I Will Fight No More Forever

One of the most brutal realities of the Realism period was that of the plight of the Native Americans. As Westward expansion continued and more and more white American citizens traveled west to brave the wilderness there, the government began to reclaim land that it had once given to the Native Americans, forcing them onto smaller and less desirable plots. Some tribes tried to resist, and these conflicts almost always ended in tragedy as U.S. troops massacred not only warriors, but women and children sometimes as well. These ordeals were brutal, and they broke the proud spirits of many Native Americans.

One such Native American was the famous Chief Joseph who tried to lead his Nez Perce tribe to safety in Canada before their group was attacked by U.S. troops and escorted to Indian Territory, or what is now Oklahoma. In his famous speech of surrender, the Realism is evident in the somber and defeated words of the speech “I Will Fight No More Forever:”

“My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food; no one knows where they are--perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever” (Chief Joseph 533).

The Realism is definitely present in this piece. Chief Joseph recognizes how futile it would be to fight against the American army when there are so few Nez Perce compared to the thousands of soldiers in the army (Chief Joseph 533). He also realizes that his people, as well as himself, are tired, and with winter coming, there is no way that they could survive to continue fighting (Chief Joseph 533). If this speech had been Romantic, Chief Joseph would have spoken about the bravery of their ancestors and the pride of their spirits and how these things would preserve them against the forces trying to destroy them. However, this period was all about Realism, and even the Native American literature follows this pattern. Chief Joseph, therefore, makes his actions relevant to reality, and surrenders in order to save his people (Chief Joseph 533).

While this speech is mainly about Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce’s surrender and is more of a mainstream Realist piece, it can also be classified as a Regionalist work as well. Being a Native American in this time period, before the government tried to completely assimilate the tribes into civilized American society, Chief Joseph’s first language would have been the language of the Nez Perce. Even though he speaks this speech in English, however, it is obvious English is not his first language because he uses strange phrases like, “I know his heart,” and “I will fight no more forever” (Chief Joseph 533). Because he does not try to cover up these strange phrases that are a result of a direct translation from his native language to English, this makes his speech also have a bit of Regionalism in it.

Works Cited

Chief Joseph. "I Will Fight No More Forever." GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 533. Print.