John Smith's "a Description of New England" and William Bradford's "of Plymouth Plantation"

John Smith's "A Description of New England" and William Bradford's "Of Plymouth Plantation" are about the experiences of the early American settlers. They both demonstrate different styles of writing. While there are many differences in these stories, there are also many similarities.

To begin, John Smith's writings offer the perspective settlers a slanted view of the many opportunities. He tells the settlers that in America they can have all of the land that they desire for free; in England the land costs a lot of money (Smith 20). Many poor settlers like the idea of having their own land. He does not want to separate families but bring "the fatherless children of thirteen or fourteen years of age, or young married people that have small wealth to live on"(Smith 21) to the New World. These people do not really have much to lose because they do not have much of anything to start with. Smith does not explain of the excruciating journey, and of the hardships that they will encounter on the voyage to America. Also, exaggeration seems to be a key element in Smith's writings. For example, he says that any fisherman who cannot kill one to three hundred fish in one day is not a good fisherman (Smith 21). This quote shows exaggeration because no one man with only one line can catch three hundred fish in one day. John Smith's exaggeration causes historians to believe that only part of his story is true.

William Bradford's "Of Plymouth Plantation" is objective. He gives not one side, but two sides of the story; because Bradford delivers a two-sided story, historians believe that his story is more accurate than Smith's. Unlike Smith, Bradford has religious reasons for coming to America. Throughout the story he talks about God and how God helps them to survive. He praises God for every good encounter that they have. The Journey over to America is very dangerous and many people die. With God's grace, some people also live such as, John Howland who was thrown overboard. Showing his Puritanism Bradford states, "It pleased God that he caught hold of the topsail halyards, which hung overboard, and ran out at length."(77).

Although the writers have many differences, there are also many similarities. For instance, both writers indicate their beliefs for God. Smith mentions God when he talks about converting the savages to Christ and humanity (Smith 20),