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Compare And Contrast William Bradford And John Smith

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People leave their homeland for many reasons, and these reasons are often expressed in the records of their journeys to the new land. William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation and John Smith’s General History of Virginia are both exploration narratives that convey their reasons for moving to the New World. Although both Bradford and Smith write about God’s incorporation in their respective settlements and the struggles of building those settlements, Bradford’s purpose—religious freedom—is conveyed through his positive presentation of the aforementioned aspects while Smith’s purpose of monetary gain is portrayed through his negative tone towards struggle. Through their diction concerning God, the influencing factors of Bradford and Smith’s …show more content…

Bradford begins with a description of the settlers’ thoughts upon arrival: “…they had now no friends to welcome them nor inns to entertain [them]… a hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wild beasts and wild men… a wild and savage hue…” (83). He uses words with negative connotations to emphasize their environmental struggles. This emphasis leads to the impression of loss of spirit and motivation amoung the settlers. However, Bradford continues with their response to the struggles, using positive diction to convey an increasingly positive attitude toward the New World. The effect this creates is that of a phoenix rising above ashes or success against the odds. By acknowledging God’s help in survival, Bradford also expresses his purpose for writing his narrative. This record is not only for himself and the present settlers, but also for their posterity, in hopes that they will remember the debt they owe to God for sustaining the first settlers, their ancestors. This presentation of his struggles also reflects his attempt to reassure himself in being one of God’s chosen. While passing through these struggles, Bradford believes that the settlers are simultaneously proving that they can handle the tests God is giving them and therefore they are worthy of being God’s chosen. In juxtaposition, Smith emphasizes his struggles. On labor, he writes “…our extreme toil… so strained and bruised us… the extremity of the heat had so weakened us…” (1). While the labor may have been strenuous, his strong diction such as extreme, so strained, bruised, and weakened suggests an exaggeration of the difficulties the settlers faced. The impression this conveys is a negative attitude toward challenge as well as a willingness to exaggerate and complain. However, Smith writes in this way not to be negative, but

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