A Single Eye As An Attack on Puritanism
The seventeenth century was a tumultuous time in England; rife with
revolution she saw her governmental system, religious affairs and
legal code completely overhauled. All across Europe this type of
change was common, but England's changes were brought about largely by
the influences of and reactions to a variation of Calvinist
Protestantism known as Puritanism. Its followers clashed violently
with the Anglican establishment in a civil war and by 1650 the
Puritans had gained power over the Anglican monarchists. Executing
Charles I, Oliver Cromwell took the helm of the nation placing Puritan
values center stage[1]. Puritan morality, strict adherence to the
scriptures and rigid belief in predestination encountered active
resistance, inspiring counter-revolutions in thought that would put
freedom at the forefront of the English consciousness. Representing
the extreme of society's reaction to Puritan faith a group known as
the Ranters[2] emerged, publishing pamphlets that attacked the
fundamental tenets of Puritanism. Lawrence Clarkson, a frontrunner
among the Ranters, achieved infamy after having published a pamphlet
entitled A Single Eye, which was so radical that it landed him in
jail. A Single Eye is best understood as a response to Puritanism, a
reaction to the oppressive nature of Puritan faith, with the intention
to invoke the secularization of England.
The basic purpose of the pamphlet is to disseminate revolutionary
ideals, blatantly attacking the validity of puritan beliefs. At the
outset Clarkson insists that the English "supposeth God to be that
which is not, and that not to be, wh...
... middle of paper ...
...e Eye. 7
[9] Clarkson. A Single Eye. 8
[10] Clarkson. A Single Eye. 8
[11] Clarkson. A Single Eye. 9
[12] Clarkson. A Single Eye. 9
[13] Clarkson. A Single Eye. 2
[14] Clarkson. A Single Eye. 10
[15] Clarkson. A Single Eye. 10
[16] Clarkson. A Single Eye. 10
[17] Clarkson. A Single Eye. 11
[18] Clarkson. A Single Eye. 11
[19] Clarkson. A Single Eye. 11
[20] Clarkson. A Single Eye. 12
[21] http://mb-soft.com/believe/txc/puritani.htm
[22] Clarkson. A Single Eye. 14
[23] Clarkson. A Single Eye. 14
[24] Clarkson. A Single Eye. 15
[25] Clarkson. A Single Eye. 15
[26] Clarkson. A Single Eye. 16
[27] Clarkson. A Single Eye. 16
[28] Hill. The Experience of Defeat. 38
[29]
http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/goldman/aando/puritanism.html
Their Eyes Were Watching God is written by Zora Neale Hurston in the year of 1937. In the novel, the main character is Janie Crawford. Janie has been treated differently by others during her life because of how she was raised and the choices she has made throughout her life. The community is quick to judge her actions and listen to any gossip about Janie in the town. Janie is known to be “classed off” from other members in her community in various ways. “Classed off” means to be separate or isolated from other people.
by the Puritans result in a fit of outrage by Pearl. One reason that the
Zora Neale Hurston an early twentieth century Afro-American feminist author, was raised in a predominately black community which gave her an unique perspective on race relations, evident in her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston drew on her on experiences as a feminist Afro-American female to create a story about the magical transformation of Janie, from a young unconfident girl to a thriving woman. Janie experiences many things that make her a compelling character who takes readers along as her companion, on her voyage to discover the mysteries and rewards life has to offer.
Zora Neale Hurston, through her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, was trying to teach her readers that in every relationship there is a dominant person, and a submissive one. Whether the relationship is romantic, or with a friend or acquaintance, there is always a person who is more dominant, and feels more powerful. Power in a relationship is distinguished often between genders, race, and popularity or likeability of people. In these relationships, there is an unbalanced distribution of power because for a long time men were believed to be superior to women, some races are considered inferior to others, and people who are more attractive and well liked will often have the adoration, attention, and support of peers, which provides them with more power in society.
You’ll never get a job dressed like that. You need to stop acting so ditzy if you want people to take you seriously. Stop running your fingers through your hair—you don’t want people to think you’re a slob. Occasionally, thoughts like these pop up in my mind, probably because I care too much about what others think of me. I get really concerned about how people perceive me and interpret my actions. However, I’m not really concerned about vanity being my great flaw or becoming the next Narcissus, because everyone is a little vain. Unfortunately, some people take their pride a little overboard. For instance, John Proctor was so vain that he would rather die than tarnish his name; the judges that condemned him had an inkling of knowledge that they were killing innocent people, but by the time they realized it, they couldn’t save people without ruining their reputation. Arthur Dimmesdale let the mother of his child suffer years of judgment because he didn’t want to face the shame of revealing his sin. These instances show that humans are naturally vain and that, occasionally, their vanity can rule over their lives.
