Question

read the story carefully and write a persuasive essay regarding the story. it could be what you observe or etc. You could write the essay in different angle. I attached the link for the story down below. The essay has to be atleast 4 paragraph.

here is the link http://www.dadychery.org/2012/07/05/excerpt-from-black-elk-speaks/

Answer 1

In the chapter 'The Offering of the Pipe' from the narrative 'Black Elk Speaks', Dark Elk underwrites John Neihardt as the individual through whom he will recount his story, which is part life account, part otherworldly disclosure, and part ancestral history. He accentuates that his own biography is additionally the tale of his clan and that, actually, it would not be worth telling in the event that it were just his own story. This announcement demonstrates the mutual idea of Indian experience; Dark Elk considers himself totally with regards to his clan or band, and he epitomizes the estimations of his kin. In that regard, he resembles the saints of traditional writing, Odysseus and Beowulf.

This chapter likewise sets up the style of the narrative. Dark Elk recounts his story in the principal individual; he is simply the storyteller and alludes as "I." The dialect is straightforward, halfway in light of the fact that the story is told through a mediator (Black Elk's child Ben). The tone of the story is elegiac, a mourn for a period that has gone and for what Black Elk sees as his own disappointment in not ordering the vision he was allowed.

Dark Elk Speaks is the translation of individual discussions between Black Elk and Neihardt. This arrangement was not new; described Indian collections of memoirs were prevalent at any rate as ahead of schedule as 1833 when Black Hawk: An Autobiography was distributed. Reliable with the act of a wide range of American Indian clans, which had a long custom of narrating, Black Elk blends his story with accounts, society stories, and now and then serenade and petition. For a few clans, composed dialect was not imperative. Sioux history, for instance, including the times of Black Elk's life, was remembered and gone down orally from father to child for a few ages.

From time to time, Neihardt uses a footnote to clarify something that Black Elk says, but unlike Black Elk, Neihardt is not a character in this story. He seems to be completely absent from Black Elk's story, but scholars have begun to study Neihardt's manuscript in order to understand how much editing and revising of Black Elk's words Neihardt actually did. Such analysis is beyond the scope of this book, but readers should understand that Neihardt may not be as unobtrusive in Black Elk's narrative as he seems.

This chapter also begins to establish Black Elk's character. Appearing modest, even self-critical, Black Elk says that he was too weak to actualize his vision and perhaps save his people. Seeing himself as an instrument of a higher power, Black Elk emphasizes that the power of the vision manifested itself through him. He does not claim to be a special person with extraordinary powers. He experiences self-doubt and reflects on his life in a way that is characteristic of mature people.

This chapter introduces some of the themes and symbols of Sioux culture that recur throughout Black Elk's narrative. The four ribbons tied to the pipe that he and Neihardt smoke represent the powers of the four quarters of the universe: black for the west, the source of rain; white for the north, the source of cleansing wind; red for the east, the place of the morning star that gives wisdom; and yellow for the south, the place of summer and growth. These four directions and the colors and qualities associated with them recur throughout the narrative, especially in the story of Black Elk's vision (see Chapter 3). All four powers unite in one Great Spirit, which is represented by the eagle feather, also a recurrent symbol in the story. Black Elk's explanation offers the reader some understanding of the Sioux notion of divine power or Great Spirit, its manifestations in the natural world, and the symbolism associated with it. The story Black Elk tells about the sacred woman who brought the pipe to the Sioux emphasizes the symbology he elaborates on in his vision, such as the four quarters of the universe and the sacredness of the bison and the eagle who represent the earth and the sky. Every ritual or sacred object is attached to a story. Inviting Neihardt to smoke his pipe with him as an indication of friendship and trust, Black Elk concludes the chapter with a prayer to the Great Spirit, whom he also calls Grandfather. The Great Spirit of Black Elk's belief appears to be the equivalent of the Judeo-Christian God, the divine power that oversees everything on earth, characterized here as kind and loving.