1st presentations

Erika and Emily presented Monday along with our group. They did a great job. It was interesting knowing how Tombstone and Unforgiven had a lot of things in common.

Group meeting 2

My group and I met Sunday at the library. While there we put finishing touches on our presentation. We created our power point and went over what each individual would present. It was fun and we are ready for Wednesday!

Group discussion 1

Today was the first time we met with our groups. We just arranged days to meet and what we were going to put in our presentation.

Movie presentation

My partners are Corina and Courtney. I have watched the movie and it was really good. Our group haven't had a meeting about it yet, but I am sure it will be interesting.

Essay 3

For paper three I think I will focus on why Native Americans were alcoholics and the affect it had on the individual, their family and so forth. Was drinking away to relieve some stress they were going through or did they have nothing more to do on the reservation and they turned to alcohol? The two text I think I will look at will be an Interview of Alexie and Smoke Signals ( Victor's Dad) .

Churchhill Review(made a mistake and did the Iowa interview first!)

The article was very insightful. I was able to learn a good bit about Native American movies and their struggles with the movie industry.

There was one thing that stuck out for me, which was the criticism about Smoke Signals. I love this movie! It gives you a real sense of the life of the Native Americans on the reservations and how they viewed people outside of them. It's a sort of sad movie but I am learning a good bit about the Indians in a more present day.

Sherman Alexie's Iowa Review Interview

Alexie starts the interview off a little timid. he then loosens up and for the rest of the interview he seems to be open. He is definitely a funny guy, who enjoys writing and giving an accurate perception of Native Americans.

I thought that it was interesting how he thought about Indians and nature. he says that because of literature written by whites, people believe that nature is Native American literature. In reality it has nothing to do with the day to day life of Indians. And because of the constant connecting the two together is have become less useful.

Ending the interview he makes it known that he is still connected to his Indian roots even though he has branched out from the reservation. He is still in contact with his family and still witnesses the injustices of Indians.

This was a great and very informative interview.

Sherman Alexie's "This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona"

Victor and Thomas are two Indians living on a reservation. They were childhood friends or should I say they just grew up together. Victor's father moved from the reservation and ended up dieing a horrible death in his trailer in Phoenix. So Victor and Thomas traveled together to get his ashes to bring back to the reservation and also claim the cash that his father had in the bank. Victor didn't really want to be involved with Thomas because of his reputation in the reservation as the story teller that no one wanted to be involved with but because he had the money to fund the trip, he took him along. This sadden me because he was looked upon as different and was hurt a lot because of his gift.

They both ended up returning back with the ashes and returned to their regular lives, not being friends even though Thomas did seem friendship worthy.

Erdrich : Fleur

In this story it was said that Fleur was wed to a waterman named Misshepeshu. There had been so much gossip/talk about her that she moved from her hometown. After leaving her home she ends up working in a Butcher's shop with four men and a young girl. The men in the Butcher's shop were amazed with her talent in playing cards. The men were so fascinated that they didn't even notice her strange features, like the fact that she wore this green dress that clung to her, her sharp teeth, and the fact that she was missing some toes.

Once she defeated the men in a game of cards they went after her the following morning. During the mist of a tornado all four men end up missing, and mysteriously after hiding Fleur is alive and all four men are found dead. It mentions that after her survival of the tornado she was found living at Lake Turcot with her son, who was described as having penny color skin and blue eyes.

Of course the people in the town wondered/questioned who fathered her son. Fleur, who never let told the secret of her father child, continued to let everyone wonder about her and her child.

This was a weird reading. a few questions came top mind as I read.

Was she possessed with some kind of spirit /powers? Was she a witch ?Why was she so strange (with sharp teeth/missing teeth)? It seemed as if she like to be isolated from people and didn't have much to do with a lot of people as if she was loner .

Poems by Wendy Rose

The poems by Wendy Rose were a little difficult to fully understand. i feel like she really went in-depth in expressing her innermost feeling, and I believe to really understand her concept you have to image /put yourself in her position. The last one I read "For the White Poets Who Would be Indian" reminds me of "Notes to a Culture Vulture." Again the concept of whites wanting the knowledge of Native Americans to succeed at being a "well-known" writer /poet comes up again. Her last few lines ties up the whites seeking Native Americans roots for their benefits.

