journal 13

Zitkala's accomplishments in her story are a by-product of the environment that she was forced to participate in. One could say that through hard work, determination, perhaps at times to undermine and learn the white-mans ways are what motivated her to study hard and in turn win the oratorical contest. To me that is a positive direction that the "American Dream" gave even the most looked down upon members in society a slim chance at success during this early time period in American history. This small achievement is testament that the American Dream would be a positive force in the years to come towards the same people that early American society oppressed at times. It is apparent that she is intelligent especially when she talks about not conforming to the white-mans bible and her bitterness to what she deemed as cruel care of her indian sisters in the school which maybe in her mind went against the very biblical teachings she was forced to learn. This bitterness is deeply portrayed when she says, "I blamed the hard working, well-meaning, ignorant woman who was inculcating in our hearts her superstitious ideas" (434). I guess what I am trying to express is that, even though she did succeed in a white-mans system, that is exactly what it was, a system that was not her own. While her success is a testament to how early Americans set up a society that in theory gave everyone the ability to be successful, it was not the society of her people, thus in my mind because she was forced to live this way I think it negates the whole idea of being free, which to me is the core concept of the American Dream. She expresses her disdain for this system when she says, "The melancholy of those black days has left so long a shadow that it darkens the path of years that have since gone by... Perhaps my Indian nature is the moaning wind which stirs them now for there present record" (435). It seems apparent to me that although she enjoyed the success of winning in the white-mans world she deplored the way in which it came about. She didn't have a great relationship with her mother because of it, and it seemed that she was far removed from her family. If one considers family an important aspect of the American Dream, from what I gather from the reading, her family because of this societal intrusion were at odds with what was deemed appropriate for her, therefore causing a rift between her mothers culture and the culture she was forced to learn.