Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Literature
Think about the three readings for this week -- readings from three different viewpoints: Pilgrim
(William Bradford), Anglican (Thomas Morton), and Puritan (John Winthrop). How do these
three perspectives support or contradict your vision of the founding of America?
Pilgrims
o
Separatists. Came to escape persecution and for religious freedom.
Anglicans
o
Seemed to come mostly for industry and trade.
Puritans
o
Came to spread their religion.
A
Comparison
of
Pilgrims,
Anglicans,
and
Puritans
Puritan
Literature
A Narrative of the Captivity and
Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson was
a best seller because it was entertaining,
suspenseful, thrilling, and very well written.
Through Rowlandsons vivid diction, a
reader could easily become absorbed in the
story, feeling as though he were actually
there. She carries the reader through her
adventures, describing in graphic detail each
leg of the journey. Unlike pure fiction, this
chronicle did not come from someones
imagination, which made it even more
gripping. Who doesnt want to read a good
adventure tale?
This Indians described in Rowlandsons
narrative were savage, evil animals. She
variously referred to them as bloody
Heathen, Infidels, and black creatures.
Describing a ceremony as a lively
resemblance of hell, she clearly believed
the Indians were minions of Satan. As she
detailed her captivity in painstaking
imagery, she affirmed the general Puritan
view of Native Americans as savages.
Puritan beliefs permeate Rowlandsons
narrative. The Lord hereby would make us
the more to acknowledge his hand, and to
see that our help is always in him, was the
theme of her work. As she journeyed with
the Indians, throughout all her travails, she
continued to believe that Gods purpose was
to convince her of his omnipotence. Another
belief displayed was that of Gods goodness.