John Smith Truth
“The Truth of John Smith”
The text I have chosen to write this essay about is an account by John Smith about his experiences in the New World and his first encounter with Native American people. The text I’m using is from the coursepack page 105 to page 107, General History of Virginia, New England and the Summer Isles, from the second chapter in book three. Although this text holds many interesting aspects, I have chosen the one aspect that interested me the most, namely, in which way the truth is represented in this particular text by John Smith. To work with this concept I have adopted two additional premises that I will elaborate further on in the rest of this essay. These premises are: What can be accounted for is true and: A text …show more content…
This means an encounter of two social-cultural matrixes of two different kinds of people with different beliefs and viewpoints. Smith writes from his own very clear viewpoint and imposes this viewpoint on the reader. The viewpoint of the natives is ignored in his text. Smith tries to convey the idea of superiority, both of himself and of his men, in relation to the natives. This becomes obvious in two different patterns. First of all, there is a pattern wherein Smith gives a negative depiction of the natives. I have selected a few examples from the text to show this. For example: “…each hour expecting the fury of the savages…” (106). Another example could be: “This done, seeing the savage’s superfluity begin to decrease…” (107). And as a final example: “… expecting as it happened that the savages would assault them, as not long after they did with a most hideous noise.” (107). The word savage, which Smith repeats time after time, insistently gives the idea that the natives in Smith’s eyes were less worthy. The second pattern which supports the idea of European superiority is the constant glorification of Smith and his men. Also for this pattern I have selected three examples from the text. First of all: “… we might have been canonized for saints…” (105). Secondly, the quote wherein Smith is especially glorifying himself: “Captain Smith, who, by his own example, good words, and fair promises, set some to mow, others to bind thatch, some to build houses, others to thatch them, himself always bearing the greatest task for his own share…”(106). And finally: “… he would not only be their friend…” (107). This last quote indicates that Smith had nothing but good intentions with the natives, but that the natives were unwilling to accept them. What bothers me is that Smith, in such a way, imposes this idea on the reader of
The text I have chosen to write this essay about is an account by John Smith about his experiences in the New World and his first encounter with Native American people. The text I’m using is from the coursepack page 105 to page 107, General History of Virginia, New England and the Summer Isles, from the second chapter in book three. Although this text holds many interesting aspects, I have chosen the one aspect that interested me the most, namely, in which way the truth is represented in this particular text by John Smith. To work with this concept I have adopted two additional premises that I will elaborate further on in the rest of this essay. These premises are: What can be accounted for is true and: A text …show more content…
This means an encounter of two social-cultural matrixes of two different kinds of people with different beliefs and viewpoints. Smith writes from his own very clear viewpoint and imposes this viewpoint on the reader. The viewpoint of the natives is ignored in his text. Smith tries to convey the idea of superiority, both of himself and of his men, in relation to the natives. This becomes obvious in two different patterns. First of all, there is a pattern wherein Smith gives a negative depiction of the natives. I have selected a few examples from the text to show this. For example: “…each hour expecting the fury of the savages…” (106). Another example could be: “This done, seeing the savage’s superfluity begin to decrease…” (107). And as a final example: “… expecting as it happened that the savages would assault them, as not long after they did with a most hideous noise.” (107). The word savage, which Smith repeats time after time, insistently gives the idea that the natives in Smith’s eyes were less worthy. The second pattern which supports the idea of European superiority is the constant glorification of Smith and his men. Also for this pattern I have selected three examples from the text. First of all: “… we might have been canonized for saints…” (105). Secondly, the quote wherein Smith is especially glorifying himself: “Captain Smith, who, by his own example, good words, and fair promises, set some to mow, others to bind thatch, some to build houses, others to thatch them, himself always bearing the greatest task for his own share…”(106). And finally: “… he would not only be their friend…” (107). This last quote indicates that Smith had nothing but good intentions with the natives, but that the natives were unwilling to accept them. What bothers me is that Smith, in such a way, imposes this idea on the reader of