Oedipa Isn't Your Typical Woman from the '60's....

Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 was written in the 1960's. There are many music and drug references from the time throughout the novel to help put it in this setting. Another staple of the 60's was the subservience of women to stay in the home and out of the work setting, caring for the children they are expected to bear. Oedipa, the main character of The Crying of Lot 49, is not the typical woman from the '60's, yet she struggles to escape from this pre-molded life.
To begin, the reader is given a glimpse of Oedipa's life with Pierce, the deceased for whom Oedipa is executing a will. She reminisces about how sad she felt standing in front of a painting, realizing that "Pierce had take her away from nothing, there'd been no escape." As mentioned in class, the second page lists three ways that Oedipa tries to "escape", they fail. These are staring at the "TV tube", speaking "the name of God", and feeling "as drunk as possible". Unlike those servile housewives from the '60's, Oedipa is searching for more.
Another fact that gives us this non-conformist view of Oedipa is how she does not have any children. At one point in the novel, she goes to visit Professor Bortz, and his wife asks Oedipa, "how did you manage to get away from yours [kids] today?" This implies that women at Oedipa's age were automatically assumed to have children. Because Oedipa does not have children, she always at least has a man, which is a necessity in this era to become pregnant. Because this was the popular feeling at this time, Oedipa is distraught when she realizes that the men in her life are gone. She says, "...they are stripping from away, one by one, my men. My shrink...has gone mad; my husband, on LSD...has passed, I was hoping forever, for love; my one extra-marital fella has eloped with a depraved 15-year-old; my best guide back to the Trystero has taken a Brody. Where am I?" It is like Oedipa is going around with this Nancy Drew business trying to find out about a secret mail carrier service only to escape the pressures of the responsibilties assumed upon women of the time. However, once there isn't a man in her life, it is almost as if she loses hope that she will ever have children. As also mentioned in class, she has sex with many men in the book, but the one time she actually does go to the gynecologist to get checked for pregnancy, she does not go back for her follow-up appointment. She simply believes that the Trystero has consumed her and that it is more a part of her than any pregnancy could be. She is a very lost and confused woman, and I just hope that with the absence of Lot 49 in her life, she will cease to make contrived connections.

So the first chapter's a little strange...

Not going to lie, I had to read the first two pages of this book three times. Reasons behind the confusing context of this book are the sentence structure and word/name choice. For example, the whole first page is practically one sentence. It begins with "One summer" and ends at "honorary" 8 lines later. In addition, the names I suppose are references, but most of them are odd. The main woman is named Oedipa, which may be a reference to Oedipus, who married his mother and shot his father. Also, Oedpia's husband is called "Mucho Mass", which is Spanish for "much more". I'm not sure what this means yet, but it all will probably have some kind of comical significance in the story. Another confusing thing is that there are many ambiguous references. For example, the deceased Pierce fellow says that Wendall Mass (Mucho Maas!) needs a visit from "The Shadow". This "shadow" is referenced to again on the next page. It says, "The shadow waited a year before visiting (12)." What does that mean?
The thing I enjoyed most about this first chapter was reading about Mucho Maas and his crazy insecurities about jobs. The way he describes the used cars he used to buy from people at the lot is poetic. For instance, Pynchon writes that maybe if he had worked in a junkyard, Mucho could have stood it because "the violence that had caused each wreck being infrequent enough, far enough away from him, to be miraculous, as each death, up till the moment of our own, is miraculous." The passion with which Mucho hates the lot is so extreme, it makes me wonder why Oedipa married him...but then again, maybe he's her son.

Roles & Meaning within Faulkner's 'There Was a Queen'

