Monday, September 5, 2011

Richard Allen

I think this character was much different from the one in our last reading. I think that this can be seem through not only him saying he believes in something but to take it the next step and actually make a change according to what he believes. He leaves a group to make his own. This was not an easy choice nor was it easy to accomplish. In leaving and making a new anything that does not agree with the popular vote means a risk and often a follow through of hardships. It is not easy to just walk away, because basically it is seen as going against or thinking your better than the popular vote. I like how he says that he did not need the name Methodist they had God and that was all they needed. They stuck up for what they believed right or wrong he took a side and stood behind it fully. No one likes someone that is "lukewarm" most people would prefer everyone to be either "hot" or "cold". In America and our everyday lives we are all about wanting to know whose side your own. If you’re not on our side then you’re against us. There is no in the middle, and i think the writer shows that through his work.

An interesting fact that i never picked up on that the writer brought to my attention was that the Methodist religion was thought to be the best for African Americans because it was easier to understand. It proved to be more simple then any of the others. The others there was so much that went with them that for some of the uneducated people it was hard to understand. I thought this was very interesting because even today most religions are divided in the same ways.

Catholics usually consist of the rich people, Baptist usually consists of the lower and middle class, these are just two examples of how we still divide religion today.

I thought that the writer had a very different way of looking at things and enjoyed the fact that he could take a stand for what he believed. I think that this book is still read in classes today because we can learn so much from people like this. We also need to learn as much about our history as we can through every source we can, because if we are not careful we will repeat our past. History is not just about dates and things found in "History books" but encounters from people who leave us these great works of literature giving us a different view.


No comments:

Post a Comment