Mary Rowlandson Research Paper

At the dawn of America, the question of why people did virtuous deeds was a known fact, as simple as flipping a coin. Either someone was a Puritan and believed that God expected him or her to live a holy life full of virtuous works and kindness, or he or she was a humanist whose views of life geared toward the potential of man and living in the present. Today’s America, though, is a divergent place. Some may argue that people of the 21st century remain driven to treat people with kindness simply by the feeling of helping their fellow man, and while these ideas may be true in some cases, logical intellectuals would agree that in actuality, the fear of failure and the need for reward are what motivates people to transform society for the better. …show more content…
This is a lesson individuals carry with them for the rest of their lives. Acting appropriately, because the fear of punishment is imprinted into the American people, closely mirrors the Puritan belief that humans should be respectable to avoid Hell. Countless Puritan writers wrote about amazing works happening to them solely because God was rewarding them for acting the way he fancied them to. Marry Rowlandson, an American colonial woman, was taken as a hostage by Native Americans during King Philip's War and was kept as a prisoner for 11 weeks. When she was finally unconfined she wrote, A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, a brief recall describing her experiences as a hostage. The story details incredible events that Marry declares are the works of God are rewarding her for keeping her faith through the trying times. She writes, "The Lord still showed mercy to me; and as He wounded me with one hand, so he healed me with the other” (Rowlandson). Other Puritan works tell of this same belief that God rewards people who are indulged in their faith and who preform worthy

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