Dances With Wolves by Michael Blake

1818 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis of dances with wolves

Dances With Wolves by Michael Blake is a novel that covers the topics of cross-culture, equality and respect. It also shows me the history of modern America. Reading this novel is a great adventure to me. Through years of getting ready, Michael Blake spent nine months on writing the book and got it done in 1981. The story happens in 1863, when US civil war was in ongoing. Knowing the potential amputation of his wounded leg, Union Army Officer Lieutenant John J. Dunbar turns suicidal and rides a horse to attract the enemy during a strange standoff. His act of suicide has the unexpected effect of rallying his comrades who win the battle later, thus, was misconstrued as bravery and earns him sympathy and fatherly love from General Tipton who rewards Dunbar with superior treatment that saves his leg, a horse named Cisco and his wish of a post on the frontier. In Fort Hays, he is assigned to Fort Sedgewick by Major Fambrough who has gone crazy and later sent away. When Dunbar arrives at Fort Sedgewick along with the supply and Timmons, his teamster, he finds the Fort Sedgewick deserted. In fact, Captain Cargill’s column which was used to be posted there retreats to Fort Hays due to the scarcity of supply. Nevertheless, Dunbar stays. While waiting for the soldiers to come back, he sets in order the deserted fort. Timmons is killed on his way back to Fort Hays. His death and the deliration of Major Fambrough mind make the existence of Dunbar in Fort Sedgewick unknown to the Union. He is a good writer and writes journals to keep record of his stay at Fort Sedgewick. Dunbar rides Cisco out to look for the Indians after some encounters with them. He runs into and saves Stands With A Fist, a white woman who’s captured and raised by ... ... middle of paper ... ...ger to get complete and broad understanding of the history. I will recommend the book to them. Dances With Wolves is suitable for an ESL 160 class. Its plot is easy to follow. Sentences are not too difficult, just occasional challenging. For an ESL 160 students like me, I learned lots of new words from the book so that I have broadened my vocabulary. Though there are some aspects of the book I personally don’t like, it cannot stop Dances With Wolves from being a great epic tale of life on the prairie in 19th-century America. Narrating the story in the third person, through skillful applications of figure of speeches, Michael Blake talks about cross culture, equality and respect in the book. His looking at the story Indian and white army from a new angle provide me a better and broad understanding of the history. Reading this novel is really a great adventure to me.

Show More
Related

  • Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat

    1375 Words  | 3 Pages

    of the wolves and finds that they are more than the savage and merciless hunters

    Read More

  • Josey Wales and the Western

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...s than one. It reveals a larger issue at hand between the “white man” and the Indians. This is a common theme portrayed in Westerns—conflicting views of the land. When Watie talks to Josey about how the white man has deamed him “civilized” he expresses a great deal of shame. Watie goes on to talk about how he not only lost his family to the Union but also his pride and his heritage. He talks about being out of touch with his culture because he was forced off of his land and onto the land set-aside for his people by the Union. Watie admires Josey for his bravery, or edge as he calls it. There is a sense of honor and pride that Josey arries with him as he is determined to redeem what was lost. This gives Watie the drive to join Josey and redeem what was taken from him. Both of these men have something worth fighting and dying for and that’s what brings them together.

    Read More

  • Big Fish by Daniel Wallace

    1267 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Daniel Wallace’s novel, Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions and Tim Burton’s film, Big Fish, the relationship between the dying protagonist, Edward Bloom and his estranged son, William Bloom, is centrally to the story in both the novel and film. Like many fathers in today's society, Edward Bloom wishes to leave his son with something to remember him by after he is dead. It is for this reason the many adventures of Edward Bloom are deeply interwoven into the core of all the various stories Edward tells to mystify his son with as a child. Despite the many issues father and son have in their tense relationship as adults, Daniel Wallace and Tim Burton’s adaptation of Wallace’s novel focalizes on the strained relationship between Edward Bloom and William Bloom. In both Wallace’s novel and Burton’s film, they effectively portray how the relationship between Edward Bloom and William Bloom is filled with bitter resentment and indifference towards each other. Only with William’s attempt to finally reconcile with his dying father and navigating through his father fantastical fables does those established feelings of apathy and dislike begin to wane. With Burton’s craftily brilliant reconstruction of Wallace’s story does the stories of Edward Bloom and his son blossom onto screen.

