Zitkala-Sa successfully garnered reader sympathy for the miserable situation of the Indian community. She highlighted their fading cultural identity and freedom under European colonizers. Stylistically, she contrasted words describing her happy, free childhood with those depicting her bitter, restricted life after being taken for education. Similarly, Harriet Beecher Stowe depicted the plight of black slaves through sentimental stories to elicit pity, though neither used reasons like Frederick Douglass to fully back their arguments, which would have made a more lasting impression on readers.

1. A close scrutiny of the whole story by Zitkala-Sa, shows that the writer successfully managed to
snatch the reader sympathy for the sordid and miserable situation of the Indian community. While
reading through the text, I highlighted some of the crucial ideas whose analysis will be at the heart of this
essay. Also, while doing so, I will cast light on the similarities between Zitkala-Sa and Harriet Beecher
Stowe in terms of their approach to writing.
For Zitkala-Sa to ensnare the reader’s pity for the Indian and to enjoy a wider readership, she
thematically attempted to draw the attention to the cultural identity that is steadily fading away under the
fierceness of the intruders embodied in the English and other Europeans colonizers. The Indian culture,
symbolically incarnated in “the mother”, and the freedom that she used to enjoy during her childhood
period was soon to be shattered as the “heartless paleface” decide to take her to the west with a view to
educating her. Stylistically, it is pertinently good to analyze the diction used to demonstrate the change
the Indian community represented by the author in this narrative. Consider the words used while the
writer was at home with her mum: “ gently, loosely clad, free as the wind, spirited, wild freedom and
overflowing spirits, no fear, laughing with the glee …etc” and consider these words “ heartless paleface,
bitter, hard, frightened, insulted, stared, cry aloud, tears, …etc). A close study of these words obviously
show that there is a huge bitter transition from happiness and freedom Zitkala-Sa used to feel at home to
another bitter life full of suffering and deficient in freedom. Historically, it is noteworthy to mention that,
in 1880s, many Indian tribes were submitted to the American government and many Native Americans
were forced to assimilate into white’s culture. Their kids were taken from their families and taken to
boarding schools to learn new language which they found hard to adopt at the beginning. This story is
depicted by Zitkala-Sa as she was experienced the plight herself. Similarly, Harriet Beecher Stowe
approached the plight of the black community from the Sentimental perspective to get the reader’s pity for
the community of colored folks under their slaveholders. Any reader who reads through Uncle Tom's
Cabin would sympathize with their characters in the novel. The brutality of the white is culminated in
their perspective that the negro are used to cover the debt; Mr. Shelby and Mr. Haley’s brick over the
Harry and Tom is the best example depicting the plight of the black community. The two slaveholders
intentionally ignore the feelings of the two Negroes and their attachment to their mothers. The priority is
money and how to get rid of the bankruptcy.
Yet, the two writers, in my opinion, aesthetically managed to depict the plight of both Indians and
the black communities in the USA, but they couldn’t back up their depiction with reasons unlike
Frederick Douglass who picked up, in his eloquent speech, reasons from the declaration to defend the
black and attack the white community. If both Zitkala-Sa and Harriet Beecher Stowe had done the same,
their arguments would have gone down in the memory of the readers and would plausibly have been
stuck in their minds which, in turns, would gain more support. Using sentimental approach to snatch the
readership and endorsement would ephemerally impact the readers but not for a long period of time.