to church) and that we will get struck down. I am in the vast minority here, but I lead a rather un-pious life and his pleas do not strike fear into my heart as it has with my wife, the poor thing. She appears to have snapped and is constantly looking at the ground to make sure it hasn't dissapeared as Minister Edwards has said that it would if we weren't careful.
Sorry Edwards. I'm not convinced. I'm waiting for the lightning bolt.

Essential Question (for poems and passage),
The Puritan era was full of both fear and love for a finicky God and the eternal heaven and personal longing as families were torn apart because of the manpower needed to create and control a new country. In the excerpt above, the fear of God is shown while in 'Huswifery', the great longing for an eternity spent with the angry God is shown. People were rabid about pushing their beliefs and religion on others 'in the name of the Lord', which just happened to be the thing that they had been trying to escape over in England. Longing for family, which was probably a sin anyway, is expressed by one of the first published female poets in the new world as she writes two poems about her love and longing for her husband and again, how she wants to spend eternity with him. This was the only reference to God in her poems and if they hadn't been added, the poems may not have been printed because it was expressing feeling for something other than God, something that the Puritans were not really into. Puritans were putting the new country through a period of fierce passion for an angry God and for love taken from them for an early Manifest Destiny.

Huswifery

Make me, O Lord, thy Spining Wheele compleate.
Thy Holy Worde my Distaff make for mee.
Make mine Affections thy Swift Flyers neate
And make my Soule thy holy Spoole to bee.
My Conversation make to be thy Reele
And reele the yarn thereon spun of thy Wheele.

Make me thy Loome then, knit therein this Twine:
And make thy Holy Spirit, Lord, winde quills:
Then weave the Web thyselfe. The yarn is fine.
Thine Ordinances make my Fulling Mills.
Then dy the same in Heavenly Colours Choice,
All pinkt with Varnisht Flowers of Paradise.

Then cloath therewith mine Understanding, Will,
Affections, Judgment, Conscience, Memory
My Words, and Actions, that their shine may fill
My wayes with glory and thee glorify.
Then mine apparell shall display before yee
That I am Cloathd in Holy robes for glory.


Taylor, Edward. "Huswifery". 1684. March 2008 <http://poetry.poetryx.com/poems/9569/>.





By the Student,
In this poem, the speaker goes from asking God of he can be the parts of the sewing machine to the speaker being the yarn for a robe to the speaker wearing the robe made out of the components of his soul for all eternity in heaven.
This is Puritan poetry because of the fixation on God and getting into heaven, along with making a symbolistic robe so he may have the good virtues that God gave him forever.




By a Young Girl,
Dear Diary,
I finished the poems by Ms. Bradstreet a little less than a week ago and since then have been tryin to find something that is worth your precious paper. This poem lives up to it as it concerns two of my favorite things: sewing and God.
I know a lot about both subjects, as I would suspect most women to, but a man wrote this! Imagine a man publishing a poem about sewing clothing...How queer.
Anyway, this is about creating a robe made from the essence of the soul to wear in Heaven forever. I have never heard of how eternity feels explained with such grace before and I love this poem because of it.
The house has settled back down again as I said that it would. My friend will begin teaching me arithmatic from his school soon, but we can not let the elders know because they think that women should not be educated. I can read and write better that most of them already, so it is not like we hold not the capacity for such knowledge without shoving other things out. I do not understand, but I also do not wish to make a commotion and hurt my family.
God's Grace,
Mary

The Author of my Book

"Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain,
Who after birth didst by my side remain,
Till snatched from thence by friends, less wise than true,
Who thee abroad, exposed to public view,
Made thee in rags, halting to th' press to trudge,
Where errors were not lessened (all may judge).
At thy return my blushing was not small,
My rambling brat (in print) should mother call,
I cast thee by as one unfit for light,
The visage was so irksome in my sight;
Yet being mine own, at length affection would
Thy blemishes amend, if so I could.
I washed thy face, but more defects I saw,
And rubbing off a spot still made a flaw.
I stretched thy joints to make thee even feet,
Yet still thou run'st more hobbling than is meet;
In better dress to trim thee was my mind,
But nought save homespun cloth i' th' house I find.
In this array 'mongst vulgars may'st thou roam.
In critic's hands beware thou dost not come,
And take thy way where yet thou art not known;
If for thy father asked, say thou hadst none;
And for thy mother, she alas is poor,
Which caused her thus to send thee out of door."
Anne Bradstreet. "The Author of my Book". November 1988. March 2008 <http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bradstreet/bradpoems.htm>.

