Reflection Post: Playing Indian and Little Women

The discussion we had on Thursday was extremely interesting to me, and I found the comments from the class important to take note of and reflect on. At the end of class, it was summed up that the beginning of our Nation as America, and its survival up to now, have been mainly due to the groups of people who were exploited and taken advantage of by the White colonists. This is a terrible reality and it is greatly unfortunate that this is what occurred. It is a reality that should not be condoned or repeated, but it is what happened--we can learn from the injustice and unfair treatment that White colonists placed on people who were considered inferior to them. However, from this realization and understanding we can hopefully move forward as a society and world power by attempting to change some of the discriminations and oppressions that still occur today (whether it be class, sex, race, religion, sexuality, etc). I feel that most people who grew up in the U.S. only learned about or heard about America being "the greatest nation," or the nation that is all-powerful and always right when they were young; this is a generalization, but these ideas of America are promoting patriotism rather than awareness and understanding of how our nation came to be, and how it has become successful and powerful. 

These emotionally charged discussions that may occur every week are important to maintain, and voicing our thoughts, feelings, and opinions are imperative to a better understanding of how certain individuals feel towards America today and towards the history of America. 

I have begun reading Part 1 of "Little Women" and I find this book completely different in its writing compared to the other books and articles we have read thus far, but the book hits on many of the issues brought up in the previous readings as well as gives a new perspective to the history of American life. I feel that this book elaborates upon the gender issues and "ideal" sex roles at this time in history. I have a very old copy of the book, but on my page 42, towards the bottom of the page, the author states that the girls often "play mother." Although I have not gotten too uch farther in the book yet to see if this phrase is elaborated on, I find it very interesting and possibly connected to the idea of "Playing Indian." These girls are putting on a disguise or taking on a role that allows them to show another part of themselves, just like the White colonists who donned Indian costume. If the role of mothers is taken on by a young girl, she will take on more responsibility, or feel authoritative in a family unit. But I want to find out more on how "Playing Indian" and "Playing Mother" are connected. What else to these girls gain from "playing mother?" It seems that "playing mother" is a source of comfort for these girls, that even if something goes wrong while acting in this role, it is not a punishable mistake because they are the "Mother."

As a women's studies and psychology major, I find the development of these girls at this time deeply intriguing and ripe for analysis. The personalities and characteristics of the girls are so different, and so is the time in which they are living. Understanding the personal, environmental, and historical context that is laid out in the book helps us to comprehend the ways in which each girl reacts, responds, and grows. Although this story of "Little Women" is a classic novel (and not the academic/scholarly works we tend to read in College) the importance of this book when it was published, as well as the events that occur within the book, I feel are imperative to seeing American Culture in a new light.

Posted by: Samantha Kolkey