The French Revolution

I am in no way a history buff, nor do I consider myself someone who enjoys learning about it, so my knowledge of the French Revolution before reading this was minimal. As with other revolutions, France's dealt with breaking away from a government that ruled with an iron fist and was unjust in its taxing. Something I found interesting while reading about it was how this same kind of thing takes place today. In Haiti, for example, rising food costs have sparked riots all over the country. The Prime Minister has already been kicked out, and residents (the majority of which are very poor) have already said that it's only a matter of time before they storm the government's palace. So I guess it's true when they say "history repeats itself".

When reading about Helen Maria Williams, I found it very hard to imagine a woman willing to speak out against the injustices of the government, as most men, who had more freedom, would be scared to do it. I enjoy reading about people like Williams. The courage a person needs to do what she did is a rarity. I'm sure, in her time, that most people would have passed the ruins of the Bastille prison and would never want to be closer. Williams asked her friends to take her on a tour! It's as though she cared about her cause so much that she needed to have more fuel for her fire. When she was discussing the execution of the king, I found it interesting how she spent a good bit of her writing justifying his death. It was as though she felt a small amount of guilt and needed to rectify it within her letters.

Edmund Burke. I like this guy. I found it interesting that his biography in the book began singing his praises for things he stood up for, then almost tore him to shreds when they described the other things he stood up for. As I mentioned before, I'm not a history buff so it is difficult for me to see things from his point of view. His opposition of the French Revolution is what the book seems to take great offense to, but without any knowledge of what could have made him opposed to it, it is hard for me to dislike him. Yes, his writings do shed some insight into how he felt about certain things (The Constituent Parts of a State is a good example), however, I would like to know more about Europe's stability at that time. It came across to me that Burke was opposed to the Revolution mainly because it disrupts the stability of surrounding countries. Another thing that intrigues me about Burke is that he was very influential, and yet wasn't a radical. Williams was about as extreme as one could get at the time. Burke's rhetoric and social position allowed his voice to be heard all over. I think there is a very powerful message there.

Mary Wollstonecraft rubs me the wrong way. Not in the content of her works, but in how she writes it. She is extremely condescending and patronizing, that it seems pointless to even write at all. While I don't agree with everything Edmund Burke stood up for, at least he had a gentle way of getting his point across. Wollstonecraft, on the other hand, lacked any tact. If I was engaged in a debate with someone who holds opposing views, I would expect him/her to talk to me respectfully in order to get their point across. Wollstonecraft, in my opinion, was a snobby know-it-all.

I remember learning about Thomas Paine when I was in high school. After reading some of his works, I enjoyed seeing how he delivered his messages. In his response to Burke, he, unlike Wollstonecraft, used little, if any, sarcasm. He made very logical arguments that the other side could let sink in. He wasn't inflammatory. I did disagree with him when he wrote, "Mr. Burke is contending for the authority of the dead over the rights and freedom of the living." In my opinion, Burke was more concerned about maintaining social order than the rights of the dead. I think Paine was putting words in Burke's mouth.

In my opinion, the only one of these four authors who wouldn't consider himself a "Romantic" would be Edmund Burke. He would more than likely argue that he is simply telling you what is right and what is wrong, and that there is very little compassion in his writing. I think the others would agree that they were Romantic writers, and would probably go further in saying that Burke wasn't. They seemed so opposed to him that they wouldn't want anything tying them together!

Introduction

Hi all,

My name is Daniel Day and I'm a senior at Mercer. I'm currently enrolled in this online course because I move around a lot in the summer and spend very little time in Macon. I have yet to take an online course and I'm excited to see how it works. I am currently in West Palm Beach, where I've been spending time with my brother and his family. My girlfriend and I leave tonight to head back for Atlanta, so we'll be getting in around 5:00 AM. Not too excited about that. Anywho, outside of FYS, I have not taken any English classes, so I'm looking forward to learning something new. It will be interesting to see how the dynamics of an online class unfold.

Well, take care and I'll see everyone on Monday.

Daniel Day