Transcript Puritans in America

The Literature of
Colonial America
Puritans
Puritans
 In 1560, a group (Puritans) wanted
to purify the Church of England.
 Felt that the Church of England had
become a product of political
struggles and man-made doctrines.
 Puritans wished to return to a
simpler form of worship and church
organization.
Puritans
 Believed neither the clergy nor the
government has the right to act as
intermediary between man and
God.
 Because of this, many were persecuted,
put in jail, tortured, and even killed.
Puritans
 They also believed that they were God’s
“chosen elect.”
 They wanted to purify Christian faith;
they believed that a complete
separation from the corrupt Church of
England was best.
 In 1620, William Bradford led a small
group to the New World.
Puritans
 They voyaged to the New World on the
Mayflower and established Plymouth
Plantation.
 Part of their motivation for coming to the
New World was to create a “city on a
hill”—a shining beacon of God’s grace
and goodness on Earth.
 Viewed as the second Paradise, a land
gifted by God to establish a society
patterned after His word.
Puritans
 The Puritans believed they must set an
example.
 Their behavior was extremely important.
 There would be serious consequences
if they did not live up to their beliefs.
 Believed God chooses an ‘elect’ few to
save from eternal damnation.
Puritans
 PREDESTINATION: God has chosen
his elect before we are born.
 One never knows if he/she belongs to
the damned or the elect group.
 Everyone must live a holy life (you
never know if you are elected)
 Salvation comes from God’s grace.
Puritans
 If God chooses to bestow this gift, then
it will be reflected in behavior: selfreliance, industriousness (seriousness),
temperance (self-restraint), and
simplicity
 Puritans entered into a contract with
God to create a society governed by the
scriptures.
Puritans
 They believed that the Bible was God’s
true law, with a guide for living;
 Everyone worked together for the
common good.
 Puritan lifestyle demanded strict
conformity.
 Dissenters were often flogged,
banished, or even sometimes put to
death.
Puritans
 Belief in the literal authority of the Bible,
which served as a model for their own
lives.
 Puritans turned to the Literal Authority
of the Christian Bible as a code for
living.
Puritans
 Human beings are sinful by nature.
 The World Is an Arena For the Battle
between the forces of God and the
forces of Satan, a formidable enemy
with many disguises.
 A person who was outwardly sinful was
manifesting the evil that had been
predestined for him.
Puritans
 Those who were favored with wealth
and happiness had been chosen by
God.
 Those elected by God have full power
to interpret the will of God, and to live
uprightly.
 Hard work and success are signs of
God’s grace.
Puritans
 Protestant work ethic: the belief that
hard work was an honor to God which
would lead to a prosperous reward.
 Education is essential in order to read
the Word of God.
 The puritans created America’s first
university, Harvard, in Cambridge,
Mass.
Puritans
 A person should be thrifty, modest, and
simple.
 Emphasis on individual responsibility,
on a direct and personal relationship
with God.
 Society should be ruled by covenants
that parallel God’s covenant with his
people.
Puritans
 Puritanism, and its emphasis on self-
discipline, individualism, responsibility, work,
and asceticism was also an important
influence upon the values and attitudes of the
emerging middle classes.
Decline of Puritanism
 Puritanism declined rapidly in the 18thcentury
for several reasons:
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Many non-Puritans settled close by and the
Puritans failed to convert them.
Introduction of the philosophy that humans are
naturally good and “perfectible”
Spread of Capitalism –work is monetarily
rewarded
Spread of Democracy –no one is elect;
everyone has their own choices to make
Characteristics of Puritan Writings
 Purpose of Puritan Literature:
 Spiritual enlightenment and enrichment
 Record history
 Personal reflection
 Puritans were not allowed to read fiction for pleasure.
 Literature and art’s main purposes were to teach.
 The Puritans were able to be successful writers
because they were incredibly well-educated.
 Supported the idea of education for all of the
colonists.
Characteristics of Puritan Writings
 The Bible was a great influence.
 Their writing predominately reflected their
religious views.
 Puritan literature concerns life as a journey to
salvation.
 Literature was considered to be a tool to
explore faith and to meditate upon God.
 Literature mostly consisted of Diaries and
histories describing God’s work.
Characteristics of Puritan Writings
 The language was very plain, clear, with
no figures of speech or flowery/lavish
description.
 Strong imagery and inversion – the
reversal of the usual word order of a
sentence – were used for emphasis and
variety.
Characteristics of Puritan Writings
 Literature included allusions to people and incidents
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from the Bible.
Biblical metaphors were often used to explain the
Puritan condition.
One of their writing techniques was the use of
jeremiads.
A jeremiad is an interpretive account of one’s
hardships, meant to demonstrate one’s faith in God.
Some jeremiads were exaggerated, to make the faith
challenge more impressive.
Characteristics of Puritan Writings
 The reading public was literate and
well-grounded in religion.
 Puritans were basically middle
class and fairly well-educated.
 Writing should be a tool to help
readers understand the Bible and
guide them in their daily lives.
Characteristics of Puritan Writings
 Used writing to explore the inner and
outer lives for signs of the workings of
God. Search soul for signs of grace.
 Must accomplish good through hard
work and self-discipline. Can’t take
election for granted.
 Diaries and histories were the most
common types of literature.
William Bradford (1590-1657)
 One of the leaders of colonial America.
 Bradford arrived at Cape Cod on November
11, 1620, on the flagship Mayflower.
 He was one of the authors of The Mayflower
Compact.
 Was the first leader of the Puritan colony, and
wrote “On Plymouth Plantation”.
William Bradford (1590-1657)
 Emphasized the idea that dedicated believers
could create a utopian society, a society that
was perfect.
 His writing style is heavily influenced by the
writing style of the Bible, particularly the Old
Testament.
 His writing was heavily influenced by plain
style, a form of writing that emphasized the
use of ordinary, rather than ornate or poetic
diction.
John Winthrop (1588-1649)
 One of the founders of the Massachusetts
Bay Colony.
 Winthrop arrived in 1630 aboard the flagship
Arbella.
 As governor of the Colony, he established the
center of government at Boston.
 Winthrop began writing his Journal in 1630
and continued it till his death.
 On board the Arbella, he prepared his famous
sermon "A Model of Christian Charity."
Anne Bradstreet(1612?-1672)
 Famous as the first American poet
 Poetry as a means to explore
relationship between the individual and
God.
Mary Rowlandson
 Many question the reliability of what she
wrote.
 Her story become one of the most widely sold
books.
 Sensationalized her accounts of her
experience with the Indians she encountered.
 As a result, captivity narratives became a
huge genre of literature in the era.
Mary Rowlandson (1637-1711)
 “A Narrative of the Captivity and
Restoration…”
 Her depiction of the Indians also helped
create the cultural myth of their savagery.
 Both colonists and the people back home in
Europe became convinced that the Indians of
North American were “savages” and “devils”
because of these accounts.
Forces Undermining Puritanism
 A person's natural desire to do good - this
works against predestination.
 Dislike of a "closed" life.
 Resentment of the power of the few over
many.
 Change in economic conditions - growth of
fishery, farms, etc.
 Presence of the leaders of dissent - Anne
Hutchinson, Roger Williams.
Forces Undermining Puritanism
 The presence of the frontier - concept of self-
reliance, individualism, and optimism.
 Change in political conditions Massachusetts became a Crown colony.
 Theocracy suffered from a lack of flexibility.
 Growth of rationality - use of the mind to know
God - less dependence on the Bible.
 Cosmopolitanism of the new immigrants.