The Unredeemed Captive Literary Elements

Novel

The novel is set in 1704 in Massachusetts in the context of kidnapping.

Third-person narrative

Sad, somber, pessimistic, determined

John Williams is the protagonist of the story.

The main conflict is when the Mohawk tribe combined efforts with the French in 1704 to raid the town of Deerfield, in which many people were killed and scores injured, and the rest were imprisoned. In the raid process, John Williams lost some of his nuclear family members before his eyes.

The climax is attained when Eunice reunites with his brother, Stephen, at her old age. William had tried to rescue Eunice without success. Stephen took the responsibility of rescuing Eunice, but they only met at an old age when she was fully integrated into the Native American society.

Queen Anne's war foreshadowed William's troubled future. For instance, some of William's children were killed and others imprisoned during and after the war.

The supremacy war over who should have ruled Spain was understated because the impacts on the local citizens were severe. The war only focused on personal interests instead of the larger community.

The story alludes to the conflict between the Native Americans and the Mohawk tribes in the early 17th century.

The opening chapter of the book is composed of images to set the novel’s scene. For instance, the narrator mentions the imagery depicting sight when talking about the first frost, first harvest, the valley’s blaze and the forested ridges.

The main paradox is that despite William’s efforts to rescue his daughter, he died without seeing her. Additionally, Stephen never rescued his sister because they met when she was already integrated into the local community at an old age.

William's struggle and challenges parallel the challenges the Native Americans went through in the hands of the colonizers.

N/A

The war is personified as futile.