Writers and Social Situations
Writers also write essays to discuss particular social situations in order to inform or remind viewers of historical incidents. Some of the great books that assist in the recounting of incidents that happened in American Indian cultures are John G. Neihardt's Black Elk Speaks and Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins' Life Among the Piutes. The articles listed above are essential for understanding the lives of America's ancient Indians. An analysis of the Life among the Piutes and Black Elk Speaks shows that they significantly compare concerning situations such as life in the camps, the journey of the heroes, and the use of foreshadowing techniques. However, the books above significantly contrast concerning the relationships between the whites and the Indians.
Life in the Camps
The article by Neihardt and Hopkins are similar as they address some of the challenges that people undergo in the camps. Precisely Hopkins, through her article, Life among the Piutes, argues that the American government placed the Indian civilians in a reservation camp to allow for the occupation of the latter's land for the economic purposes. However, the Yamakima Reservation where the American government placed the Indians was not favorable for the health of humankind. Hopkins(9) argues "I have never seen a president in my life and I want to know if he is made of wood or rock, for I cannot for once think that he can be a human. Nobody would do such a thing as that; - send people across a fearful mountain in midwinter." Through the statements above, it is evident that the white Americans were mistreating the Indians. Similar to the Hopkins, the Black Elk Speaks has situations where people undergo various types of challenges while they are in the camps. Precisely, the narrator says: "The next morning the camp moved again, and I was riding with some boys. We stopped to get a drink from a creek, and when I got off my horse, my legs crumpled under me, and I could not walk" (Neihardit 25).
Relationships between the Whites and Other Races
An analysis of the articles by Neihardt and Hopkins shows great variance in the relationships between the whites and other races (especially the Indians). In the novel that Hopkins compiled, the Indians and the whites had poor relationships and often engaged in some activities that adversely affected the welfare of the other race. For instance, the whites instigated wars that led to the death of the Indians. Also, the whites burned the properties that belonged to the Indians thereby deteriorating the relationships between the Indians and the whites although the latter had believed that the former are their brothers. At one point the Indians lamented that "while we were in the mountains hiding, the personalities that my grandfather perceived as our white brothers came to where our winter supplies were. They burnt everything we had"(Hopkins 4). On the contrary, the Neihardt document through a vision forecasts amicable relationships between the whites and other races. For instance, during the journey to the place where the grandfathers invited the narrator, the horse riders "walked together side by side, while the blacks, the whites, the sorrels, and the buckskins followed, marching four by four. (Neihardt 27). Therefore, from the statements above, it is evident that there was no animosity between the whites and the races such as the Indians.
Journey to Heroism
Neihardt's Black Elk Speaks and Life among the Piutes by Hopkins recount similar conditions that the heroes underwent in the course of the liberation of their societies. According to Hopkins' article, the narrator encountered various challenges that significantly impacted her progress in the emancipation of the conditions of her society members. Specifically, under some situations, the narrator's family feared that the whites would catch and eat them. Consequently, the narrator's parents decided to bury the children as a way of ensuring that they were safe from the whites who were pursuing them. Culturally, the males and the females in the Life among the Piutes had to undergo various rituals to allow them to become adults (heroes and heroines) in the society. Notably, "the boys had to kill a large animal using a bow his father throws the loop over him, and he jumps through it. This he does five times."(Hopkins 7). Similarly, the narrator in the Black Elk Speaks underwent interesting experiences on his journey to the acquisition of heroism. First, it was two men from the clouds who came to take him to the six grandfathers, and he says "I went outside the tepee, and yonder where the men with flaming spears were going, a little cloud was coming very fast. It came and stooped and took me and turned back to where it came from, flying fast." (Neihardt 25).
Foreshadowing
Finally, the article Black Elk Speaks and the Life among the Piutes compare significantly due to the use of dreams to foreshadow the unique occurrences in the society. Precisely, in the article Life among the Piutes, the author's father dreamt about the invasion of their lands by the whites, and he says "I dreamt this same thing three nights, – the very same. I saw the greatest emigration that has yet been through our country."(Hopkins 5). The use of dreams helped in the prediction of the activities that would happen in the community. Similarly, article the Black Elk Speaks involves significant use of dreams to manifest the process of crowning an individual to become a hero. Precisely, the author foreshadowed a situation where two people came and took him to the six grandfathers who guided him thus leading to his coronation as a hero. Therefore, the use of dreams in the articles by Neihardt and Sara significantly aided in the narration processes.
Conclusion
As discussed in the essay, Neihardt's Black Elk Speaks and Hopkins' Life among the Piutes are similar due to the use of techniques such as foreshadowing, the narration of the processes of becoming a hero and the life at the camps. It is evident from the articles above that people face various challenges while in the camps. Besides, the books that Neihardit and Hopkins compiled show that the process of becoming a hero involves various intriguing situations that people need to undergo. However, an extensive analysis of Life among the Piutes and Black Elk Speaks show a significant difference in the relationships between the Whites and other races. As discussed in this essay, in Life among the Piutes, there was a poor relationship between the Indians and Whites while in the Black Elk Speaks the relationship between the Whites and other races was cordial.
Works Cited
Hopkins, W. Sara. “Life Among The Piutes: Their wrongs and claims.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature (7th Ed), Volume C, 1865-1914. Print
Neihardt, G. John. Black Elk Speak, 1881-1973. Print
