The ideals, values, and themes that early American writes considered to be important and worthy of inclusion in their journals, sermons, and poems were piety, courage, and industry. Piety is a profound respect for God and the display of one’s faith through religious devotion. Along with piety came a sense of God’s protection, religious devotion, and community. Courage is the characteristic of mind or spirit that allows a person to face struggle, danger, and pain without distress. Courage permitted them to endure isolation, encounter unfamiliar people, and survive harsh weather. Industry is the performance of energetic, devoted activity at any work or task. These values and ideals were important because they believed that these values and ideals …show more content…
satisfied God, it is morally correct, the world will be watching, and it enabled them to survive. Overtime, the importance of the values of piety and courage seemed to remain the same, because these are values one can always attain no matter the given situation. However the value of industry seemed to become less important as generations have passed. The first Puritans to come to America worked harder than later generations. The Puritans started from the bottom and had to work their way up, overtime people had to work less because resources slowly became easily accessible. Early American writers Bradford, Winthrop, Bradstreet, and Edwards all incorporated these ideals, values, and themes into their works.
In Of Plymouth Plantation, Bradford proposes that God is sympathetic to those who show piety. “…a lusty young man (called John Howland) coming upon some occasion above the gratings, was, with a seele4 of the ship thrown into the sea; but it pleased God that he caught hold of the topsail halyards, which hung overboard, and ran out at length…” (Bradford, 4 ). Bradford is showing piety by indicating that the man was in a deadly situation but was rescued because God wanted to save him, not because the man was strong that he caught hold of the rope but because God wanted it to happen. Bradford's journal also discusses how the Pilgrims interacted and established a peace agreement with the Native Americans, this displays the courage of Pilgrims. “For summer being done, all things stand upon them with a weather-beaten face, and the whole country, full of woods and thickets, represented a wild and savage hue” (Bradford, 5-6). This shows courage because they encountered new and unexpected environment. The reasons industry was a value to the Pilgrims was because had to hurt animals, farm crops, store food, and build forts and towns. “And after that they had provided a place for their goods, or common store… and begun some small cottages for their habitation…” (Bradford, 7). They had to build cottages for homes, they came to the Americas with nothing and
had to build everything for themselves, this shows industry and hard work. In A Model of Christian Charity, piety is an obvious value in Winthrop’s sermon. “When God gives a special commission He looks to have it strictly observed in every article…. Thus stands the cause between God and us” (Winthrop, 12). Winthrop indicates that when God reveals a command he anticipates it to be perceived in all features of their lives. In Upon the Burning of our House “Bradstreet displays a great value of piety. “And to my God my heart did cry/to strengthen me in my distress/and not to leave me succorless” (Bradstreet, 16). Instead of screaming “why me God?!”, she showed piety by saying God was there to support and strengthen her instead of leaving her weak and without anything when her possessions were taken away from her. “My hope and treasure lies above” (Bradstreet, 17). This also displays piety, Bradstreet states that personal property is not valuable nor important and that the real treasure is heaven, which she longs for. The value of courage is presented when Bradstreet says “He might of all justly bereft/But yet sufficient for us left” (Bradstreet, 16). Bradstreet has the courage to say that with God she has enough to carry on even though her house and belongings lie in ashes. In Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God, Edward shows piety when he says, “There is nothing between you and hell but the air, ‘tis only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up” (Edward, 19). Edward’s perception of Christianity was that people were naturally immoral and did not have an opportunity of being moral without God. The only thing that is preventing you from going to hell is the power and the desire of God.
Nathaniel Philbrick tells the story of the Pilgrims, beginning with them breaking away from the Church of England, emigrating to Holland, and eventually to America on the Mayflower. He talks about the relationship they had with the "Strangers" or nonbelievers that accompanied them on their adventure. He tells stories about disease, death, deception, and depression. I had never thought about it, but you know some of those people had to be suffering from depression. He tells of joys but mostly of hardships and as he describes some of the first meetings with the Native Americans. His description of the first Thanksgiving is not the same as the pictures I have seen all of my life.
(7 There once was an Italian man by the name of Amerigo Vespucci, who sailed the seas and explored South America. And later named America after himself.
In “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson,” Mary Rowlandson, a Puritan mother from Lancaster, Massachusetts, recounts the invasion of her town by Indians in 1676 during “King Philip’s War,” when the Indians attempted to regain their tribal lands. She describes the period of time where she is held under captivity by the Indians, and the dire circumstances under which she lives. During these terrible weeks, Mary Rowlandson deals with the death of her youngest child, the absence of her Christian family and friends, the terrible conditions that she must survive, and her struggle to maintain her faith in God. She also learns how to cope with the Indians amongst whom she lives, which causes her attitude towards them to undergo several changes. At first, she is utterly appalled by their lifestyle and actions, but as time passes she grows dependent upon them, and by the end of her captivity, she almost admires their ability to survive the harshest times with a very minimal amount of possessions and resources. Despite her growing awe of the Indian lifestyle, her attitude towards them always maintains a view that they are the “enemy.”
In “Eagle Plain”, by Robert Francis, the poem dramatizes the conflict between the nation’s “non-ideal” character traits and the “ideal.” Francis’ poem is also structured to have one main theme per two stanzas for a total of three: self-esteem, pride, and honor. The speaker then uses the “eagle” to symbolize the ideal American trait and uses personification and metaphors to help bring the eagle’s character traits to life, the poem also has an alternate allegorical meaning.
The pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock has had a number of important impacts on America today. Whether the impacts were positive or negative, it was the pilgrims that had taken the journey to the New World and made the present what it is today. Originating from England, the English were Puritans who believed that the Church of England was in need of spiritual purification. Instead of altering the church, the English set off on a voyage to the New World for new opportunities. The pilgrims could start over and build a new society from scratch without having the chance of having corrupting influences on the Old World. Religion wasn’t the only temptation of going to the New World, there was famine and the taxes in England that made them want to depart to the New World. The New World had the opportunity to obtain rights and then they could live in the society that they had envisioned (Gray, 48).
Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford gives us an insight into the endurance of the early settlers and the kind of pain they went through in order build the foundation of our great nation. They embarked on the new world and developed a colony from the ground up. However, there troubles started long before they even stepped foot on the land. With a strong hold on their religious beliefs, they continued their voyage to the new world even though there were questions about the safety of the vessel. They managed to work hard on the ship and make it to the new world, tired and hungry, only to learn that there was no rest to be found, but even more work.
Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of Jonathan Edwards, Cotton Mathers, and John Winthrop. This paper will explore the writings of these three men and how their religious views shaped their literary works, styles, and their historical and political views.
Walter Martin, a Christian minister, once said, “A key to strengthening spiritual muscles and enduring hardship is finding strength in the Word of God.” Life in the American colonies was incredibly hard for early settlers, especially to combat sin and abuse from others. However, this fight against the struggles was made possible through the help from the Word of God. Life in the American colonies was harsh and challenging for settlers because the whites tried to be as holy as possible and the blacks were overexploited.
The Sovereignty and Goodness of God is a primary source document written in the 17th century, by a well-respected, Puritan woman. This book, written in cahoots with Cotton and Increase Mather, puritan ministers, tells the story of her capture by Indians during King Phillip’s War (1675-1676). For three months, Mary Rowlandson, daughter of a rich landowner, mother of three children, wife of a minister, and a pillar of her community lived among “savage” Indians. This document is important for several reasons. First, it gives us insight into the attitudes, extremes, personalities and “norms” of the Puritan people we learn about in terms of their beliefs, and John Calvin’s “house on a hill”. Beyond that, despite the inevitable exaggerations, this book gives us insight into Indian communities, and how they were run and operated during this time.
When a writer starts his work, most often than not, they think of ways they can catch their reader’s attention, but more importantly, how to awake emotions within them. They want to stand out from the rest and to do so, they must swim against the social trend that marks a specific society. That will make them significant; the way they write, how they make a reader feel, the specific way they write, and the devotion they have for their work. Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgard Allan Poe influenced significantly the American literary canon with their styles, themes, and forms, making them three important writers in America.
Defining the American character is quite difficult because American identity is vaguely founded on shared values and ideologies, more so than a particular creed, race, or culture. In order to describe the American character, we will consider the dominate and distinctive qualities of Americans as interpreted by J. Hector St. Jon De Crèvecoeur and Thomas Paine. First, we will examine how Crèvecoeur illustrates Americans as industrious, prideful, and political in “Letters from an American Farmer.” Then, we will analyze from Thomas Paine's “Common Sense” how he depicts the prevalent qualities of Americans to be driven by justice, liberty, emotions, and individualism. Also, because both authors consider the American character and culture different
Early American literature consisted mainly of diaries, journals, short stories, and Indian creation stories. Since some of the language used was of older English and other languages, early American literature was difficult to read.The first story I read was Spanish Explorers in the New World. This story was a journal of Cabeza de Vaca’s travels and discoveries in the New World. After having a shipwreck, he and his fellow sailors were made slaves of the Indians. They walked barefoot, bleeding and ate raw meat for food. He also described how one tribe took over land.
For example, Franklin’s rise from poverty, which goes with the idea of the self-made man which was a narrative that was idealized for American character. With his 13 virtues, he kept tally and notes on whether he was following them or not and how he can continuously follow these virtues which “embodied a sense of American moral good” (Suarez, Benjamin Franklin Lecture). This also reflects the American character at this time. Furthermore, he was a successful businessman which was glorified as an trait for the American
Up until the early 17th century, American literature was chiefly about politics, religion, and recorded events. These writings were very dry and lacked insight into the everyday lives of the authors. To put into writing any individual spiritual reflections that strayed away from the religion of the colony could be dangerous at that time; possibly resulting in banishment from the colony or worse. Likewise, any writing that did not serve at least one of the purposes listed above was considered to be a waste of time that would be better spent praising God. Anne Bradstreet defied the rules of her time by writing about whatever she wanted including personal thoughts, reflections, emotions, and events. Bradstreet was the first to write about personal matters, which is her greatest literary contribution in early American literature.
Self-reliance is present in the writers of American literature as one 's own powers and resources rather than those of others in the purpose of feeling love for a nation and be kind as an example for all readers to follow the person and respect for what they should have been. Self-reliance makes more sense when we see in what context the authors write and the serious ideas they wanted to deliver to us. A closer reading of this period of authors allows us to view the value social reform movement and group action more than authors in the early period, so those were perhaps partly due to the maturity one gains in the life cycle, perhaps partly due to the failure of individual philanthropy to solve the increasing social problems of the author