The Choice of a Lifetime
Possibly the most famous story concerning the English coming to America is that of John Smith and Pocahontas. Although Disney certainly took some liberties when making their movie, the tale of the English adventurer and the Native princess is still fascinating. The book “Love and Hate in Jamestown” by David A. Price illustrates the journey and struggles of John Smith and the other English settlers coming to Virginia and starting a colony. The of challenge of communicating with the Native population, and learning to survive in a foreign land. The meeting and relationship between John Smith and Pocahontas, which involves her saving his life twice. It continues on after John Smith is sent back to England, and tells the story of Pocahontas, her capture by the English, and eventual love for a particular Englishman John Rolfe. While not quite the love story we grew up singing along to John Smith and Pocahontas did have a personal relationship, although purely platonic seeing as he was many years her senior, and she did eventually marry an Englishman and go to England. Sadly she would not survive long, the levels of pollution in the air caused her …show more content…
The sad fact is that for both the list of cons is disheartening to someone living in the 21st century. Women were undervalued on both sides of the Atlantic, but their roles were very different. Native women experienced more freedoms, but also had to do a lot more work and physical labor than English women. While English women were treated more like property. Pocahontas was in the unique position to choose her own path, and she decided to live with the English. This was a reflection of her love for John Rolfe, conversion to christianity, and partly to spite her father for leaving her. Her kind treatment in the English fort and the sting of her people not trying to rescue her made the choice a bit
Possibly the most famous story concerning the English coming to America is that of John Smith and Pocahontas. Although Disney certainly took some liberties when making their movie, the tale of the English adventurer and the Native princess is still fascinating. The book “Love and Hate in Jamestown” by David A. Price illustrates the journey and struggles of John Smith and the other English settlers coming to Virginia and starting a colony. The of challenge of communicating with the Native population, and learning to survive in a foreign land. The meeting and relationship between John Smith and Pocahontas, which involves her saving his life twice. It continues on after John Smith is sent back to England, and tells the story of Pocahontas, her capture by the English, and eventual love for a particular Englishman John Rolfe. While not quite the love story we grew up singing along to John Smith and Pocahontas did have a personal relationship, although purely platonic seeing as he was many years her senior, and she did eventually marry an Englishman and go to England. Sadly she would not survive long, the levels of pollution in the air caused her …show more content…
The sad fact is that for both the list of cons is disheartening to someone living in the 21st century. Women were undervalued on both sides of the Atlantic, but their roles were very different. Native women experienced more freedoms, but also had to do a lot more work and physical labor than English women. While English women were treated more like property. Pocahontas was in the unique position to choose her own path, and she decided to live with the English. This was a reflection of her love for John Rolfe, conversion to christianity, and partly to spite her father for leaving her. Her kind treatment in the English fort and the sting of her people not trying to rescue her made the choice a bit