A Captivity Narrative, By Mary Rowlandson

1137 Words3 Pages

In Mary Rowlandson, “A Captivity Narrative”, Rowlandson recounts her experiences as a captive of the Wampanoag tribe. The tribe took captives from Lancaster in 1676 because of the ongoing violent altercations between the English colonists and Native Americans during King Philip’s War. Since many of the Native Americans brethren had fallen in battle, they saw it fit to take English folk captive and use them to take the place of their fallen brethren, trading/ransom pieces, or killing them in revenge. This was becoming a common practice for the Native Americans to attack villages and in result, some English started fleeing the area or started to retaliate. Rowlandson was a Puritan wife and mother, in her …show more content…

God displays his protective powers in various ways. She is shown to be in despair numerous times. So many things happen that keep chipping away at her spirit. The Indians come and ransack the town, basically burning it to the ground. She is separated from all of her children except for one and even in that moment, her daughter dies in her arms after being wounded by a gunshot. Rowlandson herself is injured and is forced to keep travelling despite her conditions. Chaos seems to surround her at every angle. She is initially given a very miniscule amount of water to sustain her on the trip along with some nuts and crumbs. Rowlandson states that “… still the Lord still upheld me...” and also that “he hurt me one hand, and proceeded to heal me with the other”. She believes that due to her people being unfaithful, the Lord is now punishing them so that they can repent. But her being puritan and a chosen one, instead of being killed off, she is preserved and is allowed to get back in God’s good standing. At one point she even thinks of attempting suicide and ending all the misery but she states that thanks to God, she came back her senses and reason to know that she couldn’t go through with such an act. God was using the Indians as agents to punish the Puritans and in doing so, whenever the opportunity for freedom arrived and for some reason the opportunity was not seen …show more content…

While suffering from her wound she quotes Psalm 38.5-6 "My wounds stink and are corrupt, I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly, I go mourning all the day long." After which she places leaves on her side and through the blessing of God she is healed and able to travel again. This is significant due to the fact that throughout the whole narrative, Rowlandson is shown to call on God’s word over and over, and in her mind she sees that God is really answering her pleas. If she kept going through scriptures and receiving no answer, along with no encouragement through the word then it is likely she would have fell in despair and might have given up along the way. The Puritan people literally live by the word, their actions and beliefs reflect everything the bible is comprised of. Rowlandson is still able to find appreciation, even during her imprisonment, for the compassion God showed her and the many reassertions of her faith during these

Show More
Related

  • How Did Mary Rowlandsson A Captivity Of The Captivity

    761 Words  | 2 Pages

    On February 10, 1675, Mary Rowland was captured in Lancaster, Massachusetts. While being held captive, she narrated her experiences and tried to affirm her Puritan beliefs throughout her survival of being in captivity. She’d rather go with the “ravenous Beasts” than die because she wanted to “declare” of what was happening to her throughout her journey (70). Mary Rowlandson believed God was omniscient, forgiving, and omnipotent and it shaped her perception of the world in an affirmative way throughout all the chaos and suffering.

    Read More

  • Mary Rowlandson

    470 Words  | 1 Pages

    The narrative that Rowlandson wrote was originally titled “The Sovereignty & Goodness of God, Together with the Faithfulness of His Promise Displayed: Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson Commended by her to all that Desire to Know the Lord’s Doings to, and Dealings with Her. Especially to her Dear Children and Relations.” In 1682, the title was dropped and republished the narrative under the title “Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” which is best known as today. This book is separated into “removes.” The first three “removes” focus on her desperate efforts to care for her dying daughter. The rest of the “removes” focus on the difficulties she faced while being kidnapped and held captive.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Anne Bradstreet And Mary Rowlandson

    1649 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout her work Psalm 46.8 and other scriptures can be found. Rowlandson’s Puritan dichotomy is portrayed when she talks of Chapters 27-30 of Deuteronomy in the Bible. By reading these verses, Mary believes her blessings are gone and the captivity was a curse. As she approaches Deuteronomy Chapter 30, her writing communicates the acknowledgement of the mercy being promised again if they would return to Him by repentance (Franklin 259,263). “Then I took oaken leaves and laid to my side / and with the blessing of God it cured me also” depicts her attributing the curing to God and not the leaves or to the captive who told her how the leaf healed him, believing God is responsible for everything. Throughout the story, she believes the captivity was a test and a lesson in God’s plan (Canavan). Puritan woman, Mary Rowlandson, represented the Puritan beliefs and values in their dichotomy in her

