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__Dances With Wolves __ By Michael Blake Page by Martin Groff

 **Authorial Background:** Michael Blake was born in 1945. Early in life he had an interest in writing, and after leaving home at 17 and working as a bagger in a grocery store, he finally secured an editorial job at the Los Angeles Free Press. About the time this happened, Blake became interested in American Indian history, and became an avid reader in this area. Though his career shifted toward screen writing, this subject would become the inspiration for his first novel: Dances with Wolves. The novel was published in 1988, and a film version brought great notoriety to the book a few years later. Since then, Blake has won a number of awards in different fields aside from his writing/screenwriting, including cultural and environmental work.

 **Literary Period/Country:** This Contemporary work of literature was written in the United States. The book focuses on themes typical of Contemporary literature (such as culture) and has a subject (American Indians) relevant to Americans.

 **Setting:** The entire novel takes place on the western American Frontier in present day Colorado. There are flashbacks to battlefields in the east, but the actual events chronicled within the time line of the narrative are generally confined either to the Comanche camp or Fort Sedgwick, where the main character is supposed to be stationed. Frequently the nature of the plains, forests and canyons on the frontier is described in great detail, and for the most part, nature is the most important aspect of the setting.

//The Comanche camp is an important setting in the novel. The life there greatly contrasts the Fort Sedgwick Setting. //

//Pictured here is the Fort Sedgwick set used in the film version of the book. The setting is described as very dilapidated and filthy when Dunbar first arrives. //


 *  Characters: **

 **•Dances with Wolves (John Dunbar):** Lieutenant Dunbar comes from the east, and is an experienced soldier. At the beginning of the novel, he has extreme loyalty to the military, but is also very drawn to nature. Eventually his loyalty makes a complete shift towards the Comanche and adopts the name “Dances with Wolves,” but the shift comes gradually. He is considered a hero among the Comanche due to some thing he does to help them.

 **•Stands with a Fist (Christine):** As a child, Christine’s family was attacked by Pawnee Indians and she was the only one to escape. The Comanche originally took her as a laborer, but her strong will and resilience caused her to be respected and adopted into their culture, which is when she adopted the name “Stands with a Fist.” She is shattered after her husband dies, but falls in love with Dunbar when she serves as a translator between him and her people. Eventually they marry.

 **•Kicking Bird:** Kicking Bird is the medicine man for the tribe, who adopted Christine and sees potential and importance in Dunbar. He is very wise and is the first to befriend and trust Dunbar. He also assigns him the name “Dances with Wolves.”

 **•Wind in His Hair:** While Kicking Bird is the most respected intellectual leader in the Indian community, Wind in His Hair is the most respected warrior. His actions are sometimes rash, but his is very brave and loyal. He is slow to trust Dunbar but eventually they become very close friends.

 **•Ten Bears:** As the leader of the tribe, Ten Bears is the most revered of all the Comanches in this group. He is the wisest of all the characters, and a prudent leader with an open mind. He accepts Dunbar relatively early on, and convinces him to stay with the tribe at the end of the book.

 **•Two Socks:** Though not a human, Two Socks deserves mention because of his importance as a symbol. Two Socks is the wolf that befriends Dunbar when he is alone at the fort, following him and sometimes bringing him gifts of food. He brings out Dunbar’s connection with nature, and Kicking Bird notices this.

 **•Cisco:** This is Dunbar’s horse, a loyal and intelligent creature that saves his life many times. When Cisco and Two Socks are killed by US soldiers, Dances with Wolves is enraged and deeply heartbroken. The killing of these two creatures shows the carelessness of the soldiers.

//<span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;">Lieutenant John Dunbar is the main character whom the novel follows most thoroughly. //

<span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;"> **Themes:** The central question the novel--and main character--seem to ask is "Where should I place my loyalty?" Most of the themes revolve around this question, and the theme of loyalty is evident in many characters. Dunbar exemplifies extreme loyalty to the Army, waiting at his post and following his orders even when they do not seem logical. Later he shifts this loyalty to the Comanche, and betrays his own Army with hopes of escaping back to them. He even plans to leave the group for reasons of loyalty, because he initially fears the enemy will hurt the other members of the group while looking for him. Stands with a Fist's loyalty and devotion to the Comanche even though she is a white also exemplifies this theme, as does the brave fighter Wind in His Hair and Dunbar's faithful horse Cisco.

<span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;"> Another important theme is love, something that is absent in Dunbar's heart at the beginning of the book, but soon fulfilled by Stands with a Fist. The relationship between Stands with a Fist and her first husband, and the difficulty in departing with him when he dies, also exemplifies profound love. Furthermore the entire Comanche tribal group shows love towards both Stands with a Fist and Dunbar (whom they call Dances with Wolves) once they are trusted.

<span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;"> Culture is a third resounding theme, and perhaps the most evident one in the entire book. Dunbar's culture is at face value strikingly different from that of the Comanche, and misunderstandings have to solved and adjustments made so he can live harmoniously with them. Likewise, the Comanche struggle to understand Dunbar's ways. However, the fact that all humans are essentially the same is made clear in the emotions and eventual ways of communication that are developed between the Comanche and Dunbar. Eventually, he wishes to be a part of their culture, and they embrace him whole-heartedly.

