Heroes or Zeros?

The understanding I have of John Smith was from the movie Pocahontas and learning history of him in my sixth grade class. I mostly recalled the information of him from the movie Pocahontas. He is portrayed as a handsome and good leader for the English colony that settled in Jamestown. There are some scenes where John Smith is an adventurous person and tended to do things on his own. For example, in the movie, he would disappear when the captain was looking for him. According to the text, he is viewed the same but in a worse sense. In the text, he is described as “He sometimes used force unnecessarily, and his hard-to-control temper and stubborn self- reliance made him an often troublesome companion” (The Norton Anthology American Literature 56). The image that shapes John Smith is known to be a self- centered and stubborn person overall.

The poem we read about Christopher Columbus described him as a hero for exploring islands during his voyages. It says positive things about him such as “The First American? No, not quite. But Columbus was brave and bright” (In 1492 poem). This poem is giving him a lot of credit for what he did. But it says in the text how his reputation hit a downfall when things didn’t go so well. “His last voyage, intended to recoup his tarnished reputation, resulted in a long period of suffering in Panama and shipwreck in Jamaica, and these outer woes were accompanied by nearly delusional periods as Columbus underwent a virtual breakdown” ( The Norton Anthology American Literature 31). It describes how Columbus just gave up; he basically lost his hope to continue. In the literature text, he is described far from being “brave” and “bright”. He was known to be negative because how he wasn’t able to find success in his voyages and even knew it himself. He wrote a letter talking about his forth voyage and said “I did not sail upon this voyage to gain honor or wealth; this is certain, for already hope of that was dead” (The Norton Anthology American Literature 35). He was also known to be cruel because of the treatment he gave to the Tainos Indians when arriving to the island. He took some as slaves back to Spain. Some Indians died from diseases the Europeans bought with them. The image that shapes Christopher Columbus is a weak and cruel person.

Cabeza de Vaca which is “Cow Head” is portrayed as a positive person who was willing to learn different cultures while on his journeys. I have never heard of him until I read about him in my literature book. He took into account everyone he interacted with and found it fascinating. He learned and followed the Native Americans customs while staying with many. In the text, he says about their customs, “They have strange customs, but I have told the principal and most remarkable of them” (The Norton Anthology American Literature 43). He admits they are strange but quickly adapts to them. Cabeza de Vaca was very friendly with the Native Americans. It was wrong how he was arrested by the Christians who were ordered by Alcaraz (The Norton Anthology American Literature 47). His image is shaped as a friendly and intelligent man.

Overall one was a hero and the other two weren’t. For the hero he really is for learning and not misjudging people. But those two may have been portrayed and credited for positive work but in reality they also had their failures and cruel ways.