Ben really hit it on the head in this oppositional essay written in 1784. In this brilliant essay Franklin makes observations on how the society of Indians (mostly the six nations of the confederation of Iroquois tribes) differs from that of the white English in America, the main point of his essay being how the Indians are anything but savages.
He makes a lot of interesting observations in this essay, first being when he compares the government in the Indian public councils to that of the British house of commons. First, he talks about how in the Indian council when someone is to speak he rises while the others stay quiet and listen, then wait after he is done for him to recollect anything he has missed, for they see it as "highly indecent" to interrupt the speaker. Then, he talks about how in the British house of commons people talk over each other so much that frequently the speaker has to call the house to order. He goes further in comparing European society to the Indians that when the society speaks they have to do so "with great rapidity" otherwise being cut off in the middle of a sentence "by the impatient loquacity of those you converse with...." This is a good observation of how Indians, in fact, are more civil to our standards than we are.
The final observation that Franklin makes is in a story of a group of Indians that were encountered by a Swedish minister trying to conform them to Christianity. The Indians acknowledged his ministry and his religion but declined to use it in their society, responding with a story of their own religion that he denied outright. They told him how this is indecent of him seeing as they recognized his religion, but he shunned theirs as "mere fable, fiction and falsehood," failing to believe a word.
My favorite part by far of this essay is when the Indian tribes, after turning down the offer of the English to educate their warriors offer to educate the English's boys and turn them into real men.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I loved all the same things you did. I think it's great the way the Indians reciprocted every offer the English made, from the colleges to the story telling. I thought it was sad though, how many times when they showed us kindness we spit it back in their faces. I think the English could have learned a lot from the Indians, instead of just writing them off as "savage," but I guess that is what Benny was trying to convey.
ReplyDeleteThe whites didn't just write them off they annhilated most of the tribes, raped and murdered women and children with such savagery, slaughtered animals to starve these soul, stole their land and personal belongings, lied about their language and culture. By referring to the Native People as savages whites are attempting to justify and cover-up their heinous acts of barbarist psychopathic behavior toward people of color whenever and wherever whites encountered them.
ReplyDeletebreasts
ReplyDeleteI had heard the story about the Native Americans turning down the offer for higher education but it was always presented to me as a true narrative. Did Ben make this up or is he tale actually based on a real offer? Certainly I know that there were scholarships set aside in New England for "Savages." There's a recent book, "Caleb's Crossing" which tells the story of Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck, first American to graduate from Harvard.
ReplyDelete