“Time cuts down all, both
great and small”
“A dog will bite
a thief at night”
Captivity Narratives
According 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
Use sticky notes to mark:
events that Rowlandson uses to
“prove” she is literally in God’s
hands
examples that show how she is treated by
the Native Americans
Evaluate how these examples influence her
overall tone
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