By the Student,
The speaker goes from disgusted at her poems and not wanting to show them to the world to finally grudgingly accepting the fact that she must publish them into the world in all of their incomplete and otherwise flawed glory.
This poem also expresses the fact that the speaker is human and must learn to live with things that she is not necessarily content with in order to live and eventually get to heaven, in typical Puritan fashion.
She also says that the public does not understand her as a poet, but she must put up with harsh criticism to help not only herself, but other women striving to be something better.

By a Young Girl,
Dear Diary,
Today's poem made me feel guilty about yesterday's poem. I didn't understand all of it and now Ms. Bradstreet is saying, "Shame on you! I did not want to publish these because of ignorant pests like you who don't get my poems!" Let me just say that I am sorry, ma'am.
No word back from Father yet. I know that it has only been a couple of days, but the household is always antsy for the first few and then we settle back into quiet hope and prayers.
At least I am better off than these poor crippled poems who must say that they have no father at all. For now at least. My friend Ruth got word that her father was sent to Heaven today in the fight for God.
God's grace,
Mary

A Letter to Her Husband

"My head, my heart, mine eyes, my life, nay more,
My joy, my magazine, of earthly store,
If two be one, as surely thou and I,
How stayest thou there, whilst I at Ipswich lie?
So many steps, head from the heart to sever,
If but a neck, soon should we be together.
I, like the Earth this season, mourn in black,
My Sun is gone so far in's zodiac,
Whom whilst I 'joyed, nor storms, nor frost I felt,
His warmth such fridged colds did cause to melt.
My chilled limbs now numbed lie forlorn;
Return; return, sweet Sol, from Capricorn;
In this dead time, alas, what can I more
Than view those fruits which through thy heart I bore?
Which sweet contentment yield me for a space,
True living pictures of their father's face.
O strange effect! now thou art southward gone,
I weary grow the tedious day so long;
But when thou northward to me shalt return,
I wish my Sun may never set, but burn
Within the Cancer of my glowing breast,
The welcome house of him my dearest guest.
Where ever, ever stay, and go not thence,
Till nature's sad decree shall call thee hence;
Flesh of thy flesh, bone of thy bone,
I here, thou there, yet both but one."
Anne Bradstreet. "A Letter to Her Husband". November 1988. March 2008 <http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bradstreet/bradlet.htm>.

By the Student,
Anne Bradstreet emphasises on symbolism borrowed from other cultures and certain poetic applications such as rhyming couplets and inversion to express her pain of having to be separated from her husband and her absolute need of him.
It is a Puritan work because of the biblical reference "flesh of thy flesh, bone of thy bone" and of the emotional connotation of the story, taking no mention of wanting any earthy goods, but simply her husband's company.

By a Young Girl,
Dear Diary,
This was today's poem. It sounds like what Mother is like when Father is gone, like he is now. He left yesterday again on another special 'public service' trip. Mother says that we should be proud that he is getting to serve God, but I can tell that she misses him dearly.
Ms. Bradstreet must have written these poems for us because we are going through this same thing! I even read the poem to Mother and she had trouble keeping a neutral face. I do not get some of the comparisons, like what 'Capricorn' or 'zodiac' are, but it may be an age thing because Mother will not tell me what they mean.
Bless Father for a safe trip,
Mary

To My Dear and Loving Husband

"IF ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were lov'd by wife, then thee.
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole Mines of gold
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that Rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee give recompetence.
Thy love is such I can no way repay.
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let's so persever
That when we live no more, we may live ever. "
Anne Bradstreet. "To My Dear and Loving Husband". November 1988. March 2008 <http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bradstreet/bradhyp.htm>.

