26 pages • 52 minutes read
I Will Fight No More Forever
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Symbols & Motifs
Age
Age figures into Chief Joseph’s speech as a motif relating to both the wisdom of elders and the inexperience of youth. In saying “[t]he old men all are dead,” Chief Joseph refers not simply to the loss of life but in a wider sense to the loss of wisdom and the necessary guidance of these elders in council (Line 3). The loss of their wisdom directly contributes to the burden Joseph feels as a leader. Conversely, in stating that “[i]t is the young men who say yes or no” (Line 4), he implies that without the wisdom of the elders, the young and inexperienced men such as himself are now in charge. He and the other young leaders are left to decide whether to surrender or, like Looking Glass and others, to try to escape. The implication is that, though the burden has fallen on the young to lead, these youth, Chief Joseph included, might make unwise choices because of their inexperience. “Young men” might also refer directly to the young warriors, as he says, “He who led the young men is dead,” referring to his brother Ollokat (Line 4), a war leader who died in the battle.
Heart
Chief Joseph mentions the heart three times in his speech as a symbol of conscience and a sense of justice. In the beginning, he says, “Tell General Howard I know his heart. What he told me before, it is in my heart,” referring to the General’s original promise that his people could join bands on the reservation near Ft. Lapwai (Line 2). In referencing the heart, Chief Joseph makes a direct appeal to Howard’s conscience to prevent further injustices. In tying in his own heart and conscience to Howard’s, he indicates that the two are now aligned in aim and intention. He will fulfill his promise to surrender if Howard will fulfill his promise to return his band to Idaho because that is the just and conscionable way to proceed. Toward the end of the speech, he mentions his own heart again, saying, “I am tired; my heart is sick and sad,” indicating that the toll of war and the history of broken promises has been a moral affront (Line 6), the injustices suffered a wound in his conscience so deep he no longer wishes to fight.
Natural Forces
Instead of focusing on the human forces threatening the survival of his people, such as Miles’s artillery, Chief Joseph chooses to weave in a motif of nature and natural forces into his speech. He mentions the cold as a major factor threatening his group. Twice he cites the cold as so powerful a force that his people, first the children and then those who have run away, are “freezing to death” (Lines 4-5). In terms of survival, Chief Joseph considers the cold so formidable that it is mentioned over the US Army as his major challenge. Another elemental force, the hills surrounding the steep Bear Paw Mountains of Montana, become a wilderness into which his people have fled without blankets and food. The hills are a place where his scattered people cannot survive. “No one knows where they are,” Chief Joseph explains (Line 5), indicating a wilderness whose vastness is so large as to swallow up those who have fled. In closing, Chief Joseph makes a solemn oath invoking the power of the sun. “From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever,” he claims (Lines 6-7), using the sun as a marker of the passage of time and as a sign that, like the constant and reliable sun, his promise will also prove constant and reliable.
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