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Primary sources are important because they give the reader first person accounts of people’s direct experiences as they were experienced by the person, and witness accounts of what someone directly observed of a situation or event. Primary sources are used in history to give accounts of what was happening at the time from someone who lived that event, and can recount what happened as they experienced it instead of things written on the subject that have to rely on outside information to write the story because they were not there. Primary sources can give you an inside look on specific perspectives that can only be seen by taking a look at the document written by the person who experienced it firsthand. Primary sources can provide evidence …show more content…
The firsthand account of her first day of school, and what happened to her gave a new perspective on how the Indians were viewed, and how they needed to be normalized into society. Zitkala-Sa talks about the cutting of her long hair, and what that means to her. The average non-Indian person would not make a big deal of their hair being cut to a manageable length, and the white people cutting the hair probably assumed the kids were just being dramatic or afraid of the scissors not knowing the real significance of them cutting her hair. She talks about how they had been taught by their mothers that only unskilled warriors, mourners, and cowards had short hair, therefore to her by cutting her hair they were taking something important from her, and making her undignified. This account was most memorable because of the way we view Indian culture then, and now. Their beliefs on hair may seem unimportant and weird to outsiders, but they took pride in their long hair and gave it meaning, and it was stripped away from them with no choice. Primary sources like this one give you the feeling of the person, and their view on the
...eriences. I was able to learn in depth, about the extensive and agonizing journey immigrants experienced to arrive to America by reading from the primary sources which gave me a better understanding of their situations. For example, I learned that if a husband or wife died half way sea, the other person is held responsible for paying for the dead (Hollitz, 45). The pictures and maps also enhanced the way information can be interpreted through primary sources. The paintings of Puritan children clearly demonstrate their feelings and attitude. I was able to see through their uncomfortable position, life style, and virtue by observing their posture, facial expression, and the way they dress. The primary source documents turned out to be very useful in many ways that assisted me to come up with a better understanding in details with chapter 2-4 in Give Me Liberty.
(newspaper, map, image, report, Congressional record, etc.) This document is a newspaper article from World’s Work. 3. Is it a primary or secondary source?
Secondary sources of literature are primarily written by journalists and does not report an original finding, but rather relies on an original source to provide information that can be used as background material. To use it correctly, one must first distinguish it from primary sources and understand that secondary sources alone cannot sufficiently and
When Zitkala was sent off to boarding school, she realized that in order for the Natives to succeed in this new world, they were going to have to be formally educated like the white settlers. Zitkala uses the character Iktomi as a metaphor to stress the importance of learning, but also to show how his stories apply to the situation that the Natives were in. Iktomi was a trickster character in Native stories, and he had a desire to learn from the Great Spirit. Iktomi was constantly trying to progress forward and understand the lessons that were being portrayed by the Great Spirit, but he kept struggling and falling short of what was being taught to him. Zitkala knew that in order to keep up with this new society, the Native people had to grow in their education and learn to adapt to these new societal concepts that the settlers had introduced to them. If the Natives were to remain in their old ways and not realize the importance of educating themselves, then they would suffer the same consequences as Iktomi did. The government constantly put restrictions on the natives, making it difficult for them to receive an education. But this
What two significant historical events/ trends were occurring when the document was created? Do not include the specific document, but select related events or trends that contextualize the document. What is the context (background and events going on) of this primary source? Include 1-2 sentences explaining the event/ trend.
In "Indian Education" by Sherman Alexie, the story is about our narrator of the story Victor. Telling the sad, miserable cruelty and the emotions that his fellow students and teachers gave him from 1st grade all the way through 12th grade. The meaning of this story at first seems the most current for kids in school; bullying each other and calling each other names but the story goes much deeper than that. It shows a reality of the life on the reservation and how the education system is terrible and demeaning to other children who are considered soft spoken. Two pieces of dialogue that were the most interesting to me happened to be "Give me your lunch if you're just going to throw it up," because it ends with the sentence "There is more than one way to starve.
