John Calvin offered 5 tenets for the basic Puritan beliefs. Two tenets, unconditional election and perseverance of the saints, is explain in three different literature pieces. The tenets basically explain that God has selected a few people for salvation, the elect, and has given these elect people full power to interpret the will of God. William Bradford, Mary Rowlandson, and Anne Bradstreet relate themselves to a supreme hierarchy as being chosen, which is still evident in American culture today.
William Bradford believed the Separatists and himself were put through tests and survived because they were chosen by God in his story, “Of Plymouth Plantation.” They first left England because they did not believe they could fix the Church
Mary Rowlandson.” When she was captured by the Indians, she reflects back to everything she had lost. “All was gone, my husband gone . . . my children gone, my relations and friends gone, our house and home and all our comforts---within door and without---all was gone” (130). She then realizes that none of that was important, as long as God was on her side. As time passed, she became ill along with her child. However, she did not let this discourage her. “Oh, I may see the wonderful power of God, that my Spirit did not utterly sink under my affliction: still the Lord upheld me with His gracious and merciful spirit, and we were both alive to see the light of the next morning” (131). After some time, Rowlandson realized she had been forgetting to celebrate the Sabbath day, and she was worried God was going to punish her. “Yet the Lord still showed mercy to me, and upheld me; and as He wounded me with one hand, so he healed me with the other” (131). No matter what happened, Rowlandson remained strong in her faith, even though God took everything from her. However, God came through in her time of need. He made sure she did not fail and even sent a Bible when she was in her darkest place to bring her back to light. Her account shows the perseverance of a chosen
In her poem, “Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th, 1666,” Bradstreet tries to explain God’s intentions through human actions and how she overcame the trials thrown at her. The poem opens with her house burning in flames. “I, starting up, the light did spy, / And to my God my heart did cry / To strengthen me in my distress” (Lines 7-9). She is calling to God to help her as she watches her house become engulfed in flames. However, as the poem continues, she realizes that everything she had was artificial and not part of her heavenly home and states, “It was His own, it was not mine” (Line 17). She thanks God for taking things that were not hers to begin with and leave her with all she needed: her family and promise of Heaven. Nonetheless, she still misses all the memories and moments shared in the house, “My pleasant things in ashes lie, / And them behold no more shall I” (Lines 27-28). She suffers through an internal struggle between her love of people and things and her love and service to God. By being alive to tell the story of her house, she believes she is special to God and he makes her realize what is truly important in
On February 10, 1675, Mary Rowland was captured in Lancaster, Massachusetts. While being held captive, she narrated her experiences and tried to affirm her Puritan beliefs throughout her survival of being in captivity. She’d rather go with the “ravenous Beasts” than die because she wanted to “declare” of what was happening to her throughout her journey (70). Mary Rowlandson believed God was omniscient, forgiving, and omnipotent and it shaped her perception of the world in an affirmative way throughout all the chaos and suffering.
Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano both had many obstacles in a certain period of life. From the different narratives, trials and tribulations were brought upon both. Taken from the life of which accustomed to and put in sometimes very harsh conditions had an antagonistic effect. Despite it all, Rowlandson and Equiano were able to get through by keep faith in God, the word of the bible, and spiritualism in itself. After all of the trials and tribulations Rowlandson and Equiano were able to escape and look back on all the things they went through. Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano can be compared and contrasted by family life, conditions while captured, and moment of rescue.
God displays his protective powers in various ways. She is shown to be in despair numerous times. So many things happen that keep chipping away at her spirit. The Indians come and ransack the town, basically burning it to the ground. She is separated from all of her children except for one and even in that moment, her daughter dies in her arms after being wounded by a gunshot. Rowlandson herself is injured and is forced to keep travelling despite her conditions. Chaos seems to surround her at every angle. She is initially given a very miniscule amount of water to sustain her on the trip along with some nuts and crumbs. Rowlandson states that “… still the Lord still upheld me...” and also that “he hurt me one hand, and proceeded to heal me with the other”. She believes that due to her people being unfaithful, the Lord is now punishing them so that they can repent. But her being puritan and a chosen one, instead of being killed off, she is preserved and is allowed to get back in God’s good standing. At one point she even thinks of attempting suicide and ending all the misery but she states that thanks to God, she came back her senses and reason to know that she couldn’t go through with such an act. God was using the Indians as agents to punish the Puritans and in doing so, whenever the opportunity for freedom arrived and for some reason the opportunity was not seen
Whether in the Old World of community, familial relationships and traditional values, or in the New World of non-traditional relationships, individualism and uncertainty, the struggle for survival predominates the immigrant narrative. Religious and racial intolerance, social upheaval, economic hardship, and political turmoil underscore the causes of emigration, but the New world was far from idyllic, and traces of these scourges checkered the landscape of the New World as well as the Mother land.
“A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” by Mary Rowlandson is a short history about her personal experience in captivity among the Wampanoag Indian tribe. On the one hand, Mary Rowlandson endures many hardships and derogatory encounters. However, she manages to show her superior status to everyone around her. She clearly shows how her time spent under captivity frequently correlates with the lessons taught in the Bible. Even though, the colonists possibly murdered their chief, overtook their land, and tried to starve the Native Americans by burning down their corn, which was their main source of food, she displays them as demonizing savages carrying out the devil's plan. There are many struggles shown during the story, both physical and emotional, but her greatest struggle is her ability to prove the satanic nature of the Indians without diminishing her reputation, but, instead, elevating herself into a martyr-like figure. From beginning to end, Mrs. Rowlandson strives to display that she is an immaculate Puritan, that within the Indian tribe and the Puritan community she has superiority, and that the Indians are barbaric creatures possessing satanic dangers.
