Historical Narratives and “General History of Virginia” by John Smith
Read p. 70 and use the textbook to answer the following questions.
1. What type of literature would give readers a unique perspective on the events of the past?
a. Textbooks
b. Personal accounts
2. Historical narratives are
a. Fictional
b. Real-life historical experiences
3. True (A) or False (B)- narratives became important historical documents that now exist as our
principal record of events.
4. _____________ sources are materials written by people who were either participants in or
observers of the events written about.
a. Primary
b. Secondary
5. Examples are biographies and histories.
a. Primary sources
b. Secondary sources
6. Examples are letters, diaries, journals speeches, autobiographies, and interviews.
a. Primary sources
b. Secondary sources
7. Primary sources offer valuable insights into the ____________ and ___________ of a given time
period.
a. Land and time
b. Facts and lies
c. Thinking and culture
d. People and stories
8. As readers, we should try to understand the ______________ and ___________ of the writer.
a. Style and meaning
b. Perspectives and motives
c. Diction and syntax
d. Symbolism and meaning
Use pages 92-99 to answer the following questions.
9. At the early age of 16, John Smith was hired to become a soldier and occasional ___________.
a. Pirate
c. thief
b. Menace
d. explorer
10. The Virginia Company hoped for huge profits from their _______ ________ venture.
a. South Asian
c. New Deal
b. African Slave d. New World
11. John Smith helped run the ______________ colony.
a. American
c. Jamestown
b. Pilgrim
d. Boston
12. At first, the atmosphere in Jamestown was quite
a. Hostile
b. Peaceful
13. John Smith focused the colonists to __________ ___________.
a. Fight Indians c. hard work
b. Civil War
d. deep religiousness
14. Who allegedly rescued John Smith from Powhatan?
a. Pocahontas
c. Idaho
b. Mourning Dove
d. British soldiers
15. Archaic expressions are:
a. Words and phrases that are now offensive to readers.
b. Not to be taken as fact, but fiction.
c. No longer in use.
d. Not in English.
16. Which of the following is NOT something the textbook advises for you to do when you face
difficult syntax?
a. First, establish who is doing what
b. Second, sort out the meaning in the phrases and clauses
c. Paraphrase
d. Ignore it and move on to the rest of the reading
17. The Jamestown Colony was modeled after a ____________ expedition.
a. Military
c. naval
b. Religious
d. wilderness
Helpful vocabulary:
thereat- after that
pilfer- steal
sassafras- a deciduous North American tree with aromatic leaves and bark. The leaves are infused to
make tea.
Canonized- to declare someone to be a saint
18. The opening of the piece has Smith explaining how the people suffered greatly with illness and
weakness. Then, Smith explains that the president, Edward Wingfield, would do what with
oatmeal, wine, liquor, beef and eggs?
a. Share it with the other men
b. Use it to trade with the native Americans
c. Keep it for himself
d. Gave it away to Smith and the other men to help them.
Helpful vocabulary:
Sturgeon – large bottom-feeding fish that provides caviar
19. Smith explains how some people left, some people died, and some people escaped in a small
ship. After that, what did Smith and others decide to do?
a. Remove the president from rule
b. Kill the president
c. Go live with Indians
d. Go back to Europe
20. In line 27, Smith begins talking about himself in third person and the “his” refers to Smith.
Based on that information, who heals Martin and Ratcliffe?
a. John Smith
b. Pocahontas
c. Master Thomas Wotton
d. Edward Wingfield
21. In lines 35-41, John Smith talks about himself. How would you describe the way he refers to
himself?
a. He is humble and doesn’t boast or think too highly of himself
b. He insults himself and apologizes to his readers for his behavior
c. He makes himself sound like an incredible leader and hard worker
d. He tries to make the reader feel sorry for him
22. What is Smith doing while Wingfield and Kendall are plotting against him? (lines 45-46)
a. Going on expeditions and discovering the people of Chickahominy.
b. Building shelters and forts in Jamestown.
c. Growing crops the way the Chickhominy people taught him.
d. Hunting for food using muskets.
23. What does Smith do when he discovers the plot? (lines 53-54)
a. He let them go on their way after they explained their purpose.
b. He called for backup, but didn’t catch them in time.
c. He refused to let them go, and ended up in a deadly fight.
d. He ignored the situation entirely.
24. What happens to Kendall?
a. He escaped to England.
b. He was executed for mutiny (rebellion) in 1607.
c. He becomes the new president of the colony.
d. He befriends Pocahontas with John Smith.
Helpful vocabulary: asunder- apart; divided.
25. After a short duration of good health and food, more drama started when the people of the
colony blamed John Smith for:
a. Creating hatred between the colony and the Natives
b. Being lazy and not harvesting enough meat for the winter
c. Cutting off communications to England and causing England to remove support
d. Not discovering the head of Chickahominy river and causing Cassen’s death
26. What is one detail that John Smith does NOT include that exonerates himself from the blame of
Robinson and Emery’s death?
a. He has no idea that his men were attacked
b. He is 20 miles away hunting for food
c. Smith himself is attached by an overwhelming force of 200 Natives
d. Robinson and Emery made too much noise and attracted enemies
Helpful vocabulary: courtiers- a person who attends a royal court as a companion or adviser to the
king or queen.
27. In the section “At Powhatan’s Court,” Powhatan and his people had a long consultation. After
that, they decided:
a. To execute John Smith
b. To allow John Smith to live
c. To make John Smith an honorary member of their tribe as a “son.”
d. To marry off to Pocahontas
28. John Smith attributes the compassion of the “barbarians” to
a. God
c. Pocahontas
b. Himself
d. Powhatan
29. What did John Smith give to Powhatan?
a. A pinnace
b. Iron tools
c. Two large cannons and a millstone
d. Saker falcon and musket shot