`` Red Badge Of Courage `` And John Neihardt ' Black Elk

Throughout human existence, mankind has had to overcome difficult obstacles in order to prosper. In Diane Glancy’s “Pushing the Bear”, the reader discovers how the Cherokee Indians overcome their hardships and flourish into a new, thriving community. In this novel, the audience observe how these Cherokee Indians outlast the harsh environment during the Indian Removal Act. Additionally, Glancy creates a human experience during the Trail of Tears; giving a different perspective of various characters. Through the eyes of characters such as Maritole and Knobowtee, the reader is able to sense the desperation that the Cherokee endured. The upheaval of being forcefully removed from the land stripped the Cherokee of their identity. This disruption left the Cherokee confused, causing frustration to arise because they were unable to live their familiar roles. Men were no longer able to farm. Women had a loss of property and wealth. The bear symbolizes these struggles throughout this novel. Maritole explains, “The bear had once been a person. But he was not conscious of the consciousness he was given. His darkness was greed and self-centeredness. It was part of myself, too. It was part of the human being” (183). In other words, the “bear” is the personal dilemma each character is put up against during this removal. Furthermore, each character has their own personal struggles to overcome; whether that be Knobowtee’s loss of masculinity or Maritole’s loss of family. These struggles,

In the book “I Am a Man: Chief Standing Bear’s Journey for Justice” writer Joe Starita helps the reader understand the history of Standing Bear, who was a Ponca Native American chief. Joe Starita was born on in Lincoln, Nebraska. Today he is a professor at the University of Nebraska in the College of Journalism. I Am a Man was published on January 20, 2009. This paper will serve as a review of the book to help others understand the injustice (which is the theme of the book) the members of the Ponca Tribe had to go through.

Naturalism is used by Steven Crane throughout his works to express the indifference nature has within ones environment. Typically, the stories that surround this naturalistic theme have characters that find themselves in dire situations and are left to deal with the indifference of nature, the struggle of courage and cowardice, and the psychological stress that they endure. Crane brings to light throughout several of his stories the theme that although nature is indifferent and may leave us with a loss of control, it is crucial that one does not allow their psyche to succumb to the fear of mortality, but to manage that fear, since Crane suggests we cannot eliminate it completely. Crane suggests that one can find meaning and eventually self-realization

As a child, I have always been intrigued about the vast traditions and the colorful histories of various Indian Tribes. I choose Dee Browns “Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee” in order to be further educated about the Native American nations. I was familiar with the piece long before I even knew it was a book by watching and love the HBO special on “Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee”.

The book The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie, tells of Native American life on the reservation. In the story “The Trial of Thomas Builds-the-Fire” symbolism is used to echo how Native Americans were mistreated by the United States government. Still to this day Native Americans are forced to live on reservations which were originally prisoner of war camps. Alexie uses the symbolism of Thomas Builds-the-Fire’s conviction to show how Native Americans pay the price for injustices committed by the United States of America.

Black Elk Speaks, a personal narrative, has the features of many different genres. The different genres that I noticed were in the book were, autobiography, testimonial, tribal history, and elegy. Black Elk Speaks is divided into 25 chapters, which portray the early life of Black Elk. The author tells us that Black Elk was a healer and a great holy man. He was said to have this mystical vision since he was young. As a tribal history, it shows the change of the Sioux nation from pre-reservation to reservation culture, including their partaking in the ghost dance, the Battle of Little Big Horn, and Wounded Knee. Black Elk Speaks propositions testament to the price in human grief that the Sioux had to pay for the United States expanding westward. It grieves his cultural misplacement and the age of being innocent and being free.

