“Captivity” by Rowlandson: The Story of a White Puritan Woman

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Discussion
Conclusion
Work Cited

Introduction

“Captivity”, written by Rowlandson, deals with the story of a white Puritan woman captured by Indian tribes. In her usual manner of writing, through the lens of Christian dogma and attitudes, she tells her unusual story. The narrative of the work is composed to show a clear differentiation between the lives of white citizens and Indians. The linguistic means chosen for the story show a picture of the values of the people living in the United States in the late 17th century.

Discussion

The way the writer treats Native Americans is clearly evident in the words she chooses to describe them. She uses many expressions that show the superiority of white people over Native Americans in terms of natural characteristics and intellectual abilities. Rowlandson states that “God did not give them courage or activity to go over after us” (Kurant 249). Readers have a clear perception of the “us-them” paradigm, which paints a great chasm between the lives of the two peoples. Native Americans are perceived as a priori weaker and more driven, and the frequent use of biblical vocabulary plays a special role in conveying this message. In this way, she shows that inequality is the will of God and that in fact, by disparaging Native Americans, the Puritans are performing their sacred duty.

It should be noted that Rowlandson contributed greatly to the popularization of such a discriminatory viewpoint. In the decades that followed, the number of works with a similar narrative increased. The public was sympathetic and enthusiastic about these works, a testament to the extent to which ethical stereotyping has penetrated deeply into the American mentality. The main reason the public accepted this narrative so readily is the religious perspective. From a historical perspective, Puritanism has long been a great point of convergence among different segments of society (Kurant 264). For this reason, it was extremely easy to transmit racist ideas through the lens of biblical precepts and the will of God.

Conclusion

Thus, the narrative presented in “Captivity” allows readers to trace the values of a privileged society in 17th-century America. The Puritans, who had quite a lot of social weight and status, largely set the tone for social thought. Rowlandson’s work is a prime example of how prejudice against Indians may have spread. Racial and national hatred is provoked mainly by the popularization of the concept of “us and them. The latter draws a clear line between whites blessed with a better life and Native Americans destined to be led..

Work Cited

Kurant, Wendy. Becoming America: An Exploration of American Literature from Precolonial to Post-Revolution. Web.

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“Captivity” by Rowlandson: The Story of a White Puritan Woman

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