Harrison Literary Paper 1

I enjoyed reading about William Bradford's attempts to rationalize the New World, and his settlement there in terms of his religious beliefs. This was a very challenging piece for me not only to read and analyze, but to write about because of the change in language from that time period to today's.



Alyssa D. Harrison
English 201
Evelyn Beck
09-22-06

William Bradford, the Importance of Religion in His Life.

The importance of religion is very evident as you read the writings of William Bradford (William Bradford Of Plymouth Plantation). He constantly makes Biblical references throughout his text many times comparing and contrasting the events unfolding to events in the Bible. The Journey by the settlers into a what Bradford calls “hideous and desolate wilderness full of wild beasts and wild men”, (Bradford 328) into an unknown country that he viewed to be not unlike Moses’ situation as he viewed the Promised Land from Mt. Pisgah in the Bible.
Throughout his narrative he interprets Biblical passages to relate to himself and his fellow travelers. Such as this quote in which he compares the Pilgrims to Biblical passages. “Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wilderness; but they cried unto the Lord, and He heard their voice and looked on their adversity” (Bradford 329). It is not to say that the situation in which Bradford and his fellow settlers found themselves was not serious. They were struggling for their very lives against a harsh winter without food, adequate shelter, or clothing. Perhaps the seriousness with which they took their faith was enough to sustain their minds and souls as their bodies struggled against the harsh reality the found themselves in. “ Yea, persons were afraid of the houses themselves. It so fell out that at the same time divers of the chief of this town were met together at one house, conferring with some of their friends that were upon their removal from the place, as if the Lord would herby show the signs of His displeasure, in their shaking a-pieces and removals one from another…. So powerful is the mighty hand of the Lord, as to make both the earth and sea to shake, and the mountains to tremble before Him, when He pleases. And who can stay His had. (Bradford 340) I believe that he wanted to show with this passage, that the Lord would strike them down if His will were not followed.
As they adjust and build their lives, however, Bradford still seems to view the events of his life in a religious fervor, ready to condemn his fellow man without remorse based on his interpretations of the Bible. His condemnation of Thomas Morton, as well as the youth Thomas Granger was written without pity or compassion for the lives of those men. It was written as though God condemned them, not their fellow man. I think Bradford needed God to condemn them so as not to hold guilt over how they were judging their fellow man.
Throughout this dissertation, however, you do see loss and sorrow through his eyes. Elder Brewster was obviously a pillar in his life whom he mourned greatly. You also begin to realize toward the end of his writings that he is mourning the loss of their way of life as the Pilgrims welcome in new towns and churches in the Colony, and see their own Plymouth church dissipating. Other religions other that the Puritan beliefs, such as the Catholic, Protestant, Presbyterian, and other religions were building churches, and gathering followers. It was hard for the pilgrims, to handle.
It was an age of hardship, an age of discovery, creation, and belief. Throughout it all, William Bradford did hold to his beliefs, and survived in the harshest of times. He is a testament to his faith. Did his beliefs help his survival, and that of his fellow countrymen? Did he feel that his struggles were a test from God to prove his love and loyalty? He seems to stay true to his path and his faith, and not question God in this, and that may have been what kept him strong. Belief that God watched over him and his countrymen, and gave them the strength to weather even the harshest of times kept them going. They built lives, towns, and families amongst the harshest of conditions and came out on top. Even by today’s standards that is a feat in itself. I don’t know many people now who would have the fortitude to keep to their beliefs, to struggle on in adversity. William Bradford is truly a man to be admired.






Works Cited Page.

1. Patricia Scott Deetz; James Deetz. Mayflower Passenger Deaths, 1620-1621. The Plymouth Colony Archive Project. Retrieved on 2006-09-18
2. Lauter Paul, eds. The Heath Anthology of American Literature Boston, Ma; Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.