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Christians Being Savage By Mary Rowlandson

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When Christians began coming to the new land, they perceived that Native Americans to be savages, those of monstrous, no faith in god, uncivilized, and barbarian mannerisms. As tension grew between the Natives and the new settlers over the taking of land and mistreatment of Natives, lead to a series of Indians wars and most notably the King Philips War. During one of the attacks carried out by the Natives during the King Phillips War, Mary Rowlandson, a Puritan was captured and held captive for 11weeks. Her preconceived ideas of Natives being savages seemed to have slightly changed during her time spent held captive and in her ability to survive amongst them. Through her description of the Natives in her writings, it shows that the division …show more content…

“It’s a solemn sight to see so many Christians lying in their blood, some here, some there, like a company of sheep torn by wolves.” She metaphorically describes the Christians as sheep, which by nature are calmer, non violent and can be easily tamed. She uses wolves to describe the Natives, which are aggressive and violent by nature. Natives were thought to be violent by nature and by lack of faith and structure in their societies’. This comparison of the Natives and the Christians clearly shows her perception of them as violent and uncivilized …show more content…

“One of the Indians that came from Medfield fight, had brought some plunder, came to me, and asked me, if I would have a Bible, he had got one in his Basket. I was glad of it, and asked him, whether he thought the Indians would let me read? he answered yes”. One Native was kind enough to give her a bible that she most greatly appreciated. The Native having no use for it could have just thrown the bible away but instead decided to give it to Mary. This gift to her gave her the spiritual healing she needed to get through this ordeal. This is not the characteristic of a savage or monstrous human, but that one of who is kind hearted and respectful of the beliefs of others. Living in the wilderness and having to hunt for food are a few of the reasons the Christians deemed the Natives to be savages and less than human. What the Christians viewed as savagery, were the Natives traditions and ways of survival. For Mary, she must adapt and learn to live the way the Natives do to survive in the wild, for she has always lived indoors with furnishing, in comfort. “I asked him to give me a piece: What, sayes he, can you eat Horse-liver I told him, I would try, if he would give a piece, which he did, and I laid it on the coals to roast; but before it was half ready they got half of it away from me, so that I was fain to take the rest and eat it as it

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His tract depicts how the English viewed all Native Americans as savages, whether Christian or not. This works into Mary Rowlandson account, where she describes Indians as vicious savages and her own capture being punishment from God due to her own lackadaisical Christian worship. Here in lines the great contradictions that plagued the two cultures, it is evident that religion was not what drove the war, it was the differing views by two very different

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Many stories of the relationship between Puritans and Indians make the natives out as being savages by only telling one side of the story. The written pieces of Mary Rowlandson and Hannah Dustan both start their stories right off with the attack of the Indians. Neither tells of anything about King Philip’s War that was the motive for the Indians to start the attack. Within the first paragraph Mary Rowlandson states that “There were twelve killed, some shot, some stabbed with their spears, some knocked down with their hatchets.”

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Mary Rowlandson: Capture Story The book titled The Sovereignty and Goodness of God was first published in the year 1682 by Mary Rowlandson. It is based on the firsthand account of Mary Rowlandson experiences as a captive of the Indians during the “King Philips’s,” War. It is a book credited to be one of the earliest autobiographical works published by an Anglo-American woman, and delves into the dynamics of the relationship between the colonists and the native Indians during the war period. In the book Rowlandson refers to her experiences in twenty removes, with each remove signifying her sojourn with the Indians as a captive during the 11 weeks she spent with the Indians.

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Mary Rowlandson’s autobiographical account is about the clash between Indians and British colonists in Massachusetts during King Philip’s War. King Philip was a Wampanoag chief who began attacking colonial settlements between 1675 and 1676. Mary was a Puritan colonist who described her capture that occurred during an Indian raid and what her captivity was like. She describes the misery of her period of captivity while being held hostage by Wampanoag Indians for over 11 weeks. Rowlandson remained true to her puritan ideals and vividly expressed it in her writing despite the horrid conditions she endured.

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Along the way, Rowlandson’s youngest daughter, Sarah, who was severely wounded by the attack of the Indians, died. Meanwhile, Mary herself was sold, to a Saggamore Indian named, Quannopin, who is related to King Philip by marriage. Her captors give Rowlandson a bible, and in it she finds comfort and hope. Meanwhile the Indians continue to attack British towns, including Medfield. After the fight, the Indians decided to remove westward, now heading north.

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Mary also tells of an Indian and his squaw that asked her to run away with them back to her home, but she refused by saying that she would wait on God’s time and his deliverance. Mary’s story depicts the true meaning of what her faith was all about. Even though her enemies were all around her, she continued to uphold her faith and the belief in her

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During the Puritan times gender roles in the society were very anti-feminist. Women were required to act as housewives and do womanly duties such as cook, clean, and take care of their children. Women had very little freedom as far as their rights were concerned also. Puritan writers, Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson both experienced the struggle of the anti-feminist movement. From their writings we see that they both were against anti-feminism and they tried their best to abandon the whole idea.

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Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson is a text that describes the experiences of Mary Rowlandson during her captivity by the Native Americans in the King Phillips war. The details about the capture which took place in 1676 are recorded in her diary accounts which were written a few years after she was released. The captivity lasted about eleven weeks and is accounted in the diaries. Rowlandson specifically believes that her experiences were related to the Bible and that the capture was a trial from God which she had to endure in order to survive and remain a true Christian woman who is suitable for the then puritan society (Harris 12).

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