Mary Rowlandsons Captivity Narrative Essay - 1154 Words

The Puritans played a large role in early American history and society. Most Puritans escaped the tyrannical rule in England to gain religious freedom in America, which helped create an early American society. Not only did the Puritans help form the early American society and religion, they also contributed to the earliest stories and narratives to help create a rich literary history for America. Puritan literature has helped many scholars and readers learn about early American history. One of the most famous American narratives is from Mary Rowlandson, who was the wife of a Puritan Minister. Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative is about her story of how she was captured and treated by Native American captors. Throughout the†¦show more content†¦The passage also shows that God, according to the Puritans, is a very strict God. He does not tolerate evil acts, and requires that His followers obey His will, or they will be cut off from his presence and blessings. God is so intolerant of sin and evil, that Mary accepted that it was ok for God to take way her children and her lifestyle. On the other hand, God, according to the Puritans, is also merciful to His own people. At the end of the phrase, Mary stated that God showed mercy to her by helping her through her afflictions. Also, Mary again stated how merciful her God was in her following statement, â€Å"Now hath God fulfilled that precious Scripture which was such a comfort to me in my distressed condition† (Derounian 12-51). According to Mary, God is strict, demands righteousness among his followers, but is also merciful towards His own people. These different principles line up with the Puritan doctrine of the time as well. Since God was not tolerant of sinners and evil acts, Mary recounted many different acts that were considered evil or barbaric that the Native Americans did. For example, when the Native Americans attacked Mary’s town, she described the aftermath as, â€Å"a solemn sight to see so many Christians lying in their blood, some here and some there, like a company of sheep torn by wolves,† (Derounian 12-51). Mary separates theShow MoreRelatedMary Rowlandsons Captivity Narrative, The Sovereignty And Goodness Of God, And Edgar Huntly1815 Words   |  8 PagesMary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, and Charles Brockden Brown’s novel Edgar Huntly were both written during a time of discovery, exploration, and the questioning of identity in America. The frontier was considered the wild place of the unknown, and in these two works, the wilderness of the frontier and characters of â€Å"civilized† society interact to form com pelling stories. Mary Rowlandson’s narrative and Brown’s novel Edgar Huntly both use the theme of savageryRead MoreComparing Rowlandson’s Captivity Narrative with Jacobs’ Slave Narrative1643 Words   |  7 PagesMini-Research Essay i) Mary Rowlandsons A Narrative of the Captivity and A Restoration is a captivity narrative. Harriet Jacobss Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is a slave narrative. While they are considered distinctive genres, they share some characteristics. Look at the excerpts you have from them in your reading. How are they similar? How are they different? Be sure to provide evidence from the texts to support your conclusions. Answer the above questions in a 1,000-1,250-wordRead MoreThe Tribe Not Only Kidnapped Mary Rowlandson1263 Words   |  6 Pagesare the ones who set flames to Rowlandson’s life. The tribe not only kidnapped Mary Rowlandson, but her three kids as well. This tragedy is what inspired Rowlandson to start writing and becoming a famous known American author. The beginning of Mary White Rowlandson’s life started in the year of 1637. She was born in Somerset England. A little ways down the road of her life, Rowlandson’s parents brought her to the Massachusetts colonies. In fact, Mary Rowlandson’s father was known to be one of theRead MoreThe Narrative Of The Captivity And Restoration Of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson1245 Words   |  5 Pagesof a captivity narrative, Mary Rowlandson’s memoir, â€Å"The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson†, accurately reflects the respective formatting by which a subject is taken captive, describes the treatment and conditions of their stay, and dictates their hope of being rescued by means of divine intervention. Whilst Rowlandson’s narrative follows the correct standards of a captivity narrative throughout the time given with each â€Å"remove†, â€Å"The Interesting Narrative of theRead MoreThe Narrative Of The Captivity And The Res toration Of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson1422 Words   |  6 Pages An Indian attack on Lancaster during King Phillip’s War resulted in the capture of twenty-four people. Mary Rowlandson was among these captives, and the resulting captivity narrative, titled The Narrative of the Captivity and the Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, published in 1682, is formed based on her memory. Rowlandson’s captivity narrative carried great significance in that it came to be used as a didactic Jeremiad, leading its Calvinist audience back towards God’s path and