“Time cuts down all, both great and small”

“A dog will bite a thief at night”

Captivity NarrativesAccording to Richard Slotkin,

“In [a captivity narrative] a single individual, usually a woman, stands passively under the strokes of evil, awaiting rescue by the grace of God.”

In captivity, the Puritans had to fight against temptations, for “to partake of the Indian’s love or of his equivalent of bread and wine was to ‘un-English’ the soul.”

Review: Puritan Values and Beliefs

God revealed himself in 3 ways:

the Bible

the Natural World

Divine Providence

Bible was the literal word of God

Misfortune does not happen randomly, but is a direct act of God

A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson

Captivity Narrative

Purpose: to “prove” throughout that she is literally in the hands of God and literally fulfilling scripture

She accomplishes this by showing God’s actions through specific events during her captivity

As you Read

examples that show how she is treated by the Native Americans

Evaluate how these examples influence her overall tone

Use sticky notes to mark:

events that Rowlandson uses to “prove” she is literally in God’s hands

Reader Response

Who is the audience of Mary Rowlandson’s autobiography?

How does the way Rowlandson describes her interactions with the Natives make her sound more credible as a narrator?

Based on these interactions and her reactions to them, what is the overall tone?

Describe a bias that Rowlandson has.

*Bias: an attitude that always favors one way of feeling or action over any other