Pocahontas Biography

Many people believe the 1995 film, Pocahontas, to be the true story of a young Powhatan woman. However, the story lacks facts. Pocahontas isn’t even her real name. Matoaka, the real Pocahontas, faced mush more misery than the movie showed. Mataoka’s life in America, life in England, a comparison between the movie and real life, and how fictional portrayals of real people effect society today will show you that Disney’s inaccuracies could change history.

As young children we are often misled to believe that the stories and movies we are exposed to are presumably based on factual history, but are in reality myths, keeping the truthful, important, and fair facts hidden. Amonute is an accurate example of learning the real events that occurred in a person’s life while the typical myth of Pocahontas saved an Englishmen from being killed by her father. In the beginning of the book we are briefly introduced to Pocahontas, the Powhatan people and the English colonists. As the book continues we follow Pocahontas when she is kidnapped, her married life, and her trip to London where she got sick because of foreign illnesses and died. Camilla Townsends “Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma” wants Pocahontas’ true story to unfold because she is worthy of respect for her bravery and sacrifice and because “everyone subverted her life to satisfy their own needs to believe that the Indians loved and admired them” (Townsend, pg. xi). I also believe that the author was trying to argue that even though the Englishmen believed that the Native Americans were uncivilized and lived like savages, that instead they were wise people.

Pocahontas was born in 1595, with the given name of Matoaka and later got the nickname Pocahontas. She has been known as the favorite daughter of the powerful Powhatan Chief but she is also famous in history for contributing greatly toward the survival of the Jamestown colony. When the English colonists settled in Jamestown in 1607, there became tension between the Colonists and the Powhatan Indians. During the 1600s, the leader of the Colonists, Captain John Smith was caught by the Powhatan’s men. It has been said that Pocahontas saved Smith’s life and has had great influence on early relationships between the colonists and Indians. During Pocahontas’s life, she has faced many tragedies but triumphs have also played a role in her time.

Who was Pocahontas, you say? Well, I wondered the same thing. She was apart of the Powhatan Tribe. Being in that tribe, her father was the leader of it. Her real name was Matoaka, which meant “little snow feather.” As Pocahontas grew into a juvenile, she received the name Pocahontas, which meant “the naughty one” or “spoiled child.” Pocahontas had a beautiful life until the English colonists had arrived. They held her captive for a while. As they let her

[1] Disney’s Pocahontas has understandably received a lot of flak about the historically inaccurate story that is told about the legendary Pocahontas and Captain John Smith. There is a good reason for that. The movie does little that can be construed as historically accurate, yet Disney claims that was never their intent. Disney, in their previous movies, has been attacked for being racist and unsympathetic to racial minorities. Their answer was a movie whose sole purpose, as stated by Disney, was to promote racial tolerance. The question is, then can a movie promote racial tolerance when the issue is built on false history, history that if told accurately would depict the exact opposite?

Another important person from this time period was Pocahontas born in 1596 to Chief Powhatan, leader of the Powhatan Empire.

John Smith's tales of the Indian princess, Pocahontas, have, over time, encouraged the evolution of a great American myth. According to this myth, which is common knowledge to most Americans, Pocahontas saved Smith from being killed by her father and his warriors and then fell in love with John Smith. Some versions of the myth popular among Americans include the marriage of Smith and Pocahontas. Although no one can be sure of exactly what happened almost four-hundred years ago, most historians agree that the myth is incorrect. Pocahontas did not save John Smith's life from "savages" and never showed any affection for him. The events of her life differ greatly from the myth Americans have created.

Beowulf and Pocahontas: Traits of a Hero Anyone can be hero. Heroes don’t specifically need to have super powers or cool identities; they need to have made a difference in the world, large or small. A hero can be someone who is idolized for being great role model. Mostly all heros seem to have a heroic code on which they live by, however, they may use them differently. Pocahontas and Beowulf share many similar heroic traits such as courage, generosity, and loyalty, as well as some differences like humility, hospitality, and leadership.

Pocahontas made a big impact on society all because of her good nature and good will. The main reason she made an impact was because she established a peace treaty of 8 years between her people and the colonists. The rivalry between the two groups was strong until Pocahontas had the bravery to prove to each other that everything is not what it seems. She is one of the strongest, smartest and bravest princesses to have ever been known to this day. Her impact on society would change lives and show people to always show love to others even if they are different from you.

John Smith and Pocahontas did, in fact, meet and they did develop a kindly relationship. It is said that his love for her is what helped her negotiate the release of two Indian prisoners that John Smith had caught and he stated that “not only for feature, countenance, and proportion,” she “much exceeded any of the rest of Powhatan's people.” [4] It

A review of Pocahontas surely has to start with the music sequences - it's one of Disney's greats in that respect and its saving grace in many ways. The attention-grabbing paddling sequence on "Just Around The Riverbend" and sudden dramatic slowdown for a start. Then of course there's the extremely catchy shanty "The Virginia Company" at the start and the iconic, 'messagey' but freewheeling "Colours of the Wind" with legendary lyrics like "you can own the earth and still all you'll own is earth until...". "Listen With Your Heart" has that awesome eerie 'spirit voices' reprise Pocahontas hears most notably when about to touch John Smith's hand for the first time. In terms of being a musical, Pocahontas is rock-solid.

For my research project, I would like to know more about Pocahontas. Ever since I was little, I was absolutely fascinated with the movie “Pocahontas” not just because it was about a beautiful woman who interacted with white people, but because she carried so much strength and culture that I would really like to know more about. Even at such a young age, the difference between Pocahontas and I was really emphasized in the movie. I don’t think this is necessarily the case. On the other hand, I have a little bit of indigenous blood in me, so I would like to learn about what it’s like to be someone like Pocahontas. Specifically, I would like to know about her life and her timeline. I want to know what she did to participate with her family, and

pocahontas was an Indian princess, the girl of Powhatan who was the head of an Indian tribe in Virginia. Powhatan had numerous wives and twenty-seven kids, one being Pocahontas. She was conceived in the 1950s and she was named Matoaka however she is also called Pocahontas, which implies fun loving. Pocahontas most likely saw white men without precedent for May 1607

Disney movie, Pocahontas portrays the life of the Powhatan nation in the state of Virginia. The movie itself may not be very explicit in details, however, history is. This movie depicts the Native Americans to be settled in Virginia and the Englishmen from London come and try to rob their land of gold. The minute the English step foot on in Virginia there was a great deal of conflict between the English and the Natives. After failing to discover the gold they anticipated, the English quickly ran out of food and leaned on the Natives to trade their food for goods. Those events of conflict and food trade, represent interactions between people and the environment. The motion picture also slightly illustrates the roles of women and men in their

In 1995, Disney created a movie to replicate the story of Pocahontas. The majority who saw this movie enjoyed it but others believe it tells a false story. Disney was not responsible, accurate, or respectful in their film. Pocahontas was an Indian princess who was the daughter of the Chief of the Powhatan Indians. Pocahontas played a vital role in maintaining peace between the English and the Powhatan Indians during expeditions. She died due to sickness at age 21. John Smith was an Englishman who joined the expedition to Jamestown, Virginia, and in 1608, would become the president of the Jamestown colony. The Pocahontas story mainly focuses on these two people and their interaction.