Pocahontas - Native American Non-Fiction Literature - Book Report/Review Example

June 28, Native American Non-Fiction Literature Review Pocahontas by Grace Steele Woodward The story of Pocahontas, the Native American “princess” of the Powhatan tribe in the Algonquin nation, is well known to most Americans. The story of the relationship between the Native American Pocahontas and the European Captain John Smith has been re-told countless times. Their friendship and Pocahontas' later marriage to another Englishman, John Rolfe, led to a peace being brokered between the Jamestown colony and the surrounding Native American population. The story has been in countless books, plays, movies, and other forms of popular media, with varying levels of exaggeration and respect for the Native American cultural traditions (“Pocahontas - Geography of Virginia”). One such historical writing on the topic was the novel “Pocahontas” written by Grace Steele Woodward and published in 1969. Woodward is well known for a number of other works on Native Americans, most notably her novel “The Cherokees”, reputed by many to be one of the most comprehensive and culturally understanding texts on that particular tribe that is in existence today. She is celebrated for both her ability to write with excitement on nearly any topic as well as for her efforts to remain true to the historical facts without falling prey to the trap of many writers that is the desire to overly romanticize these often legendary histories (Edmunds). In an effort to ensure the factual nature of the information used in her book, Wordward researched the physical locations that are referenced in the Pocahontas story, such as the colony of Jamestown, her childhood home with the Powhatan tribe, the potential location of her home with John Rolfe in the colony, the places which she visited during her travels to the English court, and more. She also used many examples of primary source documentation to learn what Pocahontas' contemporaries had to say about Pocahontas, the Powhatan tribe in general, and life in the Jamestown colony (Edmunds). This research is clearly evident in a reading of the novel. Woodward frequently cites and quotes from these documents, giving her novel an authentic feel for the time period in which Pocahontas lived. Especially notable is her coverage of the culture of the Powhatan tribe. With her stories of what life was like for Pocahontas during the years prior to the arrival of the Jamestown colonists, the reader gains a clear appreciation for both why Pocahontas was so enthralled and curious with the European culture and what she gave up to marry John Rolfe and travel with him to England. This fascinating novel covers not only the life of Pocahontas and her relationship with John Smith, stories that are usually previously encountered by the reader in other media, but also the life and times of the Jamestown settlers and the background of the Virginia Company, the financial backers of the settlers. The stories of the settlers and their experiences does provide an interesting backdrop to the better-known story of Pocahontas. However, despite their relevance, it does seem like the information on the Jamestown settlers takes up an inordinately large portion of the book. The focus of the text is supposed to be on Pocahontas, and though the Jamestown settlers were a part of her life and the life of her tribe, much of that information seems like it would be better suited to inclusion in a different volume, perhaps one focusing on the relationships between colonial government and the Native American population. Despite her extensive use of primary source documentation in researching the background for this novel, or possibly in some ways due to it, Woodward does compound some mistakes made by previous writers. For example, Woodward makes reference to Pocahontas as a “princess” because she was the favorite daughter of the chief of the tribe, a position that was often translated by Europeans as a similar position to that of a “king” or “emperor”. However, power among the Powhatan people transferred through the mother's line, unlike the European tradition of passing power through the father's bloodline, meaning that the chief's siblings and the children of his sisters actually stood ahead in line to inherit power before Chief Powhatan's own children. Many such heirs did exist, and Pocahontas, despite her favor in the eyes of Chief Powhatan, would never have taken on any role of power without serious upheaval in the tribe. Perhaps due to his close, almost parental, relationship with her, Captain John Smith especially tended to write documents that indicated power that Pocahontas was unlikely to have held, such as leading trading parties or acting as a diplomat between the tribe and the colony prior to her capture by the Europeans. Her ability to make frequent trips to the Jamestown colony and her freedom to interact with the colonists themselves was most probably a combination of traveling with more powerful tribe members on their trips to the city, the relative ease of access granted to her as a child to the colony by its government, and her own wild spirit leading her to defy orders, not necessarily a result of any actual power she held over the Powhatan people and Chief Powhatan (Roundtree). Perhaps due to a saturation of the romanticized popular legend of Pocahontas in the mind of the general public, one interesting and surprising portion of this text was the story of the actual relationship between Pocahontas and Captain John Smith, as well as the story of the romance between her and John Rolfe. Perhaps due to the storyline of the 1995 Disney film Pocahontas, many readers expect that Pocahontas, in her late teens, risks her own life to save her love, Captain John Smith, from execution due to overzealous defense of their lands by Chief Powhatan. While it is not explicitly stated in the film, many expect the eventual result, upon hearing that Pocahontas was wed to an Englishman, was the marriage of Pocahontas and Captain John Smith (Morenus). The reality of the story, as shown in Woodward's book and countless other historical resources, is very different but no less compelling. First, when Pocahontas and John Smith first met, Smith was an adult about twenty-eight years old and Pocahontas was a pre-teenage child of eleven or twelve, not considered an adult by any rules of either the colonists or the Powhatan tribe. Additionally, the story of Pocahontas “saving the life” of Smith is backed only by a single primary source document, authored by Smith himself, and the actual veracity of the account is often thrown into doubt. Even if such an event did occur, Woodward shows that it is much more likely to have been a peacemaking ritual between Chief Powhatan and Smith, not an actual attempt on Smith's life, and that the act of Powhatan's daughter showing concern for Smith's life allowed him to “adopt” Smith as a kinsman in order to discuss terms of the relationship between the colonists and the Native Americans. There was never any romance between Pocahontas and John Smith; according to the terms of the ritual with Powhatan, he would have been technically considered her older brother. Instead, Woodward shows that it was, unlikely enough, the capture of Pocahontas by the Europeans and her acceptance of their culture that led to the peace between the two peoples. Pocahontas' relationship with John Rolfe, her baptism as Rebecca, Chief Powhatan's acceptance of their marriage, and the subsequent peace agreements are all weaved into one contiguous and understandable tapestry by Woodward that shows that while reality may not make good television, it is almost always more interesting and varied than any writer's imagination. Grace Steele Woodward's 1969 text Pocahontas is an excellent example of good historical writing. Despite taking a story that the reader thinks they know and turning on its head, Woodward makes the complicated life history of Pocahontas and the political maneuverings of the colonists and the Powhatan tribe that is highly accessible graspable to the average layman. Many other authors, when faced with the task of covering quite so much primary source material and information, would have ended up with a dry text that reads like an extended encyclopedia entry; Woodward instead presents the reader with an intriguing story and a writing style that encourages continued reading. Despite a few failings, this book is highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about the true story of Pocahontas and the English colonists. References Works Cited Edmunds, R. David. “Product Description.” Editorial Review at Amazon.com. Web. 27 June 2011. Morenus, David. “The Real Pocahontas.” The Real Pocahontas. Web. 27 June 2011. “Pocahontas - Geography of Virginia.” Virginia Places 13 Sept 2010. Web. 27 June 2011. Roundtree, Helen. “Pocahontas (d. 1617).” Ed. Brendan Wolfe. Encyclopedia Virginia 5 Apr 2011. Web. 27 June 2011. Further Reading Woodward, Grace Steele. Pocahontas. University of Oklahoma Press, 1969. Print. Read More