17th Century Colonial American Writers

This study will compare and contrast the ideas and style of 17th century Colonial American writers Captain John Smith and William Bradford. Smith will be shown to be a self-aggrandizing adventurer more intent on selling himself as a hero and the new land as a place full of plenitude, freedom and thrills, than with objectively recounting what he experienced. Bradford is intent on professing Christian, specifically Pilgrim, beliefs with respect to the New World. The florid style of Smith reflects his adventuresome self-image, while the stiff, academic/theological style of Bradford reveals the superior moral position he wishes to hold in the reader's mind.

We do not know how much of what Smith writes is true, but we cannot doubt that what the early settlers found was indeed an exciting land of much natural wealth and many potentially dangerous unknowns. It was inevitable that the settlers would experience both plenitude and crisis through the seasons and in their dealings with various native groups, depending on how the settlers themselves responded to those groups. However, much of Smith's story focuses on personal events which we either must believe or not according to our insight. In Bradford's writing, on the other hand, the focus is more on social events which are in many cases far more accessible to historical review in determining their authenticity.

This difference is important because the focus of each man's writing is a reflection of his deeper concerns. That is, wha

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that center. Above all, Bradford wants to "sell" not himself and not the New World, as Smith does, but rather the Christian view of the world as understood by his own particular sect. For example, Bradford makes more references to God on almost any given page than Smith does in the entire excerpt from his work. Smith mentions God only in passing and only when the settlers are saved from some calamity by a change of circumstances Smith himself cannot take credit for. Bradford, on the other hand, at every point credits God and the Christian faith for everything: That night was spent with little sleep by the most, but with friendly entertainment and Christian discourse and other real expressions of true Christian love. . . . Their reverend pastor . . . (and they all with him) with watery cheeks commended them with most fervent prayers to the Lord and His blessing. . . . . And I may not omit here a special work of God's providence (Bradford 41). Bradford means to speak as an authority figure for Christianity, and his style reflects that authoritativeness. On the other hand, he does not want to appear to be putting himself between Christianity and the reader, so his authoritative style is rather dry and straightforward, and even m

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