Dances With Wolves

Dances With Wolves Chapter Summary, Chapter 1

The first chapter introduces the protagonist of the story, Lieutenant Dunbar, a soldier who is posted to the frontier. The time is during the American Civil War. Dunbar is at Fort Hays, but talks to Major Fambrough about being posted on the prairie. Major Fambrough, who appears as a little insane, agrees and sends him to Fort Sedgewick. He goes there with a peasant called Timmons. In the meantime, the same fort is being abandoned by Captain Cargill, who is waiting for a wagon with his eighteen out of an original fifty-eight man, while the others mostly deserted or are dead.

Interpretation/stylistic devices
subchapter 1
p.1, l.4 ``rolling ocean of grass'' is surely a metaphore, as grass can not be a ``rolling ocean''. As you probably know, the ocean is an archetypal symbol of life, thus throwing a certain light on the prairie. Timmons spits into the grass - this shows his disrespect for nature, which Dunbar does not like at all (``Dunbar didn't say anything, but Timmon's incessant spitting made him recoil inwardly.''). The fact that Major Fambrough is calling himself ``king'' refers to the feudal system. Combined with the insanity of the major, this surely expresses criticism on this system. Another criticism is that the American society has been founded as to escape these feudal structures in Europe. But once again the American Dream has failed, the army uses exactly the same structures. Another interesting scene in this context is that Major Fambrough says ``My seal will guarantee your safe conduct through one hundred and fifty miles of heathen territory''. This shows the ignorance of Major Fambrough or the army in general towards other cultures and religions.

subchapter 3
In the beginning of this subchapter, we get to know about another loose tooth that Captain Cargill has. Thus, not even knowing anything about him, we can conclude that he loses his strength and his healthiness (note how teeth are used in other novels, for example in 1984 - loose teeth represent Winston's fading strength, both mentally and physically). Talking about the stream (which is of course an archetypal symbol of life as well), Cargill and his man have polluted it - ``trash lined its banks'', this shows their disrespect for nature and life. ``[...] the men of Fort Sedgewick, who looked more like a band of hideously abused prisoners [...]''. That they are compared to prisoners underlines once again that they have failed, as prisoners are people who have failed in society, these man have failed in establishing the fort.

On page 10, a solitary wolf (probably the one which is later to be named ``Two Socks'') appears, but decides that ``this dead place was better left alone'' shows again the already mentioned destruction and disrespect for nature, as they have given up the place, but the animals can not yet reclaim it, because everything is rotting and the place is polluted. The next paragraph is rather important as far as Blake's criticism is concerned. ``And so the abandonment of the army's most remote outpost, the spearhead of a grand scheme to drive civilization deep into the heart of the frontier, became complete'' This shows the attitude the army has towards the frontier and the people living on it (i.e. the Indians). The violent imagery Blake has chosen within this paragraph says a lot: ``the spearhead'' which ``drives civilization deep into the heart of the frontier'' surely is not positively bringing civilization to the frontiert (but what is civilization anyway white culture or Indian rites and religion) but forcing it onto the people living there and even destroying them.

subchapter 4
The only minor interesting point that is mentioned in subchapter four is that it is Dunbar's ``long-standing dream'' to serve on the frontier, thus showing his personal utopia, which he is eager to establish (urging Timmons to get going)

Dances With Wolves Chapter Summary, Chapter 2

Captain Cargill and his men meet a large army surveying party and arrive at Fort Hays four days later. Fort Sedgewick is officially abandened by the United States government - it becomes a nonplace. Captain Cargill is becoming a hero and is promoted to major. Cargill learns that Major Fambrough has gone totally insane and thus has left the fort. Thus, Lieutenant Dunbar's existence is only known to Timmons.

Interpretation/stylistic devices
This chapter is filled with irony and criticism on the army. Captain Cargill does not get arrested for abandoning the fort but even gets promoted. The fact that Fort Sedgewick is now declared a ``nonplace'' shows once again the ignorance and narrow-mindedness of these people - everything not ``connected with the United States government'' is a nonplace for them. Captain Cargill and his men also speculate on what the driver of the wagon would do - ``if he was smart, he would continue west, selling off the provisions at various trading posts along the way''. This shows that corruption and not having a sense of duty are normal traits of character for them, implying harsh criticism on the army, of course.

Dances With Wolves Chapter Summary, Chapter 3

Lieutenant Dunbar and Timmons arrive at Fort Sedgewick. They realize that it is abandoned and Timmons suggests to turn around and go back to Fort Hayes, but Lieutenant Dunbar insists on staying at the frontier and forces Timmons with his gun into helping him unload.

