Lewis Hyde’s book Trickster Makes This World contains an excerpt called “Slipping the Trap of Appetite” in which the first line reads, “The trickster myth derives creative intelligence from appetite.” During the time of William Bradford, separating from the Church of England by law is considered an act of treason. Bradford will become part of a group, known as the “Separatists,” who did not wish to follow the national church. This group will encounter many difficulties in their escape of religious persecution and search of freedom. William Bradford reveals the Pilgrims’ appetite for religious freedom and displays their creative intelligence in escaping persecution in his book, In of Plymouth Plantation.
The suffering and hardships that the Pilgrims endure in England and in Holland make their appetite for religious freedom greater than ever. “But after these things they could not long continue in any peaceable condition, but were hunted and persecuted on every side, so as their former afflictions were but as flea-bitings in comparison of these which now came upon them” (Bradford 123). This quote from William Bradford reveals the kind of suffering and persecution that is endured by the “Separatists” as they search for a place of religious freedom. While in England, the “Separatists” are subject to being thrown in prison as punishment for breaking the law. Many of their houses are watched night and day to catch them practicing a different religion. Most of them are more than happy to leave their homes and belongings to escape the persecution so that they are free to practice their religion. In Holland they are free from persecution, but a truce between the Netherlands and Spain will soon come to an end and it has them worri...
... middle of paper ...
...iam Bradford’s, Of Plymouth Plantation, can be valued as a type of trickster myth. It most certainly has the characteristic of the typical trickster, which are a desire for nonconformity and change. The Pilgrims appetite for religious freedom or “nonconformity” with the national church led to a display of creative intelligence or a “change” in the way of thinking to escape persecution.
Works Cited
Bradford, William. "Of Plymouth Plantation.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A: Beginnings to 1820. . 8th ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 122-148. Print.
Hyde, Lewis. "Slipping the Trap of Appetite." Trickster Makes This World. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1998. Print.
"William Bradford 1590-1657." The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A: Beginnings to 1820. . 8th ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 121-122. Print.
I believe Bradford’s audience for his journals in Of Plymouth Plantation, is to target anyone in the future generation. It is especially
Comparing the Writing Styles of Bradford to Byrd In the Elements of Literature English book the excerpts from the stories of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford and The History of the Dividing Line by William Byrd can be compared and contrasted in many ways. Whether it's the difference in writing styles, the difference purposes for writing the stories, or simply each writer's tone, this paper will give examples of each comparison or contrast.
John Dickinson, from Letters from a farmer in Pennsylvania (1768) from Voices of America Past & Present pgs. 66-67
Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford, The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles by John Smith, and The Tempest by William Shakespeare, seem to have one thing in common in that they all touch upon the aspect of life in the new world. While The Tempest alludes to the new world and focuses on an imaginary concept of a Utopian society, The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles and Of Plymouth Plantation offer first hand accounts of life in the new world. John Smith tells us about life on the new land and his experiences with natives while William Bradford emphasizes the difficulties and hardships that the people had to endure in building a colony.
Waggoner, Hyatt H. “Nathaniel Hawthorne.” In Six American Novelists of the Nineteenth Century, edited by Richard Foster. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1968.
To some, tricksters may only be thought of as weak figures from Native American or African American tales who are seeking an objective and find creative ways to outsmart their opponents. However, there are many accounts of people in American literature that can be compared to tricksters. Olaudah Equiano and Phillis Wheatley are two of these people. Both Equiano and Wheatley use their creative abilities in an effort to accomplish a unified goal: abolishment of slavery. In The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavas Vassa, the African, Written by Himself, Olaudah Equiano emulates a trickster because he is disadvantaged in comparison to his foes (slave owners), but ends up victorious. Equiano’s actions parallel that of
Burnham, Michelle. "Merchants, Money, and the Economics of "Plain Style" in William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation." American Literature. no. 4 (2000).
The main focus of the story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is the triumph of evil over good. A supposedly good man is tempted by evil and allows himself to be converted into a man of evil. This is much like the situation that arises in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, where two people are tempted to sin and give in thus submitting themselves to the power of the devil. In this novel, the area where the devil resides is strictly parallel to that in “Young Goodman Brown”.
.... Jo Kinnick in “Stories Derived from New England Living.” In Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by Clarice Swisher. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996.
The traveler goodman Brown encounters with the serpentine staff is one supernatural element Hawthorne includes in Brown’s quest. "He had cast up his eyes in astonishment, and looking down again, beheld neither goody Cloyse not the serpentine staff, but his fellow-traveler alone." (Hawthorne 390). Hawthorne’s use of the traveler with the serpentine staff suggests goodman Brown’s own subconscious debate of evil within man and his innocence. All the “witchy” encounters the traveler leads goodman Brown to on his quest seem to only lead him further from finding himself than he was at the start. Washington Irving also uses a supernatural element with the infamous headless horseman in “The Legend of Sleepy
In “ A Description of New England ”, Smith starts by describing the pleasure and content that risking your life for getting your own piece of land brings to men. On the other hand, Bradford reminds us how harsh and difficult the trip to the New World was for the p...
Tate, Thad & Ammerman, David; The Chesapeake in the Seventeenth Century; U.N.C. Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; 1979.
"Nathaniel Hawthorne." American Studies @ The University of Virginia. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma01/lisle/dial/hawthorne.html
...hey leave the reader with a lesson that could influence communities. Their context, impact, and ability to be associated in any society allow them to function with power and vigor in societies to come and in societies past. Although the language and grammar of the trickster tales is challenging, the image that can be created is greater than any barrier. Dr. Bright of the Unviersity of California recognizes the persistence of the Native American tricksters tales in the world today.
Kelly, John. ENGLISH 2308E: American Literature Notes. London, ON: University of Western. Fall 2014. Lecture Notes.