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A Captivity Narrative - Mary Rowlandson

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Mary Rowlandson recounts her experience 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.1 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.2 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 narrative she describes the invasion of her town and how the Indians attempt to reclaim their land. She is one of the few who survive the ordeal because many are killed in the invasion, she describes the Indians as savages. Those who try to escape are shown no mercy, one fellow who is caught pleads for grace and even goes to the extent to offer money in exchange for his life but the Indians simply "knock him in the head  and proceed to strip him of his belongings. She describes her journey as she travels with the Indians, she recounts the horrors she sees, every enemy the Indians encounter are usually knocked on the head and disemboweled. Being a strong Puritan woman, Rowlandson believes that all the events are part of God's divine plan, being a puritan, she is one of God's predestined people and the events are God's way of testing her faith. This narrative shows her strong commitment to Christianity. Without her strong faith, her talents and status she would have never survived her trials and tribulation. Throughout the whole narrative Rowlandson relies on God to sustain her spiritually and physically. 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 com

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