In his speech, Twain states that Christendom, representing Western civilization, returns “from pirate raids in Kiaochow, Manchuria, South Africa, and the Philippines” (Twain). Twain criticizes the Western Nations aggressive expansionism and exploitation of other colonized countries. He utilizes the metaphor of “pirate raids”, showing the harmful and destructive actions taken by imperialist nations. The idea of destructive colonization is further explored in “The Soft-Hearted Sioux” through the effect the Western missionaries and colonists had on the native tribe. At the start of the story, the young Sioux is taken away from his family at a young age to go to mission school and only returns after the “tenth year [when he] was sent back to [his] …show more content…
The story of the Sioux shows how Western missionaries went to colonized locations and took native children for extended periods of time, often against their will, and destroyed their culture by replacing it with Western ideologies. Additionally, it shows how missionaries and colonizers destroyed communities and villages by forcing natives to either assimilate or give up their land and relocate. By the end of the story, the arrival and influence of the Western people erased the Sioux’s native culture, forced the tribe to relocate, and caused the death of two people, showing just how destructive the Western missionaries and colonists were. Twain continues describing Christendom, saying she returned “with her soul full of meanness, her pocket full of boodles, and her mouth full of pious hypocrisies” (Twain). Twain condemns the imperialist actions taken by Western nations, claiming they are malicious, corrupt, and hypocritical for their religious reasons. These claims can be seen through the actions taken by Western missionaries and colonists towards the Sioux. At the mission school, the Sioux “learned it was wrong to kill”