Remarks Concerning The Savages Of North America, By...

From its title, â€Å"Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America, to its end, Benjamin Franklin’s essay uses satire to how that the Indians are anything but savage. Franklin’s satire uses humor to make readers question the way whites view and treat the Indians. He begins his essay saying, Savages we call them, because their manners differ from ours, which we think the perfection of civility; they think the same of theirs(Franklin476). He goes on to illustrate the absurdity of thinking Euro-American culture superior to Native American culture through several examples. First, he discusses the Treaty of Lancaster of 1744, between the government of Virginia and the Six Iroquois Nations. The government agents offer to take a dozen Iroquois young men and educate them. The Iroquois speaker responds, kindly and thoughtfully: We are convinced, therefore, that you mean to do us good by your proposal; and we thank you heartily. But you, who are wise, must know that different nations have different conceptions of things; and you will therefore not take it amiss if our ideas of this kind of education happen not to be the same with yours. We have had some experience of it; several of our young people were formerly brought up at the colleges of the northern provinces; they were instructed in all your sciences; but, when they came back to us, they were bad runners, ignorant of every means of living in the woods, unable to bear either cold or hunger, knew neither now to build aShow MoreRelatedBenjamin Franklins Red Jacket Defends Native American Religion770 Words   |  4 Pages384 BC and even in today’s era where it is used by political leaders, spokesmen, etc. In a document written by Benjamin Franklin â€Å"Benjamin Franklin: Remarks concerning the Savages of North America† and in Red Jacketâ €™s speech â€Å"Red Jacket Defends Native American Religion, 1805.† Ethos, logos, and pathos, along with other rhetorical devices are used by both Red Jacket and Benjamin Franklin, which is very important and can help with informing people, and even persuading them into side with a person duringRead MoreTwo Different Perspectives of Life Experiences with Indians932 Words   |  4 PagesNarrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson† and Benjamin Franklin’s â€Å"Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America† are two different perspectives based on unique experiences the narrators had with â€Å"savages.† Benjamin Franklin’s â€Å"Remarks Concerning the Savages†¦Ã¢â‚¬  is a comparison between the ways of the Indians and the ways of the Englishmen along with Franklin’s reason why the Indians should not be defined as savages. â€Å"A Narrative of the Captivity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  is a written test of faith ab outRead MoreInformation to Those Who Would Remove to America†1564 Words   |  7 PagesIn the late 1700’s Benjamin Franklin wrote a document called â€Å"Information to Those Who Would Remove to America† it was a document that was a response to rumors that were floating around Europe during this time. 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What Examples Does He Provide to Prove This Argument?644 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"Remarks concerning the savages of North America is a part of Early American Literature that highlights Franklins criticism of the Native Americans being referred to as savages. This essay is based on Franklin’s experiences with the social and cultural nature of the Native Americans. Franklins description of native life are described in such a way as to emphasize some of the failings of his own western society. This essay was written in 1784. In this remarkable essay Franklin makesRead MoreDiffering Perceptions of Unity and Civility among Native Americans and the Whites701 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿Differing Perceptions of Unity and Civility For hundreds of years, Native Americans have been persecuted by outsiders who invaded their lives and territories and subsequently robbed them of their lives. 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In various colonial texts severalRead MoreNative Americans And The New World1497 Words   |  6 Pagesanother than similar. Native Americans had a more primitive lifestyle than the Europeans modern way of life. Europeans referred to themselves as â€Å"civilized† and looked at Native Americans as â€Å"savages.† In spite of that, Benjamin Franklin corresponded in, Remarks concerning the savages of North America, â€Å"Savages we call them, because their manners differ from ours, which we think the perfection of civility; they think the same of theirs† (476). Their interaction caused by multiple differences led toRead More Ages of Faith, Reason, and Romantics Essay880 Words   |  4 Pagesliterature. During the Revolutionary War, the future citizens of the United States were divided on whether or not to fight the British. Political pamphlets were given out to get the American people to su pport fighting the British and once most of America agreed to fight the British the decision still had to be made by the president and delegates at the Virginia Convention of 1775. Patrick Henry, a representative at this convention, persuaded the delegates to fight the British in his very famous speechRead MoreThe Writing Style : The Canoe And The Saddle845 Words   |  4 Pagesfetishizing indigenous people, at the very least presented the veneer of valuing them as living beings, worthy of life. Among those writers we, of course, find Benjamin Franklin who, despite presenting a â€Å"noble savage† view of American Indians, did, it seems respect them on some level. Essays like Franklin’s â€Å"Remarks concerning the Savages of North America† remind us that while we can expect an 1800’s is a good reminder that as a reader and a writer, I need to be careful to look outside the text when I am