Many people living in democratic societies often believe thralldom is of the past, but others, domestically and around the world, find themselves victims of slavery or serfdom. Today, many people find themselves enslaved for a variety of reasons, including to push a political agenda or to make a profit. Both, Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano have written enlightening narratives regarding their experiences in captivity. Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano’s captivity narratives can be compared and contrasted through their experiences of both kind and unkind treatment by captors, conditions under captivity, as well as their faith. Rowlandson and Equiano’s treatment by their captors differed greatly, for Mary was treated better as her time …show more content…
While aboard the ship, the slaves were placed in a common living quarter under the deck of the ship; hundreds of slaves were packed like sardines and chained during the voyage across the Atlantic. When first introduced to a new setting, under the deck, Equiano remarks, “there I received such a salutation in my nostrils as I had never experienced in my life: So that with the loathsomeness of the stench and crying together, I became so sick and low that I was not able to eat…” (Rowlandson 56). Equiano was placed in an environment with sickening conditions compared to Rowlandson’s discomfort and change of standard of living that made her conditions …show more content…
Rowlandson, a devout Puritan, displays her strong belief in her faith and God who she credits for her survival during captivity. Her point of view shifted when she stated,“I cannot but take notice of the wonderful mercy of God to me in those afflictions, in sending me a Bible.” (Rowlandson 39). From the day a Native American offered her a Bible on, Rowlandson’s perspective on her situation changed from dispirited to hopeful. The scriptures she read brought her great comfort; she often made biblical allusions and made comments about her purpose to serve God. Rowlandson’s faith played a significant role in her survival and eased her transition into
”On a February morning, she and her three children were carried away by a Wampanoag raiding party that wanted to trade hostages for money. After eleven weeks and five days of captivity, Rowlandson’s ransom was paid. ”In these two sentences of Mary Rowlandson’s narrative we see that she was held by her captors for ransom to be able to
Considering both Rowlandson and Equiano experiences their feelings contributed to each personal
Rowlandson believes that her captivity was a result of her sins and God forcing her to repent; "I then remembered how careless I had been of Gods holy time… and how evilly I had walked in Gods sight… it was easy for me to see how righteous it was with God to cut off the thread of my life.” Rowlandson comes to the conclusion that the captivity was God’s punishment; although she may seem more accepting of the Indians, she continues to degrade them because she believes that they only serve as a form of punishment for
Equiano was just a kid at this time period, and it was common for slaves to undergo this sort of pressure that young. Many kids were taken from families as he was, so they could grow into slavery and become used to the ways. Equiano was in an area with his fellow Africans but felt lost as he was around men with different colored skin, that had "funny" language to him. Equiano witnessed many things during his slavery on the ship. Slaves weren't fed and were flogged for not eating.
Such stories were regularly utilized as promulgation or propaganda: accordingly, Europeans frequently stereotyped Native Americans as merciless and whites started to see subjugation of African-Americans as detestable. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast the two narratives which are A Narrative of the Captivity and The interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equianoa. A Narrative of Captivity by Mary Rowlandson and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano are two generally read imprisonment accounts , which, individually, relate the encounters of a grown-up white lady caught by Indians and an eleven-year-old Black male caught for the American slave market. Looking at these two accounts uncovers fascinating similitudes and contrasts and in addition in the encounters and responses of these two prisoners.
I think equiano was successful and made it very clear that slavery is injustice. One example from the text was "refusing to eat, one of them held me fast by the hands and laid me across i think the windlass and tied my feet while the other flogged me severely." Clearly the white men were unfair with him for not accepting to eat what they had offered him. Some of the slaves had even considered dying rather than staying alive with them. The slaves would try to drown themselves onto the sea ,some were successful and passed away but those who got caught would get brought back to the ship and get punished and flogged severely. "
Sawyer Guest Engl 442 Mini-Essay #2 Hope Leslie & Mary Rowlandson: Captives vs. Captors A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mary Rowlandson is a narrative written by Mary Rowlandson, herself. Rowlandson was held captive by Native Americans, and during her narrative tells readers of the many different encounters and experiences that she had when she was taken from her home and held captive by some of the Native American people. Rowlandson had many interesting encounters with the natives, ranging from relatively friendly encounters, to somewhat “cold” encounters. Throughout her narrative she views the Natives in a rather negative light, not really giving them a chance because they are different than she is, and they are not Puritans.
Their strong religious values aided them in the survival of the struggle they experienced during their lives. They were two different women with similar struggles but with different situations. Although Mary Rowlandson and Anne Bradstreet both had unique struggles, both women were able to overcome their difficulties through similar faiths. Mary Rowlandson was a woman that relied on God. Rowlandson is comforted in her “low estate” by Biblical passages that [take] hold of her heart” and enable her to survive (Mary Rowlanson’s Captivity and the Place of the Woman’s Subject).
She describes the burning of her home as a message from God not to rely on materialistic things as she says , “And when I could no longer look, I blest His name that gave and took”(SITE). Although all of her belongings were taken from her she still had Gods faith to keep her together. In the death of her Granddaughter she
There are many stories that tell about the horrors of captivity but not like that of Mary Rowlandson. In her record of her life in captivity called A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, she writes a heart-breaking and horror filled recap of her time in captivity. Rowlandson is explaining how her captors treated her, what she lost in her insane reality, and what kept her strong throughout her days in captivity. Mary Rowlandson’s time in captivity is one that she’ll never forget. What she really won’t forget was how the Indians treated her when capturing her.
The difference between the voices is that the Captive suggests that only God can deliver Rowlandson from her “imprisonment” and the Survivor suggests that it is the individual who is able to survive due to instincts and skills. This is the classic example of “Never trust the author. Trust the tale” as they produce different effects on her narrative. If you trust the author the narrative is seen as a story of devout faith and God’s reward for faith kept, that if you have faith in God all you need is God to live. If you trust the tale however you may see that Rowlandson only survived because of her skills in sewing and naturally courageous attitude adding God as a secondary thought.
She believed that if she kept the faith and believed in God she could survive her period of captivity. Rowlandson was a wife of a minister who was
Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson, two women who had strong religious beliefs. Their strong religious beliefs made them to survive the struggles that they endured in their lives. Anne Bradstreet struggled with her faith and her acceptance as a writer in Puritan society. Mary Rowlandson struggled in captivity where she was taken hostage with her ailing daughter by the Indians. Both these women overcame their difficulties through their beliefs to God.
Suffering from depression and anger, Rowlandson used the words of God to “remove: herself from them. For example, in the fourth remove, Rowlandson states that: “thus saith the Lord, refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears, for thy work shall be rewarded, and they shall come again from the land of the enemy”. In each remove, Rowlandson learns something new through proof that supports God’s word. Because of this, each remove can symbolize a move in a closer relationship to
She witnessed her community become destroyed by Indians, people whom she refers to as "barbarous creatures,"(238) "murderous wretches" (236) "heathen,"(236) "ravenous beasts," (238) and "hell-hounds." (237) Rowlandson never questions her faith in God throughout the rough times she is going through, uncertain of her survival. When she and her daughter are wounded and separated from her family, instead of questioning why God would do such a horrible thing to her, she interprets her experiences as signs from God. As a reference, she mentions that "[she has] thought since of the wonderful goodness of God to [her] in preserving [her] in the use of [her] reasons and senses, in that