Compare Contrast Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano Essay

Narratives about captivity have often intrigued readers in Western culture. Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano’s stories helped pave the way for stereotypes within both European and white culture; teaching Europeans to see Native Americans as cruel and allowing whites to see the evil in the American slave market. In both “A Narrative of the Captivity” and “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano,” Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano share their individual stories of being kidnapped and enslaved. Though the two narrators share similarities in their personal accounts of being held captive, either individual’s reaction sheds light on the true purpose of both Rowlandson and Equiano’s writing.

Mary Rowlandson was a devoted, Puritan woman of the 1600’s who would eventually go on to pave the way for an entire genre—the captivity genre/narrative. She had several family members murdered and was held captive by Native Americans, but was eventually reunited with her fellow Puritans. She details her experiences in A Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. Rowlandson showcases her biblical typology many times and her story and a prime example shown is when she writes, “… my heart began to fail: and I fell aweeping… Although I had met with so much affliction… yet I could not shed one tear…” (Rowlandson 279). She uses typology to understand what is going on in her life and around her and this is displayed when she adds, “But now I may say as Psalm 137.1, ‘By the Rivers of Babylon, there we sate down: yea, we wept when we remembered Zion,” (Rowlandson 279). She used the bible to understand her experiences rather than to see what it is like. She wrote during a very devout, religious era and

    According to Abraham Lincoln, “Slavery is founded on the selfishness of man’s nature; opposition to it on his love of justice”. Frederick Douglass published a book on his life that he wrote in 1845, titled “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”. It has been said that he followed in the footsteps of Olaudah Equiano who also written an autobiography known as “Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano in 1789. In the book the “Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass”, the author takes his reader with him on his personal life journey to when he was born into slavery all the way until his freedom. The author introduces the beginning the narrative by saying that he is from Tuckahoe, Maryland continues by telling the reader that his mother named Harriet Bailey and was an African-American woman, who also had African American parents who were both colored. However, it has been said that his father was a white man that was also his master. Additionally, Douglass was separated from his mother when he was an infant and he never saw her to really know her as his mother.  According to the author, he says he had two master in his lifetime, the first named, Captain Anthony who was a cruel man.

In her writing titled “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson”, Mary lies out for the reader her experience of being held in captivity by Indians during the King Philip’s War. Perhaps one of the most significant aspects of this writing is the glimpse that the reader gets into Rowlandson’s faith and religion. Faith was a major aspect of life in the Colonial Period. It was of widespread belief that God was to be feared, and that he was the only way to redemption (Kizer). Mary Rowlandson was no different, but the extreme conditions of her captivity caused her faith to occasionally waiver. Most of the time throughout her journey in captivity, she depended on God, and the

Mary Rowlandson and Anne Bradstreet are two women with different stories and one similar faith. Their similar faith in God and passion for writing allowed the two women to survive the contrast of hardships each woman had to endure. Furthermore, in this essay, I will compare and contrast the lives and faith of Rowlandson and Bradstreet.

When the first colonists landed in the territories of the new world, they encountered a people and a culture that no European before them had ever seen. As the first of the settlers attempted to survive in a truly foreign part of the world, their written accounts would soon become popular with those curious of this “new” world, and those who already lived and survived in this seemingly inhospitable environment, Native American Indian. Through these personal accounts, the Native Indian soon became cemented in the American narrative, playing an important role in much of the literature of the era. As one would expect though, the representation of the Native Americans and their relationship with European Americans varies in the written works of the people of the time, with the defining difference in these works being the motives behind the writing. These differences and similarities can be seen in two similar works from two rather different authors, John Smith, and Mary Rowlandson.

The different lives and experiences of William Bradford, John Smith, and Olaudah Equiano show how there are many ways to be adapted to a new world. There were many struggles that each of them faced, and each had different motives when writing their experiences. In some way, there are all connected to one another, with some similarities, but there are differences also.

The Life of Olaudah Equiano focuses on the various scenes to which Equiano or otherwise known as Gustavus Vassa was a witness too. Equiano’s story allows for an in depth perspective of slave trade and the way it functioned. Equiano takes the reader upon his journey as an African Slave beginning with his experiences in his native village, his numerous amounts of masters, cruelties and oppressions across the globe, and all the way to his success as a freeman. Equiano strongly focuses on the fact that almost every event in his life made an impression on his mind and influenced his conduct. Hence, making sense of the importance of his status and growth despite of his roots. Equiano always remained aware of his race and culture however he was in search of a freedom that no matter whom he was told to be his identity of obtaining this as well as soon gaining control of his own life always remained the same.

Olaudah Equiano was taken into slavery and was able to learn how to gain his freedom. He was given the education and guidance to write a narrative of his life and adventure through slavery. The education that he received from one the families he worked for became a very important tool that saved his life. Equiano was faced with many difficulties and was able to achieve his freedom. However, he was able to use his knowledge and desire to learn new things to buy his freedom from all of his owners. Equiano was very strong in his beliefs, not religion, but what he was taught by his family. The narrative was Equiano’s way of telling the people about his life and what he went through as a slave. His narrative was read by many others who wrote reviews about the manner in which he wrote his narrative. There are also commentaries from different writers. The writers were from different backgrounds many different beliefs.

Malcolm X and Frederick Douglass both used elements of style in Learning How to Read and Write and Learning how to Read that could be compared and contrasted. This

Olaudah Equiano had a very unique experience with the slave trade system. He began conveying his experience with how he was captured in his village by two men and a women, who kidnapped him and his sister. Their captors traveled with them for a few days before separating the siblings, and selling Equiano to his first master. He was treated fairly well, even when he ran away for a day and came back, he says his master “having slightly reprimanded me, ordered me to be taken care of, and not ill-treated.” (Equiano 27) Shortly after this engagement, Equiano’s master loses his wife and child and sends Equiano away to be sold again. He even gets to see his sister one last time before, again, they are separated.

The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson reveals that the ghastly depiction of the Indian religion (or what Rowlandson perceives as a lack of religion) in the narrative is directly related to the ideologies of her Puritan upbringing. Furthermore, Rowlandson's experiences in captivity and encounter with the new, or "Other" religion of the Indians cause her rethink, and question her past; her experiences do not however cause her to redirect her life or change her ideals in any way.

Then, suddenly Olaudah was taken from this home and transported to the slave ship. Aboard the slave ship he was restrained and beaten for refusing food. All the slaves on the ship were living in very close uncomfortable quarters. Some were tied down and those that weren’t were watched very closely so they could not escape. If someone tried to jump off the boat to escape, they were severely punished and beaten. While the ship was at the coast, all the slaves on the ship were forced below deck where the smell of body odor and excrement was breathtaking. Diseases were spread among the slaves in these tight quarters and many slaves died due to the unfit conditions. Once the ship reached Barbados, everyone aboard the ship was forced ashore and into the merchant yard. Here they were sold once again.

The Pressure to Assimilate in Mary Rowlandson’s A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson

Mary Rowlandson was born in a Puritan society. Her way of was that of an orthodox Puritan which was to be very religious and see all situations are made possible by God. She begins her writing by retelling a brutal description of the attack on Lancaster by the Natives. Rowlandson spends enough time interacting with the Natives to realize these people live normal, secular lives. She had the opportunity work for a profit which was not accepted when she lived as devout Puritan women in Puritan colony. Mary Rowlandson knows that she must expose the good nature of the Natives and she must rationalize her “boldness” through quoting the Bible.