Louise Erdrich

Author Louise Erdrich argues her views about the treatment of Native Americans in her poem “Dear John Wayne”. Erdrich’s tone and who she is really addressing are intermingled together to paint a picture of attending a drive-in to watch an old western movie in which Wayne is the starring role. The poem is somewhat like a letter with a beginning introduction and a closing disguised as the beginning and ending of a movie. The way Erdrich approaches her argument is strange and leaves the reader…

are” and refers to nurture as “all the environmental variables that impact who we are, including our early childhood experiences, how we were raised, our social relationships, and our surrounding culture” (Cherry). The Round House, written by Louise Erdrich, proves nurture has a greater impact on an individual's behavior and personality than nature does. Despite being of like nature, Linda and Linden Lark, biological twins in the novel, have different…

Erdrich overall did a great job displaying the effects of PTSD through Henry, and he did an even better job using symbolism to represent the effects. Erdrich used a few small symbols throughout the story to emphasize on specific symptoms of PTSD, but she used the red convertible consistently through the story to reflect on Henry’s emotions as the story progressed. One of the first symbols of the story and maybe the most important since it foreshadows one of the most common symptoms of PTSD.…

not only for the reader’s imagination, but also for motifs and metaphors. Louise Erdrich’s novel The Beet Queen discusses the Adares sibling’s move to North Dakota. North Dakota is described as grey, and depressing. The surroundings greatly effect Karl, but Mary seems less effected. Erdrich’s detailed description shows how the children are compared to their surroundings, and how the detail put into a tree effects Karl. Louise Erdrich’s imagery impacts the tone and shows the effect of the…

make the story accurate and the character interesting. Erdrich also uses her own background in her story “Love Medicine” to show how Native Americans saw the world. Erdrich and Mukherjees writing is influenced by their social and cultural backgrounds as well as their own personal experiences in different cultures and lifestyles. Louise Erdrich uses her own heritage of being Chippewa Indian and American German in many of her works. Erdrich attended Dartmouth College. In the year that she…

story, “The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich begins on a small Native American reserve in North Dakota. Through the short we follow and explore the brotherhood between the narrator, Lyman and his older brother Henry. After the loss of Lyman’s store and obtaining insurance money the boys spend it on a red convertible. This convertible, although it was only bought impulsively becomes a major part of the boys lives especially after Henry returns from war. Though Erdrich did not reveal this, it is…

Louise Erdrich’s short story “The Red Convertible” is a story about the brotherhood relationship between two brothers, Lyman Lamartine and his brother Henry. The two brothers buy a red convertible car on their way to Winnipeg and take off driving the whole summer. After they return home, Henry deploys to the Vietnam war and his life changes hereafter. When he returns home after three years, Lyman finds Henry all changed. He has even forgotten to laugh. The effects of war have damaged him from…

is identified by year and by season, and the Chippewa name of each season. The date serves as markers of the plot’s linear progression, and the naming of the seasons reminds the readers of the cyclical nature of traditional Chippewa time. Although Erdrich did not publish Tracks until 1988, she worked on versions of its manuscript for many years. The story is told in the Chippewa oral tradition, and employs a dual narration structure. Nanapush and Pauline are the two narrators of the novel.…

experiences, and so do cultures. People that share similar characteristics come together to form a culture. These culture characteristics can be shown through how Native Americans react to traumatic experiences and situations. In The Round House by Louise Erdrich, Geraldine’s character’s reactions to traumatic experiences reflect Native American culture. Geraldine’s character reflects Native American culture because of the characteristics she portrays in the novel. Geraldine reflects the…

When one reads Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich, you are instantly aware of the Native American spirituality and Christian dualism in the novel. We see characters connected by nature’s touch and roped into a tangled web of people, places, and time. If readers look into the leaves of the book, wrap their mind around the message of interconnectedness of nature and life, they will see the same ideas mirrored from the transcendentalists in American history. Native American spirituality is based on…