An Analysis of Longfellow’s Dual Attitudes towards the American Indian in The Song of Hiawatha
Abstract
The Song of Hiawatha remains a fascinating source of American Indian myths and nearly the only memorable American
Indian epic written in the 19th century. However, myth is a double-faced concept, which is used of both the deepest insights and
the most deluding lies. Henry David Longfellow has adapted the American Indian myths in The Song of Hiawatha. Although he
attempts to restore the brilliant Indian legends, he still can’t get rid of his white identity, consciously showing his racial prejudice
in his poem. And this paper aims to analyze Longfellow’s dual attitudes towards the American Indian in The Song of Hiawatha and
digs out reasons for his contradictory opinions.
Indian epic written in the 19th century. However, myth is a double-faced concept, which is used of both the deepest insights and
the most deluding lies. Henry David Longfellow has adapted the American Indian myths in The Song of Hiawatha. Although he
attempts to restore the brilliant Indian legends, he still can’t get rid of his white identity, consciously showing his racial prejudice
in his poem. And this paper aims to analyze Longfellow’s dual attitudes towards the American Indian in The Song of Hiawatha and
digs out reasons for his contradictory opinions.
Keywords
Dual attitudes; The American Indian; Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; The Song of Hiawatha
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[1] Carr, Helen. The Myth of Hiawatha [J]. Literature and History, 1986 (12): 58-78.
[2] Longfellow, Henry David. The Song of Hiawatha [M]. New York: Hurst and Company, 1898.
[3] Zhang, Yanping. The Song of Hiawatha: The First Pure American Poem--The Study of The Song of Hiawatha from the perspective of the Americanization of American Literature. [M] Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 2013.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18282/l-e.v10i1.2169
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