An Analysis Of William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation

During the reign of James I, a small group of these humble country folk left for Leyden, Holland, where they were allowed to practice their religion as they wished. Some years later, a part of this Leyden congregation decided to immigrate to the New World where, in 1620, they founded the “Pilgrim” colony of Plymouth.

In John Smith’s, “Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles,” and William Bradford’s, “Of Plymouth Plantation,” they discuss their lifestyle and adventure in the colonies. They also use specific literary styles and techniques to describe to the reader of their unbelievable experiences. In addition, both passages have many similarities and differences amongst each other involving their writing. They are similar because they both tell a story, have a narrative style, use imagery and repetition, and discuss religion. On the other hand, they are not alike because they have different styles, tones, and purposes.

“The General History of Virginia” and “Of Plymouth Plantation” are similar and different in many ways. They are the first settlers of America and came for different reasons, different goals, and different ways of life. Although they were different they both risked their lives for a new life in return. John Smith and William Bradford were two different people. John Smith was an Adventurer and William Bradford was a Puritan. Their differences and similarities personified through two works of writing.

The English had two main colonies in the new world, Jamestown and Plymouth. The first colony was Jamestown, established in Virginia in 1607. Jamestown was settled by Captain John Smith, and was named after King James I. Tobacco was the main export of Jamestown, and became the basis of the Jamestown economy, sending more than 50,000 lbs of the plan back to Europe by 1618 (textbook 46). Jamestown had a very rocky start, many colonists dying in the first few years of the settlement, and the settlers had many problems with natives. Shortly after the arrival of English colonists the Natives attacked them, and were finally forced back by a canon from the English. A very uneasy truce was finally settled between the natives, called the Powhatans,

We all tend to have a certain way of doing things that when it comes to everyone else, we start to believe it’s a divergent way of doing things. In other words it’s an act of ethnocentrism. A perfect and extreme example of ethnocentrism would be Hitler and the Nazis against the Jews. Hitler believed that the Jews were subordinate to his ethnicity and his believes so they didn’t deserve to live. This connects with Bradford and Smith’s in the way of first impression. They both saw the native americans in an unfriendly way and very different from them due to their choice of style and that’s exactly where ethnocentrism plays a role. Bradford and Smith had their own opinions on the native americans once they touched land and saw them.

On September 6, 1620, 102 men, women and children from England boarded a small cargo boat called the Mayflower and set sail for the New World. The passengers left their homes in England in search of religious freedom from the King of England. Today they are known as "pilgrims."

In Of Plymouth Plantation, William Bradford writes of multiple acts of God’s divine providence acting on the Pilgrims during their journey to Virginia and the subsequent founding of Plymouth Plantation. Bradford’s portrayal of events he labels providence, such as the death of the lusty seaman, the finding of the corn seeds by the exploring party, and the repulse of the Native American attack, shows his belief that God acted through natural events and reveals aspects of Puritan theology and thinking.

In the text it states “ I had gotten into a world of bad spirits” (Equiano 58). Equiano referred to his captors as bad spirits because as soon as he arrived on the boat he was roughed up by the captors. He called the captors savages because he had never been around people like them. In the text Bradford states “ He directed them how to set their corn where to take fish and produce other commodities” (Bradford 11). This shows how the pilgrims became accustomed to being around the Native Americans. They were so kind to them that the Pilgrims were no longer scared , and they learned skills to live.

The ideal most important to early colonists’ survival and success was piety. One way we see this is in William Bradford’s text, “Of Plymouth Plantation”. Bradford states, “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.” This explains the pilgrim’s belief, that without God they would have succumbed to the harsh way of life. Piety in this moment was vital to the pilgrim’s survival, without their strong belief in God they wouldn’t have had the will to survive. Evidence of piety can also be seen in “A Model of Christian Charity”, by John Winthrop. “We must delight in each other, make others’ conditions

In the stories “The general history of Virginia” by John Smith and “Plymouth Plantation” by William Bradford, there are many similarities and differences between these two.

The stories called “The General History of Virginia” and “Of Plymouth Plantation” are both similar and dissimilar stories. These stories were journals of two different people going through the process of building their own town. Even though these stories are very much different from each other, they both talk about the same thing. They both want to build a town where the number of population is very high. Although “Of Plymouth Plantation” is a story where religion is something they do, something they have faith on, it helps them. It helps them in a way because they are starving and have no food nor water. But, having faith is what helps them go through the struggle of starvation. In the other story “The General History of Virginia” they are

In 1620, people had to flee from religious persecution, and endure fierce storms while still relying on the grace of God to save them. At the same time in other parts of the world, the wrath of God was preached to the church bringing the fear of God into the people. William Bradford is the author of “Of Plymouth Plantation” who was a pilgrim writing of their voyage and how hard it was, yet through it all they still relied on God. Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon called “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God”, and might I say they title speaks for its self. Just by looking at the titles of these two texts you would think that they have nothing in common but I am here to tell you that you could never be more wrong.

The essay discusses from the story “From the general history of Virginia”, by John Smith, a historical narrative is about the landing and the discovery of Virginia in 1607 at a place called Jamestown, this was the first permanent English settlement in the new world, the Americas. Also “From of Plymouth plantation”, by William Bradford, a historical account, is about when 13 years later about 100 settlers went on the big fancy ship called the Mayflower and landed in Massachusetts at a place they named Plymouth. With these two colonies, english settlements in north America were born. They historically had some similarities and also the colonies had differences too.

-He spoke about the tribe as individuals naming those who had been lost and worried for the sake of his people lacking the necessary supplies to survive. He also mentioned wishing to search for those who had been lost in the battle.

Where does the truth lay when there are two different perspectives on the same situations? Unfortunately, there is no clear cut answer. In William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation and Thomas Morton’s New English Canaan, there are many discrepancies between each story. Both men seek to defame one another in order to preserve the innocence of their individual characters. They are not exactly successful in their mission when Morton and Bradford spend time discussing their issues with one another. There is a lot of finger pointing in these parts yet neither man assumes any responsibility for the troubles. William Bradford and Thomas Morton utilize different approaches to paint each other in an unfavorable way causing their goals to fall short.