Noble and Ignoble: The Development of Two Savage Stereotypes : 1665-1860

It had to be one thing to travel for such long periods of time to a land you had never seen, but another matter to confront people with a look and language all their own. I cannot imagine what the pilgrims and Indians must have thought about each other for the first time. What is sad is how Americans were able to fabricate a national feeling about "American Indians" as savage and primitive. While the times must have been difficult and enveloped with a notion of fear around every corner, the new Americans were quick to judge and mold the Indians into a vicious character that would be more entertaining on screen. The creation of the noble savage did not even come around until the 1820s during the romanticism influence on American writers. Still, we know today that the overall view of Indians is more of the savage, drunkard, primitive type. All I can hope is that our history books teach our children the truth about the pilgrims and the Indians and leave all the drama and exaggerations out.