The Role of Religion in Early American Literature1) The role of religion played a major role in early American literature. Many different authors, from various periods, incorporate religious ideas and philosophies into their writings. Some authors from different periods who did this were Johnathan Edwards, Anne Bradstreet, and Henry David Thoreau. Anne Bradstreet was a Puritan. Like all the other Puritans of her time, she examined her conscience daily and always felt humbled by God's creations and powers. A poem in which she expressed the ideas and philosophies of her religion was "Contemplations". This poem was about very religious things. In this poem, she talks about her admiration for God and how she and all humans are humbled by God's creations. She said: “The higher I looked at the glistening sun. Whose rays were shaded by the leafy tree; the more I looked, the more amazed I became, and I said softly, “What glory have you? Soul of this world, eye of this universe, no wonder some have made you a divinity; if I had not been better known, alas, I would have done the same". This quote means that a tree amazes him with its beauty. Furthermore, it says that the thing responsible for creating a such thing must be just as beautiful, if not the most beautiful on earth The self-examination part of her religious part comes into play because this poem was very long and confusing much like I thought her life was. suffered from rheumatic fever and throughout her life she suffered periods of fatigue and faced death eight times giving birth to eight children I think she wrote the poem to represent her life. felt that her life was very long and endless She also saw that there was a...... middle of paper...... she would not be hated as much, but she knows that Christianity n. 'is just a mask and white people will always see a nigger before they see a Christian.' 'Their color is a devilish dye.' Remember that Christians, black niggers like Cain, can be refined and join the angelic train. "I think these debates about race are presented in the texts as a counter-reaction to something that was previously written. As Cooper and Stowe made bestsellers from their watered-down stories about how slaves , Indians and slaves were mistreated Apess and Wheatley counter this by saying that their people were treated much worse than portrayed and that no one is aware of the notions of race and race relations. definitely changed over the years Now a mixed couple is perfectly acceptable and racism exists but it's not at the level it was..