away from anRead MoreThe Narrative Stories Of Mary Rowlandson And Mary Jemison780 Words   |  4 PagesI have found that I am most fascinated by the captivity narrative. I am most intrigued by the idea of the captivity narrative as much as I am by the actual narrative itself. The narratives did not begin with the stories of Native Americans kidnapping early American settlers, but it has its origins in the stories of men and women. The two narratives are appealing to me because they reveal the psychology to consider why they were captured in the first place and to determine whether they will make theirRead MoreThe Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson1600 Words   |  7 PagesThe Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson reveals that the ghastly depiction of the Indian religion (or what Rowlandson perceives as a lack of religion) in the narrative is directly related to the ideologies of her Puritan upbringing. Furthermore, Rowlandsons experiences in captivity and encounter with the new, or Other religion of the Indians cause her rethink, and question her past; her experiences do not however cause her to redirect her life or change her idealsRead More Compare Contrast Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano Essay1667 Words   |  7 Pagesvarious things that make up a piece of literature. For example: choice of diction, modes of discourse, and figurative language. Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano were great examples of authors that used these elements of literature. There are similarities and differences in A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson and From Africa to America. Though Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano shared similarities in experiences, they had different writing personalities, purposes, attitudesRead MoreCompare/Contrast Writers1706 Words   |  7 Pagesvarious things that make up a piece of literature. For example: choice of diction, modes of discourse, and figurative language. Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano were great examples of authors that used these elements of literature. There are similarities and differences in A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson and From Africa to America. Though Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano shared similarities in experiences, they had different writing personalities, purposes, attitudesRead MoreNative American W omen in The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe1317 Words   |  5 PagesMary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative follows the tradition of stories of women from Anglican descents that are seized by Native Americans, a genre that was enormously popular in the US at the turn of the 17th century. A defining work of American literature that presented accounts of Indian barbarity, the gallantry and superiority of white male settlers, and the helplessness of white women in need of protection and rescue. Correspondingly, Madeline Usher, the entombed sister from Edgar Allan Poe’s

Argument/Persuasion Free Essays

Barbie dolls have been faithful companions of American girls for generations. Millions of young American women have grown going to sleep with their glamorous companions. Now, however, more and more feminist voices are rising to accuse Barbies of stereotyping girls’ perceptions of their bodies, making them strive for unattainable ideals. We will write a custom essay sample on Argument/Persuasion or any similar topic only for you Order Now Emily Praeger in â€Å"Our Barbies, Ourselves† vindicates the producers of toys for instilling in girls harmful stereotypes, creating unrealistic expectations of men that taint love life for years after, and showing a cold sexless world instead of real love. To many, these worries may seem overdrawn. However, a closer look of issues involved in the Barbie controversy reveals that concerns of mothers and the community have valid reasons. These elegant dolls do affect young girls, creating body stereotypes that often last a lifetime, negatively impacting the life of an adult woman. 1. The Role of Toys in Child Education In the first place, toys do play a role in a child’s upbringing, and a very serious one. Rachel Karniol and Amir Aida (1997) state that gender stereotypes heavily influence the games with toys in which children engage in their childhood. The use of toys that corresponds to their gender stereotypes is important for most children, so that girls prefer to engage with toys depicting women and boys with toys portraying men. Even the notion of ‘badness’ in children stems from the moment when they â€Å"draw an inference that violating gender stereotypes is bad† (Karniol Aida 1997:2). The research about children who condemn other children breaking toys revealed that girls â€Å"judged toy breakers who violated gender stereotypes more severely than toy breakers who did not violate gender stereotypes† (Karniol Aida 1997:10). This was an experiment with preschool kids that shows the pervasiveness of gender stereotypes. From our early years, they shape our perceptions of the outside world. We know that girls should play with Barbie dolls, and boys with men toys and cars and toy weapons. The images imprinted on the young girl’s mind. When she consistently sees a portrayal of a beautiful woman with large breasts, thin waist, and long legs at the time when her own gender stereotypes are formed, she will inevitably retain this image on the subconscious level well into her adulthood. 