John Smith and William Bradford

John Smith and William Bradford

John Smith's purpose in his writing is clearly to get people to come to America from England. He describes the lands as vast and full of animals to hunt for either pleasure, food, or luxury. He states, "For hunting...such beasts to hunt that beside the delicacy of their bodies for food, their skins are so rich as may well recompense thy daily labor with a captain's pay," trying to entice people to into coming out to America where things will be vastly different than they are in England. He is however, trying to appeal to the working class citizens who are fed up with the way that England pays and treats their workers. He depicts the working life in America as being less rewarding financially, but the true rewards come from being without any rules. Smith writes, "...if they be sold there for ten shillings the hundred, tough in England they will give you more than twenty, may not both the servant, the master, and merchant be well content with this gain?" Smith's motivation was to get as many people has he could to come on over from England to America so that he may start the new colony that he wanted to start in New England.

Unlike Smith, William Bradford depicted the reality of what is was like to come to America and be in New England. His tone was much more somber and bleak to represent what the first settlers of New England had to go through in order to finally prosper. His purpose was to inform rather then convince, as Smith's was. He was expressing the documentation that was taken by the first actual settlers of that land and showcasing that unlike Smith said that it was full of animals to hunt and to put to good use, Bradford said, "...what could they see but a hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wild beasts and wild men..." This contrasts that pretty picture that Smith was painting to those who he wanted to attract. Bradford's audience was anyone who wanted to know about what the reality was for the first settlers of New England, as his motivation was just to provide documentable biographical information about the particular time sequence.

1.3B: Short Narrative

Directions: Complete the creative writing exercise, "3. The Other Side of the Story," on page 47 of your textbook. It should be at least two paragraphs long. The textbook mentions some research sources you might use to find out facts to use as background or to incorporate into the story. But remember also to use your imagination to put yourself (and your readers) into the time and place.

Write a journal entry from the point-of-view of a Wampanoag. Explain the position of your people, giving reasons for the attack on the settlement and an explanation for the desperate conditions you have been enduring.

Dear Journal,

It has been difficult trying to survive these last few years. With famine, death, and sickness all around, my people had no choice but to enter into war with the English. My people have barely survived since the English arrived in our land. They've been tearing down our trees, wasting the animals that they kill, and they have been treating us like second class citizens in a land that belong to our people and the Gods. But what has been worst of all is the disease. Illness has taken over families. Men who were once able to hunt for our food have slowly been dying as a result of coming into contact with the English who have brought diseases that my people are unfamiliar with. We do not know how to fight these illnesses with our medicine; our bodies are not accustomed to this type of treatment. Because men have been dying, very little food is available for the rest of us to eat, so our nutrition levels are down, making it even harder on the women and children to fight the diseases. Everyone is dying in our tribe, and our only solution was to go into war so that we could be treated well and get our lands back.

In order for our people to get what we had in the first place, we need to address the problems with the English. They have not been easy to talk to in the past, so our only solution was to attack them. Violence seems to be the only way that they have been taught to manage conflict with, and we had to get our warriors ready in order to protect our people. Everyday our rights were being violated and our tribe getting smaller as a result of the unfairness; something had to be done. It is unfortunate that so many innocent people have to die, but it will be the only way to bring some justice and equality for our tribe and our people.

1.5B: Book of Virtues

Directions: Complete the creative writing exercise, "3. Becoming Virtuous," on page 98 of your textbook. It should include at least seven virtues. Remember that this is a creative writing exercise, so try to write your virtues in a clear, descriptive way.

Develop your own list of virtues and accompanying precepts. Then create your own "book of virtues" patterned after Franklin's. For one week, keep daily track of your "progress in virtue." At the end of the week, write a brief report on how well the "book of virtues" worked for you. What did you learn? Is this a habit you'd like to continue?

Seven Virtues:

Equality: Always treat everyone the same way as you would like to be treated. Before you do anything, think about how you would like that person to be treating you and then act accordingly.

Sincerity: In order for one to know the truth, one must always tell the truth. Don't lie for personal gain. Know that living in a lie will as a result belittle your reputation.

Pride: Think of everything that you do as something that was done from the best that you could give. Always giving the best will in turn make you always receive the best.

Humility: You are not better than anyone, and no one is better than you. Recognizing that everyone is at the same level, regardless of how much harder you may work, will allow you to better understand others.

Productivity: Never waste any time. Know that every moment that is wasted doing something unnecessary will be less time that you have available to do something productive and worthwhile.

Patience: Everything comes in time. If one waits calmly for things to turn out the way that one wants them to, when they finally do, the rewards will be far better. Being rushed about things will only leave room for mistakes.

Positivity: Look at things from the brighter side. Do not let negative thoughts overtake the endless possibilities available. From relationships to daily work, having the right optimistic attitude will allow one to progress more.

