Presentations Day 2

I thought all four of the presentations went really well. The first group I thought it was interesting that they took 3 aspects of their movie and tied it in with some topics we have talked about it class. The second group did well with comparing their movie with The Good The Bad and The Ugly. It was explained really well and I liked their clips. The 3rd group had a good understanding of their movie and had found some intriguing topics. It was so crazy to me that the 4th group's movie was so much like ours. It almost came out at the same time Tombstone did. It had the same gunfight scene at the OK Corral. I liked that the focus was mainly on Wyatt Earp because it gave us, Erika and I, a better understanding to him in our movie.

Presentations Day 1

I thought the presentations were pretty good today. Although, it kind of hurt us that one of our links didn't load because it would have tied our presentation together more. The other group had a good presentation because they explained their movie through pictures and compared their movie to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. It kind of made me want to watch the movie "The Unforgiven" at least I think that is what it was called. Hopefully my paper will help me pull through with this project.

What do I want to write about...final essay

I think I want to write about why Tombstone isn't really a typical western. I want to compare it to the other movies we have watched in class. I also want to point out why it doesn't "follow the rules" of a typical western. I'm kind of excited to write this paper because I like to compare things which I will all through my paper. Hopefully it wont be too hard :)

Tombstone Project

Erika and I finished our project today. I think we did pretty well because we described the main characters, created a summary of the movie, have 2 movies clips and questions to go along with them. I'm excited to present to the class and I think we both know what we want to write about for our next papers.

Tombstone

I was pleasantly surprised by the movie Tombstone. I thought the movie was very good because it was different than I thought it was going to be. Erika and I had trouble figuring out what the plot was going to be at the beginning, however we got the hang of it through the middle. Wyatt Earp was kind of a bad ass but without being a bad ass. He wanted peace for the town, but he could scare someone very quickly if he wanted to. Doc's role was not really needed in the film but he was the drunk who was very good with his weapons. This was not the typical western though. It was not blatant that it was cowboys verse the indians. It was more like the cowboys verse the police. Find out more when Erika and I talk more about our project.

Final Project Post 1

I'm actually really excited to watch the movie Tombstone because i've heard from numerous people that it was very good. I hope it is as good as its made out to be. Erika and I are watching it tomorrow so i'll be posting again on what I think about it soon.

What do I want to write about...essay 3?

I think I want to write about the alcoholic parents within the reservation. I feel that this topic is interesting enough to write 3 pages on it. Alexie's parents were alcoholics and he said he experienced it but was strong enough to stop. In Smoke Signals, Victor's dad was also an alcoholic which made him cause a house fire killing Thomas' parents. Victor did not want to touch a drop of alcohol in his life because of his dad.

Alexie's Iowa Review Interview/ Smoke Signals

I feel like Alexie was a little shy at first but then opens up more throughout the interview. I love his sense of humor which makes me want to read more of his stories and books. I was interested in this quote about indian myths.."we had a land-based theology, but all theologies are land-based. Christianity is land-based in its beginnings. I think in some ways Indians embrace it because it's a cultural or racial self-esteem issue. We're trying to find something positive that differentiates us from the dominant culture. And the best way to do that—because the US is so industrial and so wasteful—is to say, 'OK we're environmentalists' and that separates us. When in fact, we're just a part of the US as well, and the wastefulness. The average everyday Indian—he's not an environmentalist—he could give a shit. Just like the average white American. I grew up with my aunts and uncles and cousins throwing their cans out the window." I like how he compares Indians and the US because they are much alike and that he realizes that which I didn't really think he did because I feel that he has some hatred towards white people for being bullied which I would too.

Im glad he is still connected with the reservation and his family. He is a famous writer, but he is not too good for his family and his hometown and the people he grew up with. I really like Sherman Alexie as a person and a writer.

