Life presents itself easily when trials and tribulations are absent from the daily events. However, life’s defining moments tend to ensue due to the presence of toils. Anne Bradstreet’s Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th 1666 proves this true. During the night ferocious flame devoured her home and other worldly possessions. Yet, despite the tragedy that struck, she gained an amazing renewal and reminder of what is important in her life: her Puritan faith. Some could wonder how she preserved her faith, let alone have it strengthened. Arguments could include why a God that is all-powerful and all-knowing would allow a decent woman and her family to go through such a catastrophe. However, Bradstreet did not see it that way. She saw the calamity as God’s opportunity to remind her that material things are simply blessings bestowed by Him. She strived to make God the hope in her disaster. …show more content…
This statement applies to all, even the most devout Christians. According to the Litfinder Contemporary Collection’s analysis, “While many people think of the Puritans as dour religious zealots who shunned worldly joys, that portrait is skewed. The Puritans gratefully celebrated… worldly pleasures as gifts from God.” According to Bradstreet in her poem she even went through moments of grief over her belongings. Knowing she will never see her possessions again, she sadly beheld the remains of her home where she could still see where so many of her beloved belongings had sat (lines 21-28). She also took note that no memories with others shall ever come to life under what used to be her home
Main Characters: Macey Clare, Austin Fent, Mr. and Mrs. Macey, Monica and Henry Fent, Venita Edna, Grace, and Lindsay.
Puritans traditionally held strong views on their religious beliefs and the concept of weaned affections was an especially vital tenet of Puritanism. The doctrine of weaned affections essentially states that Puritans must relinquish their ties to earthly possessions in favor of maintaining spirituality as a priority. Although Puritans learned from infancy about “the importance of renouncing earthly nourishment and affection in favor of ‘spiritual milk’”, (“Weaned Affections”) many Puritans may still have had a difficult time with mastering this spiritual ideal. In “Verses upon the Burning of our House, July 10th, 1666,” Bradstreet depicts how the loss of her home is initially challenging for her to endure through her reminiscing of how she will miss her physical possessions and how her home enabled her to fulfill her duties as a wife and mother. Although this can be viewed as an immensely human response to such a devastating loss, Bradstreet is quick to remind herself, and readers, that the home and its contents truly only belonged to God and that she would do better to consider God’s kingdom over the rubble of her old home on Earth. In Anne Bradstreet’s poem “Verses on the Burning of our House,” the speaker discusses her attempt to reconcile the loss of her earthly possessions with religious tenets and, in doing so, highlights the struggle of Puritans to maintain the religious ideal of valuing only spiritual worth, as depicted through the concept of weaned affections.
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.
When looking into the history of the puritans one can find many things, however while reading “City Upon a Hill” and “The Divine Right to Occupy the land” one may then come up with the idea of the puritans being selfish.
I think we all can closely relate to Anne Bradstreet’s initial reaction to the burning of her house. We would mostly be concerned about our material items. We firstly, would think of all the items we lost. The possessions we had and the memories that came with them. The fact that we still have our lives would come shortly there after. It is only natural for us as humans to be worried about our material things
In Anne Bradstreet’s poem, “Upon the Burning of Our House”, it teaches the audience that even though bad things happen, God will always be there for a person in the long run. Bradstreet was feeling emotional about her house being up in flames, therefore she prays to God to help her out. After a couple minutes Bradstreet realizes that it was God’s intention to create this fire. She came to the conclusion that what she had in her possession was not hers to begin with, it was God’s. Moreover, her real home is heaven. Bradstreet titles the poem, “Upon the Burning of our
Worry ends when faith in God begins. Faith has been a part of history since the beginning of time and has remained constant throughout life today. Anne Bradstreet’s poem, “Burning House”, examines pure faith and the cry for God’s love in a time of need. Alongside of the poem from 1666, the movie ‘Courageous’, produced by Stephen Kendrick, represents during a tragedy, it is not always easy to keep a focused mind on the Lord, but the most significant way to be led through a tough time, is to praise the Lord. Anne Bradstreet’s poem and the movie ‘Courageous’, shows the relentless love from the Lord in a time of an aching heart.
