True to the letter, thanks to her knowledge of the Bible, Rowlandson uses this expression to qualify her conviction that God will never leave His people forsaken. More specifically, these declaration of God by Rowlandson are reflective of the common consensus among Christians that all that which happens in our lives has a reason, and that such happens at the Will of God, whether good or bad in nature. Indeed, in making this claim, Rowlandson is expressive of the fact that God has remained on her side as a source of blessings and protection through the challenging life she has been so far. As such, Bible in the narrative is portrayed as a psychological state in which faith as well as belief in its teachings is for Rowlandson and the many …show more content…
As an emphasis of the Bible as source for a psychological state in Rowlandson and other Puritans is clear in the numerous Biblical quotations Rowlandson makes in the narrative. Notable expressions of a psychological state in Rowlandson from her use of the Bible include on the one hand the way she found comfort of her heart-taking thoughts concerning the safety of her family members who had been scattered by the war. Despite being wounded and captive, Rowlandson states of how she found a way of expressing her heart-taking feelings to God by reading a verse in the Bible: “I opened my Bible to read, and the Lord brought that precious scripture to me, Jer. 31. 16. Thus saith the Lord; refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the Enemy” (Rowlandson 78). Whenever she is shattered by obstacles, she feels tranquility by reading the Bible.
This is indicative that Bible in the narrative is used as source of encouragement to go on without worries since God; the Lord of Lords shall see His people through the land of the enemy and reunite them in safety and peace. This sense of the Bible as a psychological state is also clear in the perception that Rowlandson had towards the rafts that the captors,
In Robert Cormier’s novel, We All Fall Down, is a young-adult thriller that explores the evil side of humanity through a number of corrupt characters. Cormier, to a large extent, accurately depicts manipulative and dishonest behaviour whilst also showing the evil lurking within the prominent characters of Harry Flowers, Buddy Walker and Mickey Stallings who showcase the dark side of humanity. Cormier explores this through Harry Flower’s manipulative actions that result in the suffering of others. Additionally, the constant dishonest behaviour is shown predominantly through the main protagonist of Buddy Walker, who deceives the one he loves. Cormier continues to depict the evil lurking in society through the theme of appearance
During Mr. Rosenberg’s leave we learned different dramatic elements such as script analysis, stasis and intrusion, dramatic conflict, etc. This helps us to understand the different elements so one day when we have to apply the elements we will already be mindful of them. Additionally, we also learned about the beginning of theater dating back to ancient Greece and their different ways of displaying theater.
(Rowlandson 450). At this point Mary cannot seem to help but to contemplate why God is allowing the Indians to prevail in this war. There was no denying the stark differences between the victories of the English and the Indians. Consider the fact that the Puritans were Christians of the strictest variety, and they did not believe that the Indians were blessed with God’s grace. It is quite understandable then that Mary would find it troubling that her people were suffering devastating effects of this war fought by people who were not even Christians. So she questions whether or not this is God’s work. In the end she concludes that God is not helping the Indians, rather he knows that the English are not ready for his mercy, and her faith is restored once again (Rowlandson 450).
The poem “Between the World and Me” by Richard Wright reanimates the horrible scene of a racial lynching and forces the reader to endure the victim's pain through the first person’s narrative voice. The poem contains structured lines and visual division into three stanzas. Moreover, there is one more type of division in the poem. The author uses an ellipsis four times throughout the poem. This punctuation mark frames the poem into the timeline, where the historical past of the African American poet becomes the present experience of any human, despite the race. The climax of the poem is presented in the middle of stanza two. The animated moment, which starts from the sentence “the ground gripped my feet”, dramatically shifts the
Mary Rowlandson was kidnapped unlike Bradstreet. Because Rowlandson was kidnapped, this influenced a lot of things in her life. More specifically, Rowlandson’s writing. Rowlandson used her experience to influence her writing, teach other people moral lessons, and educate them on the dangers of the outside world. From the multiple biblical references in her narrative, I cannot help but come to the conclusion that Rowlandson is not just putting the verses in there for herself. But that she is trying to teach the reader a lesson by telling them not to stray from God when times are tough, and not to move from salvation.
After her house was burned during a raid by local Indians. Rowlandson’s friends and family members were killed or captured by Native American in the 1676. Rowlandson and her baby were wounded, capture and forced to walk for days after the raid and Rowlandson had to watch her own child wither away and die due a lack food and medical care. During Rowlandson’s captivity with the Indians, the only thing she had to fall back on for her survival was her bible and her Puritan beliefs in God. This paper shows how Rowlandson’s understanding of the Puritan Tenets or beliefs helped her in deal with her captivity physically and spiritually. The reader should have an understanding of the Puritan Tenets and understand that the Tenets are not just words but a way of life for the Puritan.
Ana Castillo’s novel, So Far From God, propels the reader on a vibrant and surreal journey through the tragic ordeals of Sofi and her four daughters. The first chapter, which offers certain similarities to the Bible’s story of Jesus Christ, in that Sofi’s three year old daughter, La Loca, seems to succumb to a violent and horrifying death, and at the wake, she returns to life with a tale of her journey beyond the veil. This scene creates a notable comparison between the patriarchal religiosity of the story of Jesus Christ and the Chicana-centered resurrection, complete with the hypocrisy of a male-centered system of beliefs, the acts of acquiring selfhood as a female centered savior, and the phenomena of the “death” of the saviors.