Smoke Signals has been a very good movie. I like the relationship between Thomas and Victor because they bicker all the time but I feel like Victor will warm up by the end of the movie. I love Thomas's personality because in my opinion he doesn't care what other people think about him. Victor is kind of a jerk but hopefully like I said before he will warm up. I hope when they get back to the reservation, that everything will be good with their lives and the movie will end happy but we will have to see.

A History of Native Americans in Cinema/ Smoke Signals

I thought the reading was a little boring. I thought it was too long but I did learn a lot about Indians in the film history. I didn't know they had it so hard and had difficult times.

I'm really starting to like the movie Smoke Signals. I enjoy how they change the scene within the scene from the present to the past and visa versa. I think Victor is kind of a jerk though to Thomas. Thomas is my favorite character because I like his stories and his personality. Its obvious that alcoholism is prevalent within Native American backgrounds and in this movie with Victor's parents. I'm excited to see the rest of the movie.

This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix Arizona- Alexie

This story was about a man named Victor whose dad passed away. Throughout the story, he tries to find someone to loan him the money to go back to Phoenix, Arizona. I really enjoy reading Alexie's work. I feel that he has a great sense of humor that shows through his work and he builds character through his fictional characters that he writes about in my opinion. I think that the reservation would be really hard to live in. I think that he expresses these feelings in this story because I was frustrated even reading about him trying to find money to get back to Phoenix to bring his dad who passed away. I liked how I learned a lot about the lifestyle on the reservation and how these people get by with their lives. Although, I felt for these people because I'm sure its a huge struggle to live there and making a living if they even can.

Fleur

I don't know why but I thought this story was kind of creepy at first, however I ended up liking it in the end. I think Fleur had good intentions for who she was. She almost drown twice in cold Lake Turcot. I wanted to know more about her though. I felt that they really didn't explain her very well. I think she likes to be invisible and that no one really knows her. I wonder why the game they played was cards. I thought that was kind of random. I was wondering who people said she was married to and if the child was really her kid. I think it was sad that she only had the narrator that visited her because I felt she was lonely. I really liked this story because it created an image kind of like a movie in my head about Fleur.

Truganinny

I really liked this poem because I felt emotional while reading it. I felt that it was sad because she was passing away, however I'm glad she stood up for herself and told her dying wish. I would be upset too if I had to see my husband be stuffed and basically put on display. I'm happy that her body was never put on display like the rest of her family was. This poem has feeling behind it which is important when reading a piece of writing. It makes me more interested in it. The quote that I liked in this poem was "They will take me. Already they come; even as I breathe they are waiting for me to finish my dying." I feel sad for her that she knows she is only wanted when she is dead and she doesn't want that to happen to her.

Online Poems by Wendy Rose

I really liked reading all of these poems. They all kept my attention and I wanted to read more. I feel that Wendy's poems are all well written. I feel like I can create an image in my head as I read her poems. I enjoyed her sarcasm and her fiery attitude during her poem about "The White Poets Who Would be Indian". I feel that she says what she feels and doesn't hold back. She has the ability to describe images and describes into such detail which I love. I would like to read more of Wendy Rose's poems.

How to Write the Great American Indian Novel

First of all, I really like Alexie and his writings. I feel that I have a better understanding of who he is as a person and a writer after seeing his interview in class. He describes in this short story that whites stereotype Indians. I really like this short story because it related to my first paper because it was about stereotyping Indians. He says that the hero has to be half white and half Indian which I think is kind of stereotyping in a way. I feel that in all of Alexie's writings that he compares Indians and whites. I wonder where he has come up with some of his sayings in this because it didn't have any citations. I guess he came up with these himself. I feel that he is bitter towards white people because he was bullied when he was younger for being different. I only think this because he always is upset that the white person is the good person which would make me upset as well. I hope we get to see the rest of his interview.

