Summary Of The Soft-Hearted Sioux By Zitkala Sa

The nonfiction story written by Zitkala Sa, “The Soft-Hearted Sioux “is significant for me. The story relates not only to Indians; it includes immigrants too. As a Pakistani immigrant, I face with cultural conflicts and beliefs every day. my parent’s resistance to assimilate American culture because they think speaking English and wearing American outfits at home make us forget our culture and concerned about us becoming more American. When I am home I have to follow Pakistani culture and when I am out in school or with friends I have to be an American. I am liberal person that doesn’t make me a lesser Pakistani but my parents do not understand thus making me question my identity. In the story, the man grows up as an Indian then coverts to Christian and then becomes Indian again. He is fighting for his

identity with his parents and white Christians. He fights with nature, he believes that everything will be good in the end and God will help him. On the other hand, due to his parents foreshadowing he ending up killing an innocent man and he dies in the end.
Zitkala wrote the story in first person and that makes me draw a connection between the author and my experience. I was curious why would Zitkala would uses nonfiction story in her autobiography. However, I was surprised when I made the connection that the story might relate to her own experience because in her nonfiction stories she doesn’t explain some stories since they are very personal and then she decides to write a nonfiction piece in which she change her character and narrates the story as a man. the man goes to Christian school without his family’s will and he becomes Christian but when he goes back, the people doesn’t accept him as he acted as more white. like Zitkala who was forced to go to missionary school and made her cut her hair and the white people tried to take away her heritage. She goes to boarding school and goes back to stay with her mother but then goes to pursue higher education but could not finish her due to illness. She was not confident to tell her mother because she thought that her mom would have said that it was the white man’s fault.
I think characters are very important, it describes the roles of individuals in a household and in the society.

In the beginning of the story she tells us that the family sits around the fire in a circle and talk for me which means that everyone is equal in the family but the fact that grandmother does not talk to his son in law makes me draw a conclusion the separation of gender roles, I wasn’t surprised. “This may be the reason the young man’s father’s passes the time away by carving a stone pipe (Sa, 669).” Furthermore, that Zitkala mentions that only the man’s father build tools specifically indicate that only men in Sioux community were crafting. Men have to learn hunting and provide food for the family. “My son, be always active. Do not dislike a long hunt. Learn to provide much buffalo meat and many buckskins before you bring home a wife.” Zitkala does not mention the role of women as much as she does men role, except he mentions that his grandmother wears a bracelet. “The loose buckskin sleeve fell off at her elbow and showed a wrist covered with silver bracelets.” Which indicates that only women wear jewelry as she does not mention men wearing

jewelry.