Preview

A compare and contrast paper about two short stories, "A Description of New England" by John Smith and "Of Plymouth Plantation" by William Bradford.

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
730 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A compare and contrast paper about two short stories, "A Description of New England" by John Smith and "Of Plymouth Plantation" by William Bradford.
In the writings "A Description of New England" by John Smith and "Of Plymouth Plantation" by William Bradford, the tone of these two selections vary noticeably. Both authors use certain tones to attract and persuade certain audiences. John Smith wrote of what a wonderful place the New World was, while on the other hand Bradford wrote about the difficulties and realities of the New World. Author John Smith, a pilgrim who arrived in the Americas, writes a description of the new land. In "A Description of New England" he shows what a wonderful world of vast food and pleasure await. William Bradford, another pilgrim who arrived in Plymouth on the coast of Massachusetts, gives his take on the early settling of the new land. In "Of Plymouth Plantation" he writes a description of what really happened their, how the pilgrims actually lived.

In "A Description of New England," Smith starts by describing the pleasure and content that risking your life for getting your own piece of land brings to men. He also implies that building your own house, planting your own crops, and having a "God's blessing industry" would be easy to have without having any prejudice. He talks about the joy of erecting towns and then populating them. John Smith rarely mentions the Native Americans, but when he does he says that they are good people and that they helped them when the arrived. Smith also makes references to ways of profiting from daily activities such as hunting and farming. This is his way of persuading others to make a voyage to the New World. For example, John Smith states "For hunting ... afford not only chase sufficient for any delight that in that kind of toil or pleasure but such beasts to hunt that besides the delicacy of their bodies for food, and their skins are so rich as may well recompense thy daily labor with a captains pay. By persuading others to come to the New World, it can also be seen that Smith expects to profit from these new settlers. John Smith appears to be

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In both Columbus’s and Smith’s writings, over stating how plentiful the land is common. For example, they name countless types of small and large game as well as mention how often they can go fishing. The two also emphasis how fertile the ground is with endless types of grain, seeds, fruit, flowers, berries and anything you plant will grow. They both mention how easy the Indians can be handled as well. Columbus and Smith do not forget to include the main points for colonization either. Water access, God, and land are the main advantages people look for when colonizing or relocating even today. They assure the people land and food to live, but also touch on converting these savages to God. They almost guilt trip the people in England by…

    • 182 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Smith and William Bradford both traveled thousands of miles on small ships to achieve religious freedom. The General History of Virginia is a historical narrative written by John Smith. The story describes the rough beginning of religious freedom, and what they had to go through to get it. If I were to settle into a new world, I would join someone brave and determined, like John Smith.…

    • 269 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Smith goes on to give an account of internal jealousy, trust, and greed issues of the group. That was compounded with the external sickness, disease, and multiple attacks by the savages that often resulted in death. He personally was on the verge of being killed when he was saved. Even the settlement was on the verge of dying out when God intervened and changed the…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jamestown was first built in the year 1607 with the purpose of establishing a colony that would send back supplies and gold. Jamestown started to collapse very soon after its creation because of mosquitos that carried disease and the brackish water that leaked into their water supply. They decided to trade with the Indians in order to survive, but most of the Indians realized it would be easier to kill them or let them die out. In 1608 a man by the name of John Smith took control of the colony and stated that if a man did not work, he would not eat. Smith was then captured by the Indians and as soon as he was about to be killed, Pocahontas saved him. Pocahontas helped the English establish peaceful terms with the Indians, but she was then captured and used as a bargaining chip by the English. A year later John Rolfe arrived from England with tobacco, this crop effectively saved Jamestown.…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Of Plymouth Plantation” by William Bradford is history about the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the lives of the Puritan colonists. He was a Puritan who sailed to Plymouth. He began to attend meetings of small group of Nonconformists and later, he joined them. The Nonconformists sailed to find land where they can be free to worship and live according to their own beliefs. After several years, William Bradford became governor of Plymouth Colony, and he was elected as a governor at least thirty times. During the sailing, and after arrived at Plymouth, there were several conflicts shown as internal and external.…