Each of the characters in Faulker's There Was a Queen, all women, have a specific role placed on them because of the absence of men in the house. The first person the audience is introduced to is Elnora, the head slave of the Sartoris household. Her role in this story is that of a guardian. She claims that she can solely care for Miss Jenny, that she "don't need no help", especially not from "no outsiders from town." When she says this, she is referring to Miss Narcissa , the woman who married and bore the son of Miss Jenny's nephew.
Miss Narcissa is the antagonist of the story, though it is not obvious at first. Her name is very close to the word narcissist, which is someone who has excessive vanity. This description plays out through her obsession with the secret love letters. Also, it is suggested that Miss Narcissa is indirectly responsible for Miss Jenny's death. As the outsider of the family, no one in the house likes her, not even her own son, as is suggested when he insists that he didn't miss her while she was in Memphis.
Miss Jenny is the "queen" that I believe Faulkner is referring to. Her silver hair is described several times in the story, as are the Carolina window panes that she first brought to Mississippi in 1969. These window panes are a symbol for Miss Jenny's own life. When she first came to Mississippi, they are of "colored glass". However, on the day that Miss Narcissa returns from Memphis, the window fades as the sun sets, and the "woman's silver head faded, too." This foreshadowing continues when Miss Jenny asks for her hat, a black bonnet that she promptly places atop her head. After this, she tells everyone to eat supper without her as she sits by the now "sparse and defunctive Carolina glass." And, finally, Elnora finds her "motionless" and "beside the dead window." Rather than saying that Miss Jenny is dead, Faulkner describes the window as dead. Because of all these things, Miss Jenny represents the life and heart of the household, and the narcissist and outsider kills it.

Meaning behind The Young Housewife

William Carlos Williams' The Young Housewife suggests many sad things about the life of the poem's main object, the housewife, through subtle detail. Also, I believe there to be a secret and intimate relationship, or "potential sexual contact" (Barry Ahearn), between the speaker and the housewife.
In the first stanza, Williams describes the housewife as moving around "in negligee". This is significant because it leaves the word "negligee" for further interpretation than just a nightgown. For instance, the sound of negligee sounds very much like neglect. Though this is not its meaning, the sounds are similar. In addition, the word right after negligee, which is also the last word of the second line, is "behind". This gives an connotation of shame and neglect, which complements the association of negligee and neglect.
Other details that add to the housewife's despondent state is how she "stands shy, uncorseted, tucking in/ stray ends of hair." In addition, the speaker compares her to a "fallen leaf", and at the end of the poem he speaks of the "noiseless wheels" of his car running over "dried leaves". This suggests that the author is metaphorically describing the housewife as a crushed and lifeless spirit.
The details and images Williams writes also allude to a possible sexual relationship between the speaker in the poem and the housewife. The very beginning of the poem reveals that the speaker is observing the housewife "at ten A.M." This is fairly late in the morning. If the housewife has children old enough for school, they would have already left. Also, her husband would probably have already left for work. Thus, 10 A.M. appears to be a time for intimate interaction between the housewife and the speaker. In addition, the things he specifically notices about her can be interpreted sexually. For example, she is "uncorseted", meaning that the speaker is noticing her upper body.
As already mentioned, the housewife is compared to a dried, "fallen leaf" that eventually gets run over by the speaker's car. Because of this, I believe that the speaker and the housewife are past lovers who were forced to end their affair because the housewife succumbed to the fear of her husband discovering her and her lover. Throughout the poem, the speaker describes a disheveled, dispirited housewife going about her daily work, yet as he passes her he bows and smiles. He still sends her a fond and warm greeting because he remembers past times.

Similarities between Twain and Chesnutt

Mark Twain's Huck Finn and Charles Chesnutt's The Goophered Grapevine share similarities in dialect, style, and certain symbols, but the two stories also have differences in setting and content.
In Chesnutt's piece, a black man named Uncle Julius tells the narrator a long, complex story about how the vineyard that the narrator is interested in buying is "goophered" or cursed. Throughout this anecdote, the dialect used is very similar to that which Mark Twain used for Jim in Huck Finn. For example, Jim often utilizes the word "dey" (they) as Uncle Julius also says. In general, the dialects are similar because of how words are chopped off inconsistently at both the beginnings and ends, replaced with an apostrophe to express its shortness. At some points throughout Uncle Julius's story, I found it more difficult to decipher than Twain's style. However, this may just be because Twain's content is more familiar to me than the voodoo practices of the south during this time period.
Another similarity between these two authors, though a small one, is in the ironic symbolism of the unconventional meaning that southern states/towns hold for the main characters in each story. For instance, in Huck Finn, Jim and Huck are actually travelling south down the Mississppi River to the town of Cairo, where Jim can be free. This is ironic because the South during this time period is associated with stricter slave laws. In The Goophered Grapevine, the main protagonish is presented with a similar predicament. His wife is sick and their doctor suggests that they relocate to the South, where the climate is warmer and less harsh. Chesnutt's story takes place after the Civil War, unlike Twain's, but there was still a strong association with the south and stricter black codes, etc. The narrator in Chesnutt's story addresses the concerns of harsh Southern living for blacks when he states, "It was a sufficient amount of time after the war for conditions in the South to have become settled".
While Twain and Chesnutt share these similarities, the time setting is different, as well as the physical setting. They both take place in the South, but Chesnutt writes the couple moving to North Carolina, whereas Huck is bred of Mississippi. Also, Chesnutt makes it a point to express in great detail the practices of Southern voodoo, whereas Twain is satirizing slavery and people in general.

