Diana Carey

Professor OBrien

Comp 004

01 October 2017

TITLE TBD

Waves crash against the side of a small, soggy ship, sailing towards the New

World. A boy with young but manly features hugs the bow of the ship, craning his

neck. At last he can see it! A piece of land jutting into the sea. This young boy is

seeing the tip of Massachusetts but his westward gaze is symbolic for the American

Dream. From the moment settlers stepped foot onto the new continent, they were

always dreaming westward bound. Until the mid 20th century, America would always

be looking west for the future. This led to many dangerous times, especially on the

wild country of the Midwestern Plains. Author S.C. Gwynne writes about this wild

world in his book, Empire of the Summer Moon, which chronicles the expansion west

into the lands of the fierce Indian tribe, the Comanches. In Empire of the Summer

Moon, Gwynne uses characterization and violent imagery to comment on the

harshness of plains life for white men and Indians alike, and portray the Indians in

neither a positive nor negative light

Even though the Indians are more renowned for their violence, the white

settlers and soldiers were unnecessarily violent as well. Gwynne writes about an army

expedition to clear out Indians, He and his sixty men attacked what were later

determined to be fifteen Indians most of the occupants of the camp were women

(176). This quote shows that the soldiers that were sent out to protect the settlers
hunted the Indians with a nasty vengeance. They showed an unnecessary amount of

force against a small group of Indians. It is important that Gwynne included that the

majority of the group were women, emphasizing to his readers that the soldiers were

excessive with the Indians. Later in the book he writes again on the violence towards

the Indians, Comanche, of course, knew he was going to die from the moment he

lost his horse. While the troopers were snickering, he was fighting his death fight.

Such casual cruelty was worthy of a Comanche (280). This is another example of

violent imagery the author uses to portray the white soldiers. Gwynne speaks about

what the Comanche was thinking to get the audience to think fondly of the Comanche

Brave. In this case he is painting the Comanche in a better light so the audience will

gain favor with him and look down on the "casual" violence the soldiers are creating.

It would be false to state that, by our modern day standards, the Comanches

are not violent. Gywnne uses imagery to comment on their violence. It is impossible

to read Rachel Plummers memoir without making moral judgments about the

Comanches the torture-killing of a defenseless seven week-old infant the

systematic gang rape of women... borders on some very advanced form of evil (43).

The violent images that Gwynne brings up in this quote show the more primal side of

the Comanches. Gwynne speaks about moral judgments in the beginning of the

quote; it is important to note that the Comanches had different morals than

contemporary society or even their white counterparts in the time period. Violence

was a part of their culture, but the settler struggled to comprehend that, The vast

majority of Anglo-Americans would agree Comanches were thugs and killers, devoid

of decency, sympathy, or mercy (43) Gwynne states this to help the audience
understand the divide in the west between the native Indians and the settlers. ADD

MORE?

In Gwynne's story, neither the Indian nor the white man is seen as a traditional

hero or villain. Gywnne uses characterization to make these groups have depth and

make the audience question their typical assumptions. He writes about the President

of Texas at the time, He [Lamar] believed that Indians should either be expunged

from Texas or killed outright (75). Depending on one's previous point of view,

Lamar can be seen as either a hero or villain. Gywnne's characterization of Lamar is

pointing the audience to see him as a villain. Lamar is a proponent of genocide of the

Indians, if that's what it takes. The harsh language Gywnne uses when describing

Lamar's point of view on Indians leads the audience to this conclusion. He also

characterizes the entire nation with, This burgeoning nation of thirty-nine million

that was impatient to get on with its destiny... Within a few years, barbed wire would

stretch the length and breadth of the plains (275-6). This statement, falling near the

end of the book, really puts into perspective the American longing to "tame" the west.

It is important in characterizing the settlers. They believed it was their right, as

Americans, to move west and gain control of more of the country. Gwynne includes

statement about barbed to show that it was the key in taking over the west.

Through Gwynnes characterization, one can see his admiration of the plains

tribe but also his understanding of their ferocity. Gwynne writes, They had quickly

evolved, like the ancient Spartans, into a society entirely organized around war (59).

Spartans were superior soldiers, but they too had their faults. If they believed a child

was weak, they would leave it out to die. This is seen in our society as cruel, but it
was Spartan custom. Gwynne uses mirrors the Comanches with the Spartans because

he believes the Comanches and powerful warriors, but also misunderstood.

Continuing to characterize Comanches through their customs, Both names are

unusual and suggest Cynthia Ann. Who family legend said was a spirited squaw,

and her husband had defied Comanche custom by naming the children themselves

(117). Through this detail, Gywnne highlights the importance of names in Comanche

custom. This excerpt also characterizes Cynthia Ann because she is going against said

custom to name her own children. This portrays her as a powerful woman. Gywnne

also writes about Cynthia Anns son, Quanah, There is no proof that he [Quanah]

took place in what the white people regard as unthinkable atrocities, but this sort of

raiding is what young Comanche men were doing in the waning days of the plains

empire (202). Gywnne is trying to avoid the audience demonizing Quanah, who is,

arguably, the main character of the story. But also, he is not trying to paint Quanah in

an angelic light because he knows the facts of the situation and it is likely that Quanah

would do the same as what was tribal custom at the time.

Through the use of characterization and violent imagery, S.C. Gwynne

portrays the Comanches in a neutral fashion and comments on the harshness of plains

life for all parties involved. Gwynnes story tells of the last days of the indomitable

Comanche empire in the American west. Throughout the history of America Indians

of all tribes have been overlooked and brushed aside by the government and the rest

of the American people. It is important for the story of the Comanches to be told,

especially in the way Gwynne tells it, because the history of an entire peoples should

not be erased because they did not win.