The writers Mary Rowlandson and Cotton Mather were both Puritans that both had run-ins with the Indians. Rowlandson has the basis of the Puritan beliefs regarding the Indians but also understands that they are not less than human. Mather has a very strong belief that the Indians are the devil based on his very strong Puritan belief. With the shared background of Puritanism there are many similarities in their depictions of the Indians.
Mary Rowlandson had a very negative view of the Indians that was also full of respect. The Puritan’s thought that the Indians were heathens not because they necessarily were uneducated or were stupid but mainly because they did not have religion. They called them heathens because they didn’t believe in a god …show more content…
They both experienced the difficulties that the New Englanders were facing in regards to the Indians. Mather being a minister had a much stronger idea of the Indians. He refers to them as devils in every single reference. He likens the Indians strange rituals to witchcraft that only solidifies the image of the devil because witchcraft is Satan’s work. For him there is no other understanding of them and he will never sympathize with the Indians unless they convert and repent. He says “And we have now with horror seen the discovery of such a witchcraft! An army of devils is horribly broke in upon the place which is the center, and after a sort, the firstborn of our English settlements: and the houses of the good people there are filled with doleful shrieks (152)” which likens the Indians attacks on the settlers with a bigger plot of witchcraft. The plot discussed by the witches on trial was at that moment to be revealed as the Indians taking over the English settlements. Since he is a minister and has such a strong belief in Puritan values there is no room to budge when it comes to the ideas of Indians and so they will always be devils to
Mary Rowlandson had a very negative view of the Indians that was also full of respect. The Puritan’s thought that the Indians were heathens not because they necessarily were uneducated or were stupid but mainly because they did not have religion. They called them heathens because they didn’t believe in a god …show more content…
They both experienced the difficulties that the New Englanders were facing in regards to the Indians. Mather being a minister had a much stronger idea of the Indians. He refers to them as devils in every single reference. He likens the Indians strange rituals to witchcraft that only solidifies the image of the devil because witchcraft is Satan’s work. For him there is no other understanding of them and he will never sympathize with the Indians unless they convert and repent. He says “And we have now with horror seen the discovery of such a witchcraft! An army of devils is horribly broke in upon the place which is the center, and after a sort, the firstborn of our English settlements: and the houses of the good people there are filled with doleful shrieks (152)” which likens the Indians attacks on the settlers with a bigger plot of witchcraft. The plot discussed by the witches on trial was at that moment to be revealed as the Indians taking over the English settlements. Since he is a minister and has such a strong belief in Puritan values there is no room to budge when it comes to the ideas of Indians and so they will always be devils to