Brian Jackson
12/7/2012
Wiki final essay
Throughout American Literature, the frontier has been described as a rough, persisting,
and demanding land, as well as a land of rich opportunity for individuals determined enough to
conquer it. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of personal identity on the frontier. It
will investigate how the frontier shapes personal identity, as well as the common characteristics
of individuals who exist on the frontier, and injustice that occurs as a result of differing cultures
on the frontier. Individuals whose characteristics mirror the tough and persistent characteristics
of the frontier are given the chance to redefine their social identity for the better. However the
frontier is not a land of equal opportunity; it is a land ripe with prejudice, as seen through various
works of American Literature.
Throughout American History, there has been a trend of development in the east which
gradually moves westward. The frontier is often associated with this trend, in which individuals
move westward to tackle the obstacles of the frontier and redefine their personal identity by
developing and extracting resources from the land. The stereotypical identity of individuals who
confront the challenges of frontier life are young, white, male, Christians. The majority of
frontier individuals fall into this category in American Literature. However it is important to
remember that the frontier was in reality ripe with racially, culturally, and religiously different
individuals, and the role that these minorities had on the development of the frontier was
paramount.
In his poem, “Pioneers! O Pioneers!” Walt Whitman develops and image of the
conventional frontier individual during the 19th century. The poem is a call of encouragement
for the youths of the land to conquer the promising west. He uses language such as “tanned face
children,” “resolute children,” “youthful sinewy races,” and “resistless, restless races.”
(Whitman). An important theme in the poem is youth. Whitman recognizes the frontier
individual as a young determined individual, “conquering, holding, daring, venturing as [they] go
the unknown ways,” where “the elder races have halted” (Whitman). Another aspect of the
frontier individual that Whitman describes is race. In describing the frontier people as “tanned
faced children,” and “youthful sinewy races,” the reader visualizes individuals of Caucasian
descent who are accustomed to doing hard labor out in the sun (Whitman). The American
pioneer has long been stereotyped as a man of Caucasian decent. This label stems from the first
Spanish explorers of America, as can be seen in Chronicle of the Narzaez Expedition.
Chronicle of the Naravez Expedition is a narrative written by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de
Vaca describing the exploration of America by Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. This
journey represents one of the first times Europeans set foot in the territory now known as the
United States. Understanding Cabeza de Vaca’s identity is important to understanding the
identity of the first American frontier individuals, which set the mold for American frontier
individuals in later generations. Cabeza de Vaca is a deeply religious European man who sets of
towards the New World in search of gold and fortune (De vaca, 7). This identity personifies
many of the frontier men of the 19th century during the gold rush as seen in Mark Twain’s piece
Roughing It, and the identity of the pioneers described by Whitman. Historically, frontier
individuals have been young, male, white, and Christian, and this identity was established by the
first European explorers in the 16th century such as Cabeza de Vaca. These individuals saw the
frontier as an opportunity to become rich, however, establishing a new occupational identity on
the frontier wasn’t easy, as seen in Roughing It.
Roughing It is an account of Marks Twain’s life in Frontier Nevada during “mining
fever” in the 19th century (Twain, viii). Throughout the book, Twain struggles to find a frontier
job that he actually enjoys. He tries a variety of mining jobs including prospecting, working in a
quartz mill, and pocket mining, and he dislikes all of them (Twain). Eventually Twain was able
to establish his occupational identity as a Newspaper journalist (Twain, 334). In the 19th century,
the allure of the frontier was a place that promised quick and easy fortune. However in reality,
the jobs of the frontier required grueling work, and very few individuals were able to “strike it
rich.” Like Twain, many individuals struggled to define their new identity on the frontier. The
individuals who succeeded had to be determined, diligent, and tough like the pioneers described
by Whitman. However, the frontier was not a land of equal opportunity and individuals who
didn’t match the traditional white, male, Christian identity were often persecuted against
throughout American History.
An important frontier identity to analysis is the identity of the natives. There has always
been a clash of culture with regards to Caucasians and Native Americans on the frontier. Early
evidence of this can be seen in Chronicle of Narvaez Expedition as soon as the conquistadores
landed in Florida. “The following day the Indians of that village arrived and, although they
spoke to us, we had no interpreters and did not understand them; but they made many gestures
and threats, and it seemed as if they were telling us to leave the country” (de Vaca, 9). As this
cultural clash developed throughout history, it took two separate paths, which both resulted in the
fading of the Native identity on the Frontier. The first path was one of violence in which the
technologically advanced white culture largely exterminated and relocated various native tribes.
The second path was one of conversion, in which white missionaries established schools and
institutions where Native Americans were forced to abandon their culture and adopt the
“civilized” life style of the white man (Zitkala-Sa, 84).
In “The School Days of an Indian Girl,” Zitkala-Sa is taken from her family and sent to
such an institution. To her dismay, during her stay, the missionaries redress her in Caucasian
style clothing and cut her hair. This is an attempt to force the Native American cultures to
submit to the “superior” white culture. The missionaries disrespect Zitkala-Sa culture beliefs, for
example, she says that “among our people, short hair was worn by mourners and shingled hair by
cowards!” (Zitkala-Sa, 90) In addition to changing her appearance, the institution attempts to
change her identity by teaching her English, converting her to Christianity, and generally
regulating her daily activities. She writes of her required chores that “it was next to impossible
to leave the iron routine after the civilizing machine had once begun its day’s buzzing.” (ZitkalaSa, 96) As a result of her school days, Zitkala-Sa struggles with her personal identity after she is
released. She claims that “even nature seemed to have no place for me. I was neither a wee girl
nor a tall one; neither a wild Indian nor a tame one” (Zitkala-Sa, 97). A reoccurring them in
frontier America is an attempt to suppress minority races by dominating white men. Another
example of injustice that occurs on the frontier as a result of this is in regards to the Chinese.
