Nicholson and Riley Indiana writers in history
Nicholson and Riley are two of the most celebrated Indiana writers in history. Their portrayal of the culture is outstanding considering they each didn”t completed high school. Their writings came from the heart of Indiana. They are both considered true sons of Central Indiana. In the essays they both had different views of Indiana, but both were leaning on the same premise of homey, beautiful and comfortable. Riley and Nicholson brought a real feel to the images they wrote about.. The two writers created an “atmosphere” about Indiana that everyone would enjoy.
Riley and Nicholson saw different things in Indiana and they both loved the state and all aspects of it. The traditions the authors created were some of pride and glory of the difference they had between other states. Hoosiers were rather bias when it came to there own state. They thought of it as state in which someone really didn”t wanted to leave and if they did they were always happy to come back. In Nicholson”s essay on Indianapolis he states that Indiana people think the more they travel to other states the more they like their own city or state.
Hoosiers were proud to be from this state. They felt that other states only dreamt of possessing this same pride and glory. Maybe a false tradition Riley created could have been that a reader from another state reads this and has never been to Indiana, will think that everyone in Indiana is a low-educated, hillbilly, a hick from the back woods. The fact is, education wasn”t highly needed on the farm. But a farming education is still and education. They skills they learned on the farm where just as valuable as the skills you learn in the classroom.
Each writer did speak of the neighborliness of the people in the state and how they would give someone anything they had to offer. This lifestyle is s imilar to the current Morman way of life. They each mention how earthly Hoosiers were by putting trees on the sidewalks in the city and the swimmin”-hole they loved as children. Nicholson talked about the city of Indianapolis and how it had a natural feeling. However this feeling can also be translated to the entire state. This was because of Indiana”s low urbanization and education.
The people didn”t need all the high tech trains and whistles in their state they liked. That is just the way it was. The authors” spoke of the kindness the people in the state, even for strangers. Indiana was safe and women could go to the market without having to worry about being attacked or robbed. Riley made points about the everyday life of the normal Hoosier and the things they went though. Riley talked about punkins” and how the people didn”t come up with many ideas of their own but when they did, they stood by them. The writers celebrated many traditions of Indiana in their own special way.
Riley and Nicholson brought different experiences to the readings. Riley gave the real dialect of the people of Indiana and how they spent their days on the farms, while Nicholson talked about the kindheartedness of the people of Indiana. In all my trips to Indiana and while living here, I have found that Nicholson”s writings of the people back then hasn”t really changed that much. One of the factors while choosing Butler as my University, was the Gentleness of the Indiana culture. The two writers, in their writings made a pretty complete picture of Indiana.
But it appears they both left out the northerner Indiana people.. They concentrated on the central and border southerner, but rarely mentioned the north. While the role of the Northerners culture was minor, their Indiana”s traditions and values were substantial. The Northerners played a function in the diversity of the state and the cultural cradle Indiana formed in the Midwest. While I have resided in Illinois my entire life, and now reside in Indiana, I see the differences in the people of Indiana and the pride they feel for their state.
Illinois may not feel such a pride since their culture around the Chicago area is so diverse. There are many residents that come from all over the world. In Indiana, their roots are from the farm communities where their forefathers sweated blood and tears to farm their land, feed and educate their children, and die trying. Riley and Nicholson just put into words all the feelings the people of Indiana feel. After reading these excerpts, you realize, the Indiana people know all this but it was nice to read about why they feel so strongly about their state. Now Bobby Knight might be a different story!
