tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post2929999118249344523..comments2024-03-27T14:08:51.191-05:00Comments on American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL): Not Recommended: "The Ransom of Red Chief" by O. HenryDebbie Reesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14972409006633565859noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-51210421117157234412020-12-04T13:17:46.660-06:002020-12-04T13:17:46.660-06:00I'm and old guy. I recall reading Ransom as a...I'm and old guy. I recall reading Ransom as a kid. I can't recall the circumstances but I'd guess it was an English class. I recall enjoying it as a funny, clever story about two sad sacks and a horrid kid. This was in the '60s. I don't think it affected my viewpoint of Indians at all. I think because of Bonanza and other shows, Silverheels, and other influences, I was inclined toward thinking of them as mostly good guys, which I think is pretty good generalization for the human race. I also found O. Henry to be impossible to read when I was going to school and then working. I couldn't figure out lots of the paragraphs, and there were too many words I'd never heard of. But now I'm retired and am going through an old collection of his stories, and I'm absolutely loving them. I'm a sucker for sentimentality, and his language and phrasing and crazy metaphors are wonderful - now that I have time to puzzle them out! And I have the time to look up three words per page that I've never seen before. Retirement is wonderful! I think authors like O. Henry should only be read by mature folk who can truly appreciate them, and who can deal with encountering the cringe-worthy words and sentiments that can be found in some of the stories.PaulW_ModelRRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12438028127189614819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-8367160791790357422015-02-26T13:01:06.511-06:002015-02-26T13:01:06.511-06:00I think the thing that we as adults are missing is...I think the thing that we as adults are missing is that the little boy was "awful", even without the Indian costume. We cannot assume that he only terrorized his neighbors when "playing" Indians. He was "awful" on his own. Him wanting to "play" Indians, I do not see as stereotypical or offensive because that's what children do. They "play" cops and robbers. They "play" superheros. They "play" good guy vs. bad guy. Now if the child chooses to pretend to "get a do-nut" while "playing" cops and robbers, then that's stereotypical. And yes, I'm giving light examples. Cops and robbers is not a race or culture. But yes. The boy was "awful" with or without the pretend. And I feel, O'Henry only made him pretend to be an Indian because of the setting and it fit for the story. I wouldn't use this text to teach stereotypes because of that one thing. He was bad. Period. Whether he was pretending to be an Indian or not. He was bad. And that is proven through dialogue.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12258270350622781446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-34197984976023897982011-10-29T13:15:13.422-05:002011-10-29T13:15:13.422-05:00I read this story on an Indian reservation as a ch...I read this story on an Indian reservation as a child. It was used as a lesson on how to not be what the white man portrays you. I was the daughter of a teacher allowed to go to kindergarten with the children of the tribe. It is still used as a warning about behavior and what others think of you based on skin color.Gianna Uttarohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09811384651589139919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-16293657381623526452011-09-09T15:31:26.280-05:002011-09-09T15:31:26.280-05:00Charles,
You're being a little extreme. The s...Charles,<br /><br />You're being a little extreme. The stereotype in this story is, unlike Twain, gratuitous. Besides, the story isn't even that good. None of the characters are even slightly sympathetic, it makes light of a particularly heinous crime, and the reader has no reason to care about its outcome.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05853078982517969900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-53902009469926039292009-11-11T10:47:52.782-06:002009-11-11T10:47:52.782-06:00The comment "Let's offer up only vanilla ...The comment "Let's offer up only vanilla politically correct pap to our little darlings. Yeah, that'll certainly help them develop critical thinking and writing skills" reflects the exact opposite of what this post is asking us to do, which is "consider the lessons you teach if you do not take up the stereotypical critique." A "stereotypical critique," examining the time and place in which O. Henry was writing, and the contemporary portrayal of Native Americans in popular culture, would be extremely useful in developing critical thinking and writing skills. Much more than just presenting "Red Chief" as a funny story, which is how I recall it from my 1980s elementary school days.Lauriehttp://sixboxesofbooks.