2. Childhood Impressions Lead to Adult Problems With time, the imprinting that occurred on the childhood level can cause serious conflicts in the time when a woman has fully grown. The problem can get especially painful if the girl’s appearance happens to be very different from the Barbie image. This can be seen in the story of Graciela H. Rogriguez, an 18-year-old Latino girl who ended in prison when she tried to improve her appearance by dropping from size seven to size three in a short while, responding to the recommendations of an agent whom she wanted to hire her as an actress or a model. There is clearly a problem with the fashion industry if it will not accept anybody out of proportion, and even more so with the actor’s profession that, as we all hope, should bring talent on the screen, not breasts or buttocks. But there is equally the problem with the girl who will accept such treatment of her body – perhaps because she had been pre-programmed in her childhood that her body is wrong because of its size. The problem is clearly not just the Barbies; instead, it lies in the whole fashion and movie industry that makes women strive for one single ideal that is out of reach of many. Of these influences, Barbies also form an important part. It is the type of stereotyping that makes girls like Graciela feel â€Å"depressed, thinking [she] would never look like model because [she] came from a line of full-figured Mexican women (Rogriguez). Having been brainwashed with the unattainable ideal in her childhood, the girl may spend the rest of her life struggling with normalising her body image. It seems simple to feel positive about one’s body, yet today’s womanhood cannot come to terms with their own bodies. The childhood stereotypes are too strong, the real-life women too far away from these ideals (excluding plastic surgery, of course), and the psychological crisis becomes inevitable. Ophira, the editor of AdiosBarbies.com in her travels around the world has found body image to be â€Å"a topic that people of all walks — male and female alike — can get passionate about† (Ophira). 3. Are Concerns over Barbies Just Empty Fantasies? While many point to Barbies as source of problems with body image, there is also opposition to this viewpoint. The opponents of Barbie’s importance suggest treating the doll’s unnatural appearance as a minor problem. For example, the Editors of Mothers Who Think ridicule the recent shift in the fashion industry that has created Barbies of healthier and more real-life proportions. Instead, they call the allegations against the favourite toys of generations â€Å"the paranoid fantasies of conspiracists who’d like us to believe that the doll is an agent of antifeminist mind control† (So What’s It All About, Barbie?). The claim that the slim toy is â€Å"being partly responsible for eating disorders in teenage girls as well as breast implants and cosmetic surgery in adult women† is proclaimed ridiculous (So What’s It All About, Barbie?).    However, the question arises then who is at all responsible. Few would say that Barbie is the only culprit. It is a combination of influences that occur throughout one’s formative years. The Barbie and other toys, however, play a major role by occurring early in a girl’s lifetime, and there is little reason why this harmful influence should be not corrected. Conclusion The fashion industry and toy manufactures have a responsibility to those they affect with their well-crafted work. Their produce does affect an average girl’s body image, and while there are problems, they are also partly responsible. Gender stereotypes are formed early in our lives and are found already in preschool kids. Toys and images found in glossy magazines are simply bound to exert influence on these stereotypes, and few can deny the link between this propaganda of sexy slim bodies and later problems with girls who feel uneasy about their bodies. The pervasiveness of problems with the body image makes it difficult to deny that in this particular case the toy is not just a toy – it is a symbol, a cultural phenomenon, and an educational tool – and because of this, it has to be produced by responsible people evaluating its repercussions. Bibliography   Karniol, Rachel, and Amir Aida. â€Å"Judging toy breakers: gender stereotypes have devious effects on children.† Sex Roles: A Journal of Research (February 1997). 18 April 2006 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2294/is_n3-4_v36/ai_19532577. Ophira. Journal. 18 April 2006 http://www.adiosbarbie.com/journal/index.html. â€Å"So What’s It All About, Barbie?† Salon 26 November 1997. 18 April 2006 http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/1997/11/cov_26feature.html. Rogriguez, Graciela H. Breaking the Model. 18 April 2006 http://www.bodyoutlaws.com/read_rodriguez.html.    How to cite Argument/Persuasion, Papers

RENT Musical Essay Example For Students

