Essay topics

On monday my group and I came up with four very good essay topics based up the dime novel California Joe. Topic one is the idea of the nature of a classic hero vs the outlaw hero that is presented in Cali Joe. The second topic is the purpose of Maggie in the story, We thought that this would be a good topic because in the story she only show up at times and then after that chapter she leaves and is not seen again for a while. The third is the idea of money in the novel. This comes up as an issue because in the book some people call Joe the gold man, and his name California Joe gives off like the forty niner connotation. Even with all these things money seems to have no hold on Joe. The fourth and final topic is the anti climatic ending of the novel compaired with the the rest of the book. In the book up until the final chapter Joe engages in battles were he is greatly outnumbered and still he come out fine. In the final chapter though Joe is killed by one man in the bushes with a rifle. He doesn't even have a chance to fight he dies instantly and thats the end.

Cali Joe part 2

The Joe presented in chapters six through ten is much different from the one that was established in chapters one through five. In the first five chapters Joe as a mysterious good natured and innocent youth that is helping people that he doesn't know. Joe in these chapters seems to by the model selfless hero. This view changes after we read of the battle with the Indians. In this battle readers see Joe become "for lack of better words" a savage. He scalps the Indians, steals there horses, and shots them in the back as they try to run away, In these chapters we see that Joe is not the classic wild west hero, but another classic figure of the west the outlaw. On top of all this Joe is also a horse thief. This may not sound like a big act now, but in this point and time in the west it was a crime that carried the weight of death. During this time though readers wouldn't see Joe in the same way to them he was the idea of a hero.

Cali Joe

The dime novel California Joe when read gives the feeling that the story is being told by a old story teller around the fire. This feeling coupled with the fact that the story starts with the question "Who is California Joe?" and then no answer proceeds makes Joe like a mythical figure who seems to be only half real. This is enforced when he is first introduced as a "strange being and his ghost like horse" The mystery about him kind of dehumanizes him to were even when he helps the caravan get back on the right track the people think of him as a spook and are willing to depart from the path he is leading them on. When he does reveal himself fully the people are still fearful because he enters the camp on horseback without a guard seeing him. Yet this fear melts away when the people look upon his face. Joe also seems to have a very capable military mind this is shown when he and Captain Reynolds are making a plan to hold off against the braves. With this last weird event it seems like the author has given Joe mythical powers/qualities that a demi god in Greek literature would have. His dress though reminds me of another hero of the west Zorro. The book describes him as dressed completely in black sitting on a white horse. This is almost identical to a description of Zorro the only thing that is different is that Zorro's steed is a black instead of white. This story so far to me seems like a collection of existing hero archetypes in a new setting.

Contradictions,,, Deloria, and Baum

Deloria's writing clearly shows the contradiction within the American identity between the want to be a civilized nation, and the urge to be completely free. This can be seen even in Baum article were he expresses his want to exterminate the all the Indians to help keep the frontier safe for the "civilized people". In his article he expresses his distaste for sitting Bull and says that Sitting Bull has lost the "proud spirit of the original owners of these vast praes". He wants to exterminate the Indians because in his mind they have lost the spirit that made them great. In his article he shows that he respects the spirit that they once posesed, He later then goes on to say that it was "by justice of civilization" that the whites had become masters of the land. This is a contradiction he respects the Indians for there wild and savage spirit, but says it is the savageness and uncivilized nature that led to there downfall and domination by the whites. This is that same contradiction that surfaces in Deloria's writings.

Zitkala Sa Part 2

In Part 4 big red apples Sa shows how the missionaries education in a "more beautiful country" is slowly changing the way of life for the people. This is shown in the person of Dawee her brother. The changes that he puts into motion are simple like changing the covering of there wigwam from buffalo skin to canvas to big things like getting rid of the wigwam for a log cabin.

Response to Zitkala Sa part 1

In part one of Zitkala Sa's autobiography the feeling of loss that is portrayed is near identical to the one in Helen Hunt Jackson's a century of dishonor. The dialogue at the end of the first story between Sa and her mother is most effective at showing the reader this feeling, and just like in the first reading it deals with the death of the Indian people as a direct result of the advances of the "paleface". The Setting of the passages is near the same. They both take place in the Missouri river valley, but the passages take place at different times. They are however around the same time period.

Response to "a century of dishonor"

In the excerpt from Helen hunt Jackson's " a century of dishonor" she tells the story of the peaceable Poncar Indian tribe, and the governments mistreatment of them. In this excerpt She uses numerous quotes blended in with her own words to tell 60 years of this peoples dealings with the government. Miss Jackson uses words like destitution and desperation to help the reader understand the felling of hopelessness felt on the Poncar reservation. This passage shows the unwillingness on the part of the government to act upon the treaties made with the natives, and the heinous acts committed by the seventh Iowa.