With the time that the Puritans would have in the new world, this was beautiful music to the Puritans’ ears. Lastly, the Puritans’ lack of possessions would allow them to depend on one another much more “in the bonds of brotherly affection” (Winthrop 148). Since the Puritans would have no possessions to spend time on, they had more time to spend with one another, and thus depend on one another. Through spending time with one another, the Puritans would build bonds and friendships that are much better than any material possessions they could own. Through these points, Winthrop encourages the Puritans to not become weary about their lack of wealth, but instead see their poor souls as opportunities for God to work in their life.
Even though young Sarty despises his father’s (Abner) crimes, why does he keep these crimes to himself and not expose his father? Throughout the text of “Barn Burning”, Sarty seems to have repetitive feelings of grief and despair, yet he hesitates to out his father for his crimes. Sarty is hesitant to out his father for his crimes because he hopes his father will change, he fears his father will harm him physically or emotionally, and he places a priority on his family’s wellbeing before his own.
Child abuse has been a common occurrence throughout the times of this world. In the story Barn Burning that was written by the author William Faulkner, a story is told of a boy named Colonel Sartoris Snopes who lives with his family. His father is a man who has seen the brutality of war and has a very cold heart. His name is Abner Snopes. His heart is so cold that it is almost as if he is not even human. William Faulkner in the story uses words comparing Abner Snopes to a house fly, or stinging wasp and also says that he lifts his hand like a curled claw. This suggests that the Author was trying to give the readers an image of Abner Snopes being someone who lacked human qualities. Mainly he lacked
William Bradford was one of the main reasons that the Puritan movement got rolling. He led puritans to the New World. When people wanted to give up he pushed them to keep moving. Bradford believed in something, stood for it, and did something about it. It was because of him that the Puritans could live and have freedom of beliefs. His writings were historical narratives. He talked about the lifestyle of Puritans. He wrote Of Plymouth Plantation, which was about the colony’s first years in America. Bradford gives a telling account of how the Pilgrims were forced to flee to Holland in 1608, the immense suffering they underwent while there, their manner of living in that alien land, and their eventual determination to sail to the New World. Bradford
On February 9, 1942 at New York City's pier 88 crowds gathered to witness the largest ocean liner in the world, the USS Lafayette be on fire. The Normandie was intended to set sail under the U.S. flag on February 14th, 1942.9 The conversion crew requested more time on February 6th because they believed the conversion would not be completed in time, their request was denied and were put in a frantic state to complete it in time. The time given for the conversion crew did not give them enough time to clean and prepare their work places making the condition more and more unsafe until it practically became more normal to them. At approximately 2:30pm a welder in the first class lounge of the SS Normandie was put under pressure with the short time frame to complete the job and did not move the life preservers which eventually ignited the fire. The Normandie's modern firefighting system was disabled during the conversion and once the New York Fire Department arrived
The Puritan religion was the basis for other works such as Anne Bradstreet. "And to my God my heart did cry, to strengthen me in my distress, and not leave me succorless." This is from a poem called, "Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10 1666." This particular piece entails the happenings of the Bradstreet homestead burning. During this difficult time Anne often speaks to God about letting go of her worldly possessions. Religion is one of the many things that helped new settlers through the beginning years of America. Another value that helped during this time was freedom.
The literary voices of the Puritan settlers and their descendants focus very much on God because their lives were God-centered. They were willing to leave their homeland to worship him the way they thought was correct. Their efforts for perfection were for God. In the sermon, “A Model of Christian Charity,” Winthrop says, “…if we shall neglect to the observation of these articles… the Lord will surely break out in wrath against us…” William Bradford’s journal, “Of Plymouth Plantation,” shows the Puritans belief that God was directly involved in people’s lives. “It pleased God… to smite this young man (a profane seaman wishing death to the Puritans) with a grievous disease, of which he died in a desperate manner.” Multiple times throughout the
Through his writing, Of Plymouth Plantation, William Bradford emphasized the divine power and grace of God and how He was the complex being that controlled the consequences of sin and the benefits of being a good Puritan. Bradford once stated that Puritans in England were frequently “taken and clapped up in prison” or “had their houses beset and watched night and day...” For these reasons among others, Bradford and many other Puritans journeyed to America for religious and authoritative refuge. Bradford fervently believed in the capacity of God’s forgiveness but also in His punishments. In reference to seven dignified and respected men, Bradford recognizes that it was their Puritan ideals and faithfulness to their religion that kept them in God’s grace. “And yet the Lord so upheld these persons as in this general calamity they were not at all infected