A Dialogue Between and Englishman and an Indian can be seen as a condensed, more personal version of Rowlandson’s Captivity and Restoration. The supposedly more civilized and sophisticated Englishman has a one-on-one conversation with the less civilized and savage Native American. The Englishman and Rowlandson share the same thoughts and ideas on Native Americans in general. It is not until the last line of dialogue that the Englishman has a change of heart in regards to his views on the Indian. What may have played a factor in this is how the Indian turns the tide on the Englishman by saying, “I know we are an uncultivated and unpolished people; but I am inclined to think there are some among the Europeans, and their descendants, as bad as we are, on many accounts.” After speaking with the Indian, the Englishman, like Rowlandson, finally realizes that Europeans really are not so different in terms of violence and cruelty. Rowlandson and the Englishman were ignorant people initially, firmly believing that their people and culture could do no wrong. What they were missing was that Native Americans are not savages and are in fact quite friendly and respectful people once they understood them. The Englishman is completely shocked by how well-spoken, and somewhat correct and reasonable, the Indian is. He and Rowlandson both admit that they had been mistaken and reject their prejudiced views of Indians.
2 thoughts on “Englishman and Indian vs. Rowlandson”
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As mentioned before in class I do not think that Mary Rowlandson’s Captivity and Restoration had a necessarily positive view of native American Indians. While Rowlandson dose see some positive aspects of native American culture by the end of her captivity, she still ends the book describing them as violent savages with far more negative qualities then good. This is in great contrast with A Dialogue Between and Englishman and an Indian which has a far more positive portrayal of Indians.
While it is important to note that there is indeed significant difference between the view that Mary Rowlandson presents, and the one John Smith presents argues that Indians can indeed become assimilated to American society. In Rowlandson’s depiction, it is very arguable that she portrays Indians as incapable of becoming “Assimilated”, while John smith seems to be arguing that Indians can become more civilized and intelligent than their European counterparts.