Nyarlathotep
30th October 2003, 02:52 PM
The other night, my history professor made an interesting comment one that I am not yet sure if I agree with or not. He mentioned that at one time the story of Hannah Dustin (http://kingsley.locke.net/gen/dustin/hannah.htm), a woman who was taken prisoner by indians in 1697 and later escaped by killing ten of them and bringing home their scalps, was at one time one of the most famous stories in U.S. history. For 150 years after the incident Hannah was held up to young girls, especially on the frontier, as a role model. However in modern times, she is largely forgotten.
The statement I wonder about, is his opinion on why this is so. He says that eventually, a story where a woman takes revenge on her captors by killing and scalping them didn't seem like such a positive thing and in more modern times, some schools and universities would frown upon dwelling upon a story where the indians are pretty much cast in the role of the villians. They weren't presented as anything more than his opinion butI am still up in the air about his comments. He might have a point or he might be letting his political views cloud his judgement. What do you think?
The statement I wonder about, is his opinion on why this is so. He says that eventually, a story where a woman takes revenge on her captors by killing and scalping them didn't seem like such a positive thing and in more modern times, some schools and universities would frown upon dwelling upon a story where the indians are pretty much cast in the role of the villians. They weren't presented as anything more than his opinion butI am still up in the air about his comments. He might have a point or he might be letting his political views cloud his judgement. What do you think?