History 271

Devine

Spring 2009

 

Essay Assignment #1 (Option A)

 

INSTRUCTIONS

 

Your first essay is due Thursday 12 February.  If you do not wish to do this paper, you can wait for the next essay assignment (Option B) which will be due on 1 March.  If I do not receive your paper by 11:59 pm on February 12th, I will assume you are doing Option B.  You may email your essay to me as an attachment, turn it in to the History Department office (Sierra Tower 610) during business hours, or hand it to me in person. I am willing to read and go over drafts with you.

 

I prefer you email the paper to me since this is the best way to ensure that your paper does not get lost.  When emailing, send a copy to yourself on the “cc” line. If you receive the email, it’s likely I did as well. I will send you a confirmation email when I receive your paper, however, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY (and not the email server’s) that I get it. (“But I sent it to you – didn’t you get it?” will not be a legitimate excuse for a late paper.)  Please “cc” Julia as well.

 

How Long? 

Papers MUST be 1500 words. If you use MS Word, you can check number of words by pulling down the FILE menu, selecting PROPERTIES, and then clicking on the STATISTICS tab.

 

Format?

• Typed, double-spaced, 12-point font with one-inch margins all around.  Margins can be set by using the FILE menu in MS Word and choosing “Page set up.”

 

• Please number your pages (use the INSERT menu on MS Word and choose “Page numbers…”)

 

• Give your essay a title that reflects what the paper is about. (Something more revealing than “Essay #1” or “Fools Crow Paper”) Clever titles will be duly noted.

 

How to cite?

 

If you are quoting directly from the book, cite the author and page number in parentheses within the body of the text, i.e. (Welch, 47). All direct quotes from the book MUST be in quotation marks and must be cited. Paraphrases of ideas drawn from the book MUST also be cited.

 

If you have any questions or are in any way unsure about what you are being asked to do, be sure to speak with me or the teaching assistant via email or in person.

 

Answer ONE of the following four questions:

 

  1. The romantic stereotype of Native Americans is that they are a “spiritual” people and care little, if at all, for material possessions.  To what extent does Fools Crow support or undermine this stereotype?  Ultimately, did the Plains Indians in the novel care more about their spiritual health or their material well-being?  Regardless of how you answer this question, be sure to include in your essay specific examples from the novel that support your answer.

 

 

  1. Another romantic stereotype of Native Americans is that they are a non-violent people who lived in harmony with the land and all those around them.  To what extent does Fools Crow support or undermine this stereotype? Regardless of how you answer this question, be sure to include in your essay specific examples from the novel that support your answer.

 

 

  1. How did the Lone Eaters’ habits, attitudes, and, more broadly, their entire culture begin to change once they came into more frequent contact with the Napikwans?  In what ways did interaction with whites change the lives and habits of the Lone Eaters? How did knowledge about the whites’ culture affect the Lone Eaters’ attitudes about their own culture?  Cite specific examples from the novel that illustrate the changes in culture and changes in attitude among the Lone Eaters. 

 

 

  1. How did the male and female Lone Eaters achieve a high status within the tribe?  Did the women have less status than the men in Indian society? Were men dominant and women subordinate in this culture?  To what extent did Indian gender roles differ from those of the whites?  In answering these questions, be sure to cite specific examples from the novel that show what you’re saying is true.