Critical Analysis Of The Donner Party

1. Utah is both a product of the times in which it emerged but also a unique entity that worked to shape its own future. Robbins and Malone both describe how the west, and by a large extent Utah is a part of the great narrative of the American West and sometimes differing from it entirely. By exploring the different facets and predominant activities of 1850's and beyond we can find clues as to the origins and ultimate fate of the region . By exploring Western American capitalism, various functions of manifest destiny, and how settlers adhered to the frontier pioneer spirit we can learn the overall narrative in which the region participates.

In his story “The Lakota Way; Joseph Marshall III adequately convinces the reader to persevere through a series of stories that allows the reader to develop a personal connection with characters. Marshall achieves this by informing the reader and using formal diction. This allows his readers to experience how perseverance can have a positive impact on one’s life. Marshall teaches us that Perseverance represents a quality in human beings that allows us to be steadfast despite the difficulty. In the folk tale “The Story of the Giant,” perseverance is abundant; Marshall utilizes the skill of teaching to persuade his audience to persevere through the story. Marshall‘s unique way of writing allows the reader to take lessons from a story and influence them to use it in their own lives. From lya the giant terrorizing people to Indians having to leave their land because of the government to Marshall’s grandfather’s stories of hardship, Marshall shows his audience how the Native Americans have always had it rough but more importantly how they persevered.

this horrible journey and four­thousand people had died in this wretched year. The trail of

The story of Chris McCandless has become a pop culture phenomenon. Many are fascinated by his desire to abandon his family and society and “walk into the wild” (Krakauer 69). Newscasts, magazine articles, movies, and books have tried to define what motivated him to give up everything for his Alaskan odyssey; however, the answers died with McCandless. People make assumptions about him without knowing his entire story. McCandless chose to do the unconventional, making people think he was either foolish or brave and determined, but ultimately he was selfish for doing what he did.

Approximately 20,000 people died while traveling on the Oregon Trail. Which took place in the mid 1840s, when Americans started seeking economic success by moving westward. The justification for the expansion was due to weakness in the Mexican government and economy. Since Americans regarded Mexicans as inferior, despite the statement, made by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence, that “All men are created equal”, many of the citizens thought that the Mexican citizens did not deserve to keep their lands. America was not justified in its western expansion due to the lack of morality behind putting one person’s comfort above the safety of another.

The migration of many foreigners resulted from various reasons that were explained in Susan Lee Johnson's chapter On the Eve of Emigration. Johnson discussed how many foreigners from different regions of the world and Americans from the Eastern part of the United States left their homes or countries for economic, social, political, or cultural reasons to start a new life in California with the hopes of striking wealth from the mines (Johnson, 59-95). One of the most interesting first-hand accounts of the Gold Rush came from a woman named Louis Amelia Knapp Smith Clapp or Dame Shirley. Shirley's account provided a detailed view of how life was during the gold mining years in California through her own descriptive personal account (Shirley Document, 171-184). This engaging source offered a good understanding of how life was in California during the late 1840s and early 1850s. The California Gold Rush caused “gold fever” among diverse ranges of people, both locally and globally, and sparked an instant exodus to

The 19th century was a time where the idea of manifest destiny swept through the American nation. Filling the minds of men and women of the united states, fueling the ideas of moving west for land and prosperity. Americans sought to extend the United States territory from the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific Coast, seeing it as their god given right to obtain the land. Nearly seven million Americans embarked on that long and treacherous journey west. On this excursion, the travelers would face rugged terrain, harsh weather conditions, savage Indians, and robbers. Although millions of the travelers made it to their destinations unscathed, not all were so fortunate. One of the most tragic recorded incidences during this western expansion was that of the Donner Party. This group of pioneers, due to false information and bad judgment, became stranded on the Sierra Nevada mountain during the winter of 1846 and were forced to turn to cannibalism to survive.

The Trails out West, was trails guided to different areas like California and Oregon. It's a group of immigrants seeking to find freedom of religion. The immigrants set out to find a new home and become rich. There was gold in the west and land to be settled. This was an opportunity to those that had nothing but were ambitious and crafty. According to records about 250,000 gold-seekers and farmers were also in search of gold. The trails became famous because more than 500,000 people made the journey out West most were in covered wagons pulled by mule and oxen. They had no gps .. all they had was in their wagon guided by a sense of fate and freedom. MARGARET A. FINK, Oregon Trail Pioneer, 1850 sums up the feelings of a Oregon trail traveler stating: “I think none of us have realized until now the perils of this undertaking”. Despite the difficult task of traveling by covered wagons..shows the spirit and persistence of the American settlers. The Trails out West, was trails guided

On the other hand, they also had to hurry because they still had to walk through three mountain passes, the Sierra Nevada to California, and had only time from Spring to Fall. One of the travelers had 'The Emigrants' Guide to Oregon and California' with them. Since different people meet and had to live with different characters, Tamsen Donner wrote: “We have of the best people in our company and some, too, that are not so good.” Since it was Spring, rain and storm were pretty common and stopped the group on the Big Blue River. For a few people it was already too much of what they can withstand and the first death was by Reeds grandma, the loss of her was tragically written down by Virginia Reed: “..We made a neat coffin, and buried her under a tree... We miss her very much.” So far, there were no other major difficulties for the travelers, it was a pretty smooth trip. Arriving to Fort Bridger about just a week behind schedule, there James Reed meets James Clyman, an old friend who thought that the Hastings shortcut is unpractical, the old way would be more safer, but Reed did not take the advice, he wanted to take the shortcut, probably by the thought that a shortcut in our life also gets us to our target faster.

Trapped in the mountains, starved, stranded, and left for dead, the Donner party banded together in a fight against time, nature, and temptation up until the very last minute. Though they suffered a great deal and went through many losses, the Donner party portrays the true American dream of sacrifice and will for a better life. While many choose to focus on what the party did to survive, the underlying, unwavering hope for a better life is often left in the dark. It is time we bring to light what the Donner party really is all about. A story of compassion, sacrifice, perseverance, hope, and a true representation of what it means to work

350-400 miles off their planned trip. It seemed to be a good idea to follow

In the opening pages of A Voyage Long and Strange: On the Trail of Vikings, Lost Colonists, and Other Adventurers in Early America, the author, Tony Horwitz, conveys:

Throughout history men and women have made decisions that in result impacted their lives. What would one do if he/she were trapped in the mountains, barricaded in by snow with no food or water left. The Donner Party was a wagon party traveling westward. The Donner Party was a on a journey heading west in the spring of 1846 from Springfield, Illinois. The Party was led by Jacob and George Donner. The brothers decided to take the so called shortcut Hastings passage. The poor decisions made throughout the journey westward substantially contributed problems that occurred and what eventually led to the failure of the journey to the West.

Like a coin dropped between the cushions of a couch, traditional oral storytelling is a custom fading away in current American culture. For Native Americans, however, the practice of oral storytelling is still a tradition that carries culture and rich history over the course of generations. Three examples of traditional oral stories, “How Men and Women Got Together”, “Coyote’s Rabbit Chase”, and “Corn Mother”, demonstrate key differences in perspectives and values among diverse native tribes in America.

Nathanael West’s The Day of the Locust tells the story of people who have come to California in search