Two Views of Morton

I found the two opposing views of Thomas Morton, that of William Bradford and that of Morton himself to be the most interesting part of the reading. In reading Bradford's writing on Morton, he is portrayed as a wicked man. He worships false idols and consorts with barbarian women. He is a threat to civilization because he provides the barbarians with guns. Bradford would have the reader believe that Morton is evil and deserving of punishment. Morton's own account of his time in New England portray a much lighter, and probably nearer to the truth in knowing Puritan bias, character. Morton comes across as a common man that even we today could relate to. He likes to have a good time. He is also extremely tolerant. Although he refers to Native Americans as savages he shows that he thinks that there is some merit to the Native American way of life, and unlike the Puritans, he sees the Native Americans more as equals. He does not sell them weapons in order to disrupt society, he simply believes that the Native Americans are a good group of people to trade with and can see that trade with them would be prosperous for England. Puritan bias make Morton out to be a despicable being but in knowing that bias and seeing his accounts of himself we can see that Morton was just a regular guy that we can sympathize with. It is a reminder that while the Puritans were a major part of the population there were still other settlers making up the new world and this is an interesting look at how the Puritans view those others.

Bradford, a covenant, and the humor of Morton

I decided to read the text of Bradford first, as Morton seemed to be more of a rebuttal piece. Bradford obviously followed the Puritan tradition of giving all thanks to God, and tried to relate all of the tales in regard to the signs of God and the relationship the colony has with God. Throughout the piece the reader is presented with a typology, the settlers as the Isrealites of the New World. They have to face hardships from all sides, and are constantly being tested. Despite being ridiculed and not helped at all by the sailors, they are good Christians and help the sick sailors in times of need. Despite the terrible conditions they face they manage to persevere and make the land fertile and sustainable. They are at the very center of the Devil's wickedness and temptation, Bradford says, yet they stay steadfast in their beliefs and maintain their side of the covenant with God.

Morton paints the Puritans in a far different light. His piece is definitely a response to what he sees as hypocrisy in the group. He does this first by touting the goodness of the Natives, showing that they have similar religious convictions as the English, and that they are not only industrious, but even seem to make Plato's idea of a communal society work well. They live in harmony, and the only interaction he gives is the massacre of many Indians at the hands of the Puritans. This certainly paints the Puritans in an unfavorable light, and as it has nothing to do with him, he presents himself as simply a reporter of fact. This, of course, is used to his advantage when he relates the relationship he had with the Puritans. If the reader already sees the Puritans as a savage and hypocritical group, they are more likely to side with him in an argument. Morton, however, doesn't seem to be the trustworthy narrator. His writings seem to be more impassioned, and more like a boy throwing a temper tantrum complaining of all the wrongs that have befallen him, a good man who is living and having some fun on the side. When comparing the two works, it would seem the truth likely falls somewhere in the middle, but the writing of Bradford is more compelling and more likely true. Bradford shows himself, and all Puritans as having flaws, making them more believable, unlike Morton who believes himself to be always right.

Bradford Of Plymouth Plantation

Bradford always refers to the Bible when he wants to make a point. This clearly shows his dedication, knowledge, and trust in the Word. "Let them therefore praise the Lord, because He is good: and His mercies endure forever.” He’s very merciful unto His people. But Bradford also show the disciplinary side of God when his children go against his word. “Yea, let them which have been redeemed of the Lord, shew how He hath delivered them from the hand of the oppressor." This reminded me of a sermon the Pastor preached about being a living witness for God. He testified on how there were so many times he could have been dead, but by the grace and mercy of Christ, his life was spared. And no he tells this testimony wherever he goes, having faith that it will help someone along the way. The Pastor mentioned when the Holy Ghost moves upon our heart to testify we don't know who it is for. It could be someone struggling with salvation, and by giving a testimony allow that person to trust Christ. It could be a brother or sister in Christ that is going through something that you have gone through.

