I Will Fight No More Forever

Chief Joseph was the leader of Nez Perce during the attempted evacuation of from their land by the US military. His very short story "I Will Fight No More Forever" tells the heart wrenching tale of the abysmal conditions the Nez Perce were put through when the United States military attempted to forcefully relocate them and put them in a government run preservation. Because of the bleak, depressing, and shockingly truthful nature of the story it is categorized as a naturalist piece of work using common themes and characteristics of naturalism stories.

As defined by Sommers, naturalism is "naturalism was a literary movement based on the writings of the scientist Charles Darwin, author of Origin of Species (1859). More specifically, naturalist authors were largely interested in maintaining Darwin's suppositions that human beings were soulless creatures, "merely higher-order animals," bereft of free will, whose mannerisms and behavior resulted primarily from their heredity and the influences of a capricious environment (Abrams 261)." With these ideas in mind it is simple to see how "I Will Fight No More Forever" falls into the naturalist category with the theme of despair and the trail of destruction and misery that seems to tread on the Nez Pearce tribe. Joseph writes of the intense despair of the people who follow him and miserable conditions they must put up with in lines like, "It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are--perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead (553.)" The content of this line explains the dire situation the Indians were facing, and the all but real situation they were in due to the tyranny and injustice of the US military and their unjust actions they were taking against the Indians.

Unlike most naturalist settings that were written about life in the city and revealed the abysmal conditions of some of the lower parts of the city such as the slums, "I Will Fight No More Forever" reveals the abysmal conditions that some of societies lesser respected people were receiving because of their skin color, and the fact that most whites viewed them as an inferior race when compared with their own. Thinking they were "less than human" and not worthy of respect and proper treatment. This kind of racism had it's effects and the effects were revealed in Chief Joseph's writing, and his portrayal of the cruel injustices of the world that his people had to suffer through were enough to categorize his work as a naturalist piece. His use of the gritty truth shocked people due to the horrendous journey the Indian people were facing due to white greed and cruelty. Because of the revealing nature of the story with it's emphasis on reality and no mention of good or their chance for the American Dream the Nez Perce writer Chief Joseph cemented himself and his short story as a Naturalism masterpiece that would be remembered for years to come.

Sommers, Joseph Michael. "naturalism." In Maunder, Andrew.Facts On File Companion to the British Short Story. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CBSS450&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 16, 2011).

Joseph, Chief. "I Will Fight No More Forever." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 533