Determination and Faith: The True Color of Freedom

Determination and Faith: The True Color of Freedom

Mary Rowlandson is the wife of a Puritan minister at Lancaster who is deeply grounded in her Puritan faith and beliefs. She led a busy life as a mother and a wife before she was taken captive during the King Philip’s war. Mary Rowlandson main struggle was her captivity when the Indians bought war to the settlers, primarily because of the growing greed of the colonists for native lands, and the competition for natural resources (Hambrick-Stowe 12). During her captivity she depended upon a Bible acquired from an Indian for comfort (Rowlandson p. 263). Similarly, Philis Wheatley was taken captive from her homeland in Africa. She was purchased by a wealthy Christian tailor, John Wheatley as a companion to his wife Susannah. As a result, she was raised according to the Christian Values and beliefs that the Wheatley’s were accustomed to (Wheatley p.763). Although Mary Rowlandson was born a free woman, she eventually experienced the life of a slave during her captivity. In contrast, Philis Wheatley was born a slave and lived as a free woman who was respected for her intelligence and as a poet. The story of these two women is a priceless measure of determination, faith and freedom that demonstrates how life is uncertain.

On the day of the attack on Lancaster, Mary Rowlandson and her children fled from their home and were among those who were captured. Taken from “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” She writes “some in our house were fighting for their lives, others wallowing in their blood, the house on fire over our heads and the bloody heathens ready to knock us on our heads, if we stirred out. Now might we hear mothers and children crying out for themselves, and one another”, “Lord, what shall we do?” (Mary Rowlandson 258). In this quote Mary could be seen here as if she is in a state of shock, yet extremely aware of what was going on around her. She observes the struggle for survival among the other family members as they fight for their lives. She describes the scene of people lying in their own blood because of the savage attack on them. It was clear that they were not prepared for the fight that Indians bought to their village. They probably did not have any weapons to defend themselves since they were a group of Puritan Christians who have never experience this form of violence. She also states that while the vicious attack is taking place, “the house is on fire” giving those who survive the attack a chance to run outside for safety, sadly, that led to their capture. The sight of the burning house was probably one of the most devastating ordeals that occurred in that time. The reader could hear the cries of parents and children as they go through this quote. The feeling of compassion and remorse is evident as one realizes that parent and children were crying out to one another and was unable to