I. Essay (100 points)

Obviously, use your reading materials and any notes for this essay. Read the following prompt and record your response in typed format (10, 11, 12 size font, double spaced, 1 inch margins, easy to read font style). You REALLY DO NOT need to use anything from the internet–you have everything you need in your reading materials and notes.

“No other writer will lead us so directly to the core of Puritanism as Bradford; none with such charm, generosity, largeness of spirit, with such calm assurance and massive strength will so completely reveal the essential frame of mind, the type of character, the quality of life that underlay the theology.”

stated by Perry Miller,

an excerpt on American Literature

Using Bradford (everyone MUST use Bradford)and TWO of the following authors and their works (Jonathon Edwards, John Winthrop, Anne Bradstreet, Cotton Mather, and/or Edward Taylor), support Miller’s statement about Puritan literature. He is essentially saying that Puritan authors reveal the attitudes, characteristics/personalities, lifestyles, beliefs and values of the Puritan community as a whole. In your discussion, focus on what and how each of the three authors reveal the essence of Puritainism. Conclude with a brief discussion of which author you liked best and why. You will work with THREE authors and their work(s) for this essay. This essay it NOT short–normally you are looking at 4-5 pages (a non-wordy writer can probably do this in 3+).