Pocahontas Argumentative Essay

When one thinks of the name “Pocahontas”, most think of the animated movie by Disney; however, this film is extremely estranged from the real life of Pocahontas. Pocahontas herself has not made it easy for us to find the truth, though, as it seems like she has never written anything on her life or experiences. Either that, or no such writings have survived the times. Therefore, most stories of Pocahontas have passed through spoken word, making the story vary from person to person. What is agreed upon, though, is that she was the daughter of Powhatan, a Native American leader of about thirty groups in Tidewater, Virginia, or then known as Tsenacommacah, and may have been born in 1595(“Pocahontas”). Even with her status, she was most likely raised as any other Native girl. Pocahontas learned how to farm, harvest, collect firewood, and build houses, despite being known as a “princess”(“Pocahontas”). As well as not being a standard “princess”, Pocahontas was not her true name(Crazy Horse). It was a nickname, meaning “the naughty one”, given to her at a young …show more content…
Rountree seems to believe it may have been a ritual to adopt John Smith as one of their own, as rituals similar to a “capturing” and “saving” have been documented in other Indian tribes. However, the Powhatan Renape Nation believes that no such capturing ever occurred. John Smith is known for having mysteriously been saved by numerous young women of high status right as he was about to be killed(Rountree). It is a fact though, that John Smith and Pocahontas must have met at some point. John Smith writes in his General Historie of Virginia that she often brought food to Jamestown, saving them from starvation. This too may not be true though, as Rountree argues that it was Powhatan who brought food to them, not Pocahontas. Even so, John Smith and Pocahontas at least had met around that