of Plymouth Plantation

The author of "of Plymouth Plantation" is William Bradford. William Bradford was a young thirty year old man aboard the Mayflower in 1620. He was what you call a separatist. ("Before You Read" 62) A separatist is a person was a person who withdrawals from the established church. ("Separatist | Define Separatist at Dictionary.com.")This was very much so for the young thirty year old. This is like a puritan in a way because they did seek to reform the church. The difference is that actual puritan people are very strict on their morals and religious matters and wanted to purify the church with these strict rules.(" Puritan | Define Puritan at Dictionary.com.") William Bradford believed very much in the church and the rules of the church. He believed that God was playing a part of his life every day. The story "of Plymouth Plantation" has a very strong Christian base to it. It is very obvious that William believes that God is affecting everyone's lives everyday. The quote "And yet the Lord so upheld these persons as in this general calamity they were not at all infected either with sickness or lameness...." (Bradford 66) shows how William Bradford believe that God chose is someone were to live or die that day. He believed that we had no choice in when we lived or died. Bradford wrote about how on the Mayflower certain people died because the Lord said it was to be so and that some people did not die because the Lord believed that to be so. This is a huge comparison to the Puritan life style because they believe that the lord affects everything in their lives. The quote "But after they had sailed that course about half the day, they fell amongst dangerous shoals and roaring breakers, and they were so entangled therewith as they conceived themselves in great danger; and the wind shrinking upon them withal, they resolved to bear up again for the Cape and thought themselves happy to get out of those dangers before night overtook them, as by God's good providence they did." (Bradford 65) shows the long and perilous journey that Bradford and those on the Mayflower with him endured. It also showed how throughout the men and women still put there eyes and faith towards God. This is why they believed that the only reason they finally made it to the Cape's shoreline was because of God's good graces. These are just two of many examples in the story "of Plymouth Plantation" that show how William Bradford story had puritan writing qualities to them. The story was constantly showing how God was the reason they lived, died, helped, or were abandoned. They believed God controlled all and Bradford displayed this in his story.



"Separatist | Define Separatist at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 05 Sept. 2011. .


"Before You Read: From Plymouth Plantation." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 62-63. Print.

Bradford, William. "From Plymouth Plantation." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 64-67. Print.

" Puritan | Define Puritan at Dictionary.com."Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 05 Sept. 2011. .