<span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;"> The major settings also reflect notable themes. At the beginning of the book, when Dunbar is traveling with other people from his culture and is reaching his Army's fort, the motif of illness is constantly alluded to. The fort is a disgusting mess of rotting garbage and dilapidated buildings, and the final white men Dunbar makes contact with are filthy and disturbing. Meanwhile, the frontier itself is described as clear and beautiful, and once Dunbar cleans up the fort from the trash the other men left, it too becomes pleasant and serene. The Comanche camp is always described as full of life and happiness. The contrast between the descriptions of these settings reflects how Dunbar eventually feels: he sees the white man's society as being dilapidated or diseased, while the Comanche way he views as much healthier and the best way of life he can find.

<span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;"> **Plot Summary:** The book opens with Lieutenant Dunbar, who after serving in the Civil War is sent to the western frontier. But through a mix-up, he is sent to an abandoned outpost where he awaits the return of other soldiers. His only companion at this time, other than his horse Cisco, is an unusually tame wolf he calls Two Socks. Though he expects them, no soldiers ever come; instead, Dunbar meets with Comanche Indians, who at first try to steal from him but end up being fascinated with him, and trust him because he saves one of their women, Stands with a First, and brings her back to them. She, though a member of their tribe, was originally part of the white culture. She was rescued by the Comanches when Pawnee came and killed her family. The Comanche and Dunbar try to make contact, and eventually Stands with a Fist is used to interpret for Dunbar and teach him the Comanche language. Eventually, Dunbar adopts their way of life and falls in love with Stands with a Fist, whom he later marries. However, the transition from white to Comanche is a long and gradual one, and often Dunbar revisits his old fort to check on it and keep his journal. At the end of the novel, when soldiers repopulate the fort, he is faced with the choice whether to return to his old way of life or stay with the people he now holds dear. He chooses the Comanche people, something the whites consider treason. He is forced to escape custody to get back to the Comanche, and fears he should leave them because the Army may come after them to find him. However, he is convinced to stay, and becomes a fixture of the tribe. However, the books concludes with an ominous chapter hinting towards the eventual conquering by whites the Comanche eventually faced.

<span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;"> Similes are a common element to the writing style, used consistently throughout the novel. Here are some examples: <span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;"> "General Tipton heard and recorded that request as if it were a commandment from God" (page 31). <span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;"> "Together, the men and horses looked like the great blade of a plow rushing across the landscape, its furrow barely scratching the surface" (page 68). <span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;"> "It was then that Dunbar got his first look at the buffalo trail: a gigantic swath of torn-up ground a half-mile wide, sweeping over the prairie like some immense dung-littered highway" (page 147). <span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;"> "When he saw Lieutenant Dunbar come through the door he took two or three quick steps back, spun in a circle, sidestepped a few feet, and lay down, panting like a puppy" (page 181). <span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;"> "Like ants rolling a pebble uphill, they pushed him onto the battlefield" (page 245).
 * <span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;"> Major Literary Devices: **

<span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;"> Imagery is a frequent device used to paint a picture in the reader's mind, but also needed to convey themes and the feelings of the characters. Here is an example of imagery, and how it affects Dunbar: <span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;"> "...he could see pieces of the stream cutting across the prairie, then the tips of something; and then, as he reached the brow of the slope, the encampment rose into view before his eyes, rising as the moon had done the night before... There were fifty or sixty conical, hide-covered houses pitched along the stream. They looked warm and peaceful in the late afternoon sun, but the shadows they cast also made them look larger than life, like ancient, still-living monuments... he heard laughter, and somehow that surprised him... Lieutenant Dunbar sat on Cisco, holding the woman he had found, his senses crushed by the power of ageless tableau spread out before him, spread out like the unraveling of a living canvas. A primal, completely untouched civilization. And he was there. It was beyond the reach of his imagination, and at the same time he knew that this was why he'd come, this was at the core of his urge to be posted on the frontier. This, without his knowing it before, was what he had yearned to see" (page 92).

<span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;"> The author makes use of many other devices, like hyperbole, ("It was killing him" on page 91) and alliteration ("buoyancy of being alone turned against him in a single stroke" on page 90.) Foreshadowing and strong word choices are often used, and personification was another literary device I noticed occasionally, such as on page 159 where Dunbar wonders of a buffalo, "he wondered if this fellow had been a high-standing member of the herd." Color symbolism also seems evident, particularly at the beginning of the novel, and light and dark symbolism is used in several sections as well.

<span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;"> **Personal Review:** In many books, there is a gripping plot with little meaning, or contrarily, profound meaning with a neglected plot. However, Dances with Wolves manages to convey a deep meaning, employing complicated symbolism and literary devices while never neglecting the plot. There are a few holes here and there, but nothing that detracts from the reading overall, and the bittersweet ending remains unpredictable through the entire story. My only complaint about the book overall is that it ended rather abruptly, even though most of the loose ends were tied up in the final statements. However, it constantly displays excellent and realistic character development, flawless verisimilitude, and fascinating literary elements and symbols. I would recommend this book to anyone, especially an American audience that can identify with the history taking place through the duration of the novel.


 * <span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;">Sources: **

<span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;">Author Information: <span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;">Last, T. S. "'Dances With Wolves' Author Blake Gives LLHS Students a Big Surprise." Valencia County News-Bulletin. 5 May 2007. Web. 19 Mar. 2011. <http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/71062-05-05-07.html>.

<span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;">Pictures from: <span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;">http://www.actsofnature.com/photogallery/photo/203/

<span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;">http://www.texasindians.com/comanche.htm

<span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;">http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/13521

<span style="background-color: #fdfdd0; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;">http://brookeshoko.blogspot.com/2010/09/day-one-hundred-twenty-six.html