Socratic Seminar #2: Black Elk (question 3)

      Throughout the entire chapter, many ideas and concepts are motifs are repeated as motifs, perhaps emphasizing the importance of them. Among repeated ideas are the Black Road, which "goes from where the thunder beings live (the west) to where the sun continually shines (the east), a fearful road . . . of troubles and war". The recurring Black Road is important because this is the road the Black Elk "travels" on and explains a lot about the impending events of the Sioux nation. Another recurring concept are the horses, which "went into formation, four abreast". The horses serve as a sort of guide for Black Elk, and are emphasized and heavily described in the first two pages with black horses that have "necklaces with bison hoofs" or white horses with manes "flowing like a blizzard wind". I assume Black Elk uses these recurring themes and heavy description a lot to make the reader "experience" the vision along with him. Interestingly, though, considering Native Americans value words and stories, this overuse of words seems strange. This may be due in part by John G. Neihardt, who interpreted and published the vision for Black Elk. This description, so, may not be all of Black Elk's ideas.