Tradition promulgates the deepest spaces and smallest cracks of human life, filling and influencing as it lingers above and below the surface. It can be used to express, share, remember, stabilize. Traditions can remind us of our identity and place in the world, establishing boundaries and creating rules for existence. Viewing tradition in this light, Mary Rowlandson's fiction must be studied not as a single text, but as a product of the Puritan tradition of her time. His piece, although written by Rowlandson, is not his. Rather, it is the result of the community in which he lived, its historical influences, Puritan doctrine, and the forces of power that shaped its history. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Rowlandson's story, described as a captivity narrative, details his capture and travels with the natives over 11 weeks. After people in her town are killed by the Wampanoag, she is taken hostage along with her injured child and travels throughout the region, experiencing various removals as she notices how God saves, condemns, and controls the actions of those around her. Ultimately, Rowlandson is released based on the work of Mr. Hoar and James the Printer. She concludes her account by reflecting on the ways in which the Puritan community rallied around her afterward and her growth in the process. As the wife of a minister, Rowlandson's story is in line with what can be expected of a respectable Puritan woman in a patriarchal society. God, as the focal point of one's life, deserves worship, reverence, and attention. All glory and honor belong to Him, and Rowlandson develops her narrative in the respectful and faith-filled manner expected of a woman of her status. However, this sense of religious duty may go beyond her role as a pastor's wife in her writings. The church placed severe restrictions on the publication of female authors, only allowing works that would be “limited to pious or otherwise traditional subjects” (Davis 49). In order for Rowlandson to have a chance to share her story, she had to adhere to Puritan rules developed by powerful men. She was asked to express her story in a way that brought everything back to God, showing how God is present in every situation and all activities connect back to Him. Tradition dictated that she must be submissive, and Rowlandson fit into this category without batting eyelash (Davis 52). God, just like the patriarchal system she lives in, is authoritative and she follows the will of this great puppeteer, explaining actions as God's will and to fulfill a higher purpose. Fitting the traditional role of a reserved, pious woman, Rowlandson describes herself many times as passively receiving and interpreting events controlled by God. She gives and takes away, and Rowlandson accepts this in her writing. Diving in headfirst, Rowlandson fills this role in his narrative with the Puritan emphasis on spiritual development. He frames his story around growth in faith, showing how he goes from fear of death to a mentality of martyrdom. Initially, the natives' "glittering weapons" so discouraged my spirit, that she chose to be taken prisoner rather than die (Rowlandson 129). Later, however, he completes his spiritual journey, noting that he has “learned to look beyond the present and minor problems, and to calm himself beneath them” (Rowlandson 143). As a Christian and as a Puritan, the time of trial and testing has made her stronger, and although she is initially unwilling to suffer, Rowlandson intervenes inthis availability during the narrative, encouraging a greater appreciation for ordinary life and trust in everyday life. the LORD. His dedication to incorporating Puritan doctrine is also revealed through extensive use of scriptural references. To establish credibility and verify that the material is publishable, Rowlandson includes links to Scripture, even at the most arbitrary moments. For Rowlandson, it seems, anything can be connected to God, from God "sending" her a Bible to her son who happens to visit her (Rowlandson 133). Many times, this relationship to the Bible is explicitly exposed through textual quotations, as when he writes about Deuteronomy 28 and subsequent revelations (Rowlandson 133). The Bible must be fulfilled and she presents herself as a testimony of God's work in her life. At other times, however, Rowlandson resorts to her identity as a Puritan in writing to other Puritans and makes unidentified references to the biblical text. Rowlandson writes, for example, that he travels “through the valley of the shadow of death,” but it makes no sense to state that this phrase can be found in Psalms 23 (King James Version, Psalms 23:4). A few sentences later, he says that "we were among them, the one in the east and the other in the west" (Rowlandson 141). This is likely in reference to a scriptural passage in Psalm 103:12 that states, “As far as the east is from the west, so has he put away our transgressions from us” (King James Version). By using these psalms, readers have a deeper understanding that God brought her out of her time of suffering and that the “evil” natives cannot win. In truth, Rowlandson knew his audience well. He knew his place in religious tradition, he knew what would resonate with listeners, and he knew the steps he needed to jump through to spread his message. Throughout his narrative, however, Rowlandson does not rely solely on sporadic scriptural quotations to convince readers of his dedication to the Puritan cause. The Puritans identified strongly with the Jews in the Old Testament and their exodus, and Rowlandson applies extensive allusion to this throughout his work in light of historical events (Downing 255). Rowlandson's capture, spurred by King Philip's War, draws parallels to the Israelites who left Egypt and wandered the desert for 40 years, and Rowlandson is not short of comparisons to make. The time spent in the wilderness is representative of the Israelites walking in their wilderness many years before. The natives who captured her were pagans – pagans – just like the Egyptians. One native was even “hard-hearted” like Pharaoh during plagues (Rowlandson 135). Historically, the Wampanoag attacked in a final attempt to stop English expansion into their land (Baym & Levine 126). For Rowlandson, however, labeling Native territory as “wilderness” meant that it was a place where Puritans could go just as the Israelites did. The earth would be a place where its religious tradition could come closer to God and the community would embrace it. Despite the positive descriptions of the wilderness, Rowlandson continues to promote Puritan beliefs by describing the current occupants of the wilderness, the natives, as the antithesis to the Puritan lifestyle. They are described as pagans and heathens, the epitome of “immorality and sin outside the Puritan community” (O’Hara 44). During the first removal, Rowlandson clearly exposes these images, describing their festive atmosphere of dancing and singing as “a lively resemblance to hell” (Rowlandson 130). These “savages” are the opposite of Deity, and she is present to witness the acts of the pagans and recount them for the sheltered Puritan community. While the actions of the natives after.