It can be easily assumed that almost everyone has heard the tale of the American Indian princess, Pocahontas – the narrative of a mysterious young girl who rescues an English explorer from death only to fall in love and win his affections in return. It is one that is quite popular and has even been developed into an animated movie by Walt Disney Pictures. Regardless of which version they may have heard, most people are familiar with the legend now thanks in part to Disney. However, what they are not familiar with, are the facts. All too often, we accept what is presented in films as history without any thought into the matter. Did Pocahontas and explorer John Smith ever actually meet?
If so, how did they, and was there ever the feeling of love between them? There are similarities, but more differences between historical fact and what is presented in the Walt Disney motion picture.Aside from obvious deviations of the film, such as the language , there are others including how Pocahontas and Smith meet, which they did in fact do. In the movie from the beginning, Pocahontas is an independent, curious woman who stumbles upon the English settlement. As a result, Captain Smith notices her and assures her that he will do her no harm. The two instantly warm to one another.
While this makes a wonderful opening for a movie – we view a great scene of the English working hard to establish a settlement – it is not how they met at all. In his book Pocahontas and Her World, Philip L. Barbour offers a more accurate account of the two’s first meeting. He explains that John Smith was the one who was adventuring, not Pocahontas (as Disney depicts). He says that "on or about December 29, 1607" , Smith was led into the chief’s hut as a "prisoner" by Indian braves.
Inside, he witnessed chief Powhatan – Pocahontas’ father – lying in comfort, surrounded by women he thought to be the chief’s wives . According to Barbour, Smith was treated well and given food and drink. What happened next was more exciting than a modern day film could depict, but also very complicated to explain in a film geared toward younger audiences. After some dicussion among the elders, "two big stones were brought in, and Smith was forcibly stretched out on them.
Thus, Smith was a very proud and boastful man. Before reaching 25, he battled in many areas, such as the Netherlands and Hungary. He fought at sea off the Atlantic coast, where he was captured as a slave. As a slave, he was rough and beaten. The Indians that captured him brought him to their leader named Powhatan. Powhatan didn’t like him, so he threatened him to death and began to plan his death. Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas, fell in love with Smith and gained her fathers trust. He soon became Powhatan’s son. Burned severely in a gunpowder explosion, Smith was sent back to England for recovery. He returns to America in 5 years, only this time to New England.
As a young child many of us are raised to be familiar with the Pocahontas and John Smith story. Whether it was in a Disney movie or at a school play that one first learned of Jamestown, students want to believe that this romantic relationship really did occur. As one ages, one becomes aware of the dichotomy between fact and fiction. This is brilliantly explained in David A. Price's, Love and Hate in Jamestown. Price describes a more robust account of events that really did take place in the poorly run, miserable, yet evolving settlement of Jamestown, Virginia; and engulfs and edifies the story marketed by Disney and others for young audiences. Price reveals countless facts from original documents about the history of Jamestown and other fledgling colonies, John Smith, and Smith's relationship with Pocahontas. He develops a more compelling read than does the typical high school text book and writes intriguingly which propels the reader, to continue on to the successive chapters in the early history of Virginia.
The main plot of the film focuses on the relationship between John Smith, Pocahontas and John Rolfe. The film was a romantic film and had a lot of romantic scenes that were probably not portrayed in actual historical events. For example, the two main characters in the film were of course John Smith and Pocahontas, and there were many scenes in the movie that implied their romantic relationship. Scenes, such as when the two are connecting with one another, spending time together and learning about each other mostly through touch and sign language, after Pocahontas had saved John Smith from execution. In these few scenes each character narrates and discusses their idea on love and expressing their feelings on one another. Although, entertaining, John Smith and Pocahontas weren’t actually romantically involved with each other as the film portrays in these few scenes. It is uncertain what the relationship John Smith and Pocahontas actually had. Most likely, it was a beneficial relationship between the two, since there was a lot of trading between the Native American tribes and the colonists. (Read, 2005)
Worth, M. (2014). Nonprofit management: Principles and Practice. 3rd Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Disney movie “Pocahontas” and John Smiths “The General History of Virginia” there were many differences, other than things someone could compare. The two versions had different thoughts and views on the accounts of Pocahontas, the Native Americans, and John Smith. The way Disney portrayed Pocahontas had more of a view of mending enemies, compromises being made between two parties, and that there is more to life than materialistic things. On the other hand, John Smith’s account of what happened was way different than Disney’s version of what happened. For example, John Smith describes his journey to Virginia as a long journey, filled with Hunger, with a majority of the people who attended the voyage with john smith ended up dying. At the end, with him and others being captured by Native Americans who reside on that land. Although, no one knows the actual events that took place during this time.