"You think of us only when your voices want for roots, when you have sat back on your heels and become primitive. You finish your poem and go back."

This is true! Once they got what they accomplished what they wanted they (whites) went back to living their normal lives as white Americans.

"Truganinny"

In this poem Wendy Rose writes about an elderly Australian women. Throughout her life she had witnessed many of her (last) people die. She feels that her time is nearing here on Earth and during her last days wants to be at peace. She feels in order to obtain this peace she must be at sea or in the outback. I can only image the pain she endured. Not only did she, but many other elderly Native Americans witness their people die right in front of their eyes. The hardship and suffering they witnessed will forever be remembered. If I was faced with this type of humiliation I too would be ready for a peaceful death.

Crimes Against Humanity

After reading Crimes Against Humanity I realized that Native Americans were demoralized and made fun of just because of some else's ignorance. It was shock to read about the multiple names of teams and schools that were named after or referring to Native Americans. No other race has the right to single out another. If one does not know much of anything about them then they shouldn't talk about who they are or what they really represent. If we do so we are lowing our standards and feeding into stereotypes as well. It sad how these young individuals were taking from their homes in an attempt to be made more like "Americans". I can only image they pain they endured. It's a disgrace to society and the last few sentences couldn't have summed it up any better. ...

"Know that it causes real pain and real suffering to real people. Know that it threatens our very survival. And know that this is just as much a crime against humanity as anything the Nazis ever did. It is likely the indigenous people of the United States will never demand that those guilty of such criminal activity be punished for their deeds. But the least we have to expect-indeed to demand is that such practices finally be brought to a halt. "

How to Write the Great American Indian Novel

In this poem Alexie talks about the depictions regarding both Native Americans and Whites. He starts off by talking about the physical features that all Indians must have. He then goes on to discuss how the hero is viewed. Alexie makes the statement that he will be half-breed,half white, and India from a horse culture.

He suggest that the Indian women are depicted as being beautiful and physically fit and all the white men are in love with her. Further on he talks about Native Americans having secrets and how they are slowly revealed. He mentions many other stereotypes that have been given to Indian men. Like the fact that all of them are storms who destroy the lives of all white women who choose to love them.

These are among the few stereotypes given by Alexie that one should notice when writing about Native Americans novels. Native Americans have been depicted as being/doing such things that this is all one knows when they write or make a movie about Native Americans. I agree with Alexie statement In the Great American Indian Novel, when it is written, all the whites will be Indians and all the Indians will be ghosts. This is true knowing that whites took everything they owned including their identity , made it their own, and left them with nothing as if they never existed.

Notes to a Cultue Vulture

In this poem Louis talks about Whites noticing Native Americans connection to the Earth making them want to be more like them, and in doing so they went on to do research in an attempt to acquire knowledge about these individuals striving to become well-known writers. I agree with Louis, whites did not want to be labeled as an Indian but at the same time they wanted to pretend they knew of the life /culture of Native Americans.

Cowboy: The New Yorker

This reading was quite interesting. It told the story of a cowboy who worked with this old man and his sister on a ranch. The two eventually develop a relationship as they tended the land and horses daily. The cowboy eventually opened up and told the old man how he ended up on the ranch. He had been paroled out of jail for robbing and shooting a store owner. Tragedy approaches and the old man becomes ill, so ill to the point where he could no longer remember who the cowboy was. Sad to say , but this was the end of their relationship. Authorities came in and kicked the cowboy off the land and used it for their benefit. Unfortunately, the cowboy was forced to leave and find work else where.

I felt sympathy for the cowboy, because even though he had done wrong in the past he was willing to make a change to better himself. We have all made mistakes and did things in our past that we are not proud of. Did he miss his opportunity to do so while on the ranch with the old man ? I hope not because everyone deserve a second chance in life.

Brokeback Mountain

This reading was about two guys who would meet up during the summer to look after sheep. During this time Jack and Ennis become very close to each other. After being together for a long period of time they soon became intimate and continued to have this intimate relationship. As the end of the summer approached they went their separate ways. The two both got married and had children.

