Connelly 1

Alex Connelly
English 414
Dr. Burke
January 27, 2015
Low Stakes Writing Assignment: Historical Texts

Questions:
1. What examples does early childrens literature provide to support the notion
that the role of religion in this era (the nineteenth century) resembles that of
the Puritan predominant era? In other words, how would you compare the
evolution of the role of religion in the culture based on what these readings
provide us?

2. Why do you think the authors of these readings incorporate characters who
are not of the pious faith and what can they represent in todays culture?

3. The images in these poems are quite graphic and a little horrifying. Today, we
have an abundance of research that advises adults to shelter children from
such images and depictions in order to prevent premature exposure to
something they are not cognitively and emotionally not ready for.
Do you think the pictures and mental images in stories such as these are too
gruesome for children? What effects do you think these depictions had on the
generations who were told these stories?
4. What effect does the imagery have on the reader of these poems? Does it
leave one with a sense of justice? A sense of fear?

Connelly 2
An obvious pattern engrained in the childrens literary poems written in the
nineteenth century is the necessity of good behavior by the children. In many of the
poems, the children who acted badly are either punished severely or taken care of
by karma. For instance, those who played with fire were burned to death, such as
the instance in the poem The Dreadful Story of Harriet and the Matches or in The
History of the Fairchild Family in the chapter The Fatal Effects of Disobedience to
Parents. Harriet and Augusta both were burned to death because they played with
fire, after being told not to. Religion is the root of instruction in the family life and
the rules fall under the commandment to obey ones parents.

Another pattern I noticed was the repetitiveness of names used in the poems.
Two stuck out for me. Betty was usually the name of the nurse or housemaid who
cared for the children at least part of the time. Also, the name Jack was, in these
instances, always associated with naughty boys. Perhaps I only saw this because of
my personal relationship to a Jack, who was an unruly child as well. Perhaps these
stories and poems give some merit to the idea that children with certain names
have more of an inclination towards certain behavioral characteristics.