Crazy Horse and Custer essays

Crazy Horse and Custer essays Stephen Ambrose, in his dual biography entitled Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors, recounts a vision of young Crazy Horse in which he was given advice by a mysterious warrior that, if followed, would give him a powerful medicine of invulnerability against arrow and bullet alike (Ambrose 68). Despite the historically accurate nature of the story, there is very real symbolism found in this dream, best suited for a young brave seeking his identity on the Plains. This vision event could fall into a number of benchmarks within Campbells Cosmogonic Cycle and the adventure of the hero. For example, it might represent the call to adventure, a time when Crazy Horse (or Curly, as he was known then) found his place within the tribe as a great warrior of powerful skill and constitution. It is more likely, however, that the vision marks the supernatural aid, a helpful force beyond human comprehension, perhaps from the world of the Great Sprit, or simply the hidden wisdom of the mind, unlocked through hunger and hardship (Campbell, 69). This vision, regarded as spiritual fate, was much more than prediction; whatever the vision proscribed for the dreamer, it was wakan, and never to be disregarded (Ambrose 67). This also marks the crossing of Crazy Horses first threshold (Campbell 77). The sequence of symbols and images, although not interpreted until later, represent the rest of his life, from his battle rituals to his untimely death at the hands of the white man. Although some ambiguity exists as to what entity might represent the Threshold Monster, the most likely explanation would be that Curly himself is the monster, and a great deal of self-discovery and conquering of personal fear must take place before any individual growth can be accomplished. In terms of symbolic importance, the dream is unquestionably key. It carries ma ...