The Unredeemed Captive

John Demos, The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story From Early America,

(First Vintage Books, April 1995)

John Demos in a sense presents themes that are entirely familiar and conventional. The themes of sin, retribution, and repentance are very prevalent in his writing. The loss of piety, the failure of spiritual nerve, the absolute necessity of reform; and the certainty of God's punishment if reform was not achieved appear throughout his book (Demos). (In this instance, Eunice's failure to return to her native land is putting her at risk in the eyes of God). For approximately 60 years John Williams who had been a captive for almost two years, and is one of the main characters of the story writes different letters, sermons, in an effort to reach the captive daughter. According to John Williams, "God is the bestower and giver of all our good things. Our mercies come to us not by casualty or by accident. These mercies are not of our own procuring and purchasing" (Demos, 62). John Demos uses the story of John Williams to describe the conflict between the Puritans and Jesuits. "The Jesuits had their own cultural and religious ways versus those of the "savages"; the adjustments and compromises they feel obliged to accept, and the core of essentials they must vigilantly defend" (Demos 129). The conversion of English captives to Catholicism was the primary goal of the Jesuits. "The Indians were not mere imitators of an alien model; their culture, their history and their values contributed strongly to the evolving patterns of converting to Christianity" (Demos 171).

In John Demo's book, Mr. John Williams the main narrator uses four types of writing and one other last section to tell his story of captivity. The four parts are in chronological order: First the pastoral letter he wrote to those captives who returned home in August of 166; secondly, a lecture that he gave days after his own return in December; thirdly, his famous narrative, written during the winter of 1766 or 1767 and published in April or May, and fourth his sermon, God in the Camp delivered before the government and general assembly in early March (Demos 56). The order of these writings is important as are the time and the setting in which each one was composed. These writings reveal much of what captivity meant to him. In addition, Demos incorporates parallels from the Bible such as biblical passages to illustrate or compare the return of Naomi to Bethlehem in Stephen Williams' sermon to put pressure on his sister Euncie to return to Deefield (Demos 191). "Noemi, in effect was redeemed by returning to her home" (Demos 192).

The circumstances of captivity were as varied as the number of people involved on both sides. Prisoner redemption was the process of prisoner exchange that had long been unfair. Captives were subject to ransom, trade for other key people, and sometimes prisoners decided to remain in captivity since escape was very dangerous. Acculturation which included adoption and repatriation were choices for some of them as well. For example, "Eunice's inability to speak English and her personal appearance announce her loyalty to other standards" (Demos 146). "She had been fully integrated or Indianized" (Demos 142). Eunice comes of age in her adoptive community, secure, and increasingly well integrated. The trauma of capture including as it did the deaths of her mother and siblings might call forth its own repression (Demos 147). Forgetting everything that happened to her would be a type of defense. Whatever her sources for change, the result was deeply significant. Eunice from this point forward will communicate only with her people (Demos 147). (The Indians - her captors) Eunice lives still fearful of possible recapture (Demos 191). Ironically, she lives in fear of being convinced to return to the English ways.

Since the Indians used various means of connecting themselves to each other such as the practice of God parenting, the Clan system, and celebrating with particular friends, Eunice felt included. The various names used by the Kahnawake directly reflect the ambiguity of their cultural and geographical placement and extraordinary complexity of their history. Mohawk and Iroquois Indians were Christian to a degree. They were also French in a limited sense. These