Huck's Attitudes Concerning Jim

Throughout the story of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck faces an inner struggle of whether or not to turn in Jim. This issue is first explored in depth after Huck returns to his raft from the larger raft he had been eavesdropping on. Huck thinks to himself, "I begun to get it through my head that he [Jim] was most free--and who was to blame for it? Why, me. I couldn't get that out of my conscience, no how nor no way." However, in this instance, Jim begins to rant about how good of a friend Huck is, and that he's "de only fren' ole Jim's got now." Huck just cannot take the guilt, so he protects Jim yet again by making up a lie to ward off a couple of nosy sailors.
As the novel progresses, the close bond between Huck and Jim becomes more evident. For example, while Huck is staying with the Grangerfords', his slave, Jack, shows him where Jim has been hiding. When Huck sees Jim, he automatically becomes concerned, asking why he had not told Jack to fetch him sooner. Another example occurs after the big Shepherdson-Grangerford fight that results in the demise of Buck, his brother, and his Pa. Disturbed from what he has just witnessed, Huck screams out, and just then: "It was Jim's voice--nothing ever sounded so good before." Also, Jim calls Huck "honey", a common, affectionate pet name.
While all this reflects Jim and Huck's care for each other, Huck also reveals a condescending attitude towards Jim. Several times Huck corrects Jim on things that he has no knowledge of. For instance, Jim and Huck hear a few men out on the river one night, but they comment that because they were unable to see these men, it appeared as if they were spirits. Huck narrates, "Jim said he believed it was spirits; but I says: 'No, spirits wouldn't say, 'dern the dern fog.'" Huck is not an expert on spirits, but he automatically takes on the role of telling Jim he is wrong. Another example of this occurs when the Duke and Dauphin enter the story. Huck thinks to himself, "It didn't take me long to make up my mind that these liars warn't no kings nor dukes, at all, but just low-down humbugs and frauds...and it warn't no use to tell Jim, so I didn't tell him." The fact that Huck feels obliged to hide this fact from Jim shows that he doesn't want to hurt his feelings, but it also shows that he does not think Jim to be very intelligent.
Overall, Huck and Jim have a very affectionate relationship, yet Huck's subconscious arrogance still surfaces throughout the text.

Lilacs for Abraham Lincoln

Walt Whitman's When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd is almost like a stream of consciousness of the narrator reflecting on Abraham Lincoln's death. At several points through the piece, a whole day passes by in one stanza. For instance, lines 93 through 98:
[Lo, the most excellent sun so calm and haughty,
[The violet and purple morn with just-felt breezes,
[The gentle soft-born mesaureless light,
[The miracle spreading bathing all, the fulfill'd noon,
[The coming eve delicious, the welcome night and the stars,
[Over my cities shining all, enveloping man and land."
The first three lines describe the morning, the third line transitions to afternoon, and the last two lines describe the evening and night. This technique gives the reader the impression that the narrator is lost deep in thought and sitting still enough to observe all changes in the daylight.
Though this poem is like a stream of consciousness, it also tells a story. This can be seen in the sprig of lilac that the narrator breaks off. At the funeral, the narrator lays this lilac on Lincoln's grave, which is described in the last line of the sixth section, "I give you my sprig of lilac". When describing Lincoln's funeral, Whitman also writes of the "silent sea of faces", expressing how Lincoln's life touched many people.
Throughout the poem Whitman not only writes about Lincoln's death, but he also includes the death of the soldiers in the civil war, as well as the idea of death itself. In this poem, the narrator speaks of how he "saw the debris and debris of all the slain soldiers of the war, But I saw they were not as was thought, They themselves were fully at rest, they suffer'd not, The living remain'd and suffer'd." Whitman claims that those who died in the war actually benefitted, and that those who were left alive were the ones who suffered, making Death appear peaceful and appealing. Whitman also does this by personifying death. For example he writes, "Then with the knowledge of death as walking one side of me, And the thought of death close-walking the other side of me, And I in the middle as with companions, and as holding the hands of companions." He speaks of these elements of death as "companions" rather than something to be afraid of.

