21 Comments
Vincent Lyau
10/1/2017 04:12:57 pm
Zitkala-Sa's perception of place has drastically changed. When she was a young girl, she thought of herself as part of the Dakota tribe. But now, she finds herself drifting farther and farther away. It was interesting to see how Zitkala-Sa's perspective didn't particularly change; it seemed, in her interactions with people outside of her tribe, that Zitkala-Sa still felt isolated or different in some way from them. This would make me think that Zitkala-Sa believed herself a Dakota still. Yet when Zitkala-Sa returns to the tribe, her own mother views her differently. Zitkala-Sa has become simultaneously a part of two different worlds without the benefits of belonging to either.
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Ryan Van
10/1/2017 08:41:57 pm
Vincent, I believe your introduction is spot-on, you perfectly convey Zitkala-Sa being stuck between two worlds and at a loss of identity. I particularly like how you connect the themes of power, identity, and place within a community. When you describe Zitkala-Sa’s troubles rooting not only from the forced conversion by the missionaries, but also by her internal struggles, an important detail to remember is that almost every other Indian at the time felt the same oppression – almost every school child faced the same problems. The only concept that separates Zitkala-Sa and the other children is that Zitkala-Sa writing operates as a symbol – her story acts as a tale of remembrance of what happened to the children, the Indian people. Zitkala-Sa was not alone in her venture against the unknown.
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Shalin Shah
10/3/2017 01:42:40 pm
I agree with you when you say that there is a shift between Zitkala-Sa's perception of place between her younger self and current self. This fleeting sense of place is what causes her to move from activity to activity without really knowing which activity to pursue further. She goes home, then back to school, then competes in oratory competitions, becomes a teacher, etc., all to find a sense of place in a world that is so different from her.
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Allan Lee
10/1/2017 05:59:48 pm
Zitkala-Sa feels that she is never a part of a specific community, and therefore is depressed that she has no sense of place or power. She is displeased by her life in the East, being oppressed in her school and left without any real friends, but when she comes back to tribe, she is not looked at the same, and is, at times, looked at almost as a paleface in her mother's eyes.
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Hudson Northrop
10/2/2017 10:30:08 am
I agree with you when you say that Zitkala is never a part of a specific community, for she leaves her original home for life in the East, however in the East she finds herself lonely and without friends. Yet when Sa returns back home she is not the same person that grew up there and consequently is never entirely apart of that community again. Being a Native American, she never fully fit into a community in the East because of the prejudice and racism of the pale-faced people. However she loses some of identity as a Native when she goes Eastward, thus doesn’t fit in well when she returns to her original home.
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Lorenzo dela Cruz
10/2/2017 10:41:04 am
It is interesting to see how Sa develops into adulthood. In the beginning of the Snow Episode she shows how innocent and forgetful children are when they forget a simple rule. Here Sa shows the powerless state of childhood. However, she gives the sense that ignorance is bliss because the children forget the rules because they are careless and fun-seeking. However, she also shows the dark side of this ignorance when Thowin is beat for continuously responding no to the paleface woman. Here Sa emphasizes the difference of power and place of the two individuals. This takes form in language and in age. Again, the state of youth gives Thowin less power. However, as Sa points out, the unfamiliarity of language places Thowin in her situation. If it were not for the language barrier, Thowin could have avoided her situation altogether. This situation further emphasizes how little the pale faced caretakers actually care for the people that their mission is to help.
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Jillian Behrens
10/2/2017 03:15:49 pm
Zitkala-Sa demonstrates changes in her identity as she experiences her teen years in the pale-face’s world. During her first few months, she remains a very defiant child, and there is a strong theme of rebellion and revenge. First, there is the breaking of the turnip jar, and then she defiles the image of the devil in a bible. She shows that she still rejects this culture that she has chosen but now regrets, but soon, Zitkala-Sa describes how she and her fellow classmates become broken by exhaustion, both physical and emotionally.
