So far I’ve really enjoyed reading “The Education of Henry Adams”. I find it very humorous that everywhere Henry goes to learn, so far Harvard and Berlin, he insists that he’s getting a really bad education while he is actually learning a lot the whole time. In Berlin especially, he was able to see how terrible the living conditions are there and according to him he was able to learn an appreciation for Beethoven. Furthermore, when Henry’s grandmother takes him through Maryland and Virginia he got to witness slavery first hand and be appalled by it, “it was a nightmare; a horror; a crime; the sum of all wickedness! Contact made it only more repulsive”. I think that this is a crucial part of his education because he learns about slavery and abhors it and has the ability to witness it, which is much different from both Captain Delano and Mr. Listwell who are both quite naïve when it comes to slavery. I’ve liked this book so far because I think a crucial part of everyone’s education is what is learned outside of the classroom, which is what is happening to Adams. This book is also reminding me a lot about American History that I have forgotten in recent years.
I also find it ironic how Adams continuously talks about his education as if he never really learned that much. I mean, he went to Harvard. Feeding off of what Emily said in class, I kind of feel as though Adams is writing about all the small things in his life to kind of make him seem relatable to ordinary people. And by him saying he never really learned anything is no exception. I also agree that his first-hand witness to slavery serves as a very significant portion of the text, and admired that he thought of it as a crime, a horror etc. Lastly, I definitely like what you said about the significance of education learned outside of school. I feel as though I study so hard and learn so much useless information at school. Where, in all reality, what I have learned from living on my own, and having to budget and clean and so forth, as certainly proven to be more beneficial for my life.
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