Our fifth and last essay is upon us, and it will cover none other than Darryl Babe Wilson’s The Morning The Sun Went Down. For your essay, you will be asked to draw from the many themes discussed in the novel

The Morning The Sun Went Down.

The Morning The Sun Went Down. Our fifth and last essay is upon us, and it will cover none other than Darryl Babe Wilson’s The Morning The Sun Went Down. For your essay, you will be asked to draw from the many themes discussed in the novel which depict Wilson’s strong attachment to his Native culture and his many struggles with American life. In this essay, I would like for you to envision Wilson and the memoir as a critical intervention into our understanding of indigenous and general US American world views and ways of life. Think to yourself, which of the memoir’s depictions helped you to view the indigenous or national experience fundamentally differently?

The Morning The Sun Went Down.

What observations and insights can you point to that would potentially help elucidate a classmate’s understanding of the text better? Whereas you are not limited to writing on these specific prompts, you certainly may elect to do so in order to more easily get started: How does Wilson, in general, depict his upbringing and his and his family’s relationship with nature, the stars and wildlife in general? What were some of the most telling descriptions of family life, fishing, hunting, star-gazing or whatever else that you found particularly poetic and/or meaningful?

The Morning The Sun Went Down.

How does he place something like a fish, a deer, or a dinosaur at the center of the world as a means to explain the interconnection and balance of the world? How is such a balance interrupted and what if any lessons can be learned from his perspective and insights?  Native belief systems (or mythology to crudely put it) is obviously very different from Christianity. For the Pit River people, they have two primary gods who created the world: Silver Fox and Old Coyote. What is the story on them? In particular, what are their primary functions or purposes? Why do you believe that Wilson intersperses references to the two gods at distinct historical/personal moments in the book?  https://youtu.be/_YcaSO_AAR0

The Morning The Sun Went Down.

Are dreams of his gods and elders an escape or a source of strength and comfort? Do you believe that they are symbolic or metaphoric of Wilson’s own circumstances or those of the Native people, and, if so, how? “Kill the Indian But Save the Man” is a popular expression of old regarding the infamous re-education programs of Native Americans. In their own unique way, the Wilson family had somewhat evaded suffocating acculturation, but after the death of their mother and the rapid decline of their father, this immediately changes. How does Wilson resist the re-education he and his siblings experience upon entering the foster care program?

The Morning The Sun Went Down.

How do they accept or reject Christianity and how does their critique reaffirm their own ways of life? How did you yourself react to Wilson’s attitude towards the state, the federal government, Christianity and whatever else we have all grown up as a part of? Has what he considered colonization simply been natural for you and why would this be of significance? For this 4-5 page essay, provide at least two total sources from preferably peer-reviewed sources (EbscoHost, Google Scholar) but also those which may at least bear reputable publication standards.

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