Prompt One (19 October 2013): What are the most important ideas in John Smith’s diary? Why do you think Bradford was preferred of the two men? Once John Smith returned to the colony after going back for provisions he knew in order to survive they would have to go exploring looking for either food or some indigenous people to possibly trade with. The first exploration Smith went on, down river, they had run into a group of savages who eventually charged and attacked Smith and his men. Smith and his men were able to deter the attack by firing their muskets, which frightened the savages away. That eventually caused the savages to send one of their priests out to offer peace and to try to get their Okee back that was lost during the initial attack. At this time you see Smith has the colony at heart by negotiating with the savages and forming a friendship, and someone to trade with. Smith traded with the savages by giving them hatchets, beads, and copper, which in return he was given venison, turkey, bread, and fowl. On the second exploration further down river Smith was captured this time and eventually taken to the King of the savages and was to be killed. Then at the moment Smith was to have his head bashed in, Pocahontas, the emperors daughter, jumped down to keep Smith from being killed. Then the emperor also made reference to the goods that Smith had traded on his first voyage as well, which I think possibly, could have been another factor that kept him alive. Even though Bradford and Smith are both accredited for starting up two colonies in the New World, the reason behind starting the colonies might have to do with why Bradford was liked more than Smith. During the travels in Smiths early days,... ... middle of paper ... ...am a black and white kind of person, and if I have to stop to keep reading foot notes or to look up words then it is going to make it harder for me to completely finish it or get interested in it. A perfect example of this was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s’ Hiawatha’s Childhood Part III & IV. And then there is Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, it was hard for me to sit down in one setting and completely read this poem. I would catch myself drifting off reading the words but not being able to go back and even tell you what it was I read. But not all that was read was too hard to understand or some was wrote in simple terms but just weren’t appealing to me such as Walt Whitman Song of Myself or A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Gray and Dim. I pledge on my honor that I have not/nor will give or receive any unauthorized assistance on all of my work submitted for this course.
One difference between Bradford and Byrd is their writing styles. In of Plymouth Plantation, Bradford uses the "Plain Style" to write his account of the New World. "Plain Style" writing is the form of writing used by thenPuritans. The "Plain Style" of writing tries to stay away from figures of speech and tried to keep it plain and simple and to the point. On the other hand Byrd is in "sharp contrast", in The History of the Dividing Line, to the writing style of Bradford. Byrd used forms of ridicule to write his account of what happened. One example of this is Byrd's calling the sudden flock of people to the New World a "modish frenzy"; by this he means it was just a fad of the times. One contrast in the writings of Byrd and Bradford is the purpose for which they are written. One reason Bradford writes his story is to inform the reader about the history of the pilgrims. Another reason for Bradford's writing is to inspire future generations to Puritan id...
Because of his restlessness in England, Smith became actively involved with plans to colonize Virginia, which had been granted a charter from King James I. After setting sail, this famous expedition finally reached Virginia in April, after enduring a lengthy voyage of over four months in three tiny ships. John Smith was one of the seven chosen to govern and start the colony. He took a...
Fishwick, Marshall. “Was John Smith A Liar?” American Heritage. American Heritage, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
This book is written in Samuel’s perspective, which is a page to Captain Smith. Samuel views Captain Smith as a noble leader that the colonies cannot survive without. He is able to tame his anger and meet the people’s needs, if I were to be a colonist I would act like Captain Smith. His knowledge in trade helped to make a peaceful alliance with the Indians. Captain Smith has seen different cultures and leaders that have taught him what an admirable leader looks like. He knows what the people want because he is both a commoner and a respected man. It is self-evident that there was only peace when Captain Smith was in power. President Radcliffe favored only the gentlemen while Captain Smith tried to please all people. When Captain Smith was booted off of the government, chaos ruled between the Indians and colonists.