Four years later the two reunited and embraced each other with love as they kissed and caressed one another. This was very suspicious for Ennis wife as she watched their behavior. Even though the two finally reunited they were still fighting to see each other because of the treatment they would face from others in society. One day Ennis comes to finds out that Jack had been killed in a MVA and was cremated. This was extremely depressing /heartbreaking. Ennis went to Jacks parents to get his ashes, so that he could spread them across Brokeback mountain, and they would not let him have them. Ennis discovers that Jacks was not involved a "accident" his suspense was that he was murdered for being a homosexual.

It sad that these individuals cannot live a peaceful open life in this world, but at the same time it's just not seen as a norm in society and most important of all it's an abomination against Christ!

Cormac Reading

Throughout this reading there were some very gruesome descriptive scenes. My understanding was that Sproule and Kid were survivors of a Indian massacre involving Mexicans. The two didn't seem to fond of each other, but were hanging on to each other for survival. The reading stated the Indians left these individuals tormented and scalped to death. There was one part that mention the hanging of infants. This was very disturbing as well as unimaginable. This reading gave insight to a side of the Indians that showed they didn't care much about harming the Innocent. It also seems as if they were retaliating from what had been to them by the whites.

Throughout the reading Sproule arm get worse and worse. The most disgusting part describes his arm being as large/swollen as his thigh, with yellow pus leaking from it and worms eating away at his flesh. Ouch !!!!

There was a part was Sproule and Kid gets into a wagon. This was little confusing for me at this point. I know it went on to mention that Kid was taken away and put into a dungeon. I could not figure out what happen to Sproule. I thought maybe he was dead. What really happen to Sproule?

Frayling Chases Sphaghetti Westerns

I enjoyed listening to the interview with Frayling. I learned a great deal concerning Leone clever ways/choices he made when putting these Italian western films together.

Leone
* He loved western films
*His films got little respect and therefore were given the name "Spaghetti Films."
*Leone made westerns in Italy because Hollywood ceased making them and Europe mainly Italy had a huge interest in western film/knowledge.
*Leone felt like other westerns contained to much talk and not enough action, to sophisticated
*He loved to make his westerns more visual than ideology
*He distrusted the over light image , and more of the live in conditions in his westerns
* The very very bad guys were revealed in his films by killing a child.
* Frayling stated the diff between Leone Italian /American westerns was that Italian westerns focused on a more Catholic genre whereas the American western focused on protestant view.
Music in Leone Films
*It was mixture of Italian folk music and rock music from the mid 1960.
* classic /import element

Once Upon a Time in the West

In this documentary, this movie is explained as being a remix of all Hollywood westerns. Shane and High Noon are two movies that has reference to this film. The gentleman talks about how the scenes are almost identical. He provides examples from High Noon such as the gun shooters waiting on the train as it slowly arrives . The example he gives for Shane is the scene with the boy and the gun. He speaks on music and image ans how they provide a distinctive atmosphere and the actors respond well this. The songs that are played serves as that actors "theme song." I liked how he described a traditional gun scene. He stated that they are usually two guys on opposite ends (one good,one bad) and when they meet up they usually circle around each other a if they were doing a 'two step." After he mentioned this I realized that that is true. It does seem to happen like that!

The Good, the Bad,and the Ugly

Part 1
The beginning of this films opens up by distinguishing the good, the bad, and ugly guys. It was interesting to see that the good guy played by Clint Eastwood, do somethings I thought a bad would do. For example, how he left the fugitive tied up in the middle of no where. The film does have some strong violent scenes. Take the scene when the bad guy places a pillow over an elderly man face and shoots him repeatedly. Overall it seems to be a good movie. I'm looking forward to see what happens next.

Part 2
We continued day two of this movie today in class 2/22/2010. The ugly found the good guy and begin to get revenge on him. For a moment I thought the good guy was dead. Unfortunately, he wasn't and tricked the ugly guy by telling him that he knew where some money was in a grave and he carried him to a hospital in hope to get this info out of the good guy soon. The ugly guy meet up with his long lost brother and they fight. We ended here I can't wait to see what happens next between the good guy and the ugly guy.

