Carly - Henry Adams

First off, I felt that The Education of Henry Adams was a slow read due to the intense
amount of detail packed into every sentence. More specifically, I found myself reading
paragraphs posing as sentences with numerous semi-colons and one period. While I enjoy
Jane Austen, who similarly writes long sentences, I didn' t find the Education of Henry
Adams to be a book that I couldn't put down. The book is easier to understand than Jane
Austen in that the wording is simpler, but the subject matter was not as gripping for me.
Furthermore, after reading about death during the Civil War, the book provides a
contrast because there is so much lead up to the beginning of the Civil War.
I find it odd that Henry Adams is writing about himself in the third person. It took me
a little ways into the book to realize that he wrote the book.. He repeats certain
themes in the book, including the theme of Quincy vs. Brooks...also known as winter vs.
summer or the "double" life. Another theme - the old vs. new (18th century vs. 19th
century) intrigued me and confused me because I wanted to go find a history book and
learn more about the contrasts of Boston society versus American society.
Henry Adams takes himself very seriously; I thought it was interesting that a ten year
old boy is choosing the path of his life (winter or summer, for Boston or against the
famous State Street) so early. I also found it intriguing that he breaks up years of his
life based on which family member intrigued his life during the said time period. For
example, his father Charles Francis Adams had an affect on his life from 1848 to 1854
with the establishment of the Free Soil Party.
As far as liking Henry Adams for his own character, he has self-described himself as weak
in nature, and idolizes prior generations and the society that those said ancestors
associate with. He also feels that being educated is a vital part of everyone's being, and I liked when he described the walk to school with his grandfather John Quincy Adams. He is studying society because he was born among great men, and he is fascinated with their characters and knowledge.

I know that I jumped around a bit in this post, but it's because a few things from this
book got me curious. :) I definitely prefer Melville and Dickinson to Henry Adams... but
who knows, maybe his writing will grow on me.