Revenge and Assimilation

                Two general things that jumped out at me in Hope Leslie were Mononotto’s revenge for his lost son and Faith Leslie’s assimilation into the Indian tribe after her capture.  These events were interesting to me because they both occur in other stories involving Native Americans.  I assume that events like these did happen during and after colonial times, but I find it interesting that there is such a focus on these things in American culture (i.e. The Last of the Mohicans, Dances with Wolves, American Westerns, etc.).  Even more so, there is also a reoccurrence of revenge followed by some sort of salvation or sacrifice, as seen in Magawisca’s saving of Everell, in many stories (i.e. John Smith Journals or Pocahontas story, The Last of the Mohicans, loosely in The Scarlet Letter).

                In my opinion, these reoccurring themes in literature are a form of historiography, or rewriting history through literature and blurring the lines of fact and fiction.  I feel that both the revenge and assimilation found in Hope Leslie and these other stories create clear dividing lines between Native Americans and Colonists; many times these interactions shift the focus from the Native American experience to the Colonist’s experience living as an Native American or how Colonists are in some way affected by Native Americans.  I think that there are other reasons why these themes are often brought out in American Culture.  However, I was curious as to how people may interpret these reoccurring themes.