Analysis of The Donner Party Film - Assignment Example

1.From the film, list some of the reasons behind the emigrant’s decision to head west to California in 1846. Were some of the emigrants, who comprised the Donner Party, already successful before they left for California? If so, in what way were they successful? According to the film, why did George Donner decide to go California? What motivated him and others in the Donner Party to go? According to the list some of the emigrants decided to head west to California in 1846 due to various reasons. Jacob Donner and George Donner left for the US to get more lands. PatrickBreen left for US to live the life of his chosen religion which was catholic. Lansford Hastings saw US as a still undeveloped country which could be made very useful and profitable. Conversely, amajority of the people went to the US as an obvious destiny which was referred to as manifest destiny(The Donner Party). This destiny was a belief that American pilgrims were destined to develop the whole continent thus saw it as their justifiable land. This plus the idea of riches that awaited them with the discovery of gold them fuelled the desire to travel to California. George Donner and Jacob Donner were brothers who were already successful before they left for California. In fact the Donners are the mastermind of this journey and their opulence is portrayed in the type of wagons they hires for the family. They have three wagons each for their families.George Donner was motivated to travel by the gold discovery and free land in California. 2.Who was Alexis De Tocqueville? What was his reason for coming to America? Was De Tocqueville’s opening commentary in the film about the American people accurate at that time? Explain in some detail. Is De Tocqueville’s critique still relevant in American society today? Alexis De Tocqueville was a sociologist and political theorist of French origins. His reason for coming to America was to study the prisons of America. The study which led him to write his most acclaimed work ‘democracy in America’. Alexis opening commentary in the film was ‘American’s chase prosperity with great intensity until death eventually halts them in their tracks’(The Tragic Story of the Donner Party). Alexis opening commentary in the film was very accurate at the time this is because the Donner party scrambled to get to California in order to get more free lands, riches and other wealth they had heard of before. Some people even were already successful like the Donner family but their greed led them to travel and most of them died. It is reported that out of the 87 travellers only 48 survived the journey. Alexi’scritique is still relevant today in that Americans already have enough but they still insist on adding more by innovating high tech machines and using cutting end technology. At this rate people predict that America will self-destruct. 3.Who was Lansford W. Hastings and what was his purpose for writing and promoting his Emigrants Guide to Oregon and California? How did Hastings describe California in his guidebook? Provide specific examples. Do you think Hastings was responsible for the Donner Party’s tragedy? Explain. What was the impact of James Reeds decision, and his words, ''There's a nigher route and we might as well take it. Lansford W. Hastings was a main character in the Donner party. He is widely known for convincing the Donner party travellers using his self-made maps. His maps included a shortcut called Hastings cutoff(Graphic Library).His purpose for writing and promoting his emigrants to California is because he had earlier visited these areas and had noticed the place was undeveloped. Thus in aiding emigrants he saw prosperity that came with them settling in California because of the developments he would make. In his guide book Hastings described California as a rich place with good soils and rich fertile mountains and valleys and plains which are rich in alluvial soil from the Nile river(Stewart, 95). The stones are only marble, basalt and other stones that can be used instead of soap. He says ‘its land is arable and pasturable lands thus peculiarly suited’(Hastings,151). Generally, Hastings praises California and builds an amazing picture almost perfect picture of California. Hastings was responsible for the Donner’s party tragedy. This is because he misleads them that there was a shortcut that could lead them to California in a short while. He gave out this information based on speculation since he had never set foot himself on these parts of the terrain. James reed decision to take the ‘nigher route’ was disastrous and even after getting lost he still takes another disastrous decision of venturing in unmapped forest instead of going back and taking the route he was earlier advised on. It has been argued that it was innate and insatiable desire and the innate desires of men to have greed for money and wealth that they make foolish decision in this case to reach their journey quickly and attain their hearts desires. The impact of that decision is that they get stuck and take a while month to cross the salt lake. 4.Lansford Hastings Emigrant Guide to Oregon and California provided his readers with his own personal depiction of California’s native inhabitants (Indians), Mexican settlers, priests, and government officials. Referencing chapter 12 of Hastings guidebook, describe how Hastings depicted each group mentioned above in some detail. When Hastings wrote about the foreigners in California, to what groups of people was he referring? How did Hastings portray these foreigners? Hastings described Mexican to be destructive people who are reckless and misuse resources. He says that they are also unkind and pull oxen with their horns instead of their necks. Mexicans kill three to four beeves only to throw them away. Hastings states that Mexican support corrupt leaders as he says, ‘…Mexicans now determined to make one last desperate effort to redeem his lost character…’(Hastings,119). Indians are described as servants to be used by settlers and they offer cheap labor. He says Indians are good at certain jobs like paddling canoes, hunting or riding horses. He portrays them as not being