William Bradford- Of Plymouth Plantation

William Bradford’s “Of Plymouth Plantation” is a very good example of Puritan writing style. It is short and simple, yet gives detail in a straightforward kind of way the experiences the Pilgrims had coming to America on the Mayflower. Bradford speaks of a “very profane young man” who basically tells the Puritans he wishes the worst upon them. The young man is told to be “cursing them daily with grievous execrations, and did not let to tell them that he hoped to help cast half of them overboard before they came to their journey’s end, and to make merry with what they had,”. Despite the fact that this young man is talking about wanting to throw the Pilgrims overboard, none of them react in a harsh way. This kind of mindset was extremely popular among the Puritans. They believed in staying calm and collected in difficult situations because they believed God would ultimately protect them and knew what was best for each individual. William Bradford says that God takes care of the profane man by giving him a disease which ultimately kills him, and ironically he was the first to be thrown overboard. Bradford’s writing style reflects greatly typical Puritan writing of the time period. To the Puritans, they believed God would be with them no matter what and protect them even in the darkest of times. Bradford and the other Puritans did not need to do anything about the harsh comments from the young man, because in the end they believed that God had a plan to get rid of the man in His own way. Bradford says in the end of the journal, “for they noted it to be the just hand of God upon him,” Even though disease ran rampant during times of travel, especially by boat back then, the Pilgrims believed God had given the man a disease that took his life. This kind of outlook on life was very common for Bradford and Pilgrims alike. Bradford does not include any illustrious symbolism in his journal. He says that he would like to record events through his writing in “a plain style, with single regard unto the simple truth of all things (page 14).” Like most Puritan writing, Bradford’s account was very short and simple. This happened, God saved them, and in the end everything was okay. Nothing needed to be elaborated because the Puritans had an answer for everything, and that goes back to God being their ultimate protector.

Although very short and sweet, “Of Plymouth Plantation” is a very interesting example of a Puritan writing style during Colonial Times. William Bradford simple tells what happens not too in depth but at the same time very informative. Writing styles such as this were popular during the time period because of the wave of Puritan colonization popping up all throughout society, so it was easy to understand and highly relatable. It will forever be considered a classic example of Puritan writing because of its illustrious meaning and overall Colonial significance.

Bradford, William. "Of Plymouth Plantation" Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Co, 2009. 14-15. Print.