Summary Of Captivity By Louise Erdrich

In the poem, Captivity by Louise Erdrich, the author shows a deeper meaning of the hardships and liberation of captivity. The overall meaning of the poem the author is expressing to the reader is that one should follow the word of god while being held in captivity, but to not limit themselves to being narrow-minded and limited in terms of thinking. The narrator of the poem is expressing to the audience how the experience of her capture was eventually an eye opener to her. It is a unique experience that made her question her entire life and purpose on this planet. The poem presents this theme when the speaker first mentioned that, “We were pursued by God’s agents or pitch devils, I did not know. Only that we must march.” This quote represents …show more content…
He did not notice God’s Wrath. God blasted fire from half-buried stumps. I hid my face in my dress, fearing He would burn us all…” The speaker was connecting the chaos of her rescue to god being upset at her and punishing her for making the “wrong” choices. Also, she mentioned that she hid her face in her dress, telling the audience that she surrendered to god in fear of his retaliation. Both of these quotes previously mentioned clearly relate to the traditional Puritan values of serving god that were present during the Puritan era. The Puritans strongly believed that their sole purpose on earth was to obey god and to take the bible literally as a guide for how to live life. Since hostage situations hosted by Native Americans were common in their time period they established the concept of Judea Capta. The concept of Judea Capta means that if one is being held captive, they must completely surrender themselves to god and hope god would save …show more content…
The narrator had the chance to see the other side of her captors. Like when she says, “He had a woman with teeth black and glittering. She fed the child milk of acorns.” The audience is portrayed the care of her captors and she reveals the change of heart she has had in her thinking about her captors. She then ate the food they offered her calling it “tender” symbolizing the trust and passion she has gained for her captors. Her mind is open to the thought that she can be treated with great respect. This is similar to some of the Puritans’ hostage situations such as Mary Rowlandson. Mary was never forced to obey her hostages or abused severely. Overall, she was treated with respect and longed for it when she