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Kayelynn Guthman
Ms. Albrecht
Advanced Composition
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Portrayals of Early American Life
Ever heard of the phrase it gets worse before it gets better? The early settlers of the
New World faced weeks of hardships before they ever arrived in America. And once they were
there, conditions progressively worsened before they were able to live instead of just survive.
William Bradford, the long-time governor of Plymouth Colony, wrote a first-hand account of the
Puritans in Plymouth. His record was later published under the name Of Plymouth Plantation. He
described the hardships that the Puritans had to endure and how they dealt with them. William
Byrd also wrote a book about the settlers of America, The History of the Dividing Line, but his
portrayal of them is vastly different in many ways. These two authors differ in their description,
credibility, and literary style.
The way in which an author describes their subject, tells the reader a lot about them.
Bradford describes the early settlers as hardworking, compassionate, determined problem-
solvers. For example, when their ship was damaged, instead of giving up and going back to
Europe, they used a great iron screw the passengers brought from Holland, which would raise
the beam into place (Bradford 122). This demonstrates that this group of settlers were
resourceful and were very determined to get to the new world, no matter what it took. Bradford
also wrote that the Puritans took care of their sick while the sailors didnt and ended up not
faring as well as the settlers. All in all, Bradford characterizes these people as good Christians.
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Byrd, on the other hand, depicts the early colonists as lazy troublemakers. He specifically
calls them reprobates of good families (Byrd 132), implying that they were basically spoiled
rich kids who thought that it might be fun to go on an adventure in the New World, but didnt
realize what they were getting in to. He also refers to them as true Englishmen because they
built a church that cost no more than fifty pounds and a tavern that cost five hundred (Byrd
133). Unfortunately, Byrd was right in this depiction, but only in a few cases. Most early
Americans did value religion over all else, as in Bradfords text. Some groups such as the first
group in Jamestown, who Byrd talks about had trouble with alcohol but Byrds description is
quite exaggerated in both claims.
Furthermore, the credibility of an author reflects the truthfulness of a text. Historians
know that Bradford participated in what he wrote about, even though he uses they instead of
we. But his reason is that he is trying to objective and only list what happened and when. He
does, however, talk about himself. He says and one, in his sickness desiring but a small can
of beer (Bradford 124). So, not only was he a part of the voyage and settlement of Plymouth,
he experienced being sick. When he writes about the hardships that that group of settles endured,
he knows firsthand how they felt.
In Byrds case, its known that he was well educated. However, he was born an
American; a wealthy American. So, he wouldnt know exactly how they felt. He also uses they
and starts his text with as it happened some ages before (Byrd 131). This implies that he
didnt live during the time of the settlers. Another reason that discredits Byrd is the fact that he
groups all settlers together. He picks a few specific ones to mostly make fun of, but others he just
stereotypes. There are few pioneers of that time that deserve Byrds portrayals.
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Lastly, the authors style, word choice, and tone express exactly what the author is
meaning and their intentions. Bradford, as aforementioned, uses they as his pronoun
throughout his piece because he was only writing the events. Of Plymouth Plantations purpose
was to inform later generations of what the Puritans went through to get to where they were. He
wanted to take himself out of the picture and make sure that readers didnt take this as his
opinion, but as actual fact. And also learn from the Puritans example. That is why the text is
simple as well. It was written for the common people and made so that they could easily read
it.
The satirical, collegiate style belongs to Byrds work. He uses a high level vocabulary,
letting readers know just how smart he is. And it is obvious that he is mostly using his writing as
a way to entertain his readers. And he most likely wants to attract wealthy American-born
citizens such as himself who would appreciate and understand his humor. He definitely wants
to put his opinion into the writing, no matter how veiled. One example of this is while Byrd is
explaining the Roanoke Colony (also known as the Lost Colony) saying that by some fatal
disagreement or laziness were either starved or cut to pieces by the Indians (Byrd 132). This is
obviously his opinion, especially considering that historians still have no idea what happened to
the population of Roanoke Colony. Just looking at Byrds word choice and tone, readers know
right away what he thinks of the settlers that he depicts.
Juxtaposing these two texts, its obvious which is more reliable for facts. While Byrd
knew the stories of the early settlers, he didnt experience what they had to. Bradford, however,
did experience these things. If Bradfords text was read in classes for the sole purpose of
knowing what happened to the early settlers, students would be able to pick apart exactly what
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did. If students were looking for a text to pick apart in regards to deciphering what Byrd was
trying to say, his writing would be more beneficial. It all depends on the purpose of reading it.