JLEW

    Although we already read this article over summer break from American Courage, it was a good experience to read it a second time. Mary Rowlandson could have easily been any female Puritan colonist.  She could have, too, easily been killed in the Indian assault. However, Mary Rowlandson survived the assault, only to become a captive. She sees these "creatures" as dark, almost setting them as demonic figures, dancing and yelling in the night. Despite being severely injured by a gunshot wound, Mary manages to take the life of a small child into her own hands. What she us is PURE, sun-corrupted faith. To better understand this, the Puritans believed that god had already chosen certain people that would go to heaven. The only way to know who they were, the Puritans believed, was those person's actions of faith, kindness, and servitude. Being such, many Puritans tried to flaunt their good deeds so others would take notice. In Mary Rowlandson's case, her actions were those without influence, completely self-less. In Puritan belief, she would have been one of those chosen by god for eternal salvation.