Sleepy Hollow

The Puritans that came to New England wanted to escape religious persecution in Europe. They believed in strong family units/relationships and a strong foundation in the church; but they didn’t want to follow the Church in England, they wanted to make their own rules. “The newcomers intended to build a godly “city on a hill” that would serve as an example to the world” (pg 66). A “city on the hill” is an example of status, flawlessness, and godliness (since it is closer to the heavens). They set up tightly knit family communities, farms, and churches. However, their religion was very exclusive and their “guidelines” dictated that everything that happened was according to God’s plan, which meant that they could gamble, get drunk, etc.… In their

The Puritans were a group of people with strong beliefs, ideas and values in the 1630’s to the 1660’s. Their ideas influenced society in multiple ways during this time including politically, economically, and socially. Politically, they believed in having a theocratic government , economically, they used the value of hard work to run the economy and stimulate prosperity and also, socially the influence of the religion and the need for a tight knit communtiy influenced New England in many more ways than one. All of these influences were part of the ideological belief of the Puritans to attain a “City Upon a Hill” society where they would have the perfect community and established ethos for other communities to later follow in their footsteps.

Rummel gives an analysis of the history and development of Puritanism in New England during the 1600s. In simple words how the people had formed a society in order to reform England and separate church from government. Puritans had God as an almighty, they were known as people with strict education, solitary environment, and own beliefs such as their obsession with the devil, evil and good. Rummel states that even if Hawthorne mentions religion in his short stories most of it Puritanism, he still never recommended any particular opinion. The story is focused on Puritan elements and Hawthorne’s approach to it. Hawthorne uses religious phrases and elements that makes the reader analyze each several object, action, figure, and scenario in the story. That’s why Goodman Brown has too much conflict going on and is very detailed on what he feels and sees. The article is one great piece of information that supports the understanding of the Puritan religious mindset and Hawthorne’s attitude towards it. Of course into the interpretation of what might had happened in the story.

The pressure and consequences of puritan lifestyle is shown in “their creed forbade anything resembling a theater , vain enjoyment, They did not celebrate christmas, or holidays from work meant only that they must concentrate even more upon prayer”. This quote shows how the puritans society suppresses individuality. To the extent that most human desires were evil , even salem foulk believed that the virgin forest was the devils last preserve. What makes this puritan lifestyle such a burden was the predilection . ”Minding others people's business was time honored among the people of salom”. This created the suspicions that would lead to the trials .

In Puritan belief, life was planned according to God, and a society worked to live out that plan. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was a closely integrated group that worked together to fulfill the wishes of a larger community. Puritans religious beliefs produced ideas that God’s will was to lead a community based on peace. God had set high expectations for a happy and trustworthy community. However, if a community did not live up to the expectations, God would destroy the community. Therefore, Puritan leaders felt the need to enforce strict rules so Puritans could not disobey the ideals. If anyone did not conform, they were called an “impostor” who did not belong in the community. If Puritans allowed freedom of worship, dissenters would not be banished from the community because all ideologies could potentially exist peacefully. The only time dissenters existed were in communities that limited freedom of rights.

The mother's role was to take care of her husband, children, and home. The children were to respect the parents, help with chores, and get an education. The Puritans also believed that hard work was always expected, there was never a moment to rest because slothfulness was a sin that God disapproved of and hated. The households seem to be a serious life for that reason. Having fun was against the Puritan religion, there was no time to have fun, the time spent having fun could be used to accomplish more work. In the Puritan town, the church and school were always at the center. Education was a major part in the life of the Puritans. They felt that education would help in the understanding of what was expected of them by God. By allowing them to read the Bible and interpret it themselves it allowed for them to add to the perfect society that they were trying to accomplish. Harvard, the first university, was established by the Puritans to provide for more training for new ministers. Puritans believed in predestination, that God knows what choices you are going to make in life and what the outcome will be. They also used their religious belief to justify their treatment of the Native American population.

In today’s society, “City on a Hill,” is a cliche, a quaint romantic notion of an ideal society, but for the Puritans of the 17th century, the “City on a Hill” was much more. It represented a tangible goal of moral ambition, achievable through purity of thought and action. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible , the City on a Hill” that Puritans refer to suggests that their way of living life is perfect, including that all people should be devoted to God. Citizens had many strict restrictions, however it was these restrictions towards certain things that made the Puritans believe that they were living in a perfect society. The Puritans of Salem took the basic Puritan philosophy to the extreme, becoming intolerant, suspicious, and rigid in their way of living life. The Puritans desire to live a life that was perfect, a “ City on a Hill,” actually created an imperfect society.

Edgar Allan Poe and Washington Irving are both enthralling writers. They both have unusual styles of writing but they are similar in some ways. The writers are comparable in the use of tone in their works. Irving‘s use of tone in his stories are typically optimistic, yet dramatic. Poe’s uses of tone in his stories are filled with horror and are also dramatic. Poe and Irving use different techniques to develop a complex meaning in their short stories. For instance, elements such as imagery, tone, and irony are placed in these stories contribute to make these stories intense.

Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of

Capitalism can be defined as “when monetary wealth was enabled to buy labor power” (Wolf et al. 77). By the time that “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” was written, Capitalism was the dominant mode of production, and capitalist markets were spreading rapidly. This became especially true in the United States of America, which was heavily influenced by the British in matters of economy. Since capitalism was born in England, the influence of capitalism bled over into America while they were still under British rule (Wolf et al. 2670). However, by 1820, the year that “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” was published, the United States fully adopted the capitalist mode of production, along with the technological advances of the Industrial Revolution. This embrace of the new economic system changed the ways of life for people in both New England and New York, along with the entirety of the country.

Puritans believed that only the pure of heart can gain access to heaven. Their whole live were built on perfecting themselves so matter the cost to their human souls. Young Goodman Brown shows the hardships of this religion though a mythological standpoint though the archetype of Faith, the push and pull of Goodman's hero complex, and metaphorical journey to underworld.

In the Puritan Religion, all children were supposed to be looked down upon, and hold no power. They were supposed to be closer to the devil than any adult, as we could see during the Salem Witch Trials. Death by sin was also constant fear in the child’s mind, and the children were so afraid to sin, that they usually ended up sinning. Also, children lived with the fear of not experiencing God for their memberships to the church. In this time, to be a citizen, you had to be a member of the church. When the children of the elect were born, they were automatically given membership to the church, because they were for surely experience God. When some of them did not, they lived inconstant fear of what was to to come of them and their future children. The constant fears and pressures of the Puritan child lead to problems within the community (Campbell).

own country; and had I been merely a lover of fine scenery, I should have

In the novel Sleepy Hollow, by Peter Lerangis, several elements of the Romantic period of literature are evident. Themes carry throughout the novel that suggest a strong Romantic influence upon the text. The story is rich in colorful figurative language and contains a spell-binding plot that leaves the reader feeling very satisfied. In the midst of such an enchanting story are the Romantic themes, such as a deep appreciation of nature in conjunction with the condemnation of city life, exaltation of emotion over reason along with the defiance of conventional rules and traditions, and interest in local folk/ethnic culture, while providing the reader with plenty of attention to the supernatural. Each of these elements combines to create a

The narration in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow functions as a way to give authority to the women of Tarry Town. This power of feminine is elicit by Washington Irving who gives respect and superiority to women indirectly, but yet evidently through third person narration. Furthermore through Katrina he parallels the power of Tarry Town’s women by illustrating their agency to beget the downfall of Ichabod.