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The story of the puritans
The story of the puritans
The story of the puritans
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In the poetry of the three authors, Anne Bradstreet, Michael Wigglesworth and Samuel Danforth, there are numerous expressions of conventional Christian sentiment throughout. One convention that is similar among all of the puritan poets is the quality of righteousness. Their preoccupation with interpreting god word and living by these standard can be seen in the writing of all three poets. Their reasons for living clean, moral life is because they believed that they would not only be judged for what they did in their mortal life, but also in the afterlife. Although they believed that god had predetermined who was going to heaven and who was going to hell, they thought that if you did not follow the word of god, it would lead to ultimate damnation.
Puritan literature largely consists of poems, sermons, and personal journals and served a purpose such as to teach or inform instead of entertaining. The Puritans generally valued religion and simplicity in their society and thusly much of their lives focused on just that. I felt that Nathaniel Hawthorne’s account of puritan society through his story The Minister’s Black Veil differed from that of original puritan literature. While puritan literature was nonfictional and centers on enlightenment and religion in their daily life, Hawthorne wrote a fictional account to describe the puritan values. Because of this difference I feel that original puritan literature is far more accurate portrayal of puritan culture.
The Puritan’s voyage to the New World was recorded in “Of Plymouth Plantation” by William Bradford. The Puritans made this voyage to escape the persecution they were facing in Europe and in hopes of starting a new life that would exert their right to religious freedom. The Puritans believed God’s active and persistent “hand” was present in all aspects of their lives. It was the grace of God that was the sole explanation of every daily occurrence or event. God created everything and therefore he played a significant role in the lives of the Puritans.
They taught the children to read and write as a priority so they would have the capability to perform the task of reading the bible. The puritans had strict religious lives one example was that it was mandatory for
Anne Bradstreet and William Bradford’s constant references to God’s greatness reveal
Jonathan Edwards’s sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and Anne Bradstreet’s “Upon the Burning of Our House” seem at first glance quite similar to one another regarding context, however, after taking a closer look, it becomes apparent that there are some substantial differences. These differences cannot be understood without the knowledge of cultural context concerning the Puritan belief system and their lifestyle. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” was written with the sole purpose of scaring and intimidating the people that purtinans believed to be sinners. Edwards’s work contributed to a movement called “The Great Awakening”. It’s objective was to make the so-called ‘sinners’ aware of their wrongdoings and compel them to repent.
During the Puritan times gender roles in the society were very anti-feminist. Women were required to act as housewives and do womanly duties such as cook, clean, and take care of their children. Women had very little freedom as far as their rights were concerned also. Puritan writers, Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson both experienced the struggle of the anti-feminist movement. From their writings we see that they both were against anti-feminism and they tried their best to abandon the whole idea.
During the Puritan times gender roles in the society were very anti-feminist. Women were required to act as housewives and do womanly duties such as cook, clean, and take care of their children. Women had very little freedom as far as their rights were concerned also. Puritan writers, Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson both experienced the struggle of the anti-feminist movement. From their writings we see that they both were against anti-feminism and they tried their best to abandon the whole idea.
The Puritans’ life involved a domineering religion which included every family member attending church. They lived off the land and had primitive ways of surviving and raising their
What you believed depended largely on where you lived. As mentioned, the Puritans controlled a large area of New England and were predominantly Protestant. The middle colonies which included New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, attracted people of all religious groups consisting of Catholics, Lutherans, Amish, Jews, Presbyterians, and Cutch Mennonites among others. The middle colonies accepted all religions and tolerance was practiced by all as you were guaranteed freedom of religion.
Sometimes, human beings can become murderers or monsters to each other when driven by their inner feelings. In the play "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street," a normal neighborhood in the USA, we can see how suspicion among the residents leads to cruelty toward one another. It starts with a resident's car starting up without him there, and suspicion rises to the point where people start yelling, throwing things, and even shooting. Through suspicion, blame, and violence, we can see how human beings can act irrationally and self-destruct when they are driven by fear or panic.
Both Edwards and Bradstreet portray God as more powerful being, but while Edwards portrays him as and angry and revenge seeking, Bradstreet describes him differently as being loving and giving. Bradstreet is more gentle in
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
More than 80% of Americans have Puritan ancestors who emigrated to Colonial America on the Mayflower, and other ships, in the 1630’s (“Puritanism”). Puritanism had an early start due to strong main beliefs that, when challenged, caused major conflict like the Salem Witch Trials. Puritanism had an extremely rocky beginning, starting with a separation from the Roman Catholic Church. Starting in 1606, a group of villagers in Scrooby, England left the church of England and formed a congregation called the Separatist Church, and the members were called The puritans (“Pilgrims”).
Bradstreet knows the goodness in God and rather than fearing him she thanks Him or asks for help. While her house was burning she asked God “to strengthen [her] in [her] time of distress”(9) because she knows everything that happens is through the will of God and only He can help her through this difficult situation. Bradstreet sees God as a just one even though he took all of her physical possessions. She takes His justness a step further by saying in lines 18 and 19 that even if He took all of her belongings, it would still be reasonable. Bradstreet also believes in a positive afterlife for herself and most people around her.