    Read More

  • The Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson

    1716 Words  | 4 Pages

    In “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson,” Mary Rowlandson, a Puritan mother from Lancaster, Massachusetts, recounts the invasion of her town by Indians in 1676 during “King Philip’s War,” when the Indians attempted to regain their tribal lands. She describes the period of time where she is held under captivity by the Indians, and the dire circumstances under which she lives. During these terrible weeks, Mary Rowlandson deals with the death of her youngest child, the absence of her Christian family and friends, the terrible conditions that she must survive, and her struggle to maintain her faith in God. She also learns how to cope with the Indians amongst whom she lives, which causes her attitude towards them to undergo several changes. At first, she is utterly appalled by their lifestyle and actions, but as time passes she grows dependent upon them, and by the end of her captivity, she almost admires their ability to survive the harshest times with a very minimal amount of possessions and resources. Despite her growing awe of the Indian lifestyle, her attitude towards them always maintains a view that they are the “enemy.”

    Read More

  • Winthrop and Rowlandson: Common Puritan Ideals

    1986 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...ve Indians. From the copious use of examples in Winthrop's work, and the concise detail in Rowlandson's narrative, one can imbibe such Puritans values as the mercy of God, place in society, and community. Together, these three elements create a foundation for Puritan thought and lifestyle in the New World. Though A Model of Christian Charity is rather prescriptive in its discussion of these values, Rowlandson's captivity narrative can certainly be categorized as descriptive; this pious young woman serves as a living example of Winthrop's "laws," in that she lives the life of a true Puritan. Therefore, both 17th century works are extremely interrelated; in order to create Winthrop's model community, one must have faith and closely follow Puritan ideals, as Rowlandson has effectively done in her A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.

    Read More

  • The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson

    1372 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson is a personal account, written by Mary Rowlandson in 1682, of what life in captivity was like. Her narrative of her captivity by Indians became popular in both American and English literature. Mary Rowlandson basically lost everything by an Indian attack on her town Lancaster, Massachusetts in 1675; where she is then held prisoner and spends eleven weeks with the Wampanoag Indians as they travel to safety. What made this piece so popular in both England and America was not only because of the great narrative skill used be Mary Rowlandson, but also the intriguing personality shown by the complicated character who has a struggle in recognizing her identity. The reoccurring idea of food and the word remove, used as metaphors throughout the narrative, could be observed to lead to Mary Rowlandson’s repression of anger, depression, and realization of change throughout her journey and more so at the end of it.

    Read More

  • The Sovereignty and Goodness of God

    1260 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mary Rowlandson was a pretentious, bold and pious character. Her narrative did not make me feel sorry for her at all, which is strange since she really did go through a lot. During the war, the Narragansett Indians attacked Lancaster Massachusetts, and burned and pillaged the whole village. During the siege Mary and her six year old child were shot, she watched her sister and most of her village either burn or get shot. She was kept as a captive, along with her three children and taken with the Narragansett’s on their long retreat. The exposition of the story is set immediately. The reader is perfectly aware of Missus Rowlandson’s status and religious beliefs. She constantly refers to the Narragansetts in an incredibly condescending way, to the point that you know that she does not even consider them human. She paints them as purely evil pe...

    Read More

  • Mary Rowlandson

    369 Words  | 1 Pages

    As a typical Puritan writer would, Rowlandson chose to write about God, religious beliefs, and her hardships. After the death of her child Rowlandson thanked God for, "preserving me". This statement clearly reveals her faith in fate and God's will. In the narrative she also describes her daily life as a capture. Rowlandson writes that she was "calling for my pay," after she made a shirt for one of the Indians. After that, she was called again to perform the same task and was paid a knife.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass And Frederick Douglass Analysis

    1247 Words  | 3 Pages

    Interestingly although she feared and reviled the Indians she states that not one of them offered the least abuse of unchastity to her. Her captors never sexually molested or violated her. Rowlandson learned to adapt and strove to make it thought her captivity alive. She learned how to gather food for herself. Tolerate the ways of the Indians, and make clothes for the tribe. She even decided to stay with the Indians when given the chance to escape. “Rowlandson refused them choosing to stay put and let God choose when she was fully redeemed and ready to be released”

    Read More

  • Ikto And Rowlandson's Tale Summary

    961 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Indians during the raid are brutal and merciless. She describes them as “murderous wretches [who] went on, burning, and destroying” (White 16), and their party at night “place[d] a lively resemblance of hell” (White 17). The image that she has of the Indians is very gloomy at first, and it is quite justified. As the story unfolds, however, Rowlandson sees more and more of the humane side of her imprisoners. She starts addressing them with more neutral words like “Indians” rather than “Barbarous Creatures” or “Wolves”. Perhaps she is softened by the fact that they have made an effort to bury her child, or that they haven’t harmed her anymore. Later on, when she meets Philip’s crew by the river, she writes, “I fell a weeping which was the first time to my remembrance, that I wept before them” (White 19). It further shows that Rowlandson truly believes that the Indians are relatable people, because her weeping is a way to gain sympathy from them. If she still thinks of them as brutal villains who wants to kill her, she would panic and despair, but there isn’t any of that in her language. Indeed, the Indians turn out to be friendly. Rowlandson is not reluctant to appreciate that; she writes that “[she] has never tasted pleasanter meat in [her] life” (White 19) in regard to the

