No soul

Gustavo Quintero
English 48B
March 12, 2008
Journal #42 Zitkala Sa



Quote:
"I cried aloud, shaking my head all the while until I felt the cold blades of the scissors against my neck, and heard them gnaw off one of my thick braids. Then I lost my spirit'(Sa 1116).



Summary:
After the missionaries find Sa hiding underneath a bed, she is sat into a chair to have her hair cut into a short and uniform manner.



Response:
Zitkala Sa says that in the Native-American culture the only two times you would cut you hair was when you were in mourning or when a coward enemy warrior was captured. She also says that a Native-American with short hair is a coward. At the boarding schools all the children have their hair cut so that whatever little pride they had is completely stripped away from them. On her arrival to the school she is first forced to take off her moccasins and later then forced to wear a tight fitting dress. The very last thing that still shows that she is Native-American is her hair. Her hair acts as her identity and a bridge to her culture and roots. That's what makes it such a traumatic experience when her hair is cut. Not only is she shut quiet, by not being allowed to speak her tongue, but she is now spiritually shut quiet. Her soul is dead. This was the missionaries way of breaking the Native-American down into absolutely nothing. I found this quote to have an extreme importance and power the first time I read it. After I read the part about her soul it really put into perspective just how sad and terrible the boarding schools were to the minds of these young children. Take for example the older man that was being interviewed in the you tube video about his experience at the charlise school. You could see and feel the hurt and humiliation that he had faced from having having his hair cut. Obviously the hair of the Native-American is a treasured part of who they are and for the missionaries to cut their hair with no remorse is a travesty. This is a very powerful image that really shows just how terrible an experience that boarding schools were to these young children. The very last symbol that kept Sa from becoming just like the white people is her hair and this is the very symbol that is taken away from her. Now she is a Native-American with no soul.