Part 3
Somehow Tuco and Blondie are captured, by what I think are union soldiers. However, Angle Eyes( the Bad) is a part of the army. Angel Eyes along with another soldier torches Tuco to get answers about some gold that is buried in a grave. He plans to kill Tuco after he gets the info he needs but this does not happen, because Tuco kills the overseer of Angel Eyes. Blondie and Tuco become partners. They go on a killing spree, killing all the followers of the Bad. Somehow the Bad escapes. Just when I thought they were out of trouble they are captured by more soldiers!

Part 4-Final Scenes
The end of the movie took place with Blondie and Tuco acting as if they "enlisted" in the service as soldiers fighting for the union. While in the service they blew up the bridge in which the soldiers would cross to fight. I didn't really understand why they did this but it ceased the war! It was interesting how the director made a three person shoot out instead of the normal two we usually see. To me this part sealed the uncertainties about the three characters bringing the movie to a good closure. I loved the way Blondie and Tuco left on the same note as they did in the beginning, with Tuco hanging and Blondie shooting him down. This really caught my attention because for a minute I thought Tuco was dead!

FIVE Quotes ....

1. He comes in his intent,and says we must pay him-pay him for our own-for the things we have from our God and our forefathers;for things he never owned,and never gave us.
- This describes the whites attempt perfectly as they tried to make Native Americans pay for their own possessions.
2. We owe him nothing; he owes us more than he will pay,yet says there is a God.
- This is true they have just as much right as the whites did. We were all created equal in Gods eye and no one person is any greater than the other. The whites can never repay the Native Americans for all the hurt and pain they endured.
3. He says his story is that man was rejected and cast off. Why did we not reject him forever? He says one of his virgins had a son nailed to death on two cross sticks to save him. Were all of them dead then when that young man died, we would be all safe now and our country our own.
- Charlot clearly defines his intelligence as he takes another religion and relates it back to the Americans and their doings.
4. Having wronged them for centuries we had better, in order to protect our civilization, follow it up by one more wrong and wipe them untamed and untamable creatures from he face of the Earth.
- This statement made me think the whites were a little intimated by the Indians and because of this they wanted them wipes away because they were considered a threat.

5. Will he tell his own crimes? No, no; his crimes to us are left untold.
- The whites did/do not tell the full story, only false portrayal of Natives Americans and they never got a chance to tell their side.

Essay Topics...

At this time I am a little uncertain about what I would like to write about ....

One of our first readings,Charlot, interests me a lot. I think it would be interesting to write about/learn more about the educated Indians and their way of life, which you never see in films about Indians.

Another topic that I might consider is the life of Indians and the way in which they were depicted in western films.

I like the topic Treatment of Christianity , positive or negative given by Dr. Griffiths. In the Searchers I feel like a great deal of negative treatment of Christianity was portrayed by the Rev.

On "Dear John Wayne/ About John Wayne

The beginning of On "Dear John Wayne I was little confused. At one point I it was talking about replacing John Wayne character with that of Charlie and having a the Indians kill the cowboys, then at the end I thought it was relating to John Wayne actually being in the movie. ??? I like the statement made about the John Wayne "disease". This is true. He did have a mind frame / idea to take everything that did not belong to him. And just like a contagious disease he spread the epidemic throughout the west.

About John Wayne was just that... About John Wayne. It was a reading about his accomplishments and his film history. It also mentioned his personal life and that he had been married 3 times and has 7 children. Even though he had a very successful career, he couldn't seem to make his family life work. This was just reitering things that I have read about him and heard about him.......sort of like in the Playboy interview.

John Wayne: Playboy Interview

John uses strong,intense,straight to the point language through out the interview. In the beginning he was talking about the ridiculous prices to see a movie. I can say I agree with him about this. The average family can not afford to go out as a family to see a movie because of such high prices. He goes on and talks about how perverted films are. This is true, in just about every film there is a multitude of sex and violence being portrayed. I do not agree with John when he states he do not feel wrong about taking the Indians land, he suggests it was done for a matter of survival. This was a harsh/inconsiderate statement. It sounds as if he held some sort of prejudice against Native Americans. It seems as if he thought very poorly of them as race. He also made a statement about we (whites) can't be blamed for what was done to the Indians, that's true but he didn't have to speak on it as if he didn't care or as if it never happened. He stated he didn't know why we owe them anything, to me we (whites) owe them because everything they owned was stolen from them, and not one time did Americans apologize to these individuals. I really wasn't to fond of his statements about Indians or Blacks. In my opinion he heavyly insulted both races.

