![]() Black Elk tells his story in the first person he is the narrator and refers to himself as "I." The language is simple, partly because the story is told through an interpreter (Black Elk's son Ben). This chapter also establishes the style of the narrative. In that respect, he is like the heroes of classical literature, Odysseus and Beowulf. This statement indicates the communal nature of Indian experience Black Elk thinks of himself almost entirely in the context of his tribe or band, and he embodies the values of his people. He emphasizes that his own life story is also the story of his tribe and that, in fact, it would not be worth telling if it were only his personal story. In this initial chapter, Black Elk endorses John Neihardt as the person through whom he will tell his story, which is part autobiography, part spiritual revelation, and part tribal history. Black Elk tells a story about a sacred woman who appeared to two men and offered them a pipe, and then offers an invocation before proceeding with the story of his life and vision. In ritual fashion, Black Elk and Neihardt smoke the red willow bark in Black Elk's holy pipe as an offering to the Great Spirit. ![]() GradeSaver, 26 March 2020 Web.Black Elk makes it known that he intends to tell John Neihardt the story of his life, especially his early vision, which Black Elk says he failed to fulfill. "Black Elk Speaks Study Guide: Analysis". Next Section Symbols, Allegory and Motifs Previous Section Quotes How To Cite in MLA Format Tabor, Mason. Will review the submission and either publish your submission or provide feedback. You can help us out by revising, improving and updatingĪfter you claim a section you’ll have 24 hours to send in a draft. Perhaps that is why they reached out to him in vision, to frame the tragedy of what he would have to endure. This is a mark of honor for Black Elk, because he is motivated by responsibility and personal sacrifice, but was it really possible for him to stop the downfall of his people? That process began back when Black Elk's ancestors were still alive. He is in some ways like a child victim, because the child only knows to blame itself for the mistakes and sins of any potential abusers. So perhaps a way of synthesizing the chief's personal emotional experience with the objective facts might be this: The chief is a true martyr because he does not truly fathom what he is being forced to witness. Sitting Bull's death is the book's final stroke of dramatic climax, and this leads to Black Elk sharing his disappointment in himself. When Native Americans refuse to be moved without a fight, it typically means massacre. For hundreds and hundreds of years, European authorities and eventually American authorities participated in eliminating Native people groups and forcefully relocating them. But without any debate, the blame belongs with the US government. That is a way of saying that he claims full responsibility for the downfall of his tribe.Īlthough that is technically incorrect, it is a mark of honor for a captain to claim responsibility and go down with his ship, so to speak. ![]() But to Black Elk, his failure to manifest the fate he was shown in ecstatic religious visions amounts to true failure in life. Neihardt clearly views him as a critical person in history, the last of a certain type of chief. When the reader finds out how much Black Elk has accomplished, how fiercely he worked to make his dream a reality, to bring about an age of Native renaissance and peace with the US-it will likely seem unfair and absurd when Black Elk shares his own personal opinion of his life. In fact, such an analysis is a powerful way of honoring the text. ![]() However, that does not mean that Black Elk's story cannot be applied generally as an allegory for the downfall of Native cultures because of the US government. There are definitely thematic similarities between Native American cultures like ecstatic spiritualism and pantheistic appreciation of spirits-also ancestry culture is fairly common-but as a rule, they should be celebrated as independent tribal religions and cultures. It is a heinous mistake to believe that Native American cultures are basically the same. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. ![]() These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. ![]()
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