1. Draw or paint Black Elk’s great vision as it is described in Chapter 3. 2. Examine the accounts of the settlement of the American West given in high school or college history textbooks. Compare them to Black Elk’s story. 3. Examine newspapers from the 1880s and 1890s to see […]
Read more Study Help Practice ProjectsStudy Help Essay Questions
1. Explain the problems posed by Neihardt’s transcription and editing of Black Elk’s narrative. 2. Discuss Black Elk’s spirituality as it compares to a religion you are familiar with. 3. Explore the relationship between adults and children in the Sioux society depicted in Black Elk Speaks. 4. Discuss the relationship […]
Read more Study Help Essay QuestionsStudy Help Full Glossary for Black Elk Speaks
Agencies organizations established by the U.S. Government to contain and control Indian life; at this point in American history, the term was used synonymously with “reservations”. bay a reddish-brown horse; the reddish-brown color of such a horse. Blue Clouds the name Black Elk uses for the Arapahoe Indians. Bozeman Trail […]
Read more Study Help Full Glossary for Black Elk SpeaksCritical Essays Neihardt’s Authorship
But any text that has been through the process that Black Elk Speaks has raises questions of authenticity. The man who lived it recited the narrative after 40 to 60 years had passed since the events he narrates. Black Elk’s son Ben translated his father’s spoken Oglala dialect into spoken […]
Read more Critical Essays Neihardt’s AuthorshipCritical Essays Relationship with Nature in Black Elk Speaks
The traditional Sioux way of life created interdependence between man and nature. Respect for the cycle of the seasons and animal life was necessary in order to secure food, clothing, and shelter. When the Indians lived in cooperation with nature, those necessities were available to them — available in such […]
Read more Critical Essays Relationship with Nature in Black Elk SpeaksCritical Essays Cultural Displacement in Black Elk Speaks
The end of the traditional Sioux hunting practices is a striking example of the loss of culture. The bison, an abundant source of food that was a daily reminder of the providence of the Great Spirit, were considered sacred. The bison roamed the prairie in what seemed to be a […]
Read more Critical Essays Cultural Displacement in Black Elk SpeaksCritical Essays The Quest Journey of the Hero
The story of someone who undergoes great tests of character to become the embodiment of the values of his or her society is a familiar one. Such stories are the stuff of myths, legends, fairytales, and folktales. The most familiar plot structure for these stories is the journey: The hero […]
Read more Critical Essays The Quest Journey of the HeroJohn G. Neihardt Biography
Neihardt entered Nebraska Normal School (now Nebraska State Teachers’ College) at the age of twelve, working as the college bell-ringer to pay his way. He excelled to a degree beyond that of his classmates, and enrolled in a special classics program. He graduated in 1897 at the age of sixteen […]
Read more John G. Neihardt BiographyCharacter Analysis Black Elk
Black Elk is the protagonist of Black Elk Speaks, the only character readers see close up, from the inside out. He is the first-person narrator of the story, and part of what readers know about him is conveyed by the voice he uses in the narrative, which is modest and […]
Read more Character Analysis Black ElkSummary and Analysis Author’s Postscript
Analysis In this chapter, Black Elk steps out of the story he is narrating into the present day reality of his conversation with John Neihardt. This is the only chapter in which Neihardt becomes a participant in the narrative, witnessing Black Elk’s supplication of the spirits of his vision. The […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Author’s Postscript