Interpretation/stylistic devices
It is interesting to notice that Dunbar does not turn around and returns to Fort Hays or sells the provisions, as suggested by Captain Cargill and his men, but has a sense of duty and stays at the fort. But the deeper reason for staying is that he ``had wanted the frontier most of all'', which shows that Lieutenant Dunbar is someone who sticks to his dreams. But Dunbar is not in all respects positive - sometimes he becomes a ``mindless, lethal machine that couldn't be turned off''. This somehow relativizes the view the reader might have of Lieutenant Dunbar as an ideal character.Timmon's death appears on the scene, which is probably foreshadowing his assasination by Pawnees in the next chapter.

Dances With Wolves Chapter Summary, Chapter 4

Timmon's leaves the fort at sunset. Dunbar is not able to sleep at night because of the sounds of nature and doubts starting to arise, but in the end, he fights his doubts and falls asleep. In the meantime, six Pawnees are watching a fire - Timmon's fire - and debate whether they should attack, because they only had bad luck in their first attacks. When one warrior starts to ride towards the smoke, the others follow him, kill Timmon's violently, plunder his supplies and burn his wagon. Thus, a circle is closed: noone knows about the whereabouts of Lieutenant John J. Dunbar.

Interpretation/stylistic devices
``Timmons pulled out at twilight'' - twillight as the beginning of darkness, which itself represents evil and death this is clearly foreshadowing Timmon's death. Interesting to notice is that Dunbar can not sleep because of the sounds of nature. This shows that he is not yet in harmony with nature. He also resists doubt and temptation, at night his emotions, feelings, fears and his subconsciousness are present and influence him mostly. The first Indians that appear are not better than the whites, they are ``lethal machines'' like Dunbar is one sometimes. In this context, their disregard for woman is interesting (``[...] he could no longer ride with women.''). It shows that they are also missing their female part (explained in detail in the interpretation of the next chapter). Timmon's death is interesting because he is killed because of his ignorance - ``he should have known enough to make a smokeless fire''. If he knew more about the Indians, he would not have made this fault and probably would not have been killed. The way they kill him (violently, plundering and destructive - burning his wagon) underlines once again the brutality of the Pawnees and their not being superior to the white race.

Dances With Wolves Chapter Summary, Chapter 5

Dunbar sees a wolf in the morning but does not frighten it off because he notices that it is only curious. He invents duties for himself, beginning with cleanup-operations - cleaning up the trash Cargill and his men have left in his

environment. He sets the pile of scum ablaze, but realizes soon that this means inviting Indians to the fort. He makes his first diary entry and plans new duties like making an awning and a window for the hut. When he falls asleep, he begins to dream vividly. He is in a field hospital where doctors discuss where to amputate his foot, finally bashing each other with other amputated limbs. Dunbar escapes through a field of corpses who try to shoot him, but Dunbar kills them all. A woman appears and offers him his amputated foot. When he awakes in shock, he reflects on the real situation behind his nightmare. He had been wounded in his foot and when doctors had talked about amputating his foot, he escaped and rejoined his unit. There he decides that he can not stand the pain and wants to commit suicide. But this does not work as the enemy's bullets do not hit him. His act is looked on as an act of bravery and the general's personal physician heals his foot. The general grants him a wish and Dunbar tells him that he wants to be posted on the frontier and that he wants to keep the horse - Cisco.

Interpretation/stylistic devices
The first interesting point to mention in this chapter is his encounter with the wolf - he does not scare it off, thus showing his respect for nature and the beginning of a harmonious relationship to nature. This is as well underlined by his cleanup-operations - ``he found the dumping ground a complete disgrace''. By this, Blake shows the differences between Dunbar and the common soldiers who abused the stream as a dumping ground without even thinking about it. For the first time, it is shown that Dunbar has pioneer qualities, he shapes the land and is being shaped (``[...] felt a little swelling of pride in what he had done.''). The plans he has for the awning and the window for the hut show once more his sense of duty. The plan to build a window can also be interpreted as an escape from the narrow-mindedness of the army, a window representing openness and contact to the world outside the window. The dream scene is probably one of the most important and most interesting to interpret. The doctors bashing each other with the amputated limbs show their disrespect for people and the treatment of human beings as only ``cases'' to be worked on. The woman offering him his amputated foot shows that Dunbar is missing his female parts every human being has. By giving him his foot back, she ``completes'' Dunbar. That she is dressed only in men's pants shows that she is not meant to be a specific woman, but the general missing female part. If everyone had this female part, the civil war would not be taking place - such an unnatural thing like ``brother killing brother'' (cf. Cain and Abel) can only happen if man is only man or to be more precise: neurotic because of his missing female parts. The real background behind it is quite ironical - Dunbar is rewarded because he wanted to commit suicide. The feelings of General Tipton (he has a ``deep and genuine concern'') are mentioned to be rare in high-ranking officers this is surely criticism on the army - individuals count nothing during wartime. Another criticism expressed by this story is Blake's criticism on education - General Tipton ``did something he had not done since childhood'', thus he has been told not to express his emotions, which is surely not a good education.