Note to a Culture Vulture

I feel that the author of this poem, Adrian Louis, was angry at the person who was mocking Indians. I don't really understand the poem thoroughly. I think that the author was upset the entire poem until the ending when the author admits that they liked their book but just a little bit. Hopefully other people in class will have a better understanding of the poem than I did.

"Crimes Against Humanity"

I don't get why the names of mascots are so controversial. I feel like the names are not meant to be racial or anything like that. I understand why people would get mad about them if they were putting a bad name out there against Native Americans, however, if they are not doing that then I feel that there is nothing wrong but that is just my opinion. I do feel bad about people getting offended by the names of the teams. Although, I have never put that much thought into the names of team mascots which has broaden my opinion about this situation.

"Cowboy" a little late

I really liked this story. This story wasn't something that we usually have read. It was a story actually about normal people and not just a cowboy. This story was easier to read than most of the other stories we have read.I don't get why the older woman was so mean to the man. She has no reason to be mean to him. I felt the cowboy appreciated what this older woman and man did for him because they gave him a place to work. I was sad for him when the old lady died because he was upset because she gave him a life and she had passed away.

Brokeback Mountain

I like the beginning of Brokeback Mountain because it is so descriptive of what Ennis is doing. I have a perfect clear image in my head of what is going on in the story which, in my opinion, is good writing. In the story, I'm glad the author gives the reader a background of how the children's life were in the past. Their lives were not easy and they had to work for everything they had. Reading through the story, I can tell the strong friendship that is forming between Ennis and Jack. It was a little hard to understand the dialogue between the two, but it was manageable. I thought the sex scene was a little much but I was expecting something like that from what I have heard about Brokeback Mountain. I felt that it was a little bit awkward after it happened and their friendship was affected by it. I expected that Ennis would marry his fiance because he was embarrassed by what had happened with Jack because it was unusual in the west back then. The same goes for Jack with his situation. I really didn't think they would cheat on their wives with each other and that was very surprising to me. Alma and Ennis had trouble in their marriage with money problems and Alma had suspicion with Ennis and Jack. I didn't think Alma and Ennis would last because of all of their problems and because everyone was so frustrated, Jack and Ennis were having problems as well. I'm glad Ennis and Jack settled their differences before Jack passed away. It was sad in the end when Ennis mourned over Jack's death because he never really had a full on relationship with him. However, the story was a little raunchy for me, but I liked it.

Ending of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly...McCarthy Handout

I thought The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly was a good movie. I wasn't really expecting how it ended though. The only thing that was obvious was that "Blondie" was going to shoot down Tuco and not let him die. I didn't think "Angel Eyes" would die and that "Blondie"would be the one to shoot him. I was happy that "Blondie" and Tuco ended up with all of the money and it was kind of ironic how it happened. "Blondie" was the one riding away on the horse with his half of the money and Tuco ended up being in the middle of the desert with his half of the money.

The McCarthy handout was kind of depressing in some ways. I really didn't like the part with the dead babies hanging from the tree and I didn't like how he explained it in such detail. However, I thought the story was interesting. It was hard to read and understand and I wasn't really sure what the purpose of the story was.

Spaghetti Westerns

In my last blog, I asked what is a spaghetti western and I'm glad this clip explained what it really is. I love how all of these works are tied together somehow. I also like how it includes sound clips from the movies like Fist Full of Dollars. Im surprised that most of these westerns were filmed in Italy and how they have some Italian influence because the director was Italian. "John Ford believed in optimism and I believe in pessimism." The director of the Fist Full of Dollars movies stated that because he wanted people to know the difference between them. He also was not a fan of John Wayne either which I found interesting. Leoni was very violent in his movies which was not really typical in the American movies. He wanted to make his stories more interesting than everything being fine and happy. Sound is 40% of the experience in his movies to make a more exaggerated feeling in his viewers. I love how every time Clint Eastwood is shown, he has his own little song. It reminds me of that movie clip of the guy explaining how important music is to a western.

