Olaudah Equiano

Having reading Equiano's personal narrative in a previous class, it was interesting to read through it again. I discovered some things that I had not thought of before on my first read through. For example, after reading the introduction it discusses that some scholars believe that Equiano may have been born in the Carolinas; it never occurred to me that the beginning description of his life in Africa might have been generalized and fictionalized of the majority of Africans forced into slavery. If this were true, I think it would make a huge difference, shedding light on the context of his narrative. If Equiano had not written he was born in Africa, whether it is true or not, the tale of his journey to claim his freedom would have had, perhaps, a different tone. Albeit, I think his writing would still have been effective in bringing awareness to the the horrors of slavery; it just would have a different impact, that is to say a different perspective. Instead of having a story of a free-born African forced into slavery and working his way up to achieving freedom, it would have been a tale of a man of African ancestry born into slavery in America, working his way up to achieving freedom. Regardless of where Equiano was born, his story is full of interest and complexity. Such as, working on a ship that transports slaves. It is this kind of context that brings depth and a sense of the cruel reality of those times.

John and Abigail Adams

I really enjoyed reading the letters that transpired between John and Abigail Adams; I think I enjoyed it so much because it was different from anything we had read up to this point. While I found it interesting to be reading letters written by out country's second president and the content within them discussing the current affairs and predicaments our country was dealing with, I found my attention drawing more to Adam's personal life. The introduction says that John Adams and his wife wrote over 300 letters to each other over the course of the marriage. I find this incredible in itself, as I can count the number of letters I've written by hand on less than ten fingers. It is evident that this couple had a strong and mutual trust for each other, when you look at all the political information John discloses to his wife in a time where any leaked information could be politically disastrous. One of the aspects that I liked most was that the letters between John and Abigail contained ordinary discussions along side the more historically important ones. For example, when Abigail discusses the loss of her husband's favorite horse or when John writes of his crossed disposition at learning of his family's sickness through that of others. What makes it even more interesting is that Abigail writes back to reprimand her husband that he has also been lacking in writing about his personal welfare and being. It is passages like these that ground and humanize historical figures like John Adams that making reading about them that much more enjoyable.

Benjamin Franklin

I do not imagine there is many people who have not heard of Benjamin Franklin, and yet it was not until I read the passages from his autobiography that I realized how little I actually knew about the life of such a prominent historical figure that is rooted in our country's history. I did not have to read far into his  autobiography to get the impression that Franklin was a man of great ambition and intelligence. Franklin, who was not satisfied with the station he was born into, worked his way up to become a successful business man whose opinions were highly valued in politics. 

Because of this Franklin reminds me a lot of John Smith's idealism for the "New World" or "American" dream. He character exudes a smart business/customer service sense that is used in the corporate world. For example, Franklin mentions how it is prudent when working with your clients to not appear smarter than them; the purpose is to give the client a sense of control while doing business with them. 

Franklin is also like modern-day Americans in the fact that he was very organized and tried to compartmentalize his life with the use of a rigid schedule. While looking at his daily routine charts, I found them to be highly ambitious and admirable. Realistically though, they are not achievable and seem to be utterly exhausting. Speaking for myself, I find myself lacking time throughout the week without the added stress of mentally marking my daily faults. 

Having drawn these little snippets of this historical figure's life was incredibly interesting to discover and gave me perspective on how little I actually knew of one of our Founding Fathers.