The Puritan Journey
Puritans were looked upon as being fanatics. They were god's so-called chosen people. In their eyes, America was, in a sense, the second Garden of Eden. They wanted to come to America and live the perfect life in a utopian society. They emphasized "Original Sin" in their teaching, which taught that everyone was already born a sinner. Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven," and Jonathan Edward's "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" all depict images of the Puritan journey which include evading sin, self-improvement, and going to heaven. Evading sin is an important image of the Puritan journey. Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," is a story which illustrates a mans inability to confess his sins. Goodman Brown tries everything to resist his temptations but soon comes to a disillusioned realization that everyone and everything that surrounds him-his church, wife and community, are all evildoers and corrupt beings: "On Sabbath day, when the congregation were singing a holy psalm, he could not listen because an anthem of sin rushed loudly upon his ear and drowned all the blessed strain (pg. 716)." He could not come to grips with his own desires and so projected his o
"The Raven" and "Young Goodman Brown," Jonathan Edwards, "Sinners in the Hands of Angry God," declares that one should not assume they are going to heaven just because they do don't commit sinful acts because "...they are liable to fall of themselves, without being thrown down by the hand of another, as he that stands or walks on slippery ground needs noting but his own weight to throw him down (pg. 198)." It doesn't matter what one does because "they are already under a sentence of condemnation to hell (pg. 199)." Unlike "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Raven," "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" believes that one could commit all the sinful acts they heart desires because "all men's pains and contrivance they use to escape hell, while they continue to reject Christ and so remain wicked men, do not secure them from hell one moment (pg. 201)." wn feelings of sin onto everyone else. Because he was unable to conceive the notion that everyone else's faults was his faults as well, "was borne to his grave a hoary corpse, followed by Faith, an aged woman, and children and grandchildren, a goodly procession, besides neighbors not a few, they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone, for his d! ying hour was gloom (pg. 716)." Additionally, Edgar Allan Poe's, "The Raven," is able to depict the image of the evasion of sin as well. "The Raven" questions the things one did or did not do in the course of their life. This can be considered as trying to evade sin. The raven itself symbolizes hopelessness and impending death. Because this man is mourning the loss of his love Lenore, all his dreams have died with this woman and now realizes that he can never get back what he has lost because too much time has passed by. He turns to the raven to help him find a remedy for his sorrow which in turn is a sinful act: " 'Prophet!' said I, 'thing of evil!-prophet still, if bird or devil!-/ By that God we both adore--/ Tell this should with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,/ It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore-/ Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.'/ Quoth the Raven 'Nevermore (lines 91-96, pg. 580)." In contrast to both ! Along wi
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Approximate Word count = 1480
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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