Once Upon a Time in the West

I like how the guy describes this western in such detail. It makes me want to watch this movie. It's interesting that he notices that each character has their own theme song whenever they are shown in the western. This movie is sort of choreographed by the music and that is the main focus of the film. It is one of the first movies that the music fit the image of the movie. I liked this little explanation of the movie but I had a few questions that were not answered. Who is Henry Fonda and why is he so important? And what is a spaghetti western?

The Beginning of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

I thought the first scene of the movie was pretty boring. I didn't like how they stared at each other for so long but I guess that is a typical western movie. My first impression of Clint Eastwood was that I thought he was going to be one of the bad guys because he was saving this bad guy over and over again to split money between them. However, he lets him go 70 miles into the desert and leaves him to die, and he is characterized as the good guy. When I saw that the bad guy lived, I'm pretty sure he is going to want revenge with Clint Eastwood for what he did. I'm intrigued to find out what happens next.

Quotes...

I wanted to compare "How To Play an Indian", "The Searchers" and "I Hate Tonto and I Still Do".

1) "The indians have made a huge impact in the american lifestyle."- It's really interesting after doing some research home much they have affected us.

2) "So who are the actual native americans?" What is your opinion on who a native american is?

3) "John Wayne absolutely hates indians. Why is that?" John is very opinionated when it comes to the beliefs of indians.

4) "If I was a native american, would I be offended by Tonto?" I don't really know how I would react to this kind of behavior.

5) I'm still debating what else I should put in my paper...

What do I want to write about...?

I've been contemplating back and forth on what I want to write about...I think I would want to write on either the Jesse James story, John Wayne himself, or The Searchers. The reason why I would want to write about Jesse James is because I'm interested in the story and I like that it has some sort of twists. I would love to write about John Wayne himself and relate him to his movie characters and I like how he is so blunt about his opinions. I'm not really sure why I would want to write about The Searchers...any ideas? Hopefully, I'll think of something interesting to write about soon.

"Dear John Wayne"

I wasn't sure how I was going to react to the poem "Dear John Wayne". I felt that Erdrich was very straight to the point and brought her forward attitude across in her poem. It is obvious that she is upset at John Wayne with her tone. Especially, "Everything we see belongs to us. The eye sees a lot John, but the heart is so blind." I like how she calls him out on some of her problems with him. The only phrase that bothered me was "Even his disease was the idea of taking everything. Those cells, burning, doubling, splitting out of their skins." I don't get why she had to add that to her poem. I felt that it was irrelevant and uncalled for.

John Wayne's Playboy Interview....

I love how detailed and specific his introduction to the interview with Playboy was. I was surprised that The Searchers was never mentioned in his introduction because it was such a huge success in his life. I really liked how old fashion he was about his state of mind with the motion pictures business today. He says the business is completely different than it was back when he was at his famous point of his life. I completely agree that the business has changed since he was at his peak. He also thinks that almost every movie deserves to have a little lust and vulgarity in them."No, I don't. Two classic Westerns were better—Stagecoach and Red River—and a third, The Searchers, which I thought deserved more praise than it got, and The Quiet Man was certainly one of the best. Also the one that all the college cinematography students run all the time—The Long Voyage Home." I'm glad he included The Searchers as one of the top movies he has ever done because I also think it has great potential. I love how he has never changed his image and I also love how he doesn't let anything phase him. I also love his fire. He doesn't care what people think and he will tell you exactly what he is thinking. "If I had to do it over again, I;d probably do everything I did. But that's not necessarily the right thing to do." I am a big fan of John Wayne after this interview because I like his spirit and his sense of humor. It will change my way I see him now while watching The Searchers.

