Question

In his journals, William Bradford used third person pronouns to describe the life and hardships of the puritans as they sought to establish themselves in the new world.

How does Bradford’s point of view make him a believable narrator, as well as a biased one?

Answer 1

The Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony)

Writing in "The Pilgrims," his personal journals, Bradford William used the third person point of view to veil the narrator-participant as an ordinary observer. This literary device makes the reader to identify with the characters, thus enhancing the story's believability and objectivity. This contrasts with writing from the first or second person's points of view, which shows the narrator's active involvement, thereby increasing subjectivity while obscuring objectivity in story narration.

By writing from this third person point of view, using third person pronouns, William Bradford, separated himself from the plot of the story. Thus, he remained an observer-narrator and not an active participant. At the same time, since it is widely known that Bradford was the founder of the Plymouth Colony, Bradford shows his bias by isolating himself totally from the story, by writing with the third person pronouns.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to history, William Bradford (1590-1657) was one of the founding fathers of the Plymouth Colony and its governor for 30 years. Single-handedly, Bradford drafted the legal code for the Plymouth Colony which facilitated the building of a Puritan-based community in the state of Massachusetts, one of the 6 New England states.