Uncovering Your Black Eyes
The film Smoke Signals is in fact a Native American coming-of-age story, but can also be related to the African American bildungsroman . The film shows the viewer how the protagonist is handed all kinds of burdens and issues of pain, to himself and his people. Throughout the film you see how the main character Victor, learns to how to deal with the issues one at a time. You see him grow, and become more mature in his views. Relating him to the bildungsroman makes it easier for the viewer to see these changes. Out of the seven emergence the ones that fit Victor and his friend Thomas are; the character engage in some form of artistic production. Protagonists reflect on world around them. Protagonists turn inward and reflect upon themselves, and protagonists engage in the project of self-fashioning. The main character Victor has had some serious issues in his life. From a very young age he has had to deal with his father's drinking, leading to his disappearance. Victory is a angry child seeking answers to his long lost questions. He looks around and sees the reservation that has been given to his people, and he is angry. Angry for what has happened to his people, angry for what has happened to
Through the experiences Victor has gained he know has started molding himself into the person he wants to be. He has settled the issues in his past that have given him grief, and is beginning to move on. He has left his boyish views on life and people behind. The trip he took with Thomas was more than a bus ride. It showed him the path to become a true Indian. Victor is not the only one who gained something on this trip, Thomas gained the respect he always wanted, and now can call Victor a friend. Who knows, he might even use it for one of his stories. This gave me a good perspective on Indians and how they were treated. It made you think about how their land, and the pride was taken from them. No one stopped it from happening, no one cared. It made me think if that was happening to us, would they of help us? Not after what we did. From reading this I know what the new settlers did, and how they didn't care. They had plans, and the Native Americans were in their way. 1. Eastman, Charles. Indian Boyhood. University of Nebraska, 1992. his family, and most of all angry for what has happened to himself. As the movie goes on we see that Victor finds answers; not to everything, but to a large majority of his questions. The experiences he encounters changes his views on life, and on the people around him. Thus proof that this is a true coming-to-age story. From using the bildungsroman we the viewers can track the key parts in the film to see when these vital character changes occurred. Protagonists turn inward and reflect upon themselves. This can be used with both Victor and Thomas, and how Victor learned this from Thomas. Thomas has always done this, even when he was a little kid he has always looked within and then reflected upon it. What do you think his stories were about. He would close his eyes, look deep within and find a story to match what he was feeling. Story telling is a very inward action, Victor goes through his whole life not believing or just not caring about this. The only time he would go inward was when he was feeling sorry for himself, or when he was blaming himself for his father leaving or for his death. This was the way he lived until he went on the trip with Thomas for his father. That first step onto the bus, was Victor's first step to becoming mature. In order to go on that trip he had to look within and reflect on seeing that his father was more than just a drunk. He saw the love, pain, and confusion in his father's live, and for once he could relate. Victor was at the age when he began to understand what was going on with his father. Granted he was already dead, but Victor was very young when the abuse from his father happened. He also was very y
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1818
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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