D'Arcy McNickle, through his classic novel, Runner in the Sun, is able to articulate a clear and well informed account of the historic cultures and lifestyles of Native Americans, document the struggles of these groups as they adapt to changing environmental and social circumstances, propose solutions to these struggles in the form of new crops, knowledge, and leadership, critique modern culture through the activities of his characters, and support an engaging and well-constructed storyline. The primary struggles demonstrated in this work seem to be those between Native Americans and Nature and those within Native American society. The story documents these people as they work to reconcile these struggles. Solutions are proposed and adopted …show more content…
One solution that is provided was a solution to the social problems that had arisen in the village. This solution required a long progression of events to fully manifest itself as the leaders gathered information regarding the brewing plans of Dark Dealer (McNickle, 163-166). Once he initiates his rebellion, it is revealed that the Holy One had devised a plan to let the Spider Clan of Dark Dealer destroy themselves in their attempt to capture the village (McNickle, 159). While McNickle spares his readers the details of the unfolding of this plan, the end result is revealed as the Spider Clan is exposed as an enemy, is thrown out of the village, and allows for great social and traditional changes to take place in the village. Some of these changes include the building of houses on the valley floor, the restoration of unity among the people (as is also expressed with their reunion with the Holy One), and a restored appreciation by the people for the provisions of nature (McNickle, 143, 169, …show more content…
Through this journey to the Land of Fable, Salt encounters many foreign nations and cultures (McNickle, 174, 177-183, 186-191, 194-195). Here he is able to gather information regarding the lives of those in a variety of conditions, allowing him to better advise the people of White Rock Place regarding the best practices to adopt to account for the changing conditions of nature (McNickle, 233). Upon the achievement of his destination, he learns much about the changing customs of the people of Mexico and learns that prosperity is not a direct source of happiness for a group and gains great wisdom regarding the nature of prosperity and peace (McNickle, 200-206). At this destination he also, somewhat unknowingly, collects a variety of strong corn strains for his people to cultivate upon his return (McNickle, 225). These knowledge and corn resources are brought back and are proven to help the people greatly in their lives. Through his knowledge of the world, Salt is able to move his people from their traditional caverns to a more easily cultivable and abundant land near a river (McNickle, 233). His people are also able to once again unite with the Spider Clan, having learned from their disputes, and are able to live on in prosperity of food and of spirit (McNickle,
Modern day Native American are widely known as stewards of the environment who fight for conservation and environmental issues. The position of the many Native American as environmentalists and conservationists is justified based on the perception that before European colonists arrived in the Americas, Native Americans had little to no effect on their environment as they lived in harmony with nature. This idea is challenged by Shepard Krech III in his work, The Ecological Indian. In The Ecological Indian, Krech argues that this image of the noble savage was an invented tradition that began in the early 1970’s, and that attempts to humanize Native Americans by attempting to portray them as they really were. Krech’s arguments are criticized by Darren J Ranco who in his response, claims that Krech fails to analyze the current state of Native American affairs, falls into the ‘trap’ of invented tradition, and accuses Krech of diminishing the power and influence of Native Americans in politics. This essay examines both arguments, but ultimately finds Krech to be more convincing as Krech’s
From the Deep Woods to Civilization should be an intriguing read for anybody interested in Native American history. It gives an introspective look into the adjustments to society many had to make at that time. Eastman's own identity follows a parabolic curve from the beginning to the end. He rediscovers his Sioux identity after questioning it. The book implores us to consider the tactics, struggles, and other problems that Indian people have had to go through to achieve success despite the odds being stacked against
Throughout life people encounter a numerous amount of obstacles, some of these obstacles can be tougher than others. These obstacles don’t define who you are, how the situation is handled does. In the book The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen, Jessica encounters a tremendous obstacle that life could throw at her. Jessica has had to learn to adjust her life from the way that she used to live. Her life is changing and she has to decide if this accident defines who she is going to be while being surrounded by the love and comfort of her family.
We turn back the clock as Welch draws on historical sources and Blackfeet cultural stories in order to explore the past of his ancestors. As a result, he provides a basis for a new understanding of the past and the forces that led to the deciding factor of the Plains Indian tribes. Although Fools Crow reflects the pressure to assimilate inflicted by the white colonizers on the Blackfeet tribes, it also portrays the influence of economic changes during this period. The prosperity created by the hide trade does not ultimately protect the tribe from massacre by the white soldiers. It does, however, effectively change the Blackfeet economy and women's place in their society. Thus, it sets the stage for the continued deterioration of their societal system. Although their economic value is decreased, women still represent an important cog in the economic structure. Indeed, women are central to the survival of the Blackfeet tribal community that Welch creates and in many ways this strength and centrality provide background for the strength of the women depicted in his more contemporary novels. Welch's examination of the past leads to a clearer understanding of the present Blackfeet world presented throughout his work.
Lives for Native Americans on reservations have never quite been easy. There are many struggles that most outsiders are completely oblivious about. In her book The Roundhouse, Louise Erdrich brings those problems to light. She gives her readers a feel of what it is like to be Native American by illustrating the struggles through the life of Joe, a 13-year-old Native American boy living on a North Dakota reservation. This book explores an avenue of advocacy against social injustices. The most observable plight Joe suffers is figuring out how to deal with the injustice acted against his mother, which has caused strife within his entire family and within himself.