Bradford

It is very obvious through out Bradford's writings how large of an influence God is. This has been a main topic this semester in realizing how much God and religion influenced the Puritan way of life, but these writings establish the fear of God and how negative things are consequences of the Puritan actions.
The first example comes when Bradford tells of the man on the Mayflower. He says that a man was plotting to through all of these people who had become sea sick over board because he could not stand them anymore. However, before he could get a chance to do this he came down with a horrible illness and died. Bradford tells this as a way of showing how sinful people get punished by God.
Another example is the earthquake that Bradford explains. He says, "the Lord would hereby show the signs of His displeasure, in their shaking a-pieces and removals one form another." This is stating that the Lord was displeased with the Puritans so he caused and earthquake. I found this to be very interesting because I didn't know that the New England area could even get earthquakes.
Lastly the explains a lot of this in chapter XXXII. He explains how wickedness grew in the colony and as a consequence bad things happened. One example is that the steams started to to stop and damn up. I wonder now if it was just becoming a dry season or if this was a rarity for the time of year.
No matter what the cause for this natural disasters the Puritans "knew" it was God. This helped govern the colonies and caused people to have not only love for God but also fear so they would act in a way that the Lord would accept.

The Native American's Creation

It struck me as something of interest that the Native Americans seemed to have a similar creation/destruction tale as the pilgrims. Their idea that God had made one man and one woman is very similar to the christian belief. Other instances of similarities are that the men and women did not live up to God's standards, and as a result God punished them with a flood. This to me was the most interesting. It reminds me of the bible story of Noah's Ark. This made me wonder where the Native Americans might have come up with this. The story seems entirely too familiar for them to have simply made it up. I wondered if their stories were the aftermath of previous encounters with settlers and explorers. The pilgrims were not the first Europeans to touch down in "The New World." Were the Native Americans previously encountered by religious people? The fact that the Native Americans had the story a little washed down makes me think, it may have been several generations past since their "religious intervention." The only other explanation is that perhaps the Mormons were right. The Mormons believe that Jesus Christ visited America, and that the Native Americans are those who killed the original tribes of Israel that settled here. My guess is that previous interventions caused their current belief system.

Morton and Bradford

I found it interesting that Morton continually refers to Greek and Roman myths and gods when talking about the Puritans. For example, he writes that they "fell to tippeling as if they had obtained a great prize; like the Trojans when they had custody of Hippeus pinetree horse" (329).
Bradford on the other hand constantly refers to the bible when talking about events that took place. For example, he writes, "It is recorded in Scripture as a mercy to the Apostle and his shipwrecked company, that the barbarians showed them no small kindness in refreshing them" (352).
The effect that this has, for Morton's writing, is a sort of subversive typology. Morton seems to understand that writers like Bradford would want to compare Puritan struggles to previous chosen people of God. By comparing their trials to non-Christian gods, and unchosen people, he is attempting to undermine the effect that typology, such as Bradford's, might have.
Morton even goes as far as to compare the judges who deport him to judges of the underworld in Greek mythology. It might not seem like such a big deal in reading these comparisons today, but when put in the context of how important and prevalent typology was, especially after reading Bradford, it is easier to understand what Morton was trying to accomplish by using comparisons to non-Christian gods and people when describing the Puritans.

I felt that William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation was written as an account of how noble the Puritan people were. A strong Christian bias is formed throughout Of Plymouth Plantation. The first bias I noticed occurred as Bradford tells about the trip to Cape Cod. He describes a “proud and very profane young man” (352) who frowned upon all the passengers on the boat who were sick. What is far worse is that the young man wishes those ridden with disease would die so that he could get their possessions. Bradford charges this young man with being greedy, irreverent of God, and self-important. Bradford concludes that because of these qualities God gives the young man a terminal disease. Bradford implies that if the young man were humble and realized the awesome power of God, mainly possessing the qualities of a good Christian, he would not have died in such a fashion. Bradford also comments on the nature of sailors. As one sailor has fallen ill he says, “I now see, you show your love like Christians indeed to one another, but we let one another lie and die like dogs” (356). Bradford states that the sailor realizes he does not deserve any help. I believe the text to imply that even if a man or woman does not deserve help, they should get it anyway. Bradford shows that God wants people to help one another instead of having an indifferent attitude towards those that are weak.