Freewrite Jan 31, 2008

Freewriting is a very interesting concept to me. Ive never conciously thought about using it in my writing, but after reflecting, realized that I practice freewriting in the oral form every day. When engaging in meaningful conversation with peers, I find myself arriving at the point I meant to make well after I begin talking. I find that by just saying the firstr thing that comes to my mind, I am able to eventually stumble upon the right words. The same could hold true in my writing. I often stare at a blank page for a very long time, thinking very hardly about the words I want to put down on the page. Often times, I feel as if I am overthinking things. Perhaps if I just began to write I would eveentually stumble across the words I was searching for, as I do in my conversations. However, I have this phobia (for lack of a better word) of writing sentences that I dont like. Its some knd of mental block that wont allow me to write down garbage sentences, even though they are designed to produce more suitable sentences. I am going to try harder to practice freewriting (this post was written with it and I dont think it came out to bad).

Curious Researcher (2 User Friendly Points)

-Freewriting

-The 5 week approach

Bury the Chains - Chapter 6 and 7 (summary)

In chapter 6 of Bury the Chains, Hochschild introduces another player in the British abolition movement. Using Thomas Clarkson experiences as examples, Hochschild explores in depth the degree to which slavery was ingrained in the minds of people living during the time period, even the ones who felt compassion towards the plight of Africans. Hochschild explores Clarksons exploration into the abolition movement. Drawing on Clarksons personal notes, Hochschild is able to demonstrate the personal struggles that took place in Clarksons mind as he thought about slavery, a struggle in which Clarkson is conflicted between the culture he is surrounded by and the horrors of slavery that he has learned. Clarkson eventually comes to the conclusion that he is the one who should begin to destroy the institution of slavery.

In chapter 6 I really like Hochschild's comparison of the abolition of slavey to our present day situation with automobiles. While it may be said that due to all the harmful environmental effects that automobiles have on the earth cars should be banned from the earth, you dont see people calling for a global ban on automobiles. The same feeling existed in the eighteenth century. While people may have known the horrors of slavery, people were not ready or willing to call for abolition because it was so ingrained in their everyday life (as cars are in our lives). Even many of the enlightenment philosophers, with their revolutionary thinking on the topic of human rights, were involved in slavery to some degree.

In Chapter 7, Hochschild examines the question that the abolitionists faced; whether or not it was even possible to build a free black community in the midst of a slavery gripped world. To discuss the question, Hochschild recounts the story of the slaves Britain promised to free for running away from their masters and fighting for them during the Revolutionary War. He explains that even though the Treaty of Paris stipulated that all property taken by the British should be returned to the colonists, the British General in NYC refused to return the slaves under his watch to George Washington. The general reasoned that because the British Crown had freed the slaves when they came to fight for them, they were no longer property and therefore did not have to be returned. He felt that the the only honorable thing to do was to honor the word of the crown and deliver freedom to those slaves that had joined his ranks. The slaves, some 3,000 in all, were sent to Nova Scotia where they became the largest community of free blacks living anywhere in the British Empire.

Comparison between Newton and Stephen

This provides a unique point to possibly explore. Throughout history many social movements are conducted by a specific "niche" in society. For example, the labor and union movements in the United States were primarily championed by the working and lower classes of society. Newton and Stephen provide an interesting example. On one hand you have Newton who considers himself a "born again christian" and on the other you have Stephen who demonstrates through his actions that he is not the most upstanding moral character. One is a successful slave captain while the other is a lawyer trying to find his way in the Caribbean. Despite these differences, both men are drawn to the abolition movement. This could be a very interesting example to question and explore further.

TUSKEN RAIDER

This is a Tusken Raider. If your out in your sand-speeder looking for R2D2, you might encounter these creatures. They ride in a single file to conceal their numbers and like to release a loud yelling noise before they kill you and steal all of your belongings. Tusken Raiders have also been known to camp out on cliffs during pod races and attempt to shoot the pod racers when they come by.  

Bury The Chains - Chapter 2 and 4 (summary)

In chapters 2 and 4 of his book Bury the Chains, Adam Hochschild contrasts the lives of slaves and sugar cane planters in the West Indies during the eighteenth century. Using Olaudah Equiano as a historical vehicle, Hochschild explores the life of a slave during the boom years of the Atlantic slave trade. While Equiano's story is a rather unique one, with him being able to escape the horrors of the sugar fields, learning how to read and write, and eventually being able to buy his freedom, Hochschild is still able to use it make a very unique point. While Equiano is able to buy his freedom, he is still not guarenteed his freedom, being forced onto slave ships later in his life. Hochschild make the point that as long as the British empire permitted slavery, no black person in it could ever be truly free. Hochschild also illustrates to his readers how a sugar plantation in the West Indies typically operated during the time period. He describes in great detail the hardship and physical toll that slavery took on the African Americans who were forced to work in those sugar fields. At the end of the 4th chapter, Hochschild takes another stab at Christianity, citing the lack of action by the church in spite of them noticing the incredibly high death rate of slaves in the sugar fields.

What I found really intersting about the reading is when Hochschild made the point about why it took so long for the anti-slavery movement the begin in the first place. He states that it took so long because of how central the West Indies were the the way that Britons viewed the world. He compares it to the way in which the Middle East and gasoline have driven the geopolitics of our time. In that same way he states that the British desire for sugar and acquisition of territory most suited for sugar growing drove their geopolitics. At the foundation of the drive for sugar was the necessity of slave labor to work the vast plantation fields.

I found this point very interesting because I had never looked at the argument through this lens before. Most of the information I have learned about slavery pertains to the slavery in the American south, where King Cotton was the driving force. I had never even considered the importance of sugar in the delaying of the abolition movement. I find Hochschild's position to be a very intriguing one and think that he does a very good job supporting his claim.

Bury the Chains: Chapter 1 (summary)

In chapter 1 of Bury the Chains, Hochschild uses the story of a British slave ship captain named John Newton as a historical vehicle to portray the life of a slaver during the Eighteenth century. Using Newton's life and experiences as examples, Hochschild draws several conclusions on what the dreams and aspirations of a slave ship captain were during the time period. According to Hochschild, sailors like Newton dreamt of winning their fortunes, becoming entrepreneurs, living a life of wealth, independence and excitement, and of eventually having their wealth lead them down the path to respectability. Hochschild also draws on Newton's faith in God to make an interesting point on society at the time. While Newton had attributed much of his success in life to God speaking to him at key moments, Hochschild points out that for a very long time Newton never heard God say anything to him against slavery.

Bury the Chains: Introduction (summary)

In his introduction to Bury the Chains, Adam Hochschild, uses the story of a historic meeting to to set the scene for his book. Hochschild refers to the meeting that took place at 2 George Yard in London on May 22, 1787, in which 12 men became the catalyst for what was to become the eventual global movement for the abolition of slavery. Hochschild goes on to describe the athmosphere of the time period, commenting on the degree to which slavery was engrained in society in the world. Hochschild concludes his introduction by providing the reader with an inisght to the scope of his book, which is that a small group of committed citizens can change the world.