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Lauren Jones
10/2/2017 07:44:49 pm
Jillian, I like you how notice and address Zitkala-Sa’s change in identity that all of her years of schooling in the East has incurred. Upon reading this at first, I did not acknowledge how her defiant attitude has changed, but I believe that it is a very important observation that you have made. It is interesting how she is so resistant and wanting to rebel, but still returns to the East for college, and I think it relates to what you were saying about Zitkala-Sa adapting to the paleface ways. I agree with your point that it is not the same for her when she visits home again, and how she seems to fit in less. Building off of that point, I think this is even more obvious when she returns home the second time, and sees how her community has changed and how old her mom has grown, and learns about her brother losing his government position to a white man and the sad truth that the whites are taking over more and more. In respect to your comments about her returning home the first time, I think it’s also interesting to consider the fact that she still goes back to wearing her moccasins and rides the horse perhaps for the feeling of freedom. However, I was also struck by the moment Zitkala-Sa cried about not being able to go to a part with her brother, with all of the kids changed by the white culture. Her mother was not able to console her the way that she used to , and it was sad to see how their relationship changed. I appreciate the way you framed the moment of her thinking of running away a flip- her wishing to run away to the East whe just a few months before she was wishing to run home to her mother. I think it is interesting and insightful that you address her use of “magic marbles” as an indicator that she does not yet have faith in her ability to fit in. In relation to Zitkala-Sa’s talk of running away previously, I think it is interesting to consider the point, after arriving at college, when she says, “Often I wept in secret, wishing I had gone to the West, to be nourished by my mother’s love, instead of remaining among a cold race whose hearts were frozen hard with prejudice.” Zitkala-Sa seems to fit in nowhere, and as you mentioned, the Oratory competition seems to be an important event for her. I like the point you brought up about her struggle to fit in and be accepted pushing her to search for acceptance, and that’s what brought her to be an Indian school teacher. The way you framed what the palefaces were doing with giving the kids a place to learn, but not a real education ties into the scene where the people visiting the Indian schools were given fake impressions of all the “good” the whites were doing in doing their “charity” to the Indian people.
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Sarah Giorgi
10/2/2017 09:01:54 pm
Zitkala-Sa’s relationship with place changes drastically from the first to second passage. In the first portion, when she is removed from her home, she identifies herself through her culture and family life. Once she makes the decision to return to the East in order to become more “civilized,” she loses her connection with her Native American community. She is thrown into a world where she is made fun of for her culture and one where her mother does not write her back. This limbo between places physically impacts Zitkala-Sa. She remains ill throughout the entire second passage, mainly for the longing of place. This physical illness demonstrates the importance in having a community and place in her life.
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Ava Mora
10/2/2017 09:56:49 pm
The theme of power has changed a lot as my last blog post noted that she actually became stronger by leaving the reservation and having the opportunity to become an adult in another world. However, after reading up to page 30, I believe the "power" she once had or could've had is now harder for her. When she joins the reservation, she immediately feels out of place and repressed. She writes at length about how she wants to go home and wishes she was back with her family. Yet, when she does go home her mother looks at her differently and doesn't treat her as a member of the tribe because she no longer is. On the other hand, she has entered the reservation world of the missionaries who suppress her individual power daily by imposing a new religion, place and language on her. She learns about the devil and becomes terrified, as if the missionaries weren't devilish enough to her. As she finds herself between two worlds (or places) and no longer apart of either, I believe she has lost her individual power of being apart of a community or identity. She no longer feels at home with her Indian tribe and definitely doesn't feel apart of the missionaries' world. Due to this, I believe her sense of power has diminished as her change of place and community only isolated herself from everyone, instead of adapting to both or one.
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Christina Gaspar
10/2/2017 10:57:03 pm
The power of place plays a very important role in the way Zitkala-Sa transformed from a child to a young woman. It is very interesting to compare Zitkala’s childhood thoughts to those formed once she became an adult. When she was away at school the language and cultural barrier led her to receive unnecessary punishments from the paleface. She observed how the women who took care of them neglected their physical health. Zitkala began to harbor a deeper sense of resentment toward the paleface. However, although she wished to have revenge it appears she wanted to stay in the East. After being away for three years she returned home to discover her longing to be more like the pale face. When she couldn’t join her brother and the young adults for a gathering she cried in anguish. Her mother grieved for her because she had betrayed all that she taught Zitkala. She went back to the East and went to college against her mother’s wishes. Perhaps it was a sense of finding an identity that made her stay away from her mother and her native land for so long.