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-66665821814824841132009-05-12T10:34:00.000-05:002009-05-12T10:34:00.000-05:00Well OK, let's throw O'Henry under the bus. While ...Well OK, let's throw O'Henry under the bus. While we're at it let's get rid of Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Allen Poe, and any other author who might offend someone with a chip on their shoulder. Let's offer up only vanilla politically correct pap to our little darlings. Yeah, that'll certainly help them develop critical thinking and writing skills.<br /><br />Charles HillCarloshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00293504762497253089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-65531452086517316252009-05-04T11:21:00.000-05:002009-05-04T11:21:00.000-05:00I am currently starting the process to get this st...I am currently starting the process to get this story off the curruculum for Northshore School District in Bothell WA. I am a full believer, supporter of free speeach, including the written word but when my daughter told the substitute this was filled with inaccuracies and made her feel uncomfortable, and refused to read it, she was stigmatized by that subsitute. The school principle is being helpful, but at the same time I know this is going to be a fight... I actually wouldn't care if it was used to show sterotypes, and the harmful effects it can cause and use it as a discussion jumping point into other appropiate written material but it is not and that is what worries me the most.Joye M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-37440966154612702142009-03-21T12:17:00.000-05:002009-03-21T12:17:00.000-05:00I don't know that what I meant is that O'Henry mea...I don't know that what I meant is that O'Henry meant that his readers were to think that Indians were monsters, or that anyone who chooses to play a game in which you pretend to kill other people is a monster.<BR/><BR/>When I was little, we did play "Let's pretend to be Indians" games, but often that consisted of stalking around the neighborhood pretending to hunt for deer and bears (silly in a St. Louis suburb) and forage for provisions, and making "pemmican" and stews and suchlike peaceful pursuits. I don't know how our energies got channeled in this direction, other from the books I read and my Dad's stories about having known Apaches when he was a boy.Mantellihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15118686160226756681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-74812237040949489702009-03-21T11:55:00.000-05:002009-03-21T11:55:00.000-05:00Mantelli,I asked a dear friend if he remembered th...Mantelli,<BR/><BR/>I asked a dear friend if he remembered the story. He laughed and said it was about a little boy who was "Awful. Just awful." I asked him if he remembers how the boy was shown to be awful, and he couldn't remember.<BR/><BR/>You're asking, I think, if O. Henry wanted readers to equate Indians with Monsters? He was definitely making a point about unruly, out-of-control children. Some parents say "you little monster" when their kids misbehave. <BR/><BR/>I guess it doesn't matter what he wanted his reader to think. Savage or monster. Either way, it wasn't a good use of Native imagery.Debbie Reesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14972409006633565859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-77038663068778985312009-03-21T11:43:00.000-05:002009-03-21T11:43:00.000-05:00It's interesting. I've been really blind to the r...It's interesting. I've been really blind to the racial stereotypes in <I>The Ransom of Red Chief</I>, which I first read when I was around 8 or 9, because all of my life, I've seen it as being about a really horrible little boy. <BR/><BR/>I never really thought about the slur and behaviors in the story at all. I just folded them into my idea of "Red Chief" as a monster, and thought that O. Henry was trying to teach us that acting that was was something that a monster would do. <BR/><BR/>Do you see that interpretation as valid in any way? Thinking about it, I feel it as going way back into my childhood.Mantellihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15118686160226756681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-82161693679869602592009-03-01T11:53:00.000-06:002009-03-01T11:53:00.000-06:00"Has anyone see it used to teach about stereotypes..."Has anyone see it used to teach about stereotypes?"<BR/><BR/>I've never seen ANY of the books discussed here used in that way. I'm currently fighting to get one book "The Sign of the Beaver" OFF the core reading list for our 4th grade students...or at least used in a different way.Maihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06063841471328911196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-21439972526869489352009-02-28T23:09:00.000-06:002009-02-28T23:09:00.000-06:00Lately I've been reading a lot of short stories by...Lately I've been reading a lot of short stories by Tom King -- some great ironic writing there, though maybe a bit darker overall than Ransom is. Oh, all right, mostly a lot darker. But really, really good, and most have Native protagonists. High school students could handle some of them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com