Captivity Narratives - Our Nig and Restauration of Mrs....

Captivity Narratives - Our Nig and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson Our Nig; or Sketches from the life of a Free Black and A Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson Harriet Wilson’s and Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narratives have three things in common. First, they have a theme of sustaining faith in God throughout their trials. Secondly, they portray their captors as savages. Finally, they all demonstrate the isolation felt by the prisoner. Our Nig: or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black by Harriet Wilson is the story of a Northern girl, born into an interracial family and later abandoned by her parents, forcing her to become the servant of the Bellmont Household. After Mary, Mrs.†¦show more content†¦While being held by the Narragansett Indians, Rowlandson is isolated by her language. Unable to understand the language of those around her, Rowlandson is left unable to speak. She was also separated from her sister. After deciding that Mary’s sister could see her, her sister’ s master changed his mind and refused to let the visit between Mary and her sister take place. Mary’s sister â€Å"was come within a Mile or two of the place; Then he overtook her, and began to rant as if he had been mad; and made her go back again in the Rain; So that I never saw her till I saw her in Charlestown.† (Rowlandson, 358). Common themes and images connect both of these captivity narratives. Beginning with Rowlandson’s story, captivity narratives have â€Å"figured prominently in the discourse of national rights and of God’s challenges to the nation.† (Heath Anthology, 340). Rowlandson’s narrative fueled the idea of the savage nature of the Native Americans, while Wilson’s novel exposed the savage treatment of â€Å"free† blacks in the North prior to the civil war. Works Cited American Authors. http://www.gonzaga.edu/faculty/campbell/enl311/aufram.html (October 28, 1999). Harriss, Sharon M. â€Å"Introduction to Mary Rowlandson.† The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1988. Lauter, Paul, Ed. 340-342. Rowlandson, Mary. â€Å"A Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. The