Sunday, February 21, 2010
If you were a child in North America during the 1990's there was no escaping exposure to Disney's version of Pocahontas. The movie features John Smith as a hero with strength, smarts, and long blond hair. The female characters in the movie fawn over America's very first heart-throb.
Through reading Smith's own work, I've discovered that this depiction was far from true. While Smith did accomplish a great number of things in his lifetime, the stories about his heroics may not be as reliable as my 8 year-old self was led to believe.
Smith fought for the dutch in the Netherlands during their war of independence against King Philip II and also fought for the Austrian army during their war against the Turks (he was taken prisoner but later escaped) before his journey to America. He is known for occasionally using unnecessary force, having a hard-to-control temper, and being stubbornly self-reliant (pg. 44). What we know about Smith is mostly from his accounts and stories; this has allowed him to craft the version of himself that he would like his readers to know and believe. However, many of his anecdotes are not very believable; including his story about defending himself from 200 Native Americans using his Native American Guide as a shield. And yes, there are also many doubts about the reality of the famed Pocahontas story.
The idea that struck me the most about Smith, however, is not the disenchantment of my childhood idea of this early explorer, but a comment made in the introduction to his writing. Smith offered to be a guide to the Pilgrims for their 1620 voyage, but was passed over for a man named Myles Standish. After this, "Smith's America was not the geographical region about which he had entertained such bright hopes at the country's start, but rather the verbal realm he continued to explore in his later writings" (Pg. 44).
To think that a man who spent a such a short time (relatively) in America has had such an impact on American culture and psyche surprises me. This man, who is hailed as having a great contribution to America's history, probably didn't even consider himself an American. His version of America wasn't based on the realities he saw during his daily life, but was taken from memories and reflections upon his brief experience on the other side of the ocean. And yet it is Smith's America which is remembered, dreamed of, and reflected upon.
Through reading Smith's own work, I've discovered that this depiction was far from true. While Smith did accomplish a great number of things in his lifetime, the stories about his heroics may not be as reliable as my 8 year-old self was led to believe.
Smith fought for the dutch in the Netherlands during their war of independence against King Philip II and also fought for the Austrian army during their war against the Turks (he was taken prisoner but later escaped) before his journey to America. He is known for occasionally using unnecessary force, having a hard-to-control temper, and being stubbornly self-reliant (pg. 44). What we know about Smith is mostly from his accounts and stories; this has allowed him to craft the version of himself that he would like his readers to know and believe. However, many of his anecdotes are not very believable; including his story about defending himself from 200 Native Americans using his Native American Guide as a shield. And yes, there are also many doubts about the reality of the famed Pocahontas story.
The idea that struck me the most about Smith, however, is not the disenchantment of my childhood idea of this early explorer, but a comment made in the introduction to his writing. Smith offered to be a guide to the Pilgrims for their 1620 voyage, but was passed over for a man named Myles Standish. After this, "Smith's America was not the geographical region about which he had entertained such bright hopes at the country's start, but rather the verbal realm he continued to explore in his later writings" (Pg. 44).
To think that a man who spent a such a short time (relatively) in America has had such an impact on American culture and psyche surprises me. This man, who is hailed as having a great contribution to America's history, probably didn't even consider himself an American. His version of America wasn't based on the realities he saw during his daily life, but was taken from memories and reflections upon his brief experience on the other side of the ocean. And yet it is Smith's America which is remembered, dreamed of, and reflected upon.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment