Cambree Koehn
Dr. Hutchinson
ENG 653_VA: Literary of the American West.
31 March 2024
Native American Disassociation through Transatlantic Literature.
Upon first reading, the location of France as the major story setting seems to initially represent the journey and evolution of Charging Elk, but the location of France offers another rich aspect for analysis. During the novel, Charging Elk, an Oglala native to the Dakotas, unexpectedly relocates to Marseilles, France after an unfortunate separation from the traveling Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. Left in a foreign country with no understanding of the language, culture, or the people, Charging Elk suffers disassociation from his normalcy and place of belonging. This situation alienates Charging …show more content…
As witnessed in the novel, Charging Elk loses his language through colonial conquests in America. With the additional distance of France, Charging Elk becomes “excluded by [his] inability to communicate in the language of [his] immediate surroundings” (47). As Jaskulski puts this into perspective for all indigenous nations, “The extreme degree of spatial removal...[becomes] amplified by their linguistic exclusion” (50). The loss of traditional language represents the loss of culture, customs, and identity. One example of Charging Elk’s struggle with French language can be experienced during his arrest after escaping the hospital and the court scene. After escaping the hospital, Charging Elk is approached by a French officer, but he is unable to communicate who he is which results in his detainment. In another scene, the trial for Mr. Breteuil’s murder, Charging Elk finds himself unable to comprehend every speech and argument being made about him. Although he adopts an understanding and becomes more accustomed to the language, Jaskulski emphasizes code switching when Charging Elk fails to reassociate with the use of the French language (52). He reverts to his mother tongue to express his motive and reasoning in court. He does this as he “did not have the French words to explain evil”. It …show more content…
As the reader hears in the end, Charging Elk reveals, “I am not the young man who came to this country so long ago” (Welch 437). According to his revelation, Charging Elk reveals that not only has he been alienated and disassociated from his people and culture, but he also been alienated from his own being. This theme alters how a reader reads and analyzes this text, similar texts, and future texts. Now reading similar texts, it is imperative to consider the transatlantic setting as a significant factor when analyzing the text. The transatlantic location adds to the concept of disassociation, isolation, alienation compared to familiar settings. The distance created by the lengthy landscape separation develops a dramatized, but possibly more accurate, depiction of the trials Native Americans experienced due to the effects colonialism. France as a setting presents the hardships and trials experienced through language and foreign locations. Without the concept of transatlantic settings within the novel, the magnitude of the isolation and disassociation would not take the same significance as it portrays in The Heartsong of Charging Elk. As Jaskulski and Charging Elk conveyed, the location of France conditioned Charging Elk and all indigenous populations alike, permanently
Dr. Hutchinson
ENG 653_VA: Literary of the American West.
31 March 2024
Native American Disassociation through Transatlantic Literature.
Upon first reading, the location of France as the major story setting seems to initially represent the journey and evolution of Charging Elk, but the location of France offers another rich aspect for analysis. During the novel, Charging Elk, an Oglala native to the Dakotas, unexpectedly relocates to Marseilles, France after an unfortunate separation from the traveling Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. Left in a foreign country with no understanding of the language, culture, or the people, Charging Elk suffers disassociation from his normalcy and place of belonging. This situation alienates Charging …show more content…
As witnessed in the novel, Charging Elk loses his language through colonial conquests in America. With the additional distance of France, Charging Elk becomes “excluded by [his] inability to communicate in the language of [his] immediate surroundings” (47). As Jaskulski puts this into perspective for all indigenous nations, “The extreme degree of spatial removal...[becomes] amplified by their linguistic exclusion” (50). The loss of traditional language represents the loss of culture, customs, and identity. One example of Charging Elk’s struggle with French language can be experienced during his arrest after escaping the hospital and the court scene. After escaping the hospital, Charging Elk is approached by a French officer, but he is unable to communicate who he is which results in his detainment. In another scene, the trial for Mr. Breteuil’s murder, Charging Elk finds himself unable to comprehend every speech and argument being made about him. Although he adopts an understanding and becomes more accustomed to the language, Jaskulski emphasizes code switching when Charging Elk fails to reassociate with the use of the French language (52). He reverts to his mother tongue to express his motive and reasoning in court. He does this as he “did not have the French words to explain evil”. It …show more content…
As the reader hears in the end, Charging Elk reveals, “I am not the young man who came to this country so long ago” (Welch 437). According to his revelation, Charging Elk reveals that not only has he been alienated and disassociated from his people and culture, but he also been alienated from his own being. This theme alters how a reader reads and analyzes this text, similar texts, and future texts. Now reading similar texts, it is imperative to consider the transatlantic setting as a significant factor when analyzing the text. The transatlantic location adds to the concept of disassociation, isolation, alienation compared to familiar settings. The distance created by the lengthy landscape separation develops a dramatized, but possibly more accurate, depiction of the trials Native Americans experienced due to the effects colonialism. France as a setting presents the hardships and trials experienced through language and foreign locations. Without the concept of transatlantic settings within the novel, the magnitude of the isolation and disassociation would not take the same significance as it portrays in The Heartsong of Charging Elk. As Jaskulski and Charging Elk conveyed, the location of France conditioned Charging Elk and all indigenous populations alike, permanently