Mary Rowlandson And Franklin s Views On Western Society...

When the colonists arrived to the new world, they were blind to the problems before them. They were in a time filled with thematic tribulations and conquest. They came across a group of people they never knew or seen before; they called them â€Å"Savages† or â€Å"Natives.† Various encounters with the Native Americans were documented with both negative and positive connotation. During this period of trial and error, time with the Natives seemed often terroristic and peaceful. In various colonial texts several authors have documented their experiences with the Native Americans, and gave their personal analysis of the Natives behavior, customs, and beliefs. Mary Rowlandson, for example, experienced terror from the Natives; she gave a chilling look†¦show more content†¦In addition, association with the Natives was just another obstacle the colonists had to face. Rowlandson’s publication gives a time stamp on how difficult relations with the Native American s were from a colonial perspective. Time period was so important in Rowlandson’s case because her story this gave first insight to issues of the colonial perspective of the Natives. Before Rowlandson, there was no actual documentation of a front row seat to the world of the Native Americans. For example, during Rowlandson’s fourth remove she witnessed the death of a pregnant mother and the child (264). Imagine hearing this for the first time as a colonist; immediately an automatic biased opinion occurs. In Rowlandson’s case, there was more corruption and â€Å"devilish† behavior that clouded the good. Whereas in Franklin’s distribution of his seventeen-eighty-four satirical document Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America; published eight years after America’s independence. It would be assumed that during Franklin’s time the colonists would have some kind of system in order to deal with the Natives. Instead more mischief continues and conflict between the Natives and colonists increase. The establishment of a biased opinion still sits in the hearts of the colonists, however on Franklin’s account there is a change. For instance, Franklin describes the culture of the Natives as â€Å"honorable,† something totally different as