In the early seventeenth century the one and only thing that concerned the Puritan's was their status with God. No matter what they did it was in order to please Him. Their reverence to God was everything to them. They modeled their community as a patriarchal community. This meant that the father or husband was the head of the household, just as God was head of the church. They also believed that the leader of the community should be the leader of their church. The puritan's took the Word of God much more seriously than many other communities. They would constantly remind themselves, their neighbors, and their family if someone was not doing what he or she need to be doing.
             This is evident in both Anne Bradstreet's "Upon the Burning of Our House" and in Mary French's "A Poem Written by a Captive Damsel." In Bradstreet's "Upon the Burning of Our House" she rises to find that her house is burning down. She immediately begins to think about her worldly possessions. The thought of her tables, chests, and all of her personal belongings consumes her in every way. She watches as the roof that she had lived under for so long burns to the ground. Then among the chard remains of what used to be her home she realizes that these are not the things of importance. She understands that she no long has a house to live in but almost automatically says "Thou has an house on high erect, Framed by that mighty Architect"(312). At this very moment she realizes what is the most important thing in her life. Not the chests, the tables, or other things that she owned, but her love for God and His love for her. She goes on to say "The world no longer let me love, my hope and treasure lies above"(312). Here Bradstreet is giving up something that many people would never give up. She is renouncing the possessions so many people, including herself, have loved for a ...