''A Short Narrative of My Life'' is an autobiographical account by Rev.

Samson Occom Samson Occom (1723 – July 14, 1792; also misspelled as Occum and Alcom) was a member of the Mohegan nation, from near New London, Connecticut, who became a Presbyterian cleric. Occom was the second Native American to publish his writings in Eng ...

(1723–1792) and is one of the earliest English-language writings by a Native American. It was written in 1768.

Synopsis

At the age of sixteen, ministers began preaching near Occom's tribe, and after hearing the Christian gospel, he converted to Christianity. While learning about the New Testament, he decided he needed to learn to read so he could instruct the poor children and talk to his Indian community about religion. When he was about nineteen, he met Reverend Eleazar Wheelock, who took him under his wing and taught him to read. He stayed with Wheelock for four years until his eyesight was much impaired and his health declined enough that he could not pursue his studies anymore. Occom returned to his

Mohegan The Mohegan are an Algonquian Native American tribe historically based in present-day Connecticut. Today the majority of the people are associated with the Mohegan Indian Tribe, a federally recognized tribe living on a reservation in the easte ...

people and began teaching students to read and write. Although he called some students dull because they could not learn their alphabet well, he would make up his own questions and games to help them retain the information. Occom and his students prayed at the beginning and end of every class that God would hear them and help them learn

Analysis and Symbolism

There were extraordinary ministers preaching from place to place and a strange concern among the white people. This was in the spring of the year. But we saw nothing of these things, till some time in the summer, when some ministers began to visit us and preach the word of God. ~Occom

In this passage, Occom refers to his first encounters with the

Great Awakening Great Awakening refers to a number of periods of religious revival in American Christian history. Historians and theologians identify three, or sometimes four, waves of increased religious enthusiasm between the early 18th century and the late ...

, a religious movement that started in Europe and spread throughout the United States and that was strongly dedicated to prayer and to establishing new churches. Occom was touched by the movement and wanted to enlighten others on Christianity. The Awakening brought concern and skepticism among the people, but Occom wanted to put that skepticism away and do what he could to convert others in order to be enlightened. Samson Occom's work can be compared to

Mary Rowlandson Mary Rowlandson, née White, later Mary Talcott (c. 1637January 5, 1711), was a colonial American woman who was captured by Native Americans in 1676 during King Philip's War and held for 11 weeks before being ransomed. In 1682, six years after h ...

's ''

A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson (also known as The Sovereignty and Goodness of God) (1682) was written by Mary Rowlandson, Mary (White) Rowlandson, a married English colonist and mother who was captured in 16 ...

'' (1683). Although Occom's was written after Rowlandson's, they have several similarities. Rowlandson wrote about being taken as a captive among the Indians due to the Indians' trying to regain their land from

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

. Occom also wrote about his struggles to break away from his Indian tribe, although his reason was to learn about the word of God and then go back and spread the message to his people. The bible connects the two pieces because Rowlandson and Occom wrote about their experiences with the scriptures and how they tried to influence others with them. Just as Rowlandson shared her Bible with other captives, Samson shared his scriptures with several audiences.

Theme

The main idea in ''A Short Narrative of My Life'' is the

and how it is used to transform society. The Awakening was supposed to create more equality between different groups of people, but favoritism was still common. The white preachers were always paid more than the Indian preachers, and during that time the Native Americans were often not allowed to attend the same education classes as others. In order to make a difference, Occom realized he had to do things on his own and make a difference that way. In order to succeed, bold statements were needed. His efforts and those of many others allowed many different people to share the goal of spreading God's word and sharing their beliefs, all of which ultimately helped to make the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

possible.Basic Concepts of the First Great Awakening
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References

External links

Basic Concepts of the First Great Awakening
(blog entry)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Short Narrative of My Life

Short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

American autobiographies 18th-century books