The establishment of colonies in the New World opened opportunities for different religious groups to freely practice their beliefs without influence from England. Though this was a chance at a new beginning, it was not always smooth sailing for those that braved the journey over to a vast and desolate wilderness. Mary Rowlandson’s A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, Anne Bradstreet’s To My Dear Children, and Phillis Wheatley’s To the University of Cambridge in New England show, how women with different backgrounds and perspectives lived by their faith in a world that is full of hardships and uncertainty.
Mary Rowlandson was a Puritan who displayed an unwavering devotion to her Lord even in the face of captivity
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Wheatley had a very different position within the colonies that gave her a unique point of view. Phillis was a slave that was brought from Africa to Boston in 1761 by John and Susannah Wheatley. She was a very intelligent child who was taught how to read and write. Due to her extended education that was beyond normal for a slave, she quickly came to know and love the Bible. In her poem To the University of Cambridge, in New England, Wheatley continually express God’s endless love for all. While most slaves were angered for being taken from their home and forced to come and work in the colonies, Wheatley actually thanks the Lord for bringing her out of Africa. She states in her poem “Father of Mercy, ‘twas Thy gracious hand brought me in safety from those dark abodes.” (Wheatley 405) She continually preached that the greatest knowledge that the reader could ever have is that Jesus died to redeem them and all other sinners. “When the whole human race by sin had fallen, He deigned to die that they might rise again.” (Wheatley 405). Being a slave in the colonies but also a believer of Christ, she encouraged the audience to watch out for evil and shun sin. She ultimately is leading them to the conclusion that enslaving humans, no matter the color of their skin, is a deadly sin. Mary had many reason to be angry with the life she had been dealt, but she always turned to God and believed Him to be gracious and glorious to lead her to the eternal