Mrs.

Pinto Barrack Hebrew Academy

The Puritan Paper
So far, we have read and discussed two works by Puritan authors: Upon the Burning of our House, July
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1666 by Anne Bradstreet and Sinners in the Hands of an Angry G-d by Jonathan Edwards. Your
first essay assignment is to:

Compare Bradstreet and Edwards attitudes toward G-d.

While this may seem like a simple prompt, let me assure you that it is not. There are a few things you
have to do before you even get started. We will do some of the things together in class and others you
will have to do on your own:

1. Determine what each authors attitude toward G-d is.
2. Find clues in the text directly or indirectly (aka through quote or through paraphrase)
to support what you think the authors attitude toward G-d is.
(You can work inductively or deductively on these two items, it does not matter to me
and depends on the way in which YOUR mind works. Whichever you choose, be sure to
be as thorough as possible).

If you dont know what inductive and deductive are, heres a rundown:
Inductive Reasoning:
Prediction based on observation. Lets say you have
a general feeling after youve finished reading and
you think its correct. Starting with this conclusion
(your general feeling), you move back into the text
to find evidence in support of it. Unlike Deductive
reasoning, there is a possibility here that, although
your observations are correct, they are incomplete,
leading to an incorrect prediction.

Dangers: Myopia. If you consider only the evidence
that supports your theory, you may be ignoring
evidence that directly disproves your theory. An
educated reader/listener will pick up on this and tear
your logic apart (which consequently also tears your
ethos apart). Recovering a reputation from failed
logic is difficult.

Example of bad inductive reasoning:
All of the bourekas Ive eaten are potato and cheese
thus all bourekas are made with potato and cheese.

Deductive Reasoning:
Observations that lead to prediction. Lets say you
have no idea what it all means, but you have noticed
some pretty compelling pieces of text. Start with the
evidence and then draw conclusions based on what
you found. This is the if, and, then statements used
in mathematical proofs as well as the very famous
method used by Sherlock Holmes to solve crimes.

Dangers: Time. This method is time consuming. It
requires an open mind and willingness to follow the
evidence instead of getting bogged down in
preconceived notions and/or predictions. It also
requires the collection of a wide range of evidence
which represents the entire text (as contradictory as
that may be). If you dont have an open mind,
and/or you are unwilling to follow the all of the
evidence, then your logic will fail, and recovering a
reputation from failed logic is difficult.

3. Determine what makes these two authors similar or different (or some combination of
the two); this is your thesis. This is where you also consider the context of piece (time,
community, belief system, genre, form, etc.).

Your Essay should:
Propose an original, thoughtful, and specific claim (thesis). This should not be a statement saying that
Bradstreet and Edwards are different, but rather a statement of HOW they are different (or similar).
Provide an adequate number of examples direct and indirect to illustrate your thesis. Be sure to cite all
examples (page numbers for essays, line numbers for poems).
Draw logical conclusions based on evidence provided
Be approximately 2 pages in length. This is a soft rule.
Be submitted in MLA format. Check online if youve forgotten what this looks like.
Be turned in to turnitin.com before 11pm on September 30
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