    Read More

  • Racism In Huckleberry Finn And Dances With Wolves

    698 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Dances with Wolves, Michael Blake, the screenwriter, illustrated the cruelty and disrespect shown to the Native Americans. In the early 1800s, when settlers began moving westward for land, they discovered the homes of several tribes. Just like the blacks, the Native Americans were not thought of as human beings. Once the settlers made contact with these individuals, war broke out. Historically, Native Americans have been viewed lower than whites. While Dances with Wolves is a fictional depiction of the treatment of Native Americans, The Trail of Tears is a non-fictional depiction of forced migration. Early settlers forced Native tribes to move westward and forced them to live on sections of land that was not conducive to farming or hunting. Native Americans were not seen seen as citizens of the United States, but more as beggars and thieves who were not given the same rights and privileges as

    Read More

  • Dancing in The Dark by Morris Dickstein

    1054 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ronald Reagan once said, “We fought a war on poverty, and poverty won.” I read the book, Dancing in the dark by Morris Dickstein. This book was about the great depression, and the impacts it had on American life. The traditional thought of poverty, people dying of hunger and people lying in the roads, has been erased. America has abolished poverty by the traditional standards but the thought of poverty and what it is has changed. In America we consider poverty to be spending all your money on bills, so you have no money left for food to feed your family. We consider poverty to be just being poor. One-Third of our population makes less than $38,000. This is not enough to be able to be above the poverty line. Anything below this “line” is considered being poverty. How do they decide this line? They take the cost of a very basic diet, and they multiply it by three, for a family of three. That being said, One-half of the jobs in America pay below $38,000 a year, so no wonder we are losing the war on poverty.

    Read More

  • The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian Analysis

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book for today can tell the current Indian situation, for future can use as the historic source for the researches. The amount of the audiences is one of the values of a book, and the audiences of this book could be anyone who can read. The words were used in the book are easily to understand, and there is no negative thoughts in the book either, which is good for the teenagers to read, and help them to know about the Native Americans. In the book, Arnold might have had some negative thoughts of his life, but he always found the way to solve the problems, never show it to the public. In addition, author not only see the world as a Native American, but also a student of a school which full of white students, Arnold never fights because his group want him to, he fought for himself, for the hope, which also is another point of this book. People should fight for themselves, for their hope, not just follow their tribes, we should have our own faith, not just follow the

    Read More

  • The Call of the Wild by Jack London

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novella The Call of the Wild is a story of Buck overcoming challenges while being thrown into the real world and learning new traits like persistence and resilience. Protagonist Buck is a colossal St Bernards cross Scotch shepherd dog, transforms from a humble house dog and then eventually returns to a primordial state as a best of the wild. Along the way he is faced with an endless array of challenges. London achieves this by portraying Buck’s change in character in a manner that explores and incorporates diverse motifs.

    Read More

  • Dances with Wolves

    424 Words  | 1 Pages

    The movie Dances with Wolves was a real good movie and I enjoyed watching it. It showed how life was back in the time of the Civil War. The movie also showed how Indians lived and how they respect everything except the white men.

    Read More

  • Black Elk Speaks

    1275 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...that actually experienced it. The author gives a good background of the relationship white settlement and Indian cultures had, which supported by the life experience. An author depicts all the emotions of struggle and happiness at the times when it is hard to imagine it. And it actually not the author who is persuasive, but the Black Elk himself, because he is the one that actually can convey the exact feeling and images to the reader.

    Read More

  • White Civilized Culture In Blue Winds Dancing By Thomas S. Whitecloud

    794 Words  | 2 Pages

    In a desperate attempt to discover his true identity, the narrator decides to go back to Wisconsin. He was finally breaking free from captivity. The narrator was filling excitement and joy on his journey back home. He remembers every town and every stop. Additionally, he admires the natural beauty that fills the scenery. In contrast to the “beauty of captivity” (320), he felt on campus, this felt like freedom. No doubt, that the narrator is more in touch with nature and his Native American roots than the white civilized culture. Nevertheless, as he gets closer to home he feels afraid of not being accepted, he says “… afraid of being looked on as a stranger by my own people” (323). He felt like he would have to prove himself all over again, only this time it was to his own people. The closer the narrator got to his home, the happier he was feeling. “Everything seems to say, “Be happy! You are home now—you are free” (323). Although he felt as though he had found his true identity, he questioned it once more on the way to the lodge. The narrator thought, “If I am white I will not believe that story; if I am Indian, I will know that there is an old woman under the ice” (323). The moment he believed, there was a woman under the ice; He realized he had found his true identity, it was Native American. At that moment nothing but that night mattered, “[he], try hard to forget school and white people, and be one of these—my people.” (323). He