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Maribel Juarez Vargas
10/2/2017 11:25:01 pm
Place and community are closely associated in Zatakala-Sa’s articles. The Dakota tribe had clearly established roles, where men were “warriors”, women cared for their family, children assisted, and ultimately everyone attributed to the well-being of the tribe. The camaraderie described in the first part of American Indian Stories surpasses the level of community and neighbors to one of family. Throughout the passages it is evident that the unity of the community is what creates a place for each member. For instance, Zitkala-Sa recalls the old man’s attitude towards her gesture of offering coffee as “poor as it was, with the utmost respect”. Regardless of her young age, Zitkala-Sa is part of a community in where her place is regarded as equal as any other.
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Natalie Enos
10/2/2017 11:29:42 pm
In moving to the East, Zitkala-Sa sacrifices her power and sense of place. It seems that even though she finds pieces of power in education, she never truly regains her sense of place. She struggles to identify with the culture of her native people, and can not truly identify with the culture of the white people, therefore struggling to find a true sense of belonging. She goes even further to say that, “even nature seemed to have no place for me” (Sa, 191). Each time she comes home from the East, she finds that the world in which she grew up has been completely altered, and her emotions can be understood by no one. Her world has been transformed by the white man, and there is no escape from his influence. Therefore, she is lonely, with no sense of community or belonging.
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Nicole Mendoza
10/2/2017 11:49:08 pm
In the beginning of this excerpt, Zitkala-sa finds that her place in this new community is expressing "a mischievous spirit of revenge." Although the pale-faces have separated her from her culture and her homeland, they have not yet separated her from her wild spirit. Zitkala-sa recognizes the punishment she receives for disobeying orders, but she accepts it in order to maintain her place and her spirit. t
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Elizabeth Lemons
10/3/2017 12:02:36 am
In the second half of the piece, you see how Zitkala-Sa struggles with her sense of community as she stands on the border between two radically different cultures. She hates the missionaries for the power they've stolen from her (in such acts as cutting her hair or beating a child for playing in the snow), but also longed to be a part of them and spent a long amount of time lonely in her bitterness. On the other hand, she was no longer truly a part of her native culture because of her education, and this is shown in the disconnect between her and her mother as she is now too trained by the "civilizing machine" to reengage fully with her people.
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VIctor hernandez MUnoz
2/10/2023 09:04:54 am
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Seth Dumaguin
10/3/2017 01:07:17 am
Throughout Zitkala-Sa’s biography, we have witnessed made a strong development and maturity. In the beginning of her story she depicted herself as a free-spirited child who likes to do things her way and would not let anyone tell her otherwise. This free-spirited personality stayed with her throughout her life but her purpose of being free-spirited changed. When she was young and was going to school with the pale-face, she focused her free-spiritedness through rebellious deeds. She did things against her teachers to see what they will do to her. She did these things because she did not want to lose her native identity. As she grew up though, she started doings things for her and not to get reaction from others. She started focusing her actions towards her and not to the pale face. In this second half of the story, she somewhat lost her sense of community with her native land. She started to become more “advanced” than her community in a way that she spoke better English and was very educated compared to her peers back home. It seemed after three years at the eastern school, she could not relate with her community anymore. In addition, she did not have any community with the “pale-face” people anyways since they looked at her with scorn looks. She felt like she did not belong with them, causing her to spend most of her college days in her room and celebrating her competition victory by herself. As a result of her act of curiosity when she was young, deciding to go to school with the pale-face, she lost her old community, and also failed to gain a new one. In the second half of her story, being in a new place, you seem to have no power at all there since you are not familiar with the place. You have no one to talk to, you are just by yourself, feeling powerless. This is how Sa felt when she was in her school with the “pale-face”. She was not familiar with the place and she barely knew anyone there, as a result, she felt powerless. Even though she knew a lot of people back home, she was still powerless there in a way that they still see her as this young girl when she first left the reservation. They don’t see as her a grown woman, even her mother does not see her as that. Because of this, Sa just feels powerless.
