Kent-Drury

English 420

Mary Rowlandson & Captivity Narrative

1. What elements define this genre (i.e., what elements seem to be repeated across many captivity narratives)? Which elements seem to be included because required for the genre, and which are likely to be part of the actual experience of captive?
1. Formal/Structural elements
2. Tropes (repeated elements)
3. Events
2. Find places that describe Mary Rowlandson’s attitude toward her own culture, her captors, and the landscape around her.
3. Find patterns that describe why some captives are killed and some are saved/adopted.
4. What purposes do the narratives seem to serve in terms of their readership?