Is Black Elk's Vision Correct?
Black Elk Essay
Religion, although a very sensitive and ambiguous topic, has always been an extremely influential force in many people’s lives. This influence may be attributed to a great number of things: holy words, priests, pastors, general codes of moral, traditional feasts, religious teachings, etc… While many people may be impacted by outside events, some people get the gratification, or displeasure, of being able to experience a bona fide religious calling. Black Elk is one of these people. But religious experiences, in general, are very difficult to interpret and sometimes even harder to believe. Is Black Elk’s vision correct? Is it even authentic? And if so, is it valid? To start off, for this situation, I define correct to mean something that was accurately reported. Sincere, on the other hand, I define to mean someone that truly believes what he or she is saying. Because Black Elk was nine when he experienced this religious vision, he may not have remembered the many excruciating details that he claims to have remembered. These details include, but are not limited to, the lyrics of the First Grandfather’s song “They are appearing, may you behold” (The Sixth Grandfather, 117). This inaccuracy does not make Black Elk entirely incorrect; it simply means that Black Elk has reported his experience as best and as sophisticated as he could considering his nine-year-old brain. He may have elaborated and polished his story, but the essence of …show more content…
The label that cannot be determined is the validity of Black Elk’s vision; there are just too many contexts and aspects to consider. Despite all the controversy and speculation over the correctness, authenticity, and validity of Black Elk’s vision, it is revolutionary, intriguing, and definitely worth pondering
Religion, although a very sensitive and ambiguous topic, has always been an extremely influential force in many people’s lives. This influence may be attributed to a great number of things: holy words, priests, pastors, general codes of moral, traditional feasts, religious teachings, etc… While many people may be impacted by outside events, some people get the gratification, or displeasure, of being able to experience a bona fide religious calling. Black Elk is one of these people. But religious experiences, in general, are very difficult to interpret and sometimes even harder to believe. Is Black Elk’s vision correct? Is it even authentic? And if so, is it valid? To start off, for this situation, I define correct to mean something that was accurately reported. Sincere, on the other hand, I define to mean someone that truly believes what he or she is saying. Because Black Elk was nine when he experienced this religious vision, he may not have remembered the many excruciating details that he claims to have remembered. These details include, but are not limited to, the lyrics of the First Grandfather’s song “They are appearing, may you behold” (The Sixth Grandfather, 117). This inaccuracy does not make Black Elk entirely incorrect; it simply means that Black Elk has reported his experience as best and as sophisticated as he could considering his nine-year-old brain. He may have elaborated and polished his story, but the essence of …show more content…
The label that cannot be determined is the validity of Black Elk’s vision; there are just too many contexts and aspects to consider. Despite all the controversy and speculation over the correctness, authenticity, and validity of Black Elk’s vision, it is revolutionary, intriguing, and definitely worth pondering