Rowlandson’s narrative inaugurated a new and uniquely American literary form. In a culture without fictions, in which drama was forbidden, tales of Indian captivity offered the real-life drama of violent raids, forced marches, life amidst those who were culturally alien and sometimes (to English readers) lascivious. In captivity narratives, the ideal of “redemption” takes on a double meaning: both religious, as in the spiritual autobiography, as well as secular, because captives were almost always “redeemed” (that is, ransomed) by family and friends. Captivity stories thus combined both personal confession and an emphasis on communal values. Rowlandson’s narrative adapts them to her own story and as result becomes one of the first American bestsellers and probably also the first instance of a uniquely American literary output. In continuous prose, respond to one of the following prompts based on A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.
1. Throughout the narrative, Rowlandson attributes every natural event and human action to the workings of Divine Providence. Are there moments when she begins to doubt the providential plan? That is, does she ever begin to suspect that randomness (rather than God’s plan) rules events, or (still worse) that God is working as well for the “mercilous heathen” as for the English? How does she resolve those tendencies towards doubt?
In this essay you must:
write a 2-3 page standard literary analysis that explains your interpretation of Mary Rowlandson’s Narrative based on the prompt you select
write from the third person point of view (he/she/it/they), not the first person (I) or the second-person (you)
have a representative title (though you may include title of the work you are analyzing, do not use only that title)
interpret rather than summarize, always
make good use of direct quotation, summary, or paraphrase
incorporate ideas from three outside sources of critical analysis to back up your claim about the literature (your anthology will be your fourth source).
All sources used within your writing must appear in your Works Cited page
follow all MLA formatting guidelines
avoid plagiarism when you borrow others’ ideas by documenting your sources (using signal phrases and parenthetical citation), following MLA citation guidelines, found at Purdue’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) *You may also visit the Writing Center and earn 5 extra credit points by submitting the Tutor Request Form provided by the WC.
textbook Levine. Norton Anthology of American Lit. Volume A + B. 9 th edition, 2017. (Adopted 4/1/2020 ISBN:9780393264548)
