Reading Reflection: Rowlandson

The Puritans were a group of Protestants who came from England to North America in search of religious freedoms. They obviously had a strong basis on faith, and it showed in their writings. In the first few lines of the Rowlandson memoir, a figure from the bible was mentioned. She referred to a quote that Job said in the bible (Rowlandson 82). Rowlandson also mentions how bitter and tough her journey was, but that God was with her to guide her (Rowlandson 83). She also mentioned that when her child died, God was with her to give her strength (Rowlandson 83). Rowlandson mentioned that she would not use "wicked and harmful" means to end her life. Religious people know that suicide is a sin that cannot ever be forgiven, so that is just another example of religion. Through out Rowlandson's entire story she lost a child and was even sold for almost nothing. Yet somehow, she still seemed to find some good in the whole ordeal through God. Bradstreet takes a similar approach as Rowlandson. In her poem, she tells of how she came to terms with the loss of her house. She said that the fire was God's will to get her to focus less on earthly possessions. God was a huge aspect of Puritan writing.

One aspect of Puritan writing may have included the Native American's hostility. Who could blame them anyways? I'm sure the Indians were not happy at all. First, the Spanish come and explore the new land and decide that they can take whatever they want from the Indians. Of course the Indians aren't going to let the Puritians do whatever they want. The Puritians probably wrote about Native American hostility because they were shocked when they came to the new land. They left their countries in search of religious freedom, but all they found were cranky Indians.

I found it interesting that both authors were women. At the time, you wouldn't picture a woman writing a book or a poem, let alone getting it published. That may have had to do with the fact that they were Puritans. They didn't conform to the typical rules of society, which was part of the reason that they left. I also found it interesting that both stories were based off factual events. Pruitians may have mainly written about events that really happened because they were effected by God. They were kind of like testimonials for how great God is. They wrote about the actual ways that God influenced their lives so that people would hear their stories and feel the same way.

Both women had to overcome some pretty steep obstacles in their lives. Rowlandson was kidnapped (or captured) by indians and Bradstreet lost her home in a fire. That message can translate into what all Puritians were going through. They moved to America to have an easier life, but at first they had some struggles. They were able to translate that through their writing, and both Bradstreet and Rowlandson were able to communicate their troubles.

Bradstreet, Anne. "Upon the Burning House." Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009.

Rowlandson, Mary. "A Narrative of Capitivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson." Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009.