Dances With Wolves by Michael Blake

1818 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis of dances with wolves

Dances With Wolves by Michael Blake is a novel that covers the topics of cross-culture, equality and respect. It also shows me the history of modern America. Reading this novel is a great adventure to me. Through years of getting ready, Michael Blake spent nine months on writing the book and got it done in 1981. The story happens in 1863, when US civil war was in ongoing. Knowing the potential amputation of his wounded leg, Union Army Officer Lieutenant John J. Dunbar turns suicidal and rides a horse to attract the enemy during a strange standoff. His act of suicide has the unexpected effect of rallying his comrades who win the battle later, thus, was misconstrued as bravery and earns him sympathy and fatherly love from General Tipton who rewards Dunbar with superior treatment that saves his leg, a horse named Cisco and his wish of a post on the frontier. In Fort Hays, he is assigned to Fort Sedgewick by Major Fambrough who has gone crazy and later sent away. When Dunbar arrives at Fort Sedgewick along with the supply and Timmons, his teamster, he finds the Fort Sedgewick deserted. In fact, Captain Cargill’s column which was used to be posted there retreats to Fort Hays due to the scarcity of supply. Nevertheless, Dunbar stays. While waiting for the soldiers to come back, he sets in order the deserted fort. Timmons is killed on his way back to Fort Hays. His death and the deliration of Major Fambrough mind make the existence of Dunbar in Fort Sedgewick unknown to the Union. He is a good writer and writes journals to keep record of his stay at Fort Sedgewick. Dunbar rides Cisco out to look for the Indians after some encounters with them. He runs into and saves Stands With A Fist, a white woman who’s captured and raised by ... ... middle of paper ... ...ger to get complete and broad understanding of the history. I will recommend the book to them. Dances With Wolves is suitable for an ESL 160 class. Its plot is easy to follow. Sentences are not too difficult, just occasional challenging. For an ESL 160 students like me, I learned lots of new words from the book so that I have broadened my vocabulary. Though there are some aspects of the book I personally don’t like, it cannot stop Dances With Wolves from being a great epic tale of life on the prairie in 19th-century America. Narrating the story in the third person, through skillful applications of figure of speeches, Michael Blake talks about cross culture, equality and respect in the book. His looking at the story Indian and white army from a new angle provide me a better and broad understanding of the history. Reading this novel is really a great adventure to me.

Show More
Related

  • Dances with Wolves

    424 Words  | 1 Pages

    The movie Dances with Wolves was a real good movie and I enjoyed watching it. It showed how life was back in the time of the Civil War. The movie also showed how Indians lived and how they respect everything except the white men.

    Read More

  • Black Elk Speaks

    1275 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...that actually experienced it. The author gives a good background of the relationship white settlement and Indian cultures had, which supported by the life experience. An author depicts all the emotions of struggle and happiness at the times when it is hard to imagine it. And it actually not the author who is persuasive, but the Black Elk himself, because he is the one that actually can convey the exact feeling and images to the reader.

    Read More

  • Undoing Stereotypes in the Movie, Dances With Wolves

    1218 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hollywood has helped create and perpetuate many different stereotypical images of the different races in the world. Those stereotypes still continue to affect the way we think about each other today and many of those stereotypes have been proven to be historically inaccurate. The movie Dances With Wolves, directed by actor Kevin Costner, does an excellent job in attempting to promote a greater acceptance, understanding, and sympathy towards Native American culture, instead of supporting the typical stereotype of Native Americans being nothing but brutal, blood thirsty savages.

    Read More

  • Into the Wild by Christopher Johnson McCandless

    1175 Words  | 3 Pages

    The book, Into the wild, takes us into the world of a young man named Christopher Johnson McCandless. He travelled across the western United States from 1990 to 1992, and on April 28, 1992, he started his last adventure and walked into the wilds of Alaska. About 112 days later, he died of starvation. Unsurprisingly, public opinion polarized on his behavior. Some may admire his courage and noble ideals, though some regard him as an idiotic and arrogant narcissist. Although he died on his way to find the truth and back to nature, I believe that Chris McCandless should be considered as a hero, but I cannot completely approve of all his behaviors.

