Chief Joseph's speech on behalf of his people, the Nez Perce, contains many traits which may be related to the literary genre and period of Realism. His simple structure and writing in the speech do not go into much detail, but this is not necessary because his message is very powerful. He is pleading with General Howard to end the battle that has occurred between each of their men. He believes that too many good men have already died just over land (Joseph 533). One may not be able to initially realize the message he is trying to send from the length and simplicity of the speech, but this is very common in Realism, to be straightforward with the text, but meaningful with the message (Quinn). Along with the basic composition of this speech, Realism is portrayed through the hero of the story, Chief Joseph. He is the typical Realism hero in that he is a seemingly ordinary man put in extraordinary situations (Regionalism). The main reason in which Chief Joseph comes off as a seemingly normal human being is that he, unlike many other war heroes of the past, just wants to end all fighting even if it means he "loses" because so many people had died already (Joseph 533). This speaks a lot about his character in that he is very wise and caring.
The overall simplicity of the story seems to be necessary not only from a Realism point of view, but it is necessary to the speech's overall effectiveness. The Chief is a simple man, and if he tried to jazz up his emotional speech, it would not have the same effect. Relating to Realism, it's simplicity is key. Many writers of this time used this technique of basic structure in their speeches mainly and writing as well in an attempt to parallel normal human interaction, because after all, Realism is an overall attempt to depict life as it truly occurs (Werlock). For example, he exhibits his meaningful simplicity in the passage where he states, "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" (Joseph 533). Chief Joseph is emotionally professing his peoples' terrible circumstances, and that there is no need for fighting at a time like this. His tendencies of exemplifying Realism really do make the speech that much more effective.
Usually, the hero in a work of Realism is just an ordinary person who is called upon to do something courageous or extraordinary (Realism). This work's hero of Chief Joseph is quite complex in this way. He could be considered an great man for leading his people in battle, yet he shows his antics of a normal human being by wanting to end all the useless fighting (Joseph). This fact seems to be more plausible since it is in fact a work of Realism, and instead of being very prideful to keep fighting, he tries to do what is best for his people, which is truly the set of extraordinary occurrences. Between this aspect of the speech and his simple yet emotional writing structure, this work could certainly be classified as Realism.
Joseph, Chief. "I Will Fight No More." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. 533. Print.
Quinn, Edward. "realism." A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006.Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gfflithem0706&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 15, 2011).
"Regionalism and Realism." American Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 486-494. Print. 26 Jan 2011.
Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Feb 13, 2011.
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