To Infer

I'm really enjoying our class' study of symbolization through objects.  I have always thought that a lot can be said about a person through what they buy, wear, eat, etc.  Basically, I think that a person's choices can shape who they are.  Not only do the choices they make shape themselves, but they also shape how others perceive them.  In colonial America, this is extremely important because I think that the colonists no longer wanted to be seen as Europeans.  Through their choices, we can see that colonists were balancing a fine line between this sort of European-ism and American-ism.  They differentiated themselves through their clothing, houses, commodities, etc.  Because they originated from England, many of their styles had English characteristics, but certain American traits as well.  We talked today in class about clothing and how American clothes were generally more "rough" and also more expensive.  English clothing was much more ornate.  In the portrait of Paul Revere, he is seen to be wearing "American" style clothing.  We could debate the reasons behind this, but ultimately, I want to raise the question: Did New Englanders put that much significant thought into the clothing that they wore and the symbolism behind it, or were there choices based off of convenience, popularity, and other factors?