LITR 4326 Early American Literature         Model Assignments

Final Exam Essays 2016 assignment Sample answers for Essay 1 on overall learning experience

Nona Olivarez

Learning about ‘The Outsiders’

When I signed up for Early American Literature I didn’t necessarily have any expectations because, honestly, I did not know what to expect. My sole reason for signing up for the course was that Dr. White was listed as the instructor. For me that was reason enough. I had taken Dr. White’s Tragedy course in a previous semester and enjoyed the structure and teaching methods, and so like Thomas Dion, I figured “what the hell”. If anything, I’d learn something I hadn’t expected to like I did in Tragedy. Consequently with nothing to lose, I did just that: I learned the unexpected.

So what does the unexpected mean? Well upon scrolling through the course website the first day, I couldn’t help but notice we were required to read Christopher Columbus, John Smith,  Benjamin Franklin, and of course, The Declaration of Independence. At the time I thought, great, more writings from old dead “white” men. However as I continued to scroll I noticed the course in actuality contained a variety of texts from both men and women from different backgrounds and cultures. This aspect wasn’t necessarily surprising, but it was refreshing to realize the course contained texts from Early American Literature that up until now I had been unfamiliar with. What was surprising is that from these texts I learned a side of history I had never really been taught before. I learned about ‘the outsiders.’ And no, I’m not talking about the 1980’s teen drama starring a group of unruly teenage boys. What I mean by ‘the outsiders’ is people who were seen as different or inferior, and who typically exist as a side note throughout history. Specifically people like Native Americans, African Americans, and even women. What’s more is that learning about the other side of history is not restricted to texts written by ‘the outsiders’, but can be learned from texts written by old dead “white” men as well, which is something I never expected.  

For example, John Smith in A General History of Virginia tells the story of his time spent in Jamestown, Virginia, and more importantly, his capture by the Native Americans. During his capture, Smith is about to be killed when Pocahontas saves him from death. Like many men of his time, Smith viewed Native Americans as savages who were to be feared because they were dangerous and “more like a devil than man.” Yet these supposed savages spare Smith’s life, and accept them into their tribe. Smith even becomes good friends with Chief Powhatan, and is given a Native American name. For the remainder of the time he spent with the Powhatan Confederacy, the Native Americans treat him with kindness and respect. Not at all what one would expect from dangerous savages. Perhaps unwittingly, John Smith depicts Native Americans in a manner that contradicts the popular belief that Native Americans were savages. And so, even though John Smith refers to Native Americans as savages, his telling of his capture implies the opposite.

Likewise, the captivity narrative of Mrs. Mary Jemison tells the story of Mary who, like Smith, is captured, spared, and then accepted by Native Americans. Although Mary witnesses Native Americans murder her family, she adapts to their way of life and assimilates herself into Native American culture accordingly, even marrying and having children. When given the opportunity to leave, Mary decides to stay, and never admitted to attempting an escape of any means beforehand. In fact, the remainder of Mary’s life after being captured appears pleasant considering her situation. As Rochelle Latouche points out in her essay, “Native Misconceptions”, “the fact that Jemison was forgiving and accepting of the Native Americans makes me question how villainous they truly were.” Rochelle Latouche is not the only one raising these questions. Whether or not Native Americans were the ignorant savages they were depicted to be seems to be a common underlying theme throughout many of the texts in early American Literature.

For instance, Benjamin Franklin writes in Remarks concerning the Savages of North America, “Savages we call them, because their Manners differ from ours, which we think the Perfection of Civility. They think the same of theirs. . .” Franklin notes that like Americans, Native Americans believe their way of life to be correct and civil. In other words, even though Native American’s culture differs from what Americans believe to be the norm, to the Native Americans their culture is the norm and the Americans are the ones who are different. Perhaps purposefully Franklin raises questions concerning the use of the term savage. Native Americans are named savages primarily because they are different, but the real difference lies only in point of view as Americans could easily be called savages just the same.

Similarly, in Edgar Huntly, Charles Brockden Brown explores the idea that the term savage can be applied to anyone because savage behaviors are not restricted to Native Americans, but exist inside all of us. In fact the main character Edgar who is a moralistic Quaker beings to exhibit savage behaviors as the novel progresses. After finding himself in the wilderness in a dark pit, Edgar comes across another panther in which he kills and then eats the raw flesh of. This scene creates an interesting comparison because he uses a tomahawk, a weapon primarily known to be used by Native Americans, to kill the panther. In addition, he then proceeds to eat the raw flesh of the panther to satisfy his hunger, which displays his capability of primitive behavior. Therefore Edgar acts on his innate savagery and not learned civility to survive the wilderness on his journey back home. At one point he even gets mistaken for a Native American when he fires at a group of what he believes to be Native Americans, and they fire back believing the same. Both sides wrongly assume the other to be Native Americans. This theme of mistaken identity alludes to the fear of Native American attacks during that time, and more importantly, questions the savage identity. Although Edgar refers to the Native Americans as savages, he ends up killing them and kills them with little remorse as he is able to justify his behavior because, after all, according to him they are the villains. Despite Edgar’s morality and disposition to refrain from violence, he acts quite violently in the second half of the novel.  It appears Brown is displaying Edgar’s instinctive brutality and subconscious impulse towards violence to suggest that all humans are capable of such savagery. In other words, Edgar is capable of just as much savagery as the Native Americans and thus proposes the idea that everyone is capable of good and bad due to the fact we are all inherently the same.

Moreover, both texts are written by men who faced little disadvantages, at least when compared to Native Americans, yet they both provide a more modern view concerning those who were deemed untrustworthy savages. Franklin and Brown imply that even though Native Americans look and act different, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are savage. While Franklin focuses more on the Native American’s culture and subjection to religion, and Brown focuses on the innate savagery within us all, both men question the manner in which Native Americans are defined as less than human.

All in all, I never expected to learn about the other side of history through early American literature written primarily by white men. I expected to learn dominant culture as I had been taught throughout most of my education. Therefore, I was pleased at the multicultural route taken in this course. Although we read texts pertaining to dominant culture, we also read texts written from a multicultural point of view, like Phillis Wheatley. As a result, I was able to learn both sides of the story instead of just the one ruling side. Therefore by teaching from a multicultural perspective, the truth of both sides was revealed and a greater understanding of American history was accomplished. In this essay I focused primarily on the Native Americans as the other side, but that doesn’t mean African Americans and women were not represented. Indeed they were. However, I found the depiction of Native Americans particularly interesting because of their primary role in the beginnings of America. While we did read texts written by ‘the outsiders’, I never expected to learn about ‘the outsiders’ via texts written by Franklin, Smith, Seaver, and Brown. Each male writer, intentionally or unintentionally, depicts Native Americans as they are: humans capable of both good and evil. Furthermore each text paints a portrait of Native Americans for the reader to interpret how they choose, and like me they may find themselves reaching a conclusion that the Native Americans were not damnable like depicted in dominant culture, yet they weren’t necessarily completely defenseless and innocent either, instead Native Americans like everyone else are flawed human beings capable of being both.