    Read More

  • Views

    1151 Words  | 3 Pages

    By diving into the authors own experiences the theme of self vs. other is strongly expressed in both narratives. Rowlandson’s experience begins with her capture of her and her children; however, throughout the entire narrative she is fighting her faith, who she is, and the captors. She talks about having to deal with the vanity of this world stating, “I have seen the extreme vanity of this world: One hour I have been in health and wealthy, wanting nothing. But the next hour in sickness and wounds, and death, having nothing but sorrow and affliction.” (Rowlandson, 288) Rowlandson had to battle the vain in the world that had taught her a certain way to believe and have faith; however, this battle created a way for her to find herself and better understand the power faith could have on her and her family. The trial allowed Rowlandson to truly know, “…what affliction meant…” which allowed Rowlandson the ability to conquer the view of self vs. other. Rowlandson became independent on her abilities, her faith, and her own qualities. Olaudah Equiano shows the the...

    Read More

  • Autochthony Through Captivity Mary Rowlandson Analysis

    627 Words  | 2 Pages

    Though these American Indians are clearly heathens, Rowlandson is clear that they are also respectful of her. Mrs. Rowlandson takes great pains to assert that “not one of them ever offered me the least abuse of unchastity… in word or action” (Rowlandson 297). Mrs. Mary Rowlandson is still pure, untouched, and worthy of a spot in her society, and her autochthonous tale ultimately stems from the need to be unflinchingly clear in these truths. Although the American Indians were a source of great suffering for Rowlandson, they were also preordained as the source of her affliction so that she might come to have deeper understanding of God’s flawless plan. By writing the American Indians into her narrative as an extension of God’s own hand, Rowlandson strips them of the power they have to blemish her reputation. Rowlandson’s tale is one of self-empowerment through autochthony, and her unwavering devotion to God’s plan is what ultimately allows her that power over herself and her

    Read More

  • The Use Of Religion In Mary Rowlandson And Jonathan Edwards's Writings

    923 Words  | 2 Pages

    In her account, A Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, Rowlandson

    Read More

  • Captivity Mary Rowlandson Analysis

    532 Words  | 2 Pages

    Within three Puritan works, Rowlandson and Edwards displayed their religious beliefs through their thoughts on God and mankind. One of the many Puritan beliefs was that the bible is the basis of all teaching. Such examples of this are evident in Mary Rowlandson’s work “Captivity”. Even though she was a captive, she still took note of “the wonderful mercy of God” for the simple fact that He “[sent her] a bible” (Rowlandson 67). Feeling lost, the bible brought her back to her faith in a time of need, and enlightened her on the hope that “there was mercy promised again”(67). From then on she looked to the Bible for guidance in times of despair. Throughout her imprisonment, she often pondered about “the wonderful goodness of God” when she felt anguish (66).

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast A Narrative Of The Captivity And Restoration By Mary Rowlandson

    1164 Words  | 3 Pages

    It starts off with the attack from the Indians. She describes these Indians as “murderous wretches” (257) and “ravenous beasts” (259). Concluding her introduction, she says how she would “rather to be killed by them than taken alive, but when it came to the trail [her] mind changed” (259). Rowlandson values her life and trusts God to protect her through her captivity. Later into the story, Rowlandson talks about how the Indians didn’t value the Bible and it is hard to understand why it is so important to the Puritans. She then goes on to say that God gave her the Bible through this nasty Indian “I cannot but take notice of the wonderful mercy of God to me in those afflictions, in sending me a bible” (263). As the story goes on, Rowlandson points out God made Native Americans so strong so that Puritans could grow through this tragedy, “the Lord feeds and nourishes them up to be a scourge to the whole land” (283). No matter what happened, Rowlandson keeps her faith in God. She ends with “Yet I see, when God calls a person to anything, and through never so many difficulties, yet He is fully able to carry them through and make them see,” (288) meaning that God puts us through situations that we may not think we can handle, but He knows we can. As Bob Marley says, “You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.” Rowlandson’s only choice was to stay completely

    Read More

More about A Captivity Narrative, By Mary Rowlandson

Open Document