The Similar Effects of Audience Reception in Mary Rowlandson’s Captivity-Narrative and Equiano’s Slave-Narrative. Chloe Alexandra Kohlman College

Captivity and slave narratives allow insight into the trauma that the victim experiences; however, the victim’s narrative is often influenced and therefore, altered, to conform to the society’s pressures at that time. Focusing on the reception of the audience creates a struggle for the writer which is seen in Mary Rowlandson’s captivity-narrative as well as Olaudah Equiano’s slave-narrative. While it is clear that Rowlandson’s captors are quite generous, Rowlandson is forced to conform and portray the natives as the Puritan community views them: as inferior savages. There are many instances in Rowlandson’s narrative where her statements are extremely contradictory, showcasing the striking difference between what Rowlandson actually experiences and how she writes it to appeal to her audience. Equiano faces a similar struggle. He writes his slave-narrative to demonstrate the inhumane struggles that black slaves face and to address the notion of integration instead of segregation. Equiano understands that his narrative must appeal to white audiences and therefore embellishes his story by adding untrue facts and conforms to ‘white culture.’ Both Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative, “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of...