Entry B: Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672)

4. Poem Reflection:

I am especially impressed by Anne Bradstreet's poem "In Regards to Her Children." Her ability to maintain the extensive metaphor of her home being a nest full of birds is an example of her specialty of metaphoric conceit. Her use of diction made is possible for the reader to understand her fears regarding her children leaving home. That amount of connection is difficult to achieve in poetry or any form of writing and she did it well.

5. Diary Entry:

July 10, 1666:

Dear Diary,

My heart aches, for I have just witnessed the destruction of my house. It burned to the ground, taking with it all of our worldly belongings. I try to remind myself of God's just hand and how this pleased him, but I have trouble. He will get us through this, he must. I shouldn't miss ,my possessions, but my children's baby clothes, my wedding dress, and all of our heirlooms were ruined... God will get us through this. We will be okay. He will remember to help us. We are not his first priority and that is understandable. He will remember us.

Sincerely,

Anne Bradstreet

6. Political Cartoon:

Reflection:

Women have been struggling for a more prominent opinion in politics, and the recent election drew even closer to their ending goal. The cartoon is a picture of a perturbed-looking woman in a business suit saying, “Forget Obama! If Hillary isn’t on the ballot, I’m stayin’ home!” and Senator McCain saying, “Great! Perhaps I can interest you in an apron,” holding up an apron labeled “McCain: Keeping women in their place.” This represents how often women are discouraged by the difficulties they face in order to achieve a valued opinion in politics. Anne Bradstreet endured a similar ordeal in Puritanism. Due to her religion, she could not express her true feelings without angering God, just as how many men were irritated by the development of women’s rights.