Examination of Puritan Philosophy in Bradfords On Plymouth Plantation :: essays research papers

Examination of Puritan Philosophy in Bradfords On Plymouth PlantationThe Puritan commonwealth first came to the New World to make do the religiouspersecution that hounded Non-Anglicans in England. They established thePlymouth Colony in 1620, in what is directly Massachusetts. The liquidation was areflection of the Puritans beliefs. These beliefs, along with the experienceof establishing a colony in the middle of nowhere, impressed the writings ofall who were problematical with the colony. In this writing, the Puritan philosophybehind William Bradfords Of Plymouth Plantation will be revealed. Somefactors that will be considered include how Puritan beliefs affect WilliamBradfords edition of events, the representation of Puritan theology inthe above mentioned text, and how Puritanism forms the basis for Bradfords motivation in writing.In Bradfords text, there are numerous instances in which his beliefsaffect his interpretation of what happens. In Chapter IX (nine) of Of Plymouth Plantation, entitled Of Their Voyage , he tells of a sailor ..of a lusty,able body.. who would always be condemning the poor people in their sicknessand cursing them daily.he didnt permit to tell them that he hoped to help casthalf of them overboard out front they came to their journeys end. But, itpleased God before they came half-seas over, to smite this materialization gentlemans gentleman with agrievous disease, of which he died in a desperate manner, and so was himself thefirst that was thrown overboard. Bradford believes that the sailor diedbecause God was punishing him. gibe to Bradford, the sailors cursing, andmistreatment of the other passengers displeased God, so God punished himaccordingly.In the comparable chapter, Bradford tells of another ship passenger named JohnHowland. At one plosive speech sound in the trip, the Mayflower came upon a violent storm.The winds of the storm were so fierce, and the seas were so high, that all thesailors and passengers had to hul l for divers days together. During thisstorm, a young man named John Howland was thrown into the sea, and as Bradfordtells us, it pleased God that he caught hold of the topsail halyards which hungoverboard and ran out at length. Howland caught hold of a rope, and though hewas sundry fathoms under water, he held on until he was hauled up. Bradfordreasons that the man was saved because he was blessed by God. He goes on to saythat he became a profitable member in both church and state, implying that JohnHowland was one of the so called Puritan Saints. To the Puritans, Saints werepeople whom God was to save, so these people received Gods blessings, and