    • 963 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On the other hand, John Smith was a very selfish leader. John Smith’s purpose of his document was to get colonists to the New World and tell them it’s better than England. William Bradford was leader of the Plymouth colony but John Smith was more than a leader for a colony, Smith was president of Jamestown. On one of his trips he was captured by a tribe of Powhatan and nearly beaten to death. His colony struggled with food supply. And due to the fact that he was selfish he kept food all for…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Smith begins his composition with, “Who can desire more content, that hath small means, or but only his merit to advance his fortunes”, through this sentence, the reader can conclude that Smith is speaking highly of the new land. Smith also includes that men will “quickly grow rich” by stating that, “three days in seven, he may get more than he can spend unless he will be excessive.” Smith also lists all the benefits of the new world which include, “ houses to receive them, means to defend them, and meet provisions necessary for them”, which explains how if people migrate to the new world then they will always be plentiful and “live exceedingly well”. On the contrary, Bradford notes all the hardships that the settlers go through on their journey, as well the tribulations they come upon on the new land itself. In the first sentence of Chapter nine Bradford writes, “These troubles being blown over, and now all being compact together in one ship” this opening sentence gives the reader a morose feeling towards the discovery of the new land. Bradford also displays how there were “grievous diseases” and many men dying. In contrast to Smith, Bradford does not display the new land as a beautiful place, but as a “hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wild beasts and wild men”. Bradford also titled a chapter as “Starving Time”, furthermore stretching the sadness of his piece by describing the amount of men who died on the…

    • 1267 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Smith and William Bradford were prominent writers and colonial leaders during the Puritan and Pilgrim era. However, both had different ways of conveying their thoughts and experiences during their travels and time in the New World. Those different ways included, but were not limited to, how they wrote about their interactions with the Native Americans, how the crews interacted with each other, and how God was perceived in their eyes.…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    You have not seen any land so spectacular and beautiful, unless you have been to the New England Colony. You will experience Hot summers, including: swimming, boating and ice cold lemonade and cold winters including: ice fishing, ice skating and even sweet, chocolatey, hot cocoa. You get it all when you visit the New England Colony. Don’t miss out on the intriguing Sea Coast, forests filled with the most marvelous animals and even the marlacious coastal lowlands, with land so fertile and damp. Also, you will be amazed at all of the different resources there are in the New England Colony, there is everything from furs, cattle and grain, lumber, oceans, fish and even iron.You would have to be crazy to pass this up. Most people enjoy having different…

    • 228 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Smith and William Bradford were two extremely different people who both established colonies in the new world. However, both men were similar in certain aspects. They were similar in their faith, biases, and position. They were different in their personality, treatment of others, and purpose.…

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "…a country that may have the prerogative over the most pleasant places known, for large and pleasant navigable rivers, heaven and earth never agreed better to frame a place for man's habitation…" -- Captain John Smith, 1612. Captain John Smith thought very highly of the region surrounding the Chesapeake Bay. He also thought highly of himself. Smith's strong personality and confident demeanor led him to a life of high adventure in the new world.…

    • 450 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Between the years of 1600-1754, three distinct regions were formed in the new world. The three main English settlement areas were categorized into the New England, Middle, and Southern group of colonies and all had major differences and events that led to their own identity. Many people moved to these new colonies to start a new life, try to make a large profit, or even to escape religious restrictions. These three areas provided a new place for people or families to start over and control their own futures, and this played a major role in history.…

    • 1968 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Colonial development along the eastern seaboard was strongly influenced by the geography of the regions settled and the ethnic makeup of the colonists. Generally, the colonies may be best understood as being divided in the following way: New England (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island), Middle (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware), and Southern (The Carolinas, Georgia, Maryland, Virginia). While these colony groups had many things in common, they also had their own distinctive features. Colonists brought traditions from their home countries and developed new ways of life in North America as they responded to the unique demands of climate, economics, and belief systems. The following is an overview…

    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    To many Europeans in the early 17th century the Americas seemed as a new land of opportunity. John Smith and William Bradford were two of the first men who left England seeking adventure and freedom in the New World. Both groups had difficulties while trying to form their colonies and Smith and Bradford were both elected to lead. While they were both great leaders they had very different lives before their journey from England. While starting their new colonies they also took different approaches to making the land habitable. One of the most notable differences between John Smith and William Bradford was their writing style. John Smith and William Bradford were very different people in a number of ways.…

    • 1112 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Oppression and malevolence can disband the greatest of empires and ideologies. When it came to the pilgrims that statement was all but true. Scorn and hatred was thrown their way at every turn in their lives, however it never seemed to discourage them. In William Bradford’s journal of Plymouth Plantation, the real-life account of the pilgrimage of the separatists was recorded entailing the grueling life that the men and women of the faith endured. It was felt strongly in their community that living a pure life would ensure that God would be with them in every endeavor.…

    • 1450 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays