Question one
The Captivity by Mary Rowlandson is a narrative that reveals how she was held captive during the reign of King Philip. In essence, the book written by Rowlandson was the first American bestseller, and it marked the start of the famous genre of captivity narratives. Precisely, Rowlandson's work influenced both narrative books and Western films of that time and subsequent years. Mary Rowlandson was a colonial American woman whose original country of birth was England. Of note, the actual name of the narrative was A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. It is also referred to as The Sovereignty and Goodness of God. Virtually, it is depicted to be a work in the literary genre of narratives.
The narrative starts with the description of Rowlandson's origin. She was born in England and moved with her parents to New England. Her father assisted to found the Lancaster town; present-day Massachusetts. In addition, her father was the richest man in Lancaster town. Mary got married to Reverend Joseph Rowlandson in 1656 and settled into married life. Mary wrote the book when she was restored after being held a captive for eleven weeks.
According to Rowlandson, during the late 16002, conflicts broke out between the American Indians and the English settlers. It is important to note that Native Americans such as Wampanoag Indians grew corn, as well as other food crops for food. It was during the time when the English settled in a nearby region; present day Massachusetts that the Native Americans and the Wampanoag were accustomed to sharing the available land with each other.
As Rowlandson narrates, the war broke up when the American Indians felt that the English were limiting them from doing their farming, as they desired. It is for that matter that the Wampanoag raided the English settlements taking a number of them into captivity, which they trade with money, provisions and weapons (Rowlandson p.24). During the raid, Rowlandson was not lucky enough and was taken as one of the captives. Furthermore, Rowlandson states that she was sold to nearby Indian states and was given a Bible, which she used to regain her faith. It is during this time that Rowlandson decided to turn to God to rescue them from the wrath of their woes. In describing her condition in captivity Rowlandson, says, "The first week of my being with them, I hardly eat anything." This statement indicates her life in captivity was comparatively hard and problematic.
In this regard, Western films produced after that incident was grounded on this incident. One of the popular films based on captivity and such conflicts is The Battle of Elderbush Gulch (1913). D.W. Griffith directed this film, and it is about two sisters who visit their uncle in the West. They carry puppies with them. Within that area, there were angry Indians attempts to attack the settlers when the puppies go to their area of jurisdiction. The fact that Griffith uses conflicts that exists between settlers and their neighboring Indians indicates that he based the film on Mary Rowlandson’s narrative captivity. Indeed, it is evident that Rowlandson sets a foundation for other interested filmmakers and writers. Through Rowlandson’s captivity narrative, Western films borrowed some ideas and themes to include in their films. Scott Simmon (2003) observes that American Indian’s demise during the silent era (Simmon p.24). The differences between Europeans, American and Indians are based on various factors associated with difference in their cultures. Furthermore, Simmon claims that the captivity narrative is a film that takes into consideration sociological history and their effects on individuals such as Mary Rowlandson.
No doubt since the onset of the brutal and violent clash between British colonists and Indians in Massachusetts following King Philip’s War, a new literary new genre developed. After their restoration, some of the colonists who were held captives wrote autobiographical experiences about the menace. As such, these captivity narratives grew to form a vast audience. From there henceforth, interest in the narratives continued into the nineteenth century (Rowlandson p12). Again, through her use of portrayal and scripture of the relationship between the Puritan colonists and Indians, Rowlandson enhanced the traditional aspect of providence advocated by Puritans forty years earlier.
The representation of captivity, as described by Rowlandson, is relatively more complex especially in terms of how the clash occurs. Contrary to the films produced later after that period, the captivity narrative by Rowlandson is based on real life situation while the films are based on fiction and past stories. In addition, the European-Native American relation as narrated by Rowlandson indicates how resource conflict was evident. As a matter of fact, captivity is a theme that has been used to produce several films especially by the Westerners considering that most of the conflicts involved them and Indians. Another incident narrative that illustrates the intense clash between the Europeans and the Indians is a thrilling Narrative of Indian Captivity. This narrative also created a foundation for a number of Western films. Simmon argued that the tensions of the clash between the Indians and the British enhanced a rift between the Eastern and Western dimensions. In this sense, the films were influenced in one way or another by the previous conflicts.
