...Cowboys and Indians 1. “Cowboys and Indians” is a short story written by Lorien Crow in 2008. We are in New Mexico; it’s a warm day in February. The narrator is a young girl/woman, and she is at her grandmother’s funeral. She is old enough to attend this funeral as an adult, and she is expected to be there to shake hands with the last people leaving. But she still feels like a teenager that needs to escape. This longing to escape drives her to call her rebellion cousin, David. Together they ride on his Ducati. David is half outlaw – half Indian. After a stop at a local bar, they decide to watch the sunset up in the bluffs. As the sun goes down, they start to talk about their grandmother and her life. We hear about David’s quilt, we get to know her thoughts about their grandmother’s life and we start to notice the difference between them. 2. The narrator is no longer a teenager, but not a completely adult yet. David is her idol. She looks up to him, she feels protected and safe with him, and at some point she wants to be like him. He amazes her, scares her and challenges her. When she thinks about her grandmother, she believes that she had a full life. She understands the great meaning of hard work and she has a great respect towards her grandmother for all the work she did throughout her whole life. She, like David, is the black sheep of the family – hated by the dead grandfather. She doesn’t appear to be an ordinary girl. She has some half-vanished nail polish, but she...
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...English B - Higher Preparatory Examination Section B) 1. Summary of “Cowboys and Indians” by Lorien Crow: The narrator’s Grandma Ellen is dead, and they are on their way to the funeral. The narrator is surprised over the respect for the death, because she has not experienced it in the East, where she is from. The respect is shown in a way of people bowing their heads while they drive by. She is preparing the funeral feast and thanks the attending people, but she does not feel like being there. She phones her cousin, David as an escape plan. He arrives in the late afternoon on a motorbike and asks her what she would like to do. Her answer is; margaritas, and then they take off. She wrote letters to him about her life as a fourteen-year-old-girl. They go to a bar and drink tequilas. Afterwards they drive to the bluffs to watch the sunset. However, they are speaking of how their family thinks of them, and they agree on being the black sheep. After a delightful sunset, David drives his cousin back to the funeral feast. 2. Characterization of the narrator: * David thinks that his cousin is his favorite cousin, because she did not feel bad for him during the Gulf War. (page 8, line 29-30) * She feels like a black sheep in her family (page 8, line 56) * She loves her cousin. (page 7,line 13-14) * When David asks her what she wants to do, he does it with a Native American twinge, which sounds Canadian to her pale, untrained ear. (page 7, line 21-22) ...
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...Introduction Gordon Sinclair’s book “Cowboys and Indians: The Shooting of J.J. Harper” is the author’s account of a Native man’s fatal encounter with police and the aftermath for years to follow. The book opens with a description of the incident where J.J. Harper was killed, and flows into the subsequent police investigation of one of their own members. The resulting court proceedings, inquiries, and inquests are examined where Sinclair cites witness testimony, evidence and exhibits, media stories, and his personal interviews with police and civilians involved. This essay will examine a series of analytical questions in response to the book including the main point and underlying themes, suggestions given by the title, content regarding Aboriginal/police relationships, the author’s attempt at a moral lesson and finally evidence of heavy bias shown by the author. The reason I have identified this book as “the author’s account” rather than “the true account” of the story is because Sinclair’s personal bias shines through nearly every page of this book. Many crucial details have been omitted because they would be oppressive to the Indian perspective and give credibility to the fact that the cowboys acted lawfully in eliminating the threat of Harper. This bias will be further examined later. Background The book opens with a detailed description of the early hours of March 9, 1988 where Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) members were involved in the pursuit of a stolen vehicle. This...
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...Section B Write a summary of Cowboys and Indians in about 150 words. In the beginning of the novel, we hear about the environment in which the narrator comes from. She is from a small town, and she has come home to participate in her grandmother’s funeral, even though she now lives in a big city on the east coast. The narrator does not feel she fits in with the rest of the family at the funeral preparations; therefore, she calls her cousin David. Together they drive fast through the city, ignoring the red traffic lights until they reach a bar where they drink. Afterwards they run to a hillside to watch the sunset. On the slope, she sits and think; David will never be able to understand the admiration she has had for her grandmother. They sit on the cliff and watch as the sun sets while smoking marihuana-cigarettes. Then they move, to get something to eat. As the narrator and David goes to a takeaway stall to get some food, they encounter some Indian women who talks to them. They say that they have brought the devils wind with them. David is frightened of it while the narrator is not affected. When they are at her grandmother’s house again, they say goodbye. (199 words) Characterize the narrator. The narrator is a very reflective person. She thinks of small details that make her reflect about existential questions and come up with big considerations about life. “He would never think of them as accomplishments; he would never be expected to perform any of them...
