Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma
Camilla Townsend, in her book “Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma,” tells readers the real life of Pocahontas, who is daughter of the King Powhatan, chief of the chiefs in the area where was inhabited by Indians in 1607. Going through this book, readers could understand the true Pocahontas is, the reason why she behaved like the side-kick of the white- man at that time, and some factors making Pocahontas status in history by the research of Townsend.
Pocahontas, well- known as a princess in Europeans’ perspective, didn’t have a status as a princess in her society just because of the inheritance of the status which came from the mothers – female line. As Townsend suggests Pocahontas’ mother had no political significant so that the little girl was born in 1597 wasn’t considered her a “princess” like many other children with powerful queens, even though her father is a chief. Also reader can see easily that Pocahontas has different names such as: “Amonute” - the name given in her ceremony before the village, “Pocahontas” which Townsend think that with experiences with dweller also her father in the villages she gain her special name apparently meaning something like “Mischief” or “Little Playful One”, and her new name “Rebecca” was revealed when she got married with John Rolfe. About Pocahontas’ childhood, there is no difference between daughter of the king and the other common children. Pocahontas had to learn how to work as taking care of little babies, and gathering firewood, berries and greens from the older women. She also had to have responsibility with Powhatan’s wife and children as a job to endear with her father.
Life of Pocahontas is not only surrounded by her people but also the white men from “land of thousands”. The well-known myth bonding to her life absolutely is the person called “John Smith”. The story of Pocahontas tells us the “Indian princess” thrown herself over the body of John Smith, whose head...