S.C. Gwynne’s, Empire of the Summer Moon, perfectly illustrates two nations striving to control their destinies by any means necessary. Gwynne does so by conveying a macroscopic historic account of the rise and fall of the Comanche. Using Quanah Parker and his family as his vehicle, Gwynne also reveals an intimate journey of strength within the Comanche culture. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from Princeton University and has a master’s in writing from Johns Hopkins University. He is an award-winning journalist, who has worked for many prominent media outlets over the course of his life – dedicating the past 14 years to writing for the Texas Monthly. He has taught advanced reporting and feature writing at the University of Texas
…show more content…
Beginning in 1871 until the demise of the Comanche in 1875, both were young men in charge of opposing battlefields. Gwynne swiftly introduces their relationship Chapter 1, “… Quanah and his warriors had made off with seventy of their best horses and mules, including Colonel Mackenzie’s magnificent gray pacer” (10). The young men knew very little about each other and proceeded to have an interesting relationship intertwined with brute force and perseverance. The fall of the Comanche ‘empire’ was induced by Mackenzie’s strategic infiltration of the Comancheria, culturally and physically. Quanah Parker ultimately surrendered to Mackenzie’s army, destined for failure at a reservation. In the western society Colonel Mackenzie made possible, he became a victim of his own creation – leading him to eventual insanity. Quanah was expected to fade away as many Native Chiefs do, but he never ceased being an exceptionally optimistic leader. He was a popular frontier figure and became a wealthy ranch owner, politician, and businessman. Gwynne’s elaboration of both historical figures, reveals the stark contrast in the psychological effects of evolution – specifically, survival and …show more content…
Gwynne displays a duality between them by disclosing both culture’s paradigms of reality. Gwynne describes the Comanche normality of gang-raping and scalping, shortly after explaining the white man’s regularity of killing off natives in the name of manifest destiny. Gwynne acknowledges that the Plains Indians were savage, but white settlers did invade their native territory. Gwynne leads you to deduce that both were defending their basic human rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of
Beginning in 1871 until the demise of the Comanche in 1875, both were young men in charge of opposing battlefields. Gwynne swiftly introduces their relationship Chapter 1, “… Quanah and his warriors had made off with seventy of their best horses and mules, including Colonel Mackenzie’s magnificent gray pacer” (10). The young men knew very little about each other and proceeded to have an interesting relationship intertwined with brute force and perseverance. The fall of the Comanche ‘empire’ was induced by Mackenzie’s strategic infiltration of the Comancheria, culturally and physically. Quanah Parker ultimately surrendered to Mackenzie’s army, destined for failure at a reservation. In the western society Colonel Mackenzie made possible, he became a victim of his own creation – leading him to eventual insanity. Quanah was expected to fade away as many Native Chiefs do, but he never ceased being an exceptionally optimistic leader. He was a popular frontier figure and became a wealthy ranch owner, politician, and businessman. Gwynne’s elaboration of both historical figures, reveals the stark contrast in the psychological effects of evolution – specifically, survival and …show more content…
Gwynne displays a duality between them by disclosing both culture’s paradigms of reality. Gwynne describes the Comanche normality of gang-raping and scalping, shortly after explaining the white man’s regularity of killing off natives in the name of manifest destiny. Gwynne acknowledges that the Plains Indians were savage, but white settlers did invade their native territory. Gwynne leads you to deduce that both were defending their basic human rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of