Walt Whitman on The Civil War

Walt Whitman's "Beat! Beat! Drums!" is more of an urgent harangue than a poem, and its portrayal of the war differs greatly from that of Horton's and Timrod's. The poem seems more like a battlecry because of its excitement denoted by the exclamation marks and because of its insistence on silencing beautiful things. For instance, Whitman writes, "Leave not the bridegroom quiet--no happiness must he have now with his bride, nor the peaceful farmer any peace, ploughing his field or gathering his grain." This attitude is angry and pertinacious; it insinuates that the war is necessary and should involve all. This is different from the way that Timrod and Horton portray the war, but it does support Neely's opinion on Whitman's perspective.
Neely states that Whitman viewed the war not as "a war for liberation", but "a war for union". Whitman does indeed express this desire for union by mentioning many different people in the poem. Specifically, these people are dropping what they are doing because of the loud beating of the drums and playing of the bugle. For example, Whitman commands the drums to beat so loud "into the solemn church, and scatter the congregation, into the school where the scholar is studying." He also speaks of talkers, singers, and lawyers being interrupted by the persistent beating of the drums. These excerpts represent Whitman's desire for unity because he is not only talking of those who are in the army; he includes occupations from all ends of the spectrum: from farmers to scholars. In addition, Whitman enforces "Mind not the timid--mind not the weeper or the prayer". By commanding the drums to dismiss the "timid" and those who cry and pray, Whitman expresses that he not only wants union, but a strong union.
This standpoint differs from that expressed by George Moses Horton in his poem "The Spectator of the Battle of Belmont". In this work, Horton speaks of the war passionately and tragically, speaking of "the blood-crimson veil which spreads over the field." This contrasts with Whitman's lack of mentioning a battle at all. Horton also talks of how "the conflict begins from the twang of the drummer, and ends with the peal of a tragical tale." This is similar to Whitman's poem in that the drummer initiates the battle.
Henry Timrod is also a Southern poet who speaks of the Civil War in his poems differently than Whitman. Timrod says of the war, "if it may be, save these sacred fields of peace from stain of patriot or of hostile blood!" Timrod's "The Cotton Boll" contrasts directly with Whitman, who says to let not "the peaceful farmer [have] any peace". On the contrary, Whitman and Timrod are somewhat similar in their fervent drive for war. For instance, Whitman's zealous feelings are expressed with his repetition of "Beat! Drums! Beat!" and the strong insistence, as denoted above. Timrod expresses his passion through his cry to God to "strike with us!"

The Role of Nature within Benito Cereno

Herman Melville's Benito Cereno is a sea story based around an American sea captain, Delano, who discovers a peculiar Spanish ship in need of supplies and ship repair. This ship's captain, Benito Cereno, is injured and often appears in a daze or depressed. One of the main elements that Melville leads us to believe is causing Cereno's demeanor is Nature. Throughout this story, nature is personified as sinister and tricky. For instance, when Delano first boards the Spanish ship, Benito Cereno becomes distraught as he explains the troubles his ship has endured. He states "Off Cape Horn we had heavy gales. In one moment, by night, three of my best officers, with fifteen sailors, were lost, with the main-yard". He then goes into a coughing frenzy and becomes faint. His servant remarks, "His mind wanders. He was thinking of the plague that followed the gales." With this anecdote appearing at the beginning of the story, the reader is already given an idea of how harsh nature has been on this ship. In addition, the damage to the ship is described, plus the loss of those men that Cereno mentioned.
Another example of nature's personification occurs when Cereno tells Delano that he cannot accompany him to his ship. The narrator comments, "Meantime the sound of the parted waters came more and more gurglingly and merrily in at the windows; as reproaching him for his dark spleen; as telling him that, sulk as he might, and go mad with it, nature cared not a jot; since, whose fault was it, pray?" This excerpt highlights the unsympathetic trait of nature, and how it can be mocking it a way. Benito Cereno is suffering from some kind of illness, obviously in pain and full of troubled thoughts. Yet, the sounds of the waves are "merry", mocking Benito Cereno. In addition, the rhetorical question at the end of this excerpt is ironic because, at this point in the story, it is believed that nature is actually responsible for Benito Cereno's pain, as well as the rest of his crew's. Looking back, after finding out what really happened to Benito Cereno's men, this question is somewhat foreshadowing.
Lastly, nature is seen when Delano talks of his superstitions about Benito Cereno and the slaves. He says, "Hitherto, credulous good-nature had been too ready to furnish excuses for reasonable fears." He refers to his thought process as a result of "good-nature". This is ironic because Delano was right in thinking that something strange was indeed happening upon this strange ship. Good-nature, in my mind, is the equivalent as common sense or logical thought process. In saying this, Delano is actually blinding himself from the reality of the situation by erasing the possibility some gone wrong with good sense.
Overall, nature is personified as cruel, unforgiving, and unsympathetic throughout Benito Cereno, which is, I believe, a common description for nature in sea stories. It's unpredictable and brutal.

