Of Plymouth Plantation- Reflection Blog

In Of Plymouth Plantation, William Bradford tells us about the Pilgrims and their journey here. Like the previous stories we read, this one also makes reference to God and religion a lot. I think that this is one of the most Puritan-like qualities in this story because religion is a very important part of the Puritan-lifestyle. In this story, William Bradford tells us a lot about the struggles they went through being among the first to arrive here and how difficult it was to survive in the beginning. Similar to the stories we read last class, William Bradford also talks about how even though their situation is grim, these people still give thanks to God (Bradford 65). For example, in the story from last time about the lady who was held hostage she frequently gave thanks to God because she knows her situation could have been worse and she seen it as a blessing. In this story, William Bradford describes a scene to us of the Pilgrims landing on the beach after a really rough time traveling. In this scene, the people are on their knees on the beach giving thanks to God for their safe landing (Bradford 65). I think that by telling us about this part of the story William Bradford is showing us that even though they all went through a lot of suffering on the journey there, they still give thanks to God because He gave them a safe landing. I think that this is a very Puritan-like quality because in all of the stories we have read so far there is always something incorporated about giving thanks to God. I think that William Bradford wrote in a Puritan style in this story because of all of the references made about religion and God. Puritans also liked to write about things and journal because they believed it helped them explore themselves inside and out to reveal the workings of God inside them. I think that this could also be considered a way that William Bradford wrote this story with some Puritan-like qualities. Puritans wrote diaries and stories about history because they believed it showed the direct workings of God, and William Bradford wrote a story about history, which is yet another Puritan-like quality I found in this story. William Bradford mentioned in this story the Mayflower Compact, which is like the rules made by the Pilgrims that they all lived by. These rules were very simple, for example one said that they if at war each community would aid the other community (Bradford 67). I think that this is yet another Puritan quality that William Bradford reveals in his story. I think that in this story William Bradford reveals many Puritan qualities by relating everything to God and including religion in his story. In this story the Pilgrims believe that everything that happens to them is because of God and when something good happens the first thing they do is give thanks to God (Bradford 65). I think William Bradford uses many Puritan writing styles in his story.

Bibliography

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. 62-68. Print.