Summary Of Mary Rowlandson

Analyzing the statements of Mary Rowlandson, the document gives an insight to the troubling relationship between the Native Americans and the Colonists which have broken out into battle. This depiction fails to explain what other significant events have led up to this attack, and instead paints the Natives as savages who have attacked for no reason, which led to the captivity of Rowlandson. After her captivity, the document focuses on issues such as how religion becomes her motivation to expect to survive, and attempts to view the series of events which unfold under the order of the Natives. These issues beg the question of previous interactions between the Colonists and Natives, which introduces the bias of the writer, shows the religious ties to her captivity she believes oversee the situation, and
As the Sabbath approached, Rowlandson asked for the day off before her captors threatened to have her “face broken” and sent to work instead (Rowlandson, 41). This example stands to show the Natives as savages once more and also attempts to show Rowlandson as a victim of their harsh rulings. Religion also comes into play once more when taken across a river with the Natives, which the English Army later comes to and fails to cross. This is an example of God at work in the eyes of Rowlandson, showing she was not yet worth saving from such harsh conditions. Rowlandson states that they “were not ready for so great a mercy as victory and deliverance; if we had been, God would have found out a way for the English to have passed this River” (Rowlandson, 41). These explanations help to recognize the vital role religion played in the daily lives of the colonials, yet fails to explain the religious affiliations of the Natives. This can help envision the Natives as savages and serves a higher bias within the document by showing God will save her from the non-Puritan