Each of these individuals did their part in making a historical effort on this time period. Their tributes to their communities helped form the nation we are still living in today. William Bradford was a natural born leader and assisted to better his colony in the best of his ability. He was very successful in his trials of teaching and learning as well. Jonathan Edwards was also authentically well in his purposes. From preaching impacting sermons regularly, to being recognized as one of the most prominent philosophers of all time, Edward’s left behind some very big shoes to fill. Bradford, leading his colony as governor in a more lenient matter, and Edward’s, was the stricter of the two. Their differences is what made them both so unique as authors, because their writing skills helped connect with their
Smith, on the other hand, describes his account in a boastful manner. His account of Indian life reads like a fantastic adventure novel in which he is the glorified hero. He continuously refers to the Indians as “savages” (Smith 46) or “barbarians” (Smith 48) throughout his account. He even describes them as “devils” (Smith 51). At one point, he thinks that the Indians are trying to “fat him to eat him” (Smith 50). Smith’s account is so incredibly dramatic that he expects “every hour to be put to one death or other” (Smith 52). Also, the incident with Pocahontas saving Smith appears to be highly romanticized. Smith’s manner of writing, in which he writes of himself in the third person, only adds to the boastful tone of this account. It makes the entire account seem impersonal. It also makes Smith appear self-important and frivolous.
John Smith was born in Lincolnshire, England to a farmer and his wife in 1580. He only had a grammar school education, but with this education he was able to join the British volunteers fighting in the Dutch war of independence from Spain. While in the military, he was captured by the Turks and sold as a slave. He eventually escaped and came back to his mother land of Great Britain in 1605. He then became interested in settling Virginia in the new world. The following year, Smith sailed to Virginia with the Virginia Company’s first colonist as one of seven councilors. This was the first of many voyages to the new world for him. Smith spent much time exploring the land. By this time, the governor of Jamestown was executed for treason and Smith was then elected president of Jamestown colony. He then began building houses, churches, and fortifications. He also had a policy th...
I believe Bradford’s audience for his journals in Of Plymouth Plantation, is to target anyone in the future generation. It is especially
"I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on this
Bradford, William. "Of Plymouth Plantation.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A: Beginnings to 1820. . 8th ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 122-148. Print.
Christopher Newport, the admiral that transported John Smith and many of the colonists from England, left the Jamestown colony in the fall of 1607. Immediately all work in the settlement ceased to exist. The colonists had decided to wait on Newport to return with new workers. The plan was for the natives to provide food for them while they waited. When the natives never came with food, Ratcliffe, the current president of the colony, ordered John Smith to visit the neighboring natives and trade tools and metals for corn. The natives had noticed how the English were unable to feed themselves by planting their own crops. The natives refused to trade more than a few handfuls of corn and bread for the hatchets and iron that were offered. Smith realized the reason why the Kecoughtans were not trading more than just those small amounts and created a way to solve the problem. To prove to the natives that the English were not poor, Smith gave free beads and trinkets to the children. This was to show the Kecoughtans that the English were economically strong and possessed more valuable items. Smith used the mentality of “weakness in appearance…was weakness in reality” (Price 57) to justify his travels from village to village, collecting a large of amount of corn, bread, and other foods for the Jamestown colonists. Smith thought the natives would trade more food if they did not realize what a small amount of food stores that the English had actually acquired. If the natives had known what large quantities of food Smith had actually traded for, they would have realized how desperate the state of the colonists. Smith performed his trading sessions this way “’least they should perceive my too great want.’” (Price 57) In this manner, John Smith saved the ent...
In the New World Bradford and Morton were both important men of our history. The stories of both great men give us an insight into the way religion and influence affected Puritan life.
John Smith explains the hardships of the voyage in the “General History of Virginia” he and others endured. While finally landing on land and discovering the head of the Chickahamania River, The colony endured Disease, severe weather, Native American attacks, and starvation all threatened to destroy the colony. Smith talks about his accomplishments of being a “good leader” and how he helped in many ways. John Smith was captured by the Native Americans and brought back to the camp. Within an hour, the Native Americans prepared to shoot him, but the Native Americans done as Chief Powhatan ordered and brought stones to beat Smiths brains out. John Smith gave an ivory double compass to the Chief of Powhatan. The Native Americans marveled at the parts of the compass. After the Native Americans admired the compass for an hour Chief Powhatan held...
Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford, The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles by John Smith, and The Tempest by William Shakespeare, seem to have one thing in common in that they all touch upon the aspect of life in the new world. While The Tempest alludes to the new world and focuses on an imaginary concept of a Utopian society, The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles and Of Plymouth Plantation offer first hand accounts of life in the new world. John Smith tells us about life on the new land and his experiences with natives while William Bradford emphasizes the difficulties and hardships that the people had to endure in building a colony.
In “ A Description of New England ”, Smith starts by describing the pleasure and content that risking your life for getting your own piece of land brings to men. On the other hand, Bradford reminds us how harsh and difficult the trip to the New World was for the p...