Entry A. William Bradford
About William Bradford

1590–1657, governor of Plymouth Colony, b. Austerfield, Yorkshire, England. As a young man he joined the separatist congregation at Scrooby and in 1609 emigrated with others to Holland, where, at Leiden, he acquired a wide acquaintance with theological literature. Bradford came to New England on the Mayflower in 1620 and in 1621, on the death of John Carver, was chosen leader of the Pilgrims. He remained governor for most of his life, being reelected 30 times; during the five years in which he chose not to serve, he was elected assistant. Bradford, though firm, used his large powers with discretion, and there were few complaints about his leadership. He maintained friendly relations with the Native Americans and struggled hard to establish fishing, trade, and agriculture. He stressed the obligations of the colonists to their London backers and was one of the eight colonial “undertakers” who in 1627 assumed Plymouth Colony's debt to the merchants adventurers. Given a monopoly of fishing and trading privileges, they finally discharged the debt in 1648. Bradford was more tolerant of other religious beliefs than were the Puritan leaders of Boston (although he was by no means consistent in this respect), and he was largely responsible for keeping Plymouth independent of the Massachusetts Bay colony. His famous History of Plymouth Plantation, not published in full until 1856, forms the basis for all accounts of the Plymouth Colony. The editions of W. T. Davis (1908), W. C. Ford (1912), and Samuel Eliot Morison (1952) are the best.


Thesis Statement

In an excerpt from William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation, although the Puritans experience hardship on their travels to America, in their initial arrival and in their dealings with the Indians, they still remained reverent to God and to one another.

Passage

Being thus arrived in a good harbor, and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element. And no marvel if they were thus joyful, seeing wise Seneca was so affected with sailing a few miles on the coast of his own Italy, as he affirmed, that he had rather remain twenty years on his way by land than pass by sea to any place in a short time, so tedious and dreadful was the same unto him.

Reflection

It strikes me how reverent the Puritans remain to their God, and how upon arrival to the "New World" they all fall to their knees to praise God for a safe journey overseas.

Extension (Immigration Political Cartoon)

Immigration is a growing concern to many Americans, because many of our jobs are being taken by illegal aliens, but is the work ethic of an immigrant stronger than that of a true American? In the political cartoon there is a headstone with the words "R.I.P. Immigration Reform" on the front. This shows that our plans to reform the immigration problem failed and it is now being put to rest. Then you have a politician observing the person digging the hole in front of the headstone saying "...And he works cheap!" This conflicts the idea of immigration reform, because indeed it is an immigrant they have digging the hole. We are so concerned with immigration but all of our little jobs no true American would do or work for are the jobs that immigrants are taking and they work hard at what they do.

Entry B. Anne Bradstreet

Poems:

-"To My dear and loving husband"

-"Upon the burning of our house"

----------------------------------------------------------------------

-"In reference to her children"

My favorite poem by Anne Bradstreet was "In reference to her children." It's rational and a lot of people could relate to it. Were going through a time now where our parents are having the same emotions as Anne did. She wishes she could keep her children youthful forever but the reality of it is they grow up and all she can do is be proud that she raised her children as best she could.

Woman's intensiveness in being a mother while their husband is at work has made women more practical to women voting because they stand up for their rights. In the political cartoon there is a man holding two crying infants as he looks up at the woman. This shows that the father is taking on the woman's responsibility of caring for the children. This connects to Anne Bradstreet because Anne is always taking on the role of caring for the kids while her husband travels. Also in the political cartoon is a sign that says "Votes for Women." This shows that women are now given the right to vote. This shows that she is taken action for the rights she is now given. This compares to Anne Bradstreet because she is the type who really voices her opinion and if women were given the chance to back then she would have taken advantage of this opportunity.

Entry C. Edward Taylor

In the poem "Huswifery" by Edward Taylor, it is through the use of imagery, rhyme, and literary conceit that the author is able to convey a message that suggests that with maintained care and praise you can gain Gods grace.

I was impressed by all of the poem. I think it was really clever how the author used spooling wool into thread and creating a beautiful sweater to show how he worked at and praised God in order to gain his grace.

