Though the foray into the South and North American territories that Christopher Columbus’ journey initiated was undeniably controversial from the perspective of its implications, the significance of Columbus’ efforts is undeniable. Therefore, examining the literary value of Columbus’ “Letter of Discovery” detailing the key facts about his actions represents an important step in revisiting his contribution to American history. Since the identification and listing of the essential facts was Columbus’ core goal, the selected approach to writing the letter, while being rife with emotional expressivity, appears to be quite suitable.
In addition to extensive details about the journey itself, the letter also contains a number of suppositions and assumptions regarding America. Specifically, Columbus evidently expected that he would encounter people of other races, which he perceived as inferior, defining them as “monsters” (Columbus). While describing other populations as “affectionate and kind,” he also dehumanized them, suggesting that the specified characteristics made them less complex than European voyagers (Columbus). Therefore, Columbus’ choice of words reflects his biases toward Native residents of America, particularly, his expectations of them to be uncivilized and lacking the basic elements of humanity.
The extensive description of the journey along with the highly detailed depiction of people inhabiting America, the environment, and the related issues, can be seen as the primary advantage and strength of the letter. Columbus provides nuanced portrayals of the Native American environment, offering rather accurate representations of people living on the American continent and their setting. For instance, Columbus mentions the manner in which Native residents of America approached building their boats: “In each island are many boats made of solid wood” (Columbus). The specified details allow crating a mental image of a thriving community and help build an image of robust culture with multiple components. As a result, the Native residents of America become relatable and quite complex, which could be seen as a rather unpredictable outcome that the author of the manuscript did not intend to pursue.
However, the letter also has several major flaws, the greatest one being the extent of prejudice demonstrated by the author. Even though the detailed descriptions that Columbus provides compensate for the presence of multiple biases that he has for Native residents, the presence of a prejudiced attitude is still undeniable: “nor are they black like the Ethiopians; but they have long, straight hair” (Columbus). As a result, Columbus introduces a significant range of subjective points of view in his letter, which skew the perception of Native residents and their culture. Therefore, the overall weakness of the work is quite strong.
Finally, the delivery that Columbus uses in his letter contributes to the mixed impression. On the one hand, the bland and dry description of key facts serves a direct purpose in the letter as the means of delivering essential information to the Spanish king. On the other hand, the specified approach toward portraying an entirely new and fascinating world limits the overall impression, leaving the reader underwhelmed. Thus, the “Letter of Discovery” by Christopher Columbus leaves a rather mixed impression, much like his character.
Though the approach to writing his letter allowed Columbus to address the emotional aspects of his experience of the overall journey, the letter features a rather dry and detail-heavy writing style, which matches his goals of providing a summary statement and, therefore, represents an example of perfect writing. The letter contains essential information that allows its target audience to examine the impact that Columbus’ journey produced, which makes it a remarkable part of history.
Work Cited
Columbus, Christopher. “The Letter of Discovery.” Pressbook.pub, n.d., Web.