Realism in "I Will Fight No More Forever"

"I Will Fight No More Forever" by Chief Joseph is a great example of a work of Realism. It is a moving, albeit short, speech about ceasing fighting after a war (Joseph). Chief Joseph explains in the short three paragraphs of the speech that he no longer has a desire for fighting. Many lost their lives in the conflict that preceded this speech, and he felt as though it were time to end it (Joseph). This story falls into the genre of Realism for a few reasons.

Realism is all about a common, everyday hero (Werlock). In the time that this story was written, Indians were not always treated with the utmost respect. In fact, they were being continuously kicked off their own land by the white men so that they could have their land for their own settlements. Clearly they were underdogs in a world full of men with guns while all they had was their own handmade tools and whatever they could trade for. For this reason, Chief Joseph fit well into this idea about a common, everyday hero. Through his speech you can tell that he does not have all of the background of education that writers in previous times had the privilege of having. Yet his work of literature was still deemed worthy of keeping because it is a powerful message although it was simple and plain (Joseph).

A lot of times in Realism, the region that the story was set in played a part in the language that was used. In this case, the literary work in question was not in fact written as a made-up story that was intended to reflect a certain area of the nation. On the contrary, it was a speech about the true feelings of a chief who has just suffered a great defeat. For this reason I do not believe that the work can be classified into the category of Regionalism, but I still believe that the use of language is an important aspect to note. The fact that his sentences are simple and his words are not fancy is unmistakable in the writing, yet somehow the writing still comes across as just as powerful and important as a work of literature full of fancy words and phrases meant to impress the reader. And I think that that is one of the most important and fundamental qualities about Realism; It allowed the underdog to finally have his say (Werlock). Whether it was women, African Americans, uneducated common people, children, or even Indians, there was room for everyone to say what was on their heart in the genre of Realism.

Realism was also all about using facts as well as emotional details in order to get a response from the reader (Werlock). Never has there been a better example of this than in this short speech. I say this because the entire speech is simply facts about what has happened, and each of these facts makes the reader sympathize with the author (Joseph). In this way, it reflects this area of Realism perfectly.


Joseph, Chief. "I Will Fight No More." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 533.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Feb 13, 2011.