Week 3 American Points of View

It is very inspiring to see that Mary Rowlandson through all her hardships never lost her trust in God. Throughout her narrative she countless times leans on God through scripture and prayer. When she was first captured she just seemed so weak and did not speak at all with the Indians. The fact that she was injured very badly and her only child that was with her was sick would be hard to take in. I could not imagine not knowing whether the rest of my family was dead or alive. That would just tear away at me knowing where my loved ones were. He child that was with her dies and she had no family to turn to, to grieve. She finally gave in on her third week and decided to finally eat what they had been offering her. I felt so bad about the torture she received when she just wanted simple things. For example the one night she wanted to get warmer by laying a stick by her and someone caught her and punished her by chancing her sight and throwing ash into her eyes. Something that could have been so permanent for such as simple want. She also faught hard to make sure her Bible was with her at all times. Her Bible gave her stregnth to continue. After eleven weeks and five days she was able to return to her husband and begin to put her life back together. I like how she describes her experience by saying " I have been in health, and wealth wanting nothing: But the next hour in sickness and wounds, and death, having nothing but sorrow and afflicition". Just how quickly the Indians came into her life and robbed everything she had and loved and made her suffer for so long. She ends by saying that "we must rely on God himself, and our whole dependence must be upon him". That is what she lived by to survive the Indians, without that outlook on life she probably would have early on when her child died.



I had a hard time reading Thomas Jefferson's queries. I was able to gather that he saw many differences between Americans, African Americans and Indians. Showing that some slaves have been given the opportunity to be educated and that more slaves should have that right. I just felt that he was giving facts and it did not have a certain flow about it. It was just hard to read and follow.