Native Americans differed from Puritans in every way possible, from the color of their skin to the style of their clothing. However, the greatest difference lied in what both groups shared: a mind. The sources of their differences came from their different views of nature, good and evil, and how people should live. .
Their attitudes toward nature were as different as day and night. The Puritans saw nature as an adversary and an exploitable resource. When the Puritans first arrived in New World, they were afflicted by various hardships, ranging from disease to starvation; all due to the unfamiliar environment they had arrived in, as shown in Of Plymouth Plantation. As a result, they began viewing nature as an adversary, something to be fought against and conquered. Of course, as in all wars, to the victors go the spoils. Because the Puritans viewed nature as an adversary, it was only natural for them to exploit it. To accommodate themselves, the Puritans cleared entire forests in order to build houses and other structures. The Indians, on the other hand, were their opposites. Instead of viewing nature as an adversary, they viewed it as a living entity, much like themselves. Instead of desiring to conquer nature, they wished only to have themselves live in harmony with it. As shown in the poem Hunting Song, the Indians displayed this harmony daily; whether it was fish or wood, they thanked nature for it. .
Another contrast within their beliefs was their views of good and evil. For the Puritans, evil was anything that was ungodly and destructive. Ungodliness and evil were linked directly to being products of the Devil. Due to their strict devotion to their religion and God, they condemned anything that was linked to the devil. In Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, they condemned those who were ungodly and therefore condemned all that was evil. Only a certain prescribed set of actions was considered godly.
