a new view on the same South

Frederick Douglas offers a new and entirely different perspective of the plantation and Southern life. Douglas views the plantation as a means of separation. A way to keep families separated and keep slaves from forming familial bonds or any sort of attachments to others. Douglas never speaks of another slave or person with any sort of attachment nor does he have any attachment for the plantation he lives on, his “home.” Unlike Kennedy and Jefferson, Douglas does not overly perfume his language. Douglas is not focused on using details or imagery to romanticize the South or to sway you towards his beliefs. Douglas is focused on the facts. There is no need to thoroughly detail each memory so that it has more impact on the reader. Simply stating the facts is enough for the reader to understand the horrors of slave life. I think if there had been more detail used by Douglas it would have had the reverse effect and been too much for the reader. Douglas had no ulterior motives in his writing. His writing or way of life was not dependent on which side of the fence his reader fell, Douglas was purely trying to inform the public about people who could not tell there own story, either because they were still in slavery or because they were kept uneducated for just such reasons.
It was also interesting to note that Douglas learned to read and write from poor white children that he met on the street, not from high class white men such as Jefferson or Kennedy. Yet, in my opinion, Douglas’ writing was the easiest to read out of all our readings so far, both because of his syntax and word choice.

Swallow Barn as a character

The excerpt for John Pendleton Kennedy's "Swallow Barn" showed that he really has mastered the skill of creative writing. The entire first chapter is explained through visual imagery. It is not until the end of the chapter that a character is introduced, the character being the slave woman and children, but even these people are explained in the same way and using the same descriptions as the house and the surrounding property. It is as if Kennedy is subconciously explaining the Southern view on slavery. That slaves can be bought and traded and are treated as though they are property. The slaves mentioned, even those that are considered friends such as Carey, are not given the same characteristics that Frank is given when he is explained, such as intelligence, educated, handsome. No, they are explained by what they can do and in a tone that implies superiority by the master. The slaves were not even worth a thorough description, Carey is only as explained as "the perfect shadow of his master." This is enough to tell you that slaves are not the real characters of importance in this story. They are necessary to make the story flow just as they are necessary to make the South run but they are not accredited or talked about.
In the first chapter, Kennedy goes into such great detail about Swallow Barn and its surrounding property that this in itself allows for Swallow Barn to become an important character. Every detail of the land is perfectly described in all it's age and glory so that the reader can have a clear picture in their mind's eye. I felt that I had a better picture in my head of what the land looked like than I did of what Frank looked like, for the slaves I had no picture at all, they were just the shadows in the background which I am sure is what Kennedy had intended when he wrote this story. As well as being thoroughly detailed through visual imagery, Kennedy also used similes to personify the house and emphasize it's role as a character in this story. The windows on the house are described as a "face without eyebrows." (pg 60) Later the wagon carts and are described as though they are real people also.
Reading this excerpt it was easy to see Kennedy's romanticizing of the South and what exactly was important to Southern whites. Swallow Barn was old and falling apart but there was pride in the family history that had come with that age and the events that had led to the house falling apart. Family and history were important and the plantation was the ultimate symbol of the South used by Kennedy.

The Real John Smith

Reading from John Smith's "A Description of New England" I felt like I was being preached to. But the tone was very bullying, as though one could only benefit from acting as John Smith dictated. John Smith and the other colonists left England because they felt as though they were being pressured to follow a certain religion and act and live a certain way, yet in his writings to England are a narrative on how those still in England should be living their lives. Apparently the journey to America was quite long, long enough to forget their reasoning for wanting to leave England in the first place. This is only shown further when John Smith explains the native Americans, or as he refers to them, the "savages." According to John Smith and the other colonists the "poor savages" must be converted to Christianity.
Religion was very influential in the lives of those in England as well as the colonists, even if it was a source of conflict and John Smith knows this. John Smith uses the religious conscience of those in England to his advantage referring to "God's blessing" and what could be "more agreeable to God." God is being used almost as a way to guilt trip those reading his essays. John Smith does not do much to actual describe New England which is supposed to be the purpose of his writings instead he uses propaganda and weaknesses of the English to make them believe that by traveling to New England they will be satisfying God and leading happier, more productive, more beneficial lives.
In his second writing from "The Generall Historie of Virginia," John Smith explains the story that all children grow up hearing. The story of John Smith and Pocahontas and how she saved his life. This story is written differently than the first because in this one John Smith writes entirely in the 3rd person, this and the one-sided way the story is written appears to be John Smith's way of ensuring his place amongst the legends. I'm sure if the viewpoints of a few native Americans were added to the story would be quite different, as would the universal belief as John Smith as a hero.