By the Student,

The speaker in this poem is expressing and even bragging about the love for her husband. Anne uses her signature inflection and rhyming couplets and goes from comparing her love to earthly things like rivers and gold to living forever together after they die.
It is characteristically Puritan because of the valuing of emotions over material things like money and the ever-present faith in God to grant them eternal happiness.

By a Puritan Girl,
Dear Diary,
Father brought Mother a book of poems after he got back from 'public service'. I don't know what 'public service' is, but Father says that I'll know when I'm older. Well the book is by Anne Bradstreet and Mother told me to read one poem a day to help me learn to read.
Anyways, these poems are so good so I'm going to share a few with you, Diary. This one is called "To My Dear and Loving Husband" and I could read most of it by myself. Ms. Bradstreet must have really been attached to her husband if she could write something like this. I've tried writing poems before and they mean a lot to me, but not to anybody else. This is really good poetry because I can feel what she is feeling!
I wonder how many couple God has in heaven right now? Are Mother and Father going to be up there one day? Hopefully not too soon, unless God has more of a need for them than I do.
God's Grace,
Mary

Of Plymouth Plantation

...And here is to be noted a special providence of God, and a great mercy to this poor people, that here they got seed to plant them corn the next year, or else they might have starved, for they had none nor any likelihood to get any till the season had been past, as the sequel did manifest. Neither it is likely they had had this, if the first voyage had not been made, for the ground was now all covered with snow and hard frozen; but the Lord is never wanting unto His in their greatest needs; let His holy name have all the praise...

So they rested till about five of the clock in the morning; for the tide, and their purpose to go from thence, made them be stirring betimes. So after prayer they prepared for breakfast, and it being day dawning it was thought best to be carrying things down to the boat. But some said it was not best to carry the arms down, others said they would be the readier, for they had lapped them up in their coats from the dew; but some three or four would not carry theirs fill they went themselves. Yet as it fell out, the water being not high enough, they laid them down on the bank side and came up to breakfast.

But presently, all on the sudden, they heard a great and strange cry, which they knew to be the same voices they heard in the night, though they varied their notes; and one of their company being abroad came running in and cried, "Men, Indians! Indians!" And withal, their arrows came flying amongst them. Their men ran with all speed to recover their arms, as by the good providence of God they did. In the meantime, of those that were there ready, two muskets were discharged at them, and two more stood ready in the entrance of their rendezvous but were commanded not to shoot till they could take full aim at them. And the other two charged again with-all speed, for there were only four had arms there, and defended the barricade, which was first assaulted. The cry of the Indians was dreadful, especially when they saw the men run out of the rendezvous toward the shallop to recover their arms, the Indians wheeling about upon them. But some running out with coats of mail on, and cutlasses in their hands, they soon got their arms land let fly amongst them and quickly stopped their violence. Yet there was a lusty man, and no less valiant, stood behind a tree within half a musket shot, and let his arrows fly at them; he was seen [to] shoot three arrows, which were all avoided. He stood three shots of a musket, till one taking full aim at him and made the bark or splinters of the tree fly about his ears, after which he gave an extraordinary shriek and away they went, all of them. They' left some to keep the shallop and followed them about a quarter of a mile and shouted once or twice, and shot off two or three pieces, and so returned. This they did that they might conceive that they were not afraid of them or any way discouraged.

Thus it pleased God to vanquish their enemies and give them deliverance; and by His special providence so to dispose that not any one of them were either hurt or hit, though their arrows came close by them and on every side [of] them; and sundry of their coats, which hung up in the barricade, were shot through and through. Afterwards they gave God solemn thanks and praise for their deliverance, and gathered up a bundle of their arrows and sent them into England afterward by the master of the ship, and called that place the First Encounter...

