Religion was very important to the Puritans in the 1600s. John Winthrop a member of the Puritans gentry, wrote to his wife the ‘I am verily persuaded God will bring some heavy affliction upon this land.” A year later he went and lead a group of a group of puritans to New England. By the 1630s another twenty thousand Puritans would come to America. When John became governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, he told immigrants that will have to guide people toward this holy ideal or they were not welcomed.
In 1634, a woman that would play one of the biggest roles in the development of early America came to Massachusetts from England. Before immigrating to the New World though, Anne Hutchinson lived in London with her husband William Hutchinson. There, a minister, John Cotton, who believed you didn’t need to follow the laws and rules of society to connect with God, resonated greatly with Anne. The idea that religion is based on personal views would be taken with her to the New World, where she would become an icon for conservative Puritanism and steadfast determination.
Just like any two authors, Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards have many distinctly different qualities to them, however they also have many similarities. Both of the authors are prominent writers from the Puritan church in Colonial America. Bradstreet wrote many pieces of literature including The Burning of our House, July 10, 1666 and To my Dear and Loving Husband. Edwards wrote many sermons including Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards’s literary pieces are similar due to their religion, but their writing styles varies greatly.
The Puritans was a huge deal in the 1600s. It consisted of colonists who were seeking religious tolerance. Puritans were so strict that it was so far fetched from tolerant. One would be punished to not attend church, it was against the law. Men and women were separated through the day long services.
The Puritans were a religious group who believed in total depravity and an unconditional election. This meant that mankind was solely dependent on God for salvation, and believed that there was absolutely no good within the world except through Him. Those who were of “the chosen people” were predestined to go to heaven and only had a glimpse of their faith through God’s signs and wonders. Jonathan Edwards, however, struggled with this idea. Throughout his childhood, he could not perceive how a loving and just God could send only a certain select to Heaven and the rest to Hell.
Puritan writers like Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards are deep in religion and thought highly of God. Anne Bradstreet is into religion so much that when what she loves is taken from her, she is ready to go up to heaven and join God. Jonathan Edwards uses fear as a way to get people to believe in God. Both working toward the same goal.
In 1620, when the New World was an exciting new place full of new freedoms and opportunities, a group known as the Puritans made the journey from England in order to purify the Anglican church as well as gain economic opportunities that were present in America. John Winthrop lead the first group of Puritans to the new world in order to create a “city upon the hill”, a beacon of light in attempt to spread the word of Christ. They settled in Boston and by 1643 there were 20,000 Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and more to come. Puritan beliefs began to spread rapidly and have influence on the developing colonies. Many Puritan ideals spread throughout the New England colonies and are also seen in present day American culture.
Puritans, faced with harsh religious persecution, were forced to flee Europe and head to the New World in order to freely practice their religion. Pressed with the need to develop a prosperous society, they turned to God. Through a fire-and-brimstone view of the Lord & the teachings of the Bible, Puritans manifested a thriving society dedicated to the glorification of God politically, economically, and socially. To begin, living in constant fear of their angry God, New England Puritans developed a social order they believed would please Him. John Winthrop writes about Puritans living with a certain “meekeness, gentleness, patience and liberalty” so their God would not, “withdrawe his present help” from them (D - A).
Both Bradstreet and Edwards are puritan writers, they are both believe in a higher more powerful God. In their writings “Upon the Burning of Our House”, by Anne Bradstreet and “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, by Jonathan Edwards they both talk about the higher being of God. They both are powerful writers and have a way of getting their points across, but they do it differently. They are both great writers and even though they have different religious views and different writing styles both of their poems, “Upon the Burning of Our House” by Anne Bradstreet and “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards, have the same goal of converting people.
The ideas constructed by the Puritans were not simply a principal starting point for American culture because they were the first in the country, but because they offered distinct ways of thinking that are still deep-seated in our culture today. Although many of the ideas of Puritans have evolved or vanished over time, it is important to give credit to the Puritan writers and thinkers such as John Winthrop and John Cotton who offered ideas that were new at the time and that stayed with the American consciousness—culturally, socially, and politically. “John Winthrop's legacy can be seen primarily in the fields of government, commerce, and religion. It was religion that would most impact John's life; his religion would ultimately impact the
During the colonial period many settlers came to the New World to escape persecution for their Puritan beliefs. Writers such as William Bradford, John Winthrop, Anne Bradstreet, and Mary Rowlandson all shared their experiences and religious devotion throughout their literature that ultimately inspired and influenced settlers to follow. This essay will discuss the similarities in Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson’s work as they both describe their experiences as signs from God. Anne Bradstreet came to the New World as a devoted Puritan as she repeatedly talked about it in her poetry. In her poems she discusses many tragedies that happened in her life such as; the burning of her house and the death of her two grandchildren all of which she thinks were signs from God.
Zachary Grieves Mrs. Kendell English Honors 1, Period 2 21 March 2023 Irony Analysis Writing “I may look fine but in my mind, I’ve killed you three times.” This quote was written by an anonymous source, it’s saying that what’s on the outside is not what is on the inside. This was an example of verbal irony. Irony brings a sense of suspense or tension to the story which makes the reader invested.
Puritans are Europeans who escaped religious persecution from the Church of England. The Puritans age likely varies from children to adults. However, it’s apparent that Winthrop is appealing more towards Puritan males to create their ideal utopia. Winthrop evokes God to entice the colonist to fruitfully colonize the land. He uses nationalism, religion, and imagery to entice the colonist into creating a bountiful colony.
Puritans are a people with a very strong belief in both God and the power of God. When people see power, they interpret it in different ways. Some know of power through anger and impulse, while others see power through the goodness the powerful one shows. Although Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards are both puritan poets, their writings convey mainly different, though sometimes similar, views on God because they have different perceptions of His will and the use of His power. Anne Bradstreet listens to and accepts anything that God wishes, and that is shown through her poem Upon the Burning of my House.
Anne Bradstreet (1612 – 1672) has been a long-lasting leading figure in the American literature who embodied a myriad of identities; she was a Puritan, poet, feminist, woman, wife, and mother. Bradstreet’s poetry was a presence of an erudite voice that animadverted the patriarchal constraints on women in the seventeenth century. In a society where women were deprived of their voices, Bradstreet tried to search for their identities. When the new settlers came to America, they struggled considerably in defining their identities. However, the women’s struggles were twice than of these new settlers; because they wanted to ascertain their identities in a new environment, and in a masculine society.
