Puritan Qualities of Bradford's Writing

In my opinion, Bradford's writing seems to be very typical of the time period.  It fits so well that I am beginning to wonder if these examples of early American literature were specifically picked out to make a point, or if the style really was that consistent. They are all very much alike.

In the first passage of Bradford's book, it shows how many people of the time considered everything that happened in their life to be an act of God.  He writes about a young man who was making fun of all the people who will die on the boat ride, when he himself is the first to get sick and die (Bradford 15). In the second passage in the book, Bradford talks about how it was God's will that a sailor was saved (Bradford 64). Reading through Bradford's writing, we can see how he references to God's strong influence of people's lives.

The most Puritan characteristic I noticed in Bradford's writing was its very simple style. With some writers, reading their prose is like to reading poetry, but such is not he case with Puritan style writing. Bradford's work, along with other Puritan writing, is very plain.  I am not a huge fan of then simplicity of this writing. Sure, it can be interpreted easily, but I prefer more detail in the things that I read. I did not find the writing bad, but it is just not my favorite.  I actually liked reading about some of the passages in his novel.

One thing we talked about last class was how Puritan writing often references scripture. The Puritans were very knowledgeable about the Bible. When he talks about how the Pilgrims landed in America, he mentions how some apostles were received in a foreign land (Bradford 65). Most Puritan writing has a lot of references to the Bible in it, and so does Bradford's writing. Despite my being a Christian, many of his passages I had never even heard before. People during that time must have read their Bible a lot more often than we do now.

Bradford, William. "Of Plymouth Plantation." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.