violent when he says, ‘…but we seldom hear of their being killed by Indians…’(Hastings,150). Infact Indian names are synonymous with the word friendly as they pose not threat to the settlers. Hastings portrays priests as very clever people. He states, ‘…learning and intelligence appear to be confined almost entirely to the priests who are both learned and intelligent…’ (Hastings,114). However they oppress the poor by keeping too much livestock. They are also portrayed as greedy and materialistic I that a priest asks for dividends from the son of a deceased wealthy farmer. They are cunning because the priest pretends to ask for that money under the pretext that the deceased farmer refused to pay his dues at the church. These officials took law into their hands and extended their jurisdictions. Some people are not happy with the going on of the officials while some take their punishment and leave. Hasting states, ‘…and is not this a gross neglect of our governments thus to permit its citizens to be chained…’(Hastings,121). When Hastings wrote about foreigners in California he was talking about the Indians and Mexicans. He portrayed them a people who had invaded American land and should be driven off by the settlers. In fact the Mexicans faced the harsh part of this notion as Indians were not seen as threat. 5.After reading Tamsen Donners brief biography, reading a few selected excerpts from her letters, and seeing her depicted in the film, did you gain any insight about her life and American women in general regarding marriage, family, education, and career opportunities in the mid-1800s? Explain. What personal tragedy happened to her while living in North Carolina and where did she find solace? What did Tamsen mean when she wrote to trace every incident in life to a Supreme power and realize that it is also the expression of goodness? Women in the 1800s were inferior beings and overly sexualized. Tamsen says in one of her letters that women had to be married by twenty years which is a bit harsh to force marriage on a young adult. Education according to Tamsen was only for the rich people and was not vey valued among the poor society. Careeropportunities were also limited in that Tamsen can only get a job as a school teacher and nothing else. Tamsen faced a lot of tragedies in North Carolina. She lost her first born son to influenza on 28th of September. Her husband soon followed on 24th of December and she had an early birth but the daughter died on the 18th of November. This series of misfortune made Tamsen one bitter melancholic dispirited woman as her life in North Carolina was never the same again. She found solace in teaching and being a school teacher. Tamsen meant that she has left everything in the hands of God who is the holder of supreme power and that whatever happens in our lives even bad things it is Gods goodness, his expression of goodness and love. 6.Define the term Forlorn Hope. Why do you think that all five women who comprised the Forlorn Hope survived, while most of the men died? In fact, of the 81 men, women, and children who were stranded in the Sierra Mountains, two-thirds of the women survived and two-thirds of the men died. What is your opinion about these numbers? Forlorn hope is group of combatants chosen to lead the group in a high risk operation. In the forlorn hope of Donner party all five women survived while most of the men died. This is because women are more resistant to challenging situations and adapt easily than men. Furthermore, women have more fat reserves than men which protected them in the icy cold of the snow. In addition, men are usually more vulnerable and have high mortality rates even in the real world as compared to women. 7.Provide information on three (3) of the following people listed who either survived, or were directly involved with the Donner Party tragedy, James Frazier Reed, Patrick Breen, Sarah Graves Fosdick, Louis Keseberg, mountain man James Clyman, and Lansford W. Hastings. Patrick Breen He was born in 1806 in Ireland but lived in Iowa. Breen had a wife and seven children when they decide to travel to California with the Donner party. He survived the journey and even wrote down a diary which was later used by historians. He is among the first people who talked about cannibalism among the travellers. He also talk’s about the weather conditions, the leather hides eating and the frequent death of travelling companions. Sarah graves Fosdick She was the daughter of franklin ward graves and Elizabeth cooper. She was the wife of jay Fosdick and she was among the survivors at 21 years of age. She is survived by six children George, Alonzo, Lloyd, William, Eleanor and Alice. Sarah’s journey with the Donner party happened at the last minute when she hastily married her friend jay Fosdick. Unfortunately Fosdick did not survive the journey to California. Sarah later married William dill Ritchie who was beaten by mob justice to death. Lastly, she briefly married Samuel spires and soon died of a heart attack. She was 46 years old by then. Lansford Hastings Hastings was born in 1819 in Ohio and was a lawyer by profession. He is famously known to have developed the guide that misled the Donner party team, a guide called the Hasting’s cutoff. He was also an author and an adventurer. He married Charlotte Toler and is reported to have many children. He succumbed to yellow fever in 1870 at St. Thomas. Works Cited Hastings, Lansford W. The Emigrant's Guide to Oregon and California: Containing Scenes and Incidents of a Party of Oregon Emigrants, a Description of Oregon, Scenes and Incidents of a Party of California Emigrants, and a Description of California, with a Description of the Different Routes to Those Countries, and All Necessary Information Relative to the Equipment, Supplies, and the Method of Traveling. Bedford, MA: Applewood Books, 1994. Print. Stewart, George R. Ordeal by Hunger: The Story of the Donner Party. , 1988. Internet resource. Graphic Library. Mankato, Minnesota: Capstone Press, 2007. Print. "The Donner Party." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. . "The Tragic Story of the Donner Party." The Tragic Story of the Donner Party.Web. 2 Dec. 2014. . Read More