Mary Rowlandson was a Puritan. Puritans are very strict and believe in almost the same values that major monotheistic religions believe in; such as, the devil, they give God credit for everything, and look to God for answers and help. This pretty much speaks for every single voice Rowlandson brings forward in her memoir. Constantly and with much admiration she quotes the Bible and this shows the intensity of the situation she was dealing with and her steady trust in God. “The next day was the Sabbath, I then….His presence forever” (remove #2), as one might assume, Rowlandson very faithfully makes herself the culprit despite losing most of her family. The innocence and the thoughtfulness that comes out of this particular statement says every single thing about her, the fact that she is serious about her being, and the depth of her religious self. Religion immensely affected the experience she and her family had because as she continuously justifies the situation she is in, the Bible shapes her story. “I know O Lord that….hast afflicted me” (remove #11) and “Shall there be evil in a City and the Lord hath not done it?” (Remove #15). From what I understand Rowlandson is sure that she is where s...
It is only by accident did William Bradford actually become a separatist in England, however, by the age of 17 he is a “Committed member, sharing the radical idea of separating from the official Church of England.” (Kelso, 20...
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.”
In Smith’s narrative he gives thanks and credit to God for his escape of death each time it occurs. Occasionally, specs of scripture from the Bible would be referenced, but the majority of John mentioning of God is done with a stroke of ambiguity. Mary was the wife to a minister therefore her understanding of God was deeply rooted with in scripture. Rowlandson heavily saturates her narrative with verses from the Bible, and is extremely vulnerable with her own struggles while she was with the Indians. This gives the reader a clear picture of how important her faith is. Contrary to Smith’s account Rowlandson leans upon her knowledge of the Bible and her relationship with God through more than just her victories. In some of her darkest moments while being held prisoner she would quote scripture in order to overcome adversity. The core difference between these two narratives in terms of religious references is the motive behind them. Smith’s motive was to simply do his duty by mentioning God because it was politically correct to say while Rowlandson was writing from a place in her heart. Her motive has no evidence of political ties.
The Puritans had five basic beliefs, which were very similar to Calvins' doctrins. Johannes Calvin was a french Protestant reformer, who lived in Geneva.
The extreme crisis that Bradstreet goes through in losing her house and of her possessions would be detrimental to any human being. The content in this poem reflects the doubts, thought process, and battle Bradstreet had with her faith during this crisis. An example of Bradstreet showing her grief throughout the poem would be as followed: “Then, coming out, beheld a space/The flame consume my dwelling place/and when I could no longer look,/I blest His name that gave and took,” (Bradstreet 11-14). This quote exemplifies Bradstreet’s loss especially with the line “and when I could no longer look” (14). This quote indicates Bradstreet’s immense grief to the point where her eyes cannot bare to look at what causes her pain. Another example of the grief Bradstreet is going through is as followed: “Here stood that trunk, and there that chest,/There lay that store I...
This poem is a firsthand account of how Anne Bradstreet was feeling when she experienced the loss of her granddaughter, Elizabeth. Although Bradstreet's attitude on Elizabeth's death seems to reflect her belief in God's plan, the diction suggests otherwise.
She observed the Indian attack, and she described her suffering as God’s will. As she said, “when God calls a Person to any thing, and through never so many difficulties, yet he is fully able to carry them through and make them see, and say they have been gainers thereby” (514). Rowlandson believed that everything comes from God, and she sees everything happens as God’s plan. During her first week of captivity, she listened to the people who captured her and behaved well. She had only cold water and no food for 9 days. She was very scared about her situation but she was survival by relying on God. In her twenty’s removal, she got a lot of encouragement and strength from God and the bible. She can always find scriptures from the bible to give her power and comfort. In the Fourth Remove, she got the precious Scripture from God: “Jer.31.16. Thus saith the Lordm refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears, for thy work shall be rewarded, and they shall come again from the land of the Enemy” when she was so tired and hungry (p.493). It was God giving her support during her 20 removal; it was God made her survival. In Puritans’ worldview, people are blessed if they believe in God. They do what God pleases them to, and their happiness comes from God. Puritans value God than anything else. They believe that they are blessed because
The central assertion of Calvinism canons is that God is able to save from the tyranny of sin, from guilt and the fear of death, every one of those upon whom he is willing to have mercy. God is not frustrated by the unrighteousness or the inability of men because it is the unrighteous and the helpless that he intends to save. In Calvinism man, in his state of innocency, had freedom and power to will and to do that, which is good and well pleasing to God; but yet mutably, so that he might fall from it. This concept of free choice makes Calvinism to stand supreme among all the religious systems of the world. The great men of our country often were members of Calvinist Church. We had the number of Presbyterian presidents, legislators, jurists, authors, editors, teachers and businessmen. The revolutionary principles of republican liberty and self-government, taught and embodied in ...