Pocahontas And The Powhatan Dilemma Analysis

While reading the book, Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma, I learned a great deal about early Indian life, in a way I had not before. Of course, in grade school you learn about “Pocahontas” but not in the way Camilla Townsend describes her. I started this book not really knowing what to expect besides to learn more than I had previously known. I know recently a lot about history has come up for discussion in ways it has never before. Native Americans and Africa Americans have been a topic of discussion for the past few years, shedding light on their history. Times have changed and so is the presence of their history. When I was young it was okay to dress up as an Indian. I did once for Halloween. We did not think about the way Indians would

Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma written by Camilla Townsend introduces the historical period of seventeenth century Native Americans and the journey of their survival. Townsend is known for her multiple books mostly focusing on the lives of indigenous people and their stories. This book, however, goes through the specific life of Pocahontas herself. The author uses not only tragedy but also romance when recapping Pocahontas’ life throughout the years. The book successfully teaches and emphasizes the struggles Pocahontas and her people went through and educates the audience of the real history behind this time period.

Throughout history, there have been many literary studies that focused on the culture and traditions of Native Americans. Native writers have worked painstakingly on tribal histories, and their works have made us realize that we have not learned the full story of the Native American tribes. Deborah Miranda has written a collective tribal memoir, “Bad Indians”, drawing on ancestral memory that revealed aspects of an indigenous worldview and contributed to update our understanding of the mission system, settler colonialism and histories of American Indians about how they underwent cruel violence and exploitation. Her memoir successfully addressed past grievances of colonialism and also recognized and honored indigenous knowledge and identity.

“Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress”, chapter one of “A People’s History of the United States”, written by professor and historian Howard Zinn, concentrates on a different perspective of major events in American history. It begins with the native Bahamian tribe of Arawaks welcoming the Spanish to their shores with gifts and kindness, only then for the reader to be disturbed by a log from Columbus himself – “They willingly traded everything they owned… They would make fine servants… With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” (Zinn pg.1) In the work, Zinn continues explaining the unnecessary evils Columbus and his men committed unto the unsuspecting natives. The argument that seems to be made (how Columbus

Petalesharo’s writing reflected the treatment of Native Americans during the 1800s. Being a Native American himself, Petalesharo was able to give perspective on a point in history typically viewed from a white man’s opinion. The excerpt “Petalesharo” explains how the Native American was able “to prevent young women captured by other tribes from being sacrificed”, making Petalesharo well liked by the Americans (588). Petalesharo gave the “Speech of the Pawnee Chief” infront of Americans to convey the differences between Native Americans and Americans through emotion, logic, and credibility, which showed how the two groups will never be the same, but still can coexist in the world together.

When most people think of the beginning of North America they think of the first successful settlement, Jamestown, but this was not the actual first attempt in the New World. The settlement at Roanoke was the first attempt to colonize the New World in 1587. The colony on the island Roanoke is often referred to as the “Lost Colony” because of its unusual disappearance. The disappearance of the colony Roanoke, is one of the most significant events known to archeologist, historians, explorers and enthusiasts as America’s longest ongoing historical mystery. The colony of Roanoke Island had shaped the foundation of North America with the first American born, helped the English learn from their mistakes by successfully creating a settlement and became

Everybody from generation after generation knows the story about how a man by the name of John Smith and a girl by the name of Pocahontas had a very important encounter in the late year of 1607. Unfortunately, too many people believe the one story about how Pocahontas laid over him just as he was about to get killed, and then fell in love with each other and moved backed to England. This is unfortunate because there are many different theories, myths, and evidence for what actually occurred between them, and that time era. Pocahontas was the daughter of Chief Powhatan who had one of the biggest tribes at that time. They lived in Chesapeake Bay, in the southern part of Virginia. Pocahontas

Explanations of the American Revolution are extracted from the real life accounts of individuals who were directly involved in the activities that took place during this period. One of the Key authors focused in the essay is Mary Jemison, a white woman married into the American Indian tribe of Seneca. She lived the better part of her life alongside the Seneca community and endured a multitude of experiences that enabled her to write about her compelling account of the American Revolution from the year 1775-1779.

Throughout Mary Rowlandson’s “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration,” Rowlandson repeatedly makes mention to the idea of Puritan dominance over Native Americans. Rowlandson exemplifies this through the use of harsh diction, imagery, and biblical allusions. Rowlandson employs these methods in order to create a chasm between her people, the Puritans, and her captors, the Native Americans. Throughout the text, Rowlandson paints the Puritan community as “God’s chosen people,” justifying their forceful taking of Native land that lead to the onset of King Philip’s war. Ironically, many of Rowlandson’s techniques unintentionally portray her as more savage and immoral than her Native captors.

Mary Rowlandson was kidnapped from her village and held captive by Native Americans. While in captivity, she portrayed a negative picture of the Native Americans in her narrative “The Captivity and restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.” In her narrative, Rowlandson disparaged and ridiculed the Native Americans in a negative way to show or reason to her peers that the Native Americans were like savages and ruthless animals. In my opinion, Rowlandson portrayed the Native Americans in a negative manner to show others their savage behaviors but also to show the power of God and how he will save those who believe in him.

In Thomas King 's autobiographical novel, The Truth About Stories takes a narrative approach in telling the story of the Native American, as well as Thomas King 's. The stories within the book root from the obstacles that the Thomas King had to face during his years in high school and his post-university life. These stories are told in a matter that uses rhetorical devices such as personal anecdotes & comparisons.

As the son of a Comanche chief and a white captive by the name of Cynthia Ann Parker, Quanah Parker rose from the status of a Comanche warrior to their tribal leader. Although not much is known about Parker’s personal life and early years, he plays a vital role in William T. Hagan’s book “Quanah Parker, Comanche Chief”. In this book, Hagan identifies the Comanche Chief through his upbringing to his death, describing his transactions with local Indian agents, presidents, high officials in Washington and the cattlemen of the western United States territory. The author presents the Indian chief as a “cultural broker” between the cultures of the white southerners and his tribal members, presenting a blend of beliefs that are heralded as progressive and traditional as he maintained the control and organization of his tribe. During a period of transition for the Comanche people,

Thesis: The English were a prideful group, entangled in ethnocentrism, that caused a condescending and harsh treatment of the Native Americans, while the Native Americans were actually a dynamic and superior society, which led to the resentment and strife between the groups.

Most likely, one has heard about the story of Pocahontas and John Smith. However, John Smith was not as loving and kind as he was portrayed. In the letter Address to Captain Smith, the speaker, Chief Powhatan, Pocahontas’ father, takes a condescending tone and addresses to the English settlers, especially John Smith, how the chief’s generous hospitality has not been appreciated. Literary devices such as rhetorical questions, antithesis, and repetition, diction, and pathos and ethos are exercised by Chief Powhatan to address his purpose and produce it as impactful as fully possible.

The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson is a text that describes the experiences of Mary Rowlandson during her captivity by the Native Americans in the King Phillips war. The details about the capture which took place in 1676 are recorded in her diary accounts which were written a few years after she was released. The captivity lasted about eleven weeks and is accounted in the diaries. Rowlandson specifically believes that her experiences were related to the Bible and that the capture was a trial from God which she had to endure in order to survive and remain a true Christian woman who is suitable for the then puritan society (Harris 12). She judges the Native Americans from the religious perspectives which create an obvious bias against their culture. This paper will discuss how the narrator promotes the social and religious interactions between the various groups in the American society at the time of King Phillips war.