A Change in Outlook

Written by Michael Black

In Colonial America during the late 1600s, there was a huge contrast between the lives of the Native Americans and the Europeans. This contrast in lifestyles became more evident when groups such as the Puritans and the Indians were forced to deal with each other for political and economic reasons. The diary of Mary Rowlandson, the wife of a Puritan preacher, provides great insight on how Puritans felt about Indians as well as how Indians felt towards Puritans. Both cultures had an unfair stereotype of the other due to lack of exposure and misunderstanding. Although Mrs. Rowlandson began here captivity with a typical Puritan view of the Indians, she gained a better understanding and respect for their culture, and at the same time, altered her view of an elite Puritan society.

When the Indians captured Mary Rowlandson in 1675, the Puritans did not have a positive view of the Native Americans. The Puritans felt superior mainly because of their religious practices. The Indians had all but rejected Christianity; this provided the Puritans with a solid justification for looking down upon them. On the day of her capture, Rowlandson described the Indians as "murtherous wretches" who "went on, burning, and destroying before them." She continued describing them as "hell-hounds" and "Barbarous Creatures"; her words signified that Puritans did not view Indians as normal people but as savages and enemies (70). Mrs. Rowlandson's hatred for the Indians was rooted so deep that she would, "rather to be killed by them than be taken alive" (70). However, over the eleven weeks of her captivity, her views slowly changed.

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