Entry E. Jonathon Edwards

"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"

IMAGES

Fire:

"The flames gather and flash about them"

"That lake of burnin

g b

rimstone"

"Dreadful pit of the glowing flames"

"Burns like fire"

"Loathsome insect over the fire"

"Full of the fire of wrath"

"Flames of wrath"

Insects:

"spider's web"

"venomous serpent"

"one holds a spider"

Water:

"Bottomless gulf"

"Great waters that are dammed for the present"

"Waters are constantly rising"

"Flood-gate"

Additional Imagery:

"Held in the hand of God, over the pit of hell"

"Swallow them up"

"Hell's wide gaping mouth open"

"Heavy as lead"

"Falling rock"

"The world would spew you out"

"Black clouds of God's wrath"

"Bow of God's wrath is bent"

"Arrow made ready on the string"

"Thin air and empty shadows"

"Purer eyes"

"God's hand has held you up"

REFLECTION (IMAGERY)

Johnathon Edwards uses very powerful images to convey his idea of hell. I think the three images he mainly focused on was fire, water, and insects. Fire is something commonly associated with pain and death, Water is the most powerful thing on land and while it can be beautiful it can also be extremely destructive, and insects are just repulsive, therefore I think these image choices are relevant to the m

essage Edwards is trying to convey about "hell".

Critical Thinking Questions

What was stirring, striking, or memorable to you

in reading this sermon?

I think the most striking thing about reading this was the vivid imagery. The imagery is what pretty much makes the sermon, there is so much of it and its so deep and creates in your mind this idea of hell.

In a modern day version of this sermon, what would be some of the main images associated with "hells wrath"?

-Glaciers melting

-Famine

-Plague

-Nuclear War

-Spread of Swine Flu

How are listeners meant to feel after reading this sermon?

I think it is meant for you to feel mortified after reading this. The images created in this sermon are so power, and makes you question is this really how they portrayed your outcome for not remaining faithful to your God.

What are the most prominent themes associated with these images?

I think all the images convey a theme of painful death, misery, trepidation, and destruction.

POWERFUL WORDS

I think the words in this sermon also played a large role in conveying the message. Some words that struck me as powerful are as follows:

-Inconceivable, Fiery, Destruction, Misery, Veng

eance, Avail, Wickedness, Arbitrary, Dreadful, Prudence, Executed, Corruption, Wrath, Gaping, Descend, Power, Swallow, "Burning Brimstone", Groans, Spew, and Plunge.

PASSAGE: O Sinner!

Consider the fearful danger you are in; it is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you, as against many of the damned in hell. You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to singe it, and burn it asunder; and you have no interest in any Mediator, and nothing to lay hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing that you ever have done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you one moment.

WHY: I thought this paragraph was the most powerful out of all of them because it sums up the beliefs they have towards God and how to save yourself from hell. Edwards uses powerful phrases like "slender thread" and "flames of divine wrath" to convey that without God's grace you will be thrown into the flames of hell and spewed out

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: The essential question "What is the relationship between independence and dependence?" in reference to "Sinners at the hands of an angry God" shows that while you are allowed to be independent in your choice of beliefs, but within that belief you are dependent on those beliefs. In this sermon, they are dependent on their belief in God and that by gaining his grace it will save them from the flames of hells wrath.

Entry F. Slave Narrative

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: The essential question "What is the re

lationship between independence and dependence?" in reference to the Slave Narrative shows there is no independence in their voyage to America. The slaves were unwillingly taken from their home and brought to a "strange land". However, while the slaves have no independence, they are dependent on their "masters" to receive food as they make their way to the Americas. The "masters" too are dependent on the slaves in a sense that, they don't want them to die because they will not make profit.

EXTENSION- Political Cartoon:

Injustice in the court system occurs through Racial profiling. In the political cartoon, there is a courtroom seperating the "white" sentence from the "colored". This reveals how through racism, bias is created in the court by not providing equal punishment to all man. Furthermore, in the cartoon you can see that the "white" punishment is mild, while the "black" is extreme. Through this, you are able to see how through bias, racism is created, thus revealing that the severity of the punishement is determined solely based on ethnicity. Injustice in the court is created through racism which creates then causes bia, which in essense creates racial profiling.

VIDEO MONTAGE