This interview went in depth regarding John and his personal life, which was intriguing. After reading the interview I see/know John character a little better. I feel like he plays the role as (john Wayne) so well because in real life (from the interview) he seem to be just like his character, rough , tough, insulting, straight to the point about any and everything.

The Searchers

We are on day two of watching The Searchers starring John Wayne. This is pretty interesting film. John Wayne is playing the role of cowboy/hero and acting the way I imagined he would. I've witnessed several examples of Hollywood incorrectly portraying Indians. For example, there is one seen where the cowboys/hero (John Wayne) are in pursuit of the Indians and indeed as one would image, the Indians ride up immediately visible and not prepared to attack. It was sad how the Indians murdered John's family and kidnapped Debbie. I can understand that they are tired being tormented and treated unfairly so their retaliating. It continues to get interesting I can't wait to find out what happens in the end..

How to Play Indians

In Eco's essay "How to Play Indians" he list 28 ways to "Play Indian", which to me where all stereotypes of Native Americans. Take the first instruction for example: "Never attack immediately:make yourself visible at a distance a few days ahead of time,producing easily observed smoke signals,thus giving the stagecoach or the fort ample time to send word to the Seventh Calvary." Native Americans were illiterate yet Hollywood portrayed them to be. This essay is a prime example of why a majority of us have a image /look for Indians to behave this ways in "Indian" movies today.

John Wayne

Q: What do you know about John Wayne ?
A: I know that John Wayne was a American actor, film director / producer. He was an American icon who usually played the role of a cowboy. His most finest role was in The Searchers. John Wayne also appeared in a dozen more Westerns including Stagecoach,She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,Rio Bravo,The Quiet Man,Hatari!,McClintock, and The Shootist .

Q:What do you expect from his movies ?
A: I would expect to see much action and maybe a little violence in a film involving John Wayne. I expect his roles to be world-weary and realistic at the same time. Maybe he will have one of the best/ most talented horses in the west. I look for him to play the role of a hero/man of honor.

The Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger was interesting.It was little different for me to watch something in black in white, but I enjoyed seeing the way of life of the cowboys during that time. Technology and film production has come a long way. It also reminded me of Lawson and his crew going after the Outlaws (the bad cowboys). I did in fact like the way they worked together and helped each other. I couldn't seem to understand Tonto speech. Why did he speak this way and why was he played by a white man ? Was it just a sterotype about Native Americans?

Alexie's "I Hate Tonto (Still Do)"

In the beginning Alexie starts off by stating that he loves all Indian films, good and bad. He would get so into these films that he would imagine self as a cinematic Indian. As Alexie matured and begin to realize that Indians were nothing like the Indians portrayed in these film, he then accepted his Indian heritage. This was one of the main reason he did not like Tonto , because he was a Indian who actually played the role of a real Indian. It's good that he got over these stereotypes as he got older, it open his eyes to see that he could be the stereotypical Indian, but was far different from what was being portrayed.

Group Discussion Questions

1.) What was the most interesting thing that came out of your group discussion today?
a.) the fact that Jesse James escaped in the end, when everyone thought he would die at the end.
b.) we questioned whether or not they had real armour or was it something they made back then.
2.) If you were to write on this novel, what would you write about and why?
a.) I would probably write about Jesse and his super human characteristics. These characteristics were seen throughout the novel and I thought Jesse was pretty interesting.

Jesse James, the Outlaw- The End

Chapters 9-13
My thought was that Jesse would get the information he needed regarding Jesse treasure as he helped Ed during his last moments. However, he did not get enough information about the secret. Without any success, he did try to go on with what little info he had in search of the buried treasure. Lawson and the outlaws meet up again during another bank robbery and a massacre occurred among the gangs. My question was who will survive and who will not ? Many of the outlaws were injured as well as killed. Bob Younger is shot down and Lawson came to his rescue. While consoling Bob Lawson asks him a second time for the secret regarding the whereabouts of Tip Younger, and believe it or not it he gives the secret away to Lawson. The Good news is that all three Younger's recovered from their injuries and were sentenced to prison. Frank and Jesse escape once again. Lawson sets out to find Tip Younger. After another encounter with Jesse Lawson succeed at finding the child and returned him to his grandfather. Lawson was brave man and endured a great deal while on his journey to bring the outlaws to justice. Even though he did not capture Jesse he did good job at using his intelligence and multiple sources to find Tip. Many of the outlaws were imprisoned and lost their lives for no reason, in the end Jesse and Frank James were all out for themselves and their partners in crime were the last thing on their mind.

