Michael Dobo
1. Rowlandson used this type of language because she was relaying her initial experiences with the Native Americans in her mind as she wrote her account of captivity. The type of language that was used is from the emotion and feelings she had initially from the raid on her house and seeing her family members killed in front of her eyes. As she continued to write her narrative her viewpoint towards the Native Americans started to change, where in the beginning as she writes she recalls many of the traumatic experiences she endured, but near the last few removes she starts to feel sympathy toward the Native Americans.
Rowlandson is a Christian woman and after writing that she viewed the Native Americans as savages she begins to see how they started to care for her in some ways such as giving her a Bible. In the Bible, Christ mentions that we should love our enemies and when we are struct by another to turn the other cheek. I think Rowlandson began to understand what Christ meant by this as not to see the bad from others when they harm you but to be strong enough to take a hit and not engage in their anger, and the aggressor would soon feel sympathy for the victim and would show the aggressor’s injustice. As Rowlandson started to try to pray to God and find her family the Indians must have felt some sympathy toward her in order for one of them to give her a Bible. Thus an exchange between sympathy and love was created between Rowlandson and the Native Americans and there was an understanding of each other’s struggles.
(Also as a side note your post was very interesting and gave a lot of different viewpoints).
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