What are your reactions/thoughts about the treatment of Native Americans in the United States. Be sure to reference the assigned readings for this week to support your response.
Reflect on your thoughts and reactions to the readings assigned this week on the historical experiences of Native Americans. In your response discuss how settler colonization and the government’s role in removing Natives from their homeland has shaped American history, as well as the concept of decolonization as it pertains to the Native American response to these experiences.
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
A Legacy of Injustice: The Treatment of Native Americans
The treatment of Native Americans in the United States is a dark chapter in American history, marked by centuries of systemic oppression, displacement, and cultural erasure. The forced removal of Native Americans from their ancestral lands, the destruction of their communities, and the violation of their sovereignty have had profound and lasting consequences. This essay will explore the historical experiences of Native Americans, the role of settler colonization and government policies in their displacement, and the concept of decolonization as a response to these injustices.
Settler colonization, a process that began with the arrival of European settlers in the 17th century, was a major factor in the displacement and marginalization of Native Americans. As settlers sought to claim land for themselves, they often clashed with Native tribes, leading to violence, forced relocation, and the destruction of indigenous communities. Government policies, such as the Indian Removal Act of 1830, further exacerbated these injustices by forcibly removing Native Americans from their lands and relocating them to reservations. The Trail of Tears, a forced march of thousands of Cherokees from the Southeast to Oklahoma, is a tragic example of the brutality of these policies.
The treatment of Native Americans has had a profound impact on American history. The forced removal of Native Americans from their ancestral lands and the destruction of their cultures have shaped the nation’s identity and its relationship with indigenous peoples. The legacy of colonialism and oppression continues to affect Native American communities today, as they struggle to overcome the historical injustices they have faced.
Decolonization, a process of dismantling colonial structures and restoring indigenous sovereignty, is a central concept in the Native American response to historical injustices. Native American activists and communities have fought for decolonization through a variety of means, including legal challenges, cultural preservation efforts, and political organizing. The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975, which gave Native American tribes greater control over their own affairs, is an example of a decolonization policy.
In conclusion, the treatment of Native Americans in the United States is a complex and tragic story. The forced removal of Native Americans from their lands, the destruction of their communities, and the violation of their sovereignty have had profound and lasting consequences. While progress has been made in recent decades, the legacy of colonialism and oppression continues to affect Native American communities today. The concept of decolonization offers a framework for addressing these historical injustices and working towards a more equitable future for Native Americans.
