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American Literature

Explore how the moral, ethical, and religious convictions of Puritans have shaped American character and literary tradition. Discover the Puritan beliefs, traits, politics, and writing characteristics that influenced early American society and culture.

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American Literature

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  1. American Literature • The Puritan Legacy • The American character and, through it, the American literary tradition has been shaped by the moral, ethical, and religious convictions of the Puritans.

  2. Puritans? • Refers to a number of protestant groups that sought to “purify” the Church of England (b/c of Henry VIII) • Simple forms of worship • Religion was a personal, inner experience • Persecuted in England for their beliefs • Came to New World in hopes of maintaining English identity

  3. Beliefs Certainty Doubt Is a person saved (the “elect”) or damned (the “unregenerate”) ? 2 principal indications of the state of your soul (neither completely certain) • b/c of Adam and Eve, most of humanity would be damned for all eternity • God sent Jesus to Earth to save certain people

  4. Indications of the state of your soul • You could feel the grace of God and the arrival of God’s grace was demonstrated in your outward behavior • After receiving grace, you were “reborn” as a member of the community of saints • People wishing to be among the saints examined their lives closely for signs of grace and tried to live exemplary lives

  5. Puritan traits • Self-reliance • Industriousness • Temperance • Simplicity

  6. Puritan Politics • Puritans believed in a covenant (contract) between God and humanity • Believed people should enter freely into the same type of contract with government (The Mayflower Compact and constitutional democracy) • Because the “elect” held so much influence they tended to be very undemocratic

  7. Characteristics of Puritan Writing • The Bible provided a model; a conception of each individual life as a journey to salvation. They saw direct connections between Biblical events and their own lives • Used writing to explore their inner and outer lives for signs of the workings of God • Diaries and histories were the most common forms of expression; in them writers described the workings of God • They favored a plain style with clarity of expression and avoided complicated figures of speech

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