Mary Rowlandson wrote her
autobiographical narrative for many purposes: to record and reflect, to
eulogize and gain perspective; as well as to immortalize a recount of her
experiences, all while paradoxically trying to put them in the past. She wrote to describe what she saw the
day she was taken from her home by Indian savages, and the horrors she
encountered thereafter. Centuries
later, literary critics are still analyzing her story, but why? At the surface, her piece is simply
words jotted down on paper as a way to record and communicate her personal
message. If this description were
enough to make a work literary, critics would be analyzing the messages one
finds on the tiny piece of paper tucked inside of a fortune cookie or the diary
of my 7-year-old sister. I believe
an author conveying a personal message is just the foundation for a literary
work, but to define a work as literature, the definition must be far more
specific.
To be considered literary, first, the
message of a work must contain literary devices and stylistic techniques, which
are used to enhance a piece of literature by enhancing the literal meanings as
well as supplying figurative meanings to the author’s basic ideas. These elements, when analyzed properly,
give the reader greater insight into the message the author is trying to
portray or the context in which the work was written. While literal language serves a vital purpose in a work of
literature, commonly authors utilize literary devices, such as similes,
metaphors, allusions and symbols, which change the literal meaning of the
language, to make aspects of a simple narrative prominent and more memorable,
or to extend the meaning of a literal idea. In accordance, stylistic elements such as where an author
chooses to place a semi-colon, or capitalize a letter in a work, serve the same
purpose.
Literary devices can also be useful when
an author is attempting to contextualize a literary work, which is the next
characteristic a work must contain.
To be considered literature, a work must reflect a specific context, whether
it be historical, political, religious, etc. through the author’s use of
descriptive literary devices. For
example, a work can be placed in “historical context” by the author simply
stating the time period in which the work was written. If we wish to research historical facts,
however, we could just as easily consult an Encyclopedia or a textbook. Instead, by historically
contextualizing a work in a literary sense, the author writes descriptively,
using imagery, along with other literary devices, to give the reader a tangible
depiction of the time period they are discussing, rather than blatantly stating
it. By identifying a work of
literature’s context, the reader is able to more closely analyze what an author
wrote and how they wrote it.
In addition to the various elements
mentioned above, a work must have one more characteristic in order to be
considered literary, which is to serve a public interest. This characteristic explains why
literature such as Mary Rowland’s narrative has survived centuries and is still
circulating in the public domain. For
a work to serve a public interest, I believe it must attempt to influence, inform,
educate, entertain or persuade the public in a significant way. If the work’s purpose is unique and
powerful enough to make a significant impact on the public, it could in turn
influence society as a whole, not just during the time period it was written,
but in future generations to come.
“A
Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson,” is a piece
of literature because it exemplifies all three criterion mentioned above by the
author purposefully utilizes literary devices and stylistic techniques as a
coping method when reflecting on the death of her child, uses literary devices
to place the work in historical and religious context, and serves a public interest
by not only educating readers but instilling a lasting memory in their
imaginations.
Rowlandson’s
narrative is saturated with the use of literary devices and stylistic elements,
which she utilizes to emphasize the prominence of certain significant
experiences throughout her journey.
In the most momentous scenes, she uses various literary devices
simultaneously to evoke practically tangible elements of realistic imagery in
the reader’s imagination. In addition,
she uses an abundance of figurative language to communicate her underlying
internal conflict, as she struggles to rationalize the tragic suffering she is
forced to endure. One example of
Rowlandson’s usage of these literary techniques is demonstrated in her
depiction of the tragic and untimely death of her baby. She states,
Thus nine days I
sat upon my knees, with my babe in my lap, till my flesh was raw again; my
child being even ready to depart this sorrowful world…down I sat with the
picture of death in my lap. About
two hours in the night, my sweet babe like a lamb departed this life… (Rowlandson
123).
Unable to cope with the death of her
child, she utilizes a metaphor, referring to the tragic memory of her child
dying in her arms to a picture of death.
She refers to her baby as a picture, an inanimate object, as a method of
emotionally disassociating the two mental images; one being the child she loved
dearly, the other, a worthless, disposable picture. This helps alleviate the traumatic memory in her own mind
because when the tragic memory occurs, she mentally substitutes the tragic
memory with an image to which she has no emotional connection. She also uses a simile to describe the
moment she watches her child pass away, saying her baby was like a lamb was
foremost a religious reference.
The Lamb of God is a theological reference in the Christian faith
alluding to Jesus as the perfect sacrifice when he gave his own life in order
to atone the sins of all humans.
Seeing the death of her baby as a sacrifice to God reflects her Puritan
beliefs that everything happens because God wants it to, therefore she had to
sacrifice her baby because God wanted it that way. This is also a method of coping for Rowlandson, seeing the
tragic death of her child as a sacrifice to God instead of a cruel injustice
brought about by humanity.
