Daniel Boone by James Daugherty
And, at last, I dared to read Daniel Boone. It’s a story full of wicked Indians and good-guy white settlers, full of killing and attacking. You can almost see Daniel’s halo and the devil horns of the Indians as you read the story. It is told in the vernacular of Daugherty’s time and it is undoubtedly an interesting and exciting story. Must we pull it from our shelves simply because it is chockfull of opinions and prejudices? Can it not be read as a story without vilifying either the Indians or the white people of the book? What about reading it as a legend, a folk tale, which, of course, it is?
Well, one problem I had is that it is classified as biography, not myth or legend. And I didn't think Daugherty's story was interesting or exciting *at all* - although Daniel Boone's real story is undeniably both.
ReplyDeleteIf I thought it was good literature or good history, I might be more inclined to accept the prejudices - but as it is, yuck.