How to Play Indians

This "How To" guide is just like the Indians are in the movie The Searchers. "Never attack immediately: make yourself visible from a distance a few days ahead of time, producing easily observed smoke signals, thus giving the stagecoach or the fort ample time to send word to the Seventh Cavalry." The Indians in The Searchers produce a fire to make a smoke signal so they let the family or whoever they are trying to attack know they are there. They don't attack right away to make sure they get away with their crime later. "Attack by circling the wagons, but never narrow your circle, so that you and your companions can be picked off one by one." The Indians surrounded the wagons but never came very close so that their victim couldn't get away. However, John Wayne aka Ethan and Martin got away from the Indians by going through the river which the Indians were not fast enough. "In preparing to attack an isolated farm, send only one man to spy on it at night. Approaching a lighted window, he must observe at length a white woman inside, until she has become aware of the Indian face pressed against the pane. Await the woman's cry and exit of the men before attempting to escape." The Indians attacked the families' house and killed them all except for the youngest girl Debbie. Hopefully she is still alive.

Who is John Wayne...?

To be honest, I don't really know much about John Wayne, but I do know that he was in The Big Trail, however it wasn't a huge success but it is where he got his name. John Wayne is actually his stage name created by I think the director. He obviously fit the part of a western cowboy. I expect him in his movies to be singing because he was the films first singing cowboy. He wasn't really a big star until the movie Stagecoach came along and gave him his ticket to stardom. His biggest movie that he has starred in is probably The Searchers. He is known for his stunts and his singing talents, which made him an American icon.

I Hated Tonto..[Still Do] and The Lone Ranger

Alexie: I don't get why Alexie hated Indian stereotypes and Tonto so much. He said that "all" Indians are portrayed as blue-eyed, half blooded Indians because in the movies, hollywood wanted to portray Indians as more handsome than they really are. I guess he is offended by how people see these Indians instead of how they really act. "I mean, Tom Laughlin did have a nice tan and he spoke in monosyllables and wore cowboy boots and a jean jacket just like Indians. And he did have a Cherokee grandmother or grandfather or butcher, so he was Indian by proximity, and that was good enough in 1972, when disco music was about to rear its ugly head and bell-bottom pants were just beginning to change the shape of our legs." It seems like he was ashamed for being a real Indian and jealous of the Indians in the movies. "I mean, I knew I could never be as brave, as strong, as wiser as visionary, as white as the Indians in the movies. I was just one little Indian boy who hated Tonto because Tonto was the only cinematic Indian who looked like me." I was surprised by the end of the story that this was the reason why he hated Tonto so much....

The Lone Ranger: Speaking of stereotypes, I felt the beginning scene of this was so stereotypical for a cowboy. He has his cowboy hat, riding fast on his horse, and of course the music. The only thing I didn't understand was the mask. The mask was more of the legend of Zoro than a urban cowboy. I love how old fashion these episodes are with the narrator's voice in the background and the introduction of the famous Lone Ranger. In the episode, there was a lot of silent pauses and I wonder why that is. When the showed the Lone Ranger, it was very dramatic like he was an idol. The Indian helps the cowboy when he gets hurt and nurses him back to health which I think is kind of a legend with Indians. I feel that people think they will make everything better because they are looked upon as very wise. Because he met Tonto, he wanted to make peace with everyone which I don't really understand and put the mask on so no one would know who he was. Back then, it is such a different perspective of a famous cowboy than we have today. The vision I have of a cowboy today is a regular guy on a farm trying to make a living. I feel that the vision of the cowboys back then is more a of protector and a hero rather than today, a cowboy is just someone who likes to wear a cowboy hat, herd his cattle, grow his crops and ride a horse. It is interesting how he got his name "The Lone Ranger" and why he has a mask on.

If I had to write a paper about this novel...

