The situation of the poem is described in the title “On the Amtrak from Boston to New York City,” was about a white woman and a person with a Native American background who were on a train together. What was being taken place when the speaker is meditating about the “white” woman they were having a conversations with other passengers, including an older white woman about the brief history of the city as they pass landmarks of the Native American Culture. The subject of the conversation had to do with the frustration the man had with the woman being ignorant about what land was taken away from him and his ancestors. He had brought her orange juice because it was stated right after in the next sentence he respects all elders it could have been out of kindness. That shows that the character is being bigger than himself he himself knows that being rude to this woman will now solve anything.
The idea of Don Henley really made Alexie mad do to the fact that Native Americans inhabited the lands long before anyone else. Throughout the poem Alexie continues to talk to himself and use profanity whenever the white women would bring up the “white” men. For instance, when the woman asks him about Walden Pond. He says, “‘I don’t give a shit about Walden. I know the Indians were living stories around that pond before Walden’s grandparents were born…” Using profanity here represents Alexie’s outrage at the woman’s ignorance. He continues: “I’m tired of hearing about Don-fucking-Henley saving it, too… If Don Henley’s family hadn’t come here in the first place then nothing would need to be saved.” Again, the use of profanity shows Alexie’s anger as a Native American whose family had been pushed out of their land.
The Essay on Native Americans 3
Native Americans were the first people living in the United States until Europeans arrived, sought to colonize and take over. During this time, Native Americans were subjugated to warfare, new government and losing their lands. Forced to submit to White settlers, many Native Americans have had to choose between assimilating into a White culture or preserving their heritage and ancestry. This essay ...
The perspective the speaker makes his judgment about the historicity and values of Thoreau’s Pond from first person from his perspective. The speakers opinion of what he thinks of the “white” history is that his peoples stories and land were taken away from them they were over powered by the white man and were not able to continue there history. Along with what they had created historically the white man would take credit for it.
The poem “On the Amtrak from Boston to New York City,” by Sherman Alexie was about a white woman and a person with a Native American background who were on a train together. This is an interesting poem, because it provides a new outlook on our country as it is today, from a Native American. Alexie appears to wish other races would leave his country. He refers to all other races as, “the enemy” and believes his biggest challenge every day is simply dealing with “the enemy.” Due to all that happened to the Native Americans in the past Alexie believes his people were treated harshly, which I agree with.
“Blue Winds Dancing” The story tells of a young Native American’s struggle with growing up in America. The struggle of the character exists because of the ancient Indian thought conflicting with our American expectations. The attitudes the speakers expresses are frustration or anger and how they both wish they could have there home back but it was taken away by the “whites.” For blue winds dancing the internal monologues as the narrator searches for his identity and copes with society, respectively. As for “On the Amtrak from Boston to New York City” the internal monlogues is expressed through frutration from the whites taking away land.