Popularity of The Raven

Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven became very popular in the 1840s and is still popular today because of its fluid rhyme scheme and ominous, controversial storyline. After listening to Christopher Walken eloquently read the poem, I realized how smoothly each rhyme and repetition flow between each line and each stanza. Many of his stanzas contain lines that are virtually the same with the exception of one or two words. For instance, in lines 76 and 77 Poe writes, "On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er/ But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er". The end of these phrases almost repeat exactly, making both of the lines easier to say. Saying it out loud also naturally feels poetic. Some poems are disjointed and feel like simply reading random words or phrases. However, Poe's work can be read with more emotion; since so many words and lines repeat, you feel the need to change your voice when you say the same word so as not to be monotonous. In addition, Poe sometimes adds emphasis to a word to build of the emotional impact of the story. For example, in lines 63 and 64, he states, "Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster/ Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore". The "fast" and "faster" indicate a buildup of suspense and emotion, making the poem more exciting.
This leads into my second point about why the poem was and still is popular. In the 1840s, not many authors were writing such dark content as Poe. In the biographical note in the Heath Anthology, it says that Poe spoke to "the darker side of nineteenth-century American culture, probing the limits of scientific method...and defilement endemic to a democracy that practiced and accommodated slavery". For America in the late 19th-century, Poe's The Raven was bold and different, which I think caught many people's attention. A lot of times, people like a thrill; they enjoy being scared. This poem gave readers a spooky mystery. In addition, those who looked beyond the literal meaning of the poem may have seen a controversial statement about America keeping slaves. Because the controversy referenced was slavery, the poem held relevance for a long time, and still holds relevance today for historical purposes. I don't want to go into much more detail because this is partly what we will be discussing in our presentation Friday.

Judge Meagre's speech

One of the characters in Warren's The Group is a Judge Meagre. His name suggests that he would be feeble, but his speech in Act II, scene III, is anything but meager, or "meagre", the British spelling. Meagre's fierce opinions are first expressed in lines 3 and 4 when he states, "It is not my temper ever to forgive, when once resentment's kindled to my breast." This personification of resentment makes his statement stronger and somewhat sadistic. Meagre continues on to say how he hates the colonists, specifically Brutus, for his "noble stand against the oppressors of his injured country". His character also describes their fight as "generous efforts to be free." I believe that Warren chose adjectives like "noble" and "generous" to describe the colonists' fight because that is what she herself believes their efforts to be, and putting these words into the Tories' mouths creates a comical, yet powerful statement. When I first read the poem, I did not see how this play was satire because I did not understand barely anything about the play! However, after today's discussion, I can more easily pick up on how Warren is poking fun at these British bigots. This speech in particular must have been especially enjoyable for Warren to write because, as Kelly wrote, Brutus is Warren's older brother.
Another way that Warren criticizes the Tories is by making Meagre's character praise "the noble Claudia of old", an immoral Roman noblewoman who poisoned her husband and was punished by Cicero. Meagre wishes to imitate Claudia by riding "over the people, if they don't give way". Also, Meagre tells of the Tories' failures by announcing their failed senate bribe attempts, as well as "the people...see through the schemes of our aspiring clan". He is recognizing his inability to persuade the people to give in to England. Meagre's speech reveals Warren's inner feelings and images of Meagre and the Tories like him. Through the clever use of this off-stage play, her propaganda must have had a strong effect on those involved with the birth of the Revolutionary War.

