Analysis Of The Soft-Hearted Sioux By Sandra Cisneros

During the early 1930s many black writers begin to produce works that helped to shape and define the Civil Rights movement. Among them was Langston Hughes whose poems and writing contributed directly to the rhetoric of the day and inspired many African-Americans, both in and out of the Civil Rights movement. Much of this grew out of what was called the Harlem Renaissance, which emerged during turbulent times for the world, the United States, and black Americans. World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 had left the world in disorder and stimulated anti-colonial movements throughout the third world. In America, twenty years of progressive reform ended with the red scare, race riots, and isolationism throughout 1919 and led to

Many of the Indians that left with the missionaries were gone for many years and did not know how much had changed back at home. In the story The Soft-Hearted Sioux a young man comes back home after receiving an education from the missionaries. He had left before he was taught how to survive out in the wild. He came back to dying and starving parents. He was brainwashed by the missionaries because he went against his family’s customs and told the medicine man never to come back and that God will save his father. He started preaching God’s words to his people and they left the community. His father was growing sicker and sicker and he needed food. His son went out everyday trying to get something but had no skills in hunting. His father had told him to go two hills over and he could find meat. With no concept of ownership, the son went and killed a cow that belonged to an American. Upon leaving with the meat he was chased down and attacked by the “owner” of the cattle. The son accidentally killed the man and fled back to his father’s teepee only to realize that he was too late and that his father had died. He was so conditioned by the white man that he had forgotten his ancestors’ ways of survival.

The division between whites and blacks was clearly prevalent and the United States of America was a racially discriminatory society reinforced by its racist laws. Hughes took the initiative to speak his mind via poetry, resulting in his piece “I, Too”. In this poem, Hughes clearly signifies one thing: Just because his skin color is different from whites, does not mean that they get to sing the National Anthem louder. Arguing that all American citizens are the same, disregarding their skin color, Hughes applies in this poem a master-slave relationship. The assumed white master shows disrespect to his servant by sending him away whenever visitors come over, because he is ordered to eat secluded from the company. However he seems to not be faze by this and actually finds it funny, supported by “But I laugh” (5). Furthermore, not only does he find amusement in this unpleasant situation, but the isolation has a positive effect on him “And grow strong” (7), implying that even though he submits to his master, his spirit will not be diminished.

“Home is where the heart is.” In The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros develops this famous statement to depict what a “home” really represents. What is a home? Is it a house with four walls and a roof, the neighborhood of kids while growing up, or a unique Cleaver household where everything is perfect and no problems arise? According to Cisneros, we all have our own home with which we identify; however, we cannot always go back to the environment we once considered our dwelling place. The home, which is characterized by who we are, and determined by how we view ourselves, is what makes every individual unique. A home is a personality, a depiction of who we are inside and

"My People the Sioux" is a good literary work written in 1928. This book leaves an everlasting impression with some because it definitely intensifies the sympathy for the Indians. Luther Standing Bear, also known as Plenty Kill, portrays the dramatic and traumatic changes about the Sioux throughout their traditional way of life. As a young boy growing up, he experienced many of these hardships first hand between his people and the whites. This autobiography is quite valuable as it helps allow us to envision what really happened in the battling times of the Indians. Luther stated this quote, which to me, is unforgettable and very well said. It reads:

In Zitkala Sa’s short story The Soft-Hearted Sioux a Native American boy goes to a mission school that teaches him that killing anything is wrong. His father is sick and unable to hunt, and he did not kill until it is too late. The young man is born and raised Native American but, is taught Christianity in school which made him a social outcast to both his people and their ways of life. Zitkala story The Soft-Hearted Sioux, portrays that the boy is torn between two faiths. The conflict with his father’s believes and what he is taught in school leads to horrible decisions. These choices cause him to go against both.

"I, Too" really exhibits the black man and his will to do well even under pressuring conditions to be some one that he is not. This pressure leads to a whole new line of confidence and pride shown in the third stanza.

In the early part of the 20th century writers became more artistic. A modernist approach could be seen in many artist works. The African American writers during this era could be seen as aggressively self-conscious, divided, and vigor. Yet, many were just trying to figure out who they were as a person, and how they fit in the north. The Harlem Renaissance paved a way for these African American writers to emerge. Urban culture became visible, and many writers begin expressing themselves. Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston are two modernists who exposed the beauty of the African American Culture. Therefore, there artistic abilities and cultural experiences supported them in identifying themselves through short stories and poems.

