Nashira


 * Response 3- How does Franklin's or Crevecoeur's vision of America (and the role that religion should play in it) differ from that of the Puritans and the Neo-Puritans?

Benjamin Franklin's vision of America was that it is what you make it. His writing revealed that he did not reward one specific religion, but rather believes in God but as a non-interventionist. Puritans believe that God is all powerful, controls everything, and that the bible is the only authority in matters of faith.

Franklin was the first example of the American Dream and he did this on his own. He went through several hardships on his own to become successful. After being put into grammar school, he excelled in reading and had a love for books at an early age. He was taken out of school by his father and had to work. His father realized that this was not the occupation he was going to excel in and made him work with his older brother whom was a printer. Secretly he published his own piece of work signed anonymous and knew he had writing skill when he overheard his brother boasting about it. After leaving his brother's printing company and being (torn down by his brother telling other the other printers in their town not to give him a job) and seeks for another job in Pennsylvania. He finds no work there and after writing back to his brother- in law receives a welcome back home from the governor of Boston stating that he will be helped by the government to start his own printing company and should receive help from his father. Once again, he was restrained from success because his father was not willing to help him rendering the fact that he was too young. Franklin then takes it upon himself to go back to Philadelphia to work. In the end his brother was jealous of him, he seceded over Collins because he never became anything in life, and he was successful despite his father as a key role not supporting him. Each time there was a wall built in front of him, he found a way to control his future. He made himself successful. He did not wait for anyone to determine his destiny. He took advantage of the place and time that he lived in and made it work. Other people in his life could have taken advantage of their country but they didn't; Franklin chose to. Franklin believed that he could help other people with self-betterment. It is implied that he believes that one's life can be lived without referring to the bible for guidance. This is because in part two of his autobiography, Franklin decides that he is going to achieve "Moral Perfection". He did this by writing down thirteen virtues that would in the end help him achieve this goal. He kept a journal with him to evaluate his success and his failures, he attempted to correct and perfect the things he did wrong, and did this throughout the course of a year until he hopefully reached moral perfection. He was not able to reach moral perfection, but he was content. He learned that everything in life is not going to be perfect and that flaws make a person who they are; in their own way perfect. He offered his thirteen virtues to other people and thought they it may be able to help them bring organization and guidance to their lives.

Puritans structure their lives around the bible. They believe that God is the foundation of life and that America has greatly succeeded because of this. Franklin believed that he himself could achieve success on his own without any foundation or guidance from anyone. The Puritans used God and the bible as their foundation and lived their lives around that to create the American Dream. The bible is the sole authority in matters of faith and this authority and law led America to success. God has been an important asset in the Unites States for over four hundred years. When God was taken out of national government of France their nation had many tragedies and their attempt to form a government based off of "human reason" was a failure. This was shown greatly in the "Reign of Terror" which was an offset of the French Revolution. This was a time of immense horror resulting in thousands of deaths and one of the main reasons was because of the elimination of God. The French tried to replace God and his almighty power with the ways of Deism, and their nation failed.

Franklin saw America as a place with no limitations to what he could achieve. He made his enemies his stepping stools and became the prototype of the "American Dream". He was a Deist and believed that there was a God but that he had nothing to do with his success. Puritans saw America as a result of the ways of the bible and the power of the almighty God. They trust that without God America would not be successful or the place of "Manifest Destiny".

Response 2- In what significant ways does Bradstreet's poetry and/or faithfulness to his beliefs resemble and differ from that of one or more of the following male writers: Wigglesworth, Taylor, Edwards.

Bradstreet shows a lot of piety in all of her poems. Her motifs throughout his poetry include knowing that God is almighty, or the belief that the riches of the worlds do not matter, but the true reward is the one in heaven. Edward Taylor, like Bradstreet, shows his love for God through his work. She weaves God into his work as if he is making a quilt with God's spirit in it.

Response 1 REVISED- Select two of the following figures and discuss the dreams and/or nightmares that they project upon the American landscape and the people who inhabit it. Be sure to indicate how these projections differ--Columbus, Bradford, Morton.

Even though Columbus describes the American landscape and its inhabitants more positively than Bradford, his initial journey to the new world was more of a nightmare than Bradford because of all the expectations he had.

Christopher Columbus went on four voyages. The first voyage he went on was his most important voyage, because he had to impress the king and queen enough in order for them to help in go on another quest. With this in mind, Columbus was seeking to find great cities and towns that were populated and colonized with leaders, perhaps riches and land with natural resources, and anything else that would give the king and queen a reason to fund his next journey. Instead he finds only some gold, honey, gum, spices, and a land full of native people who were not near the technology Columbus' people were up to. This was a nightmare for Columbus because he did not find all that he expected to find. Because of this he had to write his letter as if he were selling this new found land to his Highnesses. He describes the land almost as if it were a paradise. He says, " The trees don't lose their leaves," and he described the land as untouched'" and rich in minerals. He describes the Native Americans to be generous, intelligent people, and good navigators. This technique was successful because the King and Queen granted him another voyage.

Bradford, in contrast, was not seeking anything. Bradford was going on his quest to gain a closer relationship with God. When he describes the land he mentions that there are Native Americans that reside there and have planted crops. He also describes the new land to be a place of wildness and wild beasts. He uses the words "misery" and "difficulties" often. When describing the people, he uses adjectives like "savage", "uncivilized", "cruel", "barbarous", and "treacherous". Columbus does not find any "monsters", but Bradford encounters people whom he categorizes as cannibals and sadistic torturers. This is not the same land that Columbus speaks of. Bradford's voyage was neither a dream nor a nightmare because had nothing specific in mind to find.

The fact Columbus had to sell himself and Bradford had no reason to lie or exaggerate his story of how the new land was explains why their stories are almost completely different. Another reason could be because their measuring systems or skills of navigating were different and they could have very well ended up in two different places. They both make for two very different but interesting stories to analyze as American Literature. ||