    Read More

  • Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat

    1375 Words  | 3 Pages

    of the wolves and finds that they are more than the savage and merciless hunters

    Read More

  • Josey Wales and the Western

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...s than one. It reveals a larger issue at hand between the “white man” and the Indians. This is a common theme portrayed in Westerns—conflicting views of the land. When Watie talks to Josey about how the white man has deamed him “civilized” he expresses a great deal of shame. Watie goes on to talk about how he not only lost his family to the Union but also his pride and his heritage. He talks about being out of touch with his culture because he was forced off of his land and onto the land set-aside for his people by the Union. Watie admires Josey for his bravery, or edge as he calls it. There is a sense of honor and pride that Josey arries with him as he is determined to redeem what was lost. This gives Watie the drive to join Josey and redeem what was taken from him. Both of these men have something worth fighting and dying for and that’s what brings them together.

    Read More

  • Big Fish by Daniel Wallace

    1267 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Daniel Wallace’s novel, Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions and Tim Burton’s film, Big Fish, the relationship between the dying protagonist, Edward Bloom and his estranged son, William Bloom, is centrally to the story in both the novel and film. Like many fathers in today's society, Edward Bloom wishes to leave his son with something to remember him by after he is dead. It is for this reason the many adventures of Edward Bloom are deeply interwoven into the core of all the various stories Edward tells to mystify his son with as a child. Despite the many issues father and son have in their tense relationship as adults, Daniel Wallace and Tim Burton’s adaptation of Wallace’s novel focalizes on the strained relationship between Edward Bloom and William Bloom. In both Wallace’s novel and Burton’s film, they effectively portray how the relationship between Edward Bloom and William Bloom is filled with bitter resentment and indifference towards each other. Only with William’s attempt to finally reconcile with his dying father and navigating through his father fantastical fables does those established feelings of apathy and dislike begin to wane. With Burton’s craftily brilliant reconstruction of Wallace’s story does the stories of Edward Bloom and his son blossom onto screen.

    Read More

  • American Horse by Louise Erdrich

    661 Words  | 2 Pages

    Like any other novel or short story, a lot can be learned about the actual story by understanding the historical content embedded in the piece. Louise Erdrich draws from her her imagination, life experiences, and social climate to piece together American Horse into a fictitious short story that somehow manages to give the reader a very real sense of the socioeconomic divide between the two groups portrayed in the story.

    Read More

  • Representations of Native Americans in Dances with Wolves and The Searchers

    1386 Words  | 3 Pages

    After struggling for five years to recover his niece, who is now a young woman, she is rescued by his own hands. Likewise, Dances with Wolves is a Western film directed and starring Kevin Costner. It is also situated during the American Civil War and tells the story of a soldier named John Dunbar that after a suicide attempt he involuntarily leads Union troops to a triumph. Then, by his request, he is sent to a remote outpost in the Indian frontier “before it’s gone”. There, the contact with the natives is eminent and thus it shows how through those contacts this soldier is transformed into another Indian that belongs to the Sioux tribe and who is now called Dances With Wolves.

