"Plymouth Plantation" Reflection Blog

I thought that it was very interesting that Of Plymouth Plantation was very different from the other two things that we read, Upon the Burning of Our House and the narrative about Mary Rowlandson. In the other two things that we read, I said that they both kind of reflected Puritan writing because they used words that were very elegant and beautiful sounding. However, in Of Plymouth Plantation, Bradford is very straight forward and uses a very plain writing style. (Bradford, 15) Also, like the other two pieces that we read, there are many references to God. Actually, the whole thing really is about God. Normally, I read the book by myself and I do not use the audio option. But this time I just decided that I was too tired to read myself, so I turned on the audio and the first thing I noticed was his tone of voice. Even though it was not the real William Bradford, I believe the book does its best to really speak how they would speak. So , I was very surprised because his tone of voice was very kind of mean and demanding. He spoke a lot about how we are all sinners and will face the wrath, unless we are a new creation. (Bradford, 63) The Puritans were very religious and strong in their faith, so if you were a sinner and were not a new creation, they would talk about hell and how you have not escaped the wrath. I also noticed how they, or at least William Bradford, views God. They do not view God always as a merciful loving God, but rather a harsh and judging God. Bradford often speaks about how God looks at us as almost as we look at Satan himself. (Bradford, 64) Another example is when Bradford talks about how God is just holding us over hell, and the only thing between hell and us is air. I thought this was very interesting because even though some people think of God this way as well, most of the time we have always been taught that God protects us and is very loving and merciful. The Puritans obviously had a different point of view, when it comes to who God is and what he thinks of us. The writing style is also like that. Unlike the last pieces we read that were elegant and pretty sounding, this piece is kind of harsh and commanding. William Bradford is speaking to you and basically telling you all of these things about God as a fact a not as an opinion. Now maybe that was just the way William Bradford was, and maybe not all Puritans were like this, but I feel like he was kind of bossy when it came to his religion. Then again, he was a leader wasn't he? Even though, I don't know if I agree with everything that William Bradford said, I actually really liked this piece, especially when audio read it to me. It was really cool because it kind of felt like you were actually listening to him speak.

Bradford, William. Of Plymouth Plantation. Glencoe. Print.