Rihner, America Unvealed

5 Things I learned about America:
1. During the Mexican American War, part of the poll tax was used to fund the war.
2. American exceptionalism-the American idea of standards that are created in America to judge the rest of the world.
3. The puritan idea that the devil lives in the wilderness, which is ultimately a fear of the dark, the mysterious, or the unknown.
4. The Over Soul (I still may not fully understand this), the collective soul, perhaps God, consists of nature also. Human souls are the shadow of the over soul.
5. Ben Franklin as the self made man, acting upon rationalism and sneaking his writings into the local publications.

5 Things I learned about American Literature:
1. Edgar Allen Poe was an alcoholic.
2. Innocence becomes corrupted by maturity, by knowledge (Major Molineaux).
3.The different ideals of Emerson and Thoreau. Thoreau seemed to act upon his transcendental writings much more than Emerson. However, Thoreau only spent one night in jail.
4. Rake-a seductive man that lures in tons of women.
5. The Enlightenment and religious struggles in Charles Brockden Brown's Wieland

How these things changed my mind.
Well, here we go. The way that Puritan ideals, fears, and etc. shaped both American Literature and the American man. Before, I may have blamed the American obsession with the perfect lawn on pure masculinity issues or the two world wars, however, I now know that it is the puritans to blame.

My perception of Poe has changed. Though not by too much.

Through Wieland, I learned how Shaggy was able to throw his voice in a Scooby-Doo episode from my childhood. The answer is biloquism, the ability to impersonate the voice of any living being and send that voice to different nearby locations.

A rake is more than just a garden tool.

Following the rules is not always the best plan of action. Sometimes, like Ben Franklin, we have to act for ourselves, practically. I was previously aware of this mindset, yet it is inspiring to know that Mr. Franklin followed, or perhaps initiated, it.