Grant Ewing 8/1/11 American Literature Charity Clarke

Essay #1 The 17th century was a time of religious persecution and ostracization in the Christian Church of England. There those who fled to find a new land where they might seek and serve God in their own way, which were the Pilgrims. There were also those who sought to cleanse the Church of England of corruption and halfheartedness, which were the Puritans. Eventually, out of a feeling on inefficacy and hopelessness, the Puritans joined the Pilgrims in the American colonies. William Bradford is the most famous of the Pilgrim authors. He wrote the Mayflower Compact, and also his narrative Of Plymouth Plantation. It is easy to see through Bradfords style and phrasing his great respect and servitude of God. He saw America as a blessing from God to his people. America was a manifestation of God's benevolent providence in midst of their persecution. Bradford used his writing to see this magnanimous blessing appreciated and used well. The Puritans had much of the same response as the Pilgrims who came before them. They Saw America as the Hebrews saw the Promised Land. Which is evident in Cotton Mather's Magnalia Christi Americana, which translates: "A history of the wonderful works of Christ in America." In addition to their gratefulness, Puritan authors and Preachers sought to retrieve the backslidden Christians and those ignorant to the knowledge of Christ.

The Christian population had a direct influence on the worldviews and culture of Colonial America, and consequently the literature that was written. The writing style of the Colonial period was dominated by the theme of the knowledge and reverence of God.