Chinese individuals have played an important role in the development of the frontier
throughout American History. According to Mark Twain, there were seventy thousand to one
hundred thousand Chinamen on the pacific coast during the Gold Rush (Twain, 293). This large
concentration of a minority race on the frontier resulted in social injustice during the 19th
century. “Any white man can swear a Chinaman’s life away in the courts, but no Chinaman can
testify against a white man. Ours is the ‘land of the free”—nobody denies that—nobody
challenges it. (Maybe it is because we won’t let other people testify)” (Twain, 293). A piece
that exemplifies a Chinese individual’s struggle in a white controlled frontier is “Its Wavering
Image,” written by Sui Sin Far.
This piece is similar to “The School Days of an Indian Girl,” because the protagonist
struggles to define her personal identity. The central character in “Its Wavering Image” is a
young woman named Pan, who is half white, half Chinese, and lives in Chinatown in San
Francisco (Far, 61). In the story, Pan has a romantic relationship with a white journalist named
Mark Carson (Far, 64). Mark Carson attempts to convince Pan to abandon her Chinese identity
and completely embrace her white character, because he is uncomfortable with the fact that he is
falling in love with a Chinese girl (Far, 63). After Carson publishes an insulting article in the
local newspaper, Pan feels betrayed by the white man. As a result, she abandons her white
identity and embraces her Chinese identity, much to Carson’s dismay (Pan, 66).
This story is a classic representation of many white individuals mentality regarding
minority races throughout American History. Instead of assuming a tolerant attitude towards
different cultures, the European-decent majority on the frontier often attempted to smother out
the cultural practices of the minority groups. They did this by forcing their own cultural
practices on them, or refusing their entrance to frontier land. The central cause of this
intolerance is hard to identify, however it is safe to assume that is partially caused by fear of the
unfamiliar. The lifestyle of the Native Americans seemed savage and strange to the average
white frontier individuals. They saw it as a threat to their more “advanced” and “civilized” way
of life. In order to minimize this threat, they set up institutions and schools like the one
described by Zitkala-Sa, to “save” the Natives from their “savage upbringing.” Furthermore, the
promise of fortune that fueled the gold rush resulted in a large influx of Oriental individuals.
Once again, the white majority felt like their way of life was under threat, which resulted in the
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This act prevented Chinese immigration to America which
successfully slowed the growth of Chinese communities and effectively minimized their cultural
influence (Williams).
Understanding the personal identity of frontier men and women is crucial to
understanding the frontier itself. The frontier offered a golden chance for an individual to
redefine his or her occupational identity as seen in Mark Twain’s Roughing It. However, the
work available on the frontier was often grueling and intense. Because of this, the frontier
attracted brave, tough, resilient and determined individuals as described by Whitman in
“Pioneers! O Pioneers!” These characteristic are universal to frontier men and women
throughout American History. However, Whitman also produces some identity stereotypes in
frontier America that are not necessarily true. Typically, the American Frontier individual is
imagined as young, male, white, and Christian. The origin of this stereotype can be traced all the
way back to the Spanish exploration of America during the 15th, 16th, and 17th, centuries. The
conquistadores that participated in the early exploration of the American Frontier matched these
stereotypes as seen in Chronicles of the Narvaez Expedition. Although the majority of frontier
individuals since the conquistadores also match the stereotypical identity, it is important to
remember that the frontier was rich with cultural diversity. Some minority cultures that were
momentous to the development of the frontier include Native Americans, and Chinese people.
Unfortunately, these individuals often struggled to define their personal identity on the frontier
because of oppression from the dominating white culture. Evidence of this can be seen in
“School days of an Indian Girl,” and “Its Wavering Image.” The American Frontier has always
been a demanding place, and the men and women that are present there are strong, resolute
individuals form a variety of different cultural backgrounds.
Works Cited
De Vaca, Alvar Nunez Cabeza. Chronicles of the Narvaez Expedition. 1905. Trans. Fanny
Bandelier. Introd. Ilan Stevens. New York: Penguin Books. 2002. Print.
Far, Sui Sin. “Its Wavering Image.” Mrs. Spring Fragrance and Other Writings.Urbana and
Chicago: University of Illinois Press. 1995. Print.
Twain, Mark. Roughing It. 1962. Introd. Elizabeth Frank. New York: Signet Classics, 2008.
Print.
Whitman, Walt. “Pioneers! O Pioneers!” The Literature Network. Jalic Inc., 2012. Web. 7 Dec.
2012.
Williams, Jenny. Chinese Exclusion Act :1882.David Koeller, 2004. Web. 7 Dec. 2012.
Zitkala-Sa. “The School Days of an Indian Girl.” American Indian Stories, Legends, and Other
Writings. Washington. Hayworth Publishing House. 1921. Print.