Jesse James, the Outlaw

Significant Happenings:
I. Lawson lies about being a doctor and Jesse James believes him.
II. There were 12 dozen bullets fired at Jesse and all missed him. WOW!!
Is Jesse super human or something?
III. Jesse James is shot in the neck, BUT he didn't really die and he jumped up to escape !
IV. The outlaws dress up as cowboys and rob the bank in front of Lawson and his crew.
V. Cutts and Larry the Lamb were sentenced to prison for bringing the fake corpse of Jesse to authorities.
VI. It is revealed that Dancer Jesse's horse is the fastest in the west.
VII. Jesse jumped onto his horse and threatened to kill Lawson if they met again.

Jesse James, the Outlaw- Continued

Chapter 5-8
Chapter five continues with the James brothers and gang attempting to kill Lawson. Just as Lawson was giving his last remarks, he heard what he called a rustle of garments on the porch behind him, it was Jesse wife. As she got Jesse attention, Lawson recalled the promise she had made with him at the retreat. The promise was that if the James brothers found out whom he was that she would help him escape as long as he finds the child and takes him away from Jesse. Without a second thought Lawson remembered the signal in which she had told him to give her to notify him if he encountered such a time and he did so. During Lawson escapes he manages to shoot a few members of the outlaw during his flee. Finally, he reaches Independence and this is where the detectives have a council meeting. This meeting involves a plan to capture the James’s with the help of George Sheppard who is still undercover and living with the outlaws…
My first thought was that Lawson was dead. It surprised me that he followed through with the plan to let Jesse wife help him escape. I hope their plan plays out well and the detectives capture these guys. Let’s see…
Chapter six continues with the plan. Sheppard sets out to Empire City with these guys as they plan to rob a bank. Throughout the plan they are suspicious of Sheppard and Ed Miller (an outlaw) watches his every move. As he followed Sheppard secretly he found proof of his treachery. He found out about Sheppard telegraph which was addressed to G.H. Timberlake. Miller takes this back to Jesse and they confront Sheppard and attempt to kill him. Immediately Sheppard sends out two emergency telegraphs to G.H. Timberlake. In his flee Sheppard shoots Jesse and everyone thinks he’s dead. As Sheppard gang arrives they witness what they think are cowboys robbing a bank which in actuality was the outlaws in disguise. Two young fellows brought a corpse claiming that it was Jesse. Lawson was brought to identify the body and guess what? It was not Jesse! Unfortunately, the outlaws had a new role they were playing and that was to sell their own corpse to authorities. Jesse jumps out and starts an up roar among the people.
Awe man, I thought Jesse was dead! He’s still alive! Someone catch him!
Chapter seven continues with Jesse after his awake from a false death. I can’t understand why dozen of shots were fired at Jesse and did not one take him down. He is quick on his feet as well as dodging bullets. lol. Cutts and Larry the Lamb who delivered the fake corpse were sentenced to the state prison. Yes! Gorham came to Kansas City to deliver a message that the gang was at it again, they were planning to rob the west-bound express. Lawson and his crew prepared and loaded up for the expedition in hope of capturing these criminals.
I’m behind them 100%. I hope they succeed this time.
The next chapter is the battle between Lawson and his gang and the outlaws. Lawson and his crew are bombed rushed by the outlaws and a brutal brawl breaks out, leaving many wounded and a few dead. As always Jesse and his gang manages to flee the scene. From here they head to a cabin where the outlaws are. Under the leadership of Timberlake Lawson and crew follow and sets their cabin on fire, causing the outlaws to evacuate. The outlaws and Lawson crew continued firing shots at each other. After this they continued to follow these guys and once again they lost sight of them as they skirted off through the woods. As Lawson was leaving battle with the outlaws he ran across the wife of Dick Little (who fired at Jesse on the train). She tells him that she is out to get revenge on the James’s for leading her husband into being a robber. As she was leaving she left Lawson with these words “we may meet again”. I wonder where and when? As they continued Lawson found his self alone in a wild forest and along the way he comes across an unsuspecting outlaw, Bob Younger. He precipitated upon him and held him at gun point as he threatened him to tell him where Jesse was hiding Tip Younger…
I thought they would capture these guys this time. The outlaws are pretty good at what they do and play it smart. I can’t wait to read about their next robbery and their escape plan. Lawson and crew are going to have to up their game plan to catch these guys, especially Jesse and Frank. Also, I wonder if Bob will give him any info regarding Tip Younger? …

