1. Essential Questions: How does Early American literature reflect, clarify, and criticize the time it portrays? How do the selections express the shared qualities of the voices and cultures in the Early American historical period?

2.  The first and most famous group of English Puritans landed, in 1620, on the tip of Cape Cod just before Christmas. They were led by William Bradford.  Puritans fled England in order to escape religious prosecution and torture. Many were thrown in jail and whipped, their noses slit and their ears lopped off.

3.  Puritans were deeply religious and believed strongly in the Bible and formal worship.  They believed in the “elect,” a select group of individuals who were saved from damnation.  They did not, however, know who was selected as the “elect.” Therefore, they attempted to live as devoutly as possible.

4.  The most important day of the week was Sunday, the Sabbath Day.  All Puritans were expected to attend. Males and females were separated during worship.  The Puritans were single-minded visionaries convinced of their righteous beliefs. Any individual who did not obey these beliefs was punished, often times publically.

5.  The Bible provided a model for Puritan writing: a conception of each individual life as a journey to salvation. Puritans saw direct connections between Biblical events and their own lives.

6.  Puritans used writing to explore their inner and outer lives for signs of the workings of God.  Diaries and histories were the most common forms of expression in Puritan society.  Puritans followed a plain style, similar to that of the Geneva Bible.

7.  Plain Style is a way of writing that stresses simplicity and clarity of expression.  Simple sentences, everyday words from common speech and clear and direct statements characterize plain style.  The plain style eliminates elaborate figures of speech and imagery.  The plain style was favored by most Puritans.

8.  Arpin, Gary Q. “Beginnings.” Elements of Literature: Fifth Course. Eds. Kathleen Daniel, Richard Sime, Thomas F. Hirsch, and Patricia Cambridge. Austin: Holt, Reinhart and Winston, 2003. 2-18. Print.