Compare And Contrast Equiano And Mary Rowlandson

Captivity Essay

Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano both had many obstacles in a certain period of life. From the different narratives, trials and tribulations were brought upon both. Taken from the life of which accustomed to and put in sometimes very harsh conditions had an antagonistic effect. Despite it all, Rowlandson and Equiano were able to get through by keep faith in God, the word of the bible, and spiritualism in itself. After all of the trials and tribulations Rowlandson and Equiano were able to escape and look back on all the things they went through. Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano can be compared and contrasted by family life, conditions while captured, and moment of rescue.

Mary Rowlandson was taken captive by Indians

After a week of trekking Rowlandson did not eat or was not able to get much rest. “[b]eing very faint I asked my mistress to give me one spoonful of the meal, but she would not give me a taste” (Rowlandson 39). Not only did Rowlandson have to deal with nature against her, she even had captors who wouldn't even feed her. Due to the lack of food she had a weak body which helped in terms of the loads she had to carry. Rowlandson shares the severity of the weather conditions, “[b]y the advantage of some bush which they had laid upon the raft to sit upon, I did not wet my feet which cannot but be acknowledged as a favor of God to my weakened body, it was a cold time” (Rowlandson 39). If Rowlandson were to of wet her feet, serious frostbite and the sense of severity is there when the was a decision to thank God. The relationship between the captors and Rowlandson began to get better when Rowlandson did favors like making clothes in return for things like food. Rowlandson one day got emotional, “[t]here one of them asked me why I wept, I could hardly tell what to say: Yet I answered, they would kill me: “No”, said he, “none will hurt you”. Then came one of them and gave me two spoonfuls of meal to comfort me” (Rowlandson 40). Captors began to comfort Rowlandson ensuring that no one would hurt and gave her extra food. Rowlandson was being treated more like one of the captors than

Equiano starting out had caring captors, “[t]he people I was sold to used to carry me very often when I was tired either on their shoulders or on their backs” (Equiano 54). Equiano’s first master lost his wife and daughter causing the mental state to be off, so Equiano was sold. Luckily Equiano was able to see his sister once again, he felt the need to be there for her and try to aid the pain she was feeling. All slave masters admired Equiano and he was still live a fair well off life but, that would soon change when boards the slave ship. Equiano finally will see the true horrors of how slaves were treated, “...and I even wished for my former slavery in preference to my present situation” (Equiano