Anna Life In Geesje's Waves Of Mercy

Improved Essays
I feel like a time traveler who's returned to the present day after a memorable visit to the 1800's. Without leaving the comfort of my home, Waves of Mercy brought me across the Atlantic ocean with Geesje De Jonge and her family. Who were part of an entire community fleeing the Netherlands in search of religious freedom in America. Every aspect of their journey was arduous and the land that greeted them — untamed. When all manner of affliction assailed their small colony in western Michigan, the held fast God — trusting.

1897 is the jumping off point for Anna Nicholson and Geesje's storys. Readers gain insight into Anna life through her dreams and dialogue with other characters, like her mother and Derk. On the other hand, Lynn Austin cleverly allows Geesje to write her life's history (for us to read) at the request of her town's Semi-Centennial Committee.
…show more content…
In an overtly Christian novel where the characters question their circumstance in relation to God's goodness, His will, and their willingness/unwillingness to obey; the people were relatable, if not always admirable. At times I felt the story would be sunk by sadness, but my lasting take away was how all the trials produced perseverance and maturity of faith. Awash in history, complex characters, and highly emotive writing, Austin's latest is not to be

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    In his piece, Thomas Paine strongly expresses a persuasive outlook as to why the colonists should fight for their independence. He believes that their willing right to be free shall not be put aside and that their abilities to achieve their freedom may be affected by factors such as God, the British, or even just simply the fact that Paine described the reasoning to get the colonists to fight in such an expressive way. Throughout this piece, Paine’s goal was to persuade the colonists to strive for liberty. To support his argument, Paine utilizes religious beliefs, descriptive language, and the recognition of the counter argument. To begin with, the author points to religious beliefs to demonstrate the relation God has on the colonists…

    • 1256 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    New Amsterdam has influenced our society immensely. In addition to being one of the most unique cultures of its time, it provided people of every race and ethnicity a safe haven to work and live peacefully as equals. New Amsterdam has served as paradigm for American society due to its freedom of religion, voice of the people, and its vast economic strategy. The author of Island at the center of the world, Russell Shorto, mentions the freedom of religion several times at various points in the book.…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    People can grow in their faith and become closer to God in through many, sometimes utterly opposite, situations. Some, such as Lewis and Karr, are pointed to the Lord through their interactions with others and their reading, while others, such as the author of Dakota, Kathleen Norris, begin to grow spiritually when they distance themselves from humanity. In Dakota, she tracks the affect that the emptiness and harshness of the plains has on herself and the local farmers and small towns. As she compares the environment to Benedictine monasteries, it becomes apparent that a person’s landscape has a surprising amount of influence on their state of mind and spiritual wellbeing. Through Norris’ memoir, as she discusses the manner in which the Dakotan plains have influenced the natives, she also touches upon the reactions that newcomers have to it.…

    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the novel Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers set in the 1850’s Gold Rush period, there are many “Jaw Dropping” milestones. The novel tells the audience that no matter the person or the circumstance you can always turn to God. In the story, the main character Sarah (who has many names like Angel, Amanda, and Tirzah) is a harlot in a brothel named Pair-a-Dice. She goes through many obstacles throughout her life. She was not always a harlot though, that is what I am going to tell you.…

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    By the 1700s, the New England and the Chesapeake regions developed into two different colonies due to each colony’s reason for settlement, consisting of religious and economic reasons, their personal beliefs, and their growth in their society. While the settlers of New England immigrated to the Americas to escape religious persecution, the settlers of the Chesapeake region immigrated for more economic reasons—the search of gold. Each colony’s way of life contrasted from one another in the way they lived in their societal systems. The impacts of these differences evolved the colonies uniquely. Documents A and D reveal the religious motivations behind the New England settlers’ settlements.…

    • 873 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “A Rose for Emily,” “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” and the “Yellow Wallpaper” are stories written from a women’s point a view by women writers who were living from the 1890s through 1930. The main characters in these stories faced difficult situations that changed their lives forever. They had limited rights, suffered abandonment from lovers, and experienced loneliness. However, each of the characters faced their problems very differently.…

