US History From a Brasilian's Perspective

I've discovered that my computer hates me. I had just completed typing this up when it deleted itself and saved itself a second later... what luck.

The children of the Pilgrims were regarded in their own time as “the degenerate plant of a strange vine,” unworthy of the legacy and sacrifices of their mothers and fathers (p. 198). Why did they acquire (and largely accept) this reputation? Was it deserved? Were the denunciations of the second generation a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy?

The children of the Pilgrims came to the reputation of being unworthy of their parent's sacrifices because of the difference between their focus in life and that of their fathers. The second generations focus was to gain in material things, such as land, money, furs, etc, in other words, to become rich. This was the exact opposite of the 1st generation's focus: to gain in all things spiritual and to leave materialistic behind. I would say that their reputation was somewhat deserved, not only because they had indeed become focused on the material rather then the spiritual due to the environment around them but also because they accepted being the "degenerate plant" and did nothing to change it. However, I'm also sure that people such as the ministers may have accused them much more then necessary because of where they stood as role models to the community.

I don't quite understand the last question but if it means what I think it means, then yes, the denunciations were indeed as self-fulfilling prophecy. It could be that, at the beginning, the 2nd generation wasn't that bad. However, they were still straying from the path and therefore "unworthy". From there, the "unworthiness" would just continue to grow because the 2nd generation would feel that there's no way to be "worthy" and that there was no point in trying. Also, it could be that because they were expected to act as material obsessed, the 2nd generation would act to expectations even if they weren't that focused on it as much as it appeared to the older generation. And then, it may just be that the younger generation simply didn't give a hoot to spirituality and I'm here wasting my time trying to defend them. Oh well.