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...begins as a man who hides his true Indian heritage, throughout the film he struggles to decide whether to be an American cowboy or Sioux Indian, but in the end he reveals his true self and embraces his Indian heritage. Frank’s journey unfolds very similarly to a traditional Western, but his true conflict is a new spin on Westerns. This film is similar to an ordinary Western because there is a courageous cowboy who is looked upon as a hero, several scenes of gunplay, and the archetypal situation of cowboys versus Indians shows up. According to Gary Johnson “ Conflicts [of Westerns are] often growing out of several archetypal situations” (328). In this film a new twist is thrown on the cowboys versus Indian conflict. Frank’s conflict is an...
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...Reality Eclipsing Romance The American Cowboy, by reason of his picturesqueness, was a prime subject for entertainments like the Wild West show. However, the limitations of popular entertainment caused William Cody to stress the cowboy’s attractive charm to the exclusion of other qualities. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, formed in 1883 and lasting until 1913, romanticized versions of a time and place, and shaped the myth of the Wild West, including the glamorized image of the cowboy. When the world spun into the twentieth century, millions of people believed they recalled the American Wild West because “they had seen it, full of life and color, smoking guns and galloping horses, presided over by the most recognizable celebrity of his day: William F. Cody, or Buffalo Bill.” Spectators accepted the vivid personal memories that the Wild West show generated as historical truth. Although William F. Cody claimed that the motive behind Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show was to preserve “The Great West that Was,” his dramatized and inaccurate portrayals belied the true portrait of the American Cowboy to the public. At one time or another, William Cody performed the duties of a U.S. Army Scout, Indian Fighter, rancher, businessman, and world-renowned entertainer, but still, Cody never actually worked as a cowboy. Cody claimed that he staged his memories, “in the hope of giving permanent form to the history of the Plains” However, he contradicts this claim with his account of the obsession...
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...Essay The Frontier Myth ------------------------------------------------- “Up to our own day American history has been in a large degree the history of the colonization of the Great West. The existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward explain American development. (…)American social development has been continually beginning over again on the frontier. This perennial rebirth, this fluidity of American life, this expansion westward with its new opportunities, its continuous touch with the simplicity of primitive society, furnish the forces dominating American character.” Source: http://www.learner.org/workshops/primarysources/corporations/docs/turner.html Frederick Jackson Turner The Frontier is a prominent symbol of American culture. Although it intimidated the colonists and later Americans, it did not prevent them from spreading. What drove them was “the idea of unlimited free land, a sense of unlimited opportunity and optimism”1. The idea of the frontier was significant in American culture between 1860 and 1893 because it was considered by many to be “the last frontier.” “Since the beginning of the European settlements, westward expansion had always served as an inspiration to those dreaming to start a new life.”1 With the last of the frontier being absorbed into civilization, its importance to the American people rose more than ever. Frederick Jackson Turner said that this closing of the frontier “marks...
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...Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Development of the Western Frontier Frederick Jackson turner developed a thesis called the frontier thesis where he conquers that the democracy of America was established by the Western frontier. He also stated that the democracy of America resulted from violence and the absence of interests in high culture. He continued to state that the Frontier land was acquired, and there was no need to establish institutions to attain it. His insistence on the frontier’s need to shape the country led to a pool of responses found in many articles. His works led to the use of social history as the underlying grounds for all socio-economic and political progress in the history of America. When Turner died, history departments were teaching frontier history based on his approach. For a long time, the history of America has been largely tied to the colonization history of the Great west. The presence of free land and the settlement of Americans to the west explain the progress of America. American institutions have been required to change with the increase of the diversity and population of people and facilitate the transformation from backward political and economic ways to civilization. Development in some nations has only taken place in some areas, but in America, development has been widespread. However, there is a frontier line still facing primitive conditions along the western part. Nevertheless, the history of America is not based on the western coast...
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...Before seeing these two pictures, I never really thought about how much guns can effect children. The first picture was two young adults in the street one had a gun protecting him and his friend. This picture made me feel broken inside. No child should have to carry a gun to get through their day. I know that people will say those kids didn't have a good childhood and thats what made them like they are. I do not believe that. I know they should not be living in the street and carrying guns, but it's their life and how they choose to live it. The second picture was two young boys playing cowboys and Indians. Most people would see that picture and believe they are just playing and having fun. What I see when I look at that picture is a child...
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...The Dawes Act wanted to dismantle the reservation policy put in place and grant lots of land to the head of each Native American household. The Dawes Act was unsuccessful as the Native Americans were given poor farming and grazing land, and would have lost all rights to gold and silver deposit. Another devastating blow to the Plains Indians was the massacre of the buffalos, which once freely roamed the Great Plains. Without the buffalo, many clans faced severe handicaps in their daily life. In the 1880s the trials of the Sioux clans continued to grow. Many of the Sioux attempted a ritual called the Ghost Dance to bring back the buffalo and replenish their lands. The ritual was unsuccessful and many of the Sioux began moving to allotted reservations. In 1890, miscommunication between the U.S. Army and the Sioux would result the Battle of Wounded Knee. Over 300 Sioux, many unarmed, and 25 American soldiers were...
