Bradford's writing is very typical of the time period. In fact, 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.
The first passage in the book by Bradford shows how most people attributed the events that happened in life to 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). Even though Bradford was a Pilgrim instead of a Puritan, his writing still had references to God's influence in events.
Another Puritan quality that Bradford's writing had was that unadorned 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 is very plain, and in my opinion the stark honesty in Bradford's writing is not nearly as charming as that in the stories we read earlier this week. That is not to say that I found the writing bad, in fact I rather liked it when he wrote about how the healthy people took care of the sick people.
He even makes references to scripture in his writing, a very Puritan quality. 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. All of the references to the bible really make me think about how little of it that I have actually heard about. I had never heard anything about the story Bradford mentioned in his story. I guess people during that era knew their bibles a lot better than people do now.
The first passage in the book by Bradford shows how most people attributed the events that happened in life to 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). Even though Bradford was a Pilgrim instead of a Puritan, his writing still had references to God's influence in events.
Another Puritan quality that Bradford's writing had was that unadorned 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 is very plain, and in my opinion the stark honesty in Bradford's writing is not nearly as charming as that in the stories we read earlier this week. That is not to say that I found the writing bad, in fact I rather liked it when he wrote about how the healthy people took care of the sick people.
He even makes references to scripture in his writing, a very Puritan quality. 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. All of the references to the bible really make me think about how little of it that I have actually heard about. I had never heard anything about the story Bradford mentioned in his story. I guess people during that era knew their bibles a lot better than people 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.
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