Dances With Wolves Chapter Summary, Chapter 6

Dunbar begins to construct the awning, eagerly so that he hurts his hands at first, but soon decides to set his own pace. He rides into the prairie with Cisco, where he meets the wolf again. It follows them and appears every afternoon from then on. Dunbar decides to name it Two Socks.

Interpretation/stylistic devices
The ``old pocket watch that had been his father's'' stands for tradition and civilization. That it stops, symbolizes that Dunbar is now no longer bound to tradition and civilization, but can decide himself, what matters for him (``What did time matter to him now?''). The story about time and its value is surely a criticism of the Puritan ideas of commercializing time (``Time is money''). This can be seen by Dunbar's expression ``How good it will be to live without time for a while'' and his reflections on ``how much more efficient it would be to work when a person felt like it, to eat when a person was hungry, to sleep when a person was sleepy''. This does not only criticize the commercializing of time, but the value of money, as money can be equated with time in Puritan ideas. Money is not important on the frontier, and as one can see, Dunbar can lead quite a happy life without ever be striving for money. That Dunbar is giving up his old structures can also be seen when he rides Cisco without a saddle (``The only army here was him''), also showing his improved relationship to nature. In subchapter three, Dunbar sees the wolf again. This wolf is clearly a symbol of nature, which can be seen that he is described as of ``signified age'' and as having ``wisdom''. The destruction of nature (cf. the pollution of the river) can be seen by the ``old scar'' Two Socks has. Dubar shows now more interest in nature, thus one can see that man and nature are interdependent - Two Socks is a companion for Dunbar and the other way round (cf. the ``longing'' in Two Socks eyes).

Dances With Wolves Chapter Summary, Chapter 7

Dunbar finishes the construction of the awning and sews out a window in the sod hut. Two Socks visits him daily and one evening, Dunbar offers him a chunk of bacon rind. He rides into the prairie day by day, but does not see neither Indians nor buffalos. Two Socks is curious and follows them at a distance of fifty yards.

Interpretation/stylistic devices
In chapter 7, Dunbar finally completes his plan of sewing out a window in the sod hut. This shows his openness compared to the narrow-mindedness of Cargill and his men. He gives Two Socks a chunk of bacon rind, thus showing his respect for and interest in nature. The fact that he is missing a ``female element'', as mentioned in the interpretation of the dream, is also mentioned explicitly within this chapter (``and when the lieutenant thought of this missing element, he would drop his chin and stare morosely at nothing''). After giving Two Socks something to eat, he seems even more interested in Dunbar, following him now even closer. The distance, which is getting smaller day by day shows that Dunbar is more and more getting used and interested in nature

Dances With Wolves Chapter Summary, Chapter 8

Dunbar sees a smoky brown cloud on the horizon and thinks that it is a prairie fire. But the cloud is not a fire at all, but Comanches returning from their winter to their summer camp. Dunbar starts washing his clothes and decides to wash even the clothes he has got on him. The medicine man of the tribe, Kicking Bird, goes out for a ride and sees that the fort is inhabitated, contrary to what he expected. He tries to steal Cisco, but the naked Dunbar hinders him from doing so. The Indian runs off terrified having never seen a naked white man before.

Interpretation/stylistic devices
Dunbar's nakedness is just another step to perfect harmony with nature. That he shaves his beard shows that he still clings to his civilized roots, his harmony with nature does not mean falling into savagery. Dunbar "had cultivated a new appreciation for detail" during his time on the prairie, which supports Kicking Bird's criticism on the white race and shows once again Dunbar's superiority towards the "normal" white soldier. Another piece of army criticism is contained in the sub-chapter where Kicking Bird reflects on the white race: "they lived without their greatest chiefs" says it all. Being naked, Dunbar feels like a "true citizen of the prairie". This clearly points to the idea of the New Adam Dunbar feels like an inhabitant of paradise.

Dances With Wolves Chapter Summary, Chapter 9

Dunbar prepares the fort for an Indian attack by burying his provisions and staying in uniform and armed all the time. After some hesitation, Kicking Bird tells the story to Ten Bears, the most influential man in the band, who decides to call a council on this topic. The opinions range from going there and shooting arrows into him to sending a delegation to talk with him. But in the end, no solution is found about what to do with the white man who is considered to maybe be a god. Three Comanche teenagers hear about this and decide to steal his horse. They achieve it easily, as Dunbar is sleeping when they are coming, but in the middle of their way back home, Cisco breaks out and rides back to the fort. Horn Bull's son breaks his arm and thus they can not keep the story secretly.