These stories have a continued overlapping influence in American Fiction and have remained a part of the American imagination; causing Americans to not trust Native Americans and treat them as they were not human just like African Americans. In conclusion to all these articles, Mary Rowlandson and John Smith set the perception for Native Americans due to their Captivity Narratives.
Native American literature from the Southeastern United States is deeply rooted in the oral traditions of the various tribes that have historically called that region home. While the tribes most integrally associated with the Southeastern U.S. in the American popular mind--the FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole)--were forcibly relocated to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) from their ancestral territories in the American South, descendents of those tribes have created compelling literary works that have kept alive their tribal identities and histories by incorporating traditional themes and narrative elements. While reflecting profound awareness of the value of the Native American past, these literary works have also revealed knowing perspectives on the meaning of the modern world in the lives of contemporary Native Americans.
In the Play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry there are two main character’s that many people debate upon to be the protagonist of the play. Those two characters are Mama and Walter. The story is about an African American family living in Chicago in the 1950’s. During this time period race was a large issue in that area. The family consists of three generations, Mama being the mother and grandmother has a lot of responsibilities as what I see her to be as the families anchor. The next generation is Walter his wife Ruth and his sister Beneatha. Walter and Ruth have a song Travis who is ten years old at the time of this play. Mama is the moral supporter of the family and believes that everything has a purpose and that things should be done by design. One of the main events in this play is the life insurance settlement check for ten thousand dollars that Mama receives. This being a large amount of money during that time period creates many arguments between the families about what to do with the money. Walter is the type of guy that believes his family shouldn’t settle like everyone else and believes that they shouldn’t be held back just because they are an African American family living in what is referred to as a “white man’s world”. I believe that Walter is the protagonist of the play for two main reasons, he isn’t a selfish man, he doesn’t feel the family should be limited because they are African American and he has distinct options or plans for the future of his family.
Pages one to sixty- nine in Indian From The Inside: Native American Philosophy and Cultural Renewal by Dennis McPherson and J. Douglas Rabb, provides the beginning of an in-depth analysis of Native American cultural philosophy. It also states the ways in which western perspective has played a role in our understanding of Native American culture and similarities between Western culture and Native American culture. The section of reading can be divided into three lenses. The first section focus is on the theoretical understanding of self in respect to the space around us. The second section provides a historical background into the relationship between Native Americans and British colonial power. The last section focus is on the affiliation of otherworldliness that exist between
An interesting aspect of reading Sunjata is that it allows the reader to get a glimpse into the past. An unmissable trait that the story brings up is the power and control that women hold within their marriages and families overall. Part of this power comes from the West African people carrying on their family through a matrilineal system. Familial ties are a significant motif in Sunjata with even the storyteller tracing his ancestry back to the strong women told about in the oral tale. The matrilineal system means that instead of children taking the name of their father, as seen in many European societies, they would take the name of their mother and hold closer to the ties of her ancestors. This system allows for a sense of feminism to sprinkle all over the story of Sunjata and, ultimately, on the
In American Indian Stories, University of Nebraska Press Lincoln and London edition, the author, Zitkala-Sa, tries to tell stories that depicted life growing up on a reservation. Her stories showed how Native Americans reacted to the white man’s ways of running the land and changing the life of Indians. “Zitkala-Sa was one of the early Indian writers to record tribal legends and tales from oral tradition” (back cover) is a great way to show that the author’s stories were based upon actual events in her life as a Dakota Sioux Indian. This essay will describe and analyze Native American life as described by Zitkala-Sa’s American Indian Stories, it will relate to Native Americans and their interactions with American societies, it will discuss the major themes of the book and why the author wrote it, it will describe Native American society, its values and its beliefs and how they changed and it will show how Native Americans views other non-Natives.
McNickle, D'Arcy. "A Different World." Native American Literature: A Brief Introduction and Anthology. Ed. Vizenor, Gerald. United States of America: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers, 1995, 111-119.
of Native American Culture as a Means of Reform,” American Indian Quarterly 26, no. 1
Change is one of the tallest hurdles we all must face growing up. We all must watch our relatives die or grow old, our pets do the same, change school or employment, and take responsibility for our own lives one way or another. Change is what shapes our personalities, it molds us as we journey through life, for some people, change is what breaks us. Watching everything you once knew as your reality wither away into nothing but memory and photographs is tough, and the most difficult part is continuing on with your life. In the novel Ceremony, author Leslie Silko explores how change impacted the entirety of Native American people, and the continual battle to keep up with an evolving world while still holding onto their past. Through Silko’s
From page fifty-eight to fifty-seven of Albert Camus’s The Stranger he uses the relentless Algerian sun as a motif for the awareness of reality that pursues the main character, Meursault, throughout the passage. When each motif appears in the novel such as this passage, Meursault’s actions change. This exemplifies that the light, heat, and sun trigger him to become debilitated or furious. Albert Camus sets up this motif in the passage to indicate to the reader that this motif shows the major themes of this novel. This motif shows Meursault’s emotion, how the imagery of weaponry affects Meursault’s actions, how the sun is a representation of society, and how the sun weakens Meursault.