Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Plot Elements: Class Conflicts
n the book, the English settlers have difficulty living in this New World. Most of the men were selected by The Virginia Company are Gentlemen, landed gentry of a higher class who could contribute funds to the expedition. What Captain Smith needed were more workers who knew how to build and farm. He needed men who weren't afraid to get their hands dirty. ThePowhatan were curious about these men who were starving but did not know how to fish, hunt or plant crops. But the Gentlemen settlers looked down on these skills as beneath their rank and dignity. Very quickly Samuel realizes that the class distinctions that make up 17th century English society do not work in this New World. Why? What problems do these settlers have that stem back to class conflicts? Could this be the basis of "the American Dream"? Go to Jamestown Settlement & Discovery Center website and check out more about what life was like at that time.
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The whole reason these "gentlemen" were their was because of the way England held their heir system. Today, if someone dies in our family we usually split it with everyone equally, but for England only the oldest son got everything. That meant if you were a girl you needed to marry into a good family that had money and was prestigious. If you were born a boy, but not the first son you would have to make a name for yourself. You could "mooch" off of your family's money, but in the end everything would go to the first born son (if their wasn't one, sometimes it would go to a nephew or other family member). These "gentleman" were going to Jamestown to make their own life too, but they thought everyone else was going to do it for them. So, yes-I can see how it could be a start-up to the American Dream, because you have to be willing to work hard in order to acquire it.
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