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...Imaging Indians Name: Institution Date: Hollywood is one of the most influential entities in the world. This industry shapes the perception of movie viewers in every aspect of their lives. In Hollywood movies, Americans and Indians are the key players as a result of their long interaction in the history of America. Therefore, Hollywood movies greatly affect the perceptions of the Americans and other audiences about Indians. In most cases, Hollywood stereotype Indians as savages, as well as primitives. They portray Indians as vicious and dangerous people headed for extinction. Even with the production of Indians and western films, this wrong perception of Indians still remains in the mind of many movie audiences (Aleiss, 35). The Native American has experienced extensive damage from mass media in the way it portrays cowboys and their process of moving in the west. These cowboys moved across the west conquering the lands while riding the horses. In real sense, they were driving the Indians out (Mihelich, 130). This example points out at some of the cultural misconceptions created by the Hollywood. The conception of the movie by young Americans is inaccurate, as well as highly damaging. This misconception especially in young children makes it difficult for them to learn about the Native Americans of the present days (O'Connor, 72). The stereotype on Indians has also affected the Indians in America. Many of them suffer from self-esteem deficiency caused by the stereotyped...
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...effect in those movies. I remember us playing cowboys and Indians and I always wanted to be on the cowboys side because whoever was on the Indians side was always going to lose just as they did in the movies. It wasn’t till recently that I looked at those pictures in a different point view a different lens if you would say. Native Americans still to this day are depicted as negative stereotypes through main stream media. Films such as Windtalkers, Flags of our Fathers, The new World, and Bury my heart at wounded Knee show how Hollywood movies still depicts the stereotypes that Native Americans are still inferior, Savages, people needing a White Savior to progress in the word. The first way Hollywood stereotypes Native Americans is portraying them as inferior to whites. For example in the movie Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee the scene where the senetors and congress men are determining what to do with the indigenous peoples land. Without having any insight of the Native Americans. It isn’t until later in the movie when they get a native man to cosign on the plans they have set out to put the Sioux tribe on reservations that are divided and sold to white Americans. There is also another scene where the senator and the general are talking to the president and the general says “I’ll say it till my tongue bleeds if we’re ever going to claim what we bought from the French and whoop the Mexicans for its going to mean killing Indians.” It shows how white superiority is based on the...
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...advertisements, the workplace, and the realm of the home. The idea of the cowboy, the great American rancher with a face of stone, has been pervasive in American culture, manifesting in everything from Clint Eastwood’s trademark shootout-staredown to the playground games kids develop. ‘Cowboys and Indians’, however, does not hold a candle to the effects of this image being manipulated through advertising. Marlboro’s campaign to produce a “more rugged image that appealed to men” perpetuated this stereotype (McCombe 566). With their “stern, humorless looks,” (Ehrlich 570) they become the quintessence of severity and stoicism. Ideology that one must be emotionally unmoving in order to maintain this image of American masculinity is cemented tenfold. Indeed, these ads did not only reinforce the image of the cowboy in the west, but also reached its toxic tendrils onto the east coast. Gretel Ehrlich, a well-renowned documentary filmmaker, once remarked that the Marlboro ads were a window back into her former home of Wyoming, even with their inaccuracies and over-glorification of a watered-down image of what the cowboys truly were (Ehrlich 570). The idea of the cowboy has become nearly synonymous with the West, the heart of America. If these ideas of ‘The American Man’ are so widespread, so deeply ingrained in the current society, its impact is irrefutable on the youth of our country. Every boy playing ‘Cowboys and Indians’ during recess will strive to be that gunslinging hero with a hard hearted...
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...Samantha Hoppe – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Good versus evil, the primary plot to numerous literary genres, is concretely displayed in every Western text. Whether it is cowboys versus Indians, the law versus outlaws, or cattlemen versus cattle rustlers, the audience always sides with one side, and it is always the side of “good”. The Western genre is carefully crafted to influence the audience in siding with a certain character. Authors and directors develop distinct yet similar characters to show the relationship between good and evil. In general, the respectable guys consist of the hero, generally cowboy, and his woman. The hero is written in as a complex character with several sides to resonate with a wider variety of readers/watchers....
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...presented a more ideal or glamorized version of the experience. Real-life characters such as William F. Cody ("Buffalo Bill") and James Butler Hickok ("Wild Bill" Hickok) as well as a number of fictional characters were extremely popular. While many early western movies told moral tales of good triumphing over evil and men fighting for a righteous cause some were also comedies and others merely action packed showcases for their smart horses and talented "cowboy" actors. Films like "Custer’s Last Fight" in 1912, "On the Night Stage" in 1914, "Hell's Hinges" in 1916, and "Tumbleweeds" in 1925 were well received. Certainly films about the west have focused on cowboys, gunslingers, and male roles in general, with women taking more minor roles. Some early films however did provide a view of the west from the perspective of women. "The Wind" from 1928 was an example with a focus on Lillian Gish's struggle with the isolation and hardship. Although few of the more well known western films were "sympathetic" regarding Indians, some silent westerns did indeed recognize the...
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