In print, typology refers to the process of using a plate or stamper to produce a text en masse. The prototypical basis or antitype from which subsequent pages are created is illegible, reversed, and unique. Comparatively, the reflection or type that the reader sees lacks the inherent perfection of the original, but in its reproduction gains accessibility and legibility. This model of stamper and stamp, of plate and page, also serves as a rhetorical contrivance for theologians and authors to suggest a relationship of creator and creation. Born from the human need to explain the world around us, figurative typology grants authors the ability to interpret a confusing existence in the patterns of types and antitypes. Following the general climate …show more content…
More specifically, it evolves from a means of understanding life through the Bible, evident in the works of Mary Rowlandson, to a method of purposively interpreting God to inspire spiritual fidelity by Jonathan Edwards, before ultimately becoming a primarily secular device to support the American Revolution by Thomas Paine. In A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, Rowlandson utilizes typology in order to interpret her traumatic experience through scripture. The depth of this usage presents itself even in the work’s original title, as she places the “sovereignty and goodness of God” as the antitype to her “captivity and restoration,” immediately drawing the comparison between her life and the will of the Lord (Rowlandson 257). This variety …show more content…
Reflective of the growing secularism in American politics, Paine’s pamphlets eschew the historical exegesis that the typologies of Edwards and Rowlandson represent. In one particularly illustrative passage, Paine writes that “Even the distance at which the Almighty hath placed England and America is a strong natural proof that the authority of the one over the other was never the design of Heaven” (“Common Sense” 645). Though he maintains the religious ancestry in his assignation of type and antitype, God fulfills neither role; here, Paine argues that physical distance creates political distance. Although he mentions the will of God to strengthen the validity of his claim, his logic holds regardless of the existence of a deity. This proves a substantial change from the conventions of typology prior to Paine, as even though Edwards also wields type and antitype as persuasive tools, his rhetoric depends on the assumption of a higher power for cogency. As such, Paine offers a paradigm of the evolution of typology from its Puritan roots to the secular instrument it becomes across the literary
As America slowly began molding into the creases of different values and cultures, so did its literature. One trait that had always been securing itself within the lines of these literary texts was the protagonists’ naivety. Theses characters typically established an intention to do good things, but eventually fail due to tumbling upon tempting obstacles and falling into the trance of distractions. An example of this situation occurred long ago during the 16th and 17th century. A cult of English Protestants known as Puritans aimed to “purify” the Church of England by excreting all evidence of its descent in the Roman Catholic Church. The Puritans enforced strict religious practices upon its believers and regarded all pleasure and luxury as wicked or sacrilegious. Although their “holy” cond...
In the 1700’s the Puritans left England for the fear of being persecuted. They moved to America for religious freedom. The Puritans lived from God’s laws. They did not depend as much on material things, and they had a simpler and conservative life. More than a hundred years later, the Puritan’s belief toward their church started to fade away. Some Puritans were not able to recognize their religion any longer, they felt that their congregations had grown too self-satisfied. They left their congregations, and their devotion to God gradually faded away. To rekindle the fervor that the early Puritans had, Jonathan Edwards and other Puritan ministers led a religious revival through New England. Edwards preached intense sermons that awakened his congregation to an awareness of their sins. With Edwards’ sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” he persuades the Puritans to convert back to Puritanism, by utilizing rhetorical strategies such as, imagery, loaded diction, and a threatening and fearful tone.
“In God We Trust” is the phrase upon which we base our country. It can be seen on our money, in our justice system, and even in our Pledge of Allegiance. By recognizing God as the foundation of truth and justice which most people were inclined to accept, both Paine and Henry formed successful arguments based partly upon transfer. Because God is considered the truth, the right way, and the fair judge of the world, it only made sense to use His influence to give credibility and the positive connections associated with God to the American Revolution. As intended, both audiences freely a...
To begin with, the dual narratives of the text here present a unique mixture of chronology and perspective. Moreover, noteworthy is also McBride’s usage of the rhetorical strategy of alternate chapters and parallelism. This can be seen when McBride remarkably places related chapters together to juxtapose the life of his mother and that of himself. This allows one to observe the parallelism in the two lives; and perhaps more importantly, understand the significance Ruth’s life has had on McBride. For example, McBride places the chapters “Shul” and “School” next to each other. Here, both Ruth and James are struggling and are trying to fit in but are rejected due to racial and social conflicts. Another example is, “The New Testament” and “The Old Testament.” Both of these chapters revolve around the embarrassment Ruth and James feel for their circumstances. In “The Ne...
By being educated at a young age in literacy, I included it in my pottery and also working for newspaper companies strengthened my form of expression. Working in the South Carolina Republican and then later on The Edgefield Hive as a typesetter, it was a good experience helping my literacy skills but I didn’t feel fully indulged. I did it because I had to but also to learn. By understand typography, I was able to understand the science of the anatomy of type. They taught me the use of size, spacing, and placement of typography in order to show hierarchy, direction and attraction. I became to understanding that type is a collective of shapes and strokes. Master Abner 's newspaper did not get a lot of publicity and hit a crisis, which led him to cease publication of the newspapers. Master Abner then moved to Columbia, South Carolina, in 1832. He decided to leave me back in Edgefield and...
Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of Jonathan Edwards, Cotton Mathers, and John Winthrop. This paper will explore the writings of these three men and how their religious views shaped their literary works, styles, and their historical and political views.
Gaustad, Edwin S. The Religious History of America: The Heart of the American Story from Colonial Times to Today. N.p.: HarperOne, 2004. Print.
Starting in his younger years, Edwards struggled with accepting the Calvinist sovereignty of God. Various circumstances throughout Edward’s own personal life led to him later believing in the sovereignty of God. Jonathan Edwards is known greatly as a key figure in what has come to be called the First Great Awakening of the 1730s and 1740s. Fleeing from his grandfather’s original perspective by not continuing his practice of open communion, there was a struggle to maintain that relationship. Edward’s believed that physical objects are only collections of sensible ideas, which gives good reasoning for his strong religious belief system.
...ve Indians. From the copious use of examples in Winthrop's work, and the concise detail in Rowlandson's narrative, one can imbibe such Puritans values as the mercy of God, place in society, and community. Together, these three elements create a foundation for Puritan thought and lifestyle in the New World. Though A Model of Christian Charity is rather prescriptive in its discussion of these values, Rowlandson's captivity narrative can certainly be categorized as descriptive; this pious young woman serves as a living example of Winthrop's "laws," in that she lives the life of a true Puritan. Therefore, both 17th century works are extremely interrelated; in order to create Winthrop's model community, one must have faith and closely follow Puritan ideals, as Rowlandson has effectively done in her A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.
While Crèvecoeur may insist cultural diversity is the significant quality that establishes American character from any other nation, he and Paine agree that the American identity is formed by the ideas of freedom, civil rights, and justice. According to Micheal True, Paine is able to capture how Americans dream of personal freedom, and how a fairly new and untested government becomes unique to their experience. True depicts Paine's “ essays embellished the American dream and showed a deep trust in the democratic process, as represented by the colonial experiment. It showed a firm belief in a new age, free of the burdens of the past. “ (American Writers:A Collection of Literary Biographies, 506). While Americans seem to demand more from their governments and justice systems, Paine suggests Americans have an uncommon character for justice. Paine says what is lawful and ethical according to the common people is a ubiquitous and specific trait to the Americans. He admits American justice and integrity, “they distinguish us from the herd of common animals” (331). While freedom, justice, and civil rights can be desires of the character from many other nations, the opportunity to enact their ideologies into a new society separates Americans from those under a pre-existing
Mary Rowlandson’s story came from the journaling of her brutal 11 weeks in captivity filled with sad and unfortunate events. She was taken captive by a group of Indians after they surrounded her house and devastated her town. Watching her family be slain in front of her, she herself was shot. Her daughter, which was a little over six years old, was shot in the stomach while Mary held her but still grasped onto life for a few more days (Lincoln, 258). Mary Rowlandson and her child were taken hostage and made to w...
A panoramic narrative, What Hath God Wrought, written by historian Daniel Walker Howe portrays revolutionary improvements in transportation and communications that accelerated the extension of the American empire. In his story, Howe weaves together political and military events with social, economic, and cultural history. Howe examines the rise of Andrew Jackson and his Democratic party, but contends that John Quincy Adams and other Whigs--advocates of public education and economic integration, defenders of the rights of Indians, women, and African-Americans--were the true prophets of America's future. In addition, Howe reveals the power of religion to shape many aspects of American life
In her account, A Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, Rowlandson
In “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson,” Mary Rowlandson, a Puritan mother from Lancaster, Massachusetts, recounts the invasion of her town by Indians in 1676 during “King Philip’s War,” when the Indians attempted to regain their tribal lands. She describes the period of time where she is held under captivity by the Indians, and the dire circumstances under which she lives. During these terrible weeks, Mary Rowlandson deals with the death of her youngest child, the absence of her Christian family and friends, the terrible conditions that she must survive, and her struggle to maintain her faith in God. She also learns how to cope with the Indians amongst whom she lives, which causes her attitude towards them to undergo several changes. At first, she is utterly appalled by their lifestyle and actions, but as time passes she grows dependent upon them, and by the end of her captivity, she almost admires their ability to survive the harshest times with a very minimal amount of possessions and resources. Despite her growing awe of the Indian lifestyle, her attitude towards them always maintains a view that they are the “enemy.”
The captivity narrative is one of the first styles of literature that was ever birthed from the “new world.” This specific style of literature perfectly catered to what kind of information the folks in England were hungry for. It was real life accounts of an individual’s experience in a mysterious land that England wanted to read about. Scholars have debated whether some captivity narratives have been fabricated to adhere to what the public demanded however the majority of the narratives share the same exact traits as one another whether they are deemed trustworthy or not. The accounts of John Smith and Mary Rowlandson differ in degrees of authenticity, but both hold traits that are parallel with one another.