"History of Plymouth Plantation" by William Bradford is a collection of journal entries by William Bradford himself. They are of his time immigrating to the 'New World' and his time as a mayor of thirty-three years of Plymouth Plantation. His writing style reflects typical Puritan writing in a definite spiritual way. The first indicator I found while skimming (it's like eight-hundred pages, give me a break) "History of Plymouth Plantation" was in the opening pages. With in the first paragraph he mentions God and Satan quite easily. "It is well knowne unto y godly and judicious, how ever since y first breaking out of u lighte of y gospell in our Honourable Nation of England ( which was y first of nations whom y Lord adorned ther with, affter y grosse darknes of propery which had covered and overspread by Christian worled,) what wars and opposissions ever since, Satan hath raised, maintained, and continued against the Saincts, from time time, in one sorte or other" (Bradford, Deane 1). This all takes place in the VERY first sentence. He drops God and Satan's name before you can even think "I wonder if this guy was a Puritan...?" Not only does William Bradford already appear to be a very Christian-ly influenced writer within his very first pages, but he is also a very to-the-point-writer, as well. He does not describe much of anything to us in the beginning. It is a journal, so I suppose it would not be typical for a journal-er to describe every possible little thing with intent for someone to read and gain understanding, but in this case it really is like that. William Bradford wrote this journal for those who were not on the voyage on the Mayflower to the New World. He wrote it for reference about the voyage for others to read and gain understanding. So, even though he know others will be potentially reading his journal he still does not try to spice it up. There is nothing in the "History of Plymouth Plantation" that is not absolutely essential for the reader to have to understand the journal. This, personally, bugs me a lot. I do not deal well with to-the-point, descriptive-less prose. Frankly, it straight up irks me. That is, however, very beside the point! Back to how a lot of christian references came up through Bradford's writings! Not only does he refer to Christianity frequently in the beginning, but he stays constant and it is just as prominent in the beginning as in the middle and end. Even during the hardships that William Bradford and his young colony must face during their long period of time in the New World, he still remains faithful and true to his God. He continually rejoices his name through out his journal no matter what circumstances he is facing. His prose does not become any more interesting through out the years, either. By that I mean, his writing techniques stay very blunt and to the point, which I am not saying is a bad thing, it is simply not my favorite thing. He stay very Puritan-y through out the entire book through his references to his faith and his extremely blunt way of doing it.
Bradf
Bradford, William, and Charles Deane. History of Plymouth Plantation. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1856. N. pag. Print.
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