Maurice Shadbolt's Season Of The Jew and Michael Blake's Dances With Wolves

Term Paper (Advanced seminar) , 2005 , 33 Pages , Grade: 2,5

English Language and Literature Studies - Literature

Title: The Concept of the Noble / Ignoble Savage in 20th Century New World Novels:
Maurice Shadbolt’s Season Of The Jew and Michael Blake’s Dances With Wolves

Confrontation of civilized Europeans with foreign „primitive“ peoples has mostly been disatvantageous for the latter. The easiest way to deal with the strangeness of indigenous people was to regard them in a stereotypical way. Stereotypes such as the „noble“ and the „ingnoble savage“ were used to deprive such cultures of their humanity and to justify colonization and genocide. These stereotypes also found their way into European literature. In this work, I will analyze how the authors Maurice Shadbolt and Michael Blake deal with such stereotypes in their novels, Season Of The Jew and Dances With Wolves, respectively. I chose to compare these novels because they have many similarities but on the other hand also enough differences to make them an interesting comparison. Both novels are considered to be historical novels but there are some differences in the dealing with stereotypes, which I consider to be an important aspect of historical novels in general.
Firstly, I will draw an outline of the history of the terms „noble“ and „ignoble savage“ and then make a concise definition of the terms. The next step will be a short book portrait of both novels in order to compare them to each other. In the main part of this work I will analyze how the concepts of the „noble savage“ and he „ignoble savage“ are dealt with in both novels. This will be done in consideration of various aspects which before have been presented in the definition of the terms.

Exctract from the main text:
d) Behaviour And Further Criteria
One thing which astonished many European travellers was the missing idea of property among indigeous people. Many writers such as Lahontan were of the opinion that the „noble savage“ had no „mine“ and „thine“, an idea which was closely associated with the idea of the utopian Golden Age. This presented indigenous people in a light that made them appear to be content and not greedy. Other people such as Volney and Darwin were of the opinion that because their own European society was based on the idea of property, the missing of exactly this idea among indigenous people was a further proof that they were not „civilized“ and therefore inferior.
Although Europeans as well as indigenous people made wars, the difference lay in their motives... ***END OF EXTRACT

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• History and Definition Of The Terms „Noble“ / „Ignoble Savage“
  • History Of The Term
  • Definition Of The Noble / Ignoble Savage Concept
    • Differences In Opinion About The „Noble Savage\" Concept
    • Appearance of the „Noble“ / „Ignoble Savage“
    • Religion And Ethics Of Indigenous People
    • Behaviour And Further Criteria
• Historical Setting, Plot And Intended Readership
  • Maurice Shadbolt's Season Of The Jew (1986)
    • Setting And Plot
    • Intended Readership
  • Michael Blake's Dances With Wolves (1988)
    • Setting And Plot
    • Intended Readership
  • Comparison Of Both Novels
• The Noble Savage And Season Of The Jew And Dances With Wolves
  • „Noble Savages“ And Season Of The Jew
    • Chapters 1 and 2: The Maori Chief, The British Soldiers And Faiweather
    • The Tuhoe People
    • Ropata And His Followers
  • ,,Noble Savages“ And Dances With Wolves
    • Appearance Of The Comanchen
    • Moral Superiority Of The Comanchen Compared To The White Soldiers
    • Counterarguments To The Nobility Of The Comanchen
• The Ignoble Savage And Season Of The Jew And Dances With Wolves
  • Ignoble Savages And Season Of The Jew
    • Chapter 22: The Matawhero Massacre
    • Racism: Fairweather And The Poverty Bay Colonists
    • Hamiora Pere As A Victim Of „Missionary Stupidity“
  • Ignoble Savages And Dances With Wolves: The Pawnee

Objectives and Key Themes

This paper analyzes how Maurice Shadbolt and Michael Blake use the stereotypes of the “noble” and “ignoble savage” in their novels, *Season of the Jew* and *Dances with Wolves*. Both novels are historical, but they differ in how they handle these stereotypes, making them an interesting comparison. The key themes are:

• The historical context of the “noble savage” and “ignoble savage” stereotypes in European literature
• The use of these stereotypes in 20th century New World novels
• The portrayal of Indigenous people in *Season of the Jew* and *Dances with Wolves*
• The relationship between colonialism and the use of these stereotypes
• The impact of these stereotypes on perceptions of Indigenous cultures.

Chapter Summaries

The paper begins by providing a historical overview of the terms “noble” and “ignoble savage,” tracing their evolution from classical mythology to Renaissance travel literature. It then defines the terms and explores different perspectives on the “noble savage” concept. The next section focuses on the historical setting, plot, and intended readership of both novels. It highlights the similarities and differences between the two works. The core of the paper analyzes how the concepts of the “noble savage” and “ignoble savage” are presented in *Season of the Jew* and *Dances with Wolves*. It examines specific characters, events, and themes related to these concepts, drawing on the definitions and historical context provided in the first section.

Keywords

The paper focuses on key concepts such as the “noble savage” and “ignoble savage,” the portrayal of Indigenous people, colonialism, historical fiction, stereotypes, and the analysis of specific works like *Season of the Jew* and *Dances with Wolves*.

• College: University of Göttingen
• Course: Literature of New Zealand
• Grade: 2,5
• Author: Oliver Steinert-Lieschied (Author)
• Publication Year: 2005
• Pages: 33
• Catalog Number: V59262
• ISBN (eBook): 9783638532563
• ISBN (Book): 9783640534128
• Language: English
• Tags: Maurice, Shadbolt, Season, Michael, Blake, Dances, With, Wolves, Literature, Zealand, Neuseeland, Noble Savage, Edle Wilde, Komparatistik