Colonization
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| == Volume 1 == | == Volume 1 == | ||
| + | ===Chapters 1-4=== | ||
| + | The first introduction we receive of the Indigenous peoples in the eyes of the British is their inability to cooperate and the difficulty the British had controlling the Indigenous peoples. The powerful roles which the British assumed grew along with the “distrust and jealousy” in their relationship with the natives. | ||
| + | The repeated diction of the word “savages” first appears in Chapter 3 of Wacousta when referring to the Indigenous peoples. This creates a particular image of them as the tone implied from the word “savages” suggests an underdeveloped, primal nature of the group. This connotation of the Indigenous as savages is exemplified in their spat with the British as their “cry denoted even something more than ordinary defiance of an Indian” (42). The type of scream that comes from the Indigenous peoples suggests they are something more than human, something more beastly that cannot be tamed but rather acts in more chaos than an Indian. | ||
| + | ===Chapter 5=== | ||
| + | Further, the battle between the Indigenous and the British in an attempt for the latter to save their fort is met with the cunning “demons” of the Indigenous peoples as they learn from the British and learn their tricks. The “Indians took courage at this circumstance, for they deemed the bullets of their enemies were expended” (63). This suggests that the Indigenous peoples have learnt from the British, but not in the way that the British had intended. They learned the sly nature of the British army which allowed them to understand and deceive the British themselves. This suggests that they have more than just primitive capabilities but that they also have complex minds. In this instance, the British struggle with their attempt at colonization and developing their land. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Chapters 6-7 / Summary=== | ||
| + | The imagery carried throughout Volume 1 of the primitive nature that the Indigenous peoples have, acts to reinforce the British in their mission to colonize with their developed lifestyle. The soldiers from the British settlement are seen as heroic for civilizing and saving the Indigneous peoples. Their constant fight adds to their validity as a person in a perceived humanitarian cause, such as “Sir Everard [who] would have fought twenty battles in the course of a month and yet not complained of the fatigue or severity of his service… We need scarcely state, Sir Everard’s theories on this important subject were seldom reduced to practice; for even long before the Indians had broken out into the open acts of hostility, when such precautions were rendered” (95-96). Sir Everard is willing to put his life on the line for what his country believes to be an important cause. While Sir Everard saw the effects first hand of the work he was doing, it is suggested that the people back in England could not fathom why someone would leave to engage with troublesome peoples. Sir Everard’s direct response to this lack of understanding by the British peoples is to “have an opportunity of bearing away the spoils of some chief, that, on his return to England, he might afford his lady mother an opportunity of judging with her own eyes of the sort of enemy he had relinquished the comforts of home to contend against” (96). | ||
| == Volume 2 == | == Volume 2 == | ||
Revision as of 17:26, 15 June 2020
Contents |
Group 5 – Colonization
Map out the key moments of colonization in the novel, including clarifying the different kinds of colonialism on display. Highlight, in particular, the moments when colonialism prevents successful experiences of contact.
Volume 1
Chapters 1-4
The first introduction we receive of the Indigenous peoples in the eyes of the British is their inability to cooperate and the difficulty the British had controlling the Indigenous peoples. The powerful roles which the British assumed grew along with the “distrust and jealousy” in their relationship with the natives.
The repeated diction of the word “savages” first appears in Chapter 3 of Wacousta when referring to the Indigenous peoples. This creates a particular image of them as the tone implied from the word “savages” suggests an underdeveloped, primal nature of the group. This connotation of the Indigenous as savages is exemplified in their spat with the British as their “cry denoted even something more than ordinary defiance of an Indian” (42). The type of scream that comes from the Indigenous peoples suggests they are something more than human, something more beastly that cannot be tamed but rather acts in more chaos than an Indian.
Chapter 5
Further, the battle between the Indigenous and the British in an attempt for the latter to save their fort is met with the cunning “demons” of the Indigenous peoples as they learn from the British and learn their tricks. The “Indians took courage at this circumstance, for they deemed the bullets of their enemies were expended” (63). This suggests that the Indigenous peoples have learnt from the British, but not in the way that the British had intended. They learned the sly nature of the British army which allowed them to understand and deceive the British themselves. This suggests that they have more than just primitive capabilities but that they also have complex minds. In this instance, the British struggle with their attempt at colonization and developing their land.
Chapters 6-7 / Summary
The imagery carried throughout Volume 1 of the primitive nature that the Indigenous peoples have, acts to reinforce the British in their mission to colonize with their developed lifestyle. The soldiers from the British settlement are seen as heroic for civilizing and saving the Indigneous peoples. Their constant fight adds to their validity as a person in a perceived humanitarian cause, such as “Sir Everard [who] would have fought twenty battles in the course of a month and yet not complained of the fatigue or severity of his service… We need scarcely state, Sir Everard’s theories on this important subject were seldom reduced to practice; for even long before the Indians had broken out into the open acts of hostility, when such precautions were rendered” (95-96). Sir Everard is willing to put his life on the line for what his country believes to be an important cause. While Sir Everard saw the effects first hand of the work he was doing, it is suggested that the people back in England could not fathom why someone would leave to engage with troublesome peoples. Sir Everard’s direct response to this lack of understanding by the British peoples is to “have an opportunity of bearing away the spoils of some chief, that, on his return to England, he might afford his lady mother an opportunity of judging with her own eyes of the sort of enemy he had relinquished the comforts of home to contend against” (96).
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