History Of Virginia Rhetorical Analysis

Both History of Virginia and Description of New England were written by John Smith as a way to entice Englishmen to the New World; however, Smith's writing style and tone differ depending on the piece and what they are aiming to convey. In History of Virginia, Smith uses the third person narrative and dark humor in order to sell himself as a leader. By speaking in third person, John Smith is able to mention the problems of the colonies in the New World while staying detached from all blame, inadvertently making himself look better. He is able to accuse the other "captains" of making careless, easily avoidable errors that eventually lead to their demise, and not be associated with their mistakes. Furthermore, Smith utilizes diction to establish a tone of dark humor. This enabled him to make light of the travesties and lessen their influence on the decisions of the Englishmen. One example was when he mention a colonial man and the recipe he had for …show more content…
Both John Winthrop and William Bradford came to America with the hope of creating their version of a perfect society; however, they had different fundamental political stances. John Winthrop, an English Puritan lawyer and co-founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, authored A Model of Christian Charity, outlining his reformist views through his central metaphor, "City Upon a Hill". With this metaphor referencing charity and an enlightened society, John Winthrop was able foster an archetype of a civilization that stands as a model for future existence through hard work and an abundance of equal opportunity for all. Contrarily, William Bradford had separatist views which lead him to establish a government based on a civil body politic, "...as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience." The creation of his society was compliant with his archetype of a government that represents its people and serves the needs of lofty