American Puritanism
The settlement of North American continent by the Eng-lish began
in the early part of the seventeenth century. Thefirst permanent
English settlement in North America was estab-lished at Jamestown,
Virginia in 1606. In 1620, the shipMayflower carried about one
hundred Pilgrims arrived at Ply-mouth, Massachusetts. The first
settlers in America were quitea few of them Puritans. They came to
America out of variousreasons. They carried with them American
Puritanism whichtook root in the New World and became the most
enduring sha-ping influence in American thought and American
literature.1. Doctrines of Puritanism
The Puritans accepted the doctrine predestination, origi-nal sin
and total depravity, and limited atonement (or the sal-vation of a
selected few), which theologian John Calvin hadpreached.2. The
influence of Puritanism on American literature(1)The idealism of
Puritan had exerted a great influence on American writers.
It is a common place that American literature——or Anglo-American
literature——is based on a myth, that is, the Biblicalmyth of the
Garden of Eden. This literature is in good measurea literary
expression of the pious idealism of the American Pu-titan bequest.
The Puritan dreamed of living under a perfectorder and worked with
courage and hope toward building a newGarden of Eden in America,
where man could at long last livethe way he should. Fired with such
a sense of mission, thePuritan looked upon even the worst of life
in the face with atremendous amount of optimism. All this went, in
due time,into the making of American literature. The spirit of
optimismburst into the pages of so many American authors.
I.美国清教主义
英国向北美的移民活动开始于17世纪上半叶。英国于1606年在北美建立了第一个永久性海外殖民区:弗吉尼亚州的詹姆斯敦。1620年“五月花”号载运100余名移民抵达马萨诸塞州的普利茅斯。很多美国早期的移民是清教徒,他们出于多种原因来到美国。他们信奉的清教主义后来在新大陆生根发芽,并对美国思想和美国文学产生了根深蒂固的影响。1.清教主义的教义
清教徒信奉神学家约翰·加尔文宣扬的预设定论,原罪,彻底的堕落,有限制的救赎等神学主张。
2.清教主义对美国文学的影响
(1)清教徒的理想主义对美国作家的文学创作产生了深远的影响。
从总体来看,美国文学——至少是白人的美国文学——是建筑在《圣经》伊甸园神话基础上的文学。在很大程度上,它是美国清教主义遗产——虔诚理想主义的一种文学形式。清教徒梦想着生活在一种完善的秩序之下,怀着勇气和希望在美国建立新的伊甸园,以使得他们能最终过上理想的生活。在这种使命感的鼓舞下,他们面对艰难险阻却充满乐观主义情绪。这些都成为美国文学产生发展的重要滋养。乐观主义弥漫在许多美国作家的作品里。