Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Literary Elements

Non-fictio

The action takes place in the 19th century on UnS soil.

The narrator of the story is the author who presents the events from an objective point of view.

Tragic, violent, frustrating

The protagonists of the story are the Native Americans trying to fight against the US government and the antagonists are the American generals abusing their power and killing American Indians

The major conflict is between the US soldiers and the Indian chiefs trying to stop themselves from being forced to relocate.

Since this is a historical narrative presenting the history of different Indian tribes, there is no moment that can be considered as being a climax.

The first time the US generals fail to respect a peace treaty foreshadows the future events that will be similar.

When the American troops promised the Indians weapons and trading rights, it all proved to be an understatement as it was proven later when the Indians received nothing from which they were promised.

It is alluded to that, sometimes, the US soldiers and generals committed horrible atrocities, killing innocent children and women. One instance in particular stands out, during a force relocation of an Indian tribe. Among the people relocated was a woman who was close to giving birth and was not capable of traveling a great distance. Despite this, the soldiers forced her to continue. When she could no longer walk, the soldiers shot her instead of helping her.

The way in which the book closed is important because it presents the most important image in the book. After the Wounded Knee massacre, the bodies of the killed Indians were then put into train carts and transported to a place where they can be buried. The image portrayed here is that of Indians being treated without respect. Also, this image invokes the way in which the Indians were treated, with cruelty and seen as being the enemy. This image is important because it portrays the way the Indians have been treated by the US Government.

A paradox is presented in the 15th chapter when an Indian tribe named the Poncas were allowed to move to Nebraska from the harsh reservation where they were moved in Kansas. Paradoxically however, the Poncas were not allowed to leave the reservation where they lived until then in Kansas. The people who agreed with the law claimed that it only applied to those living outside the reservation. Thus, even though the Poncas won a legal battle, they were bound by another treaty to remain in the harsh land where thousands of them died.

No parallelism can be found.

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