Culture has the power and ability to give someone spiritual and emotional distinction which shapes one's identity. Without culture society would be less and less diverse. Culture is what gives this earth warmth and color that expands across miles and miles. The author of “The School Days of an Indian Girl”, Zitkala Sa, incorporates the ideals of her Native American culture into her writing. Similarly, Sherman Alexie sheds light onto the hardships he struggled through growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in his book The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven in a chapter titled “Indian Education”. While both Zitkala Sa and Sherman Alexie were Native Americans, and take on a similar persona showcasing their native culture in their text, the two diverge in the situations that they face. Zitkala Sa’s writing takes on a more timid shade as she is incorporated into the “white” culture, whereas Alexie more boldly and willingly immerses himself into the culture of the white man. One must leave something in order to realize how
Her mother would spend hours “torturing that wild hair” (8-9), and berating her to “sit with [her] knees together” (12). Her mother forced her to adopt these mannerisms and beauty ideals so that she would not be treated differently by others around her. However, the speaker felt conflicted in her identity as a Native person by the want to be closer to her mother, but her mother pushing away. When she played as a child she personified her desire to be accepting of her culture by referring to herself as “the savage” (29).
In her book American Indian Stories, Zitkala-Sa's central role as both an activist and writer surfaces, which uniquely combines autobiography and fiction and represents an attempt to merge cultural critique with aesthetic form, especially surrounding such fundamental matters as religion. In the tradition of sentimental, autobiographical fiction, this work addresses keen issues for American Indians' dilemmas with assimilation. In Parts IV and V of "School Days," for example, she vividly describes a little girl's nightmares of paleface devils and delineates her bitterness when her classmate died with an open Bible on her bed. In this groundbreaking scene, she inverts the allegation of Indian religion as superstition by labeling Christianity.
It is not fair to use one primary source to challenge a secondary source. A primary source is the opinion of one present person who has objectivity and biased. When comparing sources and studying an event it is important to look and cross reference many sources for the most accurate records available. Primary sources are often the most trustworthy sources but also are the most biased because the event effected the writer personally. A broad generalization can be helpful when referring to multiple primary sources but not when only using
Primary Source (McMillan, 2012, p. 68): A primary source is an original report in which the investigator(s) presents the methods and findings of his or her own study that he or she conducted.
...ons. First, the oral history sources are well integrated with the existing literature. Next, by covering relatively long period of time, the reader gets a good sense of the dynamics of change.
In Philip J. Deloria’s Athletic chapter from his book “Indians in unexpected places” he talks about his grandfather’s connection to sports. He goes into further detail about how his grandfather’s place in sports is similar to other Native Americans. Native Americans used sports as a way to find their place in a new society. Sports was also used to strengthen the community. “Many Indian communities responded by drawing webs of kingship and unity ever tighter, trying to keep sport stars humble” (113). Athletics was now being used to bring all of the community, especially in times when it seemed divided. Sports also disproved the “Vanishing Indian” idea because society saw Native Americans playing in these sports and saw that they still existed.
Primary Source Analysis 2 / Chapter 7: Travelers’ Tales and Observations (Sources 7.1 / 7.2)
Shyam Selvadurai, the author of Funny Boy, felt the necessity to write about this issue because it is kept in the dark, especially in Sri Lanka. In addition, Sri Lanka is faced with many cultural problems. The Tamils and Singhalese are in constant conflict because of their different moral values. Selvadurai grew up in this type of atmosphere, he was homosexual and was raised in an environment where fighting took place regularly. Selvadurai decided to write this book not only as therapy for himself but also to lend a voice to those who still have trouble expressing themselves about both of these issues especially children. "Selvadurai writes as sensitively about the emotional intensity of adolescence as he does about the wonder of childhood" (Hower, 22). Arjie Chelvaratnam, the protagonist in Selvadurai's novel, finds himself going through similar problems. He feels lost because his attitudes towards life differ greatly from those around him. In his novel, Funny Boy, Shyam Selvadurai uses character and plot to show how conflicting cultural beliefs can lead to confusion and alienation.