“Blue Winds Dancing” by Tom Whitecould is driven by conflict. The narrator of the story is an educated Native American man living in a predominantly white society. He experiences both internal and external conflict which foster his growth in the story. He struggles with determining his own identity and with coping with “white society.”
The story begins with the narrator describing how Wisconsin is his true home. He states that in Wisconsin there is “no constant peering into the maelstrom of one's mind; no worries about grades and honors; no hysterical preparing for life until that life is half over; no anxiety about one's place in the thing they call Society.” Wisconsin is a place where he feels content and knows how to fit in. This is not the case in the “white civilization” he currently lives in. Here, he doesn’t know how to fit in and feels like an outcast. He can’t grasp his current society and expresses his frustration by stating, “maybe I am just not smart enough to grasp these things that go to make up civilization.” Furthermore, the narrator feels inferior in his current society because of his Native American heritage. He sees Native Americans as a group that are looked down upon and thought of as a lower tiered group of people. As a result, the narrator struggles to identify his own character. He wonders if he is a true Native American or a man struggling to fit into the “white society.”
These conflicts drive the narrator to return to his home village in Wisconsin. The narrator boards a train heading north towards his hometown. Throughout the train ride he is nostalgic and happy as he remembers all the little towns on the way to his home. As he comes nearer to his village however his happiness turns to nerves. He wonders if he has been away from home too long and has changed too much to the point where he neither belongs in white society nor his own Native American society. His nerves are eased as he pleasantly learns he is widely accepted in his village.
The narrator’s struggles and conflicts are finally put to rest as he realizes his true identity. He is a Native American at heart. His struggles in white civilization resulted in a greater appreciation for Native American society and a sure realization that he is a true Native American. At the end of the story he is finally happy and content having found his true identity and describes himself as finally being home.
Sources:
Tarver, Paul, Ralph T. Coe, Jane Somerville. Irvin, Megan Eileen. O'Neil, Thomas S. Whitecloud, and Jacques St. Germain. Whitecloud. "Blue Winds Dancing." Blue Winds Dancing: The Whitecloud Collection of Native American Art. New Orleans, LA: New Orleans Museum of Art, 2005. N. pag. Print.
The story begins with the narrator describing how Wisconsin is his true home. He states that in Wisconsin there is “no constant peering into the maelstrom of one's mind; no worries about grades and honors; no hysterical preparing for life until that life is half over; no anxiety about one's place in the thing they call Society.” Wisconsin is a place where he feels content and knows how to fit in. This is not the case in the “white civilization” he currently lives in. Here, he doesn’t know how to fit in and feels like an outcast. He can’t grasp his current society and expresses his frustration by stating, “maybe I am just not smart enough to grasp these things that go to make up civilization.” Furthermore, the narrator feels inferior in his current society because of his Native American heritage. He sees Native Americans as a group that are looked down upon and thought of as a lower tiered group of people. As a result, the narrator struggles to identify his own character. He wonders if he is a true Native American or a man struggling to fit into the “white society.”
These conflicts drive the narrator to return to his home village in Wisconsin. The narrator boards a train heading north towards his hometown. Throughout the train ride he is nostalgic and happy as he remembers all the little towns on the way to his home. As he comes nearer to his village however his happiness turns to nerves. He wonders if he has been away from home too long and has changed too much to the point where he neither belongs in white society nor his own Native American society. His nerves are eased as he pleasantly learns he is widely accepted in his village.
The narrator’s struggles and conflicts are finally put to rest as he realizes his true identity. He is a Native American at heart. His struggles in white civilization resulted in a greater appreciation for Native American society and a sure realization that he is a true Native American. At the end of the story he is finally happy and content having found his true identity and describes himself as finally being home.
Sources:
Tarver, Paul, Ralph T. Coe, Jane Somerville. Irvin, Megan Eileen. O'Neil, Thomas S. Whitecloud, and Jacques St. Germain. Whitecloud. "Blue Winds Dancing." Blue Winds Dancing: The Whitecloud Collection of Native American Art. New Orleans, LA: New Orleans Museum of Art, 2005. N. pag. Print.