If I had to write a paper about this novel, I would choose between a couple of different topics. One of the topics would be about the phrase "Every Man For Himself". I felt that in the story, Jesse James could only trust one person, that person being himself. He had someone watching after another person and so on to let everyone know that if they messed up they would be basically killed. I also felt the same thing for the narrator. He could not trust the other "detectives" because for all he knew they could turn their backs against him. When he let his guard down when he went into town, he told people what he was doing and of course they deceived him and Jesse found out the real truth. Another topic I would choose is the concept of deception vs paranoia. These two topics could be combined together into one topic because I felt that Jesse was also paranoid because he had everyone watching over everyone because he knew he would be protected if that was the case. The narrator was also paranoid for his life because if Jesse found out the truth ,which he did later in the story, he would be killed. I feel like there are a lot of similarities between Jesse and the narrator.

The most interesting thing about our group discussions..

I feel that Katherine, Brandi, and Garrett made some really interesting points about our story, Jesse James. Katherine said she was pretty mad about how everyone in the story only wanted money and didn't care about anything else, including the "detectives". Brandi and Garrett made the same comment about how no one died in the story. I agreed with them because i couldn't believe that these people were put in these situations and got out of them alive. Jesse was shot in the neck and still survived, that's pretty ridiculous. Dr. Griffiths made the point about how the "detectives" were not really "detectives", they were basically bounty hunters. They were set on trying to capture Jesse James for money, and didn't act like regular detectives. The last point that was made was the fine line between the good and the bad guys. They were very similar to each other. I felt that the narrator was almost as bad as Jesse James was. I wonder where he disappeared to.

Jesse James Chapters 11-13

Chapter 11: The James family basically killed all of their own except for family to help themselves. They found some sort of blood. I also think this chapter is kind of confusing and not really sure what is going on through this. The narrator reaches Bob Younger and desperately wants the information about the child. "I will be brief in summing up the results of the raid. The three Youngers eventually recovered from their wounds, were tried, convicted, and sentenced to the Minnesota State prison for life. The Hites managed to get out of the country. Their usual luck attended the two Jameses in their flight. Brothers in crime as in blood, they clung together with a tenacity worthy of a better cause, Jesse, the younger and abler, aiding his wounded brother, and piloting the way through their long and arduous journey in search of the rest and liberty that neither of them deserved. Frank recovered from his wound." They almost all lived through this which I have no idea how that happened. As the narrator tries to tell people that Tip is still alive, he says that he is the one that will bring back the missing child..some may believe him and others do not.

Chapter 12: Mattie visited the narrator and told him about the Younger girls. "It's just this, that you're the only man that knows of its being in existence, so far as I am concerned. And then, again, no other detective'll ever be any wiser through me. Then, again, not one of the gang themselves outside of Jess James and perhaps, Frank James, knows as much about that treasure secret as you do at this day, through those dying words of Ed Miller, whose curiosity lost him his life. As for me, I wash my hands of the whole thing, the Lord be thanked, with your permission. You're the sole outsider possessin' henceforth a clew to Jess James' buried heap -- the sole, single, only possessor of poor Ed Miller's directions -- for what they're worth -- and if any one ever unearths it in the future, with Jess James alive or dead, you ought to be the man. There's an awful pile of lucre hidden away somewhere in the old crust. May you live to get it." I feel that this quote sums up the path where the narrator needs to go. This journey was meant for him. I didn't like it when they changed the style of writing for the narrator because I could barely understand what the words meant when it was changed I guess to country style. He now knows when and where Jesse will go to get his child.

Chapter 13: The narrator finally finds Jesse and Tip for the first time. He grabs the child and changes back to his real voice revealing who he really is. "It means just this!" cried I, in my natural voice, "Judge Rideau wants this grandchild of his, and my search for him, though a long and perilous one, is ended at last. Jesse James, throw up your hands and crawl out of that saddle, or I'll cheat the hangman of his due!" The bad boy Jesse James was afraid of this fight for wearing armor under his clothes although it was a smart move. The narrator however injures him by shooting his wrist to let go of Tip. In the end, the narrator rescued the child, Tip from the outlaw Jesse James.

