The Structure Used in Blue Winds Dancing
Tom Whitecloud, the author of the short story Blue Winds Dancing, utilizes a fairly common type of structure to portray the journey of a young Indian man. Whitecloud set the events up in chronological order, although the action is stopped quite frequently to allow the thoughts of the main character to be heard. The entire narrative takes place in the time span of just a couple of days. During these few days, the story is split up into three major sections, with a couple of them having their own mini crisis. In addition to these, Whitecloud carries a dominate crisis throughout the story to maximize the reader's understanding of the young Indian's dilemma. The three main segments include the Indian's home at college in California, his train ride through the southwest, and his reservation in Wisconsin. During the first section we meet the Indian at college in southern California far from his home on the reservation. The narrative begins with the young Indian expressing his strong desire to journey back home to be with his family and his people. The first mini crisis that Whitecloud introduces us to is when the Indian realizes that he doesn't really belong in the white man's world. He says that, "Then again, maybe I am not
During this portion of the story the author portrays a very important social comment. After visiting with his family he decides to visit the lodge. Finally he arrives at the reservation and remembers why he is an Indian. Whitecloud does this by describing the bums that travel on the trains. He has to ride in cattle cars in order to hide from the Bulls. However, in this story, some people might also believe that the crisis has not been resolved until he is accepted by the rest of his people. Whitecloud used a pretty standard template to write his story, not deviating from the most used form. These men state "that work and a women and a place to hang his hat are all the ordinary man wants. Maybe I am just not smart enough to grasp these things that go to make up civilization" (138). While he's standing at the door we find the major crisis as he asks himself, "Am I Indian, or am I white?" (141). The crisis is resolved as we reach the climax when he arrives safely near his destination. The climax of this first crisis is realized when he decides that he will go home even though "They will say he has gone back to the blanket" (139). By dividing the story into three separate sections, Whitecloud introduces us to the three different segments of the Indian's life.
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