Jesse James, the Outlaw

Chapters 1-4
Chapter one started off with gun shots being fired(which caught my attention), from three
Chicago detectives in disguise on a mission to capture the James brothers. Along with them is a medical man (doctor) in disguise as well. These were brothers were known to the community as bandits and robbers, and there is a $10,000 reward at stake for the person who brings these individuals to justice. As the story continues these detectives have a run in with the James Bros and have a little encounter with the James Bro mother and two are murdered. Jewell manages to escape. The medical doc of Booneville lied, telling Jesse that he was sent to deliver a message from Blanche Rideau who is dying, in an attempt to have Jesse return to the paths of virtue. Jesse believes and begins to trust the medical doc and invites him to continue his stay with them. He does so and witness a great deal on his journey. One thing that caught my attention(and I would guess it caught the the medical doc attention as well) was the murderous scene of a Chicago detective being hung and then shot to death.

Chapter 2 continues with the medical doc living with the James brothers and learning their plans. The disguised detective is given orders by Jesse to go out to Independence and find out the latest news concerning Frank and himself. The medical doc sets out to do so and on his journey he picks out info that he thought would be interesting to Jesse . On his journey he meets up with Jewell ( the detective who escaped in Chapter 1) as well as some other confederates of his and exchange info with them about the James brothers. Just as he was heading back to town he witnessed Jesse and Frank fled the scene of a robbery at the fair...

The medical doc is taking on a risk that could be life changing. He has is very brave and has set forth what seems to be excellent plan to bring these criminals to justice. These people of this town have not only been hurt physically but mentally as well, and someone needs to protect these innocent individuals. My wish is that he or any other detective succeeds at capturing these murders/bandits.

Chapter 3 takes place at a retreat along with the James brothers wives. While attending this retreat Jesse and the medical doc have a in depth discussion about Blanche. Jesse tells the doc all of his past history with Blacnhe. While Jesse talked the doc agreed to it all and took it all in to use as evidence against Jesse. During his stay at the retreat the doc had an encounter with Jesse wife. She tries to seek out the real reason for his being there. As she questioned the doc she also tries to make and agreement with him, that if he finds the boy Jesse has concealed then she promises to help him and the boy escape the James brothers. The doc continues his disguise and tells her that he is there strictly to do business with her husband only. Towards the end of the retreat the doc witness a conversation involving the James brothers and their other gang members as they plan to rob the express train.

It seems as if the doc is getting in good with the James brothers. He has been exposed to significant amount of information, directly from the source, that he use in his capture of these guys.

Chapter 4 takes place with Jesse and Frank James along with their gang attempting to rob the express train. The doc and Sheppard ( also a undercover detective) are the look out guys in this robbery. They successfully complete the robbery and agree to meet up later to divide the profits. As the doc witness the robbery take place he describes the event as being a big confusion and act of terror. As they journeyed back to the farmhouse , Jesse along with Frank Cole and a newcomer all approached the Doc with a fierce shout, exclaiming that Cutt has been to Booneville and found out all about him. Jesse yelled out that the doc had deceived him and they all pulled out their guns in aim at the doc...

These are some bad guys and need to be punished. They are destroying the town as well as the lives of people in the town. They are self centered individuals who are all out for themselves. I agree with the doc , they continued to committ several acts of terror throughout their brutal attacks.

Deloria

The primary factor of the Boston Tea Party was race /racial imagination. The Boston Tea Party was a rebellion with Indians that caused them to dump tea into the Pearl Harbor. Americans were very particular about stuff. The article stated they wanted to have their "cake and eat it too", thus meaning they wanted to give orders and savage freedom. The Indians were very secretive and they cared immensely about the idea of disguise, especially during the holidays such as Halloween. The Americans used the Boston Tea Party as away to mock the Indians and their way of life.

