Summary Of D Arcy Mcnickle's The Surrounded

D’Arcy McNickle’s novel The Surrounded, explores the internal strife that many natives that attended the Indian schools faced due to their ambiguous sense of identity. Through the portrayal of the characters’ varied responses to the struggle of finding balance between the learned ways of the Western world and their indigenous upbringing, McNickle shows how the acculturation of native youth ultimately led to the destruction of the vitality and drive of the entire population. Unfortunately, the conflicts faced in the novel provide still relevant insight to the dejection of the Native American people in the twenty first century. Archilde Leon, the protagonist of The Surrounded, depicts the emotional turmoil that many Native Americans felt after …show more content…
In the first half of the novel, Mike and Narcisse are portrayed as carefree, vibrant boys. They play as native children did, immersed in imagination and surrounded by nature. However, this changes, particularly in Mike, after they are shipped off to school. Mike’s spirited disposition is replaced with fear and shame, and he retreats into silence and isolation: “He found Mike with his fists dug into his eyes, his knees drawn up, and his body rigid. It was several minutes before he would relax, and then shame kept him from removing his hands” (187). It is revealed that Mike had been frightened through threats of the devil to ensure compliance. Mike only starts to feel like himself again when he is being dressed by Modeste’s wife for the Salish dance. As he comes back to a familiar environment, his spunk returns, and he and Narcisse run off into the woods to protest returning to school. If Archilde’s nephews had gone through with their schooling, it is likely that their vigor would be permanently quelled. However, because they are able to slip away from the oppressive powers of white culture, they embody hope for the future of the Salish …show more content…
Louis is also the product of a Catholic boarding school. His change is briefly discussed through his interactions with his mother: “When he was still small, he was the swiftest runner of all his fellows. And then when he grew taller and began to ride a horse he was like a bird...Then he went to school with the Fathers and there was a change” (131). He began to avoid his mother’s gaze, demanded food and horses from her, gambled the horses away, stabbed a man, and ended up in prison. He then stole horses and ran off to the mountains. On the one hand, Louis’ relationship with his family is severed as he becomes more dissolute. On the other hand, his action of stealing horses from an enemy is one that would have been considered honorable in the old Salish ways. He is an outlaw in the white world, and a disgrace to his family, but he revives a tribal practice that still has significance to him. However, Louis is bound by white law, which leads to his eventual