Bradford

Dr. Fetters                                        English 2007                                     Fall 201

Study/Discussion Questions for William Bradford and

Of Plymouth Plantation

Respond to three of the following in full, well-thought paragraphs (at least two paragraphs per question/answer)

1. Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation tells the story of the Pilgrims we’re all familiar with from elementary school pageants and Charlie Brown Thanksgiving TV specials.  Or does it not?  What parts of the story are familiar to you, and what parts of the story are not?
             Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation seems similar to the stories I heard from when I was little, but there are some differences. Toward the beginning of the story, Bradford mentions that they left Cape Cod, but turned the ship around due to severe weather. In the general stories I was told in elementary school, it sounded like the Pilgrims meant to land there. Another difference in Bradford’s story is that he wrote about the Mayflower Compact and why it was created. The elementary school stories did not mention the Mayflower Compact, most likely to keep it simple for young students.
            Another thing that the elementary school stories left out would be what was called The Starving Time. The school stories mention that there was not a lot of food and the Native Americans decided to help the Pilgrims grow food, but that is not completely truthful. More than half of the people living in the settlement died of starvation and sickness. Bradford’s story is familiar to me for a couple of reasons. I read Of Plymouth Plantation last year in my English class, so I remember most of it. Another reason is because I enjoy reading historical fiction for fun, and I have read several books on this subject. 

1. According to Bradford, why did the Pilgrims leave Holland?  How might those reasons help us understand the ideal community that powered their vision of the future, as well as explain some of the conflicts they experienced in the New World?
            One of the main reasons that the Puritans left was because of the religious persecution that they faced in Holland. Bradford mentioned “bloody death and cruel torments” in the beginning as a reason why. He also says that he wants to recover the liberty and beauty. It also gives an impression that the communities in Holland are full of evil and they are leaving them to start a new place, with less evil and more purity.
            It mentions in Book I that some of the “professors” were touched with “heavenly zeal for His truth” and so joined the group to go to the New World. Professor was typically used as a term to describe all Puritans. Heavenly zeal was a term saying that you felt a heavenly force pushing you to do something. In this case, the sentence meant the some of the Puritans came along not because of religious persecution, but because of a compelling force pushing them to join the Pilgrims.
2. How does the reality of the New World match Bradford’s vision? How does he account for any discrepancies, and what is at stake in his explanations?

1. Bradford includes the text of the Mayflower Compact in his narrative. What type of document is this, and what does it imply about Puritan faith in the written word and divine authority? What does it, or any other part of our reading, say about the relationship between church and state?

1. How does Bradford describe the New World?  How does he describe the Natives who live in the New World?  How do his descriptions contribute to the justification of what could be called a land-grab (from an Indian point of view)?  What happens during that “First Encounter” with the Native peoples?

1. Bradford alludes to the book of Ezra, in the Old Testament, in which the Israelites return to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity.  What is the general significance of this allusion?  He also alludes to Hebrews 11.13, where the term “pilgrims” is mentioned.  How might this allusion enable us to understand how the Pilgrims saw themselves and their journey to the New World?

1. Why does Bradford tell the story of the “lusty” sailor, the “very profane young man?”  How does this story encapsulate both the strengths and the weaknesses of the Pilgrim point of view?
   
2. What are the circumstances and causes of the Pequot War? How is Bradford's narration of this conflict (or his other comments about Native Americans) instructive of his racial ideology? In other words, what does Bradford think about them, especially in regard to the Puritan community (i.e., how does he think they may help or hinder the Puritan project)?
   The settlers had accused the Pequot Native Americans of murdering 3 people and so sent a raiding party to get the murderers. When they were not handed over, the English looted and burned Pequot land in retaliation. The story included about the war stems as a result of this expedition and the building of an English fort at the mouth of the Connecticut River. The way Bradford describes the attack makes it seem as though the Pequot attacked without any reason or warning, and that all they did was kill women and children.  

The Pequot peace treaty is one instance that the Native Americans were treated unfairly, and some of the animosity caused by this could have been a spark that contributed to the Pequot War. The agreements say that the Native Americans need to leave their weapons alone during meetings, while it says nothing about the English weapons. The whole agreement is rigged so that the English get a better chance than the Pequot.

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