Pocahontas was the daughter of Chief Powhatan which made her an Indian Princess. When she was 12 years old, she saved a colonist named John Smith from being clubbed to death. After this, the relationship between the colonist and the Indians were at peace. Captain Smith sent many presents to Powhatan and the Indian woman gave food to the colonist. When John Smith left Jamestown because of a gunpowder accident, the peace between the Indians and the colonist weaken. In 1612, Governor Thomas Dale ordered for Pocahontas to be kidnapped, held for ransom that would be paid in corn by Chief Powhatan. While she was held captive, Pocahontas was baptized Christian and given the name Rebecca. Also while she was imprisoned, Pocahontas fell in love with John Rolfe, who then asked for her hand in marriage. Sir Thomas Dale and Chief Powhatan gave their consent and they got married in Jamestown on April, 1613. This marriage brought peace between the English and the Indians for many years. On 1615, John and Pocahontas had a child named Thomas. Pocahontas became the center of English society’s attention. She had then become Lady Rebecca Rolfe. Before going back to Virginia, Pocahontas became sick. She died on March, 1617, at the age of 21 in England. She was buried in the chapel of the parish church in Gravesend. Rolfe returned to Virginia, where he manufactured tobacco. I liked Pocahontas because she was the kind of person who was willing to do new things and she did the right thing even if no one would agree with her. She is famous for her actions (even if Disney exaggerated them) and I admire her strength and courage to stand up for what she believed in.
The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles by John Smith, portrays the enormous troubles the settlers were faced with by the Native Americans. He explains how he was captured by Indians and also saved by a young Native American girl, Pocahontas. He vividly describes the ceremonies and rituals of the Natives performed before his execution. However, the execution never occurred due to the tremendous mercy showed by the king’s daughter who blanketed John Smith’s body her own. Pocahontas went on to persuade the Native Americans to help the settlers by giving them food and other necessities. Despite her efforts to reach peaceful grounds, her people were still bitter and planned an attacks on the colony. Nevertheless, Pocahontas saved them once again by warning the settlers of attacks. Pocahontas went on to marry an Englishman and traveled to England. She resembled the prosperity and good that was to be found in an untamed land.
On July 5th, 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered a “What to The Slave is Fourth of July” speech at a meeting of the Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society in Rochester, New York. He started out by asking audience, “Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence?” Douglass referred the Independence Day as “your” instead of “our”. This was his way of drawing the line between blacks and whites, and reminding people of injustice, cruelty and slavery. Douglass was the most important black American leader of the 19th century. He was born to a slave mother in Maryland and when he was only 6 years old, he was taken away from his mother and
Public school, again, especially high school, really helps a child form bonds that could not be formed in a homeschooling environment, such as teacher and student bonds. Being away from others their own age excludes students from learning this skill, which could definitely lead to problems forming relationships in the future, whether that being professional relationships or personal relationships. “I’m not saying parents can’t do that, but it’s not the same. Teachers have a big influence.” (Cavazos). Parents can be influential for their children, but it would be very biased because they control what the child is learning. Parents who do not allow their children to learn the same curriculum that public school attending children are learning are sheltering them, in a way; prohibiting them from learning the things that public school will teach them. “Improving students' relationships with teachers has important, positive and long-lasting implications for both students' academic and social development.” (Rimm-Kaufman). Students and teacher bonds are one of the most important bonds because if a teacher gets through to a student, then that student has a better chance of making it in the
Homeschooling is becoming a huge trend across America. It does have its downsides to it, just like any other education. Many parents have to worry about the right way of letting their child have socialization. Without proper socialization, a child can lack proper social skills. Many parents fear the temptations public school can provide, so they homeschool their children to bring them up with holy and moral attitudes. No parent wants their child to hang around other children who abuse drugs, alcohol, or can misguide their children down a wrong path. With homeschooling, parents can monitor whom their children socialize with and for how long. Fearing to not have any socialization at all is where parents can go wrong.
First, homeschooled children work more efficiently than public schooled children. Because homeschooled children receive more one on one attention than children do in public school, they receive the assistance they need to understand a lot faster than they would in a classroom with twenty other students. This allows them to get extra attention for things they
Fredrick Douglass is a great American author. His book the Narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglass makes a compelling and complex argument for the abolition of slavery. One facet of his argument is disproving the idea that slavery is beneficial to the slave. In order to accomplish this Douglass uses a plethora of strategies to persuade his reader. The most poignant method is the vivid descriptions of the brutality of slavery, made all the more powerful by his judicious use of diction, imagery, and specific examples.
This paper will give pros and cons on homeschooling. Why homeschooling would or wouldn’t be good for a family.
Home schooling has been proven to result in higher test scores for students. This could possibly be a result of a more individualized learning environment where personal attention is always given. According to two Time reporters, “the average SAT score home schoolers in 2000 was 1100, compared with 1019 for the general population” (Cloud and Morse). The amount of time a child has been home schooled has a direct correlation with their performance on standardized tests. “Home-schooled pupils who took the Iowa Test of Basic Skills outscored public school students by 37 percentile points.” “On the Stanford Achievement Test, the advantage was 30 percentile points.” (Viadero) It is clear that home schooling does not hinder a child’s education.
Is home schooling better for children than public schooling? This is a questions that many families are facing right now as home schooling is becoming more of a trend in the United States. In Rachel Cox’s “Home Schooling Debate,” and Mathew Johnsons’ “Vaccine-Preventable Diseased Among Homeschooled Children,” they both agree that home schooling is not for every child; however, Cox focuses on how beneficial home schooling can be for children, whereas Johnson focuses on how home schooling can be detrimental for a child. After reading the articles we find three reasons why home schooling isn’t for every child: the government cannot protect children that may be at risk in their homes, the parents of