Assertion Analysis #7: Act of Sadness

      Wooden Leg was a Cheyenne war leader, known for fighting in the Great Sioux War of 1876-77, notably against Colonel Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Soon after, he and other Cheyenne people were forced into reservations, where Wooden Leg assimilated partially into being a Christian and acquiring a job as the reservation's judge, teaching about American law. In a speech, Wooden Leg uses the image of a plant to describe his experience with assimilation and preserving culture.
      In this excerpt, describes the correct Native American belief of how to get rid of a plant. "The trees and the grass have spirits", he says, stressing the importance of plants. Because of this, plants "may be cut off, but [it] should not be uprooted". The roots still remain, but the main part of the plant can be removed. Wooden Leg says the act of removing a plant "is done in sadness and with a prayer for forgiveness because of his necessities". He is stating that the removal of a plant should be done with awareness of what is happening, due to the importance of it. What may seem to be only advice on how to remove a plant correctly actually reveals a lot about assimilation of culture.
      Wooden Leg's plant in this excerpt is a metaphor for culture. Like the plant described, a culture should not be removed completely, or in the plant's case, "uprooted". The culture is still in existence, not completely removed, just as the root of the plant still remains. This is connected to how Wooden Leg becomes a judge and a Christian, while at the same time preserving his name and living in the reservation, not fully assimilating. In addition, Wooden Leg's description of how a plant has a spirit stresses the importance of preserving culture. A culture is very rich and valuable, just like a spirit. Any harm done to a spirit should be done in awareness, Wooden Leg says. Like that, Wooden Leg is saying that people should know what they are doing when assimilating into another culture, and know that it is in a way harming the culture. He is providing a clear statement of the correct way of how a culture should be assimilated.
      The use of a plant suggests that a culture should be treated with respect and preserved in a way, just a plant still has its roots. People take into count more the death of a plant, rather than a culture, so using a plant as a metaphor provides an emotional response. One should not completely get rid of the "plant" that is culture. Wooden Leg was one of the many examples of this. Sadly, for many, their plant was completely uprooted.

Assertion Analysis #6: Surrender

      Chief Joseph, or Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, was the leader of a Pacific Northwestern tribe. In 1877, with white people now on the west coast, the tribe was now on its last legs. What was Chief Joseph to do now, that the white people were closing in? Through simple and emotionally charged words, Chief Joseph surrendered and put the fighting to an end.
      In his speech, Chief Joseph lists his reasons as to why he will stop fighting. "I am tired of fighting", Chife Joseph says, "Our Chiefs are killed; Looking Glass is dead". There are no more ways that Joseph could continue, without the help of others. "My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food", Chief Joseph continues. The tribe is now only able to turn to their last resorts. In a closing statement, Chief Joseph states, "I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more". He has now surrendered to the coming white people.
      Chief Joseph's tone and simple, yet depressing imagery conveys his message to the audience. Throughout the speech, his tone remains reserved, as to evoke emotions of a peaceful sadness in the audience. There is no intense or overly pleasant tone here; it is almost neutral. Chief Joseph uses simple imagery of sick people, people freezing to death, and dead chiefs to convey a very sad emotion to the audience. His use of imagery and tone are effective in making clear his message.
      Chief Joseph's surrender was charged with the depressing tone and imagery throughout his speech. Since the audience receives his message as emotions, the main rhetorical device here is pathos. If this was only one Chief's surrender, other surrenders may have been emotionally charged as well.

Assertion Analysis #5: Seeker of Visions

      As the story tells, the the White Man saved the native American. Prior to the arrival of white people in the Americas, the natives were savages. The White Man comes, and now with the help of the White Man, they are civilized. However, to John Lame Deer in the excerpt, Seeker of Visions, this does not hold true. Lame Deer suggests that native Americans did not need the "help" that the White Man offered.
      In this excerpt, Lame Deer provides a lot of examples of how the the white men did not need to "help" native Americans. "Before our white brothers arrived to make us civilized men," Lame Deer says, "we didn't have any kind of prison. Without a prison, there can be no delinquents". The native Americans were a well-structured society, and they did not need a prison system for discipline. "When someone was so poor that he couldn't afford a horse . . . he would, in that case, receive it all as a gift", Lame Deer continues. The native society was a communal society, and poverty was not an issue taken lightly. Another example says that people did not have money, so the person was not determined by wealth. Finally, Lame Deer says that the natives need prisons and laws, "or so [the white men] say", to function as a civilized society. Lame Deer uses these to prove a point.
      Lame Deer primarily uses verbal irony and sarcasm to convey that native Americans did not need white "help". He goes through all these examples of the native American society, and how it was structured, showing that native Americans were well off. In the final paragraph, though, he says that laws were necessary, "or so [the white men] say". Without laws, money, or prison, a society would be uncivilized. Lame Deer shoots this down, and uses the examples that he listed to show that native Americans were a well structured society.
      The native Americans, without laws or money, seemed to work perfectly fine. They did not need the "help" of Europeans. However, the arrival of Europeans rid the native Americans of this culture. Had they not intervened the way they did, perhaps they would have flourished and reached a high level of advancement. One can only imagine how far they would've went.

Socratic Seminar #1: Between the World and Me (question 2)

      Religion plays a big part on the people's perception of the American Dream. The belief in an omnipotent, helpful deity can make people believe that they will receive help, and that they will eventually have their burdens taken away. When in struggle, they will find some help from a deity. The American Dream is real at this point. If they never get out of whatever struggle they are in, they have two options: One is to still believe in the belief of help and the American Dream, and the second is to view religion and the American Dream as an illusion. The people who continue their belief in the American Dream sometimes are in conditions that people aren't willing to help on, leading often to false hope. The other side can become aware, as did Coates, and trash the American Dream.
      Coates' atheism in this statement is symbolic of the African-American struggle in a big way. This "hope" brought on by religious belief has never led to justice or success, he is asserting. The struggle of African-Americans has always been in existence. There is the harsh reality that is the constant struggle of African-Americans. In a way, Coates is saying that there is no God, no one willing to help, and the American Dream is not in existence.