Ben Franklin Is a Smart Man

Part II of Ben Franklin's Autobiography is primarily focused around a point in Franklin's life where he felt the need for self-improvement. For instance, he speaks of thirteen virtues that he vowed to master in order to make himself a better person. One of the things that I find comical about Franklin's method is how he came about deciding to do it. He decided that going to church was not beneficial because the sermons were "dry, uninteresting, and unedifying...their aim seeming to be rather to make us Presbyterians than good citizens." His reasons for stopping going to church continue with his opinions about how a certain sermon should have gone: "They were not the kind of good things that I expected from that text, I despaired of ever meeting with them from any other, was disgusted, and attended his preaching no more." This reasoning in itself was proud and arrogant. Just as I was thinking in my mind that I could call Ben Franklin out on this little observation, he proves to actually be a very intelligent man.
Towards the end of his Part II, he tells of a Quaker friend who informed him of the arrogance and pride that I just spoke of, which was why he pledged to fix it. However, he does point out that "...mortify it [pride] as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself; you will see it, perhaps, often in this history; for, even if I could conceive that I had compleatly overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility." And thus, because Franklin ends in such a way, I cannot call him out for his disgusting pride.

Another aspect of this section of his autobiography that I would like to take notice of his analogy of the speckled axe. He utilizes the story a man unwilling to turn a wheel to help shine his axe to illustrate how many people say they wish to cleanse their souls or fix bad habits, but once realizing the amount of work has to go into such tasks, they give up and conform their expectations with that of the easier route. In this sense, a "speckled axe" represents a soul or character that maintains its bad habits and faults. I think this is a good analogy and metaphor, but I also feel like it's not necessarily a bad thing that the man gave up and accepted a speckled axe. Many people lack the persistence to obtain perfection, but that's why perfect is such a rare thing. If everyone had the endurance to completely shine their axe, it wouldn't be such an amazing feat to be perfect. Human fault is one of the beauties of being human.

The History of the Dividing Line betwixt VA & NC, plus The Secret History of the Line

William Byrd is arrogant throughout The History...North Carolina as well as in The Secret History of the Line. His disdain for North Carolinians and Native Americans is blatant; he does not try to conceal his grievances with either group. An example of this is seen with Byrd's reference to those on John Heath's plantation as "indolent wretches". In addition, Byrd has no trouble in praising himself and his colleagues in his text. For example, he states that those same people on the plantation "looked upon us as a troop of knights-errant".
Although arrogant, Byrd's writing is also very informative. By referring to himself in the third person as "Steddy", the history is much more like a complete story from an outsider's perspective, rather than from Byrd's. Also, the events are in chronological order, giving the reader an extensive background of early America.

One of the most disturbing aspects of Byrd's writings is his attitude towards Native American women. Several times he uses the term dark angel to illustrate these women. The connotation behind 'angel' is positive and makes one think of beauty. However, Byrd does not believe these women are beautiful. In another section of his essay, he describes the women as "seldom handsome, yet they have an air of innocence and bashfulness that with a little less dirt would not fail to make them desirable." This 'dirt' is why Byrd uses 'dark' as an adjective for 'angel'. While the 'dark' means literally a dark skin tone, it could also be eluding to Byrd's thoughts on Indians being inferior, naive, and ungodly.

A Divine and Supernatural Light

Jonathan Edwards' A Divine and Supernatural Light, Immediately Imparted t the Soul by the Spirit of God, Shown to be Both Scriptural and Rational Doctrine is a sermon structured like a scientific theory. Edwards first explains his views on the Holy Spirit followed by evidenciary support for these views. This structure is made evident by Edwards' use of numbers and Roman numerals to separate each section of his essay. For instance, his 'Doctrine' is split up into 3 parts:

I. Show what this divine light is
II. How it is given immediately by God, and not obtained by natural means.
III. Show the truth of the doctrine. And then conclude with a brief improvement.

By using such notation, Edwards is almost presenting his ideas as if before a scientific committee that would require him to have sufficient evidence to support his theory.

At the very beginning of the essay, Edwards specifically discusses the Apostle Peter and how he is "blessed". Using Peter as an example, and through quoting scripture, Edwards conveys his devout faith, as well as his beliefs of the Holy Spirit. Edwards' use of Peter was appropriate because, as the story of the Passion illustrates, Peter is Jesus's right-hand man even when he is dying on the cross. Before Jesus dies, he turns to Peter and tells him to take care of his mother. In fact, it was at this point in time that the conversion from Judaism to Christianity was complete.