Themes come alive when you use a storyboard. In this activity, students will identify key themes in John Smith’s The General History of Virginia and support their choices with details from the text.
The settlers embarked on a journey to a world where they would have no contact with home. It was essential that they be able to build their own settlement, draw on resources from the land, make friends with the Native Americans if possible, and begin a long-term investment in this new future. The people who went needed to be prepared to do all of this without much help from home.
For Smith, the trip is a combination of virtù, prosperity, and piety. The first, virtù, is a sense of adventure and heroism - an expectancy of the achievement of great things. Going to Jamestown was stepping into an unknown world. It was full of mystery, excitement, and danger. Second, the exploration of this new place could yield new and great riches, an opportunity which many would jump at. Finally, the new world was an opportunity to bring Christianity to new peoples and places. The excitement was palpable for the settlers.
In spite of the many hardships the settlers faced, Smith did not have a lot of patience for those who could not pull their own weight. When he was finally put in charge, he ensured that the settlers had plenty of incentive to work hard by telling them that those who did not work would not eat. Smith and other leaders of the settlement knew that in the harsh conditions, so far away from the homeland, everyone would have to work hard so that they all could survive.
The elements wore on the settlers, from the first starving time, where they were unable to produce a viable crop, to the bitter cold of the first winter. Then, the settlers were plagued by illness and disease, and unable to work or contribute. Made worse by all of this were periodic attacks by the Native Americans, who knew the landscape better than the settlers did. The human will to survive in such circumstances is one that Smith highlights and celebrates throughout his narrative.
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Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that identifies recurring themes in The General History of Virginia. Illustrate instances of each theme and write a short description below each cell.
Begin a general discussion on the topics of hard work and self-reliance. Teachers can also conduct small activities in class and conduct experiments in order to explain the significance of these topics in real life. Share examples and stories with students where these qualities have been utilized.
After a general discussion, give students the context of these themes. Teachers can discuss how these themes have been explored in the book. Ask the students to highlight the instances in the book where these themes have been discussed and give their own analysis of their importance, credibility, and historical significance.
Invite students to discuss how they personally understand the topics. What do they mean by hard work and independence? Do these ideas apply to everyone, or do they differ depending on one's point of view? Students can discuss these topics both in a general sense and in the context of the book.
Give students the opportunity to write reflective essays or journal entries in which they discuss the concepts of perseverance and hard effort. Students can discuss the views of the book, and their own opinions, or reference any other text they find relevant. Ask them to elaborate on the themes or make connections between them and their own experiences.
Encourage the students to always extract lessons from all the topics they discuss in class and try to apply those concepts in real life. Teachers can share examples of how adopting good qualities and positive values can change the life of a person and encourage them to do better in life. Discuss with students some positive qualities and their relationship with success.
The decisions made about agriculture, settlement sites, and contacts with Native Americans are shaped by environmental conditions, which also affect the trajectory of events. The challenges of illness and harsh weather also played a significant role in the lives of the settlers. Smith highlights these obstacles presented by the environment and how the settlers overcame these challenges.
The story highlights the need to strike a balance between individual initiative and the welfare of the community by illuminating instances in which individual acts have an influence on the whole. Smith also emphasizes the importance of self-reliance which is portrayed through the journey of the settlers and their willingness.