After having studied captivity narratives, I have found it interesting how there can be so many different voices included in the narrative; however, I was surprised by the absence of the Indian voice in a captivity narrative which would be expected. An analysis of the narratives written between 17th and 19th century shows a male dominated culture; this time period did not make a place for the American Indian voice. Unlike the white dominant civilized society, Indians did not have the advantage of print to express their own experiences about the historical events that were happening prior to the 19th century. Furthermore, the white and male dominated society had certain expectations from the captivity narratives published before the late 19th …show more content…
century. The reader’s expectation was one of stories with Indian savagery in battle with white male pioneers as the heroes saving the weak white women and children. This depiction of uncivilized Indians lifted the white man as the brave protagonist and demonized the Indians intentionally.
Those narratives were there to entertain and attract the readers; however, it also cleverly placed white man above all which was in line with the politics of that time period. Mary Jemison’s captivity story makes a bit of a departure from this white man dominated cultural theme subtly. Moreover, Mary Jemison’s narrative, due to her transcultural experience, starts to expose the other side of the story. In the narrative of Mary Jemison, if one looks closely, they can discover the Indian voice. The narrative is useful because it clarifies what the white publisher and the reader expected from an Indian narrative, and it shows how Jemison refused and told a different story about her life as a Seneca. In Mary Jemison, the Indian voice is unique and very different than the other common European-authored print. Because of Mary Jemison's multicultural experiences, it lends her the opportunity to do the reverse of what the dominant white-culture expected assimilation with the Indian …show more content…
culture. In the preface, the Indian voice in Mary Jemison's story is captivated in her acceptance of the Indian culture rather than holding to her own traditions. This is different than Rowlandson’s where Rowlandson reconnects with her religious beliefs after her captivity. We see an important contrast between the “A True History of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” and “A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison” narratives, where one represents loyal white woman, Rowlandson, who stayed faithful to her culture and religious beliefs of one. On the other hand, Mary Jemison is a woman who did the opposite and accepted a culture other than her own, where she had more opportunities and agency than in the white and male, dominant culture. The Native American culture shared a different beliefs and cultural norms compared to the white culture. The Native American culture was based more on the cultural than biological factors, and if one person obeyed the customs and practices of the culture fully, they have been able to join the one. White’s culture social construct at the time was manly patriarchal oriented, where man had all the power. The white men were the “keepers” in the Colonial American culture. According to the research: “James E. Seaver in A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison attempts to uphold this notion of patriarchal control through constructing Jemison’s narrative to fit into the social construct of the dominant hegemony” (Jemison). By choosing to join the Indian culture, and even marrying an Indian man, Mary Jemison exemplified how Euro-American woman faced up to the white culture and its male dominance. Also, as a Seneca woman, Jemison had more agency than if she remained in the white, patriarchal dominant, culture (Jemison). Other narratives, such as that of Mary Jemison (who was taken captive in the 1750s, three-quarters of a century after Rowlandson’s captivity), were told in the first person but were written down by writers or interviewers rather than by the captives themselves. Mary Jemison, like Rowlandson's captivity, was told in the first person. Furthermore, it was written down by another writer rather than by Rowlandson and Jemison. Likewise, what makes Mary Jemison’s narrative special is: “Mrs. Jemison recounts her life not as a former captive, but as an esteemed member of Seneca society” (Tarnoc), which was not the case in the “A True History of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson “. The Jemison’s narrative shows how otherness is a fluid concept in the captivity life of one person, and it depends from the position of the observer (Tarnoc). Tarnoc also says: “It is a cruel irony of Mrs. Jemison’s plight that in any stage of her life— as a young captive facing the wrath of the Shawnee, as an unwitting adoptee of the Seneca people, as a wife of an Indian warrior, or even as the “White Woman of the Genesee” offering an oral rendition of her experiences—she is unable to escape alterity” (Tarnoc). Jemison’s narrative departs from the traditional story line expected from the readers at the time, and this could have been really scandalous for the white culture. As mentioned in the narrative: “many gentlemen of respectability, felt anxious that her narrative might be laid before the public, with the view not only to perpetuate the remembrance of the atrocities of the savages in former times, but to preserve some historical facts which they supposed to be intimately connected with her life, and which otherwise must be lost” (Zabelle). The narrative of Mary Jemison could have removed blinders from the reader’s eyes about the truth of the Indian culture, and show the readers