A Whisper in the Dark

For the first half of the assigned reading, I found the story of Sybil and the relationship with her uncle and Guy very unusual. I didn’t know what to expect that could possibly explain relationships. After Guy, Sybil, and Sybil’s Uncle had dinner together, Sybil said to herself “The world seemed all in tune now, and when I went to the drawing room I was moved to play my most stirring marches, sing my blithest songs, hoping to bring one at least of the gentlemen to join me.” We are not really used to hearing about this kind of relationship between cousins or between an uncle and a niece so when Sybil said, “For I wanted to try my power over them both, to see if I could restore the gentler mood of my uncle’s, and assure myself that Guy cared.” I was caught off guard and it made me realize that something must be wrong with Sybil’s perceptions. Because this story is narrated through Sybil’s eyes, we didn’t know every detail.

As we read on to the second half of the story, we find Sybil in an insane asylum. Sybil is gong crazy in this “prison house.” She says things like, “I paced my room in utter darkness—for I was allowed no lamp—night after night I wept bitter tears wrung from me by anguish.” Sybil even says to herself, “I felt that my health was going, my mind growing confused and weak; my thoughts wandered vaguely, memory began to fail, and idiocy or madness seemed my inevitable fate.”

The story keeps getting more unusual and coincidental when Sybil receives letters from the woman that was in the room above her. Sybil comes to find out that it is her mother. Sybil’s mom wrote “I implore you to leave this house before it is too late.” This situation relates back to the reoccurring theme of the relationships we have seen in previous readings such as “The Wide, Wide World” with Ellen and her mother and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” with Eliza and her son. These readings all emphasize the importance of mother child relationships and they all make it a point to keep their children safe and do what is best for them.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Capitola and Gerty both had an awful childhood and an extremely tough time trying to survive. Their stories showed us the good side to American society. There were good and loving strangers that picked these poor kids up and literally saved their lives. In contrast to every text that we have studied and read so far, Uncle Tom’s Cabin is showing us the negative side to American society. It is going against the reoccurring theme of “good” and “hope” by showing us how dark this time period of slavery was.

Although this was a horrible time in American history, there were a few occurrences where “good” people came about and I felt a sense of hope. Eliza had no other option but to run with her boy. Though her master was good to her and she had a great place to be, her master was in debt and was forced to sell Eliza’s only baby boy still alive. Eliza and her boy miraculously made it across the icy river and I felt a sense of hope as she showed up at Mr. and Mrs. Bird’s home. We saw the common theme of good here when Mrs. Bird told Eliza, “Nobody shall hurt you here, poor woman, you are safe; don’t be afraid.”

John Van Trompe is another example of the reoccurring theme of “good.” He spent all of his money so that he could build a secret place in the woods for his slaves. As George came to see Tom right before he was sent away, he said to the trader, “I should think you’d be ashamed to spend all your life buying men and women, and chaining them like cattle! I should think you’d feel mean!”

Again, Uncle Tom’s Cabin is different from anything that we have read so far because it goes against the idea that our society is good. On the other hand, it does show a few different scenarios where hope is present with some “good” people who were trying to put an end to slavery.

The Hidden Hand

In every novel that we have read and discussed so far, there has been a stranger that has been a large influence on the children and how they were brought up. In “The Wide, Wide World” we see Mrs. Fortune with Ellen. In “The Lamplighter” we see Trueman Flint literally save Gerty’s life from Nan Grant and ultimately dying. And finally, in “The Hidden Hand”, we see Major Warfield or “Old Hurricane” bring Capitola to his home and we also see Mrs. Rocke be a mother to Herbert Grayson.

I think a large part of children’s literature in the 19^th century was to show children that there can be rough times in life but it is not the end of the world. Capitola’s parents died and she was sleeping on the streets eating one muffin a day trying to survive. She got so desperate that one morning she had to wake up and dress as a boy in order to get a job that paid a quarter a day. After Old Hurricane heard the story of Capitola’s life from the old nurse, Capitola went to New York to find Capitola. As he got there, he coincidentally ran into Cap and saved her from going to a Juvenile Delinquent facility.

Herbert Grayson is another example of someone that was cared for by someone other than his blood related mother or father. A poor widow, Mrs. Rocke, brought him up and her son, Traverse. Herbert’s mother passed away when he was young and Mrs. Rocke took care of him for ten years until he grew old enough to realize the situation and became embarrassed and ran away.

Throughout many of these books from the 19^th century, we see the reoccurring theme of darkness in a child’s life followed by a stranger saving a child and showing them that life can be good and happy. I can not imagine living in the shoes of Capitola, Herbert, or Gerty. Reading the beginning of all of these novels were extremely depressing and finally they all find light from a stranger that loves and cares for them!

"The Lamplighter"

Girls have always been told what is right and what is wrong from the day one and through out the rest of their lives. There has been a slight change from the 19^th century and today regarding how a girl should be and act.

In the 19^th century and particularly in “The Lamplighter”, girls were told to act a certain way in order to be loved and accepted. In the video that I just watched, Anna said, “You want people to like you for who you are.” Instead of being you, in the 19^th century girls were told to act a certain way in order to be liked. Today, I feel that girls try to be different and stand out with our own attitudes and our own styles. In the nineteenth century, girls were told to act a certain way and be good in order to be accepted. In “The Lamplighter” and in “The Wide, Wide World” girls were taught to make toast and tea and be neat and clean and today I feel that the idea is to be yourself.

Gerty had a much different childhood than any of us have experienced so Gerty’s appearance on Amy Pholer’s TV show would have been quite different. If Amy were to ask Gerty what she would say to someone who says they can’t do something, Gerty probably would have said there is nothing really that can be done. Throughout the story, we commonly find Gerty saying “I can’t” and “I’m an ugly witch” etc…

When Amy asked Anna “What advice would you give girls?” Anna replied by saying, “Just be yourself.”

If Gerty were to be asked the same question, the response would be a little different. Gerty was herself when she was growing up around Nan Grant and was constantly scolded. During this time Gerty tried to be so quite and discrete that she was almost unnoticed. When True took Gerty into his home things changed and Gerty was able to be herself and be accepted.

When Gerty found Emily in the church, Gerty said “But I ain’t good, I’m real bad!” Emily replied by saying, “But you can be good, and then everybody will love you.” These quotes show that being accepted as a young girl in the 19^th century is more about being good.