Jesse James Chapters 8-10

Chapter 8: I can't believe how fast Jesse and his men caught up to the narrator and his crew. I feel that the narrator learned a lot of skills and things from being with Jesse and his men. He toughened up after being with them because he got Cole Younger's gun from him before he tried to shoot it. I didn't really understand the fight scene because it is hard to follow who was who. At first, I thought Jesse was dead and the narrator killed him but I don't think that was the case. I feel that the narrator was not so violent until he became in Jesse's gang. He tortured Bob Younger to get information about Jesse's child Tip.

Chapter 9: I was surprised when Cole Younger out of no where, shoots the narrator and wounded him. I still didn't think he was going to make it out of there alive until he was rescued by his crew. He was taken to the hospital where Mattie Collins visited him. He basically questioned her and got her husband on his side. Her husband came up to the hospital and told him he would let him know any information he would find out.

Chapter 10: Little tells him all the information about the meeting of Jesse and his gang and all the information about who will be at the meeting. I don't know if the narrator should have trusted any of these people. If I was him, I would not let my guard down. Little also told him about Jesse and Ed Miller going off together creating their own meeting off the mountain side. Jesse killed Miller to keep the treasure hiding spot to himself. I feel like all of these men are so deceiving. They caught up with Jesse and his men and are about to catch him before the chapter ends. This story is so back and forth on who is deceiving and who is going to win the battle.

Jesse James Chapters 4-7

Chapter 4: When they wanted to rob the train, I didn't think they were going to pull it off or let the narrator partake in it but then again I was wrong. I didn't think they would let the narrator be a part of their "inner circle" so fast. I also thought the Sheppard guy was going to rat out the narrator to Jesse to make himself look better and to be accepted again by the gang. However, in a way he helped the narrator with some information where he thought the little boy was.

Chapter 5: Well, at the end of the chapter, Cutts found out in Booneville the truth about the narrator. He explains the story to Jesse so Jesse and his men all pull guns on the narrator for deceiving the gang. Surprising, the narrator keeps his cool even while about 4 guns are pointed to his chest. He thought quickly on his feet and came up with a plan. I didn't think he would remember about the sign he should give Jesse's wife. He did that, bolted for his horse, and began shooting to all of Jesse's men. I can't believe he got away from Jesse and his men by himself. The cops/detectives start devising a plan on how to catch Jesse.

Chapter 6: I don't know how I feel about this Sheppard guy because one day he's a good guy and the next day he's bad. I really don't believe George for telling the detectives that he killed Jesse James. I don't trust him. I knew he was trying to trick the narrator and his men. Jesse had a man that looked like him killed to make it look like that he himself was killed. The detectives find out and should be scared for their lives. Jesse is not dead.

Chapter 7: I was very surprised when the narrator and the detectives got away from Jesse and his men for the second time. Jesse wants revenge and won't stop until he gets it. He is not happy at all with the narrator. I believe that this explains the relationship that they had with each other. Jesse had a lot of trust within the narrator and the narrator used him all along.

Jesse James Chapters 1-3

Jesse James, The Outlaw:

At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about the story until the narrator shot one of the detectives he was with to save his own life from Jesse James. I wasn't expecting that at all. I didn't know how Jesse was going to react to this man who killed his own until he started talking about Jessie's fiance from six years ago, Miss Blanche. He told Jessie that she had passed away. At this point, I felt that Jesse trusted the narrator because he had the information about Blanche and what she had to say to Jesse.

I thought it was interesting that in the next chapter, they accepted the narrator so quickly. They let him go to the fair without their supervision to see what people that of Jesse and his men. "I wouldn't pay a cent for your ridiculous monkey shines -- not one cent, sir. Better wash the black off your face and enter upon some honest occupation." I thought this was really offensive that he said this to these men. It's obvious that this story was written a long time ago because this comment would not be acceptable today. Anyways, after the fair, the narrator witnessed Jesse rob the treasurer and he couldn't do anything about it. For some reason, I have a feeling that Jesse and the narrator will become friends.

