"'Indians': Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History
In Jane Tompkins 1986 essay, "'Indians': Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History" she describes the issues that come with studying historical events through opinionated works. While studying the history of occurrences between Native Americans and English settlers in the seventeenth-century Tompkins discovered the so called "problem of history." She had been researching different works and events when she began to feel as though something was wrong. Tompkins looked at the works and felt that none of them held credibility since none of them agreed. Driven to make her point, she continued to investigate more works that all ended up being invalid in her eyes. Could it be that there is not one factual account of the history of settlers and Native Americans? The fact of the matter is that Tompkins doesn't know what to think. The beginning and middle of her essay is dedicated to showing the reader that all the passages she had read are false; however, the conclusion of her essay differs from the other two; in fact, it completely contradicts her original statements. Can Tompkins opinions be considered valid? Although her thoughts in the middle of the work may seem co
The conclusion is as confusing to the reader as the idea of a "vacant" America was to Tompkins. Aren't facts considered to be absolute? Under Tompkins conclusion it is possible for one person to say half of a work is fact and another person could claim that the entire work is fact. Under further review of Tompkins essay it can be concluded that the composition attempts to build strong cases in two distinctly different directions deeming the passage ultimately illogical. The interpretations of each of these works would vary from person to person; therefore, under Tompkins new assumption the "facts" would be different depending on who was reading. While reading about Englishmen who had been captured by Indians Tompkins stated: "These authors could be presumed to be less severely biased since they hadn't seen their loved ones killed by Indians or been made to endure the hardships of captivity,and because they weren't writing propaganda calculated to prove that God had delivered his chosen people from the hands of Satan's emissaries" (Tompkins 728). What is worse than these quick dismissals is that Tompkins turns against herself in a surprising and self condemning conclusion. Some saw Native Americans with the eyes of war while others saw them live with the eyes of prisoners while others saw them with the eyes of historians: opinions are going to differ from person to person. Wouldn't it be easier to come to a valid conclusion by reading narratives that are less biased rather than focusing on the "severely biased" compositions?Another unfounded idea that Tompkins doesn't recognize is that all Native American tribes act differently both socially and culturally. Aside from comparing tribes incorrectly Tompkins also believes that some of the compositions are false because they have opposing points of view. But, as I have just shown, I did judge, and that is because, as I now think, I did have some facts" (Tompkins 731). Tompkins acts as though she expected to see every historical entry share the exact same thoughts. As one reads the final section of Tompkins' essay they will confront a surprising twist. She focuses on dismissing every aspect of everything she reads, often times using bias as an excuse to deem a work false.
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