Reflection Blog Over Bradstreet and Rowlandson's Work

Mary Rowlandson was very strong in her faith, and never let sin shake the ground she stood on. She went through many hardships during her travels as a slave and was able to cope through them with prayer. The biggest of these being the death of her baby boy. He was only sixish years old and should have had a long healthy life ahead, but the Indians came and ended his life too soon. He didn't die immediately though, he hung on for nine days of pain and starvation. As I quote,"Thus nine days I sat upon my knees, with my babe in my lap, till my flesh was raw again. My child, being even ready to depart this sorrowful world, they bid me carry it out to another wigwam; (I suppose because they would not be troubled with such spectacles;) whither I went with a very heavy heart, and down I sat with the picture of death in my lap. About two hours in the night, my sweet babe, like a lamb, departed this life, on Feb. 18, 1675..." (Rowlandson 83). As you can see he was a fighter, yet the battle was too great for him to conquer. Mary spent most of her younger years though going through hardships like this one, and living on as little as a spoon full of nuts a day. She must have been one of the strongest ladies of her time. Hearing her story made me feel as if my life was a joke and whenever something bad happens to me it is a huge deal to me, but in reality its not that huge of a situation.

In the poem "Upon the Burning of Our House", Anne Bradstreet talks about the fire within her own home. She talks about how nothing was salvaged and nothing remained (Bradstreet 91). If you have ever heard the phrase, "They have nothing, but the clothes on their back," this is exactly what happened to Anne. The fire happened so quickly she didn't have time to save anything. I can relate in a way to this, since my old house burned down around nine years ago. It was a very hard time and we were only able to salvage a few things. I was able to relate to how it felt to her in the story which made it that more realistic for me, and feel like reality.

The two stories have a couple things in common. The first being they were both females, but that isn't of importance. Second, Mary and Anne, both had nothing of their own possession. They basically spent every day in hopes to find food and water, and make enough money to survive. Mary being a slave meant she was give some food on the occasion to keep her alive, but it wasn't a proper and full serving. And when Mary got sold to a new owner the rules and routine would change. She would do a couple side jobs and make a little extra when she could. Anne struggled through, but knew that this wasn't the end of the world. She was able to stay positive through it all. The point being, both of the women had a tragic event take place in their lives, and both of them learned how to make do with what they had and to trust God with it all. They were both very strong Christians, which I feel was the reason they were able to make it through. Most people would have given up, but these ladies put their faith in God and trusted him with the control over their lives. It is just another example of how great God is and the miracles he is able to perform in peoples lives.

 Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009.
Bradstreet, Anne. "Upon the Burning House." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 91. Print.

Rowlandson, Mary. "A Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson." Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009.