Black Elk Speaks

Black Elk Speaks was a very interesting take on a different perspective from what we usually see. Even from just the introduction explaining what kind of work it is we're able to see how different it is - it is an example of spoken story-telling rather than something explicitly meant to be passed down through writing. Imagining this sort of tradition helps set the tone of this work, especially the idea presented in the very beginning of the scope of the story. The speaker saying that "if it were only the story of my life I think I would not tell it," but he will say it since "it is the story of all life that is holy and good to tell." Going further, the story is described as being of "children of one mother and their father is one Spirit," emphasizing the universal applicability of this story.

The sort of mindset involved with deciding what is worth passing on.

Although the story of the great vision was fascinating, the aftermath was easier to relate to, especially where Black Elk says "I was afraid to tell, because I knew that nobody would believe me, little as I was, for I was only nine years old." I myself have not experienced any similar vision that told me of a higher purpose that I am to serve (why am I really here?), but the feeling of not being taken seriously because of your age is
familiar.

Really?

The conflict that Black Elk felt when wondering if his vision had been real or not (convincing himself that it had been, and then that it hadn't again and again) was also more familiar to me than the experience of the vision itself. I think a great deal and I certainly over-think some decisions (to the point where I get fed up of myself), and when I read the section about Black Elk planning to shoot, I felt that I could understand the conflict. Similarly to Vizenor in Squirrel, Black Elk ended up shooting the frog and then regretting it immensely because of the connection he felt to it, and that conflict in the aftermath was saddening.