Date of Award
4-21-2010
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Dr. Audrey Goodman - Committee Chair
Second Advisor
Dr. Ian Almond - Committee Member
Third Advisor
Dr. Nancy Chase - Committee Member
Abstract
In her novel Tracks, Louise Erdrich tells the story of a band of Anishinaabe early in the twentieth century. Through the two narrators, one a tribal elder and the other a mixedblood who eventually abandons the traditions of the tribe, the novel offers two divergent perspectives of the events that take place as the government divests the tribe of its land. The conflicting perceptions of these occurrences, which are magical realist in nature, underscore the conflict within the tribe to maintain tradition in the face of the ever-increasing influence of European settlers. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the perceptions at odds with one another in order to shed new light on the significance of Erdrich’s use of magical realism in the text. Highlighting Erdrich’s engagement with magical realism, a largely postcolonial literary device, will hopefully expand notions of identity and authenticity within the Native American literary tradition.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/1331864
Recommended Citation
Myrick, Emily, ""Perhaps the Bear Heard Fleur Calling, and Answered": The Significance of Magical Realism in Louise Erdrich's Tracks as a Postcolonial Novel." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2010.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/1331864