english- american lit eng232

Question

Week 6 Journal

1. Chief Joseph: “I will Fight no More Forever” (link), “from An Indian’s Views of Indian Affairs” (667-669)
2. Zitkala-Ša: “From Impressions of an Indian Childhood: I. My Mother” (1127-1128), “VII. The Big Red Apples” (1130-1132), “From The School Days of an Indian Girl” (1133-1140)

Chief Joseph, Zitkala-Ša 

After reading the assigned texts and supplementary materials, choose 1 prompt from each author on which to write 2 paragraphs each (so, 4 paragraphs total). When you cite words/phrases to support your answers, remember in-text citation rules. See Purdue or Excelsior for help with this.

 

Chief Joseph

1. Compare and contrast Chief Joseph’s speech(es) to EITHER Booker T. Washington’s Atlanta Address OR W.E.B. DuBois’s Souls of Black Folk. (You can use just one or both of Chief Joseph’s speeches.) What do they share in common, and in what do they differ? There are several areas on which you may choose to focus: Consider what they were asking for their people. Consider their assessments of their group’s current status in society. Look at HOW they tried to convince their audiences (rhetoric). These are just suggestions, of course.
2. Analyze the rhetoric in “From An Indian’s Views of Indian Affairs.” This speech was delivered to Lincoln Hall, so the audience was a group of white male politicians. Examine HOW Chief Joseph went about convincing the audience to give him what he wanted. You can discuss such rhetorical devices as repetition, figurative language, developing rapport, creating empathy/sympathy, diction (use of specific words for specific purposes, like the use of “we”), or any other way in which he attempts to bring these men to his side of the argument.

 

Zitkala-Ša

1. Trace the way in which Zitkala-Ša’s Native American spirit was crushed by her early childhood experiences. Begin with her self-description on p. 1127, and follow the experiences that were meant to educate and assimilate her but actually resulted in creating a young woman who felt disconnected from her heritage.
2. The U.S. government’s attempt to assimilate the Native Americans into white society produced an author who then used her education to expose the injustices suffered by the Native Americans. Examine how Zitkala-Ša’s diction (word use) in her texts were chosen with specific purpose to highlight those injustices and lay blame on those who caused them. Remember, you’re looking at specific words—what they meant, how they would make her audience feel, how she INTENDED for her audience to feel, how the laid blame, how they exposed unjust practices, etc.

Answer 1

Short answer to part 1:

Chief Joseph's speech, specifically the one he delivered in 1877, known as "I Will Fight No More Forever" Speech, was given after his tribe, the Nez Perce, were defeated by the U.S. military and forced to relocate to a reservation in Oklahoma. In this speech, Chief Joseph expresses his desire for peace and his willingness to surrender to the U.S. government. He also appeals to the humanity of his audience, describing the suffering of his people and the injustice of their treatment. He also conveys the sadness and defeat of his tribe and the desire for the end of fighting.

Booker T. Washington's 1895 Atlanta Address, also known as the "Atlanta Compromise" speech, was delivered at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta. In this speech, Washington advocated for the economic advancement of African Americans as a means of gaining social and political equality. He encouraged African Americans to accept discrimination for the time being and to focus on education and industrial training to better their economic position. He calls on both blacks and whites to work together, and avoid the agitation of social and political issues that may cause further trouble in the country.

W.E.B. Du Bois' Souls of Black Folk is a 1903 book that addresses the problem of the color line, the challenge to the country of how to deal with Black citizens, it's also a personal account of Du Bois' own experiences as a black person in America, and a call for racial uplift and the end of white supremacy. Du Bois criticizes Washington's "Atlanta Compromise" as being too accommodative of white supremacy and calls for political action and civil rights, which he saw as the only way of true racial equality. He argues for full rights and equality for black citizens and the importance of an educated and politically engaged black elite to lead the fight for civil rights.

In summary, Chief Joseph and Du Bois both call for the end of injustice and for their people to be treated with dignity and humanity. Chief Joseph's speech is focused on peace and surrender, while Du Bois' book calls for political action and civil rights. Washington, on the other hand, advocates for economic advancement as a means of achieving social and political equality, rather than direct confrontation with white society.