    Read More

  • White Civilized Culture In Blue Winds Dancing By Thomas S. Whitecloud

    794 Words  | 2 Pages

    In a desperate attempt to discover his true identity, the narrator decides to go back to Wisconsin. He was finally breaking free from captivity. The narrator was filling excitement and joy on his journey back home. He remembers every town and every stop. Additionally, he admires the natural beauty that fills the scenery. In contrast to the “beauty of captivity” (320), he felt on campus, this felt like freedom. No doubt, that the narrator is more in touch with nature and his Native American roots than the white civilized culture. Nevertheless, as he gets closer to home he feels afraid of not being accepted, he says “… afraid of being looked on as a stranger by my own people” (323). He felt like he would have to prove himself all over again, only this time it was to his own people. The closer the narrator got to his home, the happier he was feeling. “Everything seems to say, “Be happy! You are home now—you are free” (323). Although he felt as though he had found his true identity, he questioned it once more on the way to the lodge. The narrator thought, “If I am white I will not believe that story; if I am Indian, I will know that there is an old woman under the ice” (323). The moment he believed, there was a woman under the ice; He realized he had found his true identity, it was Native American. At that moment nothing but that night mattered, “[he], try hard to forget school and white people, and be one of these—my people.” (323). He

    Read More

  • The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian Analysis

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book for today can tell the current Indian situation, for future can use as the historic source for the researches. The amount of the audiences is one of the values of a book, and the audiences of this book could be anyone who can read. The words were used in the book are easily to understand, and there is no negative thoughts in the book either, which is good for the teenagers to read, and help them to know about the Native Americans. In the book, Arnold might have had some negative thoughts of his life, but he always found the way to solve the problems, never show it to the public. In addition, author not only see the world as a Native American, but also a student of a school which full of white students, Arnold never fights because his group want him to, he fought for himself, for the hope, which also is another point of this book. People should fight for themselves, for their hope, not just follow their tribes, we should have our own faith, not just follow the

    Read More

  • What You Pawn I Will Redeem Analysis

    1679 Words  | 4 Pages

    The story chronicles situations that illustrate the common stereotypes about Natives. Through Jackson’s humble personality, the reader can grasp his true feelings towards White people, which is based off of the oppression of Native Americans. I need to win it back myself” (14). Jackson also mentions to the cop, “I’m on a mission here. I want to be a hero” (24).

    Read More

  • The Call of the Wild by Jack London

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novella The Call of the Wild is a story of Buck overcoming challenges while being thrown into the real world and learning new traits like persistence and resilience. Protagonist Buck is a colossal St Bernards cross Scotch shepherd dog, transforms from a humble house dog and then eventually returns to a primordial state as a best of the wild. Along the way he is faced with an endless array of challenges. London achieves this by portraying Buck’s change in character in a manner that explores and incorporates diverse motifs.

    Read More

  • What Are The Issues On Indian Reservations?

    1918 Words  | 4 Pages

    The death of one character, June, Albertine’s aunt, unites the Kashpaw and Lamartine families and shows the issues within them. As a young woman, Albertine witnesses situations involving domestic violence and poverty. The desperate manner of the lives of many Natives living on Reservations is shown throughout the novel. In White Men Fear to Tread, the life of Russell Means on and off of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota portrays many of the issues of Reservation life, especially today. Means describes his life experiences from growing up as a young man to being grown and going to find a job and later being a leader in the AIM movement and the struggles he experiences there. Works of literature such as these open the eyes of many people to the issues that exist on many Native American Reservations today, specifically to those who aren’t Native and are ignorant to what is happening really. For example, some people think that all Reservation Indians lack motivation and therefore don’t do anything in order to make something of themselves, but this isn’t necessarily true. There are various situations that Natives are exposed to and the conditions on many Reservations account for the habits which some people

    Read More

  • Dances With Wolves: Chapter Summary: Dances With Wolves

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Dances with Wolves” is a movie that seeks to deliver a message of the need for cultural diversity. The story follows the main character Lt. John James Dunbar, played by Kevin Costner, from the battlefields of the Civil War to the barely touched western frontiers that house the Sioux people. Once Dunbar arrives at his post, Ft. Sedgewick, he sets out to find his place in his new home. However, due to two plot moving events, the suicide of the officer who dispatched Dunbar to Fort Sedgewick and the murder of the coach driver who took him there, no one else is alive that holds knowledge of Dunbar’s placement.

    Read More

More about Dances With Wolves by Michael Blake

Open Document