We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Where Mediterranean and American Captivity Narratives Meet: The Case of Captain John Smith.
- Authors
Stafford, Brooke A.
- Abstract
John Smith recognized the connections between his Ottoman Empire exploits and his adventures in the New World. He drew attention to them in his Adverstisements for the Unexperienced Planters of New England, or Anywhere (1631). His awareness of these connections suggests that we too should read captivity narratives comparatively. By juxtaposing Smith's captivities in Turkey and in Virginia, we can see the particular significance of their connection for Smith's own life and writing as well as their interrelatedness as genres. Together, Smith's narratives demonstrate his departure from the providential framework that was common to many captivity narratives, and his movement towards self-reliance as a heroic Englishman. Written in reverse-chronological order, the narratives demonstrate how, through the careful use of providential and individualist narrative frameworks, Smith emphasizes the possibility of the individual hero who, through his own self-presentation, eventually returns home only to change the meaning of his home identity.
- Subjects
JAMESTOWN (Va.); VIRGINIA; TURKEY; SMITH, John, 1580-1631; NATIVE American captivities; OTTOMAN Empire; POCAHONTAS, d. 1617; ISLAM; CHRISTIANITY
- Publication
Latch: A Journal for the Study of the Literary Artifacts in Theory, Culture or History, 2009, Vol 2, p82
- ISSN
1947-9441
- Publication type
Article