Although Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God is a widely read novel today, that wasn't always the case. When her novel was first published, many black readers were enraged. It wasn't until the early seventies when Hurston's novel was rediscovered. What aspects of the novel enraged the readers so that it would be forgotten for more than thirty years?
Realistically, the monarchy of England during the 1620’s and 1630’s did little to stifle religious anxieties left over from the reign of King James I. Rather, King James’ son King Charles I only exacerbated already existing conditions. King Charles I inherited a largely Protestant England from his father that was still facing questions over church structure and doctrine. In particular, the question over episcopacy was still unpopular amongst Puritan reformers within the Church of England. This issue was further compounded during King Charles’s reign by the rise of the Arminians and their doctrine, which for Puritan minded reformers bared a strong resemblance to Roman Catholicism.
In 1534, King Henry VIII formally instigated the English Reformation. He therefore passed the Act of Supremacy, which outlawed the Catholic Church and made him “the only supreme head on earth of the Church of England” (Roark, 68). Puritans were looking for a more Protestant church and received what they wanted. Along with it, came the King’s total control over the Church. This is what the Puritans didn’t want. Puritans believed that ordinary Christians, not a church hierarchy, should control religious life. They wanted a distinct line between government and the Church of England. Puritans also wanted to eliminate the customs of Catholic worship and instead focus on an individual’s relationship with God developed through Bible study, prayer, and introspection (Roark, 68).
The Colonial Period writing in American Literature really showed the values of the time. Whether it was being a Puritan or a Rationalist, many stood forward to share their strong actions, thoughts, and goals. America was just beginning and a great divide stood between Rationalism and Puritanism. Puritans followed God and surrounded their day with work, prayer, and overall restriction of any activity that is for entertainment purposes. The Rationalists questioned human behavior and constantly searched for answers, they listened to their curiosities, but also tried to be their best self. Both sides have their advantages and disadvantages, or goods and bads, but together they stood in strength. People stood strong on their side of the Puritan/Rationalist scale.
Puritan life is probably one of the biggest paradoxes known to man theoretically. In practice is doesn’t seem like such an absurd notion. There are certain things that may lead someone into confusion over the way that Puritan life was conducted. One of these things is the object of holiness. This means that only certain members are allowed into the Puritan life after proving themselves holy. Another object that may cause confusion is the idea of enjoying oneself in Puritan life. Recreation did occur in Puritan life, but the definition of Puritan recreation is differently defined. One more object of confusion in Puritan life is the type of Puritan in which you are stereotyped into depending of your actions regarding your religion. Although this might sound complicated it is not as intricate as it is written. For Puritan’s this was a way of life. This tells us that, in practice, all of these social theories are probably more plausible than they sound. Winthrop did encounter all of these problems in his journey from England to Massachusetts, and them encountered some of these while he was in control of the society there.
The Puritan experiment carried out in New England was a failure. The reason for this was that the people simply lost faith. The contradictions in the religion and the general feeling of betrayal caused the people to reject the ideals that were once held as sacred and perfect. The puritan religion was based on several tenants that, for a most part, contradicted each other. Man's fate was said to be pre determined and salvation was out of his control, but at the same time, man was expected to live a near perfect lifestyle for no truly justified reason. The Puritans also lived in a theocracy since man was fallible, yet, God's will was interpreted by the Preacher who was a man and was as weak and vulnerable as any man. These contradictions along with others caused people to lose faith in the religion despite the good intentions of the Puritans.
In order to clearly understand a book, story, event, or action, it is necessary to recognize the people involved. Often times, the idea behind something is greater than what has essentially happened, and therefore makes the comprehension of Janie Starks, the main character of Zora N. Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, that much more important.
beliefs of John Calvin, and one of the major ideals they focused on was the
Puritanism viewed religion and law as almost identical, making Puritan societies strict theocracies with clergy exclusively controlling people's lives. Puritanism was also based on a somewhat fatalistic view of the human race, as seen in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. The founders of Boston were said to, "have invariably recognized it among their earliest practical necessities to allot a portion of the virgin soil as a cemetery, and another as the site of a prison" (33). Puritans believed that people were basically sinful and should be mercilessly punished for strayi...
“Minister’s Black Veil” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This story was published in the 1832 edition of The Token and Atlantic Souvenir. This story was written during the American Romanticism, many people related to this story. Nathaniel Hawthorne tied in puritanism to this story, even though he didn’t agree with puritans. Important to realize, Nathaniel Hawthorne wanted to show how people can hid their selves. This is to say everyone has their own personal sins, good and bad. Notably, Mr. Hopper was transcribed and described in a perfect manner. Throughout this story, I feel as though the minister was trying to get a point across to everyone, but no one caught on. Instead, people thought he was strange. For the most part, the minister knew