The Sovereignty and Goodness of God Essay -- American History

The sovereignty and Goodness of graven imageThe Sovereignty and Goodness of God is a primary source instrument written in the seventeenth century, by a well-respected, Puritan woman. This book, written in cahoots with Cotton and append Mather, puritan ministers, tells the story of her capture by Indians during poove Phillips fight (1675-1676). For ternion months, Mary Rowlandson, daughter of a rich land holder, mother of three children, wife of a minister, and a pillar of her community lived among savage Indians. This document is important for several reasons. First, it gives us insight into the attitudes, extremes, personalities and norms of the Puritan people we go through about in terms of their beliefs, and John Calvins house on a hill. Beyond that, despite the inevitable exaggerations, this book gives us insight into Indian communities, and how they were run and operated during this time.Mary Rowlandson was a pretentious, bold and sanctimonious character. Her nar rative did not make me feel sorry for her at all, which is unsung since she really did go through a lot. During the war, the Narragansett Indians attacked Lancaster Massachusetts, and burned and pillaged the all in all village. During the siege Mary and her six year old child were shot, she watched her infant and most of her village either burn or stand shot. She was kept as a captive, along with her three children and taken with the Narragansetts on their long retreat. The exposition of the story is set immediately. The reader is perfectly cognisant of Missus Rowlandsons status and religious beliefs. She constantly refers to the Narragansetts in an fabulously condescending way, to the point that you know that she does not even consider them human. She paints them as purely evil pe... ...e child were given boiled horse feet, and by and by she ate hers she ate the childs because he/she could not moment it and was only gnawing on it.I think that this narrative is impo rtant for us to read in order to understand the mind-sets of the colonists and the Indians at the time of King Philips War. I believe that it is an excellent source, and really allows the reader to get a peak at what life was like during the 17th century. I also think that it is amazing that she is the second American woman to pull through and publish a book, and it is interesting to see how strong she was to preserve her own life in such an unfamiliar and uncivilized situation.Work CitedRowlandson, Mary. The Sovereignty and Goodness of God. 1682. The Sovereignty and Goodness of God. by Mary Rowlandson with Related Documents. Ed. and intro. Neal Salisbury. capital of Massachusetts Bedford, 1997.