Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Zitkala Sa II
Katja
ENGL 48B
Journal # 32, Sa II
14 March, 2007
"It was an old grandfather who had often told me Iktomi legends." (Zitkala Ša 1014)
"[...] I feared a tall, broad-shouldered crazy man, some forty years old, who walked loose among the hills." (1013)
"A brave is buried here." (1015)
Zitkala Ša’s, or Red Bird’s, autobiography lacks men. This omission seems intentionally used in order to add a sense of desolation and desperation to the text.
The reader gets the sense that the man-void is due to numerous catastrophic blows endured by the tribe: violence, mental and physical illness, age and starvation. Utterly marginalized, the tribe is forced along the edge of the Missouri River, unable to venture further. This image is a fitting metaphor for the state of Native American tribes’ struggles throughout the United States at this time. Zitkala Ša well captures what seems like her tribe’s last moments before succumbing to extinction.
Without men there can be no future. The literal state of infertility of Ša’s tribe would have to eventually lead to a dilution of Native blood, as women would have to turn elsewhere to find partners. As the headnotes describe, Ša herself had a white father, something that is not highlighted in her autobiography. Interestingly, her mother says, "The bronzed Dakota is the only real man." (1009), thereby effectively dismissing Ša’s father. This mixed, and frankly passive-aggressive, message would certainly be difficult to decipher for a young girl, and leaves the reader pondering the reasons behind the mother’s bitterness.
The environment Red Bird grew up in was heavily matriarchal, however it is difficult to tell if this was already the tradition of the tribe or if it reflected a cultural shift generated by the significant and rapid loss of male tribal members. Later in Ša’s text, there is evidence of her inability to relate to both men and women. On page 1030 when encountering her employer she thinks, "I thought I heard a subtle note of disappointment in his voice." Ša also illustrates her deep hatred for the inept women teaching her at school, blaming them for "cruel neglect" (1025). Perhaps this mal-adjustment is a function of her strained relationship with her mother and the absence of a father.
ENGL 48B
Journal # 32, Sa II
14 March, 2007
"It was an old grandfather who had often told me Iktomi legends." (Zitkala Ša 1014)
"[...] I feared a tall, broad-shouldered crazy man, some forty years old, who walked loose among the hills." (1013)
"A brave is buried here." (1015)
Zitkala Ša’s, or Red Bird’s, autobiography lacks men. This omission seems intentionally used in order to add a sense of desolation and desperation to the text.
The reader gets the sense that the man-void is due to numerous catastrophic blows endured by the tribe: violence, mental and physical illness, age and starvation. Utterly marginalized, the tribe is forced along the edge of the Missouri River, unable to venture further. This image is a fitting metaphor for the state of Native American tribes’ struggles throughout the United States at this time. Zitkala Ša well captures what seems like her tribe’s last moments before succumbing to extinction.
Without men there can be no future. The literal state of infertility of Ša’s tribe would have to eventually lead to a dilution of Native blood, as women would have to turn elsewhere to find partners. As the headnotes describe, Ša herself had a white father, something that is not highlighted in her autobiography. Interestingly, her mother says, "The bronzed Dakota is the only real man." (1009), thereby effectively dismissing Ša’s father. This mixed, and frankly passive-aggressive, message would certainly be difficult to decipher for a young girl, and leaves the reader pondering the reasons behind the mother’s bitterness.
The environment Red Bird grew up in was heavily matriarchal, however it is difficult to tell if this was already the tradition of the tribe or if it reflected a cultural shift generated by the significant and rapid loss of male tribal members. Later in Ša’s text, there is evidence of her inability to relate to both men and women. On page 1030 when encountering her employer she thinks, "I thought I heard a subtle note of disappointment in his voice." Ša also illustrates her deep hatred for the inept women teaching her at school, blaming them for "cruel neglect" (1025). Perhaps this mal-adjustment is a function of her strained relationship with her mother and the absence of a father.
# posted by Katja @ 7:33 PM 
