Of Plymouth Plantation 1. Read the first two paragraphs. What about the language seems strange to...
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Of Plymouth Plantation 1. Read the first two paragraphs. What about the language seems strange to you? How do you think a modern American would paraphrase
Of Plymouth Plantation 1. Read the first two paragraphs. What
about the language seems strange to you? How do you think a modern
American would paraphrase what Bradford, the author, is saying? 2.
What adjectives (describing words) does Bradford use as he writes
about this new continent and the people who live here? Make a list
of the words that he uses. What do those words suggest about
Bradfords attitude (tone) towards this new place and the
inhabitants? 3. The Puritans were a devout people who believed that
the Bible should be at the very center of every aspect in their
lives. Count the number of references to the Bible, God, Heaven,
special providence, Lord, and other religious-sounding words or
phrases from the beginning stopping at Indian Relations. How might
the Puritan religious perspective affect their attitudes towards,
and interactions with, a group of people who do not share their
background? 4. Emotional appeals (pathos) are parts of a text that
an author uses to persuade his audience on an emotional level.
Bradford wrote this seminal U.S. text with future generations in
mind. Cite sections of the text that are meant to evoke
feelings/emotions in a future reader. What feelings/emotions do you
think Bradford is trying to generate in each of the examples that
you cite? Do you think he is successful? Does he convince you? Why
or why not?
Slide 2
Of Plymouth Plantation 5. Skim the entire selection and make a
list of archaic-sounding words. Select any three sentences to
rewrite in the English that we use today. How are your sentences
different from the sentences that Bradford wrote? Are they shorter
or longer? What do the differences in wording suggest about the
difference between Puritans and people who are living in America
today? How are books that are published today different from
Bradfords book? 6. Prose writing (writing that is not poetry) uses
different modes of discourse (ways of writing). Sometimes an author
uses narration (tells a story); at other times an author will use
description (imagery), exposition (explaining something), or
persuasion/argumentation (making an argument; trying to convince
his audience to think a certain way). Find sections of Bradfords
text where he uses these different modes of discourse. Are those
parts effective? Which parts of this selection do you like best and
why? Which mode of discourse does Bradford use most? 7. Write a few
sentences in which you explain Bradfords main purpose or objective
in writing this very famous book. Do you think he accomplished what
he set out to do? What were some of his other objectives/goals? 8.
If the Native Americans were to write something for their future
generations (they passed down their stories through oral tradition,
however), how would they describe the same experiences that
Bradford records? How would their point of view have been
different? Do you think that the Native Americans shared any ideas
or attitudes about life that were similar to the Puritans, and vice
versa? If so, what were those elements of common ground?