Fountain of Youth
Escaping death is one of the oldest stories ever told in literature. Whether you are talking about death as an actual being or the mere idea of death we as a people have been running scared not knowing what is beyond this life.The whole concept behind the fountain of youth is that whoever drinks from it will be young forever. Now there are many twists to this classic tale. It all depends on the story teller on what the full powers of the fountain contain. The myth can be tracked back to the 5th century.
With the story of the fountain of youth being so old, there are many different locations, adventures, and capabilities of this magical fountain of water that does more than cure your thirst for water.In the story, one of the sailors that sailed with Christopher Columbus during the second voyage to the land that was considered to be new world was Juan Ponce De Leon. The voyage was believed by the two men to be a source of change in the life. Since it was an adventure to both Christopher Columbus and Juan Ponce De Leon; hence they just believe that the voyage will change their lives significantly. In 1508, Ponce became very popular and was awarded to the post of gubernatorial in Hispaniola after the return of Columbus.
During his time in Hispaniola, Ponce heard about magical water source. People believed that the magical water can make someone young once he/she drinks (John, and Goetzmann 1-8). Therefore, the magical source of water was named Fountain of Youth. Ponce decided that he must find his way to the Fountain of Youth. Due to Ponce determination and adventure love, he planned to go for magical water. After thinking for some years, Ponce believed that he knew where the Fountain of Youth was located. He asked the permission from King Charles to visit the Fountain of Youth. In March 1513, Ponce and his men started their journey to the Fountain. After some days of sailing, Ponce and his men did not see the Fountain of Youth, and they decided to settle on the mainland of North America.
From the story, it is clear that the journey is characterized by adventure, determination, courage and optimism because Ponce and his man are believed and have hope that one day they will reach Fountain of Youth. However, Ponce and his men were attacked by the natives. During the attack, Ponce lost most of his men and personally he escaped with injuries. Later Ponce died as he was nursing the injuries at the hospital in Cuba (Darren 100). The story ended and till date no one has ever seen Fountain of youth. Instead, most of the people are still believing that Fountain of Youth exists somewhere in Florida.
Work Cited
Davenport, John, and William H. Goetzmann. Juan Ponce De León and His Lands of Discovery. Philadelphia: Chelsea …