In this article the author, Howard Rheingold, describes his experience when he decided to visit the amish communities. There he discussed why they put self-imposed rules upon themselves. He realized it was not because they resented technology, the Amish love fancy barbeques and electric saws, but they saw that in the “english” world, people are being separated from their community. The amish decided they would try their hardest to avoid this separation caused by technological advances, “Look Who's Talking” by Howard Rheingold, convinces the reader to analyze the pros and cons of technology; to decide whether or not certain devices are beneficial towards people and their community.
Rowlandson's interaction with the "Other" and her Puritan principles reveal a larger importance to the narrator. Rowlandson feels that her captivity is directly related to God's will, and therefore believes that God is punishing her for sins she committed in her past. As a result she is determined to repent her sins to God, and devotes much of her time reading the bible, reciting scripture, and while she learns to adapt to her difficult situation, she is careful to maintain her ideals and integrity throughout the time she is detained. For example on the first Sabbath during Rowlandson's confinement she remarks, "I remembered how careless I had been of Gods holy time: how many Sabbaths I had lost and mispent, and how evilly I had walked in Gods sight; which lay so close upon my Spirit, that it was easie for me to see how righteous it was with God to cut off the threed of my life, and cast me out if his presence for ever" (16). It is clear from this statement that the narrator attaches her encounter with the Indians, or the "Other" as a reprimand from
Strangely did the Lord provide for them; that I did not see(all the time I was among them) one man, woman or child die with hunger” (Rowlandson 283). Mary Rowlandson along with the other Puritans were taught and truly believed that the Indians were evil devil worshipping people. They felt they were unclean, one mission of the Puritans were to keep the Indians from learning about the Gospel. They believed that they were the only pure and holy people. Mary was astonished at the well of God in which directed the Indians in which she refers to as heathens toward a worthy purpose. Webster’s defines heathens as”an unconverted member of a people or nation that does not acknowledge the God of the Bible”. Through her eleven week captivity because of the miracles she witness she saw firsthand that God watched over and protected all people. “God had an over-ruling hand in all those things”.
Throughout this course, religion has projected itself in many writers literature. The 1800’s was a critical time for the United States, it was the beginning of the melting pot. Although this melting pot did more harm than good for some, many of these people leaned on their religion to get them through difficult times. Three works that religion is most prominent would be “ Letters to Luis de Santangel” (pg 34-36), “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” ( pg 256-288), and “The Wonders of the Invisible World” (pg 327-333). These three works all express how religion and faith influenced the writer's life.
Mary Rowlandson believed the Native Americans were savage, blood-thirsty creatures that were either going to kill or be killed. In her story, she supports her claim by using vivid imagery of a major event that took place during her lifetime. A very interesting quote from Rowlandson’s literature is “It is a solemn sight to see so many Christians lying in their blood, some here, and some there, like a company of sheep torn by wolves, all of them stripped naked by a company of hell-hounds, roaring, singing, ranting, and insulting, as if they would have torn our very hearts out” (Rowlandson). This quote uses an incredible amount of imagery and allows the reader to see just how Rowlandson feels about the natives.
In his book God Behaving Badly David Lamb examines difficult texts in the Old Testament and tries to answer the hard questions that arise from those readings. In my own examination of Lamb’s God Behaving Badly I will look at a few of the- questions and difficult texts that I found most interesting. Specifically, I will examine Lamb’s response to God 's anger, apparent lack of concern for race and genocide, and violence in the Old Testament, and I will offer my own response.
Dependent upon the clemency of God, the Puritans use their faith to ensure success in a new, foreign land. Ultimately, Winthrop implies that if the colonists genuinely dedicate themselves to Christ, their lives will be improved, in that God will help them in their endeavors: "The end is to improve our lives to do more service to the Lord...that ourselves and posterity may be the better preserved from the common corruptions of this evil world, to serve the Lord and work out our salvation under the power and purity of His holy ordinances" (215). By using the phrase "corruption of this evil world," Winthrop suggests that the only way to attain a virtuous and upright character is through spirituality and trust in God, who can help His followers to lead moral, meaningful lives. Winthrop insinuates that the Puritans have an obligation to God; they must leave their native land and establish a community abroad where God's people can live freely, strengthening their spiritual lives. If this is accomplished, then God too will aid the Puritans and bring mercy upon them: "When God gives a special commission He looks to have it strictly observed in the every article. When he gave Saul a commission to destroy Amaleck, He indented with him upon certain articles, and because he failed in one of the least, and that upon a fair pretense, it lost him the kingdom which should have been his reward if he had observed his commission"
It is important to understand the women’s role in the Puritan society. The Puritans believe that a woman is Christ’s bride, husband’s wife, a mother, and a good wife. Women in this time were required to obey and submit to men in authority, especially their husbands (Davis 54). This is idea of submitting to husbands is biblical. Ephesians 5: 22-24 states, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife … Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything” (The Bible). Since the Puritans studied the scripture and followed, it is understandable why this is a Puritan belief. This idea of submitting is shown between Rowlandson and her Indian master. She is aware of the consequences and wants to be in favor with him; therefore, she used her Puritan ideology to gain favor (Davis 54). For example, in the ninth remove, Rowlandson writes, “At last he told me if I would make another shirt, for a papoose not yet born, he would give me a knife, which he did when I had done it” (280). In this passage, Rowlandson is submitting to her master by making another shirt in order to receive a knife from him. Overall, in her narrative, it is seen that Rowlandson stays true to the Puritan belief of women submitting to men, even though it is not her husband.