Colonists from Boston planned to hide their identity from the British, as their acts would most certainly lead to harsh punishments. As the article stated Americans/ British Dressing as "Indians" was the colonists' symbolic way of showing the British shipping captains that the colonists were beginning to identify themselves as "Americans" rather than British citizens.

King George III and his government looked to taxing the American colonies as a way of recouping their war costs. They were also looking for ways to re-establish control over the colonial governments that had become increasingly independent while the Crown was distracted by the war. It was the Crown's attempt to place a tariff on tea that spurred the colonists to action and laid the groundwork for the American Revolution.

Charlot & Baum

Charlot speech was not only heart-felt but true. He was an intelligent and brave man for speaking against and resisting non-violently towards the whites. Throughout his speech he proved the whites wrong when they called them "creatures". Creatures don't have morals nor do they show respsect along with hospitality to someone who comes and takes their land along with their life away from them. These individuals (Flatheads) resisted peacefully. All the whites did was lie,make broken promises, and treaties to the Indians and request them to pay for their own possessions. How could one take everything from another human being in an attempt to pay off his own debt?Charlot said it right they were merciless cowards. Not only did they take away from them physically but spiritually as well. The Indians carried these memories along with untold stories,ideas,pain, and heart ache to their graves. I strongly agree with Charlot when he stated that there is a God. Each one of these persons who victimized a Indian will someday (if they haven't already) answer for all the brutality that was brought upon the early Indians.

In Baum first editorial he stresses extreme hatred for the Indians and strongly believe they should be killed off. Baum supposdely supports such prejudice by stating they are broken individuals with a manhood and would be better off dead. He then goes on to say they would be forgotten in history and the Americans would receive all the glory. How could one do more or less think of doing something so degrading as this? One has to be completely out of his mind. My belief is that no particular person is better than another, and no one person should ever think of him or herself as being more or less than another human being.

In his second editorial, everything was wiped away from the Indians without one thought of consideration. They were disrespected and called "untamed and untamable" creatures. After reading this statement I came to a conclusion that these individuals were viewed as wild animals who must be killed off for the safety of the whites. He ended with the statement "when the whites win a fight, it is a victory, and when the Indians win it it is a massacre". The whites really believed that they were given the privilege to go and take control and kill the Indians for their (Indians) own land and if they retaliate against them this was unacceptable. This showed a complete act of disgrace on behalf of the American society.

Noble Savage

After reading several selections regarding noble savages, I still do not have a clear understanding of what a "noble savage" is. According to the entry, Erroneous Identification of Rousseau with the Noble Savage , Rousseau believed that everyone was born with good potentials and civilization along with envy and self consciousness makes man bad. His belief was that men were only made good through education and a constituted society.Rousseau had one belief that society needs today and that was belief in equality.

Jackson

This was another interesting, but sad read. The government was wrong for the false treaties they brought before the Senate. The white person's mistreated the Poncas even as they proceeded to comply with the treaty that abandoned everything from their settlesments,homes, and hunting-grounds. Yes, the U.S. government agreed to protect these individuals, but in the end they continued to destroy and take away what was not theirs from the beginning.

It saddens me read and or witness innocent people like the Poncas killed and driven from their homeland for no reason. The Poncas were brave individuals, and I admire them for remaining loyal and peaceable throughout all their truobles.

Zitkala Sa

This was an interesting read. The exerpt flowed well and I was not bored by the reading. Zitkala Sa was a strong-willed individual. She was an over achiever who accomplished many things and made contributions to society. She was extremely intelligent and witht he support and encouragement from her mother she was able to succeed tremendously.

I admire her mother for not giving up on life as she faced many hardships including loosing her brother and daughter. I love the way they came together as a family/community for dinner. We need more of this family bonding in today's society. Her mom's fear of her going off to the missionariesd reminds me of any mother's fear the first day her child leaves for college. It's wonderful that Zitkala Sa has a mother of such good spirit. She put her daughters best interests to heart and allowed her to leave for an education. This allowed Zitkala to become someone who had great character and would no longer be intimidated by the palefaces.