RENT Musical Essay Theres a scene in the new musical RENT that may be thequintessential romantic moment of the 90s. Roger, astruggling rock musician, and Mimi, a junkie whos adancer at an S/M club, are having a lovers quarrel whentheir beepers go off and each takes out a bottle of pills. Itsthe signal for an AZT break, and suddenly they realizethat theyre both HIV-positive. Clinch. Love duet. If youdont think this is romantic, consider that Jonathan Larsonssensational musical is inspired by Puccinis opera LaBoheme, in which the lovers Mimi and Rodolfo aretragically separated by her death from tuberculosis. Different age, different plague. Larson has updatedPuccinis end-of-19th-century Left Bank bohemians toend-of-20th-century struggling artists in New Yorks EastVillage. His rousing, moving, scathingly funny show,performed by a cast of youthful unknowns with explosivetalent and staggering energy, has brought a shocking jolt ofcreative juice to Broadway. A far greater shock was thesudden death of 35-year-old Larson from an aorticaneurysm just before his show opened. His death justbefore the breakthrough success is the stuff of both tragedyand tabloids. Such is our culture. Now Larsons work,along with Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk, thetap-dance musical starring the marvelous young dancerSavion Glover, is mounting a commando assault onBroadway from the downtown redoubts of off-Broadway. Both are now encamped amid the revivals (The King andI) and movie adaptations (Big) that have madeBroadway such a creatively fallow field in recent seasons. And both are oriented to an audience younger thanBroadway usually attracts. If both, or either, settle in for asuccessful run, the door may open for new talent toreinvigorate the once dominant American musical theater. RENT so far has the sweet smell of success, marked noonly by its $6 million advance sale (solid, but no guarantee)but also by the swarm of celebrities who have clamored fortickets: Michelle Pfeifer, Sylvester Stallone, Nicole Kidmanand Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, Ralph Fiennesname yourown biggie. Last week, on opening night, 21 TV crews,many from overseas, swarmed the Nederlander Theatre toshoot the 15 youthful cast members in euphoric shockunder salvos of cheers. Supermogul David Geffen of thenew DreamWorks team paid just under a million dollars torecord the original-cast album. Pop artitsts whoveexpressed interest in recording songs from the 33-numberscore include Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton and Boyz IIMen. A bidding scrimmage has started for the movie rightsamong such Hollywood heavies as Warner Brothers,Danny DeVitos Jersey Films, Fox 2000 and Columbia. The asking price is $3 million, but bonuses for length of run,the Pulitzer Prize (which RENT has already won), variousTony and critics awards could jack the price up to $3.75million. Despite these stupefying numbers, the youngproducers, Jeffrey Seller, 31, and Kevin McCollum, 34,and their associate, moneyman Allan S. Gordon, know thattheyre not home free. Theres no such thing in NewYork, says Seller. Our company has mostly done tours. Ifyou sell 8,000 seats a week in Cleveland, you did a greatjob. Never having done a Broadway show, the idea thatyou have to sell 450,000 seats a year is daunting. MajorBroadway players like the Shubert Organization andJujamcyn Theaters, which lost out to the Nederlander in thefeverish grab for RENT, would love to be daunted likethese Broadway tyros. Rocco Landesman, Jujamcynspresident, says hes crushed at not getting RENT. Hepredicts the show will be a crossover success; it willattract an ethnically diverse audience, people who are notnormally theatergo ers. RENT has a $67.50 top ticketprice, but the producers have reserved the first two rows at$20 and are tagging mezzanine seats at a bargain $30. .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18 , .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18 .postImageUrl , .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18 , .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18:hover , .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18:visited , .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18:active { border:0!important; } .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18:active , .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18 .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u9229beb4b0bd8a160dcd609dfe55aa18:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Transvestitism EssayRENT has a lot riding on its shoulders, says producerJim Freydberg, whose Big has just opened. I desperatelyhope it works. If its successful, were going to get moredaring shows on Broadway. If its not, were going to getmore revivals. This is interesting, coming from acompetitior whose own show, based on the popular TomHanks movie about a 13-year-old boy who wakes up onday in the body of a 30-year-old man, could be said torepresent the less daring sector of Broadway. If I reallywanted to make money Id go to Wall Street and inventmoney, says Seller. I came to Broadway because I wasexcited by the question Can you challenge the mainstream?Can you reinvent t he mainstream from inside themainstream?' Says McCollum: It would be disingenuousto say we dont hope to make money with RENT. But Imhere