how the Seneca were not just a bunch of uncivilized savages as the white culture portrayed them as in the other narratives. It could have shown the white readership what Jemison saw and personally experienced. Furthermore, supporting the Indian cause was not politically expedient. Moreover, there are many descriptions in the preface and introduction that shows Jemison’s dualism. For example, Seaver writes: “her complexion is really white for a women of her age…her eyes are blue, a little faded by the age, and naturally brilliant and sparkling. Her cheek bones are high, and rather prominent, and her front teeth, in the lower jaw, are sound and good” (Zabelle). The aforementioned clearly shows Jemison’s white roots, and how she was considered as “The White Women” by her people. However, Seaver adds: “but from her long residence with the Indians, she has acquired the habit of peeping from under eye-brows as they do with the head inclined downwards” (Zabelle). Seaver’s writings express both his and the readers already well rooted beliefs about the white woman’s role in a captivity narrative; however, this subtly shows Mary behaving like the Seneca. He clearly wrote about her as being a white and belonging to their culture because that is what readers expected from the narratives at that time period; however, Jemison contradicted this fact. The hopes of her people, whites, were for her to think of herself as a “white women”, even though Mary showed differently with this simple Seneca gesture. Seaver writes: “it is presumed that at this time there are but few native Americans that have arrived to middle age, who cannot distinctly recollect of sitting in the chimney corner when children, all contracted with fear, and there listening to their parents or visitors, while they related stories of Indian conquests, and murders, that would make their flaxen hair nearly sand erect, and almost destroy the power of motion” (Zabelle).
This is a clear example of the white narrative creating a negative imagery and fantastic false depiction which Mary’s assimilation with the Indian culture contradicts. Seaver’s preface and introduction clearly contradicts Mary Jemison’s narrative and life story as a Seneca. Seaver’s expectations about the story were different than the one he got from her interview. According to the article: “Seaver attempts to position Jemison as a white woman in need of rescue as opposed to a woman who has chosen to become part of a culture she has come to honor and respect” (Jemison). Mary Jemison’s multicultural background allows her to easily depart from, learn, and accept different cultures as compared to the women in other captivity stories. Jemison even goes as far as marrying an Indian man which goes against the previous traditional print where the captives never assimilate. Likewise, Seaver’s preface and introduction shows how Mary Jemison story was a “slap in the face” to the white culture because she accepted Indian culture and did not return to her
roots. Likewise, Mary Jemison’s narrative demonstrates a classic beginning of women’s captivity narratives. She was a young, scared, girl whom parents, friends, and brothers just got killed by the Indian savages, after what she got captured. Mary Jemison says: “But what could I do? A poor little defenceless girl; without the power or means of escaping; without a home to go to, even if I could be liberated, without a knowledge of the direction or distance to my former place of residence; and without a living friend to whom to fly for protection, I felt a kind of horror, anxiety, and dread, that, to me, seemed insupportable” (Zabelle). According to Tarnoc research, this is a similar physiological abandonment which is noted in the Mary Rowlandson’s narrative also. In the narrative of Mary Rowlandson she says: “their glittering weapons so daunted my spirit that I chose rather to go along with those (as I may say) ravenous beasts” (Zabelle). The aforementioned illustrates a white women’s fear and powerlessness to do nothing but follow the Indians. As the narrative goes on, Mary Jemison starts to open up her mind, and she realizes and absorbs the Indian culture, their way of living, and their customs. Jemison says” No people can live more happy than the Indians did in times of peace, before the introduction of spirituous liquors amongst them” (Zabelle). The sentence aforementioned is really important, and it represents a strong Indian voice which was not present in other narratives. Mary Jemison expresses the idea how before the American settlers and their desire to “help” the Indians live better and civilized life, they actually lived pretty well and happy, but with the different customs and cultural beliefs. Moreover, Mary Jemison experienced a separation phase without return to her old culture, which was opposite from the Mary Rowlandson. Mary Rowlandson went through the phase of liminality, and then aggregation, where after her captivity experience she came back to her old culture. Later in the narrative, Jemison says: “being now settled and provided with home” (Zabelle). The reader can feel her acceptance of the Indian culture, and her being able to feel like at home, which other captivity women, as Mary Rowlandson, did not experienced. In conclusion, the narrative “A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison” tells us a different story from what white publishers and readers expected at the time. It tells a story about a woman who was not ashamed to recount her life story as a transcultured person. It was a big contradiction for the white culture, and something that was not expected nor acceptable. Her life story and assimilation with the Indian culture was vexation for her origins, and people who consider her “the white woman”.