Black Elk Speaks by John G. Neihardt is a story told for readers that take them on an adventure to knowing and caring about Black Elk himself and his tribe of his people. Neihardt talked about the spiritual visions of Black Elk that preceded sacred ceremonial dances, such as the Heyoka Ceremony, which followed Black Elk’s Dog Vision. Neihardt discussed the feelings and emotions that Black Elk felt from the visions he was experiencing; the sorrow that overwhelmed him as he witnessed the loss of loved ones and the conflict that he continually suffered while taking on such an essential duty for his tribe. Black Elk recognized that his people and their culture were starting to dwindle away. Neihardt expressed Black Elk's passion towards this situation by creating a vivid picture of the conflict that the

Black Elk was a member of the Oglala Sioux and grew up during the beginning of the production of the Transcontinental Railroad. Black Elk first remembered hearing voices around the age of five, but did not have his first vision until he was 9 years old when he befell very ill. His vision constitutes for one of the longest chapters of the book; Black Elk describes being taken on a cloud to cloud world to meet with his six grandfathers. Each grandfather gives Black Elk an object that holds a specific power that will save his people: a cup, a bow, a pipe, and a red stick. He is told that he must remember what has been bestowed upon him for his people will face difficulties and great change. He is given visions of fighting, war, starvation, and people fleeing (Neihardt, 1972). Many have argued that Black Elk’s vision could also contain bias due to the fact that the story was told sixty years after the account and Black Elk’s story could

The story of Nicholas Black Elk was one that was reluctantly told, a Lakota medicine man, a visionary of his own sort. Written by John G. Neihardt, Black Elk Speaks captures the essence of what the Lakota culture based its teachings off of, as well as exhibiting who Black Elk really was. When Neihardt began his dialogues with Black Elk he knew which questions to ask, his plan was clear from the beginning. There were choices made by Neihardt that seem controversial, such as why he decided to end his book at the Battle of Wounded Knee instead of continuing through Black Elk’s life and his conversion to Catholicism. The steps taken by Neihardt succeeded in portraying Black Elk’s own story, and the importance of his vision on his life.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is a book written by; Sherman Alexie. In this book, Alexie writes about a group of Native Americans who live on the Spokane Indian Reservation. As this novel may be fiction, some of the stories that are portrayed in the text have some very real meaning the them. These Native Americans endure lots of heartache and tragedy in this book as they are faced with problems like alcoholism, car accidents, loss of loved one and houses burning. In the face of adversity, many of these Native Americans in this story carry on with their lives and become “Warriors”. The search for warriors in this publication has many themes that come along with it such as; Resilience and Forgiveness. This desire of being a warrior drives characters in this book to stand out and be strong leaders. This is needed because many Native Americans on the reservation needs a warrior to stand up and fight for them. Currently, a warrior does not have the same meaning as it did centuries ago. When looking for a warrior we will not find a gladiator or Spartan walking the streets. What we will find is a person who is strong and resilient enough to carry on and care for his own family or loved ones around them. A warrior is possible to find today, just many are looking in the wrong places as this novel give clarity to what a true warrior is.

Trusting, amicable, and helpful outcomes in life are not always expected, but almost always exceeded. This relates much with the storyline of this saddening era in our history - which can be represented with segments from this story. The Trail of Tears refers to the forceful relocation and eventual movement of the Native American ancestral communities, from the South Eastern regions of the U.S, as a result of the enactment of the Indian Removal Act in the year 1830. In the year 1838, in line with Andrew Jackson’s policy of the Indians’ removal, the Cherokee community was forced to surrender its land to the east of Mississippi River and migrate to the present day Oklahoma. This journey was referred to as the ‘Trail of Tears,’ mainly due to its devastating effects it had to the Indian people. The migrants faced extreme hunger, diseases and fatigue due to the forced march while more than 4,000 people died. John G. Burnett, a young, staunch, sagacious soldier during the Trail of Tears, helps throughout traumatic and emotional experiences at just the age of 18. It was horrendous. His actions, however, were the complete opposite. In the story “A Soldier Recalls: The Trail of Tears,” the theme can be looked at as: ‘Trusting, amicable, and helpful outcomes in life are not always expected, but are almost always exceeded.’ due to the outstanding first person, emotive storyline that is represented by this proposed theme.

