Literature
In the story of Mary Rowlandson's “Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson”, it talks about the captivity of Rowlandson and to be able to come back to civilization without having to be under the savagery of the Indians. Rowlandson learned to become dependent since she believed in God’s providence and grace. The captivity of Rowlandson started in February 1675 and lasted until May of 1676. In the 1965 when British settlement of Lancaster was plagued by Native Americans, they burned houses which killed many settlers while some of them remained as captives (SparkNotes Editors). Rowlandson was one of the captives, together with her 3 children. She was separated from two of her older children, while the youngest was allowed to stay with her. Being a woman and the wife of a Puritan minister and her capture only affirmed that the vulnerability of women and the purity of womanhood were under the direct assault of the Indians (Clatterbuck 51). Throughout the ordeal of Rowlandson, she never lost faith in God. She lifted all the sorrows in her heart knowing that God was with her as He carried her spirit to hurdle all her sufferings. Rowlandson was a Puritan and she considered the acts of the Indians who captured her as inhuman savages.
She was the wife of a minister in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, kidnapped and held for ransom in the last months of the war of King Philip in 1675 to 1676. This was considered as one of the most celebrated Indian wars in New England as King Philip was then the son of the chief of the Wampanoag Indians (Reilly, Kaufman and Bodino 94). She regards the massacre of the colonists and the members of her family as the most tragic event in her life. She looks at the biblical accounts of exile and sacrifice to find hope in her own predicament (Reilly et al. 94). When her son William died, she was also wounded herself, she asked the Lord that He allow her to die with her son and the other victims. She turned to God for refuge while she remained faithful to the service of God in her place. She wanted to please God and make the precious scripture take hold of her heart as she said “And He said to me, my Grace is sufficient for thee” (2 Corinthians 12.9) (Reilly et al. 94). This is a clear illustration that Rowlandson used the scriptures in the Bible to help her surpass her difficult ordeal. She believed that the Lord never forsaken her because He kept her alive in spite of those many who had already been killed. She used another passage from the Bible from Job 1.15 when she said “And I only am escape alone to tell the news” (Reilly et al. 96). In this long difficult ordeal that Rowlandson had to go through in her life, it was the faith in God which became the source of her strength.
On the other hand, Walden Thoreau’s “Where I Lived and What I Lived For”, it talks about Walden opposition against the routine that new technology had created. He recounted the various places where he almost settled before he finally chose Walden Pond among the estates on a large scale (SparkNotes Editors). Thoreau used the quotes from Cato who as a Roman philosopher, who advised that the best decision is to study the options first before purchasing a farm lot before he signs the contract. Otherwise, failure to take into account all considerations when he planned to buy the farm located in Hollowell (SparkNotes Editors). When Thoreau finally decided to buy the farm lot with the improvements and prior to the drafting of the deed of sale, the wife of the owner without prior notice declared that she will no longer sell the farm lot. Thereafter, Thoreau finally decided to give up his intention to buy the property. After much thought, he was able to discern that it was the best decision not to buy the property despite the fact that he was already prepared to buy the large tract of land. He accepted that his final decision will be for his best interest. Thoreau was strained to make his life as simple as possible and to live the life that is free and unattached.
He decided to go the woods and dreamt a life that was not free from duties and responsibilities and enjoy a life where he can be free and unbound (SparkNotes Editors). He boasts of the fact that he is no longer lives near the post office and all the limiting the conflicting relationships that the mail system symbolized. He denounced the legal deeds that gave him true ownership of a poet when he declared that “I am monarch of all I survey” (SparkNotes Editors).
When he finally moved at his new building project at Walden, he felt proud that he was the first-time homeowner to achieve this home. In his mind, it was a great achievement that will symbol his conquest and compared himself as a God in Olympus. He moved to his new home in Independence Day and he noticed that his house still lacked plastering in some parts and a chimney. He regards himself to be lucky in his new dwelling when he stated that “Olympus is but the outside of the earth everywhere” (SparkNotes Editors). Despite this small inconvenience, he remained optimistic and saw something positive out of the poorly insulated walls since it gives his interior the advantage of fresh air during the summer nights. He explained his disapproval against the routine that new technology had created. He opted to live inside his simple home where he sat in his wooden chair and made him feel that he was in some distant corner of his own universe when he regards himself to be “behind the constellation of Cassiopeia’s Chair”. He looked forward to a grand time near the river where he plans to go fishing. He no longer wishes to stay in a heavenly house that is far away from the prying eyes of neighbors.
Comparing the work of Mary Rowlandson and Walden Thoreau, it can be concluded that Rowlandson decided to fight back and struggle amidst the pain and suffering in life knowing that God is her protector. On the other hand, the work of Thoreau revealed that his decision is to take a step back and opposition the routine that new technology had created. He decided to take a step back against modernization and life a simple life in a world that he can call his own where he can live freely and without restrictions.
Works Cited:
Clatterbuck, Mark S. “Searching for Souls in a Twice-foreign Land: An Analysis of
Catholic Indian Missions Through "The Indian Sentinel” (1902--1962). Web.
ProQuest, 2008.
Reilly, Kevin, Kaufman, Stephen and Angela Bodino. Racism: A Global Reader. New
York: M.E. Sharpe, 2003. Print.
Rowlandson, Mary. Captivity and Restoration. USA: 1st World Publishing, 2005. Print.
Rowlandson, Mary. The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary
Rowlandson. Cambridge, MA: Samuel Greene, 2008. Print.
SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on The Sovereignty and Goodness of God.”
SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2006. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.
SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Walden.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2003.
Web. 19 Sept. 2013.