    Read More

  • Into the Wild by Christopher Johnson McCandless

    1175 Words  | 3 Pages

    The book, Into the wild, takes us into the world of a young man named Christopher Johnson McCandless. He travelled across the western United States from 1990 to 1992, and on April 28, 1992, he started his last adventure and walked into the wilds of Alaska. About 112 days later, he died of starvation. Unsurprisingly, public opinion polarized on his behavior. Some may admire his courage and noble ideals, though some regard him as an idiotic and arrogant narcissist. Although he died on his way to find the truth and back to nature, I believe that Chris McCandless should be considered as a hero, but I cannot completely approve of all his behaviors.

    Read More

  • Undoing Stereotypes in the Movie, Dances With Wolves

    1218 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hollywood has helped create and perpetuate many different stereotypical images of the different races in the world. Those stereotypes still continue to affect the way we think about each other today and many of those stereotypes have been proven to be historically inaccurate. The movie Dances With Wolves, directed by actor Kevin Costner, does an excellent job in attempting to promote a greater acceptance, understanding, and sympathy towards Native American culture, instead of supporting the typical stereotype of Native Americans being nothing but brutal, blood thirsty savages.

    Read More

  • American Horse by Louise Erdrich

    661 Words  | 2 Pages

    Louise Erdrich’s short story “American horse” is a literary piece written by an author whose works emphasize the American experience for a multitude of different people from a plethora of various ethnic backgrounds. While Erdrich utilizes a full arsenal of literary elements to better convey this particular story to the reader, perhaps the two most prominent are theme and point of view. At first glance this story seems to portray the struggle of a mother who has her son ripped from her arms by government authorities; however, if the reader simply steps back to analyze the larger picture, the theme becomes clear. It is important to understand the backgrounds of both the protagonist and antagonists when analyzing theme of this short story. Albetrine, who is the short story’s protagonist, is a Native American woman who characterizes her son Buddy as “the best thing that has ever happened to me”. The antagonist, are westerners who work on behalf of the United States Government. Given this dynamic, the stage is set for a clash between the two forces. The struggle between these two can be viewed as a microcosm for what has occurred throughout history between Native Americans and Caucasians. With all this in mind, the reader can see that the theme of this piece is the battle of Native Americans to maintain their culture and way of life as their homeland is invaded by Caucasians. In addition to the theme, Erdrich’s usage of the third person limited point of view helps the reader understand the short story from several different perspectives while allowing the story to maintain the ambiguity and mysteriousness that was felt by many Natives Americans as they endured similar struggles. These two literary elements help set an underlying atmos...

    Read More

  • What Are The Issues On Indian Reservations?

    1918 Words  | 4 Pages

    The death of one character, June, Albertine’s aunt, unites the Kashpaw and Lamartine families and shows the issues within them. As a young woman, Albertine witnesses situations involving domestic violence and poverty. The desperate manner of the lives of many Natives living on Reservations is shown throughout the novel. In White Men Fear to Tread, the life of Russell Means on and off of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota portrays many of the issues of Reservation life, especially today. Means describes his life experiences from growing up as a young man to being grown and going to find a job and later being a leader in the AIM movement and the struggles he experiences there. Works of literature such as these open the eyes of many people to the issues that exist on many Native American Reservations today, specifically to those who aren’t Native and are ignorant to what is happening really. For example, some people think that all Reservation Indians lack motivation and therefore don’t do anything in order to make something of themselves, but this isn’t necessarily true. There are various situations that Natives are exposed to and the conditions on many Reservations account for the habits which some people

    Read More

  • Dances With Wolves: Chapter Summary: Dances With Wolves

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Dances with Wolves” is a movie that seeks to deliver a message of the need for cultural diversity. The story follows the main character Lt. John James Dunbar, played by Kevin Costner, from the battlefields of the Civil War to the barely touched western frontiers that house the Sioux people. Once Dunbar arrives at his post, Ft. Sedgewick, he sets out to find his place in his new home. However, due to two plot moving events, the suicide of the officer who dispatched Dunbar to Fort Sedgewick and the murder of the coach driver who took him there, no one else is alive that holds knowledge of Dunbar’s placement.

    Read More

More about Dances With Wolves by Michael Blake

Open Document