Analysis Of The Burning Of Our House By Anne Brastreet

The colonial period of America is not usually talked about for the literature coming from that time. This was a time for growth as the American colonists distanced themselves from King George and the unfair British rule, the same time Native Americans were dying from illness carried overseas by these colonists. Within the events of this time, literature had its beginnings in America both orally and within manuscript. This literature was highlighted with parallels in Native American and Biblical stories, heavy religious influence upon daily life and activities, and the glaring ironies the newly founded United States of America possessed within society and the political system.
The oral traditions within Native American culture passed down stories …show more content…
Anne Bradstreet showed her unwavering faith through her literature as she wrote “The Burning Of Our House.” Within this poem, Bradstreet finds comfort through religion as she found her house burning down. “Yea, so it was, and so ‘twas just. It was his own, it was not mine,” Bradstreet notices all her possessions were God’s. It was this idea that allowed her to move on with her life, as she realized that God has the power to give and take anything, as everything is His. Bradstreet, however, was certainly not the only author to write on religious topics. Jonathan Edwards, the most famous preacher within the times of the First Great Awakening, gave the sermon “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God.” This sermon was a clear example of the fire and brimstone techniques used by these preachers, and Edwards used the Christian Law to move thousands to his following. The main image Edwards puts in his audience’s mind is as follows, “So that thus it is, that natural men are held in the hand of God over the pit of hell... the devil is waiting for them, hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them.” The fiery image of being held over eternal suffering was enough to convince many people that they were sinners and needed to repent. Edwards was not alone in his theological …show more content…
Perhaps the Declaration of Independence should have said, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, assuming you are a Christian, white, property owning man.” Abigail Adams begged her husband for more rights as this was happening, as she said within a letter sent to John Adams, “I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors.” Remembering the ladies, she begged her husband so that women were not limited to being only a domestic being used for cooking, cleaning, and childbearing. Abigail Adams was one of the most powerful women of her time, advising her husband on numerous matters including foreign and internal affairs. Even with her power, she realized that if something was not done, women would be powerless in the American society. Nothing was done, and nearly 70 years later another piece of literature showed the irony within American society. The Declaration of Sentiments, written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, showed the irony of American society in a mock of one of the most revered documents of American history, the Declaration of Independence. Within the Declaration of Sentiments, Stanton wrote a list of grievances for women, one of which I think is striking. “He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice,” the document