Pocahontas by Joseph Bruchac

Main Characters:
Amonute, better known as Pocahontas and one who asks many questions. John Smith, a complex man feared by the weak and corrupt and admired by others. Master Edward Maria Wingfield, Smith’s adversary who won’t receive any sympathy from the reader. Pocahontas and Smith can be imagined, recreated and shaped at will, because who can really claim to know what happened between two cultures that only shared the air they breathed? Even the perversity displayed by Wingfield is subject to a personal interpretation and adornment. Through oral accounts and letters what stands out above romantic conclusions and fantasy about the historical encounter is that a young girl and an adventurous youth were able to rise above preconceived ideas to embrace a new beginning and the unstoppable change that was to come.

Plot
John Smith and Pocahontas tell us their story through words taken from Smith’s journals and from the writer’s own intuition; we travel to a time when common sense, compassion and understanding played a major role in the birth of the country where ruthlessness was the norm. Bruchac leads us into the hearts of his two characters with a poetic prose that asks to be read aloud. The descriptions and Pocahontas questions are musical, this is a story that demands to be told.
The first encounters between the “Coatmen” and the Powhatan inhabitants had a rocky beginning and yet two strong wills curved unfavorable circumstances and the worst of human failures.

Touchy areas
Quite a few and red-hot. The relationship between different cultures is just as alive today as it was several hundred years ago. Situations change but the oppressed and the oppressor continue to exist. Examples are everywhere we look and if the book is read with this in mind then an enriching discussion can ensue. Young people appreciate honesty and open discussions about sensitive issues and Bruchac has given us all the necessary elements for such an experience. The beautiful language, understanding and compassion evident in his prose can only awaken the best of emotions in young people.

Topics for discussion
A great ‘read aloud’, the poetically dramatic quality is markedly oral. It should be read slowly savoring each word. The narrative will invite both quiet reflections and comments.  As the story develops so will more complex discussions as the students examine contrasts and similarities between the two cultures. The special relationship between a father and a daughter who knows her own mind but who obeys and respects him and is deeply loved in return, provides a powerful example of values which all humans hold dear.
Although the cultural issue is one that can be thoroughly studied with this novel there are other equally interesting topics such as friendship, family, resourcefulness, honesty and of course the history of our country.

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The Constitution

Rating: 10

Reviewed by Grace.