Historical Analysis: Empire of the Summer Moon Essay

This essay analyzes S.C. Gwynne's 'Empire of the Summer Moon,' a historical account of the rise and fall of the Comanche empire. The essay explores the Comanche's power, their warlike society, and the story of Cynthia Ann Parker, a key figure in the narrative. It examines the themes of race, ethnicity, and conflict between the Comanche and other groups, particularly the Native Americans and white settlers in Texas. The essay also discusses the complexities of Quanah Parker's life, his preservation of Comanche culture, and the author's perspective on the historical events. While acknowledging the book's strengths in portraying the Comanche, the essay also critiques the lengthy historical explanations and perceived biases. Overall, the essay provides an overview of the book's educational value, its relevance to history, and its exploration of race relations in the 19th-century American West.

Running head: EMPIRE OF THE SUMMER MOON ESSAY
EMPIRE OF THE SUMMER MOON ESSAY
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1EMPIRE OF THE SUMMER MOON ESSAY
‘Empire of the Summer Moon’ is a history book that is about the rise and the decline of
the Comanche empire. Written by S. C. Gwynne, the book shows how the Comanche Nation was
one of the most powerful and feared First Nations in North America. The reason why this nation
was so powerful is because its members were of highly mobile nature and they had the unique
ability to attack in an unpredictable manner in the warlike society. The story revolves around the
Parker family; emphasis is given on the character of Cynthia Ann Parker, who was kidnapped
and raised as Comanche, she married a war chief of Comanche. The story revolves around the
life of Cynthia Parker and with unflinchingly brutal and terroristic strategies.
It seems that Gwynne produced a revolutionist history from the Texas frontier and the
reason behind writing the book might be the fact that he wanted to focus on the victimization of
the Indians; as mentioned by several of his readers, Gwynne himself agrees that the viewpoint on
the victimization of the Indians was not accurate and he wrote this book to show the exact
position that the Indians were in. The author was trying to point out that the white people were
also brutal, but the Comanches were also very powerful and were feared for a reason. I believe
that the author did not overbalance his motif and this is why reading the book makes me have a
perspective that tells me that may be the Indians were not as victimized as destructively as it was
portrayed; the Comanches had their moves too which made them feared in the land of North
America. I believe there was no political motive behind the publishing of the story and the writer
genuinely wanted put in front an unbiased work of revolution.
Race and ethnicity are prime factors that are occurring in the west; since it was the
fundamental reason because of whi9ch the people in the area were conflicted. The native
Americans were refusing to stay with the refugee Indians as they belonged to diverse ethnic
groups and different race. Texas was the home country for the Native Americans and they were

2EMPIRE OF THE SUMMER MOON ESSAY
refusing to live with the Comanche Indians. Hence they instigated a conflict with the tribe of
Comanche Indians and tried their best to take their home country away from them. The reason
why this story by Gwynne can be narrated in terms of race lies in the issues of race
discrimination and this race discrimination was the main reason which created a conflict between
the Comanche Indians and the Native Americans who were residing in Texas. The Comanche
Indians were brutally discriminated due to their differences in race; at one point in the novel, the
Native Americans visit the home where the Parkers resided and when the head of the Parkers
family (who was also the uncle of Cynthia) gets out to figure out what they wanted, the Native
Americans killed him.
The culture of Texas was defined largely by the culture of the great America; the area has
been most populous and has also witnessed a tremendous amount of migration from the West
and the North American states. The culture of the white Texans is complex since it’s constitutes
of the blending and separation of cultures from diverse people who settled there. This is the
reason there is no such huge difference in the culture of the white Texans and the Comanche
tribe. However, the Comanche tribes were warlike tribe who were involved in various conflicts
with their neighboring tribes. The book showed a clear depiction of the fact that the Native
Americans were against the tribe of Comanche Indians by narrating how Cynthia’s uncle was
killed by the Comanche Indians because of his diverse views in race.
Quanah Parker, in spite of being the son of a white mother, preserved the Comanche
culture very well as depicted by his journey. He became a full warrior at the age of fifteen, and
helped the Comanche tribe in multiple fierce attacks, in battles and was also elected as a leader
of the war party by the other members of his tribe. Initially, he had to survive a lot of harsh
behavior from the other members of the tribe for belonging to “white blood”; however, his

3EMPIRE OF THE SUMMER MOON ESSAY
excellent leadership skills, strategic mind and negotiation abilities raised him to the position of a
Comanche chief. The fact that he is a preserver of the Comanche culture is also indicated in the
fact that Quanah, just like the other members of the Comanche tribe followed polygamy since he
had eight wives, which was a customary thing for the members of this tribe. Even though
Quanah intended to establish his own power base, but he absorbed all the culture of the tribe and
imposed in his ways of work and life, hence he was a true “preserver of Comanche culture”.
Gwynne’s novel showed colorful characters with detailed portraits and there was
spellbinding descriptions of some battles. However, what I did not like about the book is that it
contained lengthy explanations about the territory of Comanche and history about that period of
time; the number of bands they were divided into and several such historical factors. I liked the
plot and the story but and learned a lot from the book but I did not like the fact that I had to work
so hard for learning it. Again, although the writer stated that he was not being biased whilst
writing the story, yet there were times when I felt like he was biased towards both the sides; at
times I felt like he was unfair to the white- Texans and at other times I felt that the Comanches
were unjustified. In an overview, the book is highly educational and written greatly yet
occasionally enthralling. Any person who is interested in history, expansion of the American
West, or is curious about the race and ethnic factors of the 19th century might have a look at this
book.

4EMPIRE OF THE SUMMER MOON ESSAY
References:
Gwynne, Samuel C. Empire of the summer moon: Quanah Parker and the rise and fall of the
Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. Simon and Schuster,
2010.