The Silent Retreat: Indian Removals Represented by Hobomok and the PioneersSay no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get an original essay The historicity of the expulsions of Indians that took place in the 19th century in the United States has been embellished in literature and dramatized in the cinema. The most poignant of Indian removals occurred during the presidency of Martin Van Buren, who enforced a treaty that led to the Trail of Tears, a grueling migration that resulted in the deaths of nearly 4,000 Cherokee Indians. The policy of pushing Native American tribes into lands west of the Mississippi River is often portrayed as relentlessly violent and brutal, and although atrocities occurred, many leaders reluctantly and despondently accepted the treaties and are quietly withdrawn into the western deserts without any bloodshed. . The novels Hobomok, by Lydia Maria Child, and The Pioneers, by James Fenimore Cooper, both end with the image of a solitary Native American peacefully withdrawing from white culture. To some extent, the endings reflect the silent tragedy of the warless – but nevertheless forced – flight of thousands of Native Americans during the 1800s, although the dignified departures of Hobomok and Natty Bumpo do not match the exit shameful and heartbreaking for the majority of Indians. Indians at that time. Child concludes Hobomok with the novel's namesake retreating into the wilderness: [Hobomok] was rarely spoken of; and little by little, its Indian name was silently omitted. But Hobomok's devoted, romantic love was never forgotten by its object; and his faithful services to the "Yengees" are still remembered with gratitude, although the tender end which he protected has since become a mighty tree and the nations of the earth seek refuge under its branches (Chapter XX). The conclusion depicts Hobomok's departure as a nobleman, which seems to be an unlikely outcome of the majority of Indian expulsions during the 19th century. Disgraced by the strong arm of the U.S. government, Native American tribes did not enjoy the same level of respect toward the children of Hobomok. Few Indians were revered and remembered as much as Hobomok, and most were long forgotten with their removal. However, Cooper presents a similar example of respectful Indian escape to the west in The Pioneers. The romantic novelist ends his story in the same manner as Child, respectfully removing the central Native American figure from the book. [Natty Bumpo] again hastily passed his hard hand before his eyes, waved it upwards to bid him farewell, and uttering After a forced cry to his dogs crouching at his feet, he entered the forest. It was the last time they saw Leatherstocking... He had gone far into the setting sun, the first of that band of Pioneers who lead the way in the nation's march across the continent (456). Both Hobomok and The Pioneers use the movements of Indians to express the mutual exclusivity of white American and Native American cultures. Ultimately, Hobomok and Natty Bumpo cannot and will not assimilate into dominant white society and therefore have no choice but to leave this world and enter the wilderness. The main distinction between Child's and Cooper's stories is that the latter author incorporates Natty into the process of Manifest Destiny, while the former expresses the character's demise as a result of American westward expansion. As Hobomok fades into a meaningless existence on the frontier, Natty helps lead the way.