Key terms and phrases

“these storms the winds were so fierce and the seas so high, as they could not bear a knot of sail, but were forced to hull”

The denotation of this phrase is that the seas were rough and the boat was struggling with the winds. This phrase also serves as a metaphor to hardships of the journey. The colonists faced many obstacles and thought about giving up, but instead they continued on.

“from all the perils and miseries thereof.”

The denotation of this phrase is that the journey was miserable with many perils that caused this misery. The connotation is similar because it shows that the journey was very difficult and caused misery to many of the colonists. There was many dangers on this journey and many lives were lost.

“weather-beaten face”

The denotation of this phrase is that the colonists faces are rough due to the harsh weather they have been exposed to throughout the journey. The connotation of this phrase is that these colonists have been through many struggles in the journey to the new world. They survived the summer and it was very difficult. The winter is now approaching and the colonists are already worn.

“that of 100 and odd persons, scarce fifty remained”

The denotation of this phrase is that out of the 100 that originally came, only 50 remained. Behind this phrase is the harships, disease, pain, and loss of life that occurred within the colonies.

Oppressor

Connotation

-A person that contains a great amount of power

Denotation

- A person of authority who subjects others to undue pressures

Questions and answers 1-5

1. Bradford omits the event of the death of his wife for a few different reasons.  The first is that this was a very personal tragedy and he was devastated.  Many believe that he did not want to include this to the text because he did not find it would change the writing in any way and he did not want to bring memories of her death back to him.  Historians and others also believe that Bradford’s wife committed suicide.  It is a sin to commit suicide so Bradford did not want his wife to be portrayed as a sinner so he just simply left it out of the text.   

2.  It was more effective for Bradford to write in a “plain style” of writing because he wanted to get his simple messages across in his novel and he wanted everyone who read the novel to be able to understand it. If he had written his novel in a “high style”, the message might have became confusing and not everyone would understand what his messages were because readers might not understand his figures of speech or classical allusions. 

3.  The attitudes of Rowlandson and Bradford differed cause in the end Bradford and the Wampanoag were very friendly and had thanksgiving together.  However, Rowlandson never had any close friendly encounters with the Wampanoag.  Their attitudes were the same because both Rowlandson and Bradford were skeptical about the Wampanoag at first but then their attitudes changed once they saw how they lived and acted.

4. The tone of Bradford’s reference to Native Americans throughout the selection shifts from hostile and skeptical to friendly and peaceful. When Bradford and the rest of the Colonists arrived to America, he states that the Native Americans would pack up and run away when the Colonists try to approach the. This displayed the hostile and skeptical tone towards the Native Americans. Once the Native Americans and Colonists came together and created a peace agreement, the tone shifted to friendly and peaceful. This peaceful and friendly tone is also displayed at the Thanksgiving Feast between the Colonists and Native Americans.

5.  Bradford uses Biblical Allusions to convey his message such as Deuteronomy 26:7. Deuteronomy 26:7 is a cry to the Lord to hear their voices and realize their pain and oppression. Bradford uses this allusion to portray the struggles of the Colonists as they entered the new world. It also displays that the Colonists were reaching out to God often as they realized the struggles they faced were not going away.

Mayflower

Plymouth Plantation

Bradford Information

William Bradford

Background Information

William Bradford was born in 1590 in the Yorkshire Austerfield, England.  Both of his parents died when he was a young child.  Young William was shuttled among several relatives; however he never stayed long wherever he went.  William Bradford came to Massachusetts Bay on the Mayflower on November 9^th, 1620 when he was 30.  He was an English Separatist leader in Leiden, Holland and in Plymouth Colony when he arrived. He was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact and served as Plymouth Colony Governor five times between the years of 1621 to 1657.  He was the first governor of Plymouth colony.