Mary Rowlandson

1. Mary Rowlandson Captivity Narrative

2. Summary • Mary Rowlandson chronicles here experience as a captive of the Wampnoag during King Philip’s War. After being kidnapped by the retreating tribe, she tries to take care of her daughter Sarah, who has been wounded in the raid. The weather, however, is cold; they have no food and little water; and Sarah soon dies.

3. Rowlandson visits briefly with her son and her other daughter, also captives, and she accepts the gift of a Bible from a Native American warrior. Throughout her captivity, the Wampanoag are on the run from the English. Although food is scarce, Rowlandson earns money and tidbits of meat by sewing. Many of her captors treat her kindly, but what ultimately sustains her is reading the Bible and trusting in God.

4. Literary Focus • Allusion – a reference to someone or something we known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or some other branch of culture.

5. The Puritans regarded biblical captivity narratives, such as that of the enslavement of the Israelites by the ancient Egyptians, as allegories representing the Christians’ liberation from sin through the intervention of God’s grace. Rowlandson views her experiences as a repetition of the biblical pattern and uses allusions to reflect her own situation. Through apt quotations from the Bible, Rowlandson places her experiences in the context of the ancient biblical captivities.

6. Chronological Order – time or sequential order Rowlandson told of her experiences in the order in which they happened. She helps you follow that order by referring to times of the day, number of days since the previous event, and so on. Analyzing Text Structures:

7. Quick Facts about her Narrative • Based on the images, thoughts, and events which occurred during the eleven weeks she was held captive by Native Americans. • She a colloquial (informal) style which work more engaging and gave readers an experience which had never before been discovered in the Colonial Period. • She was the first author to write a narrative based on captivity. • Much of her writing was influenced by Puritan ideals, beliefs, and sermons.

8. More Quick Facts • Genre - Narrative • Based off Indian captivity • Grew as future authors adopted Rowlandson's unique genre. • Her narrative genre was based on historical facts, psychological emotions, and the literary style used in the Colonial Period. • One of the earliest forms of autobiographical writings.

9. Influences on Rowlandson’s Work • The experience of captivity. • The grace of God which saved her from the savage Indians. • King Phillip's war which not only forced her family to relocate but also resulted in her captivity. • The deaths of close friends who she met during captivity. • The Puritan way of life.