A Comparison Between “The Big Red Apples” by Zitkala Sa and “Lullaby” by Leslie Marmon Silko

Dating back to the late 19th century, numerous Native American authors penetrated the American literary sphere to engage in a cross-cultural discussion of the United States' history of Indian boarding schools as a means of assimilation for minorities into the “American” way of life. Specifically, Sioux author, Zitkala Sa, and Pueblo author, Leslie Marmon Silko contributed to the dialogue through their literary works "The Big Red Apples" and "Lullaby." I believe the two pieces remain in dialogue with one another as they both exemplify the theme of boarder crossings from divergent perspectives. Likewise, within the pages of each literary work, the author places an emphasis on the intersection of language and culture.

Beginning with Zitkala Sa's "The Big Red Apples," the author paints a vivid picture of the relationship between a mother and daughter on the reservation, as the “pale faces” enter to take multitudes of children to boarding schools in the eastern U.S. Immediately, the narrator of the story, a young Indian girl, expresses her child like curiosity to journey to " a more beautiful country than ours" despite the fact that she would be leaving her mother behind (Sa, pg. 688).

Having heard the stories, the young girl is plagued with enthusiasm to travel to new lands, attend school, and engage in the American way of life; however, she does not recognize the ambiguity of a new life in the East. Considering her daughter's desire to leave the reservation, the narrator's mother expresses her concern as she cries out "Don't believe a word they say! Their words are sweet, but, my child, their deeds are bitter. You will cry for me, but they will not even soothe you. Stay with me my little one" (Sa, pg. 659). Clearly, the "palefaces" present a threat to a mother and daughter's relationship, as well as the native culture they share.

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Despite her motherly intuition, she allows her daughter to venture to the east with the palefaces to receive an education. Although the author does not touch on the emotional impact of the mother when her daughter is taken, Sa paints a disheartening scene in which a child leaves behind the comfort of family for her future. As the palefaces abandoned the reservation, the narrator became aware of the seriousness of her decision saying, "I was in the hands of strangers whom my mother did not fully trust...I was as frightened and bewildered as the captures young of a wild creature" (Sa, pg. 660). Essentially, hindsight sets in, and the young narrator recognizes the severity of her actions.

In her decision to leave the reservation, the narrator did not understand that she would lose her relationship with her mother, cultural ties, and her native language. Ultimately, what began as child-like curiosity became heartbreaking longing for her mother in the distance. Finally, by providing insight into the daughter's border crossing, the author ensured the audience's connection to the narrator's emotional state.

Moving along to Leslie Marmon Silko's literary work "Lullaby," the author presents the point of view of a brokenhearted mother who has lost her children to the "palefaces," and their boarding schools. In an instant, Silko pulls at her audience's heart strings by opening the short story with the following quote: “Ayah was an old woman now and her life had become memories" (Silko, pg. 1580). Essentially, the author set a very disheartening tone her literary work by suggesting that Ayah's happiest years are behind her.

Following the introduction, as a reader, I struggled to grapple with the moment in which the mother signed her name for the palefaces to take her children away. From the mother's perspective, both the palefaces and their language were at fault for the dissection of her family. In the following lines, the narrator expresses her discontent as she cries out "Because it was like the old ones always told her about learning their language... it endangered you" (Silko, pg. 1583). Despite this conclusion, I believe the author sought to push her audience toward the realization that no matter where the fault was placed, nothing and no one could relieve a grieving mother.

In a similar manner, as I moved further along in the reading, and encountered the narrator's flashback, I began to understand the psychological impact children's border crossings had on their mothers that remained on the reservations. The following quote was extremely difficult to grapple with as I read on: The pain filled her stomach and there was no room for food or for her lungs to fill with air" (Silko, pg. 1583). Undoubtedly, the mother's declining physical body allows the audience to draw a parallel between the physical and emotional state of the narrator in the story. Just as the pain made it impossible to nourish her body, the absence of her children made it impossible for her to be happy. Ultimately, the imagery proved that the narrator was physically dying inside due to the loss of her children.

Comparatively, the works of Zitkala Sa and Leslie Marmon Silko provide significant windows into the emotions of Native American children and their mothers with regards to border crossings, and when read together, serve to emphasize the impact of a19th century historical reality, as well as language as an apparatus of injustice. Within each literary work we see the entry of the "palefaces" impact the dynamic between a mother and her children.

Similarly, the border crossing of Native American children served as a point of tension culturally, and emotionally for the children themselves and their mothers as they ventured to the east to experience American education and forced assimilation. Truly, the children in both stories did not have a clear understanding of what their new lives would be like, while the mothers could foresee the suffering their children would endure in a predominantly pale faced society. Likewise, "The Big Red Apples" and "Lullaby" language was the accomplice to the palefaces that snatched children from their mothers' custody.

Although academically, language served as a benefactor for the children, there was immense deception in language the moment Sa's character gave a verbal yes, as well as the moment Silko's narrator signed her name. Considering the climax of each short story, undoubtedly “Language is designed for the estrangement of minorities" just as Toni Morrison put it (Morrison, pg. 2). Essentially, I believe both tales exemplify the ambiguity of the intersection of languages and cultures within our society. Both language and border crossings have very real implications on the lives that they touch as presented by both Native authors. Overall, I believe the tales will remain in dialogue as language and culture continue to reveal their light and dark capabilities as they did in "The Big Red Apples" and "Lullaby."

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