Below are some notes written by a student about the structure, pattern, and purpose of "Letter to President Pierce, 1855." Structure This essay moves in a kind of circle, starting with the statement that "the white man does not understand our ways" and ending with the statement that "We might understand if we knew what it was that the white man dreams." It also uses repetition to tie the parts of the essay together. Pattern The essay is apparently mostly a description of the way the Indian lives and the way the white man lives. But the description is used for a purpose. Purpose I think the purpose is to persuade. By describing what's going on, the author shows what's going wrong, and he implies that if white people thought about their visions of the future they would change their ways. He uses irony to show how the "civilized" whites are destroying the earth and the "savage" Indians respect the land. next >> | 
2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education