Mary Rowlandson compared to Mary jemison
Victoria Daniels
American Lit 1
EH 225.104
10/07/2014
Mary Rowlandson vs. Mary Jemison’s And Their Interpretations of the Indians.
Mary Rowlandson was a Puritan women living in Lancaster, Massachusetts with her husband Joseph, and their three children, when the Indians captured them. The Indians killed Rowlandson’s sister and her youngest child. In 1758, fifteen year old Mary Jemison was captured by a Shawnee and French raiding party that attacked her farm. She was adopted and incorporated into the Senecas, she became very close to her Seneca sisters. Mary refused the opportunity to return home, finding life in Indian society more rewarding, then going back to the British colonial culture. These two women had very similar interpretations of the Indians and how they treated them. Mary Rowlandson’s view of the Indians that captured her, is harsher compared to Mrs. Jemison’s. Mrs. Rowlandson saw them burn and destroy homes, knock people on the head, and kill the ones she loved and knew. I can see why she referred to them as “barbarous creatures”, “murderous wretches”, "heathen," "ravenous beasts," and "hell-hounds”. A women of her stature, who was a puritan and thought of these people to be of the wilderness, was not used to their way of life. She and her children were dragged through the wilderness, trying their best to survive. She began to adapt to the living conditions by finding her own food, making her own clothes, and tolerating the Indians. She relied on God and scriptures to uplift her spirit as she traveled with her capturers; which I believe helped her not only survive, but helped her learn that the Indians are Gods creation too, and should be forgiven just as the Lord has forgiven us of our sins, even if they did do horrible things to her and the people she knew. Mary Jemison on the other hand did not go through such a horrifying experience when the Indians captured her and her family. She heard that there had been conflict in the Indian and French
American Lit 1
EH 225.104
10/07/2014
Mary Rowlandson vs. Mary Jemison’s And Their Interpretations of the Indians.
Mary Rowlandson was a Puritan women living in Lancaster, Massachusetts with her husband Joseph, and their three children, when the Indians captured them. The Indians killed Rowlandson’s sister and her youngest child. In 1758, fifteen year old Mary Jemison was captured by a Shawnee and French raiding party that attacked her farm. She was adopted and incorporated into the Senecas, she became very close to her Seneca sisters. Mary refused the opportunity to return home, finding life in Indian society more rewarding, then going back to the British colonial culture. These two women had very similar interpretations of the Indians and how they treated them. Mary Rowlandson’s view of the Indians that captured her, is harsher compared to Mrs. Jemison’s. Mrs. Rowlandson saw them burn and destroy homes, knock people on the head, and kill the ones she loved and knew. I can see why she referred to them as “barbarous creatures”, “murderous wretches”, "heathen," "ravenous beasts," and "hell-hounds”. A women of her stature, who was a puritan and thought of these people to be of the wilderness, was not used to their way of life. She and her children were dragged through the wilderness, trying their best to survive. She began to adapt to the living conditions by finding her own food, making her own clothes, and tolerating the Indians. She relied on God and scriptures to uplift her spirit as she traveled with her capturers; which I believe helped her not only survive, but helped her learn that the Indians are Gods creation too, and should be forgiven just as the Lord has forgiven us of our sins, even if they did do horrible things to her and the people she knew. Mary Jemison on the other hand did not go through such a horrifying experience when the Indians captured her and her family. She heard that there had been conflict in the Indian and French