Comparing the Two Versions of Smith's Captivity
Tim Sweet, Dept. of English, West Virginia University (tsweet@wvu.edu)
This is a straightforward in-class exercise for a sophomore American literature survey course -- small groups and then full-class discussion. I usually do some version of this in a first unit on "contact," following the "invisible bullets" passage from Harriot.
Reading: Anthology excerpt from the 1624 General History: Smith captive at court of Powhatan.
In-class handout: Parallel pages of the 1608 True Relation (Philip Barbour, The Complete Works of Captain John Smith, I: 52-57).
Brief lecture: Set up contexts, Smith in Virginia winter 1607-08, and Smith in England 1624 compiling the General History.
In small groups of 3-4 students: Chart significant differences; discuss.
Full class:
--Chart significant differences and list on board.
--Discussion: What are Smith's motives for writing each version as he did? Which version do you think comes closer to "the truth" of what happened?
Could be expanded to include 1612 version as well.
Could be followed up with short persuasive essay on exam.
