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Captivity narrative.
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In the following essay, Pearce examines the evolution of the style and intent of captivity narratives, from religious confessional to pulp thriller, and argues that they provide a window into American...
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In the excerpt below, Ebersole traces the emergence of the sentimental novel format in eighteenth-century captivity narratives, focusing on Edward Kimber's novel The History of the Life and Adv...
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In the essay below, Vanderbeets urges readers to view captivity narratives as a unified genre built upon common rituals.
All civilized peoples have recognized the value of tempering their joys with a ...
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In the following essay, Minter considers changes in the purpose and tone of captivity narratives over time, particularly focusing on the narrative of Mary Rowlandson.
The “Indian Captivities...
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In the following excerpt, Namias explores the changing images of males in captivity narratives from 1608 through the nineteenth century.
In the first and most famous captive story of an Englishman on ...
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In the following essay, Vaughan and Clark expound on the uniquely religious characteristics and influences of the Puritan captivity narrative.
“It is no new thing for Gods precious ones to drin...
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In the following essay, Carroll investigates Cotton Mather's underlying message in his account of Hannah Swarton's abduction, comparing it to Mary Rowlandson's narrative.
Properly...
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In the essay below, Ramsey links captivity narratives with the demonizing of Native Americans during the Puritan era.
The Puritan phase of the Indian captivity narrative, both in its binary “go...
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In the following essay, Fast examines the modern poetry of Native Americans Louise Erdrich and Maurice Kenny, which attempts to re-read the captivity narratives written by Europeans.
Many contemporary...
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In the excerpt that follows, VanDerBeets provides a general introduction to the American literary tradition of the captivity narrative, which in the nineteenth century became increasingly sensationali...
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In the following excerpt, Ebersole discusses the role of gender and religion in the captivity narratives of the nineteenth century, with particular emphasis on the peculiar combination of entertainmen...
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In the following essay, VanDerBeets discusses captivity narratives as vehicles for propaganda, employed to incite anti-Indian sentiment during the period dominated by the idea of Manifest Destiny.
Th...
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Critical Essay by Wilcomb E. Washburn
SOURCÉ: Introduction to Narratives of North American Indian Captivity: A Selective Bibliography, by Alden T. Vaughan, Garland Publishing, 1983, pp. xi-lvii...
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In the following excerpt, Burnham interprets captivity narratives as "national" narratives, which attempt either to challenge or to solidify the unity and identity of the newly independe...
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In the essay that follows, Kolodny examines the conflict between the nineteenth-century ideal of white womanhood and the captivity narratives authored by "Indianized" women.
Always distu...
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In the excerpt that follows, Castiglia studies femaleauthored captivity narratives in terms of gender relations and identity, finding that the works, which combine elements of both sentimental fiction...
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In the following essay, Levernier maintains that nineteenth-century captivity narratives written specifically for children and young adults were intended to convey moral, religious, and political less...
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In the excerpt below, Namias claims that Sarah Wakefield, who was captured during the Dakota War of 1862, wrote a narrativized "act of conscience" in attempting to portray her captors re...
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