Amst 201 the Redemption Writers Research Paper

Leo Cho

AMST 201

Michael Hawkins

7-9:45

28 Sep 2014

The Redemption Writers

        For those in the 17th century during King Philips War, there was only one way out; either the Indians get to you, or you get away from the Indians. That is how it was for the some of the prominent chroniclers of the time. Some writers such as Rowlandson, Hubbard, and Mather were successful in remaining their English selves and staying away from the Indian identity. They used their experiences to help them reclaim their Englishness. The writers were able to distinct themselves and keep them away from becoming too Indian.

        One writer, Mary Rowlandson, wrote a book called The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, which described her experience with the Indians and her struggles she faced but was finally redeemed in the end as English by the faith of God. In Jill Lepore’s book, The Name of War, she states the facts of Mary’s captivity, but Mary took it differently. The book states she “lived among the Indians…learned Indian ways” (Lepore, 127) but she took this as an opportunity to write about her captivity. She was said to be redeemed when a ransom of money came in and freed her from her captivity. However, Mary also said that her captivity redeemed her. It states that being captive helped her learn and accept God’s will. Mary described being with the Indians as savages and animals, despite her having learned their ways. Learning the ways of God helped her establish her English side more, because the civility and poise of Christians differed from the savagery of the Indians. 

        Mary Rowlandson was successful in maintaining this divide between the English and Indian. She described the Indians as savages because they did not have a religion, and so, those without religion were said to be Indians/savages. However, those who believed in Christianity and had faith in God were seen to keep their English identity, or redeem themselves into Christianity, such as Rowlandson did. 

        Another writer, William Hubbard, wrote a book called Narrative of the Troubles with the Indians in New English which describes the traumatic experiences, outrages, massacres, and so forth from the Indians. For Hubbard, an advantage he had was to be able to read and write, and this “truly separated men from beasts” (Lepore, xviii), claiming the Indians to be nothing but beasts, not even on the level of a human. He labeled the Indians, inhumane. This helped reestablish the Indian and English divide, because it justifies the difference between the two. The English identity was reclaimed because it says that since Indians could not read and write, they were not considered English, let alone human. However, if you were able to read and write, you were seen to have the English identity and separate yourself from the beastly Indians.