Religion plays a key factor in two important texts: A Narrative of Captivity and Restoration and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano both have religious roles in their stories. After reading both narratives, I learned that there are many similarities and differences between the two. Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano's faith and religious beliefs have had a huge impact on their lives. Rowlandson and Equiano both write captivity narratives, while Equiano writes about being held captive by white men, Rowlandson writes about being held captive by Native Americans. Reading these stories shows the similarities and differences in the purpose of each story written, as well as the experiences both Rowlandson and Equiano had. Both stories show the emotional, mental and physical struggle they faced while held captive. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Mary Rowlandson was the author of A Narrative of Captivity and Restoration. She wrote of her captivity by Native Americans in 1675. Mary Rowlandson was an adult woman at the time she was captured. She found herself kidnapped in the midst of King Philip's War. Mary Rowlandson describes waking up and hearing “the sound of some guns, we looked out; several houses were burning and the smoke rose toward the sky” (Rowlandson 132). At this very moment he writes about his family and his people trying to fight for their lives or waiting for the Indians to take over. “Lord, what shall we do” (Rowlandson 133)? It is clear from the beginning of the narrative that Mary Rowlandson's faith and beliefs are what allow her to overcome her cruel treatment as a captive of Native Americans. In the second part of the narrative, Rowlandson is forced to travel with the Indians in the deserted wilderness. During this time Mary Rowlandson and her family suffered severe physical, mental and emotional abuse. She writes about this spirit she had when she was forced to leave into the woods. “God was with me in a wonderful way, carrying me forward and sustaining my spirit, so that it would not fail altogether” (Rowlandson 135). Mary Rowlandson faced many discouragements. For example, the youngest daughter died without having enough food or without receiving care. With these terrible difficulties underway, Mary Rowlandson believes that God was giving her strength for this unknown journey and did not want her to give up but believe that she can move forward despite the fears and confusion. “The Lord renewed my strength again and brought me forward that I might see more of His power” (Rowlandson 135). Mary Rowlandson's faith in God keeps her alive. I think Mary Rowlandson has come to terms with her situation as a prisoner and instead of asking “why me?” she made it, kept her faith in God and understood that God had planned all this for her, and she had to fight to survive. By believing in God she was able to overcome her current captive situations and was able to understand certain things she needed to live. The faith she had in these impossible challenges is what kept her alive and allowed her to recover in the end. Olaudah Equiano has published her short story The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. It was published in 1789 in London and was printed in the United States two years later. He tells the story of himself and his younger sister being captured by kidnappers when they were just children. He then writes about his journey to the coast of West Africa. Equiano believes that being captured was thedestiny. They were each sold to different slave owners and he and his sister were then separated. After being kidnapped he discovered his Christian faith. In Olaudah Equiano's narrative, we begin to see how religion played an important role in her life at this time. Throughout his argument against slavery and the slave trade and writing about it, he drew connections between his life experiences as a slave and belief in God through the process. Equiano was sold to many different masters and traveled throughout America and the West Indies. One of his teachers in London introduced Equiano to Miss Guerin who treated him only with kindness. From her he learned that he could not go to heaven without being baptized. Equiano writes “this made me very uneasy, for I now had some vague idea of ​​a future state” (Equiano 386). After this moment Olaudah Equiano was in a sense meeting God and learning to have faith in the Lord. He was then baptized in the church of Santa Margherita. Equiano was very intelligent; he had learned to read and write. After some hardships and near-death experiences, Olaudah looked to God more than ever. Equiano writes that he has seen better days and wishes to be in a state of freedom. “My mind was therefore hourly filled with inventions and thoughts of being set free” (397). Equiano wanted to trust in the Lord to free him, “in the midst of these thoughts, I therefore raised my eyes with prayers to God for my freedom” (Equiano 397). Equiano had more and more respect for God and his faith because of all his trials as a slave. Equiano knew he believed God was responsible for his destiny and his freedom. For example, Olaudah Equiano states “but since I thought that if it were God's will I should never be delivered, it would be so, and, conversely, if it were not His will, this would not happen” (Equiano 400) . He put his faith in God and knew that He would make the final decision and pave the way for him. As he worked so hard and was finally able to buy his own freedom, he looked at how God had delivered him from bondage. After reading both narratives, I was able to find some similarities and differences between the two. Mary Rowlandson was writing this story about captivity for her Puritans who were still in England. Rowlandson's main message was that whites did not treat Native Americans cruelly but rather the exact opposite. Native Americans killed and kidnapped whites for no real reason. Olaudah Equiano, however, wrote against slavery. He wrote about his personal experiences being possessed by several masters and what it was like to have faith throughout his journey and ultimately be able to learn that he could purchase his own freedom. I believe Olaudah Equiano's kidnappers were much more violent in their actions than Mary Rowlandson. Just one example: “one white man in particular I saw, when we were permitted to stand on deck, so mercilessly whipped with a thick rope near the foremast, that he died therefrom; and they threw him into the sea as they would have done with a brute” (Equiano 380). Olaudah Equiano uses the word “brute” and compares it to a human being. Equiano describes them throwing someone's body into the sea as if it were a wild and violent animal. To me this treatment simply seemed unrealistic, but Equiano explains how this made him fear these people even more than before. Equiano writes “I expected nothing less than to be treated equally” (Equiano 380). I noticed that both Olaudah and Mary wrote about the Bible and how they thought there were times when God was rewarding them for something or punishing them for something they shouldn't have done. In the end both Olaudah Equiano and, 2017.