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Have you ever desired for a short, reasonable response that will please both the brain and the soul? In the pursuit of basic human rights, numerous individuals have searched for this fulfillment in religion. Webster defines religious as one`s belief in God, as well as rules used to worship a God. Since the beginning of time, religion was questioned, and it`s origin; consequently, they headed toward the sea to find some answers. Although we are not able to confirm the existence of God, we can provide proof of the power of religion.…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Morray Barber Analysis

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages

    I was honored to meet Jacques Benninga, Morray Barber, and Frank Vawter. These guest speakers gave us the privilege to listen to a brief story of how they immigrated to the United States. I was curious to see the different ways that people do it to come to America. I was impressed with Mr.Benninga story of how his family came to the United State. Mr.Benninga family decided to come to the United States after Holland was attacked by German.…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Regardless of whether literary characters, authors, or readers believe in God/ a higher power, it is human nature to search for morality in the midst of immorality and injustice. Often that search leads people to seek answers above the fray of humanity’s wickedness from some divine being. Traditionally, prayer is seen as a form of this communication and search, while the cross is a symbol of a holy figure’s guidance; its base reaching upward to the heavens and the horizontal piece extending outward to humanity. However, these literary symbols also represent the daily struggle between good and evil in every individual’s life that instigates a hope for a better world. Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and Natasha Trethewey’s Native Guard both emphasize…

    • 1273 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45, NIV). God makes it clear that people will have many trials in this life whether they believe in Jesus or not. Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott, gives life examples of those trials and tribulations. Lamotts life circumstances may seem strenuous and difficult at times, but in the process God is using Lamotts life as part of His beautiful tapestry that can be difficult to see this side of heaven.…

    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the novel The Road by Cormac McCarthy, the father’s optimism is retained by his son’s endurance as the boy symbolizes hope. The appalling circumstances of the world results in the characters’ pessimism where they experience feelings of doubt during their journey. However, the father’s reassurance inspires his son to sustain the voyage, accordingly motivating the man’s own persistence. As he confirms his son’s survival day after day, the man’s faith in hope is fortified, inspiring him to continue their expedition. Generally, in the novel The Road by Cormac McCarthy, the boy symbolizes hope as he is perceived as a God, and serves as a barrier between his father and death, motivating the ongoing journey.…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Misael Barajas Argumentative Essay Have you ever felt like you have no luck? As if someone or something is detaining you from achieving your goals? Well, someone sure did, and its something you wouldn't want to experience. Well, today you are going to read about someone that was gone For over 20 years and he couldn't get to his home or to his family. Its something really scary to experience.…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are multiple things needed for a relationship to grow and strive. Hope is one of the most important virtues that keeps a relationship going. In the Road by Cormac McCarthy, hope, rather its gained or lost, is a continuous theme that is needed to survive in the author’s world. In this book a man and his son are traveling across America in a post-apocalyptic era trying to get to their final destination, the coast. During their journey they have many dangerous encounters with blood-thirsty cannibals yet, they survive with only each other as their strength and hope.…

    • 954 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Pilgrim’s Progress Literary Analysis A Pilgrim’s Progress, an allegorical novel by John Bunyan, follows the journey of Christian, a man traveling from the sinful City of Destruction to the Celestial City after experiencing spiritual conviction and direction from Evangelist. Christian encounters numerous friends and foes along the way, until, after great turmoil, he reaches the City at last. Though Bunyan includes a variety of characters and places that accurately represent the various facets of the Christian walk, his overt approach neglects to allow the reader to draw their own conclusions, making his point less effective. This is demonstrated in his use of characterization, setting, and point of view.…

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Asserting the Woman’s Experience in Anne Bradstreet’s “To My Dear Children”, “To My Dear Loving Husband”, and “A Letter to her Husband, Absent upon Public Employment” For centuries, artists find a woman to be a most worthy muse. Poets proclaim her beauty, her poise and charm. Her physical presence is evident but her intellectual contributions are absent.…

    • 726 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays