John Smith Pocahontas Analysis

The story of Pocahontas, recorded by John Smith himself, explains how Smith was captured while exploring the upper Chickahominy River. Smith had participated in a series of rituals that involved dancing, singing, and yelling. Smith had not been treated as a prisoner, as the king of Rasawek, Opechancanough, had feasted with him. After feasting with him, he was taken later and introduced to Powhatan. Here, another ceremony had been held. Smith had explained it as being a determination of his intent. Smith and Powhatan had also discussed here with Powhatan about the English presence of Virginia. It was at this final ritual were Pocahontas had rescued him. Smith was about to be beaten to death and have his “brains beat out”, but then Pocahontas stepped in and put his head in her arms, trying to save him; which she did. The story is considered to be “the most famous incident in the history of Virginia” (Gleach 177). While it may be the most famous, it has also been misinterpreted and even questioned. Some people, like Bostoner Charles Deane, had accused Smith’s story being a “fictional romantic account” (Gleach 436) when discussing how Pocahontas had
The reason why few had known about the actual story of Pocahontas had been because there had only been very few printings of Smith’s works at the time (Gleach 435). In a Jamestown Exposition only ten percent of official postcards had been of events that occurred in early Jamestown (Gleach 439). It was after this exposition that the myth of Pocahontas and John Smith had flourished with a wide array of books and products. Stores had even begun to sell what was known as “Jamestown fashion” which had a series of colors for clothes, furniture, and all types of household items. But many of these merchandises had nothing to do in fact with the town of Jamestown itself, and even a fewer amount of merchandise which had anything to do with the