Content Category
Literary Criticism
Abstract/Description
Zitkala-Ša is often considered to be an individual who created a bicultural identity in order to overcome the double consciousness which results from colonial assimilation. Amanda Irvin, for example, claims that Zitkala-Ša’s narration shows how she is capable of “simultaneously aligning herself with both” White and Native cultures. However, the writings of Zitkala-Ša herself appear to express skepticism that the formation of a successfully bicultural identity is a common occurrence. Zitkala-Ša’s short story “The Soft-Hearted Sioux” highlights the seeming irreconcilability of White and Native cultures by metonymically reducing these two factions to dueling ideals of physicality and spirituality. This device serves to illustrate the protagonist’s own double consciousness and exemplify the loss of individual identity which he suffers by attempting to balance the duties he feels towards his two communities. In this way, Zitkala-Ša’s short story demonstrates a unique perspective on Native American bicultural identity by linking the concepts of double consciousness and community identity. Though highly successful in navigating the intersection of conflicting cultures and ideologies herself, many of Zitkala-Ša’s writings, as exemplified in “The Soft-Hearted Sioux,” treat the development of a bicultural identity as largely impossible under the assimilationist policies of her time.
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Origin of Submission
as part of a class
Faculty Involvement
Mike Taylor
The Indian and 'The Man': Double Consciousness by Community Identity in Zitkala-Ša’s "The Soft-Hearted Sioux"
Zitkala-Ša is often considered to be an individual who created a bicultural identity in order to overcome the double consciousness which results from colonial assimilation. Amanda Irvin, for example, claims that Zitkala-Ša’s narration shows how she is capable of “simultaneously aligning herself with both” White and Native cultures. However, the writings of Zitkala-Ša herself appear to express skepticism that the formation of a successfully bicultural identity is a common occurrence. Zitkala-Ša’s short story “The Soft-Hearted Sioux” highlights the seeming irreconcilability of White and Native cultures by metonymically reducing these two factions to dueling ideals of physicality and spirituality. This device serves to illustrate the protagonist’s own double consciousness and exemplify the loss of individual identity which he suffers by attempting to balance the duties he feels towards his two communities. In this way, Zitkala-Ša’s short story demonstrates a unique perspective on Native American bicultural identity by linking the concepts of double consciousness and community identity. Though highly successful in navigating the intersection of conflicting cultures and ideologies herself, many of Zitkala-Ša’s writings, as exemplified in “The Soft-Hearted Sioux,” treat the development of a bicultural identity as largely impossible under the assimilationist policies of her time.