Question three
John Ford produced stagecoach in 1939. The Stagecoach film involves a stagecoach trip from the more civilized East to a more relatively natural setting; the west, Lordsburg. A random group of people gets a chance to interact. Through the interaction, they get to appreciate their diverse culture and classes. The stagecoach trip is described to be full of memorable events, and the participants enjoy everything. On the other hand, My Darling Clementine is a film focusing on the effects of civilization; John Ford also produced it in 1939. The film reenacts the major theme of morality play of the Western. One of the characters Wyatt Earp succeeds to become the new town’s marshal. As such, there is an argument for anarchy and law. Nevertheless, the law wins and the final shot features the new schoolmarm who symbolizes the arrival of civilization. In My Darling Clementine, most westerners center on the showdown. The film builds up to the legendary gunfight at the OK Corral, but it rather more concerns everyday things; romance, poker, haircuts, and illness. In essence, My Darling Clementine is postulated to be one of the most good-hearted and sweetest of all Westerns.
Both of the Ford’s films, stands out to be more influential in the American film industry. Both the films sets the design for a completely new genre; the Western drama. The titles of the two films almost have the same meaning. My Darling Clementine can be postulated to mean the happiness that some of the characters show after getting civilization. Essentially, there are two communities in the film, the most influential like Wyatt, and the other community represents the uncivilized society. On its part, the Stagecoach also illustrates two distinct communities; the civilized and the uncivilized communities. The most unique thing about the two communities as described by Ford is that they appreciate each other. Despite the fact that the community living in the most natural setting seem to be more uncivilized, the characters traveling to their setting interact with them without any discrimination.
The Stagecoach integrates various traditional codes and conventions of the Western genre, at the same time it defines most of them. The fact that Ford uses different characters from diverse castes consequently making the stagecoach itself is a microcosm of the bygone era. The strangers in the stagecoach symbolize the individuals affected by depression Era and others in between. On the other hand, the few characters like Donald Meek from the rich category, and finally the other remaining characters represent the rest of the social group system (Simmon p.23). The Great Depression Era was witnessed due to lucrative investment and undisciplined spending by corporations and banks. According to Ford, during the time when depression was at its peak, the government attempted to put regulations to mitigate the problem.
Thus, new deals were initiated by the government between 1933 and 1936; starting the long economy recovery. By 1939, the socialist new deals started by government created many job opportunities and the economy picked up. My Darling Clementine provides a scenario where characters are in a dilemma. There was a gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The film illustrates Morgan, James Earp, Virgil and Wyatt driving cattle to California. The pass through the town of Tombstone; a lawless town; the residents are shot anyhow by a drunkard Indian. Wyatt is the only man willing to deal with the Indian. In this case, it is evident from the movie that civilization is a new term especially in the town of Tombstone. The people around do not understand their rights; thus Wyatt decided to assume the position of Marshal in order to identify the perpetrators.
According to David Hamilton Murdoch, the Americans decided to invest a small part of their history, the settlement of the west, with unique implication. Additionally, Murdoch argues that the 1800s remains to be the source of romance and excitement but rather of inspiration (Murdoch p.31). This is because it is perceived as offering a set of extraordinary and imperishable individualism, core values and self-reliance sense of wrong and right. The act of doing contrary to the norms of the society and selflessness is seen in the two movies. Such deeds are depicted to the enemies of civilization. On his part, Scott Simmon argues that the invention of the Western films shifts across visual arts, ideology and social history to provide an in-depth exploration (Simmon p.32). As such, the issue of civilization relatively clear that from the manner in which Simmon describes the social history and how civilization affects the society. In other words, Simmon outlines that there are various factors that influence the way in which the society views civilization and the ideologies that accompany it.
Work cited
David Hamilton Murdoch, The American West: The Invention of a Myth (U of Nevada P, 2001)
Mary Rowlandson, The Captive (American Eagle, 1990 [1682]).
Scott Simmon, The Invention of the Western Film (Cambridge UP, 2003)
