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A False Legacy: Exposing John Smith's Lies About Pocahontas

1822 Words8 Pages

Andie Koontz
Stalets
College Prep English 3
24 January 2023

A False Legacy: Exposing John Smith's Lies about Pocahontas In a melodramatic novel by Susan Donnell simply titled Pocahontas, a passage says “[Pocahontas] wanted to devour [John Smith] with love. Her body acted as if it was no longer a part of the woman she knew… She felt as if she were part of the man whose body gave her such joy, as if his skin were hers, as if their hearts were one. At other times she felt she would swoon with the deliciousness of her captivity” (qtd. in Paul 121) Despite the author’s claims of being a direct descendant, this could not be further from the truth. The book, supposedly, was based on history, but it serves only to twist the narrative of Pocahontas …show more content…

The natives brought food to the colonists, with Pocahontas accompanying them at times due to her status as a token of goodwill, but it was not in secret nor was she ever alone (Schilling par. 19). The reason is simple; at that age, she would still be watched carefully, similar to how she certainly was during the alleged ceremony (Schilling par. 20). She would never have adequate time alone with Smith to tell him about the Chief’s plan to murder him in such detail. While Wahunsenaca was disapproving of Smith’s violent actions towards other tribes, even going so far as to say that he “[had] not treated any of my werowances as well as [John Smith], yet [Smith is} the worst werowance I have!” he never intended on killing him at any point in time, according to the descendants of the tribe (Schilling par. …show more content…

The colonists wanted the natives to convert to Christianity and their way of life; unfortunately during the summer, sexual assault that the settlers blamed on the native’s more revealing garments was commonplace (Paul 97). This escalated to the degree where mothers volunteered themselves instead of allowing their children to be subjected to the assault (Paul 97). Within the tribe, sexual assault was expressly forbidden and an act of immeasurable atrocity, and was dealt with gravely (Schilling par. 42). Pocahontas had been raised on this mentality her entire life. This often involved banishment from the tribe. However, this was not an option when the colonists had weapons far beyond the tribe’s capabilities. The Powhatan weapons were effective against other tribes, but it was near impossible to rival an arsenal of guns without some of your

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