Disney vs. Reality

Growing up, I always thought of Johnny Appleseed as a heroic young man with a love for apples, which is what most children are taught. After reading Pollan’s description of the “real” Johnny Appleseed, John Chapman, I now realize just how much Disney romanticizes him. The Disney version of this story is focused on Johnny’s love for apples and his strong desire to share that love with the world. They portray him as a man who wants to give the gift of apples to everyone for the good of mankind. Although this story is more politically correct for young children, Disney’s main audience, it is very sugar coated as it leaves out all of Johnny’s negative qualities. The story is geared toward promoting good values, such as love of nature and kindheartedness. However, on Pollan’s journey through Ohio we discover that Chapman did not just start planting trees everywhere for the love of it, rather, using them as real-estate investments at the time. Chapman was also known for planting other seeds and creating medicines. A major difference between the two is that Pollan talks about Chapman’s issues with love. It appears that Chapman was a bit strange (psychologically) and lonely. He even refers to Chapman as an American Dionysus, stating he was at one with nature, all mighty, and powerful. Pollan seeks out the truth while traveling around and states the negative as well as positive qualities that John had. Pollan’s version of the story makes Chapman seem psychologically unstable, but still a cherished local hero. Pollan’s story is geared to prove that there are two sides to every story and that although Chapman was a great historical figure, he was not the saint everyone believed him to be. I honestly think both versions of the story are somewhat of a stretch, however, I believe Pollan’s version is slightly more plausible.

The American Hero

The two depictions of John Chapman are told in compliance with their different audiences. Disney’s version of Johnny Chapman or, Appleseed is meant for a younger audience, where the story of the American legend is told in poetic verses of rhyme. The way it is narrated attracts the attention of a younger audience. The use of music and singing helps children see Appleseed as a hero and a person only of good deeds, pertaining to a true cartoon Disney character. The values in Disney’s story differ from Pollan’s in that Johnny Appleseed is shown in a heroic light, where he helps the traveling pioneers by doing wonders with his planted apple trees. Therefore the idea of helping others by doing good deeds is promoted to the audience of children. Disney’s goal is to tell Appleseed’s general life story from a young man to a ghost of death, focusing and promoting his good values and his famous deeds.

Pollan’s The Botany of Desire is geared toward an older audience where Johnny Appleseed is portrayed as his true name John Chapman, where his story is told in a more factual and historical manner. Pollan’s technique compares and analyzes the tale of John Chapman to the modern reality of Pollan’s experiences. For example, Pollan explains how the seeds of an apple could only make a new and different apple tree. Unlike Disney’s PG short film, Pollan mentions elements of Chapman’s underground life, such as his child bride and his making of applejack, the alcoholic apple beverage. Chapman’s success was brought about greatly by his brewing of applejack as well as his travels to “crucial Appleseed sites” whereas Disney’s portrayal focuses more of his success on his planting of apple trees. It is intriguing that Pollan himself went to search the truth of Chapman by traveling to locations thought to have been graced by John Chapman himself.

Both stories tell of an American legend who was a hero in his time. However, Pollan’s story seems to be more realistic and true than Disney’s because of his factual evidence and the narration of his travels to follow Appleseed’s footsteps. His analysis goes to find the true John Chapman and real deeds and travels he encountered.

John Chapman or Johnny Appleseed

History is a tricky subject learn about and analyze. Many people ask why is history important? The common answer to this question, is that if we don’t learn where we came from, history is bound to repeat itself. Now, just because we are taught history throughout most of our education, it does not mean that everything that is presented to us is necessarily true. There are many accounts of history that are framed differently depending on who is recounting the story and what their agenda is.
John Chapman, or Johnny Appleseed as many Americans refer to him as, is a good example of history revising a story. When Pollan first mentions Johnny Appleseed a very distinct image popped up in my head and it most closely resembled the image in the Disney clip. However, Pollan’s quest to find the true John Chapman was very interesting and got me thinking. When Pollan went on his tour of many “Saint Appleseed” landmarks in Ohio, he learned about the version most Americans like to see; omitting the darker side, such as the applejack and young bride. I enjoyed Pollan’s analytical and thorough look at John Chapman. He took in to consideration the heroic stories, but delved deeper and made his discoveries, even comparing him to Dionysus. When there is a controversial figure like John Chapman, one must take into consideration all the different versions and accounts to get a truly complete picture.
Disney and Pollan have very different agendas for sharing the story of Johnny Appleseed and this comes across in how their stories are told. The Disney version is geared more towards children and average America; people who take things at face value and like to hear the positive side of things. It’s not necessarily bad, but something you must consider when looking at their version. Pollan’s agenda for looking at John Chapman is very different, he wants to see who the real man was and why Americans have idolized him. Pollan must look more in depth and not ignore the darker side. In the end, both versions are about John Chapman, or Johnny Appleseed, and whichever one you believe to be more true is the truth for you, because we will never be able to really know which one is the actual fact. For myself, I like to think of it as a combination of truth; a little bit of Disney and a lot of Pollan. I like the Disney image, but I realize there was much more the man we call Johnny Appleseed.

Blog 1: Johnny Appleseed

After you've watched Disney's Johnny Appleseed (the links to which are on the right hand side of this page) and read Pollan's chapter on apples, compare their different tellings of John Chapman's life story.

The two versions are obviously very different, but I want you guys to go beyond the obvious. You can, and should, mention the factual differences between the stories, but also look at why the stories are different. Why did Disney decide to tell the story in that particular way? What was their goal? Who was their audience? What kinds of values are they promoting with their version?

Just as Disney has an agenda, Pollan does, too. Who is his audience? What does he emphasize and why? What sort of rhetorical techniques is he using?

And, while this may seem like a silly question to ask, I'd like you to think about which of these stories is more true.

-Diana