When I first read the selections from Zitkala-Sa’s “Impressions of an Indian Childhood,” “The School Days of an Indian Girl,” and “An Indian Teacher Among Indians,” her figurative prose struck me as very specific and intentional, so much so that I could not help but wonder how much of her constructed narrative was autobiographical fact. In her critical essay “Troping in Zitkala-Sa’s Autobiographical Writings,” Roumiana Velikova argues, firstly, that Zitkala-Sa intentionally chooses to obscure and even omit autobiographical facts, and uses literary devices, such as metaphor, symbolism, and foreshadowing, in order to create a “creative representation of her life as…reconciliation of warring allegiances, and integration of hostile and incompatible
…show more content…
She notes that Zitkala-Sa “groups a number of elements into binary clusters of geographical directions (East and West), seasons (summer and winter), and various bodily sensations (feelings of warmth and cold; of hunger and plentitude of food; … freedom and restriction” (56). All of the events in “Impressions of an Indian Childhood” take place in the summer – except for the episode with the squirrel that overtly foreshadows Zitkala-Sa’s encounter with the missionaries – whereas she uses metaphors that relate to winter and coldness to describe her memories of the Indian school (56). Zitkala-Sa even records the passing of time at the school in winters, whereas she records her time at the reservation in summers. I agree with Velikova’s observation that these repeated positive-negative contrasts set up an almost simplistic “good and bad” view of the East and the West, which for me makes it all the more interesting that Zitkala-Sa’s tone seems so conflicted between the worlds. To me, I would go even further to perhaps claim that it seems as if Zitkala-Sa’s first three writings are also serving to convince herself just as much as her audience that, as mentioned earlier, the Indian way of life was completely opposed to the American way of life, so any “Americanness” was …show more content…
The Zitkala-Sa of “Why I Am a Pagan” is at peace with nature and has re-embraced her childhood, but with undertones of loss, in that she now feels alienated even by her own people, many of whom have succumbed to the “white man’s religion.” Velikova addresses two specific critics: Alice Fisher – who only counts the first three writings as autobiographical, a stance Velikova denounces – and William Andrews, who “does more justice to Zitkala-Sa’s artistry” (50) by acknowledging the ambiguity of Zitkala-Sa’s autobiography. Even though Zitkala-Sa has seemingly resolved with her inner turmoil, Velikova points out that the title “Why I Am a Pagan” reflects a lingering need to justify herself. But by 1921, Zitkala-Sa changed the essay’s title to the more universal “The Great Spirit” (in that “the Great Spirit” is a more pantheistic term that missionaries could adopt themselves when trying to explain the Christian god to Indians) when she included it in her collection of writings. Zitkala-Sa also added a concluding metaphor of the American flag encompassed by the robe of the Great Spirit. In doing so, Velikova claims that Zitkala-Sa “allows a naturalized version of the American flag – the symbol of American statehood – into the
She notes that Zitkala-Sa “groups a number of elements into binary clusters of geographical directions (East and West), seasons (summer and winter), and various bodily sensations (feelings of warmth and cold; of hunger and plentitude of food; … freedom and restriction” (56). All of the events in “Impressions of an Indian Childhood” take place in the summer – except for the episode with the squirrel that overtly foreshadows Zitkala-Sa’s encounter with the missionaries – whereas she uses metaphors that relate to winter and coldness to describe her memories of the Indian school (56). Zitkala-Sa even records the passing of time at the school in winters, whereas she records her time at the reservation in summers. I agree with Velikova’s observation that these repeated positive-negative contrasts set up an almost simplistic “good and bad” view of the East and the West, which for me makes it all the more interesting that Zitkala-Sa’s tone seems so conflicted between the worlds. To me, I would go even further to perhaps claim that it seems as if Zitkala-Sa’s first three writings are also serving to convince herself just as much as her audience that, as mentioned earlier, the Indian way of life was completely opposed to the American way of life, so any “Americanness” was …show more content…
The Zitkala-Sa of “Why I Am a Pagan” is at peace with nature and has re-embraced her childhood, but with undertones of loss, in that she now feels alienated even by her own people, many of whom have succumbed to the “white man’s religion.” Velikova addresses two specific critics: Alice Fisher – who only counts the first three writings as autobiographical, a stance Velikova denounces – and William Andrews, who “does more justice to Zitkala-Sa’s artistry” (50) by acknowledging the ambiguity of Zitkala-Sa’s autobiography. Even though Zitkala-Sa has seemingly resolved with her inner turmoil, Velikova points out that the title “Why I Am a Pagan” reflects a lingering need to justify herself. But by 1921, Zitkala-Sa changed the essay’s title to the more universal “The Great Spirit” (in that “the Great Spirit” is a more pantheistic term that missionaries could adopt themselves when trying to explain the Christian god to Indians) when she included it in her collection of writings. Zitkala-Sa also added a concluding metaphor of the American flag encompassed by the robe of the Great Spirit. In doing so, Velikova claims that Zitkala-Sa “allows a naturalized version of the American flag – the symbol of American statehood – into the