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John Smith: America ’ s First Pitch-Man?

An exploration of the qualities associated with the American Ethos and John Smith's description of New England. This work highlights Smith's rhetorical devices and reveals an American ethos. Key passages and rhetorical devices are analyzed.

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John Smith: America ’ s First Pitch-Man?

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  1. John Smith: America’s First Pitch-Man?

  2. Some qualities associated with an American Ethos • Self-creation • Industry/labor • Pragmatism • Business His Description of New England describes the fishing, soils, inhabitants, fauna, flora, and climate of the coastal region from Cape Cod to Penobscot. This work is the first to apply the term “New England” to that portion of the North America from Long Island Sound to Newfoundland. At that time it held a few trading and fishing stations, and French traders from the north and Dutch from the south carried on commerce in furs with the natives. There was a prosperous fishery to the north, where cod were taken by ships from Portugal, Holland, and Spain. To Smith, these were evidence of the richness of commodities to be had, and signs of the strategic importance to England of securing permanent settlements in the region. Smith had departed Virginia in 1609 under a cloud of accusations and had quarrelled with the leaders of the privately-held Virginia Company. Seeking a new arena for colonial opportunities in the new world, Smith saw New England as a place where English life could be transplanted to America, and this work is an extended advertisement and prospectus for investors and settlers, with Smith to provide the expertise and leadership. John Smith 1580-1631 • What rhetorical devices does Smith employ in • the excerpt? • To whom is he addressing his tract? • How does this excerpt reveal an American • ethos? • Key passages? http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/etas/4/ http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=etas

  3. EXAMPLES OF RHETORICAL DEVICES • 1. Rhetorical question Can we really expect the school to keep paying from its limited resources? • 2. Emotive language Imagine being cast out into the street, cold, lonely and frightened. • 3. Parallel structuresTo show kindness is praiseworthy; to show hatred is evil. • 4. Sound patternsAlliteration: Callous, calculating cruelty – is this what we must expect? • Assonance: A fine time we all had, too. • 5. ContrastSometimes we have to be cruel to be kind. • 6. Description and Imagery (i.e. using metaphor, simile and personification) • While we wait and do nothing, we must not forget that the fuse is already burning. • 7. The ‘rule of three’I ask you, is this fair, is it right, is it just? • 8. RepetitionEvil minds will use evil means. • 9.Hyperbole (using exaggeration for effect) • While we await your decision, the whole school holds its breath. • 10. Anecdote

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