Journal #2

After reading pages 311-333, I found a few connections between the readings and my personal experiences. The first and maybe most important one was that as time goes on certain things are always changing. The very last sentence of page 333 states "A distinctly national literature was no longer simply a patriotic hope or the distant possibility envisaged by early critics. It was increasingly a reality for publishers, readers, and writers in the United States." The same thing happens to all of us. When we are younger we wish to grow up, drive cars, and make money. It all seems so far away when we were younger, but now it is becoming a reality and we have to adapt to it. Another interesting thing in these reading is how important the little things are. For example, when one studies the American Revolution, he or she doesn't usually point to literature as the first thing they think of. Yet before Thomas Paine's pamphlet feelings of revolution and patriotism were non-existent. It was only after half a million copies sold that the people really got fired up. Similarly today, many people take the little things for granted and forget about them, and sometimes they can forget who they really are because they are chasing a bigger goal.