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Damaris Hernandez
10/3/2017 03:10:13 am
In the first half of the piece we see Zitkala-sa as a young girl who feels deeply connected with her community, has the power and innocence of being a child, and finds her place along within her mother, brother, and friends. Evidently, in the second half most of her community and place has been stripped down from her and she feels uncomfortable at college and back at home with her mother. She loses her place and community when she mentions in "Four Strange Summer" that she was capable of speaking english but was not dressed appropriately to fit in with the english speaking girls because unlike those girls who wore tight muslim dresses with ribbons at neck and waist, she still wore her soft moccasins. Back at home, where she had her community, she had lost her place because she was different from the others in the sense that she did not belong because her tongue and image no longer matched.The lost of community and place is also evident when she continued to disobey her mother when she asked her mother for her approval to seek a college career. Her naive younger self attitude had not changed, and although she did care for her mother and her community (we know this because she asked for her mother's approval which means part of her did feel connected to her culture), she no longer really felt totally attached to it because most of her identity was lost. She no longer believed in the Great spirit and told her mom this. At college, just like when she was in her school days, she looked,wept, and longed for the feeling of place and community because she notes she wished she was being nourished by her mother's love.
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Brandon Lee
10/3/2017 12:25:44 pm
Zitkala-Sa begins the second half of her writing by telling us a story about her and her friends in “Snow Day.” They played outside in the snow and don’t speak English, so didn’t know that they weren’t allowed to. When called in, one of the girls is reprimanded because she was responding “no” on accident to the teacher. This passage is used as a contrast to the later passages. Zitkala-Sa’s story shows us a side of her childhood in which she was young and impressionable. She was still like a “fish out of water” in the sense that she was still adjusting to her new life. Indeed, second half of the book in general is a bildungsroman about Zitkala-Sa feeling marginalized and out of place fighting to discover her identity. We can see the tension stemming from her uneasy inner quarrels especially clear in the next passage, “The Devil.” The Devil that she imagines is a mix of both her Indian and White teachings. The devil story is first told to her by an old warrior in her tribe, but then it takes on the form of the European devil as she is taught about Christianity in school. The dream is a reference to her lost sense of belonging, as she feels trapped and hunted by both sides of her identity. We can also see her perceived alienation from her mother as in her dream the mother does not reach out to save her until the very end. However, Zitkala-Sa also attributes this feeling of misplacement to her “teens” years. During these years, Zitkala-Sa goes through her rebellious phase (eg. the horse ride). She is seeking independence from both her mother and from her school teachers. In this phase of life she is exerting her own power to discover her own identity and community. The tension here between herself and her mother reaches an apex when she decides to go to college against her mother’s will. We see here that Zitkala-Sa is once again trying to find her own place, as well as using her newfound power in adulthood. Thus, she goes on to go to college and become a teacher. But in the end, Zitkala-Sa falls back to her mother, as she realizes that community and place is defined by the relationships one has, and to her that relationship is her mother. Therefore her power stems from her mother. She is able to draw onto that and resign from teaching and journey east.
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sydney julien
10/3/2017 12:34:36 pm
Zitkala-Sa’s story is a constant struggle of power. In this second half of her narrative, she is constantly exploring what power she has. In “The Snow Episode,” Zitkala-Sa watched Thowin get severely punished for being a child. The account ends, “misunderstandings as ridiculous as this one of the snow episode frequently took place, bringing unjustifiable frights and punishments into our little lives.” The paleface flaunt their power and use force to maintain it — but that changes when Zitkala-Sa gains and realizes her own power. “As soon as I comprehended a part of what was said and done, a mischievous spirit of revenge possessed me.” Zitkala-Sa uses her own spite and mischief to gain power as a youth. She had such little control over her situation at this point so these demonstrations are really powerful for her. They offer a release to all of her pent up tension and aggression from spending so long biting her tongue to keep from those “unjustifiable frights and punishments.”
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Christina Hendricks
10/3/2017 01:26:00 pm
Zitkala-Sa’s transition from her experiences in “The Snow Episode” to “The Devil” reflect her misplacement amongst the “palefaces” and her struggle to identify with something she is so unfamiliar with. The comforting role her mother plays in the scene where both communities are mixed (in her dream of the devil) emphasizes her sense of helplessness, her lack of power. She continues to characterize power and cruelty of the PaleFaces as she illuminates the lack of medical attention they were given, tying into her statement later on regard the magic roots. By leaving behind her magic roots given by her uncle, she is relinquishing with it a sense of cultural identity-- only to be shorthanded by the Easterns lack of attention.
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