Indians Essay, Research Paper

In her argumentative essay, Jane Tompkins, an avid reader and researcher of the European-Indian relationships, delves into one of the most perplexing aspects of studying history in our world. Because we are such a diverse society–continuously prioritizing the fight for our own causes, there is much room left for the entrance of cultural subjectivity and perspective. For example, all of the books Tompkins referred to were authored by writers and researchers of different eras and backgrounds. Thus, Tompkins exemplifies that their works yield extremely differing testimony. In addition, depending on a particular readers heritage, their own self-interest and miscellaneous perspectives, there will also be varying conclusions about the books and European-Indian relations as a whole. Tompkins essay is an amazing, extremely grounded and well-rounded argument exploring and exploiting every avenue and nearly every written perspective concerning European-Indian relations. She lays the foundation of her argument on a personal reflection about her childhood encounters with Indians at a festival in New York City. With this interlude, she also introduces her perspective when she described Indians as creatures totally of the imagination (Tompkins 673). She then builds on this platform when she explains how her curiosity exploded as she prepared to teach a course on colonial American literature. Through these sequential, brief encounters, she exposes her audience to the birth of her interest in this particular topic that smoothly proceeds her actual research and argument.

Bit by bit, she picks apart each book, citing quotations and expanding on each author s perspective. Surprisingly, at the end of her conversational argument, she concludes that though she agrees with various aspects of each author s argument, she cannot, however, except any of these facts as her own. Tompkins cites that although she does not have a conclusive answer concerning the European-Indian relationships, her theory certainty exists in some form of contemporary literary theory (Tompkins 687). At the conclusion of Jane Tompkins work, I was slightly perplexed. Though I believe I have a clear understanding of her message concerning argumentative writing, I am not sure I really followed her redundant, circular diction (pages 688-9). But I believe she therefore, concludes, however, that many facts (not all though!) are often subject to the pliability of perspective. Through an extremely well organized compilation of research, analysis, and argument, Tompkins raises many issues of subjective perspective, culturalism and fact that potentially plague the history and perception of our world.