Reflection #1

I believe that the writings, "Upon the Burning of our House" by Anne Bradstreet and "A Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson" by Mary Rowlandson, were very representative of the typical writing and beliefs of the Puritans. I do want to admit first that I did not totally understand the stories, so I am sorry it this is completely off target.

I am going to talk about the story "A Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson" first. I believe that in reading this excerpt. I was able to make a few connections to the style of the Puritans typical writing. I noticed that Rowlandson was very clear at the beginning of the story of stating her belief in Christ. Although she did seem unhappy about the situation, she did mention Christ in the following passage, "Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolation he has made in the Earth." (Rowlandson 82). I think that in this passage she is talking about the sadness and misery that God is causing in the world, but right after that she kind of rejoices about her safety by saying, "save only one, who might say as he, Job i. 15, And I only am escaped alone to tell the news." (Rowlandson 82) I think that this passage is kind of ironic because she was just complaining about the misery and suffering that God was causing in the world, but now she is really intent on giving thanks for the safety that God has provided for her. The author was really good about showing that the Puritans were nomadic people. They were clearly moving from place to place in the story because they were moving to find food, but also because they were moving to escape dangerous attacks. I could kind of see the relation to the Puritan writing style, but it was unclear to me most of the time.

Now to talk about the shorter poem written by Anne Bradstreet titled, "Upon the Burning of our House." I was able to make more sense out of this piece, so it was a little easier to find the correlation to the Puritan writing style. "And to my God my heart did cry to strengthen me in my distress," (Bradstreet 91). This quote shows that the character was involved in a strong practice of faith. She was relying on her God to be there for her house when it was burning down. "And when I could no longer look; I blest His name that gave and took." (Bradstreet 91) This quote really stows the strength in her faith. Even though her house was burning to the ground, she was blessing God because she knew that if she did not have God, she would not have had that house. This passage also directly exhibits the works of God because the narrator was clear that they were blessing God for giving them the house they had, but also still trusting in God although he was talking the house away from them.

Overall I thought that it was hard to identify the style of the Puritan writing, but I think that the more we work on analyzing the writing styles, the better we will all get at it! :)

Bradstreet, Anne. "Upon the Burning of Our House." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 91. Print.

Rowlandson, Mary. "A Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 82-85. Print.