Comparison 2

A detailed Summary of Comparison 2

The feeling and power of love affect every human being on the face on this planet, but it is how each individual handles the various dimensions of this complex emotion that creates a unique situation. The theme of love can be found in the chapter in the New Worlds of Literature text titled "Crossings." This chapter provides an insight on what happens when two different worlds become intertwined in romance and relationships, specifically the poems "Julia" and "Pocahontas to her English Husband, John Rolfe". Both Paula Gunn Allen, the author of "Pocahontas To Her English Husband, John Rolfe" and Wendy Rose, the author of "Julia", reinforce the idea of how love can be misinterpreted and perhaps blind. The misguided, abused women in these stories illustrate the pains and disappointments of love and how they wish their love could be more profound or passionate.

In this particular poem, the love that Pocahontas has for John Rolfe seems to portray pity more than romantic love in that she watches him and protects him from harm. She does not feel romantic love, but rather a relationship of codependence in that Pocahontas aids John Rolfe. In addition, Pocahontas and John Rolfe are two people from two different worl

Hunter. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1994. 93-95.

Paula Gunn Allen. "Julia." New Worlds of Literature. Eds. Jerome Beaty and J. Paul

John is lost in her world, as Pocahontas reveals this lack of knowledge she thinks, "How many times did I pluck you from certain deaths in the wildernessūmy world through which you stumbled as though blind" (Allen 4)? The word "pluck" is particularly important in this line because it signifies how hard Pocahontas attempts to rescue her dear love from certain deaths. The word "pluck", according to Webster's dictionary, is defined as "to pull off or out with sudden sharp force." As John stumbles through the mysterious new world, that sudden force that brings him back was Pocahontas. It was her love and concern for him that took away his blindness and also gives their romance a glimpse of hope. But how can a romance co-exist with such noticeable differences in both their lives? The answer to that question can be difficult but in essence, the situation centers on culture. Their worlds are too diverged to become one and in fact, it was John Rolfe's world that caused the death of Pocahontas when on March, 1617, at the age of 21 Pocahontas contracted small pox. Pocahontas gives herself to him in his world but it seems that his culture symbolically was not ready to accept her. This is clearly understood in the following passage:

The word "deceiver" would most likely imply that their love could never have been, but still they have bond in the form of a child. In essence, when Pocahontas remarks that John took "certain life from the wasting of [her] bones" (Allen, 43), it is symbolic of the idea that his culture rejected her. This fact alone could represent the destruction of the crossing of roads and symbolize the conflicting cultures. Pocahontas did understand the consequences of being with John Rolfe as is evident when she exclaimed, "I understand the ploy..." yet she still decided to stay with him but Pocahontas could not handle his world nor could John handle her world. Perhaps this love was never meant to be.

In conclusion, clashing of two worlds seems to hinder love, whether it is culture or class

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Approximate Word count = 1472
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels