Nora Haenggi

Romanticized American Narrative

I am not entirely sure, but perhaps a sort-of-sentimentality is reason for teaching the picture of American Literature vastly differently from grade school to higher education. In class, Adam Glasgow reminded me that American history through literature is tailored to suit a particular American sensibility. Indeed, upon my very first presentation of Native American poetry by Simon J. Ortiz, my outlook of American history through literature is that it has been uniquely mythologized and romanticized. What I have learned in Early American Literature 4231 represents two vastly different pictures of historical American Literature. My initial view of what I had learned about Early American Literature in my early schooling was almost as if intentionally illustrated through rose-colored glasses. One difference I have noted about my knowledge of Native American culture appears to be a little more realistic than my peers; I might attribute that to acquiring the earliest part of my education in the Great Lakes region where the history and culture of the Native American is well documented and well organized into the education system. I did not receive any such education when I moved to Texas aside from cultural stereotypes which I find rather puzzling since the Mexican American history is well documented and organized in Texas education since it IS Texas education. What I extract on the grand scale of American Literary history is a domination of land, culture and narrative. My research posts for the semester reflect an understanding of an altered image of the Native American, and a deep appreciation for our founding fathers religious differences and their ability to unite through reason to establish a new country. Reading previous research posts reveals an entirely different outlook on the greater picture of Early American Literary history from mine, but perhaps that is what we should take away from this class is that even documented history itself is not entirely black and white and bullet points but a woven tale of events subject to other peoples’ bias and interpretation.

Previous research posts reveal varied bias and interpretation of the Early American literary text based on what is presented. What is presented is often what is available. In other words, text from the dominant culture is more readily available because they had the means and the education and the wherewithal to provide literature. The result is often the minority culture becomes drowned out. The available literature paints the Native American Indian as a rather scary and dark figure in a scary wilderness as Lori Arnold, Jeff Derrickson, and Melissa Sandifer have written. Lori, Jeff and Melissa cited Ms. Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative and Edgar Huntly as the illustrated Native American in early American Literature. Melissa Sandifer acknowledges that the Early American literature professors only have so much time to fill in the “gaps”. Past students’ essays also refer to the founding documents as dry and difficult assignments to complete – they also reflected upon the fact that it was never a focus or theme in their early education. If our founding documents are ignored in grade school how can higher education possibly create an environment of excitement? Like I mentioned in my introduction, the dominant narrative will prevail, so what does that say about our current education system that our founding documents are blatantly ignored? When students reach higher education there is a xenophobic mental imagery of the Native American and general malaise of the founding documents that college professors must attempt to educate otherwise.

Early American Literature taught by Dr. White provides that opportunity in our education to see the whole picture. My two research posts reveal a different literary history of America. If we look closely, we see vibrancy and excitement in uncertain times when our founding documents were created and our new country was established. Excitement about the possibility for freedom of expression in both speech and religious practice are enumerated for us in the founding documents. We learn that the leadership came from vastly different religious backgrounds some of whom were Christian, several were non-Christian. The deists and the Puritans, the orthodox and the un-orthodox were able to come together and agree upon inherent rights against subjugation and tyranny. I may concur somewhat that the words, so generic and unfeeling and unspecific, may be difficult to instill excitement. But, the meaning behind the documents and what they represent for the future is what is exciting. The free-thinkers unite with Madison, a strict orthodox Christian, and Madison, the father of the Constitution, is the one who demanded that religious freedom is specifically enumerated in some fashion, and that the church and the state are separate and unprompted by one another. Freedom and Liberty, the founders said are rights endowed by a creator. Notice the non-specificity in the language. It was intentionally ecumenical. This is one manner in which the relevancy of the founding documents may be preserved for as long as United States Citizens demand it.

While the founding documents in Early American Literature reveal a simplicity and truthfulness that surpasses the boundaries of time, the narrative of the Native American by the settlers and colonists impart a romanticized version of reality to a point of dehumanization. At least that was the premise of my second research post. I had the opportunity to read Native American poetry at the very beginning of class and at the end of class. Dr. White provided links to Native American music captured and recorded for playback on YouTube. The music does not reveal much about the reality of the Native American; it is highly symbolic and full of meaning. Although, contrasted with Westernized music that was created for dance and entertainment, one might recognize it does provide yet another small window into the potential for romanticizing of an entire race of people. The music and the culture are different. Unfortunately, in Early American literature and truly not until the past couple of decade do we get an opportunity to allow the Native to speak their side of their identity. Whereas before, as my research posts examined, the language in the dominant culture depicts the Native as a “savage” be it “noble” or “brute”, the Native American has been othered and romanticized into a mythological figment of American Literary history. Captain John Smith elicits imagery of the American Native as dark shrieking figures as does Ms. Mary Rowlandosn – she adds hellish type adjectives to describe the race. Even our founding fathers could not avoid sentimentality when speaking of the indigenous population; and when Early American Literature reaches the romantic era novels such as Edgar Huntly, the American vision of the Native is that of a savage force of nature that must be conquered in the name of progress. This entirety of text regarding the indigenous population of the new world means Americans get a confusing characterized dualistic image of the Native American from Early American Literature that prevails even now. The race becomes mythologized and their natural elements are tamed. Native Americans are left holding pieces of their identity to sort out for themselves. Only recently are they regaining empowerment to control the narrative of their own existence and tell it their way.

Early American Literature is a tapestry of meaning - different meanings for different people. It would be impossible for an American Literature professor to possibly sort out the various meanings and interpretations of our literary past. But as seen in early education it is all too easy to establish one-sided knowledge of a subject as we have seen in reactions to the class on the subject of the founding documents and the Native American. Professors provide material and students often extract meaning. Hopefully as more of the dialogue is opened for the Native American the meaning of US history includes them in more than mythological terminologies. Further, I wish to see more excitement and more understanding surrounding the founding documents. In both instances it will require a narrative shift to do so.