The metaphor in line 3, “They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes,” expresses the oppression that African Americans still face (Hughes). However, as the poem progresses, a sense of hope appears. Found in line 15, “Besides, They’ll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed---” the true value of African Americans will soon enough prevail (Hughes). In “I Too”, the narrator’s use of personal pronouns symbolizes the entirety of African Americans and how the oppression denotes isolation.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe currently fights to save its only water source from natural gas and oil contamination. This troubling current event has a somewhat forgotten historical analogue where very similar themes presented themselves. The Kinzua Dam Controversy, which took place in the 1950’s and early 1960’s, resulted in the displacement of over 600 Seneca Indian families and the acquisition of a large tract of traditional Seneca Land for dam building. Additionally, the acquisition of Seneca land represented a breach of “The Treaty with the Six Nations of 1794,” which explicated prevented such action by the US Government. The dam and its construction, which primarily benefitted Pittsburg, inspired a heated discourse concerning the ethics of native relocation.

Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks are regarded as highly influential poets in African American literature, which continues to inspire writers to this day. Langston Hughes is a well-known pioneer of the Harlem Renaissance, a movement in which African Americans in Harlem during post World War I and the early 1930’s began a cultural and artistic revolution. During this time, African American musicians, artists, writers, and poets revolutionized their position in and through many artistic fields of expression. This cultural and artistic revolution redefined how America viewed the African American population, which garnered respect and criticism from Americans nationwide. Gwendolyn Brooks, an African American poet also in the 19th century, was introduced to Langston Hughes at a young age peeking her interest in the Harlem Renaissance that eventually became a foundation and influence in her writing. Gwendolyn Brooks and Langston Hughes share similarities in the writing as she was highly inspired by Langston Hughes, but also share many differences that are responsible for making their pieces of writing unique to other authors and each other.

Langston Hughes’ style of poetry renounced the classical style of poetry and sought out a more jazz and folk rhythm style. Most of Hughes’ poems were written during the Harlem Renaissance, named after the cultural activity African Americans participated in, such as: literature, music, art, theatre, and political thinking. William Blake, on the other hand, was a nonconformist who was associated with the leading radical thinkers of his day. Although, considered a lyric poet and a visionary, Blake’s poetry was not read by many, yet he still believed that his poetry could be understood by common people and was determined not to sacrifice his vision to become popular.

A home means a multitude of things to a multitude of people. For some it is simple, four walls and a roof over one’s head, a constructed mass of wood, concrete, and glass. It is a structure to sustain life. For others, it’s more complex, more of a feeling in one’s heart than a tangible place of residence. For me, it is neither simple nor complex; it is a warm feeling of family and an abundance of love as well as a physical location overflowing with memories. No matter how far anyone strays from a house, if it was once their home, it always will be. Despite the fact that I no longer live in my grandparent’s home, each time I return there I am overcome with feelings home, family, and love. That home is warmth and happiness epitomized. It is one of the most significant parts of my childhood. Even if a house does not appear to be anything grand or beautiful, its beauty comes from the memories and love that made it a home.

The Sioux Nation is still around today, and they are still faced with similar challenges in life due to the lack of help from the government on the reservations. Ninety-seven percent of the population lives far below the U.S. federal poverty line with a median household income ranging between $2,600 and $3,500 per year. In the book Saga of the Sioux, the author discusses the different conflicts and themes the Native Americans dealt with over the years because of the westward expansion.

Langston Hughes, Jacques Roumain, and Nicolas Guillen are poets with different backgrounds. Hughes was born in Missouri, Roumain was born in Haiti, and Guillen was born in Cuba. However, they share one thing in common and that is the shared experience of racism. In their works they all react to the limitations that have been placed upon them. Liberation is a key theme in the works of all three of these writers. Hughes and Guillen envisioned a universal justice embracing all races while Hughes and Roumain connected Africa as the one real home for black people. These three writers call for a social transformation and by doing so they represent black life experiences from Harlem, Haiti, and Havana, by being proud of their skin color, and where they came from, they were able to successfully portray an image of racism in America.