Brief Summary Of The Book Black Elk Speaks
The read to change a thousand minds Reading “Black Elk Speaks” is an interesting task. The book shows you the perspective of a native american man who witnessed everything. A man who lived through america’s forceful expansion into native territory, lived through both world war one and world war two. The book “Black Elk Speaks” is the story of Black Elk’s life, told to a white man. As I read the book, it was as if he was reciting the story to me, and some parts struck me as weird, amazing, or horrible. The first part of the book that struck me was especially horrible to me. This first quote was when Black Elk talks about how the Lakota nation was once prosperous, “But the Wasichus came, and they have made little islands for us and other little islands for the four-leggeds, and always these islands are becoming smaller, for around them surges the gnawing flood of the wasichu; and it is dirty with lies and greed. (Black Elk 6)” The reason this struck me was because of how well he explains the American expansion into Native American territory. It tells how Americans pushed into the Native’s land, through lies and deceit. …show more content…
The second quote comes from the section when Black Elk talks about an old Lakota holy man, called Drinks Water. Black Elk says, “he dreamed the four-leggeds were going back into the earth and that a strange race had woven a spider’s web all around the Lakotas. And he said: “When this happens, you shall live in square grey houses, in a barren land, and beside those square grey houses, you shall starve. (Black Elk 7)” This part gave me mixed feelings. The most prevalent of those feelings was amazement. The reason for this was that Drinks Water almost perfectly describes what happens to the Lakota nation many years after Drinks Water dies. The Americans come over and weave a web of treaties and lies around the Lakota and force them into
Black Elk Speaks Book Report
521 Words | 3 PagesBlack Elk Speaks, is a personal narrative that tells a story about Black Elk who is a medicine man of the Lakota tribe; the book is narrated by John Neihardt and is twenty-five chapters long. Black Elk mostly talks about the visions he had when he was a young child. Black Elk explains to Neihardt that he had his very first vision when he was five years old and he says that he saw two men appeared in the sky singing a sacred song (Black Elk Speaks p.17). The second vision that Black Elk tells Neihardt about is a very detailed one that takes place when he falls ill for a few days. The vision that he had involved him seeing a highly detailed symbolic message from his ancestors.
Stereotypes By Brent Staples
193 Words | 1 PagesThe main idea of this entry is about the stereotypes that come along with racism. Also, Brent Staples wants his readers to realize how much colored people sacrifice from their normality in order to fit in with society, in hopes of not being attacked or offended. The author proves this in his entry by mentioning ‘innocent’ behaviors, such as singing Beethoven, that he did in public in order to relief those surrounding him from danger. Moreover, the author compared hikers to the country’s bears in order to provide readers with a valid connection between black and colored people. In addition to that, Brent Staples uses flashback as one of his techniques when sharing with us his encounters with white people, this gives readers an idea of how
Stereotyping In The Great Death By John Smelcer
671 Words | 3 PagesDon’t let people talk about your region, when they are not from that region and criticize your country and offend you in someway. The author John Smelcer has been criticizing or stereotyping native americans, and i think he has no right to be writing about a Native American because he has not been born in and description of characters might irritate the native americans which would give a bad reputation for him and his book. I understand that people might say it’s fine because he is adopted by Native American parents , but that does not mean that he himself can write about Native American. In a way that would bother them. But there is no reason to put the Natives in the book ,“The Great Death” as if they are new to the world and never new anything because he is basically stereotyping.
Figurative Language In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
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The Long Bitter Trail Summary
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Analysis Of The Trouble With Wilderness By William Cronon
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Rhetorical Analysis Of Chief Red Jacket
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Analysis Of Thomas King's The Truth About Story
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The Earth Shall Weep Summary
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Racism In Sherman Alexie's Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight In Heaven?
750 Words | 3 PagesOnce European men stepped foot onto what is now known as North America, the lives of the Native Americans were forever changed. The Indians suffered centuries of torment and ridicule from the settlers in America. Despite the reservations made for the Natives, there are still cultural issues occurring within America. In Sherman Alexie’s, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, the tragic lives of Native Americans in modern society are depicted in a collection of short stories taking place in the Spokane Reservation in Washington state. Throughout the collection, a prominent and reoccurring melancholic theme of racism against Native Americans and their struggle to cope with such behavior from their counterpart in this modern day and age is shown.
Transcontinental Railroad In Westward Expansion
546 Words | 3 PagesThe Transcontinental Railroad played a significant role in the settlement of the American West. As of May 10th, 1869, this railroad became the area’s newest and fastest mode of transportation. Its first obligation was to bring settlers in at very low cost, and, sometimes, even free of charge. The types of people that began to migrate West were those who were searching for a better life. One which contains less poverty and more opportunities.
Bad Indians By Deborah Miranda Summary
1007 Words | 5 PagesThroughout history, there have been many literary studies that focused on the culture and traditions of Native Americans. Native writers have worked painstakingly on tribal histories, and their works have made us realize that we have not learned the full story of the Native American tribes. Deborah Miranda has written a collective tribal memoir, “Bad Indians”, drawing on ancestral memory that revealed aspects of an indigenous worldview and contributed to update our understanding of the mission system, settler colonialism and histories of American Indians about how they underwent cruel violence and exploitation. Her memoir successfully addressed past grievances of colonialism and also recognized and honored indigenous knowledge and identity.
Petalesharo's Speech Of The Pawnee Chief
170 Words | 1 PagesPetalesharo’s writing reflected the treatment of Native Americans during the 1800s. Being a Native American himself, Petalesharo was able to give perspective on a point in history typically viewed from a white man’s opinion. The excerpt “Petalesharo” explains how the Native American was able “to prevent young women captured by other tribes from being sacrificed”, making Petalesharo well liked by the Americans (588). Petalesharo gave the “Speech of the Pawnee Chief” infront of Americans to convey the differences between Native Americans and Americans through emotion, logic, and credibility, which showed how the two groups will never be the same, but still can coexist in the world together.
Life Among The Piutes Analysis
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In Paula Gunn Allen's Essay 'Where I Came From Is Like This'
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