Essay on The Day of Doom by Michael Wigglesworth

Puritanism was a major belief during the 1500s-1700s, Puritans believed that you are required to devote your whole life to the Lord. In order to be a Puritan you had to glorify God by attending church, report sinners, and show God’s grace through your own actions. In

This was one of the most notorious days in Puritan history. Nathaniel Hawthorne set many of his stories during the years of that tragic event, in Massachusetts. Many of his stories revolve around a protagonist character that battles corruptness in their belief in faith of the Puritan religion. The Puritan lifestyle revolves heavily around the church, as they believed that Faith had already decided who shall go to heaven, and those who would be sent to hell. I believe that Hawthorne tried to infer in his writings about that being held to do no wrong while living heavily through the church can leave someone vulnerable to the temptation of being corrupt (Nathaniel Hawthorn biblical context) pg 310-312). Hawthorne uses symbols in the plot of his stories that often refer to entering forests, which stands for going to see the devil. Puritans believed that Native Americans that roamed the land were devil figures. Usually Hawthorne’s stories would result in a tragic ending, but for the character, the outcome is often deserved. ***Hawthorne stories featuring symbolism that reflects his puritan ancestry in his hometown of Selma, Massachusetts, include the following: The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables, and Young Good Man

Religion had a powerful impact on Puritans lives. Many Puritan people had faith in a supreme being, God, and the teachings of his Divine Son, Jesus Christ. They’d assume that if you weren’t a good Christian they would suffer in hell, but if you were one would be saved by god. An example would be in the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” the speaker strongly describes about how being a bad Christian has its consequences and the good things that come of being a good Christian. “Many that were very lately in the same miserable condition that you are in are now in a happy state, with their hearts filled with love to him who has loved them, and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God.”(152)This explains how they had a strong feeling towards god’s ways. By being concerned about their religious life and being good Christians.

When the Puritan came to the New World after being rejected in England for their beliefs, they knew the demand of perfection in God’s eyes could never be fully accomplish. Humans could never live up to the standards that God set out. After settling in New England, the Puritan became well aware they needed to have law enforcement with religious obligations, and most importantly the sexual temptations. Knowing that human could never fully obey God’s word and always be tempted, the puritans enforced certain punishments for certain sexual crimes, including fornication, adultery, rape and buggery or sodomy.

Respected Puritan minister, Jonathan Edwards in his Sermon, “Sinners In The Hands of An Angry God (1781), Elaborates on the negatives of being a repentant sinner. Edward’s goal is to inform people that sinning can be dangerous. He adopts a serious tone in order to establish a constant fear within Sinners and Non Sinners reading. Using the heavy caution within his readers let him establish a successful Sermon with the help of examples.

In Huswifery, by Edward Taylor, he says, “My words and actions, that their shine may fill/ my waves with glory and thee glorify.”(Taylor lines 15-16) He is saying that if God fills his life with his spirit and help him become the best he can be, then he will glorify and praise him. In “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” it states in the first paragraph when talking about God's wrath, “Yea, God is a great deal more angry with great numbers that are now on earth….”(Edwards 124) The author is writing about how God is all powerful and he can decide if you go to hell or heaven. In a life as a Puritan, literature was all about glorifying God and education. They did not believe in

The poem itself captures the Puritan Spirit of the day. It focuses on the last day of judgement, but what makes it Puritan is the emphasis on hellfire and the fate of the unbelievers. It can be called the "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" of poetry, but "Doom" has a more positive side. The poem reassures the reader that the believers or the 'elect' have nothing to fear on the Day of Judgment more so than "Sinners" reassures people.

A Puritan defined is “a member of a group of English Protestants of the late 16th and 17th centuries who regarded the Reformation of the Church of England under Elizabeth as incomplete and sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship.” Puritan society in America depended on the belief that all members were working for the glory of God. The Puritans did not allow deviations from the strict code of behavior which would not allow any member to have individuality. They restricted any type of entertainment, except that which was endorsed by the church. They worked and worshipped.

The Puritans were a group of fundamentalist people. This meant that they led a life that was to be followed as God put in the bible..For instance, in Exodus 22:18 (Doc A.) it is stated, “‘Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live’”,in the eyes of the Puritans this simple phrase translates into this idea that witches exist and that they must then be eliminated because they caused the Puritan life to be stained and impure.. Although, the Bible does not state how to identify a witch, in the eye of the fundamentalist Puritan anyone could be a witch. This caused the Salem Witch

It reflects on the Puritans’’ ideals and beliefs. Such as, they believed in salvation and that the fate of individual soul was predetermined by God. Also, that salvation was a private choice among God and the 'Elect'. Elects or Saints were the ones who were saved and the ones who weren't were 'wicked’.

First, the works perceive the Puritan beliefs and develop and understanding of the final days by significant details in the work itself. Wigglesworth describes the last days and hell many times in his work. The goal was to paint a horrendous picture of the final days for those who were primed to meet their maker. Wigglesworth tries to portray heaven as a sublime place of happiness. Wigglesworth states that believers were made “kings and priests to God through Christ’s dear love’s transcendency” (Wigglesworth, 219-234). Also, Taylor’s work, “Christ Reply”, compares to Wigglesworth’s in the fact that one of the goals was to portray heaven as a happy place. It also informs readers that Jesus Christ was with them in any obstacle and although followers may grow tire sum the Journey was worth the reward. Taylor also describes heaven as “If silver-like this fire refine Thy soul and make the brighter shine: Wilt thou bewail the dross?”(Taylor,280-283). Both

In their society the Puritans based their lives, beliefs, and communities on what they deemed as God's law and true word, the bible (Barger). Reading the bible was expected for the members of society, this included women and children, which was often unheard of (Foner 66) at that time. With their lives being restricted to the word of the bible this left very little leeway for anything other than what was deemed acceptable, and this rigid way of life was another straw that led to the eventual troubles and fervor that took over.

Over the years, people broadcast the Puritans as a group of people who were extremely legalistic and against anything that would be considered fun in the modern world. This incorrect broadcast of the Puritans has led to many misconceptions about how they lived when they came to the New World and settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Puritans were not legalistic, but rather sought to please God by creating a society that focused on fulfilling their calling through the institutions of family, work, education, and government in a positive environment. This led to a fruitful society when it followed in its original intentions.

Puritans may have tried to give themselves the appearance of a perfect society, but it was really just as corrupt and full of sinners as any society today. In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Crucible by Arthur Miller and “To My Dear and Loving Husband” by Anne Bradstreet, there is evidence for this. In Puritan literature, although they try to hide it, sin is very common, in that Puritans do the opposite of what they preach, but still harshly punish those who sin.

“The Day of Doom” narrates the events of the Second Coming of Christ, the Last Judgment of the living and dead souls, and the departure of the saved for heaven and the damned in hell. While it begins and ends with descriptive passages, the middle of the poem is composed of speeches: a general proclamation of judgment by Christ, followed by dialogues between Christ and various groups of condemned sinners who protest against his verdict and whose objections Christ then answers. A collection of poems on the theme of salvation and damnation, the work centers on the title poem includes numerous poetically addresses to the reader, prayers, and short digressions on related themes. Throughout the volume, Wigglesworth expounds on Puritan doctrine,