Starting to read through Chapter Three, I feel that Jesse was still in love with Blanche even after marrying someone else. He wanted to know everything she told the narrator. The story of Blanche was quite interesting and entertaining. She was married to some man named Tom Younger who she had a baby boy with. She left Tom when she went back to her home and parents. Tom stole the baby from her and was killed by Kansas City officers. Jesse made love to Blanche and they were to be married while he was going to restore the baby to her until her uncle made her give up Jesse. Jesse kept the boy hidden in revenge for not marrying Blanche. I think it's kind of strange for Jesse's wife to want to find where the child is hidden and run off from Jesse. She tries to persuade the narrator into running away to find the boy. By the end of this chapter, I wonder if this one eyed man will recognize who the narrator is and will tell Jesse.

Deloria, Charlot, and Baum

Deloria: The Boston Tea Party is one of my favorite history moments. It's interesting to think about why these people dressed up in these particular disguises and poured out all of the tea into the harbor. One of the disguises was the Mohawk Indian. I have always wondered why they chose that particular disguise. Some believe it was an act of secrecy and others believe it was to blame another group of people. These people put great thought into how they wanted to disguise themselves. The idea of playing indian is very popular throughout American culture. I wonder if this is an act of being accepted as regular people instead of "noble savages".

Charlot: I give Charlot a lot of credit for standing up to the government/white men and not wanting to pay taxes on his own land. The white men acted like they were going to help the indians but instead they basically took everything they had. I understand why him and his people are upset of what the white men have done. I would be upset too if someone tried to move me for no reason and take everything I had. At least when he died, he died for something he believed in and was never violent about it until the white men became violent.

Baum: I feel that Baum wrote about Sitting Bull with a lot of passion and gave him much credit for what he did in his lifetime. He had a lot of fight in him it seems like. He wanted revenge for anything the white men did to him or his people. He was a beloved warrior and I feel that he would be missed for fighting for his tribe and his people even though he wasn't a chief. I feel that in his second editorial, they finally realize that they need the indians for their protection otherwise it could result in big problems.

Helen Hunt Jackson, Zitkala Sa, and The Noble Savage

Helen Hunt Jackson: I felt that she described the tribes, the land and also the individuals well. It created a picture in my mind of what everything looked like. It made it easier to read after understanding the image of the tribe. This became depressing when the tribe and the warriors were being destroyed for being too small. Although, the United States created a treaty in 1817 which was a peaceful treaty and made the indians hopeful and at peace foe the time being. The United States agreed to protect the Poncas when they needed it. I felt that this excerpt kept my feelings up and down. It would become depressing to hopeful from the United States to depressing again after everything being destroyed once more. It was interesting to see the relationship between the United States and the indian tribe.

Zitkala Sa: The description of her life really impressed me. She was a very strong and talented woman from being a writer, orator, and debater; a singer, pianist, and violinist and also an activist on behalf of women's and Native American rights. Basically starting at the age of eight, she began her life wanting to make an impact as being a Native American. She obviously looked up to her mother and wanted her to be happy and listened very carefully of what she had to say. It was clear that her uncle was a loved man in their village and her mother was truly affected by his death. I liked how she shared the coffee making story because it was an embarrassing story for her making coffee out of dead ashes. It was sad to see that she wanted to go East just because of these red apples and that her mother was so against it but Zitkala wanted to go so badly. I thought it was brave of her to go by herself not really knowing where and what she was going to.

Noble Savage: I think its odd that they call themselves savages because when I think of a savage I think of it in a bad way but after reading this passage I have a new understanding of the word. They say it could simply mean wild. They also said Savages are truly noble meaning they enjoyed the right to hunt the game which is different than I thought the phrase would be. In Charles Dickens, the Noble Savage, he described indians as dirty, cruel and constantly fighting among themselves. I thought his opinion was very strong and I didn't really agree with him on how he saw the indians in that way.