Why does the speaker say “Youth is impulsive” in Chief Seattle’s Speech, 1854? What character trait does it reflect?
Chief Seattle regrets that their young men have ever been impulsive. It is because they grow angry at any real or imaginary wrong happening to them and revenge by young men is considered gain, even at the cost of their lives. They never realise that they have everything to lose and nothing to gain.
Chief Seattle’s comment on the impulsive nature of the young men of his tribe comes as an attempt of self-criticism for the impending doom of the Red Indians and also as an attempt of a reconciliation with the White people. This only reveals that Seattle was self-critical enough and he had an inclination to dig into the real issue instead of being guided by prejudice to the White community.
Chief Seattle says that youth is impulsive because youth are those who doesn’t think logically but theirs mind is full of revenge when they see any wrong thing happening with them. Or we can say that they are in such anger that they will take revenge in anyway in such a manner that they will not step back if they have to give their own life also. But they don’t want to understand that they can never defeat the white people by their strength because white men are very much more powerful than the Red Indians. They have to face only loss, not any gain and several of them will die if they try to kill the white men.