To
further analyze Mary Rowlandson’s narrative, we must next examine how she
utilizes similar literary devices to place her writing in both historical and
religious contexts. In several instances throughout her work Rowlandson bluntly
states exact dates and times significant events occurred. However, one instance in particular
demonstrates how her method of historically contextualizing an event is literary
rather than solely factual. This
occurs in her depiction of the horrific and traumatic suffering she witnessed
as the Indians attacked her colony, and invaded her home.
Some in our
house were fighting for their lives, others wallowing in their blood, the house
on fire over our heads, and the bloody heathen ready to knock us on the head,
if we stirred out. Now might we
hear mothers and children crying out for themselves, and one another (Rowlandson
119).
Her mention of mothers and children is a
literary technique Rowlandson utilizes to attempt to depict an indescribable
occurrence by drawing off of an idea the reader is already familiar with. When one thinks of a mother and a
child, it generates a positive connotation; a child being naïve, innocent and solely
reliant on the mother; and the mother, the nurturer, who has shared a bond of
unconditional love with the child since she carried it for nine months in her
own belly. Rowlandson draws on
this preconceived notion, and drastically twists it, using imagery to create
that same mother and child being viciously ripped apart from one another, while
members of their own home are being murdered before their eyes, screaming in
sheer terror, unsure of their own fate or that of their loved one. This tangible image she creates in the
minds of the reader is the sole difference between reading about these events
in a historical, factual reference book and reading about them through personal
accounts in a literary work.
Rowlandson,
being a Puritan, also offers many references to place her narrative in
religious context. She does this
in a literary manner, however, not just by stating her religious beliefs or
classifying herself as a Puritan, but by interpreting the events that happen to
her as a sign from God. One
instance in particular is during the first attack on her colony, as mentioned
above, as they find themselves defenseless against the Indians. She states,
We had six stout
dogs belonging to our garrison, but none of them would stir, though another
time, if any Indian had come to the door, they were ready to fly upon him and
tear him down. The Lord hereby
would make us the more acknowledge His hand, and to see that our help is always
in Him (Rowlandson 119).
Her perspective on the events occurring
in this passage inadvertently contextualizes her as being Puritan, because it
demonstrates the Puritan belief that God has a purpose for everything, and when
bad things happen to you it is his way of trying to teach you a lesson. In this passage, Rowlandson she inserted
religious references where she was suffering and resenting God the most to try
and gain perspective on why he was punishing her, and what he was trying to
teach her.
The
last aspect that defines Mary Rowlandson’s narrative as a literary work is its
aspect of public interest. As
previously discussed, Puritans wrote as a form of reflection and prayer, never
for personal gain. However
Rowlandson’s method of describing their family’s losses after the Indians
invaded her home is evidential support that she may have wrote for ulterior
motives as well.
Of
thirty-seven persons who were in this one house, none escaped either present
death, or a bitter captivity, save only one, who might say as he, ‘And I only
am escaped alone to tell the News’ (Job 1.15) (Rowlandson 120).
By
keeping “I” as is when quoting the Bible, she is metaphorically transforming herself
into God’s messenger from the passage she references. This demonstrates that because Rowlandson attributed her
survival to the Grace of God, she believed it was therefore her God-given duty
to share her personal encounter with others, thus explaining an ulterior motive
for why she wrote her autobiography.
Going along with this perspective, Mary Rowlandson’s use of vivid
imagery to depict her darkest hours of suffering could have been an example of
public interest: to leave a lasting, emotional impression on her readers so
history would not repeat itself.
An example of this is another gory and horrifying description of the
Indian attack on her family’s home.
There was one
who was chopped into the head with a hatchet, and stripped naked, and yet was
crawling up and down. 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 120).
In most of this passage, there is no need
for much figurative language, because the literal depiction of what she
witnessed is disturbing enough to leave a lasting impression in anyone’s
mind. The one simile she does use
makes a comparison of the slain Christians lying in their blood to a company of
sheep torn by wolves. She does
this as a method of dehumanizing these individuals, which symbolizes the Indians’
blatant disregard for human life as they slaughter innocent human beings as if
they are livestock. She further
elaborates on the same comparison, describing the Indians as hell-hounds,
implying their actions were too savage for even an animal, but only to be
equated to a wild beast possessed by Satan himself.
Through Mary Rowlandson’s narrative, she
effectively utilizes literary devices for the purposes of both enhancing the
content of her story as well as defining the context of it. She offers a societal message through
her writings to instill awareness and caution in her readers’ minds and
imaginations. All of these factors
combined are what make her narrative a literary masterpiece that is sure to
impact many more generations to come.
References
Rowlandson, Mary. “A Narrative of the Captivity and
Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.” The
Norton Anthology of American Literature.
Ed. Nina Baym. New
York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2008. 118-134.
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