O’Brien argues the multiple Indians who are put forth in histories as being the last of their tribe: Eunice Mahwee of the Pequots, Esther of the Royal Narragansetts. This phenomenon falsely narrates the disappearance of Indian people, being relegated to anonymity except for the “last of their kind.” These stories also discuss the purity of Indians, downplaying their current environment. Indians were only Indians if they had complete pure blood, one drop of anything other than their own tribe meant they were not Indians. The racist contradictions in this logic is pointed out by O’Brien. For whites, any claim to one “drop” of New England Puritan blood meant this person could claim to be a descendant of the Puritan Fathers. The children or grandchildren of the “last” Indians were not truly Indian because they did not grow up in a wigwam, or possess their native
Thomas King uses an oral story-telling style of writing mingled with western narrative in his article “You’re Not the Indian I Had in Mind” to explain that Indians are not on the brink of extinction. Through this article in the Racism, Colonialism, and Indigeneity in Canada textbook, King also brings some focus to the topic of what it means to be “Indian” through the eyes of an actual Aboriginal versus how Aboriginals are viewed by other races of people. With his unique style of writing, King is able to bring the reader into the situations he describes because he writes about it like a story he is telling.
Rowlandson, Mary. A True History of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.In Women’s Indian Captivity Narratives. Ed. Kathryn Zabelle Derounian-Stodola. New York: Penguin Books, 1998.
In the book Bad Indians, Miranda talks about the many issues Indigenous People go through. Miranda talks about the struggles Indigenous people go through; however, she talks about them in the perspective of Native Americans. Many people learn about Indigenous People through classrooms and textbooks, in the perspective of White people. In Bad Indians, Miranda uses different literary devices to show her perspective of the way Indigenous People were treated, the issues that arose from missionization, as well as the violence that followed through such issues. Bad Indians is an excellent example that shows how different history is told in different perspectives.
James Welch relies heavily on documented Blackfeet history and family stories, but he merges those actual events and people with his imagination and thus creates a tension between fiction and history, weaving a tapestry that reflects a vital tribal community under pressure from outside forces. Welch re-imagines the past in order to document history in a way that includes past and future generations, offers readers insight into the tribal world-views of the Blackfeet, examines women's roles in the tribe, and leads to a recovery of identity. Welch also creates a Blackfeet world of the late 1800s--a tribal culture in the process of economic and social change as a result of the introduction of the horse and gun and the encroachment of the white invaders or "seizers" as Welch identifies them.
McNickle, D'Arcy. "A Different World." Native American Literature: A Brief Introduction and Anthology. Ed. Vizenor, Gerald. United States of America: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers, 1995, 111-119.
Mary Rowlandson was captured from her home in Lancaster, Massachusetts by Wampanoag Indians during King Phillip’s War. She was held captive for several months. When she was released she penned her story, A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. During much of her story she refers to the Indians as savage beasts and heathens but at times seems admire them and appreciate their treatment of her. Mary Rowlandson has a varying view of her Indian captors because she experienced their culture and realized it was not that different from Puritan culture.
John Smith, the troubled Indian adopted by whites appears at first to be the main character, but in some respects he is what Alfred Hitchcock called a McGuffin. The story is built around him, but he is not truly the main character and he is not the heart of the story. His struggle, while pointing out one aspect of the American Indian experience, is not the central point. John Smith’s experiences as an Indian adopted by whites have left him too addled and sad, from the first moment to the last, to serve as the story’s true focus.
These stories have a continued overlapping influence in American Fiction and have remained a part of the American imagination; causing Americans to not trust Native Americans and treat them as they were not human just like African Americans. In conclusion to all these articles, Mary Rowlandson and John Smith set the perception for Native Americans due to their Captivity Narratives.