People tend to be greatly influenced by stories, news, and other contemporary sources of knowledge, which ultimately affects the impact they have on the world. Stephen Crane was greatly impacted by the time period in which he lived. One such influence was the popular literary style of Realism. Realism is the trend in which literature is based on the true nature of everyday occurrences devoid of any fantasy or romance. It is the raw depiction of what life and society is actually like. This literary style can be found in many of Stephen Crane’s novels. Religion also had a significant impact on the way Stephen Crane wrote his novels. He was an atheist which brought about the idea that humans are just part of nature and must solve their own problems without the intervention of a higher being. This notion is evident with the protagonist of The Red Badge of Courage. Henry Fleming, a young union soldier in the Civil War, must overcome the fear of putting his life at risk to achieve what he wants most which is honor. Honor comes from actively participating in battle and sacrificing his life for the cause. Honor is physically represented from a wound noted as the “Red Badge”. In the end Henry doesn’t consult in a higher being and achieves what he wants most by overcoming the mental obstacles and ultimately finding the strength within to realize what courage actually is. Accompanied by the literary movements and his religion, his time period was heavily influenced by the

Within “A Mystery of Heroism,” Crane uses characters, conflict, setting, and plot to develop naturalist themes. An example of Crane’s use of characters is evident in the story when a wounded man asks Collins to give him a drink of water. Amid gunfire and destruction, Collins says “‘I can’t…’” and continues to run on. The story then states, “But Collins turned. He came dashing back.” This quote helps create a naturalist theme because it shows that even though Collins had the illusion that he could make the choice to keep running through his own free will, his fate told him to turn back and give the man a drink of water. Crane also uses conflict in his “A Mystery of Heroism” to introduce naturalist themes. A conflict in the story that also shows that free will is an illusion is when two young lieutenants begin to play fight over the bucket of water. Crane tells the reader that there was “...the thud of wood on the ground…” and that “the bucket lay on the ground empty.” These quotes also create the naturalist theme of free will is an illusion because even though the two lieutenants did not want to or choose to drop the bucket, fate decided that it was going to happen. Lastly, Crane uses setting in his “A Mystery of Heroism” to produce naturalist themes. By setting the story during a battle, Crane shows the reader that every event that happens to Collins in the course of the story is determined by his environment, or the war going on around him. If the setting was not during a war, Collins would not have to work so hard for the bucket of water, he would not

The first steps in war are the steps of overcoming the line of comfort by solving the self-centered beliefs that will break you in a battlefront. Once overcoming those selfish traits and believe in yourself, that is when one flourish on the battle field. Henry Fleming's urge for war was short lived when he was put on the frontline. Henry Fleming was a fearful, coward, who always gained self-control and self-comfort by

Tradition is a big part of a cultural identity. Traditions are not loved nor understood immediately, however with time the importance of tradition becomes evident as it makes people unique. As a kid, serving meals every thanksgiving may feel insignificant and tedious, but as an adolescent the small amount of time spent as a family doing something annually has a lasting impact on one’s values. Frank Waters’ fictional novel, The Man Who Killed the Deer, Martiniano struggles to find a faith after he illegally kills a deer. Neither the whites not the Indians seem welcoming because he offends both by breaking the law and not showing respect to Indian ideology. The deer continues to haunt him until he understands the role of nature and the cycle of life. The poem “I Have Killed the Deer”, written by a Taos Pueblo Indian, emphasizes the importance of equality and the mystical connection with nature. Both works highlight the unique Indian perspective of nature and its contribution their identity. Both Martiniano and the Taos Pueblo Indian use nature to provide life; Martiniano’s self-centered view on the old Indian traditions prevent him from finding peace in a faith, while the Taos Pueblo Indian fully appreciates and understands his role in nature.