Interpretation/stylistic devices
Because of the encounter with an Indian, Dunbar's close relationship to nature is somehow destroyed - he has no time for Two Socks and goes everywhere in full uniform. Within this chapter, there are again allutions to the idea of theNew Adam, for example that the Indians think of him as a god or that Ten Bears thinks that "the being Kicking Bird had seen was the first of a whole new race of people" - which probably also foreshadows the soon to come amalgamation between the white and the Indian culture. 42183082

Interesting to notice is that the Indians let themselves time to think about and to decide on what to do with the white man - compared to army decisions, this is rather unusual. "the sky turning pink in the east" - the rising sun in the east as an archetypal symbol of a new beginning shows that a new time has begun for him - the Indians will come sooner or later and then, he is the "new kid in school".

Synopsis
The film opens during a lull in a battle of the US Civil War. Union Army Officer Lieutenant John J. Dunbar has learned that his injured leg is to be amputated. Seeing the plight of fellow soldiers with amputated legs, Dunbar decides to attempt suicide by riding a horse across the line of fire, between the opposing Union and Confederate positions. His action has the unexpected effect of rallying his comrades, who then storm the Confederate positions. After the ensuing battle, Dunbar is named a hero by his commanding officer, and his leg is saved by the general's surgeon. He is offered his choice of next posting, and given Cisco, the horse who carried him. Dunbar requests a transfer to the western frontier. After meeting with a major (Maury Chaykin) who has slipped into delusions of grandeur (He apparently thinks he is a king, and Dunbar a medieval knight.) he is paired with a Teamster named Timmons (Robert Pastorelli) who would take him to his post. He arrives with fresh post supplies at the desolate Fort Sedgewick, and finds it deserted except for a lone wolf, whom Dunbar befriends and dubs Two Socks, on account of the coloring of his front legs. Dunbar sets himself to clean up and set in order the deserted post, while waiting for reinforcements to arrive. Dunbar eventually encounters the local Sioux-Lakota American Indian tribe. (In the book, Dunbar interacts with the Comanche.) Some Sioux youths hear that Dunbar is at the old fort and attempt to capture Cisco in order to become heroes. Dunbar's horse escapes by pulling off the rider holding on his bridle and returns to the post. This happens again later when several adult members of the tribe try to take the horse but the man holding the horse's reins is again pulled off and the horse escapes. Dunbar now believes that his wait was for nothing and decides to go to the Sioux village to talk but discovers an injured European American woman named Stands With A Fist, who is wearing Indian clothing, and speaking only the Lakota language. Dunbar returns the woman to the tribe for treatment. Initially the Sioux are suspicious and wary, but begin to accept Dunbar after they visit the fort and begin simple communication. Eventually a dialogue is opened when the medicine man, Kicking Bird, asks Stands With A Fist to translate between himself and Dunbar. Dunbar finds himself more and more drawn to the lifestyle and customs of his Indian neighbors. He becomes a hero among the Sioux, and is accepted as an honorary member of the tribe after he helps the Sioux to locate a large migrating herd of buffalo, upon which they are dependent as a source of nourishment, supplies, and clothing. Dunbar also helps defend the settlement against a Pawnee raiding party, providing the Sioux warriors with surplus rifles and ammunition from the fort. He eventually is accepted as a full member of the tribe, and is named Shu-mani-tu-tonka Ob' Wa-chi (the eponymous "Dances with Wolves"), after the scouts witnessed him frolicking with Two Socks, the wolf that follows Dunbar. He then marries Stands With A Fist and spends more time communing with the tribe than manning his post at Fort Sedgwick. Dunbar's idyll ends when he must tell Kicking Bird that white men will continue to invade their land in numbers like the stars. They tell Chief Ten Bears, who decides it is time to move the village to its winter camp. As the final packing finishes, Dunbar realizes that his journal, left behind at the deserted fort, is a blueprint for finding the Sioux. It also reveals that

he knows far too much about their ways. He returns to retrieve it, but finds Fort Sedgwick is reoccupied by reinforcing Army troops, who arrest and beat him as a deserter. Afterwards he is escorted by Army Officers and troopers away from Sedgwick when a rescue party attacks the column of men. He is rescued by Wind In His Hair and other warriors from the tribe, as well as Smiles A Lot who later finds Dunbar's journal floating away in a stream. After returning to the winter camp Dunbar realizes that as a deserter and fugitive, if he stays with the Sioux he will continue to draw the unwelcome attention of the Army, and endanger the welfare of the tribe. Dunbar decides that he must leave the tribe, saying he must speak to those who would listen. His new wife accompanies him. As Dunbar/Dances With Wolves and Stands With A Fist leave the camp they hear Wind In His Hair cry out that Dances with Wolves will always be his friend. A short time later a column of cavalry and Indian scouts arrive to find the camp site empty.