Louise Erdrich’s short story “American horse” is a literary piece written by an author whose works emphasize the American experience for a multitude of different people from a plethora of various ethnic backgrounds. While Erdrich utilizes a full arsenal of literary elements to better convey this particular story to the reader, perhaps the two most prominent are theme and point of view. At first glance this story seems to portray the struggle of a mother who has her son ripped from her arms by government authorities; however, if the reader simply steps back to analyze the larger picture, the theme becomes clear. It is important to understand the backgrounds of both the protagonist and antagonists when analyzing theme of this short story. Albetrine, who is the short story’s protagonist, is a Native American woman who characterizes her son Buddy as “the best thing that has ever happened to me”. The antagonist, are westerners who work on behalf of the United States Government. Given this dynamic, the stage is set for a clash between the two forces. The struggle between these two can be viewed as a microcosm for what has occurred throughout history between Native Americans and Caucasians. With all this in mind, the reader can see that the theme of this piece is the battle of Native Americans to maintain their culture and way of life as their homeland is invaded by Caucasians. In addition to the theme, Erdrich’s usage of the third person limited point of view helps the reader understand the short story from several different perspectives while allowing the story to maintain the ambiguity and mysteriousness that was felt by many Natives Americans as they endured similar struggles. These two literary elements help set an underlying atmos...
Mary Rowlandson’s “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” and Benjamin Franklin’s “Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America” are two different perspectives based on unique experiences the narrators had with “savages.” Benjamin Franklin’s “Remarks Concerning the Savages…” is a comparison between the ways of the Indians and the ways of the Englishmen along with Franklin’s reason why the Indians should not be defined as savages. “A Narrative of the Captivity…” is a written test of faith about a brutally traumatic experience that a woman faced alone while being held captive by Indians. Mary Rowlandson views the Indians in a negative light due to the traumatizing and inhumane experiences she went through namely, their actions and the way in which they lived went against the religious code to which she is used; contrastingly, Benjamin Franklin sees the Indians as everything but savages-- he believes that they are perfect due to their educated ways and virtuous conduct.
In “The Truth about Stories”, Thomas King, demonstrate connection between the Native storytelling and the authentic world. He examines various themes in the stories such as; oppression, racism, identity and discrimination. He uses the creational stories and implies in to the world today and points out the racism and identity issues the Native people went through and are going through. The surroundings shape individuals’ life and a story plays vital roles. How one tells a story has huge impact on the listeners and readers. King uses sarcastic tone as he tells the current stories of Native people and his experiences. He points out to the events and incidents such as the government apologizing for the colonialism, however, words remains as they are and are not exchanged for actions. King continuously alerts the reader about taking actions towards change as people tend to be ignorant of what is going around them. At the end people give a simple reason that they were not aware of it. Thus, the author constantly reminds the readers that now they are aware of the issue so they do not have any reason to be ignorant.
The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson is a personal account, written by Mary Rowlandson in 1682, of what life in captivity was like. Her narrative of her captivity by Indians became popular in both American and English literature. Mary Rowlandson basically lost everything by an Indian attack on her town Lancaster, Massachusetts in 1675; where she is then held prisoner and spends eleven weeks with the Wampanoag Indians as they travel to safety. What made this piece so popular in both England and America was not only because of the great narrative skill used be Mary Rowlandson, but also the intriguing personality shown by the complicated character who has a struggle in recognizing her identity. The reoccurring idea of food and the word remove, used as metaphors throughout the narrative, could be observed to lead to Mary Rowlandson’s repression of anger, depression, and realization of change throughout her journey and more so at the end of it.
Native American literature from the Southeastern United States is deeply rooted in the oral traditions of the various tribes that have historically called that region home. While the tribes most integrally associated with the Southeastern U.S. in the American popular mind--the FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole)--were forcibly relocated to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) from their ancestral territories in the American South, descendents of those tribes have created compelling literary works that have kept alive their tribal identities and histories by incorporating traditional themes and narrative elements. While reflecting profound awareness of the value of the Native American past, these literary works have also revealed knowing perspectives on the meaning of the modern world in the lives of contemporary Native Americans.
In American Indian Stories, University of Nebraska Press Lincoln and London edition, the author, Zitkala-Sa, tries to tell stories that depicted life growing up on a reservation. Her stories showed how Native Americans reacted to the white man’s ways of running the land and changing the life of Indians. “Zitkala-Sa was one of the early Indian writers to record tribal legends and tales from oral tradition” (back cover) is a great way to show that the author’s stories were based upon actual events in her life as a Dakota Sioux Indian. This essay will describe and analyze Native American life as described by Zitkala-Sa’s American Indian Stories, it will relate to Native Americans and their interactions with American societies, it will discuss the major themes of the book and why the author wrote it, it will describe Native American society, its values and its beliefs and how they changed and it will show how Native Americans views other non-Natives.