University History Book Report: Empire of the Summer Moon Analysis

This report analyzes S.C. Gwynne's 'Empire of the Summer Moon,' focusing on the history of the Comanches and the lives of key figures like Cynthia Ann Parker and Quanah Parker. The report examines the Comanches' social, economic, and political changes, as well as their conflicts with the national government and white settlers. It discusses the author's perspective on cultural values, violence, and morality, highlighting the impact of historical events on the characters' lives and the tribe's fate. The report explores themes of cultural preservation, conflict resolution, and the complexities of historical interpretation, offering insights into the narrative's strengths and potential areas for deeper understanding, particularly regarding the history of Texas. It emphasizes the importance of understanding historical context and moral implications within cultural frameworks.

Running head: A HISTORY BOOK REPORT
A HISTORY BOOK REPORT
Name of the student:
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Author note:

1A HISTORY BOOK REPORT
The story Empire of the Summer Moon is all about the up and downs of Comanche
empire, the most powerful nation of North America (Gwynne). The author S.C.Gwynne encircles
the story with the social economical and political changes faced by the Comanches and the
Plains Indians during the hype done by the national government. The author has tried to state the
story from liberal prospective. According to the Comanches, scalping and gang raping was a
common fact and for the white men, murder of natives was a normal incident. The Author’s
thesis for the story is that, in order to give value to the cultural customs, causing death is
unacceptable.
The story Empire of the summer Moon encompasses the lives of Comanches, about their
actions, reason behind such actions and their cultural values (Gwynne). The story starts with a
brief explanation about the territory Comancheria and ends with the accomplishment of
Mackenzie and Custer to Quanah `parker. The main characters of the story are Cynthia Ann
Parker and her older son Quanah Parker. Cynthia lived in the border of Texas along with her
family. Indian problems were tormenting the settlers during that time. One day some Indians
attacked their fort and killed her uncle. They have taken Cynthia along with her brother, two
aunts and two cousins. There a tribal family adopted Cynthia and she was grown up as a member
of that family. Later she married a worrier named Peta Nocona. Meanwhile some white people
offered Cynthia to return but she refused. Thus, her husband kept her out of sight whenever any
white person visit there. Then the Indian camp was attacked and Pota Nocona was killed. After
the battle the two sons of Cynthia were separated from her and she was captured by white
soldiers along with her infant daughter. She introduced herself as white woman to the soldiers to
save her and her daughter from being killed. It was abominable for Cynthia to live with the white
people. She decided to settle somewhere else, thus moved with some family members. Yet she

2A HISTORY BOOK REPORT
was ruined with the death of her daughter. Hitherward, the older son of Cynthia, Quanah Parker
was taken in by another tribe and treated him with cruelty, as he was half-white and an orphan.
There were many battles between the white men and the Indians. A tremendous change had
occurred in the military. In most of the cases, the white men were attacked by the Indians and
they did not understand the fighting procedure of the Indians as the battle ended with the
slaughter of the whites. Quanah fought so many fights against the whites and became the
mightiest chief of all time. After indulging in dozens of fights, suddenly he urged peace, thus he
moved on for conservancy and grappled the ways of the whites. He tried to influence others for
things that he thought to be right. He built a huge home that was filled with so many guests all
the time. He also tried to impact on building school district for Indian children. After having such
dramatic changes in his life, Quanah died in 1911 due to heart issue.
There are so many aspects of the story like political, emotional and cultural aspects. The
story is quite difficult to understand because, at the beginning, the author traverses that everyone
has the right to protect one’s family and property, thus the reason of fighting against the Plains
Indians is acceptable. On the other hand, he argues that the aspects of fighting against the whites
are right. It seems that, he wants to justify the morality of saving one’s liberty. However, at the
end of the story, it is clear that the author does not support killing someone regardless of
cultures. The characters of the story amazed me. Especially, Cynthia, who maintained the
characteristics of Comanches after being captured by the Texans. The powerful character of
Quanah also impressed me. The story is enjoyable and the language is easy to understand for the
readers. It could be more understandable for me if the history of Texas would have been known
to me. Otherwise, S.C.Gwynne is a dynamic writer and he does justice to the story Empire of the
Summer Moon.

3A HISTORY BOOK REPORT
The theme of the story is encouraging. It is important to understand that in order to
maintain the cultural value of a society; one can not hamper the liberty of others. Such idea of
the author is valuable. The story plays an important role in understanding the importance of
morality of in culture.

4A HISTORY BOOK REPORT
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.