Dear Fellow Classmates:

I'm enjoying my study abroad experience on Planet Earth. This time is filled with conflict ranging from religion to cultural differences. While traveling back in time has been an exciting adventure, the serious analyzation of early American Literature has been progressing well. The most pressing observation I've made is the multiple perceptions of non-Whites—particularly writings that describe captivity by European Americans and African Americans.

Our first mission was to decipher the meaning of two journals by Spanish explorers by the names of De Las Casas and Cabeza de Vaca. As both writers describe their encounters with Native Americans, we experience the differences in imagery as they describe their enslavement by the Native Americans. The tones of the writers are also noticeably different beginning with their first encounters with Native Americans, how they were treated by the Spaniards, and finally the opinions they held after captivity. For example, De Las Casas’s first encounter with the Native Americans was during a parade in which they “passed through the streets along with brilliant red and green parrots and masks intricately made with tiny shells, and beautiful artifacts of beaten gold plates” (Orique). The decorative display prompted De La Cases to learn more about the Native Americans and to write of the violence Native Americans endured. For example, De Las Casas writes that the Spaniards “bred up such fierce hunting Dogs as would devour an  Indian like a Hog, at first sight in less than a moment” (De Las Casas 6). Later one, we would learn that De Las Casas was taken in as a slave by the Native Americans and thus referring to them as “monsters” (33).

We then dissected Cabana de Vaca’s and his writing appears to have a romantic tone. Instead of writing about gruesome violence, he passively observes Native American rituals, cultural traditions, and how their general way of life. His initial reaction was to dislike the Native Americans and continued to believe the stereotypes he had learned of the Native Americans. However, while his opinion changed over time, he still believed the Native Americans should be reformed to t he likes of the European Americans. Our instructor, Professor Creel writes, “These differences were important because they help to define the Native Americans as “barbarous” (4), therefore in need of being conquered and brought to civilization in some way” (Creel).

The hatred of Native Americans continued through the embellished stories of John Smith and Mary Rowlandson. Our first encounter of a captivity narrative, written by John Smith, attempts to portray himself as a friend to the American Indians and presents himself as a hero. However, Smith refers to the Native Americans as, “Savages, Barbarians,” or “some blacked, some red, some white, some party-colored” (Smith 94). Smith also portrays the Native Americans as the violent group rather than Smith and his insubordinates. For example, Smith writes of the moment before his possible execution, “then as many as could lady hands on him, and thereon laid his head, and being ready with their clubs, to beaten out his brains” (Smith 101). Smith’s authentic beliefs are acknowledged by Chief Powhatan, “you are come to destroy my Country, so much affrighted all my people as they dare not visit you. What will it availed you to take that by force you may quickly have by love, or to destroy them that provide you food. What can you get by ware, when we can hide our provisions and fly to the woods?” (39) Finally, the article, “Captain John Smith” by Dennis Montgomery also offers insight on how the violence took place due to Smith’s commands rather than Powhatan’s. Montgomery writes, “promises of violence were frequent, and though the orders from England were not to annoy the natives, Smith ignored them as he judged circumstances to require” (Montgomery). It seems that more historians are leaning toward Smith being a fabricator and a story-teller.

To learn more about Mary Rowlandson, we traveled to Lancaster where Mary Rowlandson's captivity narrative takes places. In her narrative, she would write of the "reinforcement of stereotypes" (Campbell). For example, she describes the Americans as, “those black creatures in the night, which made the place a lively resemblance of hell” (Rowlandson). And further instills the belief that American Indians will eat humans and scalp them (Campbell). One reference to this element occurs when Rowlandson approaches an American Indian to learn more about her son. His reply is that her son’s master, “roasted him, and that himself did eat a piece of him, as big as his two fingers, and that he was very good meat” (Rowlandson). This statement would be sure to instill the savage-tendencies the White people had for the Native Americans. Furthermore, a classmate points out that, “Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative operates as an effective piece of propaganda to justify the Puritans’ negative treatment and racist views of the Native Americans and to glorify and vindicate Puritans’ religious beliefs” (Brady). Here is a brief film of what we observed in Lancaster. Propaganda is prevalent even in this film clip as the narrator sounds more empathetic to Rowlandson's abduction than how she gruesomely describes the Native Americans.

Our last mission was to read the works of a young female slave named Phyllis Wheatley. Wheatley was sold as a slave at the age of seven and was raised as a “token” (Lauter) slave which included an extensive education and cultural experiences. She began to write the young age of 11 and although Wheatley doesn’t address the act of slavery or being a slave. Wheatley writes of the oppression on what is like to be Christian and Black in the United States. In her poem, “On Being Brought to America” Wheatley uses allusions to describe her perceptions on how Americans are not treating African Americans equally, “Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain,/May be refin’d and joing th’angelic train” (ll. 7-8).  The Biblical reference to Cain is thought to be the “black mark” “the Lord” (vcu.edu) put on him after he killed his brother. Cain was banished from his home and thus worried that someone would kill him out of retaliation which was quickly refuted by “the Lord” (vcu.edu). Wheatley could be implying that “Cain is also the child of Adam and Eve, and is protected by God” (vcu.edu) therefore begs the question: why shouldn’t African Americans and European Americans be joined together on Earth as they are in Heaven?

The study abroad excursion is coming to an end.  I've been reflecting upon the observations I've made from the time the first European settlers arrived in the United States to our current cultural situation. I’m quite saddened. While there have been many advocates, civil rights activist, lawmakers, and political writers, I fear that all people are still not treated equally. We were introduced to the beginnings of White privilege at the beginning of our trip and continue to witness it in our current daily lives. Sadly, some Native American tribes are still excluded from general society and are living on reservations. Some communities are still trying to reform their cultural traditions. African Americans were legally released as slaves although many African Americans are still working as housekeepers in people’s homes or only receiving low-paying jobs in a hostile work environment. My hope is that this gap will finally shrink and we can live in peace.

Until then,

Elphie