English 48b
February 1, 2008
Professor Lankford
Quote:
How good of him to try and heal the wound, and how vain were his efforts!
How good of him to try and heal the wound, and how vain were his efforts!
Summary:
Winnemucca explains that her grandfather received a very bad return although he had tried so hard to please the white people.
Response:
Winnemucca points out the bad experience of her grandfather that the whites did not treat him as he wanted to. In this quote, the wound means the misunderstanding between the whites and the Piutes. She uses two totally opposite words, “good” and “vain” to describe her grandfather’s feeling. It is obvious that “good” is positive while “vain” is negative. This quote makes a strong contrast. Winnemucca’s grandfather kept using something “good” to “heal the wound”. For example, he held party for the whites. However, what he did was meaningless. He couldn’t please the whites. Thus, his effort was just in vain. The whites just simply disdained them and even attacked his tribe.
Another reason for me to post this quote is that it is actually showing the main idea of the story. In the very beginning, the story explains that Winnemucca’s grandfather greatly expected to see the white people again since he thought that they were his brothers. However, the story comes out with a very sad ending. He didn’t get what he wished to. The rest of the story is about “how vain were his effort”. Winnemucca talked about the horrible story of
the whites and the bad return from the whites such as burning the tribe’s winter supplies.
Winnemucca was actually a very good granddaughter. She remembered all of her grandfather’s story and her tribe’s experience. After she grew up, she wrote this novel to express her bad feeling about the whites.
2 comments:
0/20 Even though I agree completely with your analysis of contemporary American politics, this journal veers too far from Winnemucca's words and the part of American history she lived through. Please rewrite, focusing perhaps on some key words or key phrases which help us understand how she presented her ideas within the context of those times, not ours.
20/20 Much better. Note that a "novel" is always a fictional work -- hence Winnemucca's book can't accurately be called a novel. You could call it a memoir or authobiography instead.
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