Taking all these virtues into action can actually a bit more difficult than they seem. When it comes to extroverted virtues such as Equality and Sincerity, it was easier to know how to treat others, as one wants one's treatment of other's to be reflective and reciprocated in how one wants to be treated. It was easy being nice to people regardless of who they were. The difficult virtues in going through with were the more introverted ones. Humility and Pride was difficult to manage as being proud of every little thing didn't seem too practical, and being humble about them at the same time seemed a bit out of balance, but by the end, a good management system was put into place. Positivity, Patience, and Productivity were the hardest to go through with, since it is a bit difficult to stay positive about every single thing that occurs, and being patient is something that takes a lot. Being productive all the time, every time of the day seemed impossible because there are so many distractions to prevent that from happening. But overall, the exercise made me learn a lot about myself and my limitations.

1.6B: Speech

Directions: Complete the exercise, "3. A Call to Action," on page 105 of your textbook. It should be at least two paragraphs long. Your textbook says that you can recast all or part of Henry's speech. Please work with at least two paragraphs.

You can choose any issue that you feel needs action and would benefit from some persuasive speaking.

No one wants to live a world where food may or may not be available for the day. No one wants to think about where to go in order to get a roof over their heads for the night. No one wants to live in unsanitary conditions where the possibility of contracting an illness is higher than the chances of getting decent health care. So why are we allowing our children to live under these circumstances? The child poverty rate in America is twenty percent. That means that out of every five children who are now living in the United States, one lives in poverty. That is one too many. This is just unacceptable. Poverty does not only have a direct effect on the financial backing for these children and their families, but it has much higher physical, social, and emotional complications. Children who grow up poor, as a result have had worse access to medical care than someone who has grown up under better financial circumstances, so they are more likely to get sick and stay sick for longer, since they cannot get decent health care right away.

This problem needs to be fixed before a generation of impoverished children lose out on what is equally and rightfully theirs as American citizens. Education should be equally accessed, and a proper future should be attainable by all children, regardless of their financial situation. It is not their fault that they are behind because of a social issue. In order for everyone to excel, especially the generation of tomorrow, they need to be given the opportunity, and in order for this to happen, the poverty rate among children needs to be diminished. This can become a vicious cycle after some point, and once these children become wrapped up in everything that being poor entails (dangerous and violent neighborhoods, easy access to drugs and alcohol, worse public schools) they can become stuck. Please save our children now before it is too late.

1.6C: Autobiographical Narrative

Directions: Now it is time to complete the autobiographical narrative you've been collecting ideas for during the preceding sections. Your final draft will be read and evaluated as part of your grade for this course. It should be at least five paragraphs long.

Look at the "Writer's Workshop" section on pages 130-132 of your textbook for a description of the narrative and steps you should follow to organize your thoughts and produce a polished final draft. There is a short sample section from the conclusion of a student narrative on page 132.

I always hated to do new things. I thrived on consistency and stability. I never enjoyed surprises, nor did I enjoy being told things last minute; I needed to have time to adjust and prepare for everything. That's why when my father told me that we were moving, my heart dropped to the floor. "Why are we moving dad?!" "Where are we going?!" "What happened?!" The same three questions just kept coming out of my mouth, without any sort of attempt on my part. They just felt like the natural transition to my state of despair. I did not want to move. I loved my house, I loved my neighborhood, I loved my school, but most of all, I loved my friends. What was going to happen to all that? But unfortunately, my father got a promotion which would require us to move to another state. I thought that my life would officially be over.

Leaving my former life as I knew it couldn't have come at a worse time. Being in the fifth grade was difficult enough, now I had to start everything all over again, in another state, where no one knew who I was, and where people might not even like me. I could not even look at my father. My anger about the situation and my frustration for everything that I had to give up was taken out on him. Saying goodbye to my friends was hardest of all. I had to hold back the tears that were inevitable. My emotions ran wild as I fought to keep my disappointment inside. It seemed like a nightmare that I would never wake up from. After the long goodbyes, and the strength that it took to hold back my feelings, we packed up our car and headed toward my unwanted new life.

Starting at a new school was treacherous. How was I supposed to adjust in the middle of the year to a new school? Everyone already had their friends picked out. I was doomed to becoming the "new student," the one that everyone ignored because no one knew. Being shy and uncomfortable about meeting new people did not help out my situation at all. I didn't want to accept that I wasn't going to ever be with my old friends again. This inhibited me even more from trying to talk to new people. Going to school that first day seemed endless. No one talked to me, and what was worse...I had to find a table to sit at during lunchtime. My heart raced as I frantically looked around for a place to sit. I looked to the left...no empty seat. I looked to the right...nothing. I knew it. I would not fit in here. I was not going to enjoy this school. I already hated it.