By the Student,
This passage from 'Of Plymouth Plantation' shows the great tension and intolerance that the British and the Native Americans shared. Both were truly dedicated to their religions and believed that the other could not exist in harmony with their own and as a result, launched attacks upon each other.
This is chracteristically Puritan because of the focus on religion and God's devine will. The writing style also uses language out of the 16th century.

By a Puritan Bystander,
This all seems so brutal! It seems that God is giving our men a test of faith with these savages and their arrows. He did not hurt a soul either in the fight today so maybe it is a sign that we should save them and show them the way instead of trying to destroy them. I can only hope that the men may interpret His will the same way that I do for stains of blood are difficult to get out of clothes and the smell attracts strange animals at night.

Essential Question,
The unstoppable force of the Puritans trying to achieve their American Dream of worshipping God without persecution leads to the ironic destruction of the people from another religion. The men in this selection are fighting a holy war as God had told them. This war is against the comparatively helpless Native Americans who seemed to be quite content until these crazy, bloodthirsty when men came along, which exposes the irony of Puritans coming to America. The Puritans' dream is one of religious freedom because of a history of threats, suppressment, and persecution from Great Britain. They end up over in America to escape, but the Native Americans who choose to fight instead of fleeing like the Puritans did end up in an uncomfortable stalemate momentarily, which will later in history turn into the suppressment that the Puritans escaped. Running from problems and attacking a weaker civilization seem to be the best way to protect one's own culture and religion.

In The Beginning...

In the beginning there was nothing but soft darkness, and Raven beat and beat with his wings until the darkness packed itself down into solid earth. Then there was only the icy black ocean and a narrow strip of shoreline. But people came soon to live along the coast. And Raven felt sorry for them, poor, sickly things, who never had any sunshine. They lived by chewing on nuts and leaves, and crushed the roots of the alder trees for something to drink.
"I must help them," thought Raven; and he flew down to earth, calling, "Ga, ga, ga!" and gathered the people together. Like ghosts, they were, shadowy and pale in the misty darkness.
"Raven has come!" they told each other. "It is Raven-Who-Sets- Things-Right."
The poor things were encouraged, and they gathered round to see what he would do.
Raven plucked a branch from an alder, and scattered the leaves on the surface of a pool. At once the leaves were sucked under, and the water started to bubble. After the pool had boiled for a moment, the surface cleared and fish began to jump there. So that was how Raven gave the people fish.
But now that they had fish to eat, they were thirstier than ever. They called on Raven, and down he came, and the people said, "Here is Raven-Who-Sets-Things-Right."
Raven knew that there was only one spring of fresh water in all the world. A man named Ganook had built his house around it, and refused to give any away.
"Maybe," thought Raven, "I can drink enough to carry some back to the people."
So he went to the house and asked to come in, and Ganook was very glad to have his company. Raven sat down and made polite conversation, and pretty soon he asked for a drink of water.
"Very well," said Ganook grudgingly, and showed him the spring, a crystal pool welling up in a basin of rock.
"Don't drink it all!" Ganook warned him. "You know that's the only fresh water in all the world."
Raven knew it well; that was what he had come for. But he said, "Just a sip!" and drank until he staggered.
"Hold on there, Raven!" cried Ganook. "Are you trying to drink the well dry?"
That was just what Raven was trying to do, but he passed it off lightly. He made himself comfortable close to the fire and said, "Ganook, let me tell you a story."
Then Raven started out on a long dull story about four dull brothers who went on a long dull journey. As he went along he made up dull things to add to it, and Ganook's eyelids drooped, and Raven spoke softly, and more and more slowly, and Ganook's chin dropped on his chest.
"So then," said Raven gently, with his eyes on Ganook, "on and on through the long gray valley through the soft gray fog went the four tall gray brothers. And now, snore!" And Ganook began to snore.
Quick as a thought, Raven darted to the spring and stuck his beak into the water. But no sooner had he lifted his head to swallow than Ganook started up with a terrible snort, and said, "Go on, go on, I'm listening! I'm not asleep." Then he shook his head and blinked his eyes and said, "Where are you, Raven? What are you doing?"
"Just walking around for exercise," Raven assured him, and back he went, and in a low, unchanging voice he went on with the dull story of the four brothers. No sooner had he started than Ganook began to nod, and his chin dropped down, and he jerked it back and opened his eyes and scowled at Raven, and nodded his head and said, "Go on! What next?" and his head dropped down upon his chest.
"So on and on," said Raven slowly, "over the hills, went the four tall gray brothers. The air was thick and gray around them. Fog was stealing softly over the mountains. Fog before them, fog behind them, soft, cloudy fog. And now, snore!" And Ganook began to snore.
Quietly Raven slipped to the spring, and, glub, glub, glub, he drank up the water until the pool was dry. But as he lifted his head for a last long gulp, Ganook leaped up and saw what he was doing.
"So, Raven!" shouted Ganook. "You think you can lull me to sleep and steal my water!"
He picked up his club and started to chase Raven round and round the fire. Raven would run a few steps and flap his big wings and rise a few inches off the floor. Then with a last tremendous flap he went sailing towards the open smoke hole. But he had swallowed so much water that he stuck fast in the opening, and there he struggled, while Ganook shouted, "You squint-eyed Raven, I've got you now, Raven! You miserable thief!" And Ganook threw green alder logs on the fire and made a great smoke which came billowing up and almost choked Raven to death.
Raven hung there, strangling and struggling, until at last he pulled free with a mighty wrench and went wobbling heavily across the sky. He was so heavy he flew in a crooked line, and as he flew he spurted little streams of water from his bill. These became rivers, first the Nass and the Sitka, then the Taku and the Iskut and the Stikine. Since Raven flew in a crooked line, all the rivers are crooked as snakes. Here and there he scattered single drops, and these became narrow creeks and salmon pools.
And so Raven brought fresh water to the people but he bore the mark of that smoke hole ever after. He had gone to Ganook as a great, white, snowy creature, but from that day on, Raven was black, as black as the endless sky of the endless night.
Glenn Welker. "In The Beginning". 2005. Sunday, March 16 <http://www.indians.org/welker/beginnin.htm>.

By the Student,
This story is a creation myth created by the indigenous people of America to explain the fresh water of the world. The raven, a character normally percieved as tricky in Native American folklore, appears here as the "Raven-Who-Sets-Things-Right" and vies for the good of his people against the greedy one who holds the essence of life all for himself. This can be compared to the white man taking all of the land away from the Native Americans and the earth gods coming to do justice by stealing back what is theirs. This, of course, never happens.

By a Native,
The invaders do not understand our way of life! I have tried telling them today about our culture by sharing the sacred story about the Raven and the water and they listened vigilantly, but I later saw them joking about it. This can not be a good start to our relationship if they can not at least honor our traditions as we do not even expect those across the water to have been introducted to our culture yet.


This story is important to our people because water is the essence of life and the Raven is the bringer of water and we must revere Raven because he risked his life to let us live. The white men do not share our reverence of nature and disrespect the forests by thoughtlessly killing animals, tearing down trees, and forming tension with its inhabitants. These have all occured within the few days of their giant ship landing here.
The invaders are uncivilized.


Essential Question,
The Puritans came in America in search of religious freedom and as a result, imposed on the lives of the native people who already had a set culture and religion. In the above Native American creation story, Raven brings the people of the earth water. The bird acts as a savior towards the Native Americans while the Puritans look upon it as a common bird. This example, one of many differences between the cultures, is what sparks the later war between the people. Puritan religion says that as many as possible should be converted, but the problem is that the Native Americans do not want to be converted. This hardheadedness, coupled with superior weapons and luck, bring the eventual repellation of the Native Americans into unknown and barren territory. Native Americans had a culture before the Puritans came in and threw up garbage all over it.

How did I end up here?

Introduction