A Narrative Of The Captivity And Restoration Of Mrs Mary Rowlandson's Narrative Analysis

When people know the context of the literature they are studying, they can make connections with the reading to develop a better overall understanding. A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson is clearly Puritan literature. Rowlandson’s narrative is Puritan literature because of the Puritan elements present, the comparison of the role of God to that of other Puritan works, and the similarity of the focus of Rowlandson to the focus of other Puritan writers. Combining these elements validates Rowlandson’s work as Puritan literature. The first way to identify A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson as Puritan literature is to find the Puritan thoughts about which Rowlandson writes. Puritans held the belief that God was in complete control over every aspect of their lives. Exemplifying this …show more content…
Puritan writers display their opinions on how God treats humans using metaphors. Many of these metaphors describe the complete control of God by having him hold humans by a small thread. On page 16 of her narrative, Rowlandson describes God “cutting off the thread of her life.” Jonathan Edwards similarly states in his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” that God is “holding you over the pits of Hell” (2). Both pieces assign the role of God to be all powerful and actively involved in the fates of humans by giving God the power to cut off human life or drop humans into the pits of Hell whenever he pleases. According to both authors, God thinks of humans as helpless and remains in full control of their lives. The reason Rowlandson and Edwards assign God the same role is because they are both trademark Puritan writers who view God as an omnipotent