I really enjoyed the literature
by Rowlandson and Bradstreet. Their writing was very heartfelt and emotional,
and they did wonderful at describing what happened to them and narrating their
personal stories. I noticed many times that Rowlandson and Bradstreet’s writing
reflected the Puritan style of writing. Both have a strong Christian background,
clearly, and they often mention God in their writing. Most of all, they praise
him and thank him in their times of trouble, rather than scold him for their misfortune.
They give him utter authority, and many times they connect their domestic life
with their religious and spiritual ones. Their religious beliefs affect how they
react to the harsh and cruel situations that they go through, which is a strong
characteristic of a Puritan. Mr. Langley’s presentation on Puritans says that Puritans
used their writings to explore their inner and outer lives for signs of
workings of God, and also that they commonly wrote diaries and histories that
directly expressed the workings of God. I saw all of these typical Puritan
writing techniques in these two works.
First of all, Rowlandson’s story A
Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson was extremely reflective of Puritan styles. From
the very beginning she compares her current situation to a biblical one, and
quotes something that Job said in the bible, comparing her life to that of his
because Job was tested and went through many hardships, but continued to rely
on God (Rowlandson, 82). Right from the start she connects her situation with a
Bible story, which is very reflective of the Puritan style. As the story
continues, she continues to mention God, saying once, “but God was with me in
wonderful manner, carrying me along, and bearing up my spirit, that it did not
quite fail” (Rowlandson 83). She recognizes God’s authority in her life, and
her religious belief reflects how she views her situation. Another thing occurs
and shows how her beliefs affect her views. When her child dies, she mentions
having thoughts to kill herself, and claims that it was only God who ‘preserved’
her from ending her ‘own miserable life’ (Rowlandson 83). This shows how her
belief in God changed her perspective on the situation, and she doesn’t take
her own life. Later she describes a direct ‘working of God’ in her life, and
tells readers how she got lost on her way to see her son, and though she met
many new Indians she didn’t know, none of them harmed her (Rowlandson, 84). She
directly gives God the credit for this miraculous situation. At the end of the
story, she describes how the Lord dealt with her ‘mercifully’ and how she had ‘been
in the midst’ of ‘roaring lions’ and ‘savage bears’ and how none of them
offered her any ‘abuse’ (Rowlandson 85). She trusts in the Lord and believes
that Her brought her out of her pit with his mercy and preserved her life. Her
writing is very reflective of the Puritan style from beginning to end.
The other writer, Bradstreet,
also had many Puritan writing characteristics in her work. She expresses a
strong belief and reliance on God in her writing, which is a very common
Puritan characteristic, and is constantly seen throughout her poem. She starts
out describing how she saw her house burning and says that she cried out to God
to strengthen her in her distress (Bradstreet 91). Rather then call on anyone else, she first cries out to God, which
shows her utter devotion and trust in him. As she watches her house burn to the
ground, I noticed how she drew God’s divine plan out of it, and how she had a
simple understanding of her situation because of her belief in God. She
mentions blessing his name because he is a giver and a taker, and the one who
provided her with the means to even have a house in the first place (Bradstreet 91). This, again, reflects the Puritan style of writing because Puritans linked
situations in their life to direct workings of God. She describes her sorrow
and grief for losing everything that she ever owned, and you think that the
story is going to end on that melancholy note, but instead, she talks of God’s
heavenly home that he is building for her in heaven (Bradstreet 91). She has a
positive outlook in this harsh tragedy, linking it to God, again reflecting the
Puritan characteristics.
Rowlandson, Mary. "A
Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson." Glencoe
American Literature. N.p.:
McGraw-Hill, n.d. 82-85. Print.
Bradstreet, Anne. "Upon
the Burning of Our House." Glencoe American Literature. N.p.:
McGraw-Hill, n.d. 91. Print.
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