Providence, Self-Improvement, and Divine Mission: The Qualities of Colonial Literature Essay

colonial lit clippingture from the seventeenth and 18th centuries has made a large impact on society today. literary works from both the puritan era and the ripen of moderateness contribute to this impact. Puritans were religious separatists who wished to purify the Church of England of its catholic heritage. They retrieved in predestination the root that slightly large number were saved and others were damned. The Puritans would scrutinize themselves for signs of grace from idol. Following the Puritan era was the Age of Reason. This was a period of scientific and political enlightenment. It stressed the root word that basic truths can be arrived at through reason, non faith. bulk began to improve their present, worldly life rather than preparing themselves for an afterlife in Heaven. trey qualities of American committal to writing from the Colonial period are the beliefs of capital of Rhode Island, self improvement, and elysian com bursting charge.The belief in p erfections providence is a major(ip) feature found passim Colonial literature. immortals providence was the idea that it was in paragons power to control the buyback and damnation of humans. Their destinies were predetermined and they would live their lives looking for signs of grace. Every outcome of an legal action was considered a sign as Gods providence. They believed Gods intervention in their allday lives revealed their fate. The belief in providence is predominately seen throughout Puritan writing, one of which being William Bradfords Of Plymouth Plantation. William Bradford was a Puritan attraction who later became the governor of Plymouth Colony. His narrative described the Puritans arrival to the New World. He focused on the relationship the Puritans had with God.He mentioned many signs of Gods providence. The first act of providence was on the seafarer. There was a strong, adapted body seaman who always cursed and condemned the poor sick plenty on the ship, wishi ng them to be cast overboard. God then intervened and revealed the seamans fate. Bradford wrote, But it pleased God sooner they came half seas over, to chastise this young man with a grievous disease, in which he died in a desperate manner, and so was himself the first that was thrown overboard (24). Gods providence exposed the seamans damnation. His death was a sign that he was not one of The Elect and did not give birth the quality of grace. William Bradfords Of Plymouth Plantation embodies the belief of providence, a characteristic of Colonial literature.Another characteristic of Colonial literature is the idea of self-reformation. This idea is delineate in both Puritan and the Age of Reason literature. It is the idea that people need to attain moral nonesuch. Benjamin Franklin, an autodidact of the Age of Reason, experimented with the idea of self-reformation. He found self-improvement to be a logical idea that every person should experience because it would better themselv es and society. In his autobiography, Franklin wrote, I concluded, at length, that the virtuous speculative conviction that it was our interest to be completely virtuous was not sufficient to prevent our slipping, and that the contrary habits must be broken, and good ones acquired and established, before we can have any dependence on a steady, invariant rectitude of conduct (80).Franklin devised a method to help him become virtuous. He created a list of thirteen virtues and a plan to attain for each one one. He believed self-improvement was a realistic approach to achieve moral perfection which would develop a better society. The belief in self-improvement is permeated throughout Colonial literature because it was useful to many people. In the Puritan era, moral perfection was essential to get into Heaven and to invalidate Hell. In the Age of Reason reaching moral perfection was a levelheaded idea that would better society. It secularized the Puritan values making moral perfect ion a more rational idea rather than religious.The belief in divine mission is also a characteristic of Colonial literature. shaper mission is the idea that America is a divinely guided nation. Americans believe that God is on their side. This idea is common throughout American writing from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Puritans believed in divine mission and built a pious nation under God. They believed they were The Chosen people of God. In the Age of Reason, this concept continued. Thomas Paine, a radical, revolutionary, pamphleteer expressed the idea of divine mission in his papers, The Crisis. Paine wrote The Crisis papers to boost the morale among the common men and soldiers during the time of the Revolutionary War.He assured a victory against Britain because America was a divinely guided nation. He wrote, that God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction, or cave in them unsupportedly to perish, who have so earnestly and so repeatedly sough t to avoid the calamities of war, by every decent method which wisdom could intervene (95). Paine argued that God would help them and not leave them in their time of need. He believed that the idea of divine mission would contribute to a victory over England. Because of Gods celestial powers, the belief in divine mission was wide used throughout Colonial literature.Colonial literature has influenced American story and society. The qualities of writing from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries have contributed to this impact. The concept of divine mission is exemplified daily in classrooms across America when children stand and recite the self-confidence of Allegiance every morning. They all say, one nation under God Also, the phrase In God We Trust is embossed on American currency and was adopted as our nations motto.Even nowadays America is viewed as a divinely guided nation. In addition, self-improvement is exercised in the education system. People try to fulfill their grea test likely by improving their knowledge. The public school system enables all individuals the decent to an education that will precipitate to a more successful life. In higher education, scholarships are available to those who excel academically but cannot keep the financial obligation. It is clear that qualities of literature from the Puritan era and the Age of Reason are still relevant in todays American society.